Give love a try. [Chyan]

24. Ryan, a Life.

The week had arrived, in four days, Ryan would be onstage in front of everyone at the resort starring in his play. It would be the first time he had ever starred in anything he also wrote by himself, he didn't have Sharpay beside him as some level of emotional support.

No, this time he would be feeling the warmth of the stage lights by himself. He would look down on the audience, alone. And he would be able to watch his family's, his father's, facial expressions as he threw their treatment of him back in their faces. Ryan had a feeling that the show would be the catalyst for his father disowning him, it could also be what brought him to the light but Ryan didn't really see that happening. So he spent the weeks that followed his conversation with Chad in the kitchen mentally and emotionally preparing himself for that possibility.

He decided he would take up Chad's offer, whether or not his parents threw him out. Ryan had finally come to the realisation that it didn't matter how far his family was going to come, no matter how much progress they made, the memory of the past would always be there. And after spending nearly two months in the arms of someone that loved him so much, someone that put in the effort to show him that love, Ryan didn't think he could bare the emotional minefield that was the Evans' household again. He didn't want to deal with walking on eggshells everyday with the hopes that he didn't set anyone off, even Derby's gentle hands couldn't soothe the sting of it anymore.

The sting of Sharpay's words.

The sting of his father's hands.

It was all too sharp and he couldn't handle it anymore. Ryan decided it would be better if they all had some space. He needed the space to heal, and they needed the space to grow. It is what's for the time being. It broke his heart. Ryan still remembered the heat of his tears on Tuesday morning when he agreed to move in with Chad. He had cried so hard and for so long he had to get a new pillow.

According to Chad he looked like he was mourning. Perhaps mourning the relationships he could have had, had he been a different person. The person his father wanted him to be. But alas, Ryan could only choose himself, because if he didn't, he knew he would end up destroying himself in the pursuit of being someone else. And he has people that love him as he is now, he would hate to let them down.

It had been a week since then and Ryan felt more secure in his decisions. Everything felt clearer now and he knew what he wanted, he would put on his play and finally show the world exactly what his life had been like. He would expose his father as the abusive liar he always had been, he would show the world exactly how complicit his mother and Sharpay, to a slightly lesser degree, had been through it all. He would finally get to pour his heart out, on his own terms and set himself free. While Ryan didn't plan on completely cutting them all off, he didn't think he would be able to anyway, it felt good to finally put himself first.

Now all that is left to do is let the show begin.

-------------------------------

The stage lights were warm, even warmer than he remembered. Ryan could feel himself break into a cold sweat as he took in a deep breath before smiling as the curtains rolled up.

Justin's drum solo rang throughout the auditorium as Ryan jogged out to center stage, "Hi. I'm Ryan and welcome to my life." Ryan pointed to his classmates, and now close friends, as each of them help up a board with letters on them, spelling out the words; Ryan, A Life.

Ryan sat down at the end of the stage, taking up his position as a spectator, much like the audience, as well as a narrator pushing the story forward. "Now, my foray with the arts started early in my life. It was love at first sight, it was all I ever wanted at that age, although it all felt out of reach for a long time." With that, the scene began and he turned his gaze to the stage.