Dec 06, 2007 05:38
Hate and Love are Separated by a Fine Line
Written by Desinere.
Rated: M
Part One: Burns Like Hate
“Get on the bed.”
It all started back during the summertime, and it had continued to live, on and off, behind the curtains. No one suspected them of anything at all; they acted indifferent to each other in public, acting like the good friends they’d grown to become after the staff baseball game at Lava Springs.
Chad was on-and-off with Taylor, his supposed crush, and Ryan pretended not to eye up Chad whenever he could.
“Chad-“
However, behind the closed and locked doors, their relationship was different. Touches were definitely more than friendly, rough, aggressive kisses shared, and bodies connected. Tears were shed, hateful things murmured, and it never really ended happily.
“I hate you, I hate you…”
In a nutshell: Ryan was gay and Chad was afraid to accept who he really was. Because Ryan had become tentative friends with Chad, and since Ryan was into the male sex, they decided to be friends-with-benefits, so to speak. And in Ryan, Chad found some kind of mercy, a forgiveness Chad barely understood. Maybe it was because he accepted that he found Ryan attractive, and he accepted that he liked having sex with the other boy. Maybe it wasn’t. Chad was never very good at understanding people; he couldn’t even fully comprehend himself.
Ryan had a secret, one that he hadn’t even told to his sister: he really, really liked Chad. As in, he was seriously contemplating if he loved the guy or not. His heart broke whenever Chad called him up, the tone of his voice making it clear what he wanted. They didn’t need to outright say anything anymore, they didn’t need any kind of codes; they simply knew when each other needed that special something.
Usually, Ryan wound up going to Chad’s because his mother worked for most of the day, which meant that Chad was home alone from the time he got home from school until nearly eight at night. Sometimes, though, if his parents happened to be somewhere else due business and Sharpay was out clubbing with the Sharpettes, Chad came over to Ryan’s place.
They both came, Chad with a drawn-out groan and Ryan with a slight scream. Chad mashed their mouths together to hide the loud noise, his fingers gripping the smaller boy tighter.
Panting, coming down from the high of orgasm, Chad quickly rolled off of Ryan, their bodies covered in sweat. Chad had his eyes tightly closed, while Ryan’s were open but completely blank, a small flow of tears dripping down his face. This wasn’t unusual-for things to end on such a bitter note. It rarely ended without frowns.
“I can’t do this anymore.” Was all Ryan whispered. He quickly got up, his back cracking uncomfortably, and gathered his clothes. Just as he slipped his boxers back on, Chad finally opened his eyes.
Sitting up, he frowned. “What do you mean?” He asked, rubbing a hand down his weary face. He’d forgotten to shave that morning, so he had hints of stubble already.
“Just what I said: I’m done.” Ryan said, his voice slightly cold. He was looking around for his shirt, somewhere in the mess that was Chad’s bedroom.
The jock pointed in the far left corner of the room, where a small bundle of pale blue fabric was. Ryan went over and got his shirt, shaking it out to get some of the wrinkles out.
“Why?”
“Because, Chad. I just… I think that this is completely pointless. I mean, it started out pretty innocent… well, not really, but still. I think this is getting a bit too… repetitive for me. You still haven’t come out, and I still haven’t found myself some boyfriend to keep. We’re hopeless.” Ryan said bitterly, trying in vain to button his shirt correctly. He cursed as one of the bottom buttons wound up popping off.
“Here,” Chad said blandly, getting up and slipping on some dirty boxers he found lying on the floor before coming up in front of Ryan and helping him with his dilemma. “Look, Ryan… I really don’t want to stop… doing this.”
“But why, Chad? I mean, it’s not like there’s any emotional contentment in this little rendezvous between us! Actually, I think it’s making me clinically depressed,” He joked humorlessly, frowning as he watched Chad’s darker fingers work expertly at his buttons.
“ Because. Please, just tell me what’s making you upset, and I’ll try to fix it!” Chad insisted, finally done with the task of buttoning. Ryan backed away from him, slipping into his tight jeans before zipping and buttoning them up.
“Chad, it’s not something that you can fix, okay?” Chad’s grimace increased, and he got a worried feeling that he was going to be abandoned. He required Ryan, more than he needed air, or basketball. That was saying a lot.
He quickly shoved Ryan into a wall, pushing his lips against Ryan’s so strongly that his own lips went numb from the pressure. At first, Ryan allowed such a contact; he even began to respond. But then, at a moment’s notice, he shoved Chad away, wiping off his mouth and breathing deeply.
“I’m sorry. I just… I need you.” Chad said sadly. Ryan just stared at him. If Chad didn’t know better, he would’ve guessed that Ryan was about to cry or something.
“I need you, too.” Ryan said wistfully; clearly his words held a slightly different meaning than Chad’s did.
He bit his brushed bottom lip until it began to draw blood. Ryan made his way to the door, walking around Chad and not stopping until he held the doorknob in his hand, ready to turn it open.
“I’m sorry.”
That was all he said, and then he was gone. Chad didn’t see him for the remainder of the weekend and, since it was a Friday and they usually wound up ‘hanging out’ with each other during the weekends, Chad couldn’t help but grow slightly concerned.
Sharpay was angrily shocked when Chad wound up calling her cell phone.
“Hey, do you know where your brother is?”
“What are you doing, calling me? You know my brother’s number; don’t bother annoying me!”
“Wait, don’t hang up!”
“…Fine. What?”
“Is he okay?”
“What do you think?”
That was the end of that conversation, because right after Sharpay had snapped out that sentence, the line went dead.
Chad sighed. He hated Ryan right now. He hated him so much.
…Why did Ryan make Chad worry so much? Why did Ryan make Chad want to do crazy things, like get on top of a cafeteria table during lunch and shout out that he was gay? Why?
Monday morning’s arrival brought in some strange occurrences. Ryan Evans, the most flamboyant male in probably all of Albuquerque, was wearing neutral colors. That’s right, there was absolutely not a drop of neon or pink in his ensemble. He was sporting a plain black, long-sleeved dress shirt with a pair of ordinary charcoal trousers, and two blah-black leather shoes were on his feet.
That wasn’t the worst of it, though. Upon his head-his newly dyed brunette head-was nothing. That’s right, there wasn’t a single thing upon Ryan Evan’s, the Hat King’s head! He looked practically naked!
Many people stared, and Sharpay was actually so upset and nervous that Gabriella and Taylor had to console her, taking her to the girl’s bathroom during free period.
“He just won’t talk to me! At all!” She screeched in agony, near tears for the first time in East High history, as Gabriella and Taylor held her arms, dragging her down the hallways to the bathroom wing.
“Sush, it’s alright Sharpay.” Gabriella whispered comfortingly, rubbing circles along the girl’s arms as they tried to lift her weight.
Ryan was completely ignorant of it all. He didn’t say a word in any morning class, not even in homeroom, where he was usually energetic, talking avidly to Ms. Darbus about one musical or another. Troy had even tried to talk to the mute Evans twin, to no avail.
During lunch, Ryan was nowhere to be found. Some people, when Chad asked, said that they saw him go outside, while others claimed he had went to the music room.
Deciding to give in to chance, instead of sitting in the cafeteria and filling his always-empty stomach, Chad ran down the halls to the music room. He knocked on the door twice and then opened it without pause, glancing in.
Surely enough, Ryan Evans was there, sitting in front of a sleek, polished baby grand. He was pecking at the ivory and ebony keys, and he didn’t glance up as the door opened.
“Yes, what do you want Chad?” He asked, his voice lackluster and dull. That didn’t sound like Ryan speaking, Chad thought.
“What’s your problem?” Chad didn’t mean to make it snap out so harshly, but it had. He couldn’t take it back, he decided ashamedly after a moment.
“Nothing’s my problem, Chad. What’s your problem?” Ryan asked sharply, accentuating his question with a slam on the A, B, C, and D keys. Chad flinched at the piercing sound.
“What?”
“What’s your problem?” Ryan asked, louder and angrier this time. Chad could never recall ever seeing Ryan get angry, only sad or upset.
“I don’t have a problem! I think you’re the one with the problem here, Evans!” Chad fumed, getting angry-quick. It was a loathed characteristic of his: he got upset over the smallest of things.
Ryan’s eyes turned icy, arctic blue at the surname Chad used to address him with. His face turned stony, and he growled angrily.
“You are unbelievable. Completely unbelievable!”
“Why am I the one who’s unbelievable?” He hissed, shoving his face close to Ryan’s.
“Because,” Ryan spat out vehemently, “You used me! You didn’t like me at all!”
Chad didn’t have anything to say to that, so Ryan ground on. “And it started out quite innocently, I have to admit. ‘Ryan, I’m not sure if I’m into guys… can I experiment with you?’” Ryan did a purposefully horrid imitation of Chad, trying to provoke the other boy into doing something to him… hitting him in the face, kicking him where the sun don’t shine, doing some kind of physical toll.
“Then, months later, we’re still at point A, with you still as indecisive as ever and me completely fed up with being played!” He took a sharp intake of breath, his face contorting from anger and despair.
“You’re playing Taylor, too. She doesn’t know that you fuck me, does she?” He asked mockingly, eyes flashing. “You’re taking her out to the movies and the mall and everything during the day, and I’m left for your weekend nights. I’m the one you go to for a quick fuck.”
Chad was speechless. He didn’t think that Ryan ever really cursed, sans during intercourse, when he was rambling. Yet here the brunette was, spitting out the ‘f’ word like it was a new fad!
“What’s the matter with you?” Chad asked, clearly worried. Ryan scoffed, apparently amused with Chad’s concern.
“What isn’t the matter with me?” He asked rhetorically, and at that moment, as if on cue, the bell rang. Lunch was over.
“See you around, Danforth.” Ryan said resentfully, striding out of the music room.
Chad stared intensely at the piano, as if begging it for answers to the large puzzle that was Ryan.
The school day had ended in a sloppy mess. Every afternoon class felt smothered and awkward to Chad, because he shared every single one of them with Ryan, who was currently pretending he didn’t even exist. Sharpay, because the twins had demanded they get the same class schedules that year, was always sitting timidly next to her silent brother, constantly glancing over to him to see if his demeanor ever changed.
Troy and Gabriella didn’t pry, but it was apparent that they were extremely worried about Ryan. Gabriella kept on whispering to Troy during Chemistry class with a frown upon her face, which was an extreme oddity.
Even Zeke was off today, but probably only because Sharpay wasn’t her usual self.
Chad sighed deeply as he crashed onto his bed. He missed Ryan. A lot. It wasn’t the kind of missing one felt when someone they cared deeply for was far away; it was the kind that made his heart feel half its size. It was disorienting, to say the least.
Why did he feel this way? It was such an oddity! He didn’t even feel this way when his mother had to go on a business trip to California when he was twelve. So why did Ryan Evans make him feel this longing!
Suddenly, his phone in his pocket vibrated, causing Chad to jump slightly. He quickly fished for his cell. He glanced at the ID and froze. Ryan.
He quickly answered the call. “Ryan?”
“Come over here now.” His voice sounded mechanical, not even human. Chad frowned, but he didn’t get to question the brunette on the phone, because after an instant, the line was dead.
“What did you want?” Chad asked, genuinely curious. The house was completely deserted, and Ryan had silently led Chad up to his bedroom. For once, he didn’t bother closing or locking the door behind them.
Ryan glared slightly at Chad, and then slammed the boy into a wall, mashing their lips together just as roughly as Chad usually did.
Chad groaned, his eyes wide open at first. Slowly, his eyes closed, and he went to pull Ryan closer to him. But Ryan slapped those arms away, instead pinning them up against the wall with enough force to probably cause bruising.
As their make out session progressed, Ryan grew more and more violent, and Chad had several crescent-shaped marks on his arms from Ryan’s fingernails digging into him.
Chad was completely unsettled when Ryan ripped himself away from Chad. He backed away a good few inches, bitterly ordering, “Get on the bed.”
It was like Chad was watching himself in a mirror just then, and time stopped. He frowned, but complied. It seemed like Ryan needed this, whatever it was, and Chad couldn’t find it in him to deny the Drama King such a small request.
Author’s Commentary: There you go, part one of this two-shot. And for once, the second part is actually completed!
I was originally planning on going for a one-shot, but I wound up writing more than I should have-fourteen pages would’ve been a drag for a lot of people! So, I decided to cut it down as evenly as possible. Plus, this is the perfect not quite cliffhanger I wanted! It’s pretty much the climax of the story: where Chad and Ryan’s whole relationship either goes downhill or keeps steady. You’ll find out which one it happens to be soon!
Look forward to the second part that accompanies this in about four or five days! Possibly sooner, but I make no promises. :P
With Love, Fluff, and Glittery Stuff,
Desinere.
line,
separated,
hate,
chyan,
hsm,
slash,
fine,
love