Archive of Our Own ^beta

I.

I could have danced all night
I could have danced all night
And still have begged for more
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things I've never done before
I'll never know
What made it so exciting
Why all at once
My heart took flight

Chad approached the theater dubiously. It was just about time for rehearsal to let out, and Troy's mom was giving him a ride home. Which meant, of course, that he needed Troy. And Troy was inside the theater.

He checked one of his watches and frowned. The rehearsal should have been done, but no one was exiting. And there was still music coming from inside -- show tunes, ught -- which meant they probably weren't done yet.

Mildly annoyed, and hoping Troy would get the message if he stood in the back and cleared his throat loudly enough, Chad shuffled inside. There were a few kids sitting around in the front rows, gossiping as they packed up their bags. Kelsi was providing the music, some show thing that Chad, thankfully, didn't recognize. No one was singing, but the stage was lit. Only Ryan Evans was on it, though, and he was dancing some kind of jazz-looking routine.

Chad watched him move. He seemed kind of serene, in a high-energy way, and totally oblivious to the kids chattering in the audience. And unlike when Chad saw him around in the cafeteria or classes or whatever, he didn't look at all stuck up or snotty. He was smiling slightly, lost in his own world.

And for one second, Chad kind of got it. It wasn't like he was particularly interested in dancing or theater or anything, but he could appreciate seeing a guy totally in his element. That was what it was like when he watched Troy play basketball. It was funny, actually, because even though he'd had to sit through countless Evans twins numbers at school assemblies -- he had no idea how they managed to talk the principal into letting them perform whenever the heck they wanted to -- he'd never really paid much attention to Ryan. Never noticed that he was so graceful.

Then Sharpay declared, "Ryan! Let's go already!" and began flouncing up the aisle towards the exit. Chad ducked into a seat quickly, as the music halted. Ryan finally stopped and bowed, waving as if the audience was applauding (even though, from what Chad could see, no one had actually been paying any attention to him), then jumped from the stage down to follow his sister. The look of peace was gone, and the slight sneer was back.

Ryan and Sharpay flounced out side by side. Neither one of them noticed Chad, and Chad finally began looking around for Troy.

II.

When there's someone you hardly know
But wish you were closer to
Remember that he can be near to you
While you're dancing
Though you've only just said "hello"
She's suddenly someone who
Can make all your daydreams appear to you
While you're dancing

Chad would have been the first person to admit he was kind of awkward in this whole dance… thing. He wasn't bad at it, exactly, he just felt weird about it. It felt weird to be doing something without Troy, it felt weird to put his hand on Taylor's waist, and it felt weird to hang out with Ryan Evans.

"…six, seven, eight, and step, two, spin, four, together, six, seven, eight, and…"

Chad stepped on Taylor's foot and then pulled away from her quickly. "Sorry -- sorry," he mumbled.

Ryan sashayed over to them and gave Chad a patient smile. "You're doing a good job at not looking at your feet," he said.

"Yeah, that's about all I'm doing right. I'm sorry, Tay."

She patted his arm. "It's okay, honey. I'm sure Ryan can help." She sounded kind of amused.

"You really are doing fine," Ryan promised him. "You're leading confidently, that's good."

"It's good when I stomp on my -- " he shot a guilty look at Taylor, " -- dance partner's foot?"

"Well, not exactly. But half the guys in here aren't leading, they're just… flopping. Trust me, the audience would rather watch someone screw up sharply than someone who's correct but blah."

"Uh… Okay," Chad said.

"It's -- " Ryan stepped back and took a breath. "It's the difference between this," he started to move, doing the same routine he'd been teaching, but… Different. His arms drooped, he shuffled his feet, he stared at the ground. "And this," he continued, and then -- the only way Chad could describe it was that he snapped, kind of like a rubber band. Suddenly Ryan was sharp, moving precisely, radiating strength and charisma. And he was right, because Chad got it, if only because Chad couldn't look away.

"And the thing is," Ryan continued, and now he was moving closer to Chad, "when you lead confidently," he had one hand on Chad's waist, grabbed Chad's hand with his other, "people following without realizing." Chad's feet were moving. He sort of knew the steps; Ryan had changed what he was doing a little, because Chad was dancing the same part he always did, but following Ryan's lead was about a million times easier.

"See?" Ryan said, as he stepped out into the spin. "You're great."

Chad's heart was beating so loud he felt his pulse echo throughout his whole body. Ryan stepped away from him abruptly, cleared his throat, and turned to the rest of the group. "So guys, seriously. I don't care if you mess up the steps. Just mess up with flair, and these very talented ladies -- " he grabbed Taylor's arm and pulled her back towards Chad, "will follow, and make you look good. Okay, let's go back to the beginning. Everyone places, and… One two three four…"

Maybe the pep talk worked, because Chad didn't step on Taylor's feet anymore. When he started to feel nervous, he looked over at Ryan. And somehow Ryan was always looking back, giving him an encouraging grin.

III.

The best things
Happen while you're dancing
Things that you would not do at home come naturally on the floor
For dancing
Soon becomes romancing
When you hold a girl in your arms that you've never held before
Even guys with two left feet
Come out all right if the girl is sweet
If by chance their cheeks should meet
While dancing
Proving that the best things happen when you dance

There was a shortcut from the hallway with the senior lockers to the gym -- but it meant going through the art wing, where the band rooms and art room and theater were. Chad, of course, tried to avoid that wing whenever possible, but when he was running late and didn't want to spend the first half hour of practice running laps to make up for it, he didn't have a choice. Backpack in place, he half-sprinted through the halls, knowing there was damn near no way he'd make it on time.

But he stopped abruptly when he saw Ryan and Gabriella coming out of the theater hand in hand. She was giggling and he was practically glowing. As Chad watched, ducking into a doorway to avoid being seen, Gabi said something too softly for him to hear. In response, Ryan stepped closer and swept her up into some kind of dance step. Not one Chad recognized, which was no surprise. They moved slowly, bodies close together, smiling widely.

Unbelievable. A small spark of anger began to ignite in Chad's stomach, his chest growing a little bit tight as he watched. The couple was slowly making their way down the hall as they moved, Gabriella twirling and spinning at Ryan's lead. He could hear them now. "Hey -- okay, lifts aren't as difficult as they look. Just go stiff and I won't drop you, see -- " He dropped his hand from her hand to her waist, lifted, spun, and set her down. She laughed something about getting dizzy, and that was about all Chad could take.

He stepped out into the hall and cleared his throat. They both looked up and saw him, though neither one even bothered to look guilty. Ryan even said, "Hey, Chad," and sounded pretty cheerful.

"What are you two doing?" he asked.

"Oh! Uh, Gabi saw some stuff Shar and I were doing and asked if I could show her some, so…" He coughed, looking a little guilty now that Chad was glaring at him.

"Does Troy know about these dance lessons?" Chad asked.

Gabi rolled her eyes. "I invited Troy, and he didn't want to."

"Yeah, didn't want to watch his girlfriend dancing with someone else." Chad barely glanced at her, though. Just stared down Ryan.

Ryan lifted his chin, throwing on that Evans family look, that snotty one Chad hadn't seen on him in ages. Chad seethed inwardly as Ryan spoke.

"If Troy is worried about me dancing with his girlfriend, he's even stupider than you."

"Excuse me?" Chad demanded.

"Oh my god, Danforth. I'm gay. I though the entire world knew that. I love dancing, and Gabriella is a lovely dance partner. If Troy has a problem, that's between him and Gabriella -- and if you have a problem, I really could not care less."

"Chad," Gabi sighed. "Come on, you're late for practice. I'll walk with you." She grabbed his arm and pulled at him, but he glanced back over his shoulder. The anger shifted into something else, something uncomfortable, as he saw Ryan take one of his deep yoga-breaths.

He let Gabi pull him away and hurried. Running towards practice, he told himself. Not running away from Ryan Evans.

IV.

Give me somebody to dance with
Give me a place to fit in
Help me return to the world of the living
By showing me how to begin
Play the music
Give me the chance to come through
All I ever needed was the music, and the mirror
And the chance to dance for you

Chad wasn't sure who he was going to have to kill first: Troy, Gabriella, or Kelsi. Kelsi had signed them up for this whole stupid show, but only Gabi had wanted to do it. And of course what Gabi wanted to do, Troy wanted to do, and what Troy wanted to do… Well. Having a chorus of singing basketball players just wasn't natural, Chad decided. Even if it was kind of cool that they were doing a show about them. In as much as show music could be cool.

Mostly he spent his time off in the wings, trying to avoid Darbus and -- well, Taylor, to be honest. Asking her to prom had been hard enough, even though they were just friends, but now everyone thought they were a thing and everyone laughed whenever they sat together, and it was just so annoying. It wasn't Taylor's fault, but Chad just couldn't quite deal with it.

So he hung out in the wings and watched.

Unfortunately, that meant that a good 90% of the time, he was watching Ryan Evans. Because if there was anything in the world Ryan loved more than dancing, it was choreographing, and so he spent every rehearsal up on stage taking everyone through their parts. Dancing along with them to demonstrate the steps. Standing in for a partner when someone was busy, or when someone wasn't quite getting the steps. He was all jazz hands and pink pants and hooker boots, and he seemed to be having the time of his life. His joy was infectious. People loved dancing with him, and Chad…

Chad kind of loved watching him.

It was completely insane, the way his heart fluttered whenever Ryan got close to him. The way his own palms got all sweaty whenever Ryan put a hand on his shoulder. And the way he forgot how to breathe whenever Ryan smiled at him.

"Take five!" Ryan called, and sauntered to the side of the stage to pick up a bottle of water. He glanced up to see Chad next to him and smiled. "We're going to run the basketball number next, so no partner dancing. So poor Taylor's feet can get a break."

"Hey, I'm better than I was this summer," Chad objected, staring as Ryan ran his thumb across his lower lip, wiping away the residual dampness from his lips. Chad tried to swallow, but his throat had gone dry.

"That is very true." Ryan nodded.

"You helped me a lot, though," Chad continued, babbling to cover his discomfort. "I mean, this is way more impressive than just the staff show, you're really… I mean, you're…"

"This is what I live for," Ryan said.

"I bet you get that scholarship."

"I dunno, Kelsi is great." But he was still smiling as he said it.

"Yeah, uh -- about that." It came out before Chad could stop it. "You and she -- I mean -- I mean, you said you were gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just was confused, because Kelsi is a girl, and -- "

"And we're friends," Ryan interrupted, now looking way too amused for Chad's comfort. "And since I, unfortunately, don't have a gentleman to bring with me to prom, and since no one had asked Kelsi…" He shrugged. "We're going to look fabulous. She's letting me pick out her dress."

"Oh." Chad shut his mouth to prevent any more babble. Ryan took another swallow of water, put the bottle back down, and stepped back on to the stage. There were a few minutes left in the break, but he waved at Kelsi down in the pit and she began to play something on the piano.

So for the next three minutes, Chad just watched Ryan dance. But for a change, Ryan didn't seem to be quite in his own world, because every few seconds, he'd glance over at Chad and their gazes would lock.

Ryan didn't stop dancing. And Chad couldn't help but think Ryan was dancing for him.

V.

Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music, shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say "Goodnight" and mean "Goodbye?"
Or perchance,
When the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
With our arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?

Ryan was absolutely right that he and Kelsi looked incredible at the prom. Not, Chad thought, that he was looking at all bad himself. Actually, he positively loved his tux, even though Taylor had rolled her eyes at his name and number on the back. But Chad had to be true to himself.

Had to.

Chad was having a great time, really. Thanks to the time Ryan had put into coaching everyone for the show, everyone knew at least enough to slow dance without looking like a penguin, waddling from side to side. Chad even managed not to step on Taylor's feet.

Taylor looked great, too. Purple was a perfect color on her. Chad was really glad they'd already put their kind of sad attempt at a relationship behind them -- other couples were bittersweet, having a last romantic night before everything changed, but not them. They could just enjoy hanging out as friends. Chad didn't mind when Taylor wanted to slow dance with the cute guy from her advanced math class. And he knew Taylor wouldn't mind when…

He swallowed.

The song came to a stop, and the DJ announced, "I can see we've got some dancers out there! This is a slow one for the couples. After all, prom is about romance, right?"

People began to take to the floor hesitantly, not everyone dancing well. Chad looked at Taylor, sitting across the table from him, and she shot him a smile. "Honey, go," she said.

Taylor was great.

Chad walked on to the dance floor, too nervous in general to be self conscious about walking through the crowd of couples. He zig-zagged until he found Kelsi and Ryan, who were dancing despite not really being a couple. Chad hoped Kelsi wouldn't mind too much.

"Um, Chad?" Ryan said, surprised.

"I, uh, you know. Um. I just -- " Okay. Maybe he should have planned out what he was going to say.

"Kels?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, I think I need a drink. Right now." She gave Chad a pat on the arm as she hurried by, heading towards Taylor's table.

"Would you like to dance, by any chance?" Ryan asked, sounding amused and kind of smug. Which was kind of hot. He held out a hand and Chad took it.

"I'll step on your feet. You know that," Chad warned, even as Ryan put a hand on his waist and began to move.

"No, you won't," Ryan assured him, pulling him further onto the floor. "You know, this reminds me of about a billion show tunes."

"There's a surprise."

Ryan laughed and somehow pulled Chad even closer, so they were dancing chest to chest, stepping to a slow beat.

"You realize people are staring," Ryan said, once Chad had started to pick up the pattern they were moving in. "And I'd have made sure our tuxes coordinated if you'd given me a warning about this."

"You wouldn't have let me do the basketball tux thing," Chad pointed out.

"True. Spin." Ryan nudged him, and Chad spun away from him awkwardly, then back. Ryan laughed. "Are you going to do everything I say?"

"You're leading," Chad pointed out. "Confidently."

"You're right. Spin again." Chad did, then Ryan brought them together again. "Now kiss me."

Chad managed not to laugh as he did it, closing the scant inches between their faces to kiss Ryan quickly on the lips.

And got so distracted that he stepped on Ryan's foot.

"Told you so," Chad said.

"Shut up," Ryan answered, and kissed him back.

On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?