It's Friday, I'm in Love (HSM, Chad/Ryan)
Title: It's Friday, I'm in Love (1/2)
Fandom: High School Musical
Pairing: Chad/Ryan
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue
Summary: Ryan's parents are away for the weekend, and Chad has a plan.
Chad pushed Ryan against the locker, attacking him with eager hands and a hungry mouth. Ryan moaned appreciatively, clinging to Chad’s larger frame. Ryan’s skin felt like it was on fire, and Chad couldn’t seem to get close enough. Chad ran a hand down the center of Ryan’s chest and cupped him through his jeans.
“Chad,” Ryan gasped, thrusting against his hand.
Chad grinned and licked playfully at Ryan’s lips before moving quickly away to find that one spot on Ryan’s neck that would buckle his knees.
“Oh, fuck, Chad!” Ryan’s fingers dug into Chad’s shoulders as he panted. “Chad, Chad…”
“Chad!”
Chad jerked out of his daydream as his history teacher slammed a book down on his desk. Everyone was staring at him, and he slumped down as far as he could in his seat, his face burning. “Sorry, Mr. Chase.”
Mr. Chase looked down his nose at Chad. “If you don’t want to pay attention now, perhaps we can continue the lesson after school.”
Chad shook his head and sat up a little straighter. “No, sir. I’ll pay attention, sir.” He’d been working on that fantasy all morning, since homeroom, and he inwardly pouted at the thought of having to start over.
Mr. Chase nodded and walked back up the aisle to grabbed a stack of papers from his desk. “Here are your review packets for the test on Monday.” He rolled his eyes as the class groaned. “You may work in partners for the rest of the period if you wish. Quietly,” he added as people started calling across the room to their friends.
Chad’s eyes immediately went to Ryan, who was sitting near the front. Ryan turned and smiled at him, and for a second Chad couldn’t breathe. Then a desk bumped against his, smashing one of his fingers. “Ow!”
“Sorry!” It was Troy, wide eyes looking apologetic as he scooted his desk a fraction of an inch away. “Didn’t mean to hurt you, study buddy!”
Chad rolled his eyes and glanced at Ryan, trying to tell him with his eyes how sorry he was. Ryan’s face fell and he trudged across the room to sit in front of Gabriella, who immediately started chattering about something or other that made Ryan smile. At least he was smiling.
“I need your advice on something,” Troy whispered, leaning close.
Chad raised an eyebrow and leaned in. “On what?”
Troy licked his lips and glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Gabriella and I have decided to do it.”
Chad opened his mouth to ask what they had decided to do when it hit him. They were going to “do it”. Troy and Gabriella were going to have sex. Despite being teenagers, there were very few people Chad knew who had actually had sex, and even less who were his friends. Chad himself had never gone all the way, and the idea of Troy beating him to it made him a little jealous.
“Why do you need my advice? I haven’t done it.” Chad opened his book and started searching for the answer to the first question on his review.
“Hey,” Troy placed a hand on Chad’s arm, picking up on his friend’s bitter tone. “I wasn’t trying to rub it in your face. It’s just, you’re my best friend. I thought maybe you could help out.”
Chad snorted and wanted to ask Troy if he was suggesting a threesome, but doubted Troy was capable of such things. He glanced at Ryan and Gabriella, who were probably done with their packets already. They had their heads together and were muttering quietly. Were they talking about the same thing? He knew for a fact that Ryan wasn’t a virgin.
Over the summer, Sharpay had made it her mission to try to keep them apart, even going so far as to tell Chad about Ryan’s first boyfriend. But he also knew that the one and only time they’d had sex had been terrible, and the boy had broken Ryan’s heart. Chad promised Ryan they would take it slow the first few months, which had almost killed him. And one night at a party, Ryan had practically mauled him in the bathroom and all their sexual frustration had erupted. It ended in traded blowjobs and a bite mark on Chad’s shoulder that hurt for a week. It had been awesome, but they hadn’t gone any further since then. According to Troy, he’d received exactly one blowjob and, unless Troy was leaving details out, he had never gone down on Gabriella. If they were basing their decision on history, they should catch up to Ryan and Chad before altering their relationship forever. It just wasn’t fair.
“How do I help?” Chad asked, forcing a smile and Troy clapped him on the back.
“Well, we’re planning on doing it tonight.”
“Tonight?” Chad shouted. He lowered his voice at Mr. Chase’s warning glare and leaned so close to Troy their heads were practically touching. “Tonight? So soon?”
Troy nodded. “We’ve been talking about it for awhile now, and decided tonight was the night.”
“You’ve been talking?” This was the first Chad had heard of it.
Troy looked down guiltily. “I don’t tell you everything.”
Chad had little room to complain. Troy didn’t even know about Ryan. Only Sharpay, Zeke, and Kelsi knew about their relationship, and suspected Gabriella knew something and would eventually figure it out. “So where are you going to…you know…”
“That’s the problem!” Troy threw his hands in the air.
The bell went off and people jumped from their desks as Mr. Chase reminded them to study over the weekend. Chad wanted to rush out just as quickly in order to walk with Ryan to the next class, but Troy’s desk was still in the way.
“We’ll talk later?” Troy asked hopefully.
“Yeah, yeah,” Chad replied impatiently, pushing at Troy’s desk. “Later. Promise.” He had to stop to give Troy one of those boy-hugs and by the time he left the classroom, Ryan was nowhere to be found. He rushed towards his next class, hoping to catch his boyfriend outside. They didn’t have the same class, but the classrooms were close enough to linger outside in the hallway until right before the next bell.
As he rounded a corner, someone caught his elbow, making him stumble. An arm linked with his, and he already had a smile on his face as he turned--and saw the wrong Evans twin grinning back at him.
“Hi, Chad!” Sharpay chirped.
Chad groaned and tried to pull his arm away, but Sharpay tightened her grip and practically pulled him down the hall. “What do you want, Sharpay?”
“I thought we’d walk to Algebra together,” Sharpay explained, an innocent expression on her face like they did this every day. She walked confidently through the crowd of people, pushing when necessary. Chad had no choice but to walk with her, but he was still hoping to catch Ryan. Even when they didn’t have classes together, the twins were never far apart.
Chad didn’t notice that Sharpay had stopped walking and was jerked backwards, almost knocking them both down. “What’s your problem?”
Sharpay narrowed her eyes. “You weren’t listening to me. I was talking, but you were off in la-la land or something!”
Chad rolled his eyes. “Sorry, Sharpay. What were you saying?”
Sharpay scoffed and dropped his arm. “I don’t have the energy to repeat it. You’ll just have to ask Ryan yourself.”
Chad’s ears perked up at the mention of Ryan’s name, and he twirled around, searching. “Ryan? Where?”
“You’re hopeless,” Sharpay sighed, breezing past him in a cloud of some expensive perfume that just happened to smell like cotton candy today. Or maybe that was her lipstick.
“Wait, were you talking about Ryan? Sharpay!” Chad rushed to keep up with her. He realized he was running after Sharpay Evans and didn’t care. If she had something to tell him about Ryan, he wanted to know. Even if it meant complimenting her shoes or hair or something.
But Sharpay strode into the classroom, wiggling her fingers back at him. Chad sighed and walked a few doors down, peering into Ryan’s psychology classroom. He wasn’t in his usual seat by the front, and Chad’s heart sank. What if Ryan was mad at him for not partnering up with him in history class? There were times when Chad wished he could work up the guts to tell Troy about Ryan. Maybe then they wouldn’t be interrupted or have to allow Troy to hang out with them when he caught them out in public together.
“Looking for me?”
Chad spun around, smile lighting up his face. “There you are!”
Ryan smirked at him, holding his books to his chest. “Stalker.”
Chad stepped closer, ignoring the annoyed looks shot his way for standing in the middle of the hall. “Sorry about history.”
Ryan lifted one shoulder elegantly. “Eh, Troy happens.”
Chad snorted. “Yes, he does.”
The fifth period bell rang and people started rushing past, pushing them apart. Ryan waited for a break in the crowd and rushed over to Chad, still lingering in front of his class. “Come to my house after school? Parents will be gone the whole weekend.”
So that’s what Sharpay was trying to tell him. Chad raised his eyebrows and shot him a dirty smile. “We do need to study for the history test.”
Ryan rolled his eyes at him and left him with a wiggle of his fingers that was almost identical to Sharpay’s. Chad had learned to ignore those similarities for his sanity’s sake. If he started associating Ryan’s movements or speech patterns with his sister, it would lead to darkness and very, very bad dreams.
***
Chad hurried to the lunch room, stomach growling loudly. Despite his tardiness in Algebra he had not received detention and he was eager to finish the day. A whole weekend with Ryan. Alone. Well, Sharpay would probably be there, but he was pretty sure her evil powers didn’t extend to phasing through locked doors. He grabbed as much food as he could and was weaving his way through the lunch tables when Troy intercepted him, steering him to an empty table. “Dude!”
“We still have to talk,” Troy explained, looking a little pale. “I need your help on the whole Gabriella situation!”
Chad caught Ryan’s eye and held up five fingers, hoping it wouldn’t take Troy that long. Ryan rolled his eyes and nodded. “Fine. Five minutes. Go.” He took a bite out of his apple and shook it in Ryan’s direction. Ryan was constantly telling him he didn’t eat enough fruit. But Ryan was talking to Jason, making wide gestures with his hands and making Jason laugh. Chad frowned as Jason said something and gestured with his hands, and it was Ryan’s turn to bust out laughing, doubling over the table and absolutely glowing. Since when did Ryan talk to Jason? Since when did Jason make Ryan freakin’ glow?
“Earth to Chad! We have a situation!” Troy waved his hands in front of Chad’s face.
“No, you have a situation, I’m having lunch. Are you eating?”
Troy shook his head. “I’m too nervous. Where the hell are we going to…”
Chad smirked. “If you can’t say it you shouldn’t be having it, Troy.”
Troy glared at him. “Where are we going to have sex?”
“Good job!” Chad patted his best friend on the head. “Your house?”
Troy shook his head. “Parents. And her mom will be home so her house is out.”
“Hmm.” Chad sat back in thought. He could always ask Ryan if they could come to his place. He practically live in a mansion; there were bound to be guest rooms. But then he would have to share Ryan with other people, and pretend he didn’t want to jump him and do wicked things to his lithe dancer’s body. “Oh! Your truck!”
“My what?” Troy made a face. “You want our first time to be in my truck?”
Chad shook his head and leaned forward. “No, in the bed of your truck. Hear me out!” He was starting to get excited about scheming with his friend. And with the new information about Ryan’s lack of parentals, he was starting a scheme of his own, though he wished he could ask for Troy’s help on the subject. “You get the air mattress from the garage, the one we use for camping sometimes?”
Troy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I could put it in the bed of the truck!”
“Yeah! And bring blankets and maybe even a picnic! Yeah! A picnic under the stars!” Chad imagined cuddling up with Ryan in the large gazebo Ryan had in his backyard, talking quietly and touching freely. “You’ll have to go out to the edge of town by the woods to park, but it’ll be awesome!”
“And I could leave the radio on!” Troy slapped the table in triumph. “Some soft music to put us in the mood!”
“You’re a genius!” Chad gave Troy a high five as he thought of all the songs that made Ryan smile. “Now can we go to our table? I think people are starting to get suspicious.” They glanced over at their table, watching their friends chat. Ryan and Jason had their heads together and were apparently working on homework. Before Troy could respond, Chad had marched over and noisily dropped his tray to the table. Everyone looked up in surprise, and he sat down as if nothing had happened. “Guys.” His eyes lingered on Ryan, who gave him a secret smile and went right back to helping Jason figure out his math homework.
Chad decided not to sulk about it; in just a few hours he would be sprawled in the passenger seat of Ryan’s Mercedes with the whole weekend open to them. In just a few hours he would launch “Operation: Get into Ryan’s Pants”. It was a working title, but one he could live with. He kicked himself for not giving Troy’s mission a name, but figured he had his own picked out in his head.
When lunch was over, Chad walked with Ryan to dump their trays. “So, you and Jason looked awfully cozy.”
“What? Oh my god!” Ryan stopped in his tracks, giving Chad wide eyes. “You’re jealous!”
Chad scoffed and dumped his tray, then grabbed Ryan’s from his hands. “I’m not jealous!”
“You so are!” Ryan grinned. “You’re so cute.”
Chad rolled his eyes as they walked down the hall, fighting hard not to grab Ryan’s hand. “Maybe I was a little jealous.”
“Uh huh,” Ryan replied, bumping their shoulders together briefly. “Don’t worry. Jason’s adorable and clueless. He’s like a pet.”
“You’re adopting Jason?” Chad shook his head. “No. We need to talk about this. If we’re going to have children, I should get some say.”
Ryan laughed and opened his locker, grabbing a notebook and pen. “Okay, we’ll talk about it this weekend.” He scribbled something and tore a piece of paper off. “I gotta get to the auditorium. Miss Darbus wants us to run through some student-written scripts. It’s gonna be hell.” He kicked his locker shut and folded the piece of paper. “You‘re coming to my house after school, right?”
Chad couldn’t help but grin at the hopeful look on Ryan’s face. “Promise.”
Ryan’s smile sparkled and he shoved the piece of paper at Chad before hurrying down the corridor. Chad arched an eyebrow and half-turned to watch Ryan walk away. He unfolded the piece of paper and grinned, heart swelling. Scribbled on the paper in purple ink was the word ‘kisses’.
***
The last bell had barely started ringing when Chad burst out of his classroom and raced to his locker. He hastily grabbed his history book and notebook and shoved them into his bag. He ignored everyone who tried to talk to him and ran out of the school, curls bouncing crazily. He managed to find Ryan’s car and leaned against the hood, tapping his foot impatiently. He wondered what was taking Ryan so long. Did he have to stay late? Did he somehow get detention?
“Chad!” Troy ran down the steps toward him and Chad wondered what the hell he wanted now. “Glad I caught you.” He stood in front of Chad, panting slightly. “I ran through the whole building looking for you.”
“What’s wrong?” Chad’s brain immediately supplied him with horrible situations involving Ryan. Some set piece in the auditorium impaling him or his grandmother dying or something.
“I’m not picking Gabriella up until 6:30,” Chad explained.
“Um…ok?”
Troy rolled his eyes. “I need you to hang out with me! Taking a shower and getting dressed won’t take very long. There’s no way I can handle waiting three hours by myself! And I need you to help me figure out what to wear!”
Chad shook his head. “No, dude. I promised Ryan we’d hang.”
“Ryan?” Troy’s brow furrowed. “You can hang out with him after! Come on, man! I need, like, moral support or something!”
Chad sighed. He wanted to say no again, but how do you explain to your best friend that you won’t help him through his bout of nerves because you have to hang out with someone else? Someone who hasn’t known you as long and hasn’t been through as much as your best friend has. Chad couldn’t, not without telling Troy the truth. And it was only a few hours; he could go to Troy’s until 6 and then make up some lie to get his parents to let him stay with Ryan for the whole weekend.
“Please?” Troy looked like he was about to cry and Chad finally gave in.
“Fine.” He spotted Ryan strolling out of the school and sighed. “Give me a minute.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked toward Ryan, trying to look apologetic. “Hey.”
“Hey, you,” Ryan replied. “You okay?”
“Um,” Chad looked down, biting his bottom lip. “Do you think you could maybe pick me up at my house around 6?”
“Huh?” Ryan’s eyes drifted over his shoulder and spotted Troy. “Oh. I get it. You’re ditching me for Troy.”
“No!” Chad insisted, though it was sort of true. “I’m just…he asked me to come over for a few hours…”
“Yeah. Sure.” Ryan tried to step around him but Chad grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Ryan? Please don’t be mad.”
“Why would I be mad?” Anger sparked in Ryan’s eyes, and Chad hoped he wouldn’t unleash the full Evans anger on him. “I’ve never been mad when you’ve ditched me for him before. I wasn’t mad when you partnered with Troy in history, I wasn’t mad when you spent almost the entire lunch period sitting alone with him. Why would I be mad if you hang out with Troy for a few hours? Oh, wait. I know why. Because I told you my parents would be gone all weekend and you promised to meet me after school! This isn‘t one of those times where Troy just shows up before me; you promised.”
Chad winced and wanted to tell him he was overreacting, but instead he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I’m really sorry. But he and Gabriella have decided to have sex tonight, and he’s really nervous about it. He needs some reassurance.”
Ryan blinked at him. “They’ve never done it before?”
Chad shook his head. “Can you please give me a few hours with him?”
Ryan took a few calming breaths and nodded, though he still didn’t look too happy about “Okay. Your house at 6. But I swear if you stand me up again--”
“I won’t.” For a second, Chad forgot where they were and before Ryan could stop him, he’d cupped Ryan’s face and given him a quick kiss.
Ryan stood frozen, staring at Chad. “What did you just do?”
Panic hit Chad like cold water and he whipped his head around. Luckily everyone had already left our was staying late. The parking lot was empty--except for Troy, who stood near his truck gaping at them. “Oh my god!”
“You…you kissed me.” Ryan was looking a little dazed, and Chad was reminded of their first kiss on the fourth of July. He’d look just as dazed then, but after Chad had reassured him that he wasn’t pulling some prank, he had grinned and kissed Chad hungrily as fireworks went off over their heads. Chad doubted he would get the same result this time. “You kissed me at school.”
Chad covered his face with his hands. “I know.”
“Troy’s freaking out,” Ryan observed, though he didn’t seem too worried about it. In fact, he looked rather smug.
“Shit.”
“You should probably talk to him about it.”
“Yeah. Can you, um…”
“Leave?” Ryan supplied.
Chad opened his mouth to apologize, but Ryan just patted him on the back and walked away. “I’m still picking you up at 6!“ he called over his shoulder.
Chad stood there and watched him give Troy a wide berth. Troy didn’t even notice; he was still staring at Chad. Chad sighed and trudged toward his best friend, gearing up for the end of a 14 year old friendship. “Troy?”
Troy’s mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.
“Troy?” Chad tried again. “Are you okay?”
“You…you…” was all Troy could manage.
Chad sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess we need to talk.”
“Talk,” Troy repeated.
“Ryan and I…” Chad trailed off, lifting his hands and looking desperate.
“You kissed.”
“Yeah. We, uh, do that a lot.”
“Have you…” It was Troy’s turn to trail off, looking miserable.
“Um…you mean, sex?”
Troy gulped and nodded.
Chad shook his head. “But his parents are gone for the whole weekend--”
“Oh god!” Troy slapped his hand over his eyes and Chad took a step back, arms up to defend his face. “Oh god, I’m an idiot!”
“It’s okay, not a lot of people know,” Chad reassured. “We kept it pretty secret.”
“No!” Troy dropped his hand and he looked so miserable, Chad wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “I cock-blocked you, man!”
“Yeah, well I-wait, what?”
Troy threw his hands in the air. “Here I am making you come over to my house to help me with Gabriella when Ryan’s parents are gone for the whole fucking weekend! I am so sorry, man!”
It was Chad’s turn to gape at Troy. “You’re not freaked out about this?”
“Freaked out? Why does it matter? Why would I freak out?” Troy looked utterly confused, and Chad was reminded that sometimes he had to spell things out for his friend.
“Because I’m dating a guy?”
“You’re still Chad, right? You still play basketball and laugh at stupid jokes, right?”
“Yeah…”
Troy shrugged. “Then you’re still my best friend.”
Chad launched himself at his best friend, enveloping him in a bear hug. “Dude, you don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Can’t…breathe…”
“Sorry!” Chad released him, grinning.
Troy grinned back. “So, are you planning your own mission this weekend, Mr. Danforth?”
“Yes, I am, Mr. Bolton. Care to help me plot?”
Troy slung and arm around Chad’s shoulders. “What are best friends for?”
***
Instead of going to Troy’s house, they stopped by Chad’s to pick out his clothes and convince his mom to let him stay the whole weekend at Ryan’s. Ryan hadn’t exactly told him he could stay the weekend, but he’d hinted and Troy thought it best to be prepared just in case.
Convincing Chad’s mom was easier than Chad had expected. Chad’s mom loved Troy, and the big eyes and earnest boy scout act fooled her every time. All he had to do was compliment her hair and mention the test on Monday and how a group of their friends were planning a weekend of studying at the Evans’ mansion and she caved.
Picking out his clothes wasn’t as easy a task. Chad had never really thought about what he wore before, not even on their dates. But Troy explained that clothes were important, especially for the weekend Chad was planning. They spent so much time picking and choosing clothes, Troy was almost late getting back to his house to shower and decide his own wardrobe. He quickly threw a shirt at Chad and told him to find a pair of jeans that accentuated his ass before tearing down the stairs and out the door. Chad had nothing to do but take a shower and wait.
Ryan arrived promptly at 6, and barely had time to say hello to Mrs. Danforth before Chad pushed him back out the door. He wasn’t worried about Ryan talking to his mom; she loved him almost as much as Troy. But if he let Ryan in, they would spend an hour talking about The Phantom of the Opera or some other musical, and Chad was eager to get their weekend started.
“Is there a reason you don’t want me talking to your mother?” Ryan asked as they climbed into the car.
Chad tossed his backpack into the backseat and ignored the question. “So my mom said I could stay the whole weekend.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, if you want me to,” Chad quickly added, averting his eyes.
“I suppose I could fit you into my schedule.”
Even though Chad wasn’t looking at him, he could hear Ryan’s smirk, and it made him feel better. “How kind of you.”
Ryan’s hand moved from the wheel to slide alone Chad’s thigh. “I’m a kind guy.”
Chad slouched down in his seat, causing Ryan’s hand to move higher. “I appreciate it.”
Ryan chuckled and gave Chad’s thigh a small squeeze before returning it to the wheel. “Did you want to go eat first?”
“Isn’t there food at your house?”
“Yes, but I figured you’d want to go eat some greasy, unhealthy food to start off your weekend,” Ryan replied, stopping at a red light.
Chad smiled lazily, eyes drifting over Ryan’s form. He’d changed clothes since he’d seen him at school; tight, cool denim jeans in place of white slacks, blue dress shirt under a black blazer. Only the matching blue fedora seemed the same, although Chad was sure it wasn’t. Ryan had a whole walk-in closet filled with hats.
Ryan caught him looking and laughed nervously. “What?”
“What? I’m allowed to look,” Chad replied.
Ryan smirked and turned toward his house. “No, you’re allowed to look.”
“And touch?” Chad extended his arm so it was draped over the back of Ryan’s seat, hand dropping to trail a finger up the side of Ryan’s neck, circling around his ear.
Ryan shuddered and twisted his head away. “I suppose we could eat at my house.
Chad clapped his hands and faced forward again. “Wish my house had a live-in cook.”
“The cook’s gone this weekend.”
“What?” Chad twisted in his seat, looking forlorn. “But who’s gonna fix me dinner?”
“Do you know who you sound like right now?” Ryan asked, speeding down a side street.
“If you say your sister, I will smack you,” Chad warned, lifting a hand to prove his point.
Ryan stopped at a stop sign and stared at Chad. He arched an eyebrow and licked his lips. “You sound like my sister.”
Chad narrowed his eyes at Ryan. They both knew he would never hit the dancer, not in a million years. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Looking forward to it,” Ryan smirked, winking at Chad before turning back to the road again. A spark of electricity shot down Chad’s spine, and he thought of all those empty rooms in the mansion, with no one to interrupt them. Maybe food could wait.
When Ryan bypassed his usual parking spot in front of the house, Chad’s mind started envisioning a secret entrance, or the Batcave or something. “Where are we going?”
“Garage,” Ryan replied like it was a stupid question. He pressed a button attached to a remote on his visor and slowly steered the car up a small winding drive on the edge of the property.
“Your garage is far away from your house,” Chad noted, eyes wide to take in every new sight.
“It’s not far away, it’s attached. It’s just, far away from the entrance.” Ryan’s voice sounded shy, and a quick look at him confirmed he was slightly blushing.
Chad kept his mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass the boy further. But when a fluffy white bird trotted out on the path, Chad grabbed the dash and yelled, “Duck!”
Ryan slammed on the brakes, arm stretched out to protect Chad. The car barely stopped in time, and they both panted as the duck quacked and took its time crossing the path. Chad’s heart hammered under Ryan’s protective hand, and he brought his own hand up to press his boyfriend’s palm more firmly to his chest.
Ryan smiled at him. “Thanks for not letting me kill the duck.”
“Didn’t know you had any,” Chad replied. “Are they yours?”
Ryan rolled his eyes, knowing a duck joke was coming up. Chad couldn’t stop teasing him about his mother’s nickname for him. “No.”
Ryan’s palm felt warm against his chest, and Chad was again reminded that he wanted to be in the house as soon as possible. “Shall we continue?”
“I’d need my hand back first,” Ryan smirked, leaning his head back against the seat.
He looked beautiful there in the dark, the small lamps along the drive throwing shadows on his face. Chad curled his fingers around Ryan’s hand and leaned forward, brushing their lips together gently. It was the first time he’d kissed the boy today (not including the slip-up in the parking lot), and his lips tingled when they made contact. Ryan sighed against his mouth and tilted his head, inviting Chad to take the kiss deeper.
But Chad didn’t want to make out in Ryan’s car; they’d done enough of that over the past few months. He pulled away and smirked at Ryan’s pout. “Let’s go, Mr. Evans.”
Ryan pouted at him for a few more seconds before continuing on to the garage, which was indeed attached to the house. It was almost as big as Chad’s own house, and filled with vintage cars of all kinds.
“Wow,” Chad breathed as he climbed out of the car. He wandered over to the closest one and trailed a hand along the hood. “Can I drive one of these?”
Ryan slammed his door and walked around his car to lean against the one Chad was admiring. “You’d have to sweet talk my dad for a month.”
Chad’s eyes slid over to Ryan, who looked like he was made to lounge against beautiful cars. “Can we make out in one?”
Ryan rolled his eyes and pushed off the car, pulling Chad toward the door. “If you want my dad to murder us, sure!”
The door opened into a room Chad had never been in before, and he realized he’d never had a full tour of the place. He’d been in the kitchen, the living room, Ryan’s room, and one of the bathrooms. He vowed to explore every one this weekend (and test out every flat surface, if he had any say).
“Where’s the…the guy that…valet dude?” Chad asked as Ryan led him through the back hallway to the kitchen.
Ryan chuckled. “Weekend off.”
Chad frowned. There were usually a lot of people around the Evans homestead, each with their own job. They were around more than Ryan’s parents, and Chad had gotten to know quite a few of them. “Lotta people with the weekend off.”
Ryan shrugged and opened the large fridge. “Everyone needs a weekend off.”
Chad eyed his boyfriend and wanted to accuse him of having ulterior motives for relieving the staff. But he kept his mouth shut and watched Ryan lean down to grab something from the bottom drawer. When Ryan stood again, he tossed a package of baby carrots on the counter and grabbed a jug of juice and a bottle of ranch dressing. He bumped the door shut with his hip, and Chad licked his lips.
Ryan’s hips were the first thing he noticed about the boy; the way he walked, the way he danced. Every movement seemed fluid, and when they had played baseball last summer, he’d noticed the grace the boy seemed to have. It almost looked like dancing, and Chad wondered if he would look like that playing any other sports. Unfortunately, Ryan had no interest in playing basketball, though he could be frequently spotted at Chad’s games, wearing red and gold and cheering with the rest of the student body.
Ryan poured him a glass of juice and slid it across the counter. “Want some carrots?”
Chad rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have any real food?”
Ryan shook his head and filed a small custard cup with dressing. “Help yourself.”
Chad grinned and raced the fridge, pondering its contents. “Do you know how to cook?”
“I can make toast,” Ryan offered, perching on a stool.
Chad snorted. “Everyone can make toast.”
“Sharpay can’t.”
Chad whirled around. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” Ryan grinned. “She can barely make herself a sandwich.”
“Ooh, sandwich!” Chad turned back to the fridge and started collecting things for a sandwich. While he would rather explore the mansion with Ryan, his stomach protested loudly and he decided eating first was a good idea. He piled as many ingredients into his arms as he could, but couldn’t seem to find any tomatoes. He turned around to ask Ryan where they were--and he almost dropped his food.
Ryan sat on the barstool, leaning over some pamphlet that had been left in the kitchen. His elbows rested on the countertop, and he was idly munching on a carrot. No, not munching. He was practically sucking on it, nibbling thoughtfully as he read. When the carrot stick was finished, a pink tongue flicked out to catch a drop of dressing on his thumb, and Chad felt his knees go weak. He quickly dropped his sandwich-making things onto the counter and cleared his throat.
Ryan looked up, completely unaware of the effect his carrot-eating was having on Chad. “What?”
Chad blinked. He couldn’t remember what he was going to ask Ryan. “Um…”
Ryan’s brow furrowed, and then he laughed. “Got enough stuff?”
“Huh?” Chad asked dumbly. There was a little dressing at the corner of Ryan’s mouth, and he whimpered softly when Ryan’s tongue licked it away.
“Do you have enough stuff to make a sandwich,” Ryan clarified with a smirk, sliding off the stool.
“Uh…tomatoes!” Chad shouted the word, causing Ryan to jump. “Where are your tomatoes?”
Ryan gave him a curious look and retrieved them from a cabinet. “Are you okay?”
Chad nodded, though he wasn’t sure. Butterflies flitted about in his stomach and he couldn’t remember being this nervous around Ryan in awhile. “Fine.”
Ryan cocked his head and held the bag of tomatoes in front of him. “Here.”
Chad reached out but Ryan pulled them away. He frowned at Ryan’s playful smirk and stepped closer. Ryan hid them behind his back and stepped away.
“Thought you wanted tomatoes?” Ryan quickly side-stepped again as Chad lunged for him and before Chad knew it, he was chasing Ryan through the kitchen.
“Tomatoes are an important component to any sandwich!” Chad’s fingers brushed Ryan’s shoulder but he couldn’t seem to catch the blond.
“You know, for someone who runs track, you’re awfully slow,” Ryan remarked, standing on one side of the island counter.
Chad’s eyes narrowed and he launched himself onto the island. Ryan yelped and dropped the tomatoes to the counter as he sprinted out of the room. Chad slid off the island and left the tomatoes where they were. He exited out a different door and caught Ryan in the dining room, arms wrapping tightly around his boyfriend’s waist.
Ryan laughed breathlessly as Chad lifted him off his feet, spinning him around in the air. “Not fair! You took a shortcut!”
Chad dropped Ryan to his feet again, hands resting on Ryan’s hips. He pressed against Ryan’s back, nuzzling behind his ear and knocking his hat askew. “I didn’t know the rules. We can try again if you want.”
Ryan sighed and dropped his head back onto Chad’s shoulder, his hat falling off completely. “No, you won. I left your prize in the kitchen.”
Chad hummed against Ryan’s throat, one of his hands sliding up under Ryan’s shirt to caress his stomach. “Thought my prize was right here.” His fingertips slid under the waistband of Ryan’s pants, and Ryan whimpered.
“Then take it,” Ryan challenged, face tilted up for a kiss.
Chad immediately dropped his head to kiss the other boy, feeling Ryan smirk against his lips. He forced his hand further down Ryan’s pants and Ryan gasped. Chad deepened the kiss immediately, pressing closer to Ryan as he felt the boy shudder. Ryan was practically purring now, hands reaching back to keep Chad’s hips in place as he subtly rotated his hips backwards.
Things were progressing quickly, and Chad failed to hear the clicking of high-heeled shoes on tile.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Chad jumped away from Ryan, making the boy stumble backwards. Sharpay stood in the doorway, hands on hips, looking disgusted.
“What are you doing here?” Sharpay glared at Chad.
Chad crossed his arms over his chest. “What does it look like I’m doing here?”
Sharpay grimaced and stalked into the room, pulling her brother towards the kitchen. “Well, you can’t stay.”
“Shar!” Ryan twisted out of her grip but followed her into the kitchen. “He’s my guest.”
“Yes, well, I have a guest of my own.” She grabbed the carrots that were still out on the counter, frowning at the mess of sandwich ingredients that were littering the kitchen. “In the game room. And we’re going to need privacy.”
Ryan rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter. “We’ll stay away from the game room.”
“No, you’ll stay out of the house.” Sharpay grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and smiled at them. “Okay?”
“I don’t think so!” Ryan stood in her way, arms crossed over his chest. “We’re not going anywhere!”
Sharpay’s eyes widened at her brother’s defiance, and she mirrored his stance. “Yes, you are! Zeke and I-”
“Zeke’s here?”
Both twins turned to glare at Chad, who shrank back. “Um, maybe I’ll go say hi. Where’s the game room?”
Sharpay rolled her eyes and shooed him away with her hand. “Second floor, end of the hall.”
“Thanks.” Chad rushed out of the room, eager to get away from the inevitable explosion of name-calling and possible blows. Ryan could be stubborn when he wanted to, and Sharpay was never anything but. He found the game room without much trouble, and found Zeke leaning over the pool table.
“Zeke! Oh, god am I glad to see you!”
Zeke spun around and smiled at his friend. “Chad! What’s up, bro?” He patted Chad on the back and gestured at the pool table. “Care for a game of pool?”
“Sure,” Chad replied, picking up a pool cue. “Better than the war downstairs.”
Zeke chuckled. “Sharpay found ya, huh?”
“Yup.” Chad dropped the pool balls into the rack, carefully removing the triangle and lining up the break. “You here to take advantage of the empty house?”
“You bet your ass I am!” Zeke waited for the balls to stop bouncing around the table before stepping up to take his shot. “I suppose you’re here for the same?”
“Yup. And I’m not leaving. No matter how loud Sharpay screams.”
“I dunno, she can be pretty loud.” Zeke tipped him a wink, and Chad screwed his eyes shut.
“Oh god, ew!” Chad covered his ears with his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that!”
“What are you talking about?” Sharpay demanded, stalking into the room.
“How hideous your shoes are,” Chad replied.
Sharpay gasped and stomped over to Zeke, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Tell your friend to apologize to me. He should be nicer to me; I helped Ryan clean up the mess he made in the kitchen.”
Zeke rolled his eyes but looked pleadingly at Chad.
“You‘ve never been nice to me. And I‘ll bet you didn‘t lift a finger to help Ryan in the kitchen. Why should I apologize?” Chad crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin defiantly.
“Because she’s agreed to let you stay?” Ryan supplied, leaning against the doorframe.
“Really? I‘m sorry, Sharpay!” Chad moved as if to hug her, and Sharpay hid behind Zeke’s tall form. “We won’t bother you, I swear!’
“You’d better not!” Sharpay snapped. “You are not allowed anywhere near this room, the hallway near my room, or the living room!”
Ryan pushed away from the door, sauntering into the room to slide an arm around Chad’s waist. “Fine, but you stay away from my room, the library, and the studio!”
“What about the kitchen?” Zeke asked. “I promised your mom I would make her baked Alaska!”
“The kitchen is neutral,” Ryan explained.
“Can’t this room be neutral?” Chad whined. “I wanna play foosball.”
“Oh hell, yeah! I will kick your ass!” Zeke rushed over to the foosball table. “You up for a game?”
Chad started to move but thought better of it, looking at Ryan for confirmation. Ryan sighed and nodded, and Chad kissed Ryan’s forehead before running over to join his friend.
“Fine,” Sharpay huffed. “This is neutral territory. But the pool’s mine!”
“Dammit!” Ryan stomped his foot and they both stood there miserably as their boyfriends argued over which side they wanted.
“Hey, wanna play teams?” Chad asked, glancing at the siblings.
Sharpay looked horrified. “Play?”
“What’s the matter, Shar?” Afraid you’ll lose“ Chad challenged, leaning his forearms on the table.
Sharpay grabbed Ryan’s arm and pulled him over to the table. “I never lose. And don’t call me that!”
Ryan took his place beside Chad with a sigh. “This is not how I wanted to spend my evening,” he muttered in Chad’s ear.
“Get ready!” Zeke called, holding up the ball.
Chad pressed his mouth against Ryan’s ear, grazing his teeth along Ryan’s earlobe. “I’ll make it up to you.”
Ryan shivered and licked his lips. “Okay.”
Chad straightened up and caught Sharpay looking at him thoughtfully. “What?”
Sharpay shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Whatever. Serve, Zeke.”
Fandom: High School Musical
Pairing: Chad/Ryan
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue
Summary: Ryan's parents are away for the weekend, and Chad has a plan.
Chad pushed Ryan against the locker, attacking him with eager hands and a hungry mouth. Ryan moaned appreciatively, clinging to Chad’s larger frame. Ryan’s skin felt like it was on fire, and Chad couldn’t seem to get close enough. Chad ran a hand down the center of Ryan’s chest and cupped him through his jeans.
“Chad,” Ryan gasped, thrusting against his hand.
Chad grinned and licked playfully at Ryan’s lips before moving quickly away to find that one spot on Ryan’s neck that would buckle his knees.
“Oh, fuck, Chad!” Ryan’s fingers dug into Chad’s shoulders as he panted. “Chad, Chad…”
“Chad!”
Chad jerked out of his daydream as his history teacher slammed a book down on his desk. Everyone was staring at him, and he slumped down as far as he could in his seat, his face burning. “Sorry, Mr. Chase.”
Mr. Chase looked down his nose at Chad. “If you don’t want to pay attention now, perhaps we can continue the lesson after school.”
Chad shook his head and sat up a little straighter. “No, sir. I’ll pay attention, sir.” He’d been working on that fantasy all morning, since homeroom, and he inwardly pouted at the thought of having to start over.
Mr. Chase nodded and walked back up the aisle to grabbed a stack of papers from his desk. “Here are your review packets for the test on Monday.” He rolled his eyes as the class groaned. “You may work in partners for the rest of the period if you wish. Quietly,” he added as people started calling across the room to their friends.
Chad’s eyes immediately went to Ryan, who was sitting near the front. Ryan turned and smiled at him, and for a second Chad couldn’t breathe. Then a desk bumped against his, smashing one of his fingers. “Ow!”
“Sorry!” It was Troy, wide eyes looking apologetic as he scooted his desk a fraction of an inch away. “Didn’t mean to hurt you, study buddy!”
Chad rolled his eyes and glanced at Ryan, trying to tell him with his eyes how sorry he was. Ryan’s face fell and he trudged across the room to sit in front of Gabriella, who immediately started chattering about something or other that made Ryan smile. At least he was smiling.
“I need your advice on something,” Troy whispered, leaning close.
Chad raised an eyebrow and leaned in. “On what?”
Troy licked his lips and glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Gabriella and I have decided to do it.”
Chad opened his mouth to ask what they had decided to do when it hit him. They were going to “do it”. Troy and Gabriella were going to have sex. Despite being teenagers, there were very few people Chad knew who had actually had sex, and even less who were his friends. Chad himself had never gone all the way, and the idea of Troy beating him to it made him a little jealous.
“Why do you need my advice? I haven’t done it.” Chad opened his book and started searching for the answer to the first question on his review.
“Hey,” Troy placed a hand on Chad’s arm, picking up on his friend’s bitter tone. “I wasn’t trying to rub it in your face. It’s just, you’re my best friend. I thought maybe you could help out.”
Chad snorted and wanted to ask Troy if he was suggesting a threesome, but doubted Troy was capable of such things. He glanced at Ryan and Gabriella, who were probably done with their packets already. They had their heads together and were muttering quietly. Were they talking about the same thing? He knew for a fact that Ryan wasn’t a virgin.
Over the summer, Sharpay had made it her mission to try to keep them apart, even going so far as to tell Chad about Ryan’s first boyfriend. But he also knew that the one and only time they’d had sex had been terrible, and the boy had broken Ryan’s heart. Chad promised Ryan they would take it slow the first few months, which had almost killed him. And one night at a party, Ryan had practically mauled him in the bathroom and all their sexual frustration had erupted. It ended in traded blowjobs and a bite mark on Chad’s shoulder that hurt for a week. It had been awesome, but they hadn’t gone any further since then. According to Troy, he’d received exactly one blowjob and, unless Troy was leaving details out, he had never gone down on Gabriella. If they were basing their decision on history, they should catch up to Ryan and Chad before altering their relationship forever. It just wasn’t fair.
“How do I help?” Chad asked, forcing a smile and Troy clapped him on the back.
“Well, we’re planning on doing it tonight.”
“Tonight?” Chad shouted. He lowered his voice at Mr. Chase’s warning glare and leaned so close to Troy their heads were practically touching. “Tonight? So soon?”
Troy nodded. “We’ve been talking about it for awhile now, and decided tonight was the night.”
“You’ve been talking?” This was the first Chad had heard of it.
Troy looked down guiltily. “I don’t tell you everything.”
Chad had little room to complain. Troy didn’t even know about Ryan. Only Sharpay, Zeke, and Kelsi knew about their relationship, and suspected Gabriella knew something and would eventually figure it out. “So where are you going to…you know…”
“That’s the problem!” Troy threw his hands in the air.
The bell went off and people jumped from their desks as Mr. Chase reminded them to study over the weekend. Chad wanted to rush out just as quickly in order to walk with Ryan to the next class, but Troy’s desk was still in the way.
“We’ll talk later?” Troy asked hopefully.
“Yeah, yeah,” Chad replied impatiently, pushing at Troy’s desk. “Later. Promise.” He had to stop to give Troy one of those boy-hugs and by the time he left the classroom, Ryan was nowhere to be found. He rushed towards his next class, hoping to catch his boyfriend outside. They didn’t have the same class, but the classrooms were close enough to linger outside in the hallway until right before the next bell.
As he rounded a corner, someone caught his elbow, making him stumble. An arm linked with his, and he already had a smile on his face as he turned--and saw the wrong Evans twin grinning back at him.
“Hi, Chad!” Sharpay chirped.
Chad groaned and tried to pull his arm away, but Sharpay tightened her grip and practically pulled him down the hall. “What do you want, Sharpay?”
“I thought we’d walk to Algebra together,” Sharpay explained, an innocent expression on her face like they did this every day. She walked confidently through the crowd of people, pushing when necessary. Chad had no choice but to walk with her, but he was still hoping to catch Ryan. Even when they didn’t have classes together, the twins were never far apart.
Chad didn’t notice that Sharpay had stopped walking and was jerked backwards, almost knocking them both down. “What’s your problem?”
Sharpay narrowed her eyes. “You weren’t listening to me. I was talking, but you were off in la-la land or something!”
Chad rolled his eyes. “Sorry, Sharpay. What were you saying?”
Sharpay scoffed and dropped his arm. “I don’t have the energy to repeat it. You’ll just have to ask Ryan yourself.”
Chad’s ears perked up at the mention of Ryan’s name, and he twirled around, searching. “Ryan? Where?”
“You’re hopeless,” Sharpay sighed, breezing past him in a cloud of some expensive perfume that just happened to smell like cotton candy today. Or maybe that was her lipstick.
“Wait, were you talking about Ryan? Sharpay!” Chad rushed to keep up with her. He realized he was running after Sharpay Evans and didn’t care. If she had something to tell him about Ryan, he wanted to know. Even if it meant complimenting her shoes or hair or something.
But Sharpay strode into the classroom, wiggling her fingers back at him. Chad sighed and walked a few doors down, peering into Ryan’s psychology classroom. He wasn’t in his usual seat by the front, and Chad’s heart sank. What if Ryan was mad at him for not partnering up with him in history class? There were times when Chad wished he could work up the guts to tell Troy about Ryan. Maybe then they wouldn’t be interrupted or have to allow Troy to hang out with them when he caught them out in public together.
“Looking for me?”
Chad spun around, smile lighting up his face. “There you are!”
Ryan smirked at him, holding his books to his chest. “Stalker.”
Chad stepped closer, ignoring the annoyed looks shot his way for standing in the middle of the hall. “Sorry about history.”
Ryan lifted one shoulder elegantly. “Eh, Troy happens.”
Chad snorted. “Yes, he does.”
The fifth period bell rang and people started rushing past, pushing them apart. Ryan waited for a break in the crowd and rushed over to Chad, still lingering in front of his class. “Come to my house after school? Parents will be gone the whole weekend.”
So that’s what Sharpay was trying to tell him. Chad raised his eyebrows and shot him a dirty smile. “We do need to study for the history test.”
Ryan rolled his eyes at him and left him with a wiggle of his fingers that was almost identical to Sharpay’s. Chad had learned to ignore those similarities for his sanity’s sake. If he started associating Ryan’s movements or speech patterns with his sister, it would lead to darkness and very, very bad dreams.
***
Chad hurried to the lunch room, stomach growling loudly. Despite his tardiness in Algebra he had not received detention and he was eager to finish the day. A whole weekend with Ryan. Alone. Well, Sharpay would probably be there, but he was pretty sure her evil powers didn’t extend to phasing through locked doors. He grabbed as much food as he could and was weaving his way through the lunch tables when Troy intercepted him, steering him to an empty table. “Dude!”
“We still have to talk,” Troy explained, looking a little pale. “I need your help on the whole Gabriella situation!”
Chad caught Ryan’s eye and held up five fingers, hoping it wouldn’t take Troy that long. Ryan rolled his eyes and nodded. “Fine. Five minutes. Go.” He took a bite out of his apple and shook it in Ryan’s direction. Ryan was constantly telling him he didn’t eat enough fruit. But Ryan was talking to Jason, making wide gestures with his hands and making Jason laugh. Chad frowned as Jason said something and gestured with his hands, and it was Ryan’s turn to bust out laughing, doubling over the table and absolutely glowing. Since when did Ryan talk to Jason? Since when did Jason make Ryan freakin’ glow?
“Earth to Chad! We have a situation!” Troy waved his hands in front of Chad’s face.
“No, you have a situation, I’m having lunch. Are you eating?”
Troy shook his head. “I’m too nervous. Where the hell are we going to…”
Chad smirked. “If you can’t say it you shouldn’t be having it, Troy.”
Troy glared at him. “Where are we going to have sex?”
“Good job!” Chad patted his best friend on the head. “Your house?”
Troy shook his head. “Parents. And her mom will be home so her house is out.”
“Hmm.” Chad sat back in thought. He could always ask Ryan if they could come to his place. He practically live in a mansion; there were bound to be guest rooms. But then he would have to share Ryan with other people, and pretend he didn’t want to jump him and do wicked things to his lithe dancer’s body. “Oh! Your truck!”
“My what?” Troy made a face. “You want our first time to be in my truck?”
Chad shook his head and leaned forward. “No, in the bed of your truck. Hear me out!” He was starting to get excited about scheming with his friend. And with the new information about Ryan’s lack of parentals, he was starting a scheme of his own, though he wished he could ask for Troy’s help on the subject. “You get the air mattress from the garage, the one we use for camping sometimes?”
Troy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I could put it in the bed of the truck!”
“Yeah! And bring blankets and maybe even a picnic! Yeah! A picnic under the stars!” Chad imagined cuddling up with Ryan in the large gazebo Ryan had in his backyard, talking quietly and touching freely. “You’ll have to go out to the edge of town by the woods to park, but it’ll be awesome!”
“And I could leave the radio on!” Troy slapped the table in triumph. “Some soft music to put us in the mood!”
“You’re a genius!” Chad gave Troy a high five as he thought of all the songs that made Ryan smile. “Now can we go to our table? I think people are starting to get suspicious.” They glanced over at their table, watching their friends chat. Ryan and Jason had their heads together and were apparently working on homework. Before Troy could respond, Chad had marched over and noisily dropped his tray to the table. Everyone looked up in surprise, and he sat down as if nothing had happened. “Guys.” His eyes lingered on Ryan, who gave him a secret smile and went right back to helping Jason figure out his math homework.
Chad decided not to sulk about it; in just a few hours he would be sprawled in the passenger seat of Ryan’s Mercedes with the whole weekend open to them. In just a few hours he would launch “Operation: Get into Ryan’s Pants”. It was a working title, but one he could live with. He kicked himself for not giving Troy’s mission a name, but figured he had his own picked out in his head.
When lunch was over, Chad walked with Ryan to dump their trays. “So, you and Jason looked awfully cozy.”
“What? Oh my god!” Ryan stopped in his tracks, giving Chad wide eyes. “You’re jealous!”
Chad scoffed and dumped his tray, then grabbed Ryan’s from his hands. “I’m not jealous!”
“You so are!” Ryan grinned. “You’re so cute.”
Chad rolled his eyes as they walked down the hall, fighting hard not to grab Ryan’s hand. “Maybe I was a little jealous.”
“Uh huh,” Ryan replied, bumping their shoulders together briefly. “Don’t worry. Jason’s adorable and clueless. He’s like a pet.”
“You’re adopting Jason?” Chad shook his head. “No. We need to talk about this. If we’re going to have children, I should get some say.”
Ryan laughed and opened his locker, grabbing a notebook and pen. “Okay, we’ll talk about it this weekend.” He scribbled something and tore a piece of paper off. “I gotta get to the auditorium. Miss Darbus wants us to run through some student-written scripts. It’s gonna be hell.” He kicked his locker shut and folded the piece of paper. “You‘re coming to my house after school, right?”
Chad couldn’t help but grin at the hopeful look on Ryan’s face. “Promise.”
Ryan’s smile sparkled and he shoved the piece of paper at Chad before hurrying down the corridor. Chad arched an eyebrow and half-turned to watch Ryan walk away. He unfolded the piece of paper and grinned, heart swelling. Scribbled on the paper in purple ink was the word ‘kisses’.
***
The last bell had barely started ringing when Chad burst out of his classroom and raced to his locker. He hastily grabbed his history book and notebook and shoved them into his bag. He ignored everyone who tried to talk to him and ran out of the school, curls bouncing crazily. He managed to find Ryan’s car and leaned against the hood, tapping his foot impatiently. He wondered what was taking Ryan so long. Did he have to stay late? Did he somehow get detention?
“Chad!” Troy ran down the steps toward him and Chad wondered what the hell he wanted now. “Glad I caught you.” He stood in front of Chad, panting slightly. “I ran through the whole building looking for you.”
“What’s wrong?” Chad’s brain immediately supplied him with horrible situations involving Ryan. Some set piece in the auditorium impaling him or his grandmother dying or something.
“I’m not picking Gabriella up until 6:30,” Chad explained.
“Um…ok?”
Troy rolled his eyes. “I need you to hang out with me! Taking a shower and getting dressed won’t take very long. There’s no way I can handle waiting three hours by myself! And I need you to help me figure out what to wear!”
Chad shook his head. “No, dude. I promised Ryan we’d hang.”
“Ryan?” Troy’s brow furrowed. “You can hang out with him after! Come on, man! I need, like, moral support or something!”
Chad sighed. He wanted to say no again, but how do you explain to your best friend that you won’t help him through his bout of nerves because you have to hang out with someone else? Someone who hasn’t known you as long and hasn’t been through as much as your best friend has. Chad couldn’t, not without telling Troy the truth. And it was only a few hours; he could go to Troy’s until 6 and then make up some lie to get his parents to let him stay with Ryan for the whole weekend.
“Please?” Troy looked like he was about to cry and Chad finally gave in.
“Fine.” He spotted Ryan strolling out of the school and sighed. “Give me a minute.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked toward Ryan, trying to look apologetic. “Hey.”
“Hey, you,” Ryan replied. “You okay?”
“Um,” Chad looked down, biting his bottom lip. “Do you think you could maybe pick me up at my house around 6?”
“Huh?” Ryan’s eyes drifted over his shoulder and spotted Troy. “Oh. I get it. You’re ditching me for Troy.”
“No!” Chad insisted, though it was sort of true. “I’m just…he asked me to come over for a few hours…”
“Yeah. Sure.” Ryan tried to step around him but Chad grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Ryan? Please don’t be mad.”
“Why would I be mad?” Anger sparked in Ryan’s eyes, and Chad hoped he wouldn’t unleash the full Evans anger on him. “I’ve never been mad when you’ve ditched me for him before. I wasn’t mad when you partnered with Troy in history, I wasn’t mad when you spent almost the entire lunch period sitting alone with him. Why would I be mad if you hang out with Troy for a few hours? Oh, wait. I know why. Because I told you my parents would be gone all weekend and you promised to meet me after school! This isn‘t one of those times where Troy just shows up before me; you promised.”
Chad winced and wanted to tell him he was overreacting, but instead he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I’m really sorry. But he and Gabriella have decided to have sex tonight, and he’s really nervous about it. He needs some reassurance.”
Ryan blinked at him. “They’ve never done it before?”
Chad shook his head. “Can you please give me a few hours with him?”
Ryan took a few calming breaths and nodded, though he still didn’t look too happy about “Okay. Your house at 6. But I swear if you stand me up again--”
“I won’t.” For a second, Chad forgot where they were and before Ryan could stop him, he’d cupped Ryan’s face and given him a quick kiss.
Ryan stood frozen, staring at Chad. “What did you just do?”
Panic hit Chad like cold water and he whipped his head around. Luckily everyone had already left our was staying late. The parking lot was empty--except for Troy, who stood near his truck gaping at them. “Oh my god!”
“You…you kissed me.” Ryan was looking a little dazed, and Chad was reminded of their first kiss on the fourth of July. He’d look just as dazed then, but after Chad had reassured him that he wasn’t pulling some prank, he had grinned and kissed Chad hungrily as fireworks went off over their heads. Chad doubted he would get the same result this time. “You kissed me at school.”
Chad covered his face with his hands. “I know.”
“Troy’s freaking out,” Ryan observed, though he didn’t seem too worried about it. In fact, he looked rather smug.
“Shit.”
“You should probably talk to him about it.”
“Yeah. Can you, um…”
“Leave?” Ryan supplied.
Chad opened his mouth to apologize, but Ryan just patted him on the back and walked away. “I’m still picking you up at 6!“ he called over his shoulder.
Chad stood there and watched him give Troy a wide berth. Troy didn’t even notice; he was still staring at Chad. Chad sighed and trudged toward his best friend, gearing up for the end of a 14 year old friendship. “Troy?”
Troy’s mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.
“Troy?” Chad tried again. “Are you okay?”
“You…you…” was all Troy could manage.
Chad sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess we need to talk.”
“Talk,” Troy repeated.
“Ryan and I…” Chad trailed off, lifting his hands and looking desperate.
“You kissed.”
“Yeah. We, uh, do that a lot.”
“Have you…” It was Troy’s turn to trail off, looking miserable.
“Um…you mean, sex?”
Troy gulped and nodded.
Chad shook his head. “But his parents are gone for the whole weekend--”
“Oh god!” Troy slapped his hand over his eyes and Chad took a step back, arms up to defend his face. “Oh god, I’m an idiot!”
“It’s okay, not a lot of people know,” Chad reassured. “We kept it pretty secret.”
“No!” Troy dropped his hand and he looked so miserable, Chad wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “I cock-blocked you, man!”
“Yeah, well I-wait, what?”
Troy threw his hands in the air. “Here I am making you come over to my house to help me with Gabriella when Ryan’s parents are gone for the whole fucking weekend! I am so sorry, man!”
It was Chad’s turn to gape at Troy. “You’re not freaked out about this?”
“Freaked out? Why does it matter? Why would I freak out?” Troy looked utterly confused, and Chad was reminded that sometimes he had to spell things out for his friend.
“Because I’m dating a guy?”
“You’re still Chad, right? You still play basketball and laugh at stupid jokes, right?”
“Yeah…”
Troy shrugged. “Then you’re still my best friend.”
Chad launched himself at his best friend, enveloping him in a bear hug. “Dude, you don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Can’t…breathe…”
“Sorry!” Chad released him, grinning.
Troy grinned back. “So, are you planning your own mission this weekend, Mr. Danforth?”
“Yes, I am, Mr. Bolton. Care to help me plot?”
Troy slung and arm around Chad’s shoulders. “What are best friends for?”
***
Instead of going to Troy’s house, they stopped by Chad’s to pick out his clothes and convince his mom to let him stay the whole weekend at Ryan’s. Ryan hadn’t exactly told him he could stay the weekend, but he’d hinted and Troy thought it best to be prepared just in case.
Convincing Chad’s mom was easier than Chad had expected. Chad’s mom loved Troy, and the big eyes and earnest boy scout act fooled her every time. All he had to do was compliment her hair and mention the test on Monday and how a group of their friends were planning a weekend of studying at the Evans’ mansion and she caved.
Picking out his clothes wasn’t as easy a task. Chad had never really thought about what he wore before, not even on their dates. But Troy explained that clothes were important, especially for the weekend Chad was planning. They spent so much time picking and choosing clothes, Troy was almost late getting back to his house to shower and decide his own wardrobe. He quickly threw a shirt at Chad and told him to find a pair of jeans that accentuated his ass before tearing down the stairs and out the door. Chad had nothing to do but take a shower and wait.
Ryan arrived promptly at 6, and barely had time to say hello to Mrs. Danforth before Chad pushed him back out the door. He wasn’t worried about Ryan talking to his mom; she loved him almost as much as Troy. But if he let Ryan in, they would spend an hour talking about The Phantom of the Opera or some other musical, and Chad was eager to get their weekend started.
“Is there a reason you don’t want me talking to your mother?” Ryan asked as they climbed into the car.
Chad tossed his backpack into the backseat and ignored the question. “So my mom said I could stay the whole weekend.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, if you want me to,” Chad quickly added, averting his eyes.
“I suppose I could fit you into my schedule.”
Even though Chad wasn’t looking at him, he could hear Ryan’s smirk, and it made him feel better. “How kind of you.”
Ryan’s hand moved from the wheel to slide alone Chad’s thigh. “I’m a kind guy.”
Chad slouched down in his seat, causing Ryan’s hand to move higher. “I appreciate it.”
Ryan chuckled and gave Chad’s thigh a small squeeze before returning it to the wheel. “Did you want to go eat first?”
“Isn’t there food at your house?”
“Yes, but I figured you’d want to go eat some greasy, unhealthy food to start off your weekend,” Ryan replied, stopping at a red light.
Chad smiled lazily, eyes drifting over Ryan’s form. He’d changed clothes since he’d seen him at school; tight, cool denim jeans in place of white slacks, blue dress shirt under a black blazer. Only the matching blue fedora seemed the same, although Chad was sure it wasn’t. Ryan had a whole walk-in closet filled with hats.
Ryan caught him looking and laughed nervously. “What?”
“What? I’m allowed to look,” Chad replied.
Ryan smirked and turned toward his house. “No, you’re allowed to look.”
“And touch?” Chad extended his arm so it was draped over the back of Ryan’s seat, hand dropping to trail a finger up the side of Ryan’s neck, circling around his ear.
Ryan shuddered and twisted his head away. “I suppose we could eat at my house.
Chad clapped his hands and faced forward again. “Wish my house had a live-in cook.”
“The cook’s gone this weekend.”
“What?” Chad twisted in his seat, looking forlorn. “But who’s gonna fix me dinner?”
“Do you know who you sound like right now?” Ryan asked, speeding down a side street.
“If you say your sister, I will smack you,” Chad warned, lifting a hand to prove his point.
Ryan stopped at a stop sign and stared at Chad. He arched an eyebrow and licked his lips. “You sound like my sister.”
Chad narrowed his eyes at Ryan. They both knew he would never hit the dancer, not in a million years. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Looking forward to it,” Ryan smirked, winking at Chad before turning back to the road again. A spark of electricity shot down Chad’s spine, and he thought of all those empty rooms in the mansion, with no one to interrupt them. Maybe food could wait.
When Ryan bypassed his usual parking spot in front of the house, Chad’s mind started envisioning a secret entrance, or the Batcave or something. “Where are we going?”
“Garage,” Ryan replied like it was a stupid question. He pressed a button attached to a remote on his visor and slowly steered the car up a small winding drive on the edge of the property.
“Your garage is far away from your house,” Chad noted, eyes wide to take in every new sight.
“It’s not far away, it’s attached. It’s just, far away from the entrance.” Ryan’s voice sounded shy, and a quick look at him confirmed he was slightly blushing.
Chad kept his mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass the boy further. But when a fluffy white bird trotted out on the path, Chad grabbed the dash and yelled, “Duck!”
Ryan slammed on the brakes, arm stretched out to protect Chad. The car barely stopped in time, and they both panted as the duck quacked and took its time crossing the path. Chad’s heart hammered under Ryan’s protective hand, and he brought his own hand up to press his boyfriend’s palm more firmly to his chest.
Ryan smiled at him. “Thanks for not letting me kill the duck.”
“Didn’t know you had any,” Chad replied. “Are they yours?”
Ryan rolled his eyes, knowing a duck joke was coming up. Chad couldn’t stop teasing him about his mother’s nickname for him. “No.”
Ryan’s palm felt warm against his chest, and Chad was again reminded that he wanted to be in the house as soon as possible. “Shall we continue?”
“I’d need my hand back first,” Ryan smirked, leaning his head back against the seat.
He looked beautiful there in the dark, the small lamps along the drive throwing shadows on his face. Chad curled his fingers around Ryan’s hand and leaned forward, brushing their lips together gently. It was the first time he’d kissed the boy today (not including the slip-up in the parking lot), and his lips tingled when they made contact. Ryan sighed against his mouth and tilted his head, inviting Chad to take the kiss deeper.
But Chad didn’t want to make out in Ryan’s car; they’d done enough of that over the past few months. He pulled away and smirked at Ryan’s pout. “Let’s go, Mr. Evans.”
Ryan pouted at him for a few more seconds before continuing on to the garage, which was indeed attached to the house. It was almost as big as Chad’s own house, and filled with vintage cars of all kinds.
“Wow,” Chad breathed as he climbed out of the car. He wandered over to the closest one and trailed a hand along the hood. “Can I drive one of these?”
Ryan slammed his door and walked around his car to lean against the one Chad was admiring. “You’d have to sweet talk my dad for a month.”
Chad’s eyes slid over to Ryan, who looked like he was made to lounge against beautiful cars. “Can we make out in one?”
Ryan rolled his eyes and pushed off the car, pulling Chad toward the door. “If you want my dad to murder us, sure!”
The door opened into a room Chad had never been in before, and he realized he’d never had a full tour of the place. He’d been in the kitchen, the living room, Ryan’s room, and one of the bathrooms. He vowed to explore every one this weekend (and test out every flat surface, if he had any say).
“Where’s the…the guy that…valet dude?” Chad asked as Ryan led him through the back hallway to the kitchen.
Ryan chuckled. “Weekend off.”
Chad frowned. There were usually a lot of people around the Evans homestead, each with their own job. They were around more than Ryan’s parents, and Chad had gotten to know quite a few of them. “Lotta people with the weekend off.”
Ryan shrugged and opened the large fridge. “Everyone needs a weekend off.”
Chad eyed his boyfriend and wanted to accuse him of having ulterior motives for relieving the staff. But he kept his mouth shut and watched Ryan lean down to grab something from the bottom drawer. When Ryan stood again, he tossed a package of baby carrots on the counter and grabbed a jug of juice and a bottle of ranch dressing. He bumped the door shut with his hip, and Chad licked his lips.
Ryan’s hips were the first thing he noticed about the boy; the way he walked, the way he danced. Every movement seemed fluid, and when they had played baseball last summer, he’d noticed the grace the boy seemed to have. It almost looked like dancing, and Chad wondered if he would look like that playing any other sports. Unfortunately, Ryan had no interest in playing basketball, though he could be frequently spotted at Chad’s games, wearing red and gold and cheering with the rest of the student body.
Ryan poured him a glass of juice and slid it across the counter. “Want some carrots?”
Chad rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have any real food?”
Ryan shook his head and filed a small custard cup with dressing. “Help yourself.”
Chad grinned and raced the fridge, pondering its contents. “Do you know how to cook?”
“I can make toast,” Ryan offered, perching on a stool.
Chad snorted. “Everyone can make toast.”
“Sharpay can’t.”
Chad whirled around. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” Ryan grinned. “She can barely make herself a sandwich.”
“Ooh, sandwich!” Chad turned back to the fridge and started collecting things for a sandwich. While he would rather explore the mansion with Ryan, his stomach protested loudly and he decided eating first was a good idea. He piled as many ingredients into his arms as he could, but couldn’t seem to find any tomatoes. He turned around to ask Ryan where they were--and he almost dropped his food.
Ryan sat on the barstool, leaning over some pamphlet that had been left in the kitchen. His elbows rested on the countertop, and he was idly munching on a carrot. No, not munching. He was practically sucking on it, nibbling thoughtfully as he read. When the carrot stick was finished, a pink tongue flicked out to catch a drop of dressing on his thumb, and Chad felt his knees go weak. He quickly dropped his sandwich-making things onto the counter and cleared his throat.
Ryan looked up, completely unaware of the effect his carrot-eating was having on Chad. “What?”
Chad blinked. He couldn’t remember what he was going to ask Ryan. “Um…”
Ryan’s brow furrowed, and then he laughed. “Got enough stuff?”
“Huh?” Chad asked dumbly. There was a little dressing at the corner of Ryan’s mouth, and he whimpered softly when Ryan’s tongue licked it away.
“Do you have enough stuff to make a sandwich,” Ryan clarified with a smirk, sliding off the stool.
“Uh…tomatoes!” Chad shouted the word, causing Ryan to jump. “Where are your tomatoes?”
Ryan gave him a curious look and retrieved them from a cabinet. “Are you okay?”
Chad nodded, though he wasn’t sure. Butterflies flitted about in his stomach and he couldn’t remember being this nervous around Ryan in awhile. “Fine.”
Ryan cocked his head and held the bag of tomatoes in front of him. “Here.”
Chad reached out but Ryan pulled them away. He frowned at Ryan’s playful smirk and stepped closer. Ryan hid them behind his back and stepped away.
“Thought you wanted tomatoes?” Ryan quickly side-stepped again as Chad lunged for him and before Chad knew it, he was chasing Ryan through the kitchen.
“Tomatoes are an important component to any sandwich!” Chad’s fingers brushed Ryan’s shoulder but he couldn’t seem to catch the blond.
“You know, for someone who runs track, you’re awfully slow,” Ryan remarked, standing on one side of the island counter.
Chad’s eyes narrowed and he launched himself onto the island. Ryan yelped and dropped the tomatoes to the counter as he sprinted out of the room. Chad slid off the island and left the tomatoes where they were. He exited out a different door and caught Ryan in the dining room, arms wrapping tightly around his boyfriend’s waist.
Ryan laughed breathlessly as Chad lifted him off his feet, spinning him around in the air. “Not fair! You took a shortcut!”
Chad dropped Ryan to his feet again, hands resting on Ryan’s hips. He pressed against Ryan’s back, nuzzling behind his ear and knocking his hat askew. “I didn’t know the rules. We can try again if you want.”
Ryan sighed and dropped his head back onto Chad’s shoulder, his hat falling off completely. “No, you won. I left your prize in the kitchen.”
Chad hummed against Ryan’s throat, one of his hands sliding up under Ryan’s shirt to caress his stomach. “Thought my prize was right here.” His fingertips slid under the waistband of Ryan’s pants, and Ryan whimpered.
“Then take it,” Ryan challenged, face tilted up for a kiss.
Chad immediately dropped his head to kiss the other boy, feeling Ryan smirk against his lips. He forced his hand further down Ryan’s pants and Ryan gasped. Chad deepened the kiss immediately, pressing closer to Ryan as he felt the boy shudder. Ryan was practically purring now, hands reaching back to keep Chad’s hips in place as he subtly rotated his hips backwards.
Things were progressing quickly, and Chad failed to hear the clicking of high-heeled shoes on tile.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Chad jumped away from Ryan, making the boy stumble backwards. Sharpay stood in the doorway, hands on hips, looking disgusted.
“What are you doing here?” Sharpay glared at Chad.
Chad crossed his arms over his chest. “What does it look like I’m doing here?”
Sharpay grimaced and stalked into the room, pulling her brother towards the kitchen. “Well, you can’t stay.”
“Shar!” Ryan twisted out of her grip but followed her into the kitchen. “He’s my guest.”
“Yes, well, I have a guest of my own.” She grabbed the carrots that were still out on the counter, frowning at the mess of sandwich ingredients that were littering the kitchen. “In the game room. And we’re going to need privacy.”
Ryan rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter. “We’ll stay away from the game room.”
“No, you’ll stay out of the house.” Sharpay grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and smiled at them. “Okay?”
“I don’t think so!” Ryan stood in her way, arms crossed over his chest. “We’re not going anywhere!”
Sharpay’s eyes widened at her brother’s defiance, and she mirrored his stance. “Yes, you are! Zeke and I-”
“Zeke’s here?”
Both twins turned to glare at Chad, who shrank back. “Um, maybe I’ll go say hi. Where’s the game room?”
Sharpay rolled her eyes and shooed him away with her hand. “Second floor, end of the hall.”
“Thanks.” Chad rushed out of the room, eager to get away from the inevitable explosion of name-calling and possible blows. Ryan could be stubborn when he wanted to, and Sharpay was never anything but. He found the game room without much trouble, and found Zeke leaning over the pool table.
“Zeke! Oh, god am I glad to see you!”
Zeke spun around and smiled at his friend. “Chad! What’s up, bro?” He patted Chad on the back and gestured at the pool table. “Care for a game of pool?”
“Sure,” Chad replied, picking up a pool cue. “Better than the war downstairs.”
Zeke chuckled. “Sharpay found ya, huh?”
“Yup.” Chad dropped the pool balls into the rack, carefully removing the triangle and lining up the break. “You here to take advantage of the empty house?”
“You bet your ass I am!” Zeke waited for the balls to stop bouncing around the table before stepping up to take his shot. “I suppose you’re here for the same?”
“Yup. And I’m not leaving. No matter how loud Sharpay screams.”
“I dunno, she can be pretty loud.” Zeke tipped him a wink, and Chad screwed his eyes shut.
“Oh god, ew!” Chad covered his ears with his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that!”
“What are you talking about?” Sharpay demanded, stalking into the room.
“How hideous your shoes are,” Chad replied.
Sharpay gasped and stomped over to Zeke, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Tell your friend to apologize to me. He should be nicer to me; I helped Ryan clean up the mess he made in the kitchen.”
Zeke rolled his eyes but looked pleadingly at Chad.
“You‘ve never been nice to me. And I‘ll bet you didn‘t lift a finger to help Ryan in the kitchen. Why should I apologize?” Chad crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin defiantly.
“Because she’s agreed to let you stay?” Ryan supplied, leaning against the doorframe.
“Really? I‘m sorry, Sharpay!” Chad moved as if to hug her, and Sharpay hid behind Zeke’s tall form. “We won’t bother you, I swear!’
“You’d better not!” Sharpay snapped. “You are not allowed anywhere near this room, the hallway near my room, or the living room!”
Ryan pushed away from the door, sauntering into the room to slide an arm around Chad’s waist. “Fine, but you stay away from my room, the library, and the studio!”
“What about the kitchen?” Zeke asked. “I promised your mom I would make her baked Alaska!”
“The kitchen is neutral,” Ryan explained.
“Can’t this room be neutral?” Chad whined. “I wanna play foosball.”
“Oh hell, yeah! I will kick your ass!” Zeke rushed over to the foosball table. “You up for a game?”
Chad started to move but thought better of it, looking at Ryan for confirmation. Ryan sighed and nodded, and Chad kissed Ryan’s forehead before running over to join his friend.
“Fine,” Sharpay huffed. “This is neutral territory. But the pool’s mine!”
“Dammit!” Ryan stomped his foot and they both stood there miserably as their boyfriends argued over which side they wanted.
“Hey, wanna play teams?” Chad asked, glancing at the siblings.
Sharpay looked horrified. “Play?”
“What’s the matter, Shar?” Afraid you’ll lose“ Chad challenged, leaning his forearms on the table.
Sharpay grabbed Ryan’s arm and pulled him over to the table. “I never lose. And don’t call me that!”
Ryan took his place beside Chad with a sigh. “This is not how I wanted to spend my evening,” he muttered in Chad’s ear.
“Get ready!” Zeke called, holding up the ball.
Chad pressed his mouth against Ryan’s ear, grazing his teeth along Ryan’s earlobe. “I’ll make it up to you.”
Ryan shivered and licked his lips. “Okay.”
Chad straightened up and caught Sharpay looking at him thoughtfully. “What?”
Sharpay shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Whatever. Serve, Zeke.”