Five Things Chad Learns that Ryan Can Do
Title: Five Things Chad Learns that Ryan Can Do
Fandom: High School Musical
Rating: PG.13
Characters: Chad, Ryan, etc.
Word Count: 1472
Summary: ...what it says on the tin?
Notes: I've spent the past month or so writing Newsies fic, but I miss my first Ortega!movie OTP, so...
5. Ryan can play baseball. Ryan is good at baseball. Ryan almost beat him at baseball.
His team is around him, congratulating him, praising him, but Chad just watches as Ryan dusts himself off and turns to walk off.
Chad's barely aware of what he's saying, barely aware of what he's promising, because he's still surprised that Ryan can play baseball. And he's good at it. And he almost beat him.
Ryan is smirking as they head to the locker rooms, even though Chad won, and Chad doesn't know if he's more annoyed, intrigued, or...
--
4. Ryan is particularly adept at undoing pants zippers. With his teeth.
--
3. Ryan choreographs. When the Wildcats arrive at the practice room, he looks around nervously -- Chad doubts Ryan has ever been around a group this big outside the auditorium -- but takes a deep breath and starts.
He's a dancer, he says. He lists off the styles he knows, and some of the performances he's arranged. He says that all the dance numbers he and Sharpay perform are his, as well as most of the numbers in the musicals.
For some reason, Chad finds that odd. Because Ryan has always been Evans to him, and Evans was just the theatre fairy who followed along in his twin sister's shadow and did whatever she told him to. Usually, Evans wasn't so much a person, as much as he was an extension of Sharpay.
Chad wonders when he started sounding like an asshole. He blames Troy.
And he finds he's wrong, anyways. Ryan leads them through a few warm-up, then introduces a few simple steps to them. Chad watches, and wonders how he could ever think Ryan and his Ice Princess of a sister were interchangeable. Jason is just not getting the steps of the jazz square and Ryan is all smiles and understanding as he helps him out, and Chad feels guilty.
Chad thinks it should be awkward, given what had happened in the locker room after the game, but he doesn't bring it up. Neither does Ryan. It seems unspoken, that yes, it happened, no, it didn't mean anything, that was past tense, let's live in the present.
There's no awkward dancing around the subject.
It doesn't seem right, but Chad doesn't see any reason to complain.
--
2. Ryan is great at impersonations. It's hilarious. Chad is still annoyed because Troy is a dick, and Ryan glances at him when he comes into to rehearsal.
It's a Monday, and that means he comes to rehearsal fifteen minutes early to be a sound board for Ryan. Which Chad doesn't mind, because Ryan seems to honestly want Chad's feedback on whether or not a move will work in the routine or if the Wildcats will be able to get it. It almost makes the Monday mornings bearable.
Almost.
Because Mondays also mean getting a ride in with Troy. Who is a dick.
Chad drops his bag noisily onto the floor.
Ryan doesn't look up from his stretch. "Troy?"
Chad's jaw is still clenched, and he can only nod. Which Ryan can't see, since he's still stretching and his nose is to the wood floor, but whatever. Chad doesn't care.
"Let me guess... something like 'I don't get why you're so mad at me!'"
Ryan's imitation is spot on, and Chad snorts. "Just mention Gabi and you'll be perfect."
Ryan is smiling mischievously. "I was getting around to that." And with that he launched into how he can't be in trouble because Gabriella hasn't told him he's in trouble, and Chad is torn between horror and amusement because Ryan sounds exactly like Troy.
Chad chooses amusement, ignoring how he's laughing at his best-friend-since-preschool's expense with his classmate-turned-baseball-rival-turned-fuckbuddy-turned-sorta-friend, because Ryan continues in his pitch-perfect Troy imitation, talking about how pretty Gabriella is.
Chad stops laughing as soon as Ryan mentions how's beautiful Gabriella's cheekbones are.
Ryan looks at him, and a look of horror dawns on his face. "Don't tell me that he's actually..."
There's a brief moment of silence, and then the two burst out laughing.
--
1. Ryan is able to step down.
He's spent the past few weeks working on their number, reworking their number, perfecting their number. He says it's a group effort, he couldn't do it without them, but they wouldn't've even thought about it without him, it's his number. Anyone can see he's proud of what he's done.
And then Kelsi comes in, saying she called Gabi, now that Troy is being less of a dick, and she wrote another song, and Ryan immediately steps down.
Everyone looks at Ryan, because he says it's their number but it's really all his, and he just asks Kelsi if she has copies to pass around. She does. He sighs, tells them that they're going to have to improvise the dancing, toss away all his hard work, but he's smiling as he does so.
There is exciting chatting while Ryan helps Kelsi pass out quickly photocopied sheets of the chorus, because Troy apparently stood up to Sharpay and he's sorry for what he did, and is Gabi really coming back because everyone misses her, but Chad finds himself just watching Ryan.
Because for a brief moment when Kelsi announced she had a new song, Chad saw Ryan's spirit drop. It was only for a second, and nothing about Ryan betrays it now-- he's smiling, throwing compliments to Kelsi over his shoulder, not at all bitter, seeming his naturally sunny self.
Ryan comes to him last, handing him the last sheet of paper, and Chad can tell he's disappointed.
Chad reaches out and places a hand on Ryan's shoulder. He knows he should say something supportive, but he really doesn't know what.
Ryan smiles at him, though. "Thanks."
--
0. Ryan cannot let things go.
The show was awesome. Chad isn't going to admit it aloud, but he's glad Troy and Gabi are back together, and he actually had fun.
Fulton dismissed them a minute ago, and they're all changing from their dressy work uniforms back into their casual clothes in the staff locker room.
Chad is trying to not think about the last time he was in it. Not that he has particularly bad memories, it was actually pretty awesome, just Chad doesn't like thinking too hard about his relationship with Ryan.
He's spent more than one lunch break with Ryan when he was supposed to be with Taylor. He's opted to take extra dance lessons with Ryan for the show, even though he was pretty confident in his moves. He still spends time with all his friends, but he finds he spends a bit more time with Ryan. Most of his recent text messages are from Ryan, and Ryan's name is at the top of 'Incoming' and 'Outgoing Calls.' Chad always greets Ryan when he gets in in the morning, and Chad always makes sure to say goodbye to him before he leaves.
And Chad doesn't like thinking about what that means.
Troy is ushering them to hurry up, saying something about fireworks, and soon they're out of the locker room and heading towards a hill.
"Hey, Chad," Ryan greets as he sidles up to Chad's side.
They fall into pace easily.
"Congrats man, you deserved it," Chad says bumping his shoulder against Ryan's.
Ryan shrugs sheepishly, then his eyes light up. "Nice shirt."
"All my shirts are nice," Chad says, and Ryan rolls his eyes.
They walk in silence for a few moments, then Ryan starts, "Listen, Chad, about... after the game."
Chad doesn't know to say 'I don't want to talk about it' without sounding like a douche.
Ryan's pace slows a bit, letting the others hurry ahead of them. "Listen, I..."
"You...?" Chad asks, knowing he's not helping the situation out any, but at a loss for anything else to say-- partly because he's still sorting things out and that's hard to tell a guy who has already figured himself out, and partly because he's not sure what Ryan wants him to say.
"I was thinking... Do you want to..." Ryan trails off, and looks at him for a long moment, then finishes, "hang out sometime?"
Chad doesn't know if Ryan means 'hanging out' or 'hanging out and somehow ending making out.' He has a feeling it's the latter, and he realizes he doesn't really care.
(Well, he does. Because Ryan is a guy, and Chad doesn't think he's really into guys, but Chad finds that whether or not he wants to make out with Ryan doesn't matter because he really likes Ryan, and he likes hanging out with him. And if more were to come up, Chad doesn't think he would have a problem with it.)
Ryan looks anxious -- it's just a slight tightness to his smile, a small furrow to his brow, but Chad sees it, and realizes he should probably answer.
But for the second time that night, Chad isn't quite sure what to say. So he just looks at Ryan and smiles, hoping he gets the message across.
And given how brightly Ryan smiles back him, Chad has a feeling he does.
Fandom: High School Musical
Rating: PG.13
Characters: Chad, Ryan, etc.
Word Count: 1472
Summary: ...what it says on the tin?
Notes: I've spent the past month or so writing Newsies fic, but I miss my first Ortega!movie OTP, so...
5. Ryan can play baseball. Ryan is good at baseball. Ryan almost beat him at baseball.
His team is around him, congratulating him, praising him, but Chad just watches as Ryan dusts himself off and turns to walk off.
Chad's barely aware of what he's saying, barely aware of what he's promising, because he's still surprised that Ryan can play baseball. And he's good at it. And he almost beat him.
Ryan is smirking as they head to the locker rooms, even though Chad won, and Chad doesn't know if he's more annoyed, intrigued, or...
--
4. Ryan is particularly adept at undoing pants zippers. With his teeth.
--
3. Ryan choreographs. When the Wildcats arrive at the practice room, he looks around nervously -- Chad doubts Ryan has ever been around a group this big outside the auditorium -- but takes a deep breath and starts.
He's a dancer, he says. He lists off the styles he knows, and some of the performances he's arranged. He says that all the dance numbers he and Sharpay perform are his, as well as most of the numbers in the musicals.
For some reason, Chad finds that odd. Because Ryan has always been Evans to him, and Evans was just the theatre fairy who followed along in his twin sister's shadow and did whatever she told him to. Usually, Evans wasn't so much a person, as much as he was an extension of Sharpay.
Chad wonders when he started sounding like an asshole. He blames Troy.
And he finds he's wrong, anyways. Ryan leads them through a few warm-up, then introduces a few simple steps to them. Chad watches, and wonders how he could ever think Ryan and his Ice Princess of a sister were interchangeable. Jason is just not getting the steps of the jazz square and Ryan is all smiles and understanding as he helps him out, and Chad feels guilty.
Chad thinks it should be awkward, given what had happened in the locker room after the game, but he doesn't bring it up. Neither does Ryan. It seems unspoken, that yes, it happened, no, it didn't mean anything, that was past tense, let's live in the present.
There's no awkward dancing around the subject.
It doesn't seem right, but Chad doesn't see any reason to complain.
--
2. Ryan is great at impersonations. It's hilarious. Chad is still annoyed because Troy is a dick, and Ryan glances at him when he comes into to rehearsal.
It's a Monday, and that means he comes to rehearsal fifteen minutes early to be a sound board for Ryan. Which Chad doesn't mind, because Ryan seems to honestly want Chad's feedback on whether or not a move will work in the routine or if the Wildcats will be able to get it. It almost makes the Monday mornings bearable.
Almost.
Because Mondays also mean getting a ride in with Troy. Who is a dick.
Chad drops his bag noisily onto the floor.
Ryan doesn't look up from his stretch. "Troy?"
Chad's jaw is still clenched, and he can only nod. Which Ryan can't see, since he's still stretching and his nose is to the wood floor, but whatever. Chad doesn't care.
"Let me guess... something like 'I don't get why you're so mad at me!'"
Ryan's imitation is spot on, and Chad snorts. "Just mention Gabi and you'll be perfect."
Ryan is smiling mischievously. "I was getting around to that." And with that he launched into how he can't be in trouble because Gabriella hasn't told him he's in trouble, and Chad is torn between horror and amusement because Ryan sounds exactly like Troy.
Chad chooses amusement, ignoring how he's laughing at his best-friend-since-preschool's expense with his classmate-turned-baseball-rival-turned-fuckbuddy-turned-sorta-friend, because Ryan continues in his pitch-perfect Troy imitation, talking about how pretty Gabriella is.
Chad stops laughing as soon as Ryan mentions how's beautiful Gabriella's cheekbones are.
Ryan looks at him, and a look of horror dawns on his face. "Don't tell me that he's actually..."
There's a brief moment of silence, and then the two burst out laughing.
--
1. Ryan is able to step down.
He's spent the past few weeks working on their number, reworking their number, perfecting their number. He says it's a group effort, he couldn't do it without them, but they wouldn't've even thought about it without him, it's his number. Anyone can see he's proud of what he's done.
And then Kelsi comes in, saying she called Gabi, now that Troy is being less of a dick, and she wrote another song, and Ryan immediately steps down.
Everyone looks at Ryan, because he says it's their number but it's really all his, and he just asks Kelsi if she has copies to pass around. She does. He sighs, tells them that they're going to have to improvise the dancing, toss away all his hard work, but he's smiling as he does so.
There is exciting chatting while Ryan helps Kelsi pass out quickly photocopied sheets of the chorus, because Troy apparently stood up to Sharpay and he's sorry for what he did, and is Gabi really coming back because everyone misses her, but Chad finds himself just watching Ryan.
Because for a brief moment when Kelsi announced she had a new song, Chad saw Ryan's spirit drop. It was only for a second, and nothing about Ryan betrays it now-- he's smiling, throwing compliments to Kelsi over his shoulder, not at all bitter, seeming his naturally sunny self.
Ryan comes to him last, handing him the last sheet of paper, and Chad can tell he's disappointed.
Chad reaches out and places a hand on Ryan's shoulder. He knows he should say something supportive, but he really doesn't know what.
Ryan smiles at him, though. "Thanks."
--
0. Ryan cannot let things go.
The show was awesome. Chad isn't going to admit it aloud, but he's glad Troy and Gabi are back together, and he actually had fun.
Fulton dismissed them a minute ago, and they're all changing from their dressy work uniforms back into their casual clothes in the staff locker room.
Chad is trying to not think about the last time he was in it. Not that he has particularly bad memories, it was actually pretty awesome, just Chad doesn't like thinking too hard about his relationship with Ryan.
He's spent more than one lunch break with Ryan when he was supposed to be with Taylor. He's opted to take extra dance lessons with Ryan for the show, even though he was pretty confident in his moves. He still spends time with all his friends, but he finds he spends a bit more time with Ryan. Most of his recent text messages are from Ryan, and Ryan's name is at the top of 'Incoming' and 'Outgoing Calls.' Chad always greets Ryan when he gets in in the morning, and Chad always makes sure to say goodbye to him before he leaves.
And Chad doesn't like thinking about what that means.
Troy is ushering them to hurry up, saying something about fireworks, and soon they're out of the locker room and heading towards a hill.
"Hey, Chad," Ryan greets as he sidles up to Chad's side.
They fall into pace easily.
"Congrats man, you deserved it," Chad says bumping his shoulder against Ryan's.
Ryan shrugs sheepishly, then his eyes light up. "Nice shirt."
"All my shirts are nice," Chad says, and Ryan rolls his eyes.
They walk in silence for a few moments, then Ryan starts, "Listen, Chad, about... after the game."
Chad doesn't know to say 'I don't want to talk about it' without sounding like a douche.
Ryan's pace slows a bit, letting the others hurry ahead of them. "Listen, I..."
"You...?" Chad asks, knowing he's not helping the situation out any, but at a loss for anything else to say-- partly because he's still sorting things out and that's hard to tell a guy who has already figured himself out, and partly because he's not sure what Ryan wants him to say.
"I was thinking... Do you want to..." Ryan trails off, and looks at him for a long moment, then finishes, "hang out sometime?"
Chad doesn't know if Ryan means 'hanging out' or 'hanging out and somehow ending making out.' He has a feeling it's the latter, and he realizes he doesn't really care.
(Well, he does. Because Ryan is a guy, and Chad doesn't think he's really into guys, but Chad finds that whether or not he wants to make out with Ryan doesn't matter because he really likes Ryan, and he likes hanging out with him. And if more were to come up, Chad doesn't think he would have a problem with it.)
Ryan looks anxious -- it's just a slight tightness to his smile, a small furrow to his brow, but Chad sees it, and realizes he should probably answer.
But for the second time that night, Chad isn't quite sure what to say. So he just looks at Ryan and smiles, hoping he gets the message across.
And given how brightly Ryan smiles back him, Chad has a feeling he does.