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Ryan Evans thinks that he might’ve lost his mind. One baseball game and suddenly he was attached by the hip to a jock, and not just any jock but Chad Danforth, the best friend of the guy who Sharpay was very-not-subtly pining for. It didn’t feel like reality to him as he waltzed into the music room where Kelsi was at the piano. She slightly shuffled over, and he took a seat next to her, immediately banging his head on the keys and groaning to which Kelsi didn’t even react, being used to his antics.
“Everything alright Ry?” she asked, focusing her eyes on her sheet music as she made tweaks to it.
“How has my life come to this?” he groaned dramatically, “Also, Ry? You know only Sharpay calls me that.”
“Guess you’re going to have to get used to me saying it.” she said, smirking, “And what’s happened that’s so drastic you graced me with your presence during my working hours?” He waved his hand dismissively.
“If Fulton asks then you were helping me with something involving the Star Dazzle, you’ll be fine.”
“You’re giving me time to slack off work to talk to you and still get paid? Talk about perks of being friends with the owner's son.” she giggled.
“Yeah, yeah, we can focus on that when there isn’t a crisis at hand!”
“Again, what’s your crisis?”
“Chad Danforth.” Ryan said, elongating every syllable in his name.
“Mhm, so I'm not seeing the problem. The crisis is your friend?” Kelsi said confusedly.
“Yes! But the problem is he’s not just a friend, I like him. The one time I have a crush and it’s on a straight boy, and not just any straight boy but a basketball player with no sense of personal space!”
“Okay, backing up, you have a crush on Chad? That baseball game really did a number on you if you have a serious crush on him. What did Sharpay say?” Kelsi said, voicing all of her thoughts at once.
“First of all, I haven’t told Sharpay because I already know what she’s going to say,” Ryan said before putting on his best Sharpay impression, “Ryan! What did I tell you about falling for straight boys? Let alone him! You have awful taste if you’re interested in that… that excuse of a jock!”
Kelsi blinked, “That was... scarily accurate.”
Ryan shrugged. “When you’ve been around someone as extravagant as Shar your whole life, you tend to pick up on her mannerisms pretty easily. Especially considering I'm an actor. And to answer your other question, yes, I do have a crush on him, and I don’t know what to do about it! He's so touchy-feely and I can’t even stop it because it’s constant. He knows I'm flaming but he doesn’t let that stop him from basically hanging onto me every time we’re near each other.”
“He can’t be that touchy. And maybe he’s not as straight as you think, I mean everyone saw the baseball game and that was a lot more than just a friendly match, there was tension. And you guys have gotten really close already considering it’s only been a few days."
Ryan sighed dramatically, “I doubt that, he’s dating Taylor so there’s no chance for me either way.” There was a beat of silence.
“He’s not dating Taylor!” Kelsi said rather quickly, causing Ryan to look at her curiously.
“How do you know?”
“Well, because Taylor’s with someone else.” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Ryan shot up in his seat.
“Kelsi, tell me you didn’t get a girlfriend and not tell me.” he said, holding onto her shoulders.
“I got a girlfriend and didn’t tell you!” she squealed, “I’m sorry! Taylor said she wanted to keep it quiet for now while we’re at work, so I didn’t tell you.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“I don’t know... two weeks?”
“You kept it a secret from me for two weeks? Kels!”
“I just told you that I couldn’t tell you!”
“As long as after work you tell me all about how you got together without sparing any details then I'll forgive you.” Ryan said, grinning at her.
“Of course! Your house or mine?”
“My parents and Sharpay are staying late today with Troy for some dinner with the Redhawks, I’ll make sure Fulton lets you off early and we can go to mine.”
“Cool, I'll make sure to steal some of Zeke’s desserts before I leave. Anyways, back to your situation...”
“Right. What do I do?” Ryan whined, going to slam his head on the piano again before Kelsi stopped him.
“Well, at least you know that he doesn’t have a girlfriend, and you know he’s not homophobic because he’s friends with you and Taylor!” Kelsi said, trying her best to sound positive about the situation.
“So, he’s just a normal straight guy.”
“You don’t know if he’s straight, maybe bring it up to him indirectly and see what he says?” she tried.
“Hm, maybe I will. Now I have to go, I promised someone lunch and I'm not about to be more than fashionably late.”
“And this someone wouldn’t happen to be who we’ve been talking about for the past half an hour, would it?” Kelsi smirked at Ryan’s glare.
“I’m going to ignore that pointed comment. Have fun with your song, Kels.” he said, smiling.
“Have fun on your date, Ry!” she called mockingly. He promptly flipped her off and heard her distant cackle as he walked off.
---
When Ryan arrived at the dance studio, Chad was already there sitting on the ground but looking far more dejected than Ryan had expected. Ryan quickly walked over, kneeling down and placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, everything alright?” Ryan asked gently.
“Yeah, I just got into a huge fight with Troy. It seems like all we do is fight now. We're like brothers and suddenly none of that matters to him the second he plays with the Redhawks. He told me that I don’t even know who he is anymore, and I think he’s right. The old Troy would never abandon his team for some girl, he wouldn’t abandon us for anyone, but he’s changed.” Chad hissed bitterly. Ryan moved his hand from Chad’s shoulder in favor of looping his arms around his shoulders instead.
“I know he’s being an asshole right now, I saw him with Gabi earlier and their conversation was less than pleasant with me there but I'm sure he’ll come around. Like you said, you’re brothers and brothers fight but it doesn’t mean you don’t still care about each other. And I know he cares for you, he’s just going through something and not responding to it in the best way,” Ryan said softly, “Shar can do that to you.”
Chad sighed, “I know, I just wish that this stupid scholarship wasn’t more important than us. Like, I get that it’s important but for him to just completely ditch us like that is just- ugh!” he groaned. Ryan rubbed his back sympathetically.
“Trust me, I get it.” Ryan said, Chad’s situation with Troy was pretty similar to how Ryan’s was with Sharpay. “How about this, I'll make sure Fulton rearranges your schedule slightly so you won’t be working near Troy for a while until you both cool off, sound good?”
“Sounds great actually, all the Wildcats aren’t on good terms with Troy but none of them have blown up at him except for me... so far at least. I don’t doubt that someone’s going to yell at him again eventually.”
“Well let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, so I don’t have to do something involving Troy that makes Shar lose it at me.”
“And what would that be?” Chad asked questioningly.
“Getting mom to fire him from Lava Springs entirely.” Ryan said smugly. He loved being an Evans.
Chad grinned, “Yeah, I'm mad at him but not so pissed that I think he should lose his job. He needs to fix up his car, can you believe I've had to push that thing down the road before because it broke down?” he exclaimed to which Ryan chuckled.
“Doesn’t sound fun, so I'm assuming you’re feeling better?”
“Hugging you makes everything better, Ry.”
Ryan’s face quickly tinged red but he didn’t let himself fluster. “Has everyone mutually decided to call me Ry today? Also, I find that hard to believe since we’ve only hugged maybe three times.” he said, moving his hands in a so-so motion.
“What can I say, I like shortened names. And I guess I'll have to hug you more then.” Chad said challengingly.
“Guess so.” Ryan replied, standing up and extending his hand. “Come on, take my hand.”
“For what?” he asked to which Ryan smirked. “No, I told you at the batting cages that I don’t dance.”
“Hm, I seem to remember you asking what I would have you do. This is just me showing you what I would have you do,” he replied innocently, “now take my hand.”
Chad groaned but there was no real heat behind it. He grabbed Ryan’s hand and Ryan pulled him up and moved both of them into position.
“Okay, what’s this?”
“It’s simple swing, just step backwards with your left foot and then forwards with your right.” Ryan explained, watching Chad’s moves. “Good, now step to the side with your left foot and then your right, then again with your left foot, like this,” he paused to demonstrate, making Chad copy his steps. “Now repeat this the other way, right foot, then left, then right again. And since I just taught you how to lead, I'll follow and you’re just going to do exactly what I showed you.” Chad followed the steps Ryan taught him with ease and then Ryan spoke again. “Now for the swing, you need to turn slightly to your left and then do the steps again, left then right and then left, got it?” to which Chad nodded, practicing the moves Ryan showed him. “And now you do it from the start!” The two of them executed the dance with near precision, and when it was over Ryan just beamed.
“I knew you could dance, Danforth.”
“I never said I couldn’t, I just said that I don’t.” Chad replied which earned him a light smack from Ryan. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter that I can dance, you’re the one winning that Star Dazzle award for us.”
“We can’t win it if people can’t dance, it’s good to know at least someone can. Makes the list of people I have to choreograph for smaller.”
“We’ll win it for sure and it’ll be because of you, anyone with eyes can see how talented you are.” Chad praised and for once Ryan didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to praise because he was, almost constantly even. What made it different is that it was only him. For once, he wasn’t the afterthought because people had already complimented Sharpay, Chad was telling him without prompt, without Sharpay involved, for once he wasn’t just her shadow.
“I... Thank you.” he said softly, moving to hug him again to which Chad replied, “Four times.” Ryan looked confused so Chad continued. “This is the fourth time we’ve hugged now, actually.” Ryan stared at him deadpanned and Chad just laughed. Ryan assumed this might be a good time to try what Kelsi said.
“You’re far more comfortable in your masculinity than any other straight guy I’ve met before, I'm pretty sure ninety percent of them would have an aneurysm just witnessing our dance.” he commented.
“Well Evans, I hate to break it to you but you’re wrong.” Ryan looked at him confusedly, as if urging him to continue.
“Evans, I’m bisexual, can’t be comfortable in my masculinity as a straight guy if I’m not straight.” Chad said nonchalantly as if this news wasn’t flipping Ryan’s whole world upside down.
“Oh,” Ryan said dumbly. “I did not expect that. I thought that you were straight because of-” Chad cut him off, “Taylor? That's what the team said too.”
“I was going to say because you’re a jock who’s been with more cheerleaders than I can count but Taylor works too.” Ryan said playfully.
“I’ve never even been with any cheerleaders, where do those rumors keep coming from?” Chad whined. “Seriously, I talk to one girl at a party and suddenly I'm a womanizer.”
“Do you not want to be?”
“If being one means I have cheerleaders trying to get in my pants constantly then I think I'm good.”
Ryan smiled slightly, “You’re less predictable than I thought. Next thing I know you’re going to tell me you like theatre.”
“Well, not necessarily but some of them aren’t that bad. But I can’t watch Phantom of the Opera, I see Michael Crawford in my fridge daily and that’s enough to keep me away from it for life.”
“You've seen musicals?” Ryan uttered in shock. “Also, in your fridge? Why is he inside of it and not on the door like a normal person would do?”
“I don’t know man, ask my mom, she’s obsessed with him.”
“I think that I would get along well with her then, seeing as she clearly has taste in musicals.” Chad let out a noise in protest at the look on Ryan’s face, it was as if he was actually planning on talking about musicals with Chad’s mother. “Anyway, continuing from before, does anybody else know about you?”
“Well, the team does, so do my parents and Taylor. And Gabi but that’s because Troy told her which I expected from him either way.” he said, listing people off and lowering his fingers as if he had to try hard to remember who he told.
“Wow, that’s more than I expected. I assumed you would be more closeted.”
“It’s not like I’m going out of my way to hide it but I'm also not shouting it on the rooftops, you know? Most people don’t guess because I'm not like...” he paused, looking for a word.
“Flaming, like me?” Chad nodded.
“Yeah, not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s not me.”
“I get it, most people aren’t as flamboyant as me. Probably for the best too if you don’t want to get bullied.” Ryan stated as if it was an obvious fact, completely oblivious to the way Chad tensed.
“Wait, bullied? Someone's bullying you?” he asked, trying his best not to let the anger seep in through his words.
“Not avidly, but of course people bully me, I'm blatantly gay and I fit the stereotypes that come to their heads. It's usually just a throwaway comment when Shar’s not with me, they don’t bother when she is because they know she’ll ruin them.” Ryan said, smiling thinking about his sister. He really hoped she would get over herself soon.
“Do you know who they are?” Chad didn’t want to pry but at Ryan’s words it was kind of impossible for him not to.
“Usually just the football team, all of them are so afraid of being anything outside of the status quo.”
“Next time they say anything to you, please let Sharpay stomp on them with her sparkly heels and ruin their lives.”
“It’s not a big deal but I’ll consider it.” Ryan said, laughing lightly. Chad then noticed the clock and frowned instantly.
“I have to get back to work, I have a few minutes before Fulton chews me out for not washing all of the dishes to ‘pristine condition’.” he complained. Ryan pouted but knew Chad had to work, he was saving up for a car after all.
“Text me after your shift?” Ryan asked, feeling bold after his recent discoveries.
“’Course, see you later, Ry.” Chad said, beaming at this point and running off to get to work in time, leaving Ryan alone in the dance room with a larger crisis than he started with this morning.
---
When Kelsi met Ryan after work, a container of cookies leftover from what Zeke didn’t give to Sharpay in hand, she did not expect him to be practically bouncing in his seat. She got in the car and buckled herself in, setting the cookies down on her lap and focusing her attention on Ryan who looked at her with excitement.
“He’s not straight!” Ryan told her gleefully, causing Kelsi to grin along with him.
“I told you! Now you know he’s not straight, touchy with you and he’s not dating anyone. I think that means you have a chance.” Kelsi replied but Ryan suddenly looked hesitant.
“Just because he likes guys doesn’t mean he likes me though, and what if I say something and then it affects our friendship because he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Ry, you and Chad are close already, no matter what you do I'm sure he’ll stay friends with you. And with the way you talk about him I wouldn’t be surprised if he likes you too.” Kelsi said reassuringly.
“Thanks, Kels. But I can’t tell him yet, I have to at least try and see if he likes me.” Ryan answered while parking the car and the two walked into the Evans’ house which was more of a mansion than anything. Kelsi looked thoughtful for a second, coming up with an idea.
“How about flirting with him? If he reciprocates that then there's no way he doesn’t like you!”
“Is this how you got a girlfriend? You came up with the foolproof plan of flirting with Taylor and hoping for the best?” Ryan deadpanned.
“Well, I didn’t do anything, Taylor asked me out.” Kelsi said while grinning, strolling into Ryan’s room and placing the container of cookies on his bed as they both sat down.
“That makes sense, she’s quite bold, isn’t she?”
“She is and she’s so pretty!” Kelsi exclaimed, beginning to ramble about her girlfriend while Ryan smiled at her softly. Suddenly, he felt his flip phone vibrate in his pocket and checked it quickly seeing as it was a message. Kelsi didn’t notice as she was still caught up in her spiel about Taylor and Ryan made a mental note to ask even more questions about Taylor than he was already going to for accidentally missing a bit of her rant.
Chad
shift just ended, want 2 hang tmrw?
Ryan’s smile brightened, maybe Kelsi had a point and he had more of a chance than he thought.
---
The week passed by quickly and eventfully, Ryan spending a large majority of his time choreographing, looking over the costume choices and overall preparing for the Star Dazzle talent show. After a particularly good practice to which everyone responded enthusiastically to, seeing as they were beginning to understand how fun dancing actually was, Ryan hugged Gabriella who praised him for his efforts, but she quickly left after Sharpay strolled in acting like she owned the place. Which she did, but so did Ryan.
“I said keep an eye on them, not turn them into the cast of Grease!” Sharpay barked.
Ryan grinned. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“Do you want us to lose the Star Dazzle Award to a bunch of dishwashers?” she cried.
“Us?” he scoffed. “Well, I guess that’s showbiz.”
“When did you become... one of them?”
“You know, I'll take that as a compliment. But you and Troy have a good show sis.” Ryan replied, still smiling, and pat his sister on the back before beginning to walk out.
“Oh, we plan to.” Sharpay sneered to which Ryan rolled his eyes and continued to walk off. He had only just made it out of the door before Chad stopped him.
“Hey Evans, we still on for later? My breaks in half an hour.” he asked casually, making Ryan grin.
“Of course, where do you want to meet up this time?”
“Wait for me at the courts.” he replied grinning, already running off into the distance so Ryan had no room to refuse.
“What? Danforth, I'm not playing basketball and you know it!”
---
Ryan waited for Chad on the basketball courts begrudgingly, glad he didn’t have to change outfits in case they stained from another sports-related incident. But Ryan could never regret dirtying his white shirt during the baseball game, if he didn’t, it wouldn’t have led him to where he is right now. Chad offering to switch clothes with him was the beginning of their newfound friendship and Ryan was willing to dirty a hundred more white shirts if it meant they were friends.
“Yo, Evans!” Chad called, running towards him, ball in hand making Ryan groan overdramatically.
“I cannot play basketball. Feel free to go run around by yourself but I don’t have a clue how to play.” he said genuinely. “My knowledge extends to making a basket, dunking a ball and... doing that thing where you grab a ball after someone tries to make a basket that doesn’t go in.”
“A rebound.” Chad added helpfully. “And I figured as much which is why I'll be teaching you how to make a basket.”
Ryan blinked. “And why am I doing this?”
“Well, if you’re going to hang around me then you have to at least know something. And I danced with you a few days ago.”
“Hm, you make a fair point but if I do this then you’ll have to watch a musical with me.” Ryan negotiated.
“Deal, you’ll be lucky if you pick one that my mom hasn’t already shown me.” Chad said challengingly.
“Challenge accepted, now, what do I do?” Ryan asked, which led to Chad throwing him the ball which he just barely caught. “You better keep in mind that this isn’t something I do for just anyone. There are a lot of things that I've only done for you.”
“Show me what you got, Evans.” he smirked. Ryan stood a fair distance to the net, tossing the ball up in the air and watching it hit the rim and bounce away.
“Okay, at least it hit the rim. But man, your stance is way off.” Chad explained, handing Ryan back the ball. “To start off with you gotta bring your feet closer together and flex your knees more.” Ryan did as he said, raising an eyebrow at Chad as if asking ‘is this right?’ but Chad only grinned. “Much better, but you’re holding it all wrong.” He walked behind Ryan and Ryan tried to ignore the way his breath involuntarily hitched at the proximity. “First, you have to make sure your elbow lines up with your shoulder, like that, yeah, and now you have to fix your grip.” Chad grabbed onto Ryan’s hands lightly, positioning them on the ball. “See, your palm shouldn’t be touching the ball because when you throw it’s supposed to roll off your fingertips. And you need to spread your fingers over the ball for more control, good!” Chad praised, “Okay, I think you can try it now!” he said, stepping away and watching as Ryan jumped up, landing the ball inside the hoop.
“He shoots... and he scores!” Chad cheered, snaking an arm around Ryan’s shoulders and reaching over to pull off his hat and ruffle his hair making him squawk.
“I made the basket, yay, but does that really mean you have to mess up my hair?” he whined, patting it back down.
“You’ll be fine, besides, it looks good all the time anyway.” Chad commented offhandedly. Ryan was about to question it but before he could he heard the loud clacking that could only be his sister’s heels. He quickly swiped his hat back from Chad, placing it back onto his head and then saw Sharpay stomping onto the court angrily.
“Ry, I cannot believe you! I thought you would’ve come to your senses by now but you’re actually spending time with these... neanderthals! What happened? How could you possibly want to win the award with them instead of me? I'm your sister!” she cried.
“Sis, I think you’re forgetting an important detail. You kicked me out of your group, you gave up on our song, you’re the one who said singing with Troy was more important than Humu Humu! How is it my fault that I have friends who actually want to include me in something?” Ryan responded with the same amount of passion as Sharpay.
“I told you I would find you a song for the show!”
“You only said that to try and convince me to stop the Wildcats from entering the show. Now I'm apart of the show with them and you can’t change that.”
“Don’t be so sure of that, Ry.” she snarled, turning on her heel and stalking off. Ryan didn’t know where she was going but he knew it wasn’t going to end well. He yelled in frustration, completely forgetting that Chad was there until he felt pressure on his shoulders.
“Dude, that was... something. Is this a usual thing? I mean the screaming match between you and the Ice Queen was wow. You totally beat her though!” Chad said, it was an attempt at comforting and although bad, Ryan smiled slightly nonetheless.
“We don’t usually fight but this is the first time she’s completely thrown me away. It makes sense it’s over Troy, but I just wish her stupid crush wouldn’t make me mean nothing to her, it’s like on Twin Day when she told me and Troy to switch outfits because he didn’t have a twin!”
“Oh, I remember that! Is that why Troy looked so... over the top? I mean, no offense to him but he can not pull of that kind of look like you can.”
“Mhm, Shar just told me to switch them and he agreed and I had to. I ended up in sweats. Sweats! As if I would ever be caught dead wearing sweats in public out of my own free will.” he cried.
“Seems like she’s just using your compliance to benefit herself. It's a good thing you stood up to her man, maybe she might actually start listening to you for once.” Chad said, he had picked up some of those words from Taylor. After all, her vocabulary was mostly all words too difficult for Chad to comprehend.
Ryan frowned, “I doubt it. And when she walked off, she said that I shouldn’t be so sure about the show. I don’t know what she’s going to do but it’s not going to be pretty.”
“Hey, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it alright? We're your friends, we’re not going to let all your hard work go to waste.” Chad replied seriously, earning a genuine grin out of Ryan.
“Thanks, let's hope it doesn’t come to anyone having to get involved though.” Ryan said, unaware of exactly how bad the situation was going to get.
---
When Taylor walked into the kitchens, nobody expected the announcement that she was about to make.
“All junior staffers will be required to work on show night. No staff participation in the show will be allowed, no exceptions.” Taylor said glumly and a chorus of ‘what!’s and ‘no show?’s echoed around the room. Chad grabbed the paper off of Gabriella and stared at it, as if making sure what he heard was right before he realized his newfound anger.
“There’s no way this is Fulton’s idea!” Chad exclaimed, he knew this had to be Sharpay’s doing, after what she said to Ryan and how desperate she seemed to win, he knew that this was a level she was willing to stoop to.
Kelsi scoffed, agreeing, “Unless Fulton suddenly has blonde hair and wears designer flip-flops.”
Gabriella muttered an ‘excuse me’ and left the room to most likely talk to Troy, but Chad was more focused on finding Ryan and telling him about this whole situation. He knew he was still technically working but Gabi had just left so it wouldn’t hurt if he did too, right? He placed his apron back on the rack and scanned his card, quickly rushing off to the dance studio where he knew Ryan would be practicing.
---
“She did what?” Ryan exclaimed furiously. He knew Sharpay was mad but mad enough to convince Fulton to completely cut all of the Wildcats from the show? That was low, even for her.
“Yeah, she’s banned all of the workers from performing on show night with no exceptions. I don’t know how we’re gonna do this, Ry.”
Ryan sighed, running a hand over his face. “I don’t know either, but make sure no one stops practicing, I'm sure I can figure something out.”
“If anyone can solve this problem, it’ll be you. I’ll make sure everyone keeps practicing then. You think you can come up with something by tomorrow though?”
Ryan was deep in thought for a moment. “Mhm, but this all really depends on Troy.”
“Troy? What does he have to do with this?” Chad asked confusedly.
“If I can get him to go against Sharpay, we might have a shot at getting back into this.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I have my ways.” he smirked. He would need to talk to Kelsi.
---
The next morning when Troy came in for breakfast, Ryan was aware of the full situation. Troy was vulnerable due to Gabriella leaving and was conflicted about what to do with Sharpay, all he needed was a push in the right direction and Kelsi was going to be the push in this situation. When he sat down, Kelsi gave him a sympathetic smile, sliding the notice over to him. Troy furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched it up after reading over it, rushing out of the room. Kelsi smirked to herself and texted Ryan.
Kelsi
it worked. he's probably leaving to see sharpay right now.
Ryan grinned to himself and headed over to wear Sharpay was preparing for the talent show, looking forward to seeing her perfectly laid plans fall apart.
Only minutes later could a high-pitched scream be heard across the resort as Sharpay rushed down the steps over to Troy.
“What do you mean you’re not doing the show?” she shrieked.
“Exactly that.”
“We’re singing a duet Troy. A duet means two people! Well, mostly me in this case but whatever! Duet!”
“I’m an employee, employees aren’t allowed in the show.” Troy replied shrugging. Kelsi and Ryan smiled to each other as they sat together at the piano watching the chaos unfold.
“No, no, no, you’re an honorary member!”
“Not anymore, I asked Fulton for my kitchen job back. Sharpay, I don’t like the way you’ve been treating my friends. And I don’t like the way I've been treating them either so I'm doing something about it.”
“An entire table of university boosters are coming to see you, thanks to me!”
“So I'll be their waiter, they’ll be thrilled.” Troy said with the same amount of annoyance, him and Sharpay getting into an argument over the Wildcats and the show before Troy walked off towards the kitchen. Ryan and Kelsi looked at each other, giving each other a high-five and grinning. As Sharpay’s backup dancers comforted her, Ryan quickly slipped off knowing Sharpay would be looking for him any second. Mere seconds after he left, he could hear a distant “Kelsi, find Ryan!” from Sharpay and he sighed in relief at the fact he escaped in time.
---
The night arrived quicker than anyone anticipated but Ryan had faith in his plan. He went over to the dressing rooms, seeing Sharpay preparing for the show.
“There you are, thank goodness you’ve come to your senses. Plug in the volcano, Humu Humu is back on!” she exclaimed.
“Enjoy your pineapple on your own, sis. I’m not doing your show.”
“What?” Sharpay squawked in annoyance. “Oh, put some fresh batteries in your Tiki Warrior costume and let’s get going!”
Ryan smirked. “Took your advice, sold it online. You've always wanted the spotlight, now you’ve got it. Break a leg.” And with that he strolled out of the room, leaving Sharpay furious as Fulton entered the dressing room announcing show time.
Back in the kitchens, Kelsi had already told everyone what happened between Troy and Sharpay, so they expected it when Troy came in to work. Before anyone could do anything though, Chad walked up to him.
“Kelsi told us went down between you and Sharpay.”
“I’m more interested in what went down between you and me, man. I was a jerk.” Troy said seriously.
“Yeah.”
“But hey, brothers fight.” Troy said.
Chad grinned, “And they’re still brothers.” he finished, hugging Troy as the kitchen erupted in cheers. Then Troy turned to everyone.
“Guys, I messed up your show... and I’m sorry.” he said earnestly.
Zeke strolled up to him with a grin on his face, “Yeah, ‘cause show business is our entire lives, right?” to which Troy responded by grinning back.
“Hey, I hope you haven’t permanently filled my spot in the two-on-two game.” Troy began before turning to Ryan.
“And Ryan, I know how hard you must’ve worked on this show. Making these Wildcats look good couldn’t have been easy, so I apologize.” Ryan’s eyes flickered to Chad’s, who was grinning behind Troy.
“The truth is, we’ve all had a lot of fun. At least I have.” he said playfully while Chad suddenly grabbed Troy’s shoulder.
“You have got to see this dude play baseball.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Troy said, extending his hand out to Ryan who shook it causing everyone in the room to grin.
“Troy, listen, all these people out there, I don’t really wanna see my sister crash and burn. At least I think I don’t.” Ryan joked. “I think you should sing with her.” Chad closely watched Troy’s reaction, seeing the variety of emotions go through his face.
“I’ll do it. But only if all the Wildcats can do it too.”
“Might want to convince Sharpay quickly then.” Ryan said watching Troy rush out of the room to find Sharpay, Kelsi trailing behind him silently. Chad rushed over to Ryan excitedly, hooking an arm over his shoulder and exclaiming how ‘I knew you could do it!’ while Ryan only grinned.
Moments passed and suddenly Kelsi rushed back in, explaining the good news. Ryan hugged her excitedly, asking for the music as soon as Troy came back in.
“Hey, speaking of my sister, she wants you to learn a new song.” Ryan said, patting him on the back.
Troy chuckled nervously, “Everyday? I can’t learn a new song!”
“Kelsi will help you with it!” And then Kelsi had dragged Troy out of the room and Ryan slid across the floor affirming that show time was back on as everyone rushed out excitedly as Chad yelled the Wildcat chant.
---
Troy and Ryan slipped into the dressing room just before the performance began, where Troy questioned Sharpay for switching songs last minute however Fulton dragged him on stage before he got an answer.
“I didn’t learn a new song?” Sharpay said confusedly.
Ryan grinned before saying “exactly” and waltzing on stage.
During the performance, he saw everything come together, all of his choreography being executed flawlessly after so many hours of practice. He saw Troy grab Sharpay’s hand midway and drag her on stage, and even though Ryan was still annoyed at her, he didn’t let anything dim his mood. All of the audience were standing up and singing along, all of the Wildcats were grinning, and Kelsi was playing with more enthusiasm than she ever had before. As the song ended and Gabriella and Troy sung to each other with love in their eyes, Ryan looked at Chad who was looking at him so adoringly that it kind of caught him off guard but regardless, he just grinned wider. His cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling. Everyone did a dramatic bow, the audience clapping loudly and reminding Ryan of how much he loves the spotlight. Kelsi ran up from behind them, hugging Gabriella tightly and clapping while smiling widely at Taylor who beamed back at her.
“Fabulous, just fabulous!” Fulton said, striding on stage. “Well, if you’ll all please take your seats, I have one last task to perform this evening. The Star Dazzle for this year goes to, of course, our one and only-”
“My brother, Ryan Evans!” Sharpay interrupted, grinning as she passed the award to him. Well, not passed immediately but she gave it to him in the end. Ryan’s smile somehow widened, and he hugged Sharpay tightly. It wasn’t an apology, but it was the closest he’s ever gotten from her.
---
As everyone walked down the hill with their lanterns, Chad quickly grabbed onto Ryan’s arm.
“Hey, can you come with me for a second?” he asked, but he looked nervous and it confused Ryan.
“Sure, any reason?” he asked, but Chad just dragged him over to an area just far enough from the rest of the Wildcats that no one would hear them.
Chad’s skin felt hot, it was as if he’d just competed in one of the basketball matches against the West High Knights. He had his words on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t know if they would come out.
“I’ve been thinking a lot since the baseball game, I've been thinking a lot since we started hanging out, actually.” he started.
“Mhm, what have you been thinking about?” Ryan said, trying to coax Chad into finishing his sentences but Chad couldn’t focus on anything except Ryan and how he was right there and if he said the wrong thing it could mess up their friendship forever and-
“Chad, please stop me if I'm reading this wrong but...” Ryan leant down, closing his eyes and the gap between them. The kiss didn’t last long but when they opened their eyes Ryan felt a wave of panic rush over him for a second.
“Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one.” Chad said relieved and giddy.
“Why are you so surprised that I have a crush on you when you smile and look at me like that?”
“The question is how did you think that you were reading this wrong? Did you not see that I was flirting with you? At all?”
“To be fair, you are very hard to read,” Ryan said seriously. “I thought you might just treat all your friends like that.”
“Can you imagine me treating Troy like you?” Chad said, fake shuddering. “I’ve had a thing for you since the baseball game.”
Ryan’s eyes widened. “So have I!”
“We could’ve been together this whole time?” There was a pause before they both laughed softly.
“Does this mean you want to go out with me?” Ryan asked.
“You’re still asking if I want to go out with you? What do you think that kiss meant? Of course I do! Just... one more thing first.”
“What is it?” Ryan questioned, reaching his hand up to cup Chad’s cheek as everyone’s lanterns floated off, lighting up the sky.
“Kiss me again.”