[just_muse_me] - 8.4.4
note: Ryan mentioned is notapoodle & was borrowed with permission ;)
Popcorn.
"Chad, who are you texting?" He huffs out a curse under his breath at being caught, looking up from his phone, discreetly perched on familiar white linen pants. Familiar white linen pants that may have been gifted to him by the sender and receiver of current said text messages...
"Oh, um. Sorry." He tucks the phone away, glancing back up at the screen. Taylor eyes him skeptically, but doesn't ask again. His phone vibrates again in his pocket, and he has to bite his ip to keep from responding.
"I'm not like, the theater police, you know," she says, warm and amused as she places an equally warm hand on his arm. The sudden touch has him jumping. She's still frowning at him when she asks, "Are you okay?"
He shrugs. Her frown only deepens.
"We can leave if you want. This movie is pretty weird."
Chad just shakes his head, and about ten minutes later, he's asleep.
--
He wakes at the end of the movie to a feminine laugh, and looks up, straightening in his chair and rubbing at his eyes.
Taylor has his phone. White panic grips him. Who knows what she could have seen... He should really delete his queue of messages.
"Hey! What's going on?" he asks, trying to seem only mildly annoyed as he makes grabby hands for the phone, but Taylor holds it just out of reach, still typing away. Hey, wait a second! Typing? "What are you doing?"
"Texting Ryan." She says it like she has every right to. He can't explain why it makes him angry.
She's still laughing at him, and he's beginning to think this wasn't such a great idea after all.
"Hey, lighten up--" Before she can finish that thought an usher's shining a light in their eye. Chad rolls his eyes, grabbing Taylor by the hand as they both make their way to the exit.
"He thought he was some kinda bigshot, huh?" he asks, trying to lighten his own mood when he realizes his hand's still on Taylor's wrist and drops it like he's been scalded. "Sorry."
Taylor just rolls her eyes and threads her arm through his elbow. He spares her a smile.
"Can I have my phone back now?" She chuckles, but relinquishes it.
--
"I didn't know you were spending so much time with Ryan." The words make him jump, just like her hand had. He turns to see her resting a cheek on a palm, looking smug as she's ever. "He's really neat, isn't he?"
She sounds slightly dreamy, and Chad's caught between anger and ridiculous jealousy. "Neat? Who says that?"
Taylor laughs and shakes her head. "You're impossible, Danforth, you know that?"
He stops in front of her house and nods. "Yeah, I know that."
She's leaning towards him and suddenly his heart's in his throat. WhatisshedoingWhatisshedoing ..
And she kisses his cheek. He flushes, a bit wide-eyed.
"You sure you don't want to come in for dinner?" she asks, eyes twinkling with mirth as she unbuckles her seatbelt.
"I-I'm sure, but thank you. The popcorn spoiled my appetite." She rolls her eyes.
"You always say that."
"That's because it's always true." She smacks him on the arm and opens her car-door, but he has to say something before she leaves. He just has to steel himself.. and clear his throat a few times first.
"Um, Tay?"
"Hmm?" she asks, lips pursed as if she already knows what's to come.
"You won't.. tell anyone, will you?" His voice is soft, and he ducks his head.
"That you sigh Evans' name in your sleep? Not a word."
His mouth drops open as she climbs out of his car and shuts the door. Chad pulls away before she can make it inside.
--
He takes a deep breath, Ben Folds playing piano softly in the background, and presses Messages.
Ryan Evans:
What movie, cutie?
The text he hadn't responded to. He bites his lip and goes to the next.
Ryan Evans:
Did you fall asleep?
He's left blinking at that one.
Chad Danforth:
He did actually.
When Taylor had stolen his phone... "Texting Ryan." Why hadn't that sounded like English at the time?
Ryan Evans:
Taylor?
Chad Danforth:
The one & only
Ryan Evans:
Did he rly fall asleep?
Chad Danforth:
Yep. I tried poking him & everything
Ryan Evans:
Lol boring movie?
Chad Danforth:
More like weird
Ryan Evans:
Looks like both of us failed at entertaining him.
Was that.. did he... had he....?!
Chad Danforth:
Oh, idk. I bet he thinks ur neat ;)
Ryan Evans:
Who says neat?
"That's what I said," he mutters under his breath, realizing a second later it was aloud... and the neat thing kind of had been a Ryanism.
Chad Danforth:
I do. O look, sleeping beaty's comin 2.
Ryan Evans:
Give him a kiss for me.
He knows that's just Ryan's particular brand of sarcasm. He knows.. he knows the other boy had just been rolling with whatever Taylor said, probably.. probably to save Chad's reputation, as Ryan had set out to do lately.
That's it then. Taylor knows. And it'll only be a matter of time before Gabi.. and Troy. That's what he's most horrified of. His best friend finding out through his girlfriend in the most roundabout way possible..
Chad presses the button again, but that's the end. Taylor hadn't sent a last message before handing the phone back. She hadn't seemed angry.. far from it, in fact. He reaches up to touch the place on his cheek where she'd kissed him.
Give him a kiss for me.
He's so screwed.
Muse: Chad Danforth
Fandom: High School Musical
Word Count: 920
Popcorn.
"Chad, who are you texting?" He huffs out a curse under his breath at being caught, looking up from his phone, discreetly perched on familiar white linen pants. Familiar white linen pants that may have been gifted to him by the sender and receiver of current said text messages...
"Oh, um. Sorry." He tucks the phone away, glancing back up at the screen. Taylor eyes him skeptically, but doesn't ask again. His phone vibrates again in his pocket, and he has to bite his ip to keep from responding.
"I'm not like, the theater police, you know," she says, warm and amused as she places an equally warm hand on his arm. The sudden touch has him jumping. She's still frowning at him when she asks, "Are you okay?"
He shrugs. Her frown only deepens.
"We can leave if you want. This movie is pretty weird."
Chad just shakes his head, and about ten minutes later, he's asleep.
--
He wakes at the end of the movie to a feminine laugh, and looks up, straightening in his chair and rubbing at his eyes.
Taylor has his phone. White panic grips him. Who knows what she could have seen... He should really delete his queue of messages.
"Hey! What's going on?" he asks, trying to seem only mildly annoyed as he makes grabby hands for the phone, but Taylor holds it just out of reach, still typing away. Hey, wait a second! Typing? "What are you doing?"
"Texting Ryan." She says it like she has every right to. He can't explain why it makes him angry.
She's still laughing at him, and he's beginning to think this wasn't such a great idea after all.
"Hey, lighten up--" Before she can finish that thought an usher's shining a light in their eye. Chad rolls his eyes, grabbing Taylor by the hand as they both make their way to the exit.
"He thought he was some kinda bigshot, huh?" he asks, trying to lighten his own mood when he realizes his hand's still on Taylor's wrist and drops it like he's been scalded. "Sorry."
Taylor just rolls her eyes and threads her arm through his elbow. He spares her a smile.
"Can I have my phone back now?" She chuckles, but relinquishes it.
--
"I didn't know you were spending so much time with Ryan." The words make him jump, just like her hand had. He turns to see her resting a cheek on a palm, looking smug as she's ever. "He's really neat, isn't he?"
She sounds slightly dreamy, and Chad's caught between anger and ridiculous jealousy. "Neat? Who says that?"
Taylor laughs and shakes her head. "You're impossible, Danforth, you know that?"
He stops in front of her house and nods. "Yeah, I know that."
She's leaning towards him and suddenly his heart's in his throat. WhatisshedoingWhatisshedoing ..
And she kisses his cheek. He flushes, a bit wide-eyed.
"You sure you don't want to come in for dinner?" she asks, eyes twinkling with mirth as she unbuckles her seatbelt.
"I-I'm sure, but thank you. The popcorn spoiled my appetite." She rolls her eyes.
"You always say that."
"That's because it's always true." She smacks him on the arm and opens her car-door, but he has to say something before she leaves. He just has to steel himself.. and clear his throat a few times first.
"Um, Tay?"
"Hmm?" she asks, lips pursed as if she already knows what's to come.
"You won't.. tell anyone, will you?" His voice is soft, and he ducks his head.
"That you sigh Evans' name in your sleep? Not a word."
His mouth drops open as she climbs out of his car and shuts the door. Chad pulls away before she can make it inside.
--
He takes a deep breath, Ben Folds playing piano softly in the background, and presses Messages.
Ryan Evans:
What movie, cutie?
The text he hadn't responded to. He bites his lip and goes to the next.
Ryan Evans:
Did you fall asleep?
He's left blinking at that one.
Chad Danforth:
He did actually.
When Taylor had stolen his phone... "Texting Ryan." Why hadn't that sounded like English at the time?
Ryan Evans:
Taylor?
Chad Danforth:
The one & only
Ryan Evans:
Did he rly fall asleep?
Chad Danforth:
Yep. I tried poking him & everything
Ryan Evans:
Lol boring movie?
Chad Danforth:
More like weird
Ryan Evans:
Looks like both of us failed at entertaining him.
Was that.. did he... had he....?!
Chad Danforth:
Oh, idk. I bet he thinks ur neat ;)
Ryan Evans:
Who says neat?
"That's what I said," he mutters under his breath, realizing a second later it was aloud... and the neat thing kind of had been a Ryanism.
Chad Danforth:
I do. O look, sleeping beaty's comin 2.
Ryan Evans:
Give him a kiss for me.
He knows that's just Ryan's particular brand of sarcasm. He knows.. he knows the other boy had just been rolling with whatever Taylor said, probably.. probably to save Chad's reputation, as Ryan had set out to do lately.
That's it then. Taylor knows. And it'll only be a matter of time before Gabi.. and Troy. That's what he's most horrified of. His best friend finding out through his girlfriend in the most roundabout way possible..
Chad presses the button again, but that's the end. Taylor hadn't sent a last message before handing the phone back. She hadn't seemed angry.. far from it, in fact. He reaches up to touch the place on his cheek where she'd kissed him.
Give him a kiss for me.
He's so screwed.
Muse: Chad Danforth
Fandom: High School Musical
Word Count: 920