HSM; Chad/Ryan; NC-17
Title: Oblivious
Author: coffeewordangel
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine, not real.
Summary: Chad really should pay more attention.
It’s no secret that sports are the way to Chad Danforth’s heart. He loves the adrenaline and the crowd and the taste of victory sweet on his tongue. Of course furtive locker room hand jobs are nice too but he’s careful, chooses guys who will keep their mouths shut, guys he’ll never see again. He’s never had a boyfriend and that’s the way he likes it. It’s easier.
Chad’s gone to school with Ryan for almost as long as he’s gone to school with Troy. He’s known since junior high that Ryan was gay, but he hasn’t ever given him a second glance. Ryan is pale and flamboyant where Chad likes sun-bronzed and closeted, so it’s not surprising he hasn’t paid attention to him. Until now, that is. Now, with Ryan’s long fingers curled around a baseball, his shirt lifting to reveal surprisingly toned abs, his fair skin flushing under the sun’s glare.
From the second Ryan challenged him Chad’s been half-hard and baseball uniforms don’t hide much. He can tell from Ryan’s smirk that he’s noticed. And Chad doesn’t care. They’ve been flirting the whole damn game, on the field in front of everyone, and Chad can’t seem to care that he’s probably outed himself to all and sundry. He can’t seem to care about anything except biting the smirk from Ryan’s mouth and tracing Ryan’s abs with his tongue.
Lust seems to have killed some brain cells or something because he’s pretty sure he sort of just agreed to dancing lessons. With Ryan. And oh christ, Ryan’s slim hips under Chad’s palms, his pert ass grinding back against Chad’s groin and he can pretty much forget rational thought for the rest of the afternoon. Chances are it’ll be less Dirty Dancing and more Sound of Music, but a boy can fantasize. Maybe he can maneuver private lessons or something.
For the first time ever, Chad resents the post-game victory celebration. Every handshake and straight-boy clap on the back makes him want to scream. He forces a smile, but he thinks it comes out as more of a grimace than anything, and all he wants to do is track Ryan down and pin him to the nearest flat surface.
Finally he escapes to go look for Ryan. He doesn’t have to look long. Ryan’s lounging out back behind the employee locker room, the side facing away from the club, nothing but desert as far as the eye can see. Chad hesitates, nervously licking his lips. Ryan’s smile is slow and hungry.
“Hey Wildcat,” he greets with a smirk. “What took you so long?”
Chad shivers even though it’s a bajillion degrees in the sun. “We doing this?” he asks hoarsely.
Ryan reaches out to pull Chad against him. “I don’t know,” he murmurs against Chad’s sweatslick neck. “Are we?”
Chad groans and thrusts his hips reflexively. “Yeah. I think we are.”
“Me too.” Ryan sounds smug.
After that they don’t talk much, except for the occasional hissed expletive. It’s been a long time since Chad’s done this. There hasn’t been opportunity and he’s nearly forgotten how good it feels to have someone else’s hand around his dick instead of his own. Ryan’s mouth is scorching against his, tangy with sweat, and Chad thinks he’s going to burn up in the afternoon sun.
Ryan comes first, hot and damp over Chad’s fist. He whimpers low in his throat and sends Chad over the edge like a domino chain reaction. They sag against each other for a moment, propped up by the concrete wall at Ryan’s back, catching their breath. It’s uncomfortable and sticky and Chad doesn’t think he’s ever felt so good. He’s liquid and golden in this moment, more relaxed than he can remember being since he started this job, and he kind of wants to stretch out like a big cat and sleep all afternoon.
Ordinarily Chad is halfway to the door by the time the other guy even catches his breath. He hates the requisite intimacy and ultimately awkward small talk. Maybe that makes him an asshole, but just because he has intimate knowledge of some dude’s dick doesn’t mean he wants to be best friends with him or anything. That position is filled. By someone Chad won’t even contemplate fucking around with.
Right now he doesn’t even feel like moving, let alone running away. It’s strange, but he figures he’s exhausted from all the physical activity. They need to get going, though. There’s a barbeque and they’re expected and if they take much longer people are going to start wondering where they are.
“We need to go shower,” Chad mumbles into Ryan’s hair. He smells bright, like sun and sweat. “They’re going to come looking for us.”
Ryan laughs. “Wanna give them something to talk about?”
---
Chad’s losing his mind. One excruciating minute at a time. It’s like everything around him is in soft filter except for Ryan and he just can’t concentrate on anything but the insatiable blond. Ryan is some sort of drug in his system and Chad finds himself hopelessly addicted. He’s never wanted like this before, never abandoned all else in order to seek out creamy skin and nimble fingers.
They’ve been hooking up for two weeks solid, every spare second they can get. Chad can hardly look at Ryan for fear of giving everything away. He’s jumpy and paranoid and wanders around in a constant state of arousal. It feels like there’s a neon sign taped to his back that screams ‘I’m fucking Ryan Evans!’ The bizarre thing is that no one has noticed at all. They’re too wrapped up in the bi-annual Troy and Gabriella drama. So, once again, Chad finds himself knocking on Ryan’s door with sweaty palms and elevated pulse.
“You’re late,” Ryan accuses, fisting Chad’s shirt and dragging him into the suite.
Chad nips at Ryan’s neck. “I was unavoidably detained. Besides, I’m worth the wait.”
“You think so, huh?”
Chad grins cockily and shoves Ryan back onto the mattress. “Oh yeah.”
“You have an elevated opinion of yourself, Danforth,” Ryan states loftily, squirming beneath Chad‘s grip.
Chad laughs at him. “Yeah, well you’re a little bitch, Evans,” he teases.
The strangest part about all this is not that Chad’s messing around with Ryan. It’s not even that he keeps coming back. No, the strangest part about this whole situation is that he’s enjoying himself. This is fun. They laugh and trade barbs and it’s not remotely awkward or serious or uncomfortable. They have virtually nothing in common, but it seems to work well for them and Chad finds himself listening with rapt attention to whatever Ryan’s pet issue happens to be at any particular moment. He thinks he should be more disturbed by this development than he is.
“Are we planning on getting naked any time soon or should I go find something else to do?” Ryan’s tugging on Chad’s belt loops and Chad can’t help but grind down.
His brain comes up with at least five snarky comebacks, but Chad decides actions speak louder than words and begins his slow descent down Ryan’s body. Ryan is always deliciously responsive and Chad thinks he could happily spend an entire afternoon discovering every spot that makes him writhe. Ordinarily Chad is about getting his and getting gone and his partner’s pleasure is kind of an afterthought, a gesture of politeness and little else. Making cool and composed Ryan Evans lose his mind is quickly becoming his favorite activity.
“Fuck,” Ryan hisses as Chad swirls his tongue around the tip of Ryan’s dick.
Chad’s getting better at the blowjob thing. He still can’t take Ryan all the way, but at least he’s not choking and gasping like an amateur. There’s a thrill of pride that runs up his spine whenever Ryan comes. It’s like getting an ‘A’ on a test he’s actually studied for or something. Sometimes he even forgets his own need for a second, just watching the blissed out expression on Ryan’s face afterwards.
“Did you want help with that?” Ryan lifts his head to look down at Chad, heavy-lidded with pleasure.
Chad sucks a mark high on the inside of Ryan’s thigh, making him gasp again. It’ll bruise, he notes with dark satisfaction. He takes his time re-tracing his steps up the bed, pausing to taste Ryan’s skin: the dip of his hipbone, the hollows between his ribs, his left nipple. Ryan’s glaring by the time they’re face to face again and Chad just grins.
“We do not have enough time for that,” Ryan scolds, firmly sliding his hand over Chad’s dick.
“You’re almost the boss, right? Can’t you write me a pass or something? Talk to Fulton?” Chad arches into Ryan’s strokes.
“Mmm. I could. Thought you wanted to keep this on the DL.”
Chad snickers at Ryan’s prim usage of the term. “I do. I’ll go back to work soon. We can pick back up again tonight, right?”
“Definitely.”
---
Summer slips by in a haze of sun and stolen kisses and before Chad knows it, fall and senior year are just around the corner. They’ve never discussed what they’re doing, never defined their relationship, so Chad isn’t really surprised when Ryan doesn’t call. He’s disappointed, more than he expected to be, but not surprised. He throws himself into one-on-one with Troy and hanging out with his friends and shopping for cars and generally making the most of his remaining days of freedom while trying to forget how Ryan tastes.
It’s still too hot for classes by the time they start back to school. No one seems motivated to actually learn anything and even the teachers seem disgruntled. Chad passes Ryan in the halls and they exchange a friendly ‘hey’, but nothing that tells how they spent their summer vacation. He tries to be okay with that, tries not to stare at the nape of Ryan’s neck in Math, pretends he doesn’t jerk off to the memory of Ryan’s mouth. All told, it’s pretty miserable to be Chad Danforth this fall.
Taylor breaks up with him two weeks in. She rambles on about gender stereotypes and a bunch of other stuff he doesn’t pay attention to because Ryan is standing a few feet down the hall, head thrown back in laughter at something Kelsi’s said. He doesn’t bother to tell her that they were never actually dating. It seems rude since she prepared a speech and everything. So he just nods and spends the next week shirking away from Gabriella’s encouraging smiles and Troy’s sympathetic looks. It’s creepy.
Things seem to be getting better after a month or two, at least until Troy and Gabriella begin some sort of weird drama outreach program and suddenly Ryan is everywhere. They go bowling and Ryan is there, tempting ass bent over right in front of Chad. They go to the movies and Ryan is there sharing Chad’s popcorn. They go out to eat and Ryan is there pressed companionably against Chad’s side, making small talk virtually impossible. He’s sitting at their lunch table and laughing at Chad’s jokes and stealing Chad’s french fries and Chad isn’t sure what to do besides grin and bear it and try not to have a total meltdown.
By the time basketball season starts, Chad is almost pathetically grateful for the distraction. He throws himself into practice, pushes himself until he’s drenched in sweat and too exhausted to think. It’s the only thing he can do to get some peace from the turmoil churning his brain. Sometimes the urge to shove Ryan against the lockers and kiss him senseless is overwhelming. The force of suppressing that desire makes Chad’s stomach tremble and knot unpleasantly.
The first game of the season has Chad on edge, wired. Ironically he’s at the top of his game, has never played better or given so much of himself before. He ignores Ryan in the bleachers, chatting with Gabriella and applauding in all the right places. It’s enough to drive him crazy and even winning the game doesn’t dissipate the nervous energy he has in excess. So when he runs into a cute brunette outside the school he stops instead of heading out to his car.
“Chad!”
Chad flips through his mental rolodex. He’s on the opposing team, number 19. “Ben, right?”
Ben smiles happily. “Yeah! So…how’ve you been?”
They hooked up last year at some point and Chad doesn’t do repeats, but he seems to have thrown out his entire rulebook in the last few months so one more can’t hurt, right? “Good. You wanna…”
“Around back?” Ben tilts his head toward the side of the school and Chad follows.
It feels wrong somehow, frustrating instead of relieving. He can’t seem to make himself want this and that’s messed up on so many levels. It’s like he’s fundamentally broken and when he finally comes he feels like throwing up. This sensation is not helped by the fact that when he pulls his pants back up and turns to leave, Troy fucking Bolton is standing there looking at him with disgust.
“Chad.”
“Uh.” Chad’s had nightmares like this, only the reality is a hundred times worse. “Hi?”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Troy seems strangely pissed.
“Getting a blowjob?” When in doubt state the obvious. Chad could kick himself.
“No shit. How could you do this?”
Ben seems to have decided that discretion is the better part of valor and run like a little bitch while he still could, because Chad finds himself alone with an apoplectically angry Troy. Chad tries to figure out the best way to spin a very, very bad situation. “Um, surprise, I’m gay?”
Troy glares harder. “I know that, you idiot. I meant how can you do this to Ryan?”
And suddenly the conversation is in an unexpected, terribly confusing place. Chad wonders if he missed a cue card somewhere. “Ryan?”
“Your boyfriend?”
“My what?” Chad gapes at his best friend. “I don’t. We’re not. When did. What?”
Troy frowns and Chad is deliriously happy that he’s no longer the only one who’s confused as hell. “But. You broke up with Taylor because you’re gay and then you and Ryan went on all those double dates with me and Gabi. I thought. You‘re not dating him?”
“Those were double dates?”
They stare at each other for a long moment before coming to the same conclusion: “Gabriella.”
Chad suddenly has a list of creative deaths for meddling brunettes with elevated IQs. “So the whole school thinks I’m dating Ryan?”
Troy shrugs. “Pretty much.” He pauses and then shouts across the parking lot. “Hey! Zeke!”
Zeke turns and waves at them. “What’s up? You in for pizza? Coach says he’s buying.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there. Hey, who’s Chad dating?”
Zeke gives them a look that seems concerned for their sanity. “Ryan.”
“Thanks man. We’ll see you there, okay?” Troy waves him off and turns back to Chad. “See?”
“We’re finding Gabriella. Right now.”
“Uh, yeah. Hey, no killing my girlfriend, okay?”
Chad glares at him. “No promises.”
They find Gabriella standing with Ryan outside the school entrance. She smiles brightly when they approach. Her smile wavers a little when she sees Chad’s expression. “Hey guys!”
“Why does everyone suddenly think I’m dating Ryan?” Chad demands, curling his hands into fists.
Gabriella blushes. “Well…Taylor said that you were in love with him and I talked to Ryan and set up some dates with Troy and me, but I didn’t tell anyone you were dating. They kind of came to that conclusion on their own.”
“I. I’m not.” Chad stops short because Ryan’s standing right there and he’s not sure anything he’s going to say isn’t a lie.
Ryan coolly raises an eyebrow and folds his arms over his chest. “Yes? You’re not what?”
Chad ignores the question. “So we’re out? And no one’s keyed my car or tried to beat us up or anything?”
Gabriella huffs. “Troy wouldn’t let that happen.”
Chad has a little less faith in Troy’s ability to control the entire student population, but apparently he’s out and hasn’t noticed and the world hasn’t ended or anything. “And I have a boyfriend?”
Ryan shrugs self-deprecatingly. “If you want one.”
“Oh, you mean I have a choice here?” Chad can’t help the sarcasm. It’s a coping mechanism. “And I’m not carrying your books or auditioning for musicals or anything.”
“I’m not a girl,” Ryan snaps.
Chad smirks. “Yeah, firsthand knowledge of how much you aren’t a girl, dude.”
“Charming,” Ryan drawls. “Why do I want you again?”
It’s a challenge and lord knows Chad’s never been able to back down from one of those. “Because of this.”
Chad reaches out and drags Ryan to his chest, hands firm on his hips, and proceeds to kiss him the way he’s been fantasizing about since summer ended. He can hear Gabriella gasp and Troy coughing uncomfortably beside her, but he doesn’t care. He’s touching Ryan again, tasting him and it’s so good he could fucking cry. Ryan’s melted against him, fingers flirting with the skin at Chad‘s waist, and it’s perfect.
“Oh yeah,” Ryan murmurs when Chad lets him go. “That’s why.”
“Yeah.” Chad tries for cocky, but he’s pretty sure he’s got a sappy grin on his face and he can’t seem to get rid of it.
“Uh, so you’re good?” Troy shifts awkwardly and doesn’t exactly meet Chad’s eyes. “No more cheating on Ryan?”
Ryan shoves Chad a little. “You were cheating on me?”
“We weren’t even together!” Chad protests. “And it wasn’t even good! I was miserable, I swear!”
Ryan’s eyebrows draw together in what Chad thinks is supposed to be a menacing manner. “From here on out, you cheat on me and I will end you.”
“You’ll sic Sharpay on me?” Chad asks with a shudder.
“Or that.” Ryan shrugs. “Her stilettos can be really painful.”
“I bet.” The mere thought of Sharpay’s rage focused on him is terrifying. He secretly vows to be the perfect boyfriend.
“Are you getting pizza with us?” Gabriella asks.
Chad doesn’t even look at her, can’t seem to look anywhere but Ryan. “Don’t think so. We’ve got some catching up to do. Apparently I’ve had a boyfriend for months and haven’t gotten any of the perks.”
Ryan rolls his eyes at Chad, but nuzzles closer anyway. “You’re not the only one.”
Author: coffeewordangel
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine, not real.
Summary: Chad really should pay more attention.
It’s no secret that sports are the way to Chad Danforth’s heart. He loves the adrenaline and the crowd and the taste of victory sweet on his tongue. Of course furtive locker room hand jobs are nice too but he’s careful, chooses guys who will keep their mouths shut, guys he’ll never see again. He’s never had a boyfriend and that’s the way he likes it. It’s easier.
Chad’s gone to school with Ryan for almost as long as he’s gone to school with Troy. He’s known since junior high that Ryan was gay, but he hasn’t ever given him a second glance. Ryan is pale and flamboyant where Chad likes sun-bronzed and closeted, so it’s not surprising he hasn’t paid attention to him. Until now, that is. Now, with Ryan’s long fingers curled around a baseball, his shirt lifting to reveal surprisingly toned abs, his fair skin flushing under the sun’s glare.
From the second Ryan challenged him Chad’s been half-hard and baseball uniforms don’t hide much. He can tell from Ryan’s smirk that he’s noticed. And Chad doesn’t care. They’ve been flirting the whole damn game, on the field in front of everyone, and Chad can’t seem to care that he’s probably outed himself to all and sundry. He can’t seem to care about anything except biting the smirk from Ryan’s mouth and tracing Ryan’s abs with his tongue.
Lust seems to have killed some brain cells or something because he’s pretty sure he sort of just agreed to dancing lessons. With Ryan. And oh christ, Ryan’s slim hips under Chad’s palms, his pert ass grinding back against Chad’s groin and he can pretty much forget rational thought for the rest of the afternoon. Chances are it’ll be less Dirty Dancing and more Sound of Music, but a boy can fantasize. Maybe he can maneuver private lessons or something.
For the first time ever, Chad resents the post-game victory celebration. Every handshake and straight-boy clap on the back makes him want to scream. He forces a smile, but he thinks it comes out as more of a grimace than anything, and all he wants to do is track Ryan down and pin him to the nearest flat surface.
Finally he escapes to go look for Ryan. He doesn’t have to look long. Ryan’s lounging out back behind the employee locker room, the side facing away from the club, nothing but desert as far as the eye can see. Chad hesitates, nervously licking his lips. Ryan’s smile is slow and hungry.
“Hey Wildcat,” he greets with a smirk. “What took you so long?”
Chad shivers even though it’s a bajillion degrees in the sun. “We doing this?” he asks hoarsely.
Ryan reaches out to pull Chad against him. “I don’t know,” he murmurs against Chad’s sweatslick neck. “Are we?”
Chad groans and thrusts his hips reflexively. “Yeah. I think we are.”
“Me too.” Ryan sounds smug.
After that they don’t talk much, except for the occasional hissed expletive. It’s been a long time since Chad’s done this. There hasn’t been opportunity and he’s nearly forgotten how good it feels to have someone else’s hand around his dick instead of his own. Ryan’s mouth is scorching against his, tangy with sweat, and Chad thinks he’s going to burn up in the afternoon sun.
Ryan comes first, hot and damp over Chad’s fist. He whimpers low in his throat and sends Chad over the edge like a domino chain reaction. They sag against each other for a moment, propped up by the concrete wall at Ryan’s back, catching their breath. It’s uncomfortable and sticky and Chad doesn’t think he’s ever felt so good. He’s liquid and golden in this moment, more relaxed than he can remember being since he started this job, and he kind of wants to stretch out like a big cat and sleep all afternoon.
Ordinarily Chad is halfway to the door by the time the other guy even catches his breath. He hates the requisite intimacy and ultimately awkward small talk. Maybe that makes him an asshole, but just because he has intimate knowledge of some dude’s dick doesn’t mean he wants to be best friends with him or anything. That position is filled. By someone Chad won’t even contemplate fucking around with.
Right now he doesn’t even feel like moving, let alone running away. It’s strange, but he figures he’s exhausted from all the physical activity. They need to get going, though. There’s a barbeque and they’re expected and if they take much longer people are going to start wondering where they are.
“We need to go shower,” Chad mumbles into Ryan’s hair. He smells bright, like sun and sweat. “They’re going to come looking for us.”
Ryan laughs. “Wanna give them something to talk about?”
---
Chad’s losing his mind. One excruciating minute at a time. It’s like everything around him is in soft filter except for Ryan and he just can’t concentrate on anything but the insatiable blond. Ryan is some sort of drug in his system and Chad finds himself hopelessly addicted. He’s never wanted like this before, never abandoned all else in order to seek out creamy skin and nimble fingers.
They’ve been hooking up for two weeks solid, every spare second they can get. Chad can hardly look at Ryan for fear of giving everything away. He’s jumpy and paranoid and wanders around in a constant state of arousal. It feels like there’s a neon sign taped to his back that screams ‘I’m fucking Ryan Evans!’ The bizarre thing is that no one has noticed at all. They’re too wrapped up in the bi-annual Troy and Gabriella drama. So, once again, Chad finds himself knocking on Ryan’s door with sweaty palms and elevated pulse.
“You’re late,” Ryan accuses, fisting Chad’s shirt and dragging him into the suite.
Chad nips at Ryan’s neck. “I was unavoidably detained. Besides, I’m worth the wait.”
“You think so, huh?”
Chad grins cockily and shoves Ryan back onto the mattress. “Oh yeah.”
“You have an elevated opinion of yourself, Danforth,” Ryan states loftily, squirming beneath Chad‘s grip.
Chad laughs at him. “Yeah, well you’re a little bitch, Evans,” he teases.
The strangest part about all this is not that Chad’s messing around with Ryan. It’s not even that he keeps coming back. No, the strangest part about this whole situation is that he’s enjoying himself. This is fun. They laugh and trade barbs and it’s not remotely awkward or serious or uncomfortable. They have virtually nothing in common, but it seems to work well for them and Chad finds himself listening with rapt attention to whatever Ryan’s pet issue happens to be at any particular moment. He thinks he should be more disturbed by this development than he is.
“Are we planning on getting naked any time soon or should I go find something else to do?” Ryan’s tugging on Chad’s belt loops and Chad can’t help but grind down.
His brain comes up with at least five snarky comebacks, but Chad decides actions speak louder than words and begins his slow descent down Ryan’s body. Ryan is always deliciously responsive and Chad thinks he could happily spend an entire afternoon discovering every spot that makes him writhe. Ordinarily Chad is about getting his and getting gone and his partner’s pleasure is kind of an afterthought, a gesture of politeness and little else. Making cool and composed Ryan Evans lose his mind is quickly becoming his favorite activity.
“Fuck,” Ryan hisses as Chad swirls his tongue around the tip of Ryan’s dick.
Chad’s getting better at the blowjob thing. He still can’t take Ryan all the way, but at least he’s not choking and gasping like an amateur. There’s a thrill of pride that runs up his spine whenever Ryan comes. It’s like getting an ‘A’ on a test he’s actually studied for or something. Sometimes he even forgets his own need for a second, just watching the blissed out expression on Ryan’s face afterwards.
“Did you want help with that?” Ryan lifts his head to look down at Chad, heavy-lidded with pleasure.
Chad sucks a mark high on the inside of Ryan’s thigh, making him gasp again. It’ll bruise, he notes with dark satisfaction. He takes his time re-tracing his steps up the bed, pausing to taste Ryan’s skin: the dip of his hipbone, the hollows between his ribs, his left nipple. Ryan’s glaring by the time they’re face to face again and Chad just grins.
“We do not have enough time for that,” Ryan scolds, firmly sliding his hand over Chad’s dick.
“You’re almost the boss, right? Can’t you write me a pass or something? Talk to Fulton?” Chad arches into Ryan’s strokes.
“Mmm. I could. Thought you wanted to keep this on the DL.”
Chad snickers at Ryan’s prim usage of the term. “I do. I’ll go back to work soon. We can pick back up again tonight, right?”
“Definitely.”
---
Summer slips by in a haze of sun and stolen kisses and before Chad knows it, fall and senior year are just around the corner. They’ve never discussed what they’re doing, never defined their relationship, so Chad isn’t really surprised when Ryan doesn’t call. He’s disappointed, more than he expected to be, but not surprised. He throws himself into one-on-one with Troy and hanging out with his friends and shopping for cars and generally making the most of his remaining days of freedom while trying to forget how Ryan tastes.
It’s still too hot for classes by the time they start back to school. No one seems motivated to actually learn anything and even the teachers seem disgruntled. Chad passes Ryan in the halls and they exchange a friendly ‘hey’, but nothing that tells how they spent their summer vacation. He tries to be okay with that, tries not to stare at the nape of Ryan’s neck in Math, pretends he doesn’t jerk off to the memory of Ryan’s mouth. All told, it’s pretty miserable to be Chad Danforth this fall.
Taylor breaks up with him two weeks in. She rambles on about gender stereotypes and a bunch of other stuff he doesn’t pay attention to because Ryan is standing a few feet down the hall, head thrown back in laughter at something Kelsi’s said. He doesn’t bother to tell her that they were never actually dating. It seems rude since she prepared a speech and everything. So he just nods and spends the next week shirking away from Gabriella’s encouraging smiles and Troy’s sympathetic looks. It’s creepy.
Things seem to be getting better after a month or two, at least until Troy and Gabriella begin some sort of weird drama outreach program and suddenly Ryan is everywhere. They go bowling and Ryan is there, tempting ass bent over right in front of Chad. They go to the movies and Ryan is there sharing Chad’s popcorn. They go out to eat and Ryan is there pressed companionably against Chad’s side, making small talk virtually impossible. He’s sitting at their lunch table and laughing at Chad’s jokes and stealing Chad’s french fries and Chad isn’t sure what to do besides grin and bear it and try not to have a total meltdown.
By the time basketball season starts, Chad is almost pathetically grateful for the distraction. He throws himself into practice, pushes himself until he’s drenched in sweat and too exhausted to think. It’s the only thing he can do to get some peace from the turmoil churning his brain. Sometimes the urge to shove Ryan against the lockers and kiss him senseless is overwhelming. The force of suppressing that desire makes Chad’s stomach tremble and knot unpleasantly.
The first game of the season has Chad on edge, wired. Ironically he’s at the top of his game, has never played better or given so much of himself before. He ignores Ryan in the bleachers, chatting with Gabriella and applauding in all the right places. It’s enough to drive him crazy and even winning the game doesn’t dissipate the nervous energy he has in excess. So when he runs into a cute brunette outside the school he stops instead of heading out to his car.
“Chad!”
Chad flips through his mental rolodex. He’s on the opposing team, number 19. “Ben, right?”
Ben smiles happily. “Yeah! So…how’ve you been?”
They hooked up last year at some point and Chad doesn’t do repeats, but he seems to have thrown out his entire rulebook in the last few months so one more can’t hurt, right? “Good. You wanna…”
“Around back?” Ben tilts his head toward the side of the school and Chad follows.
It feels wrong somehow, frustrating instead of relieving. He can’t seem to make himself want this and that’s messed up on so many levels. It’s like he’s fundamentally broken and when he finally comes he feels like throwing up. This sensation is not helped by the fact that when he pulls his pants back up and turns to leave, Troy fucking Bolton is standing there looking at him with disgust.
“Chad.”
“Uh.” Chad’s had nightmares like this, only the reality is a hundred times worse. “Hi?”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Troy seems strangely pissed.
“Getting a blowjob?” When in doubt state the obvious. Chad could kick himself.
“No shit. How could you do this?”
Ben seems to have decided that discretion is the better part of valor and run like a little bitch while he still could, because Chad finds himself alone with an apoplectically angry Troy. Chad tries to figure out the best way to spin a very, very bad situation. “Um, surprise, I’m gay?”
Troy glares harder. “I know that, you idiot. I meant how can you do this to Ryan?”
And suddenly the conversation is in an unexpected, terribly confusing place. Chad wonders if he missed a cue card somewhere. “Ryan?”
“Your boyfriend?”
“My what?” Chad gapes at his best friend. “I don’t. We’re not. When did. What?”
Troy frowns and Chad is deliriously happy that he’s no longer the only one who’s confused as hell. “But. You broke up with Taylor because you’re gay and then you and Ryan went on all those double dates with me and Gabi. I thought. You‘re not dating him?”
“Those were double dates?”
They stare at each other for a long moment before coming to the same conclusion: “Gabriella.”
Chad suddenly has a list of creative deaths for meddling brunettes with elevated IQs. “So the whole school thinks I’m dating Ryan?”
Troy shrugs. “Pretty much.” He pauses and then shouts across the parking lot. “Hey! Zeke!”
Zeke turns and waves at them. “What’s up? You in for pizza? Coach says he’s buying.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there. Hey, who’s Chad dating?”
Zeke gives them a look that seems concerned for their sanity. “Ryan.”
“Thanks man. We’ll see you there, okay?” Troy waves him off and turns back to Chad. “See?”
“We’re finding Gabriella. Right now.”
“Uh, yeah. Hey, no killing my girlfriend, okay?”
Chad glares at him. “No promises.”
They find Gabriella standing with Ryan outside the school entrance. She smiles brightly when they approach. Her smile wavers a little when she sees Chad’s expression. “Hey guys!”
“Why does everyone suddenly think I’m dating Ryan?” Chad demands, curling his hands into fists.
Gabriella blushes. “Well…Taylor said that you were in love with him and I talked to Ryan and set up some dates with Troy and me, but I didn’t tell anyone you were dating. They kind of came to that conclusion on their own.”
“I. I’m not.” Chad stops short because Ryan’s standing right there and he’s not sure anything he’s going to say isn’t a lie.
Ryan coolly raises an eyebrow and folds his arms over his chest. “Yes? You’re not what?”
Chad ignores the question. “So we’re out? And no one’s keyed my car or tried to beat us up or anything?”
Gabriella huffs. “Troy wouldn’t let that happen.”
Chad has a little less faith in Troy’s ability to control the entire student population, but apparently he’s out and hasn’t noticed and the world hasn’t ended or anything. “And I have a boyfriend?”
Ryan shrugs self-deprecatingly. “If you want one.”
“Oh, you mean I have a choice here?” Chad can’t help the sarcasm. It’s a coping mechanism. “And I’m not carrying your books or auditioning for musicals or anything.”
“I’m not a girl,” Ryan snaps.
Chad smirks. “Yeah, firsthand knowledge of how much you aren’t a girl, dude.”
“Charming,” Ryan drawls. “Why do I want you again?”
It’s a challenge and lord knows Chad’s never been able to back down from one of those. “Because of this.”
Chad reaches out and drags Ryan to his chest, hands firm on his hips, and proceeds to kiss him the way he’s been fantasizing about since summer ended. He can hear Gabriella gasp and Troy coughing uncomfortably beside her, but he doesn’t care. He’s touching Ryan again, tasting him and it’s so good he could fucking cry. Ryan’s melted against him, fingers flirting with the skin at Chad‘s waist, and it’s perfect.
“Oh yeah,” Ryan murmurs when Chad lets him go. “That’s why.”
“Yeah.” Chad tries for cocky, but he’s pretty sure he’s got a sappy grin on his face and he can’t seem to get rid of it.
“Uh, so you’re good?” Troy shifts awkwardly and doesn’t exactly meet Chad’s eyes. “No more cheating on Ryan?”
Ryan shoves Chad a little. “You were cheating on me?”
“We weren’t even together!” Chad protests. “And it wasn’t even good! I was miserable, I swear!”
Ryan’s eyebrows draw together in what Chad thinks is supposed to be a menacing manner. “From here on out, you cheat on me and I will end you.”
“You’ll sic Sharpay on me?” Chad asks with a shudder.
“Or that.” Ryan shrugs. “Her stilettos can be really painful.”
“I bet.” The mere thought of Sharpay’s rage focused on him is terrifying. He secretly vows to be the perfect boyfriend.
“Are you getting pizza with us?” Gabriella asks.
Chad doesn’t even look at her, can’t seem to look anywhere but Ryan. “Don’t think so. We’ve got some catching up to do. Apparently I’ve had a boyfriend for months and haven’t gotten any of the perks.”
Ryan rolls his eyes at Chad, but nuzzles closer anyway. “You’re not the only one.”