One Week, Disambiguated (C)
Title: One Week, Disambiguated
Fandom: High School Musical
Author: Nnej Nivroop
Disclaimer: I totally own them. Seriously. I invented the internet too.
Pairing: Chad/Ryan
Warning: Naughty words.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: Too many; 4888.
Summary: Chad doesn’t want people to asking what’s the matter with him. He’s sick of the question. Nothing’s the matter. Nothing’s wrong. Sure, Ryan likes Zeke, but that’s not a problem so much as it’s annoying. So why does he feel this way?
A/N: Written for another challenge on idontdance. It looks a little bit like my last story because the theme this time was “Ryan likes Zeke and Chad gets jealous”. So, once again, jealous Chad!fic. I kind of enjoyed writing this one though. Also, I tip my hat to my WONDERFUL beta, musical_junkie. Enjoy! Once again, disclaimer since it was written in about a day.
Monday:
“ZEKE!?”
It had taken nearly a month, but Chad had finally figured out who Ryan was mooning over. For some reason, he wished he still didn’t know.
“Keep your voice down!” Ryan hissed, turning bright red.
“ZEKE!?”
Ryan groaned and stormed away, glaring at anyone who could have possibly overheard Chad’s yelling. Chad didn’t follow; for the moment, he had forgotten that he could walk.
This made no sense. Zeke was already planning his and Sharpay’s wedding. He was completely dedicated to the girl almost to the point of stalking. Plus, Zeke was one of the straightest people Chad had ever met. So why him?! This made no logical sense. Ryan could have his pick of nearly any gay guy at East High. Hell, he could have his pick of nearly any gay guy in all of New Mexico. Zeke was just…just so unexpected. And so not a good match for Ryan, Chad decided at once with a scowl.
The bell for lunch broke Chad out of his shock-induced coma. Stumbling his way to the cafeteria, Chad plopped down next to Troy. Troy looked at his friend for a moment before deciding something was off.
“Dude, what’s the matter?” He asked through a mouthful of pizza.
“We got our tests back in English this morning,” Gabriella whispered helpfully; Troy made a noise of understanding.
“Ooh, well, you can always make it up next time…” Troy tried as cheerfully as he could. Chad didn’t seem to hear him.
“It’s just not right…” he murmured, mostly to himself. Troy nodded, agreeing with his friend. The score must have been awful; Chad never took getting an F this badly.
“I mean, there’s no logical reason for it!” Chad continued, now moving his gaze over to the door as more kids walked in.
“Well, you didn’t really study for it. That could have been the reason. Maybe next time-”
Chad cut his best friend off, “What? What are you talking about?”
“…Your English test?”
“Why? I got a C.”
Troy turned to Gabriella. She looked just as confused as he felt. “Wait. What are we talking about then?”
Chad was about to say something when Zeke and Jason walked over. Deciding that outing Ryan’s crush wouldn’t be the best way to deal with this situation, Chad simply shook his head.
“Hey guys,” Zeke said cheerfully. Chad narrowed his eyes. What was Zeke so happy about?
“Hey Zeke. What’s up?” Troy answered back. Chad shot his friend a look that clearly said ‘Traitor’. Fortunately, no one noticed.
“Not much. Just doing my thing, you know. Have you seen Sharpay today?” Zeke let out an appreciative whistle. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe new make-up or something, but damn she’s fine.”
Troy groaned under his breath. “Please, no talking about Sharpay. I’m eating.”
“Pssht, you know it’s true. C’mon, Chad, am I right?” Zeke glanced over at his friend for agreement. No such luck. All Chad seemed to be doing was glaring at him as though he were the opposing team. Zeke turned to Troy, clearly bewildered. Troy simply shrugged.
“Hey guys,” Kelsi’s voice quipped behind them. Taking a seat next to her boyfriend, she pulled a sandwich out of her paper bag before taking notice of the tension at the table. It didn’t take her long to figure out that it was due to Chad. After all, he was the one shooting death glares at people.
“What’s the matter with Chad?” She whispered to Jason.
“Nothing’s wrong with me!” Chad shouted a little too loudly. The tables around him grew quiet. So did one across the room-the one where Sharpay and Ryan were seated. Looking over, Chad saw Ryan staring at him with this absolutely desperate expression on his face.
‘He probably thinks I’m going to spill the beans,’ Chad thought to himself. For some reason, that very idea broke some ‘final straw’ deep within Chad. Shooting up from the table, he stormed out of the cafeteria. He didn’t know where he was going, but it had to be better than here.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Tuesday:
Chad avoided everyone all day. He didn’t want to deal with people asking ‘What’s wrong?’ over and over again. After school, he took advantage of the empty gym. Not even bothering to change his clothes, Chad dribbled around the court in his heavy winter clothes. After only a few minutes, he was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, yet he played on. Dribbling down the court, he pretended the ball was Ryan’s idiotic head. Smashing it against the hoop as he dunked, he pretended the ball was Zeke’s stupid face.
It kept switching like that because Chad wasn’t quite sure who had caused his anger. Sometimes, it was Ryan because he was stupid enough to actually find Zeke attractive. But most of the time, it was Zeke. Chad was annoyed with Zeke just for existing lately. If he hadn’t been born, then Ryan would have never met him. Without meeting him, Ryan wouldn’t have developed a crush on him. And then…
Chad’s train of thought always broke down about then. He assumed what followed from there would be Ryan finding someone else to admire. Someone that wasn’t… Zeke. That thought didn’t really make him feel any better, though.
Chad groaned loudly, throwing the basketball clear across the court, almost hitting someone walking through the door. Chad was about to apologize when he saw who it was. Ryan. Instead of apologizing, he simply groaned again.
“Hello to you too,” Ryan scoffed, glancing at the basketball that had almost smacked him in the face.
“What do you want? Zeke isn’t here.”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Chad was relieved for a split second before remembering how angry he was. “Talk then.”
Ryan sighed, “I…You haven’t told Zeke, have you?”
“Is that what you wanted to talk about? Because if that’s it, let me save us both some time. No, I didn’t tell him. No, I won’t tell him. No, I won’t help you seduce him. And finally, no, I don’t think you stand a chance.”
Ryan looked crushed for a second and Chad was instantly sorry for being so flippant.
“Look, I just-”
“Save it, Danfoth. I know it’s just a crush and that he’s in love with Sharpay. I just…I can’t help it. You don’t get to choose who you fall for.”
Chad felt even worse about himself now. “No, I guess you don’t.”
Ryan sighed in his usual dramatic way. Chad shifted his gaze to his feet.
“I promise I won’t tell him,” Chad said finally. Ryan’s dismayed expression lifted for a second as he tried to smile.
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. And…I’m sorry. I’ve just been…off lately.”
“The whole school’s noticed.”
Chad smiled despite the fact he really didn’t feel better.
“So, you really aren’t gonna help me seduce him?” Ryan teased. Chad’s head shot up, ready to yell at Ryan for even suggesting it.
Sensing the humor evident in Ryan’s expression, Chad tried his best to join in. “Sorry. I’m not wise in the ways of romance anyways. You could ask Troy though.”
“Nah, he’d be more freaked out than you are.”
“I’m not freaked out.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
Chad groaned. “Nothing. Nothing’s the matter.”
“You’re a bad liar, Danforth.”
“And you have horrible taste in men, Evans.”
Finally, both boys broke into an honest laughter.
“I know nothing’s going to happen. But, hey, it’s called a crush for a reason, right?”
Their laughter was forced, but they left it like that. After all, there wasn’t much else to say. But as Ryan walked out and Chad started dribbling Zeke’s bloated, pompous mug up and down the court, he couldn’t help feeling as though he should have said something else. Something to make Ryan realize how wrong he was. How wrong Zeke was.
Slamming the basketball against the backboard, Chad sighed and tried not to think about the whole Ryan situation anymore. Or about how he felt. Crushed.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Wednesday:
On Wednesdays, Chad had his elective: Cooking 101. Cooking had always been a pleasant class. You just had to follow the recipe, clean the kitchen, and collect the A+. He had always managed to pair up with Zeke too, so the recipe turned out perfect each and every time. Plus, Ryan and Sharpay had taken the class, too, and their concoctions were so hilariously awful, not even the teacher would try them. It was some of the best comic relief Chad had ever had in a class.
But today was different. Not only because Sharpay had weaseled Chad into being her partner, but because Ryan was Zeke’s partner!
“Are you sure it needs to be mixed this much?” Sharpay complained, peering into their cookie batter.
“What?” Chad asked, turning away from his watch-post on Zeke and Ryan.
“The cookie batter. I think it’s mixed too much.”
“Oh! Shit!” Running over, Chad switched the mixer off. Unfortunately, the chocolate chips had already been minced into microscopic pieces, turning the entire batter an unappetizing, chunky brown.
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t been staring at Ryan and his boy-toy, you could have turned it off in time,” Sharpay stated primly.
Chad gritted his teeth as he started pouring the batter out into another bowl. “Zeke isn’t his boy-toy.”
“Not yet. Ryan’s mighty persuasive, though.”
Chad stopped pouring to glare at Sharpay. “Zeke’s straight. And you know he’s in love with you.”
“Sure, sure. That hasn’t stopped them before though.”
Chad suddenly felt anxious. “Before?”
“Sure. Seduction is Ryan’s specialty. He actually stole my first boyfriend right from under my nose. I was mad at the time, but now, it just sort of makes me proud. I never even suspected a thing.”
Switching his gaze, Chad looked back over to Zeke and Ryan’s kitchen. Everything seemed fairly normal. Zeke had already finished the baking part and was helping Ryan wash their area. The blonde boy was obviously flirting with Zeke. Chad could tell all the across the room. The way he splashed the water up, making Zeke jump back and laugh. The way he talked to Zeke, acting all coy and bashful. And the way he leaned so close to Zeke when he passed over things for Zeke to dry. It was disgraceful. Ryan should have more dignity. Fawning all over a guy like that….had he no shame?
And then there was Zeke. He couldn’t have been that ignorant as to what was going on. No. Chad could tell by the way his friend was laughing. That was clearly his: ‘That-Joke-Wasn’t-Really-Funny-But-I’ll-Pretend-It-Was-Cause-You’re-Cute’ laugh. Not that Chad had heard it before. But he assumed it was a universal thing. It was low of Zeke, leading Ryan on like that. Unless…unless he really did think Ryan was cute! Maybe Sharpay was right! Maybe Ryan was mighty persuasive!
“Chad…” Sharpay said suddenly, sounding a bit worried.
Chad could just see it now. Ryan and Zeke, walking through the hallways, hand in hand. Ryan, in the stands next to Gabriella, cheering Zeke on during the basketball games. Ryan and Zeke sitting together at prom. Ryan and Zeke, planning their civil union ceremony. Ryan and Zeke in matching plots at the graveyard.
“Chad!” Sharpay tried again, now clearly upset about something.
“What do you want, Sharpay?!” He snapped.
“You’re leaking the batter onto the floor!”
Chad looked down just in time to see a large glob of cookie dough land on his sneaker. The teacher walked by, clucking her tongue disapprovingly at them. Chad felt just as awful as his grade was going to be.
Across the way, Chad could hear Ryan and Zeke laughing as they pulled out a perfect sheet of cookies. Ryan grabbed one and bit down purposefully. Chad knew what the blonde was doing. Within seconds, Zeke was rushing all around to get his partner a glass of water for his poor, burned mouth. Ryan caught Chad’s eye and winked at him.
Chad turned bright red either out of embarrassment or out of anger; he couldn’t decide. Either way, he needed to leave. Now. Dashing to the front of the room, he all but demanded a pass to the nurse before storming out and slamming the door behind him.
But not even the nurse could tell Chad what was wrong with him. Chad couldn’t even tell her his symptoms. He just was having a really bad day. She suggested he lie down, which he did. He stayed there all the way through class. When the nurse told him it was time for lunch, Chad told her he wasn’t hungry. The nurse suggested Chad call his mother to take him home since, obviously, he was seriously ill.
Curled up on the couch, Chad tried so hard not to concentrate on how awful he felt. His stomach was tied into knots. He felt as though he was going to cry. His head was pounding with the worst stress headache he’d ever had in his life. Chad felt as though he was going to die. And, to be frank, he felt like he wanted to die.
So busy trying to tune out his body, Chad didn’t notice someone at the foot of his bed. Suddenly seeing the shadow, he flipped around.
“What are you doing here, Evans?” He moaned once he recognized who it was.
Ryan sighed at Chad’s rudeness. “You really need to get this PMS of yours under control.”
“Shut up. Go bother someone who cares, like Zeke!”
Ryan looked shocked. Utterly and completely. Casting a quick glance around, just to make sure they were alone, he pulled over a nearby chair and set it up next to the bed.
“What’s the matter with you, Chad?”
“GOD! I am so tired of people asking me that question! Nothing is fucking wrong with me!”
“Your attitude suggests otherwise.”
“You know what, fuck you, Ryan,” Chad spit out, clutching the edge of the bed to prevent him from doing anything he’d regret. This was pointless, really, since Ryan looked as though he’d been punched anyways.
“I don’t care what you say. Something is seriously wrong.”
“You know what’s wrong!? Watching you fawn all over Zeke like that! Don’t you have any shame? You’re practically a grown man, for God’s sake, and you’re acting like a little girl! It’s revolting!”
“Chad-”
“Don’t ‘Chad’ me! I don’t care anymore. Go. Go get your boyfriend. Go off and seduce him if you’re so good at it, like Sharpay says. I don’t care!”
Realization hit Ryan like a falling stage-light. “Oh my God. You’re…you’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Chad’s mouth went dry. “W-what?”
“You’re jealous!”
“I’m not jealous!” Chad protested rather lamely. The very shock of the accusation left him almost speechless.
“Oh my God. How did I miss it?”
“I AM NOT JEALOUS!” He insisted now, jumping up from his bed. “I don’t care who you decide to fuck or not fuck. I just don’t need it paraded in front of me! Zeke is my friend! I don’t want to see you throwing yourself at him like some brainless cheerleader.”
Ryan didn’t appear to be convinced, but he didn’t appear to be so confident anymore, either. Above all, he looked very, very confused. As though someone just told him Sharpay had given money to charity. Chad didn’t feel sympathetic this time around. Instead, he walked into the nurse’s office and dialed home. He suddenly wasn’t feeling up to staying at school anymore.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Thursday:
Chad stayed home. He couldn’t face his classes. More specifically, he couldn’t face Ryan, who was in most of his classes. He told his mother he had a stomach bug, because that’s what it felt like. She kept asking about Taylor as though she had something to do with this. Chad didn’t appreciate it. He didn’t want to think about Taylor or anything else school related. All he wanted to do was lie in bed, sleep, and forget everything that had happened this week.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t an option. Around 12:00, the Danforth phone rang. Mrs. Danforth had gone to work, so Chad had to get out of bed to get it.
“Hello?” He answered drowsily, still not really awake.
“Chad?”
Now he was awake. “Ryan, how did you get this number?”
“Troy gave it to me.”
Chad made a mental note to cut Troy’s brake cables.
“You’re not in school today,” Ryan continued, sounding sad.
“And you’re observant as ever.”
“Are you sick?”
“No. I took the day off to study.”
There was a moment of silence on the line as Ryan tried to figure out if that was sarcasm or not. Chad sighed, “I’m sick, Evans. I’m sick.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I have some sort of bug.”
“The… love bug?” Ryan tried tentatively. Chad hung up. Five seconds later the phone rang again.
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said quickly in lieu of ‘Hello’.
“Whatever. How’s Zeke?”
Ryan was quiet for a second. Chad pressed the phone harder to his ear, thinking it had gone dead or something.
“Well?” Chad asked, trying not to convey how impatient he was getting.
“…He actually asked me out this morning.”
Now it was Chad’s turn to be quiet. He felt sick again all of a sudden. Like something unspeakably foul had just plummeted into his stomach.
“Hello? Chad? You there?”
“I’m here. Are you serious?”
“Yes. Turns out he always kind of had a thing for me, too. During class yesterday, he finally admitted it to himself.”
Chad felt nauseous. “Congratulations.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“I said it, didn’t I?”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Whatever. Look, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Chad, wait! I was only-”
Chad hung up the phone. Sure enough, five seconds later, it started ringing again, but Chad didn’t answer. He didn’t want to hear it. Ryan had gotten what he wanted. What more was there to say? Chad’s stomach churned violently and for a second, he was sure he was going to puke.
Running into the bathroom, he bent over the toilet. He could feel it-whatever it was-working up through his gut. He braced himself as it went up past his heart, causing it to shiver and break. By the time it moved into his throat, drying it up completely, Chad felt as though he was throwing up pure fire. Opening his mouth to let it out, all that emerged was a loud, bitter, sob.
Falling onto his heels, Chad’s eyes sprung forth streams of tears. They’d been holed up there since Monday and Chad could feel their anger; all the way down, they burned up his face in resentment. He tried to rub them away, but a new torrent replaced them. So he let them flow. It was almost cathartic, really. Breathing in his bitter sorrow and letting it pour out like rain.
Two hours later, Mrs. Danforth came home to find her son right where she had left him. Going to check his temperature, she could see the dried tears along his cheek. It broke her heart to see her son hurt like this. Gently, she rubbed them away with a washcloth before going downstairs to call the school.
Chad was sicker than she had thought.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Friday:
Mrs. Danforth couldn’t stay home Friday. She had a big meeting at work and couldn’t miss it, but she had left her pager number next to Chad’s bed with an instruction to call whenever he needed anything. Even if he only needed to talk. This humiliated Chad since he knew that she knew what was really going on. He didn’t even want to admit it to himself.
Like a zombie, he walked around the house all day, alternating between watching TV, eating ice-cream, and trying really hard not to think about Ryan and Zeke.
Like the day before, the phone rang at around 12:00. Chad looked at the caller-id: EVANS, RYAN.
Chad ignored it. Ryan didn’t leave a message. About 15 minutes later, the phone rang again, but this time, it was Troy.
“Hey man,” Chad answered immediately, trying to sound at least 50% happier than he felt.
“Chad, we need to talk.”
Chad growled into the phone like a feral child. This was low, even for Ryan. “STOP CALLING ME OR I’M GOING TO CALL THE COPS!”
“Don’t shout! Please, just talk to me!”
“Oh my God, don’t you have a boyfriend now?! Why don’t you go harass him?”
“That’s what I want to talk about! Chad, please!”
“How the Hell did you get Troy’s phone anyways?”
“I stole it. Does it make a difference?”
Chad ignored him, “Look, I don’t want to talk to you. Just go away. And while you’re away? Stop. Fucking. Calling. Ok?”
“Chad, PLEASE!”
That was all Ryan was able to say before Chad slammed the phone down on the receiver. Not satisfied with that, he then went around to every phone in the house and personally disconnected each one. Satiated, he flopped onto the couch to watch TV. Halfway into the program, however, Chad fell sound asleep. Ryan seemed to just sap the energy right out of him lately.
He was awoken not even a half hour later by the doorbell. Chad rolled over and ignored it. It was probably the UPS man or something. Whatever. Chad didn’t want what he was bringing. He didn’t even care what it was. The man was persistent though.
Chad sat up, glaring at the door after a full two minutes of the doorbell buzzing.
“No one is home!” He yelled, flopping back over onto the couch.
“Zeke didn’t ask me out!” Responded the voice of the ‘UPS man’, muffled through the door. Chad sat up again. No way. No way would Ryan be this hell bent on them talking that he would actually cut school. Before Mrs. Darbus’ class, even!
Running to the window, he nearly had a heart attack seeing Sharpay’s little pink convertible parked crookedly in his driveway. Chad walked slowly over to unlock the door, pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t still asleep.
Sure enough, there Ryan stood. He looked about as awful as Chad did. His shirt wasn’t ironed, his hat didn’t match, and two dark purple circles beneath his blue eyes attested to just how little sleep he had been getting. But Ryan could have been standing there dressed like a hobo, and it wouldn’t have mattered to Chad. All he cared about was what Ryan had just said.
“Zeke didn’t ask me out,” Ryan all but cried the minute the door opened. Chad blinked, confused. Fortunately, Ryan continued, “He never asked me out. I just…I just made it up to see if you really were jealous of him. I’m sorry. I…I…” Tears sprung up as Ryan spoke. He rubbed at them futilely. “I just couldn’t believe that you were really that upset about it. I wanted to make sure. But I didn’t think you’d take it like this. I’m so, so sorry.”
Chad couldn’t speak. He wasn’t even sure if he could breathe. Ryan was looking at him expectantly, but all he could do was stand there, staring openly at this blonde boy whom he had been crying over all night. Ryan pleaded with him to say something; Chad could see the desperation in his eyes. His mouth was too dry to speak.
“Chad…Please.” Ryan said now for the third time today, tears streaming uninhibited down his cheeks. “I’m really sorry. I just-”
Chad cut Ryan off with his lips. Pressing forward with all his might, Chad poured all his heartache into this one kiss. All the frustration, all the pain, all the bitter, bitter days he had suffered through, wishing for nothing more than this simple moment right now. Ryan kissed back eagerly, making a strange little noise in the back of his throat that sounded as though he was weeping. Chad pulled back for a second to see if this was true.
“I’m sorry.” It was Chad’s turn to say it now. He moved back to the other side of the door, looking down at his hands. “I know…I’m not Zeke. I know you don’t like me. But I think…I think I like you. A lot. So please, don’t flirt with him in front of me.”
Ryan laughed, which sounded strange as he was still crying. Chad looked up at him.
“You really think I would pick Zeke over CHAD DANFORTH? Give me more credit than that.”
“But you said-”
“I said I liked Zeke. Which I did. But I’ve liked you since about freshman year.”
“But then, when I asked who you liked, why didn’t you just say me!?”
“Yeah, sure. That would have gone over well. C’mon Chad, you’re a jock! Everyone knows you like Taylor. Or…liked, as the case may be now. I would have rather eaten my own hat than confessed to liking you.”
Chad was confused. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “So…you like me now? Not Zeke?”
“I’ve always liked you.”
Chad smiled. For the first time in about a week, he didn’t feel like an elephant was sitting on his chest. The elephant had transformed into little tiny butterflies which he easily blew out with a sigh.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Chad stated after a long pause.
“What?”
“You’re not going to get any free baked goods.”
“…I think I can deal with that.”
Miles away, Zeke went on with his day, unaware that he had lost his secret admirer. Sharpay went out into the parking lot, thinking she had gone crazy and forgotten where she parked her car. Troy was searching around the school for his cell phone.
And Ryan and Chad couldn’t care less. They stood out in that doorway for the entire world to see, forgiving each other over and over again.
Sealing each and every apology with a smile and a kiss.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☺☻☺☻☺☻
Next Monday:
“Secondly, if you steal my car again, I will have mother and father write you out of their will. I had to take the bus home. Do you know what that’s like, Ryan? Do you!? I can still feel the grime and the dirt.”
Ryan wasn’t listening to his sister. He was too busy watching the door like an impatient dog. Sharpay didn’t notice. All she wanted to do was rant at someone. For all she cared, he could have set up a dummy in his chair for her to scold. She’d probably prefer a dummy, actually. They never disagree.
Suddenly a group of students walked in the cafeteria doors. Ryan watched them anxiously as they approached. Well, more so watched Chad than the rest of the group. Chad grinned when he saw him. Plopping down next to him, Ryan leaned over to give his boyfriend a kiss. Troy and the rest catcalled loudly, making the couple turn a matching shade of puce.
“That’s another thing!” Sharpay interrupted loudly. “I don’t know if I approve of you dating this…tall person. Jocks are the lowest form of life, you know.”
Ryan and Chad turned to look at Zeke, who was positively crushed. They sympathized with him.
“You know, Sharpay, you shouldn’t be so fast to write off jocks.” Chad scolded.
“He’s right. I mean, look around. Kelsi’s dating one. Gabriella’s dating one. Even I’m dating one! It seems like jocks are the new fad!” Ryan smiled, knowing this would work. And he was right. That sort of logic seemed to affect Sharpay in a way no real logic ever could. Suddenly, she realized with a shock that she really was the last one here without a jock boyfriend. Well, besides Taylor. But she hardly counted.
“Zeke!” She shrieked at once; he was at her side in less than a second.
“You’re my new boyfriend. As such, you are to agree with everything I say, spoil me rotten, and just generally treat me like the princess I am. Understood?”
Zeke looked like he might just piss himself. He nodded quickly, before his new girlfriend changed her mind.
Chad and Ryan linked hands under the table, smiling their own private smile as they watch Zeke running around to try and find a cushion for his baby’s chair. “Everything turned out rather well,” they seemed to say, unspoken, to each other. Ryan’s thumb brushed over Chad’s and they both blushed again as though this gesture of affection was something new. Then again, it sort of was. Chad smiled at Ryan and Ryan smiled at Chad.
And Ryan’s not quite sure what he ever saw in Zeke in the first place.
Fandom: High School Musical
Author: Nnej Nivroop
Disclaimer: I totally own them. Seriously. I invented the internet too.
Pairing: Chad/Ryan
Warning: Naughty words.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: Too many; 4888.
Summary: Chad doesn’t want people to asking what’s the matter with him. He’s sick of the question. Nothing’s the matter. Nothing’s wrong. Sure, Ryan likes Zeke, but that’s not a problem so much as it’s annoying. So why does he feel this way?
A/N: Written for another challenge on idontdance. It looks a little bit like my last story because the theme this time was “Ryan likes Zeke and Chad gets jealous”. So, once again, jealous Chad!fic. I kind of enjoyed writing this one though. Also, I tip my hat to my WONDERFUL beta, musical_junkie. Enjoy! Once again, disclaimer since it was written in about a day.
Monday:
“ZEKE!?”
It had taken nearly a month, but Chad had finally figured out who Ryan was mooning over. For some reason, he wished he still didn’t know.
“Keep your voice down!” Ryan hissed, turning bright red.
“ZEKE!?”
Ryan groaned and stormed away, glaring at anyone who could have possibly overheard Chad’s yelling. Chad didn’t follow; for the moment, he had forgotten that he could walk.
This made no sense. Zeke was already planning his and Sharpay’s wedding. He was completely dedicated to the girl almost to the point of stalking. Plus, Zeke was one of the straightest people Chad had ever met. So why him?! This made no logical sense. Ryan could have his pick of nearly any gay guy at East High. Hell, he could have his pick of nearly any gay guy in all of New Mexico. Zeke was just…just so unexpected. And so not a good match for Ryan, Chad decided at once with a scowl.
The bell for lunch broke Chad out of his shock-induced coma. Stumbling his way to the cafeteria, Chad plopped down next to Troy. Troy looked at his friend for a moment before deciding something was off.
“Dude, what’s the matter?” He asked through a mouthful of pizza.
“We got our tests back in English this morning,” Gabriella whispered helpfully; Troy made a noise of understanding.
“Ooh, well, you can always make it up next time…” Troy tried as cheerfully as he could. Chad didn’t seem to hear him.
“It’s just not right…” he murmured, mostly to himself. Troy nodded, agreeing with his friend. The score must have been awful; Chad never took getting an F this badly.
“I mean, there’s no logical reason for it!” Chad continued, now moving his gaze over to the door as more kids walked in.
“Well, you didn’t really study for it. That could have been the reason. Maybe next time-”
Chad cut his best friend off, “What? What are you talking about?”
“…Your English test?”
“Why? I got a C.”
Troy turned to Gabriella. She looked just as confused as he felt. “Wait. What are we talking about then?”
Chad was about to say something when Zeke and Jason walked over. Deciding that outing Ryan’s crush wouldn’t be the best way to deal with this situation, Chad simply shook his head.
“Hey guys,” Zeke said cheerfully. Chad narrowed his eyes. What was Zeke so happy about?
“Hey Zeke. What’s up?” Troy answered back. Chad shot his friend a look that clearly said ‘Traitor’. Fortunately, no one noticed.
“Not much. Just doing my thing, you know. Have you seen Sharpay today?” Zeke let out an appreciative whistle. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe new make-up or something, but damn she’s fine.”
Troy groaned under his breath. “Please, no talking about Sharpay. I’m eating.”
“Pssht, you know it’s true. C’mon, Chad, am I right?” Zeke glanced over at his friend for agreement. No such luck. All Chad seemed to be doing was glaring at him as though he were the opposing team. Zeke turned to Troy, clearly bewildered. Troy simply shrugged.
“Hey guys,” Kelsi’s voice quipped behind them. Taking a seat next to her boyfriend, she pulled a sandwich out of her paper bag before taking notice of the tension at the table. It didn’t take her long to figure out that it was due to Chad. After all, he was the one shooting death glares at people.
“What’s the matter with Chad?” She whispered to Jason.
“Nothing’s wrong with me!” Chad shouted a little too loudly. The tables around him grew quiet. So did one across the room-the one where Sharpay and Ryan were seated. Looking over, Chad saw Ryan staring at him with this absolutely desperate expression on his face.
‘He probably thinks I’m going to spill the beans,’ Chad thought to himself. For some reason, that very idea broke some ‘final straw’ deep within Chad. Shooting up from the table, he stormed out of the cafeteria. He didn’t know where he was going, but it had to be better than here.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Tuesday:
Chad avoided everyone all day. He didn’t want to deal with people asking ‘What’s wrong?’ over and over again. After school, he took advantage of the empty gym. Not even bothering to change his clothes, Chad dribbled around the court in his heavy winter clothes. After only a few minutes, he was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, yet he played on. Dribbling down the court, he pretended the ball was Ryan’s idiotic head. Smashing it against the hoop as he dunked, he pretended the ball was Zeke’s stupid face.
It kept switching like that because Chad wasn’t quite sure who had caused his anger. Sometimes, it was Ryan because he was stupid enough to actually find Zeke attractive. But most of the time, it was Zeke. Chad was annoyed with Zeke just for existing lately. If he hadn’t been born, then Ryan would have never met him. Without meeting him, Ryan wouldn’t have developed a crush on him. And then…
Chad’s train of thought always broke down about then. He assumed what followed from there would be Ryan finding someone else to admire. Someone that wasn’t… Zeke. That thought didn’t really make him feel any better, though.
Chad groaned loudly, throwing the basketball clear across the court, almost hitting someone walking through the door. Chad was about to apologize when he saw who it was. Ryan. Instead of apologizing, he simply groaned again.
“Hello to you too,” Ryan scoffed, glancing at the basketball that had almost smacked him in the face.
“What do you want? Zeke isn’t here.”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Chad was relieved for a split second before remembering how angry he was. “Talk then.”
Ryan sighed, “I…You haven’t told Zeke, have you?”
“Is that what you wanted to talk about? Because if that’s it, let me save us both some time. No, I didn’t tell him. No, I won’t tell him. No, I won’t help you seduce him. And finally, no, I don’t think you stand a chance.”
Ryan looked crushed for a second and Chad was instantly sorry for being so flippant.
“Look, I just-”
“Save it, Danfoth. I know it’s just a crush and that he’s in love with Sharpay. I just…I can’t help it. You don’t get to choose who you fall for.”
Chad felt even worse about himself now. “No, I guess you don’t.”
Ryan sighed in his usual dramatic way. Chad shifted his gaze to his feet.
“I promise I won’t tell him,” Chad said finally. Ryan’s dismayed expression lifted for a second as he tried to smile.
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. And…I’m sorry. I’ve just been…off lately.”
“The whole school’s noticed.”
Chad smiled despite the fact he really didn’t feel better.
“So, you really aren’t gonna help me seduce him?” Ryan teased. Chad’s head shot up, ready to yell at Ryan for even suggesting it.
Sensing the humor evident in Ryan’s expression, Chad tried his best to join in. “Sorry. I’m not wise in the ways of romance anyways. You could ask Troy though.”
“Nah, he’d be more freaked out than you are.”
“I’m not freaked out.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
Chad groaned. “Nothing. Nothing’s the matter.”
“You’re a bad liar, Danforth.”
“And you have horrible taste in men, Evans.”
Finally, both boys broke into an honest laughter.
“I know nothing’s going to happen. But, hey, it’s called a crush for a reason, right?”
Their laughter was forced, but they left it like that. After all, there wasn’t much else to say. But as Ryan walked out and Chad started dribbling Zeke’s bloated, pompous mug up and down the court, he couldn’t help feeling as though he should have said something else. Something to make Ryan realize how wrong he was. How wrong Zeke was.
Slamming the basketball against the backboard, Chad sighed and tried not to think about the whole Ryan situation anymore. Or about how he felt. Crushed.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Wednesday:
On Wednesdays, Chad had his elective: Cooking 101. Cooking had always been a pleasant class. You just had to follow the recipe, clean the kitchen, and collect the A+. He had always managed to pair up with Zeke too, so the recipe turned out perfect each and every time. Plus, Ryan and Sharpay had taken the class, too, and their concoctions were so hilariously awful, not even the teacher would try them. It was some of the best comic relief Chad had ever had in a class.
But today was different. Not only because Sharpay had weaseled Chad into being her partner, but because Ryan was Zeke’s partner!
“Are you sure it needs to be mixed this much?” Sharpay complained, peering into their cookie batter.
“What?” Chad asked, turning away from his watch-post on Zeke and Ryan.
“The cookie batter. I think it’s mixed too much.”
“Oh! Shit!” Running over, Chad switched the mixer off. Unfortunately, the chocolate chips had already been minced into microscopic pieces, turning the entire batter an unappetizing, chunky brown.
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t been staring at Ryan and his boy-toy, you could have turned it off in time,” Sharpay stated primly.
Chad gritted his teeth as he started pouring the batter out into another bowl. “Zeke isn’t his boy-toy.”
“Not yet. Ryan’s mighty persuasive, though.”
Chad stopped pouring to glare at Sharpay. “Zeke’s straight. And you know he’s in love with you.”
“Sure, sure. That hasn’t stopped them before though.”
Chad suddenly felt anxious. “Before?”
“Sure. Seduction is Ryan’s specialty. He actually stole my first boyfriend right from under my nose. I was mad at the time, but now, it just sort of makes me proud. I never even suspected a thing.”
Switching his gaze, Chad looked back over to Zeke and Ryan’s kitchen. Everything seemed fairly normal. Zeke had already finished the baking part and was helping Ryan wash their area. The blonde boy was obviously flirting with Zeke. Chad could tell all the across the room. The way he splashed the water up, making Zeke jump back and laugh. The way he talked to Zeke, acting all coy and bashful. And the way he leaned so close to Zeke when he passed over things for Zeke to dry. It was disgraceful. Ryan should have more dignity. Fawning all over a guy like that….had he no shame?
And then there was Zeke. He couldn’t have been that ignorant as to what was going on. No. Chad could tell by the way his friend was laughing. That was clearly his: ‘That-Joke-Wasn’t-Really-Funny-But-I’ll-Pretend-It-Was-Cause-You’re-Cute’ laugh. Not that Chad had heard it before. But he assumed it was a universal thing. It was low of Zeke, leading Ryan on like that. Unless…unless he really did think Ryan was cute! Maybe Sharpay was right! Maybe Ryan was mighty persuasive!
“Chad…” Sharpay said suddenly, sounding a bit worried.
Chad could just see it now. Ryan and Zeke, walking through the hallways, hand in hand. Ryan, in the stands next to Gabriella, cheering Zeke on during the basketball games. Ryan and Zeke sitting together at prom. Ryan and Zeke, planning their civil union ceremony. Ryan and Zeke in matching plots at the graveyard.
“Chad!” Sharpay tried again, now clearly upset about something.
“What do you want, Sharpay?!” He snapped.
“You’re leaking the batter onto the floor!”
Chad looked down just in time to see a large glob of cookie dough land on his sneaker. The teacher walked by, clucking her tongue disapprovingly at them. Chad felt just as awful as his grade was going to be.
Across the way, Chad could hear Ryan and Zeke laughing as they pulled out a perfect sheet of cookies. Ryan grabbed one and bit down purposefully. Chad knew what the blonde was doing. Within seconds, Zeke was rushing all around to get his partner a glass of water for his poor, burned mouth. Ryan caught Chad’s eye and winked at him.
Chad turned bright red either out of embarrassment or out of anger; he couldn’t decide. Either way, he needed to leave. Now. Dashing to the front of the room, he all but demanded a pass to the nurse before storming out and slamming the door behind him.
But not even the nurse could tell Chad what was wrong with him. Chad couldn’t even tell her his symptoms. He just was having a really bad day. She suggested he lie down, which he did. He stayed there all the way through class. When the nurse told him it was time for lunch, Chad told her he wasn’t hungry. The nurse suggested Chad call his mother to take him home since, obviously, he was seriously ill.
Curled up on the couch, Chad tried so hard not to concentrate on how awful he felt. His stomach was tied into knots. He felt as though he was going to cry. His head was pounding with the worst stress headache he’d ever had in his life. Chad felt as though he was going to die. And, to be frank, he felt like he wanted to die.
So busy trying to tune out his body, Chad didn’t notice someone at the foot of his bed. Suddenly seeing the shadow, he flipped around.
“What are you doing here, Evans?” He moaned once he recognized who it was.
Ryan sighed at Chad’s rudeness. “You really need to get this PMS of yours under control.”
“Shut up. Go bother someone who cares, like Zeke!”
Ryan looked shocked. Utterly and completely. Casting a quick glance around, just to make sure they were alone, he pulled over a nearby chair and set it up next to the bed.
“What’s the matter with you, Chad?”
“GOD! I am so tired of people asking me that question! Nothing is fucking wrong with me!”
“Your attitude suggests otherwise.”
“You know what, fuck you, Ryan,” Chad spit out, clutching the edge of the bed to prevent him from doing anything he’d regret. This was pointless, really, since Ryan looked as though he’d been punched anyways.
“I don’t care what you say. Something is seriously wrong.”
“You know what’s wrong!? Watching you fawn all over Zeke like that! Don’t you have any shame? You’re practically a grown man, for God’s sake, and you’re acting like a little girl! It’s revolting!”
“Chad-”
“Don’t ‘Chad’ me! I don’t care anymore. Go. Go get your boyfriend. Go off and seduce him if you’re so good at it, like Sharpay says. I don’t care!”
Realization hit Ryan like a falling stage-light. “Oh my God. You’re…you’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Chad’s mouth went dry. “W-what?”
“You’re jealous!”
“I’m not jealous!” Chad protested rather lamely. The very shock of the accusation left him almost speechless.
“Oh my God. How did I miss it?”
“I AM NOT JEALOUS!” He insisted now, jumping up from his bed. “I don’t care who you decide to fuck or not fuck. I just don’t need it paraded in front of me! Zeke is my friend! I don’t want to see you throwing yourself at him like some brainless cheerleader.”
Ryan didn’t appear to be convinced, but he didn’t appear to be so confident anymore, either. Above all, he looked very, very confused. As though someone just told him Sharpay had given money to charity. Chad didn’t feel sympathetic this time around. Instead, he walked into the nurse’s office and dialed home. He suddenly wasn’t feeling up to staying at school anymore.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Thursday:
Chad stayed home. He couldn’t face his classes. More specifically, he couldn’t face Ryan, who was in most of his classes. He told his mother he had a stomach bug, because that’s what it felt like. She kept asking about Taylor as though she had something to do with this. Chad didn’t appreciate it. He didn’t want to think about Taylor or anything else school related. All he wanted to do was lie in bed, sleep, and forget everything that had happened this week.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t an option. Around 12:00, the Danforth phone rang. Mrs. Danforth had gone to work, so Chad had to get out of bed to get it.
“Hello?” He answered drowsily, still not really awake.
“Chad?”
Now he was awake. “Ryan, how did you get this number?”
“Troy gave it to me.”
Chad made a mental note to cut Troy’s brake cables.
“You’re not in school today,” Ryan continued, sounding sad.
“And you’re observant as ever.”
“Are you sick?”
“No. I took the day off to study.”
There was a moment of silence on the line as Ryan tried to figure out if that was sarcasm or not. Chad sighed, “I’m sick, Evans. I’m sick.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I have some sort of bug.”
“The… love bug?” Ryan tried tentatively. Chad hung up. Five seconds later the phone rang again.
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said quickly in lieu of ‘Hello’.
“Whatever. How’s Zeke?”
Ryan was quiet for a second. Chad pressed the phone harder to his ear, thinking it had gone dead or something.
“Well?” Chad asked, trying not to convey how impatient he was getting.
“…He actually asked me out this morning.”
Now it was Chad’s turn to be quiet. He felt sick again all of a sudden. Like something unspeakably foul had just plummeted into his stomach.
“Hello? Chad? You there?”
“I’m here. Are you serious?”
“Yes. Turns out he always kind of had a thing for me, too. During class yesterday, he finally admitted it to himself.”
Chad felt nauseous. “Congratulations.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“I said it, didn’t I?”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Whatever. Look, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Chad, wait! I was only-”
Chad hung up the phone. Sure enough, five seconds later, it started ringing again, but Chad didn’t answer. He didn’t want to hear it. Ryan had gotten what he wanted. What more was there to say? Chad’s stomach churned violently and for a second, he was sure he was going to puke.
Running into the bathroom, he bent over the toilet. He could feel it-whatever it was-working up through his gut. He braced himself as it went up past his heart, causing it to shiver and break. By the time it moved into his throat, drying it up completely, Chad felt as though he was throwing up pure fire. Opening his mouth to let it out, all that emerged was a loud, bitter, sob.
Falling onto his heels, Chad’s eyes sprung forth streams of tears. They’d been holed up there since Monday and Chad could feel their anger; all the way down, they burned up his face in resentment. He tried to rub them away, but a new torrent replaced them. So he let them flow. It was almost cathartic, really. Breathing in his bitter sorrow and letting it pour out like rain.
Two hours later, Mrs. Danforth came home to find her son right where she had left him. Going to check his temperature, she could see the dried tears along his cheek. It broke her heart to see her son hurt like this. Gently, she rubbed them away with a washcloth before going downstairs to call the school.
Chad was sicker than she had thought.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺☻☺
Friday:
Mrs. Danforth couldn’t stay home Friday. She had a big meeting at work and couldn’t miss it, but she had left her pager number next to Chad’s bed with an instruction to call whenever he needed anything. Even if he only needed to talk. This humiliated Chad since he knew that she knew what was really going on. He didn’t even want to admit it to himself.
Like a zombie, he walked around the house all day, alternating between watching TV, eating ice-cream, and trying really hard not to think about Ryan and Zeke.
Like the day before, the phone rang at around 12:00. Chad looked at the caller-id: EVANS, RYAN.
Chad ignored it. Ryan didn’t leave a message. About 15 minutes later, the phone rang again, but this time, it was Troy.
“Hey man,” Chad answered immediately, trying to sound at least 50% happier than he felt.
“Chad, we need to talk.”
Chad growled into the phone like a feral child. This was low, even for Ryan. “STOP CALLING ME OR I’M GOING TO CALL THE COPS!”
“Don’t shout! Please, just talk to me!”
“Oh my God, don’t you have a boyfriend now?! Why don’t you go harass him?”
“That’s what I want to talk about! Chad, please!”
“How the Hell did you get Troy’s phone anyways?”
“I stole it. Does it make a difference?”
Chad ignored him, “Look, I don’t want to talk to you. Just go away. And while you’re away? Stop. Fucking. Calling. Ok?”
“Chad, PLEASE!”
That was all Ryan was able to say before Chad slammed the phone down on the receiver. Not satisfied with that, he then went around to every phone in the house and personally disconnected each one. Satiated, he flopped onto the couch to watch TV. Halfway into the program, however, Chad fell sound asleep. Ryan seemed to just sap the energy right out of him lately.
He was awoken not even a half hour later by the doorbell. Chad rolled over and ignored it. It was probably the UPS man or something. Whatever. Chad didn’t want what he was bringing. He didn’t even care what it was. The man was persistent though.
Chad sat up, glaring at the door after a full two minutes of the doorbell buzzing.
“No one is home!” He yelled, flopping back over onto the couch.
“Zeke didn’t ask me out!” Responded the voice of the ‘UPS man’, muffled through the door. Chad sat up again. No way. No way would Ryan be this hell bent on them talking that he would actually cut school. Before Mrs. Darbus’ class, even!
Running to the window, he nearly had a heart attack seeing Sharpay’s little pink convertible parked crookedly in his driveway. Chad walked slowly over to unlock the door, pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t still asleep.
Sure enough, there Ryan stood. He looked about as awful as Chad did. His shirt wasn’t ironed, his hat didn’t match, and two dark purple circles beneath his blue eyes attested to just how little sleep he had been getting. But Ryan could have been standing there dressed like a hobo, and it wouldn’t have mattered to Chad. All he cared about was what Ryan had just said.
“Zeke didn’t ask me out,” Ryan all but cried the minute the door opened. Chad blinked, confused. Fortunately, Ryan continued, “He never asked me out. I just…I just made it up to see if you really were jealous of him. I’m sorry. I…I…” Tears sprung up as Ryan spoke. He rubbed at them futilely. “I just couldn’t believe that you were really that upset about it. I wanted to make sure. But I didn’t think you’d take it like this. I’m so, so sorry.”
Chad couldn’t speak. He wasn’t even sure if he could breathe. Ryan was looking at him expectantly, but all he could do was stand there, staring openly at this blonde boy whom he had been crying over all night. Ryan pleaded with him to say something; Chad could see the desperation in his eyes. His mouth was too dry to speak.
“Chad…Please.” Ryan said now for the third time today, tears streaming uninhibited down his cheeks. “I’m really sorry. I just-”
Chad cut Ryan off with his lips. Pressing forward with all his might, Chad poured all his heartache into this one kiss. All the frustration, all the pain, all the bitter, bitter days he had suffered through, wishing for nothing more than this simple moment right now. Ryan kissed back eagerly, making a strange little noise in the back of his throat that sounded as though he was weeping. Chad pulled back for a second to see if this was true.
“I’m sorry.” It was Chad’s turn to say it now. He moved back to the other side of the door, looking down at his hands. “I know…I’m not Zeke. I know you don’t like me. But I think…I think I like you. A lot. So please, don’t flirt with him in front of me.”
Ryan laughed, which sounded strange as he was still crying. Chad looked up at him.
“You really think I would pick Zeke over CHAD DANFORTH? Give me more credit than that.”
“But you said-”
“I said I liked Zeke. Which I did. But I’ve liked you since about freshman year.”
“But then, when I asked who you liked, why didn’t you just say me!?”
“Yeah, sure. That would have gone over well. C’mon Chad, you’re a jock! Everyone knows you like Taylor. Or…liked, as the case may be now. I would have rather eaten my own hat than confessed to liking you.”
Chad was confused. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “So…you like me now? Not Zeke?”
“I’ve always liked you.”
Chad smiled. For the first time in about a week, he didn’t feel like an elephant was sitting on his chest. The elephant had transformed into little tiny butterflies which he easily blew out with a sigh.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Chad stated after a long pause.
“What?”
“You’re not going to get any free baked goods.”
“…I think I can deal with that.”
Miles away, Zeke went on with his day, unaware that he had lost his secret admirer. Sharpay went out into the parking lot, thinking she had gone crazy and forgotten where she parked her car. Troy was searching around the school for his cell phone.
And Ryan and Chad couldn’t care less. They stood out in that doorway for the entire world to see, forgiving each other over and over again.
Sealing each and every apology with a smile and a kiss.
☻☺☻☺☻☺☺☻☺☻☺☻
Next Monday:
“Secondly, if you steal my car again, I will have mother and father write you out of their will. I had to take the bus home. Do you know what that’s like, Ryan? Do you!? I can still feel the grime and the dirt.”
Ryan wasn’t listening to his sister. He was too busy watching the door like an impatient dog. Sharpay didn’t notice. All she wanted to do was rant at someone. For all she cared, he could have set up a dummy in his chair for her to scold. She’d probably prefer a dummy, actually. They never disagree.
Suddenly a group of students walked in the cafeteria doors. Ryan watched them anxiously as they approached. Well, more so watched Chad than the rest of the group. Chad grinned when he saw him. Plopping down next to him, Ryan leaned over to give his boyfriend a kiss. Troy and the rest catcalled loudly, making the couple turn a matching shade of puce.
“That’s another thing!” Sharpay interrupted loudly. “I don’t know if I approve of you dating this…tall person. Jocks are the lowest form of life, you know.”
Ryan and Chad turned to look at Zeke, who was positively crushed. They sympathized with him.
“You know, Sharpay, you shouldn’t be so fast to write off jocks.” Chad scolded.
“He’s right. I mean, look around. Kelsi’s dating one. Gabriella’s dating one. Even I’m dating one! It seems like jocks are the new fad!” Ryan smiled, knowing this would work. And he was right. That sort of logic seemed to affect Sharpay in a way no real logic ever could. Suddenly, she realized with a shock that she really was the last one here without a jock boyfriend. Well, besides Taylor. But she hardly counted.
“Zeke!” She shrieked at once; he was at her side in less than a second.
“You’re my new boyfriend. As such, you are to agree with everything I say, spoil me rotten, and just generally treat me like the princess I am. Understood?”
Zeke looked like he might just piss himself. He nodded quickly, before his new girlfriend changed her mind.
Chad and Ryan linked hands under the table, smiling their own private smile as they watch Zeke running around to try and find a cushion for his baby’s chair. “Everything turned out rather well,” they seemed to say, unspoken, to each other. Ryan’s thumb brushed over Chad’s and they both blushed again as though this gesture of affection was something new. Then again, it sort of was. Chad smiled at Ryan and Ryan smiled at Chad.
And Ryan’s not quite sure what he ever saw in Zeke in the first place.