AN: Thank you to all of my reviewers.

Ch. 6 Worries

Troy worried about Ryan. The boy's claims that he wasn't hurt were so obviously false, but he refused to admit it. Troy would never have guessed that such a small and quiet boy could be so stubborn and immovable. Every time Troy tried to bring up Ricky, Ryan would close up and shut him out completely. Troy was determined not to let him do the same today during their practice today, though. No matter what, Troy was going to get the story from the smaller boy.

Thoughts of this plagued Troy throughout his and Ryan's practice session, causing him to be regress. They had finally made it to the point where Troy could complete "Bob to the Top" without mishap and moved on to "What I've Been Looking For," but today Troy could not seem to get into it. He kept making mistakes on simple parts that he had previously mastered, prompting Ryan into frustration. Finally, Ryan could take no more.

"What is wrong with you today, Troy?" Ryan placed his hands on his hips and glared.

"Ryan," Troy began, "I know that there is more to the Ricky thing than you're telling me." Pleading eyes gazed at Ryan, but they had no effect.

"God, Troy! There is nothing going on." Ryan rolled his eyes and turned away, but Troy was not about to let the subject drop so easily.

"Even if you don't want to tell me," he said more firmly, "you have to tell someone. You can't just deal with this on your own, but you can't get help if you don't speak up. I just want to help you." Troy's worried tone caught Ryan's attention, but he still would not give in.

"I told you already, Troy; I don't need your help." His constant denial was beginning to make Troy feel as though he was hitting his head against a brick wall, but he was stubborn, too.

Thinking about ways to make Ryan talk, Troy asked, "What about Sharpay? Have you told her? She could help you, and she's your twin. You must have at least told her."

Ryan walked right up to Troy. "I have not told Sharpay, and don't you dare tell her, either. She does not need to know." Troy would have found Ryan intimidating, but he was distracted by the boy's proximity. It was doing things to him that he didn't especially want the smaller boy to notice when he was in such a bad mood. Troy didn't think it would be very beneficial for him if Ryan realized the reaction his closeness was eliciting. Therefore he was thankful when Ryan turned away without looking down. Breathing a quite sigh of relief, he decided to once more let the matter drop for the moment.

Unsure of what to say or do next, Troy was the necessity of thinking of something by the arrival of Sharpay. Sharpay, noticing the angry look on her twin's face, voiced her concern immediately. "Ryan, are you okay? What's going on?"

Troy opened his mouth to speak, but Ryan beat him to it. "Nothing is wrong. Troy and I just had a disagreement, right Troy?"

Sharpay took the bait immediately. She rounded on Troy and began berating him, not giving him a chance to defend himself.

"How dare you upset my brother. He deigned to help you when he could have let you fail, and this is how you respond? You wanted him to be your teacher, and when someone is your teacher you listen to them. You don't disagree with anything they say, even if you don't like it. I was against this from the start, but my brother thought it would be okay, so I let him teach you. If you are going to make him angry, though, then you can leave. My brother is a wonderful person who does not need any shit from you or anyone else. Apologize to him, NOW." By the time she finished speaking, Sharpay had backed Troy into a wall.

Troy eyes were wide and he wore an expression of shock. Sharpay had never gotten angry at him before, and he found it to be a decidedly unpleasant experience. Looking over to Ryan, he stuttered out, "S-sorry, Ryan."

Ryan smirked triumphantly at Troy, who was still too surprised by Sharpay's venom to really notice. Sharpay herself was still glaring, but it lessened when Troy apologized.

"Good," she said suddenly, "now, continue on with your practicing. Let's see how far along you've come, Troy." With that, she sat down imperiously upon the sofa and looked expectantly at her twin and Troy, who, surprised by her abrupt change in attitude, were still standing in the same places, unmoving. "Well," she snapped, "move."

Ryan jumped, and moved over to Troy, dragging him into the middle of the room.

"He's learned "Bop to the Top," he said nervously. "He can show you that."

"Okay, let's see it, then."

Troy began the dance, but Sharpay kept throwing him off. She had the air of a hawk watching a mouse, and Troy found it to be even more distracting than her twin could be. After the fifth time he messed up, he stopped and looked at her apologetically.

"Um, Sharpay, could not stare at me so… intensely, please?" Sharpay didn't even respond, and Troy sighed and began the dance again.

Ryan couldn't bear to watch. Hoping desperately that Sharpay wouldn't blame him for how awful Troy was doing, he sat down next to her. "Troy's not really this bad, you know," Ryan whispered as Troy made another stunning mistake. "He's just not used to someone watching. I think you're throwing him off." Ryan winced, knowing that his explanation was probably just going to make him Sharpay's next target.

And his fears proved true. "People are going to be watching him when he performs on stage, Ryan. If I throw him off, he's got no hope when he does it for real in the play."

When Troy finally went home that night, he felt humiliated. He hadn't managed to get Ryan to talk, and his performing had been awful in front of Sharpay. 'Hopefully she won't blame Ryan. Ryan's a wonderful teacher,' he thought to himself. Making a vow to do better, he drifted off to sleep, into dreams of dancing and bruises and angry blonds.

AN: This chapter is dedicated to Ellie (OCP), because it was her birthday yesterday. Happy birthday!