Gift for roseclaw
Author: jerico_cacaw
Recipient: roseclaw
Title: Up and beyond
Pairing(s): Chad/Ryan, implied Gabriella/Troy
Summary: Chad Danforth doesn't really have secrets (or so he says)
Rating: R
Warning(s): Smoke is a cause of cancer. Don't drink and drive. Oh, that kind of warnings =P. Nope, none
Word Count: 2,191
Disclaimer: All High School Musical characters herein are the property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chad Danforth is quite an open young man. He doesn't really have secrets, not the way most people understands them. Nonetheless, there are three particular things in his life only a few know about … although "a few" is in each of these quite a big number.
Take, for example, the first not-a-secret. That Chad was homeschooled until age ten is well known among his friends. He has never hid this little bit of information about himself, always answering truthfully when asked. But people rarely ask, as they prefer to make assumptions; and because he has never felt like making an announcement at school, most of East High students will never know.
Then there's the second not-a-secret. He has talked about it with only one of his teammates (the one he trusts most) and even then, Chad can say without a doubt that said friend never thought of it as anything other than a joke … meaning only his father's family knows the truth. But hey, his father's family is enormous (and everywhere: he has nephews in Alaska, second-degree cousins in Australia, even a great-great-uncle half a block from home). They make about a hundred and a half persons, and growing.
From time to time, whenever a Big Damn Family Reunion is scheduled, there's always an aunt or uncle willing to create some havoc by sharing their unasked opinion about that second not-a-secret. And always, less than twenty minutes after the topic is brought, sides are taken, ammunitions are fired, tears are shed and relationships lay wounded for everyone to see. It never lasts long, because despite their willingness to shout at each other, his family believes in living and letting live. But the thing is that, because they talk about it so openly, Chad has rarely stopped to notice how none of his friends know.
Which is why, the second time he said the infamous three words aloud to somebody not-his-blood (or not-his-blood-by-proxy, either), he hadn't even been thinking about it. Nothing in his life at the moment was leading to this confession. The familiar not-a-secret was still safely stored in the darkest, farthest corner of his mind, if there at all. But it didn't matter. Because, hell. It simply … happened.
++
They were alone, Gabriella and Kelsi still visible in the horizon, running away with Taylor's golf car and leaving them behind. Although, seeing how Troy's girlfriend drove the thing, Chad knew without a doubt he was safer, even if he had to walk all the way back to the complex. It wasn't as if trekking the golf field would be a danger to him … though he wasn't so sure about Ryan.
He was going to say something about calling for help, a half formed joke involving Sharpay's unnatural orange color (and Ryan’s equally unnatural paleness despite living in Lava Springs for the summer) already taking form in his mind, but none of this came when he opened his mouth. Instead … yes, those dreaded three words.
Ryan's face said 'you got to be kidding me'. Of course! Chad thought, relief overwhelming him. That was the way out. He only had to say something like 'busted!' or 'you are so gullible' while condescendingly shaking his head. But his brain was still screeching over his slip; and of course, his mouth had finally decided it was the time to shut the hell up … right when he needed it most. Stupid, stupid mouth.
[Insert cricket noise here]
As in slow motion, Chad witnessed while Ryan's face morphed from dubious to serious. The wry smile disappeared a little more with every passing second of mutual silence, the eyes' light changing from mischievousness to realization.
"Oh God," he could hear the capital G in Ryan's voice, "you meant it."
What can a guy answer to that? Certainly not 'of course I do'; not if he wanted to avoid being laughed at in his face. After all, he had been friends with Troy for ten years before telling him, and it had ended badly. Ryan's friendship was too recent a thing for him to accept so much mortification from it.
[Insert second cricket, maybe a third]
"So, either it is true," Ryan continued with an uneasy smile, "or you believe it is true."
Chad's smile was just as uneasy, and he couldn't keep it on his face for long. Oh, this was infinitely worse. He could have coped with Ryan believing it was a joke of sorts -- it would have hurt, true -- but having him doubting his sanity? It brought up sour memories of his Uncle Sam before he was sent to that unnamed facility, back when Chad still was an impressionable toddler.
It made him feel sick.
"Chad," Ryan said, something in his voice making Chad open his eyes. Ryan looked at him with a worried frown before continuing. "For what's worth," he paused, licked his lips, "I don't think you're crazy."
Chad's brain crashed.
>reboot
>reboot
>
"You what?" he chortled. "You do believe … you really believe …"
He couldn't say it. And apparently, neither could Ryan, as he smiled and shrugged instead of answering or completing the question.
"I've always thought there's something different about you," he declared instead.
Chad laughed again, looking at the other boy incredulously. This was insane. This was stupid. This was … definitely the best thing that had ever happened to him.
"Just like that?" he asked. It was too good to be true. Maybe Ryan was so naïve a guy that he still believed in Saint Nicholas and the Tooth Fairy.
Ryan shrugged again.
"It's not what you said what convinced me," he explained, "but your face afterwards."
Chad understood. His mother, the guys -- Ryan himself, no matter they'd only been friends for a while -- everybody kept saying he couldn't lie; he was so transparent, so crystal clear. He had always had problems with it, this being the main reason for him not having secrets. But now, seeing how easily he had shared this with Ryan, he was going to seriously think about being more careful. He couldn't endanger his family with stupid mistakes.
"Do you want me to show you?" he asked, trying to take his head from serious topics.
Ryan's face lighted up in delight.
"Here?" he said with almost childish glee, looking around. They hadn't moved a step from the place where Gabriella abandoned them, the farthest hole in the field. And they were alone.
Ryan nodded and took a careful step back.
"Easy," Chad said, laughing a third time. "It is not as if I have thrusters, or something."
And to show it, he effortlessly rose a few inches from the floor, then a couple more, until it couldn't be denied that it wasn't supporting his weight anymore.
Ryan's eyes were comically rounded, and he opened and closed his mouth thrice before being attacked by a fit of giggles.
"This is amazing," he finally managed, making Chad feel oddly pleased.
"Let me show you how high I can go," he offered, his mouth taking a life on its own, again.
Ryan beamed at him, no hesitation, and Chad silently thanked his wayward mouth. He landed softly, a little closer to Ryan that he originally had been.
"It's going to be a little cold," he explained, "but my body heat should keep you comfortable."
Ryan nodded and closed the space between them. They fell in an effortless embrace, the blonde head resting on Chad's chest. Chad didn't delve too much into the fact; he simply pushed them up, a motion many times repeated, but never before with a person outside his family.
After a minute, when Lava Springs was barely a dot in the landscape under their feet, Ryan looked up.
"That's quite a view," he said with a catching smile, and Chad chuckled. His friend's nose was starting to get rosy, so he sped up. He had been honest: his body's heat would prevent Ryan from getting frozen; but he wasn't old enough to keep it for long.
He slowed down when Ryan's breathing started getting labored.
"Oxygen is scarce there," he said, pointing up. Ryan looked up too, so Chad waited until he had his attention back. "I can produce my own oxygen but you, uh, can't."
Ryan waited for him to elaborate, but when nothing came, a wicked grin spread on his face.
"Can I share yours?" he asked, teasingly.
Chad could feel his face getting hot in embarrassment. He could say no and continue until Ryan couldn't stand the lack of oxygen before returning -- or he could admit the truth.
He moved slowly, taking more time than needed to cover Ryan lips with his, to gently suck at the bottom lip until being granted free access to the other boy's mouth, to breathe in and out for the two of them.
Ryan's eyes were half closed when Chad drew back.
"I need --" Chad said, his voice breaking. He cleaned his throat before starting again. "I'll need you to hold your breath as long as possible, so you can look around."
Ryan nodded and Chad dove in again, taking them up at a quicker speed at the same time. On this occasion he didn't linger much in the preliminaries, focusing instead on making Ryan's lungs work to their full capacity. 'This is dangerous', he told to himself, his father's words clear in his mind, repeating a hundred times the family's cautionary tale of Aunt Lea and Uncle Sam.
He didn't want to damage Ryan's quirky, beautiful brain.
Their lips were still locked when their surroundings got their most dark. He breathed in once, twice, before withdrawing. Ryan's eyes opened slowly, focusing on his only for a moment, and then trying to absorb everything at once.
The moon wasn't as full as it had been the first time Chad came up there with his family -- he had been six then, and they had been in the middle of a Christmas party at their grandmother's, on the other side of the country. They had gone up in the middle of the night, with snow softly falling around them, the city's festive lights shining at their feet for a while before disappearing from his sight.
Chad would have wanted to return every night after that, but the blizzards only got worse. Instead, he spent the rest of the holidays locked into the house, talking about the experience with his younger cousins during the day, dreaming about it at night. He swore to fly up every night of his life, once he returned to New Mexico.
He looked around, trying to remember when was the last time he had been there. Three months ago, maybe four? He couldn't remember, not that he cared too much, because now he was back -- and he was with a guy he barely talked to a month ago. He was holding Ryan, who didn't hesitate for a second before agreeing to put his life in Chad's hands.
Ryan trusted him that much. Could life get any more perfect?
It probably wasn't a Christmas sky, but it was a sight not many ever got a chance to witness, not this close, and Ryan appeared enthused by it. The stars shone clear and enticing, the space between them darker than ever; and, under their feet, a globe in blues and greens, and whites and browns.
It was a gorgeous sight.
And the landscape is pretty too, Chad's mind supplied cheekily.
When Ryan's breathing started to get strained one more time, Chad fought down a smile and gently turned the other boy's chin so they were facing each other. Ryan's grin, always charming, lured him in. He would have wanted to stay this high a little more, but the blonde's nose was icy -- it was time to return. Way too soon they were back to a height where Ryan could breathe unaided. As their lips parted, Chad embraced Ryan more closely, resting his chin on the other boy's shoulder.
"I think I kind of like you," he whispered in Ryan's ear.
Ryan's chuckles were soft and sweet.
"I thought Superman was the cheesy one," he said, squeezing him before returning to the comfortable hug of earlier. "And I know," he added, and Chad understood he was talking about his confession -- his second confession.
"And?" he couldn't help but ask, forcing himself to raise his head and look at the pair of blue eyes.
"And," Ryan smiled charmingly, "I also know, for sure and without a doubt, that I really really like you."
This time the kiss was a kiss, and nothing else.
++
Chad's third not-a-secret is the least secret of them all. The only ones who don't know it are those who haven't seen him around Ryan Evans recently. Everybody else can say he's quite smitten by the blonde boy -- and that includes his best friend's girlfriend, of course.
[But she doesn't know he can fly]
Recipient: roseclaw
Title: Up and beyond
Pairing(s): Chad/Ryan, implied Gabriella/Troy
Summary: Chad Danforth doesn't really have secrets (or so he says)
Rating: R
Warning(s): Smoke is a cause of cancer. Don't drink and drive. Oh, that kind of warnings =P. Nope, none
Word Count: 2,191
Disclaimer: All High School Musical characters herein are the property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chad Danforth is quite an open young man. He doesn't really have secrets, not the way most people understands them. Nonetheless, there are three particular things in his life only a few know about … although "a few" is in each of these quite a big number.
Take, for example, the first not-a-secret. That Chad was homeschooled until age ten is well known among his friends. He has never hid this little bit of information about himself, always answering truthfully when asked. But people rarely ask, as they prefer to make assumptions; and because he has never felt like making an announcement at school, most of East High students will never know.
Then there's the second not-a-secret. He has talked about it with only one of his teammates (the one he trusts most) and even then, Chad can say without a doubt that said friend never thought of it as anything other than a joke … meaning only his father's family knows the truth. But hey, his father's family is enormous (and everywhere: he has nephews in Alaska, second-degree cousins in Australia, even a great-great-uncle half a block from home). They make about a hundred and a half persons, and growing.
From time to time, whenever a Big Damn Family Reunion is scheduled, there's always an aunt or uncle willing to create some havoc by sharing their unasked opinion about that second not-a-secret. And always, less than twenty minutes after the topic is brought, sides are taken, ammunitions are fired, tears are shed and relationships lay wounded for everyone to see. It never lasts long, because despite their willingness to shout at each other, his family believes in living and letting live. But the thing is that, because they talk about it so openly, Chad has rarely stopped to notice how none of his friends know.
Which is why, the second time he said the infamous three words aloud to somebody not-his-blood (or not-his-blood-by-proxy, either), he hadn't even been thinking about it. Nothing in his life at the moment was leading to this confession. The familiar not-a-secret was still safely stored in the darkest, farthest corner of his mind, if there at all. But it didn't matter. Because, hell. It simply … happened.
++
They were alone, Gabriella and Kelsi still visible in the horizon, running away with Taylor's golf car and leaving them behind. Although, seeing how Troy's girlfriend drove the thing, Chad knew without a doubt he was safer, even if he had to walk all the way back to the complex. It wasn't as if trekking the golf field would be a danger to him … though he wasn't so sure about Ryan.
He was going to say something about calling for help, a half formed joke involving Sharpay's unnatural orange color (and Ryan’s equally unnatural paleness despite living in Lava Springs for the summer) already taking form in his mind, but none of this came when he opened his mouth. Instead … yes, those dreaded three words.
Ryan's face said 'you got to be kidding me'. Of course! Chad thought, relief overwhelming him. That was the way out. He only had to say something like 'busted!' or 'you are so gullible' while condescendingly shaking his head. But his brain was still screeching over his slip; and of course, his mouth had finally decided it was the time to shut the hell up … right when he needed it most. Stupid, stupid mouth.
[Insert cricket noise here]
As in slow motion, Chad witnessed while Ryan's face morphed from dubious to serious. The wry smile disappeared a little more with every passing second of mutual silence, the eyes' light changing from mischievousness to realization.
"Oh God," he could hear the capital G in Ryan's voice, "you meant it."
What can a guy answer to that? Certainly not 'of course I do'; not if he wanted to avoid being laughed at in his face. After all, he had been friends with Troy for ten years before telling him, and it had ended badly. Ryan's friendship was too recent a thing for him to accept so much mortification from it.
[Insert second cricket, maybe a third]
"So, either it is true," Ryan continued with an uneasy smile, "or you believe it is true."
Chad's smile was just as uneasy, and he couldn't keep it on his face for long. Oh, this was infinitely worse. He could have coped with Ryan believing it was a joke of sorts -- it would have hurt, true -- but having him doubting his sanity? It brought up sour memories of his Uncle Sam before he was sent to that unnamed facility, back when Chad still was an impressionable toddler.
It made him feel sick.
"Chad," Ryan said, something in his voice making Chad open his eyes. Ryan looked at him with a worried frown before continuing. "For what's worth," he paused, licked his lips, "I don't think you're crazy."
Chad's brain crashed.
>reboot
>reboot
>
"You what?" he chortled. "You do believe … you really believe …"
He couldn't say it. And apparently, neither could Ryan, as he smiled and shrugged instead of answering or completing the question.
"I've always thought there's something different about you," he declared instead.
Chad laughed again, looking at the other boy incredulously. This was insane. This was stupid. This was … definitely the best thing that had ever happened to him.
"Just like that?" he asked. It was too good to be true. Maybe Ryan was so naïve a guy that he still believed in Saint Nicholas and the Tooth Fairy.
Ryan shrugged again.
"It's not what you said what convinced me," he explained, "but your face afterwards."
Chad understood. His mother, the guys -- Ryan himself, no matter they'd only been friends for a while -- everybody kept saying he couldn't lie; he was so transparent, so crystal clear. He had always had problems with it, this being the main reason for him not having secrets. But now, seeing how easily he had shared this with Ryan, he was going to seriously think about being more careful. He couldn't endanger his family with stupid mistakes.
"Do you want me to show you?" he asked, trying to take his head from serious topics.
Ryan's face lighted up in delight.
"Here?" he said with almost childish glee, looking around. They hadn't moved a step from the place where Gabriella abandoned them, the farthest hole in the field. And they were alone.
Ryan nodded and took a careful step back.
"Easy," Chad said, laughing a third time. "It is not as if I have thrusters, or something."
And to show it, he effortlessly rose a few inches from the floor, then a couple more, until it couldn't be denied that it wasn't supporting his weight anymore.
Ryan's eyes were comically rounded, and he opened and closed his mouth thrice before being attacked by a fit of giggles.
"This is amazing," he finally managed, making Chad feel oddly pleased.
"Let me show you how high I can go," he offered, his mouth taking a life on its own, again.
Ryan beamed at him, no hesitation, and Chad silently thanked his wayward mouth. He landed softly, a little closer to Ryan that he originally had been.
"It's going to be a little cold," he explained, "but my body heat should keep you comfortable."
Ryan nodded and closed the space between them. They fell in an effortless embrace, the blonde head resting on Chad's chest. Chad didn't delve too much into the fact; he simply pushed them up, a motion many times repeated, but never before with a person outside his family.
After a minute, when Lava Springs was barely a dot in the landscape under their feet, Ryan looked up.
"That's quite a view," he said with a catching smile, and Chad chuckled. His friend's nose was starting to get rosy, so he sped up. He had been honest: his body's heat would prevent Ryan from getting frozen; but he wasn't old enough to keep it for long.
He slowed down when Ryan's breathing started getting labored.
"Oxygen is scarce there," he said, pointing up. Ryan looked up too, so Chad waited until he had his attention back. "I can produce my own oxygen but you, uh, can't."
Ryan waited for him to elaborate, but when nothing came, a wicked grin spread on his face.
"Can I share yours?" he asked, teasingly.
Chad could feel his face getting hot in embarrassment. He could say no and continue until Ryan couldn't stand the lack of oxygen before returning -- or he could admit the truth.
He moved slowly, taking more time than needed to cover Ryan lips with his, to gently suck at the bottom lip until being granted free access to the other boy's mouth, to breathe in and out for the two of them.
Ryan's eyes were half closed when Chad drew back.
"I need --" Chad said, his voice breaking. He cleaned his throat before starting again. "I'll need you to hold your breath as long as possible, so you can look around."
Ryan nodded and Chad dove in again, taking them up at a quicker speed at the same time. On this occasion he didn't linger much in the preliminaries, focusing instead on making Ryan's lungs work to their full capacity. 'This is dangerous', he told to himself, his father's words clear in his mind, repeating a hundred times the family's cautionary tale of Aunt Lea and Uncle Sam.
He didn't want to damage Ryan's quirky, beautiful brain.
Their lips were still locked when their surroundings got their most dark. He breathed in once, twice, before withdrawing. Ryan's eyes opened slowly, focusing on his only for a moment, and then trying to absorb everything at once.
The moon wasn't as full as it had been the first time Chad came up there with his family -- he had been six then, and they had been in the middle of a Christmas party at their grandmother's, on the other side of the country. They had gone up in the middle of the night, with snow softly falling around them, the city's festive lights shining at their feet for a while before disappearing from his sight.
Chad would have wanted to return every night after that, but the blizzards only got worse. Instead, he spent the rest of the holidays locked into the house, talking about the experience with his younger cousins during the day, dreaming about it at night. He swore to fly up every night of his life, once he returned to New Mexico.
He looked around, trying to remember when was the last time he had been there. Three months ago, maybe four? He couldn't remember, not that he cared too much, because now he was back -- and he was with a guy he barely talked to a month ago. He was holding Ryan, who didn't hesitate for a second before agreeing to put his life in Chad's hands.
Ryan trusted him that much. Could life get any more perfect?
It probably wasn't a Christmas sky, but it was a sight not many ever got a chance to witness, not this close, and Ryan appeared enthused by it. The stars shone clear and enticing, the space between them darker than ever; and, under their feet, a globe in blues and greens, and whites and browns.
It was a gorgeous sight.
And the landscape is pretty too, Chad's mind supplied cheekily.
When Ryan's breathing started to get strained one more time, Chad fought down a smile and gently turned the other boy's chin so they were facing each other. Ryan's grin, always charming, lured him in. He would have wanted to stay this high a little more, but the blonde's nose was icy -- it was time to return. Way too soon they were back to a height where Ryan could breathe unaided. As their lips parted, Chad embraced Ryan more closely, resting his chin on the other boy's shoulder.
"I think I kind of like you," he whispered in Ryan's ear.
Ryan's chuckles were soft and sweet.
"I thought Superman was the cheesy one," he said, squeezing him before returning to the comfortable hug of earlier. "And I know," he added, and Chad understood he was talking about his confession -- his second confession.
"And?" he couldn't help but ask, forcing himself to raise his head and look at the pair of blue eyes.
"And," Ryan smiled charmingly, "I also know, for sure and without a doubt, that I really really like you."
This time the kiss was a kiss, and nothing else.
++
Chad's third not-a-secret is the least secret of them all. The only ones who don't know it are those who haven't seen him around Ryan Evans recently. Everybody else can say he's quite smitten by the blonde boy -- and that includes his best friend's girlfriend, of course.
[But she doesn't know he can fly]