Gift for coffeewordangel (Part 1/3)
Author: alethialia
Recipient: coffeewordangel
Title: Happenstance
Pairing(s): Chad/Ryan, mentions of Zeke/Sharpay
Summary: "I'm, like, the normal, focused, straight-down-the-middle jock. How'd I end up in the psychotic, orgiastic, stoner, trust fund, drama kid group?"
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): Graphic sexual content
Word Count: 22, 505
Disclaimer: All High School Musical characters herein are the property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: College AU. Alice's Tea Cup, Artisanal, Nougatine, and Jean-Georges are quite real (and highly recommended). SOBs is real, though I can't vouch for it, myself. Verve is not and Boateng doesn't yet have a boutique in Manhattan, so I took liberties with both of those. The schools, programs, and degrees are real. I'm not entirely sure about transfer housing, so I also took some liberties there. Cast: Katie, Will, Walker. Many thanks to my beta, J. All other mistakes are my own.
***
Chad and Zeke had stopped to try and decipher which way meant north on the newfangled map when an incredulous voice rose above the din of eight million people stuffed onto an island.
"Chad?!" An incredulous, familiar voice.
Chad turned...and blinked. "Ryan Evans?" he asked, hardly believing it.
Zeke gestured to himself. "Zeke. Now that we're done with introductions," he joked.
Chad swatted him and Zeke swatted back and then Ryan was there, in front of them, and he looked...different. Still with the hat and messenger bag, but his shoulders had broadened, his clothes weren't quite so look-at-me flashy, and his smile wasn't nearly as boyish.
Chad got over the awkward beat and clumsily pulled Ryan into a hug, then released him just as quickly. "Dude, what are you doing here?" he asked.
Ryan's smile turned rueful. "Getting an education, or so they tell me." He and Zeke bumped shoulders companionably and wow, Chad couldn't get over seeing him here, now.
Then he frowned as Ryan's words caught up with him. "Wait. You go to NYU?" He didn't remember that.
"CAP 21," Ryan answered instantly.
Their blank looks must have gotten across because his face fell a bit. "At the Tisch School. It's-you know what? Never mind." He gestured to Zeke thoughtfully. "You're at school here, right?"
"Yup. Up at The Culinary Institute of America."
"The good old CIA," Chad chimed in. Zeke rolled his eyes, failing to appreciate Chad's humor. Because no, it wouldn't stop being funny. Ever.
Ryan grinned-he, at least, had a grasp of what was funny-and nodded at Chad. "You up here visiting?"
"Moving's more like it. I drafted Zeke into helping me. The dude totally shows up without brownies. Who does that?" Seriously. Chad had been looking forward to the brownies. He might have neglected to mention that to Zeke...but Zeke should just know stuff like that, obviously.
"He only likes me for my baked goods," Zeke said with a grin.
"Who said I like you?" Chad shot back.
"Oh, you see that? I was going to whip up something for you but now? 'No soup for you.'"
"Wow. That just took me right back to high school," Ryan said. His smile was small and Chad couldn't tell if he was nostalgic or mocking them. Or himself.
Chad shook his head and cuffed him on the shoulder. "It's been what? Like two years, right? Man, where've you been hiding?" Because he hadn't seen Ryan at any of the impromptu high school reunions, even during the school breaks.
Then again, Central New Mexico Community College had been like one big high school reunion anyway. A reunion that never ended.
"Here," Ryan answered simply. "New York is good for hiding."
"What'd you need to hide-"
He was interrupted by a very familiar call: "Ryan! I've been waiting for almost five minutes. What could you possibly be-oh. You two!" As she approached them, Sharpay spared Chad a glance one might give a bug. On a generous day. Then she addressed her brother. "Explain."
Chad blinked at all the changes in her. No longer the stick-like kid from high school, she'd gotten curves in all the right places. She was rocking the progressive folk look...and actually making it hot.
She looked-like an adult. Chad supposed Ryan did, too, with the harder planes of his face, emphasizing blue, blue eyes.
Ryan ignored her tone and instead was Mr. Peppy, Upbeat Person. "Shar, look who I ran into. Our old friends from high school. Isn't that great?"
"Friends, indeed." Sharpay raked her eyes up and down Chad, then dismissed him with a flick of her hair. Her perusal of Zeke was much more thorough. And creepy and shark-like, if Chad was any judge.
"Nice to see you, too, oh, Fair One," Chad muttered. Ryan grinned and looked down to hide it. Sharpay's attention snapped back to Chad...which hadn't actually been his goal...
"Danforth. Playing tourist, I see."
"Or new resident." Her raised eyebrow prompted him. "I just transferred into NYU."
"We'll be going to the same school, how cool is that?" Ryan asked, excited.
Sharpay kept her face carefully blank, then nodded at Zeke. "Joining your old basketball teammate, here? It'll be just like old times."
Zeke frowned. "I'm not at NYU."
"Nah, he's at the CIA," Chad said.
Sharpay definitely frowned at that, but Zeke hastily jumped in. "The Culinary Institute of America, he means. It's-a really bad joke."
Chad grinned. "Still funny to me."
"Not that that's saying much," Sharpay sniped. Then she turned to Zeke again. "The Insitutute is well regarded." Not a question, more like an observation. Maybe a prompt? Chad had nothing.
Zeke didn't seem to, either, but then, he'd been half in love with Sharpay for forever and a day, so his fumblings made more sense. "Um, yeah. That is-it's the best." They both stopped talking and some kind of weird vibe was at work-
Ryan cleared his throat loudly. It successfully broke the awkward moment and made Sharpay turn her attention to him. Then she moved a few steps away. "You better not be getting sick, Ry. I'm already exposed to every germ from two schools. Getting sick from one I don't even go to is not okay."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, thanks for the concern," he said to her. Then he addressed Chad and Zeke. "Shar's in a very prestigious program so of course everything's a crisis."
"Wow, you're not on Broadway yet? Huh," Chad said, sweetly shocked. Ryan covered a laugh with another cough and Chad couldn't help himself, he just loved the way her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. There was nothing quite like needling Sharpay Evans.
Sharpay threw out her hands in disgust. Then she walked off.
Ryan stayed behind for a beat, scribbling something frantically on a torn-off piece of a flyer. He shoved it at Chad, just as Sharpay got impatient. "Let's go, Ryan! We're late already."
"My number. Call me and we can hang out. It's great to see you guys. Really," he said sincerely.
"Ryan!"
And with a long-suffering grin he was off, jogging to catch up with Sharpay, dodging the constant stream of people that never seemed to end in New York.
"Wow," Zeke said, watching her swaying hips as she walked away.
"No kidding," Chad agreed. Although...probably in an entirely different way.
***
Chad would be living in the residence hall designated for transfers...not that he could remember the hall's name or anything. Which was why he was at the general housing orientation, a madhouse scene where pretty much everyone was clueless.
He knew he was with the transfers and realistically, some freshmen were probably gonna be thrown in because of space concerns, but he was cool with that. As long as he didn't get some douchebag roommate he'd-
"Ryan?" Chad asked.
Ryan looked up and grinned, seemingly honestly pleased to see him. "We meet again."
"What are you doing here? This is for new students."
Ryan pointed to his nametag. "RA. They let me answer questions like I actually know something, can you believe it?"
"You're an RA?" Chad realized that might have sounded really offensive, so he backtracked immediately. "I mean, not that you'd make a bad one, just that I wouldn't have thought you'd be into, you know, hanging with the masses and all." It was possible that hadn't made things any better.
Ryan just laughed, though. "Hey, now, I'm not my sister."
"Ain't that the truth. Wow. Cool. Now I know who to go to if I have questions."
"I'm here for you, Chad."
"So what residence hall are you advising, anyway? Lemme guess: the theater one."
"3NTAC," Ryan said immediately.
Chad blinked. "Wow, I didn't think they actually had one, but-"
"That's an Exploration Community, actually. Not really the same thing, but you can apply for them so you know that everyone on the floor has your same interest. Just if you want to. I'm not the RA for 3NTAC, though."
"Why not?"
Ryan made a face. "I spend enough time with drama kids. I need to meet normal people once in a while."
Chad snickered. "You do realize you just called yourself not normal, right?"
"You should meet my classmates."
"Crazy artistes?"
"Like you wouldn't believe." He paused and Chad didn't really know where to go either, so it got kinda awkward.
"What hall are you in?" Ryan asked, clearly trying, which Chad appreciated.
"Uhh, I have no idea?"
"You're not with the athletes? Wait, you're playing basketball, right? I just assumed, but-"
"It's okay and yeah, I'm playing."
Ryan looked down at the stack of papers on his clipboard and ruffled through some of them. "You should be on the athlete hall list...and I see that you're not."
Chad scratched the back of his head. "I, uhh, might have forgotten to turn in that form."
Ryan didn't bother to hide his laughter. "Of course you did!"
"Yeah..."
"Don't worry about it. It saves you from rooming with the rest of the athletes and their wounded egos."
"Huh?"
"Well, you are called The Violets. Not exactly the Wildcats, ya know?"
"Dude, I'm just glad to be going to a school that has a basketball team, Division III or not."
"Good point. Oh, you're with the rest of the transfers. Cool. I'll be your RA."
Chad blinked. And shook his head while that information took a second to process. Ryan Evans. His RA. "Wait, really?"
Ryan showed him his name on the list. "I hadn't looked at the list or else I'd know that." He flushed delicately. "Sorry. Usually I try to have everyone memorized but this year's gotten away from me."
"School hasn't even started yet," Chad protested.
"I'm doing well, huh?"
"About as well as me. But, hey. At least I know one person."
"That's what I like to hear. Here's your map and instructional guide. We're meeting at the hall this afternoon for check-in and orientation. Don't be late. You wouldn't want to miss the name game." Ryan waggled his eyebrows way too excitedly.
"Oh, joy. I can hardly contain myself."
Ryan grinned, but was distracted as another new student asked him something and Chad got himself out of the way of the rest of the newbies.
Ryan Evans. His RA. How much weirder could this get?
***
"If it makes you feel any better, my choice would have been charismatic," Ryan offered.
"It doesn't," Chad said darkly, eyeing the overreaching freshman chick who'd piped up before he could get a word in. Freakin' freshmen.
"Charismatic Chad. Or maybe casual. Those both work."
"No, now I'm gonna be known as Cheerful Chad forever and it's all her fault. She won't think I'm so cheerful when I drown her in her bathtub," he said darkly.
"She doesn't have a bathtub," Ryan pointed out.
"You've foiled my plot. Guess she'll have to live." Chad grinned slyly at Ryan and Ryan grinned back and it was bizarre how they could just pick it up like this, their friendship that hadn't survived high school. But it was like nothing had ever happened.
Chad liked the feeling.
"Now what?" Chad asked. He looked around at everyone else, each as clueless as the last. Most of the group had stayed in the common room and still chatted, exchanged info. The ever-awkward process of making new friends.
Ryan shrugged. "Now you're a big-city college student. Now you get to do whatever you want."
"So what does a big-city college RA do for fun?" Chad asked.
"I'm meeting up with some friends later. You should come along. They'll probably drag us to a pub or one of their apartments, so nothing too exciting. But they're good people." He almost sounded like he was apologizing in advance. Jeez.
"Sounds good. I'll just go update my ensemble." Chad gestured to his body and affected a pretentious, Sharpay-type look.
Ryan eyed Chad's clothing with a slight grimace. "If only." Then he grinned and raised his eyes back to Chad's. "The entryway at 9:30, okay?"
"Done deal."
***
His roommate, Joey, was the awkward-but-not-smart kind of geek so it was basically kind of a nightmare. It'd be one thing if Joey were just geeky smart. Chad could handle geeky smart. He'd managed well enough with Taylor and even Gabi. But he could not do awkward, stuttered silences.
They'd met like five seconds ago and already it was a 'hi' and 'bye' kind of deal. Oh, well. It wasn't like he needed a new best friend anyway.
"Hey," Chad nodded to Joey and flopped onto his bed, wondering what to do until 9:30. But then his phone started buzzing and he dug through his pockets to find that yes, Troy must be psychic because he was actually calling.
"Dude," Chad answered the phone.
"What's up, bro? How's the first day been?"
"I'm at NYU," Chad said, settling back onto his pillow.
"No kidding. I hadn't heard."
"Screw you. Also, your psychic powers amaze me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I was just thinking about you and then you called!"
Troy lowered his voice dramatically. "What was I wearing?"
"I hate you a lot. And my first day was fine. You're never gonna guess who my RA is!"
"Um, using my psychic powers and your rambling e-mails I'm going to guess...Ryan Evans!"
"Shut up. How'd you know?"
"Wait, seriously? Like, Sharpay's brother, Ryan Evans?"
"One and the same."
Troy laughed hysterically and right in Chad's ear. He lifted the phone away until it sounded like Troy was done. "-is hilarious," Troy was saying. "What are the chances?"
"I know. Crazy."
"It means you'll be spending more time with Sharpay. Good luck with that, man. And hands off. Zeke still has a thing."
Chad gaped, then realized Troy couldn't see him, and scoffed audibly. "I can't believe you just said that. She's Evil. And Zeke is pathetic, but I'm not surprised. If there's one thing I'll give him, she's a hottie, man. Damn."
"Must be. He saw her for point five seconds and it's like Adrianna Lima walked up and started stripping."
"It wasn't nearly that hot, but yeah. I've gotten the e-mails, text messages, phone calls."
"And he's not far. Maybe you can hook him up and then you guys can double date!"
"Screw you, too, mophead."
"Oh, you've hurt me terribly," Troy said dryly. "How's the roommate sitch?"
"Ehh, ya know."
"Wow, don't get too excited."
"Oh, no worries there."
"Can't talk? Got it. I feel ya. But at least it can't get worse than my chainsmoking OCD Russian mobster."
"Dude, don't knock the Russian mobster. He probably tapped your phone and is putting out a hit as we speak."
"In that case, since this'll be our last conversation, I just wanna say...I love you, man," Troy cried dramatically.
Chad snapped his fingers. "Now I remember why I moved to New York. It's all coming back to me."
"'Kay, but when I have a convenient heart attack-"
"At twenty?"
"-you'll be sorry," Troy sing-songed. "TTYL, beeyotch." Then he hung up.
Chad did the same and looked at his phone. "My best friend is such a douche," he said.
Joey kind of laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, yes, I-uhh-yeah," he stuttered out.
Chad forced a smile and kinda nodded. Right. Nightmare.
***
"Ooh, he's gorgeous." Chad suddenly had fingers running through his hair. Male fingers to go with the male hands attached to the guy who was currently in Chad's face. And hair.
Ryan quickly slapped those fingers away. "Hey, now, William. Hands off the merchandise."
"Is he for sale?" The guy-William-asked it with a scary kind of relish. Thankfully Ryan seemed to know how to handle him because he just shooed him back and the guy obeyed.
"Chad, Will. Will, Chad. Will's in musical theater with me."
"Will dominates musical theater and Ryan worships the ground beneath his feet, is what he means," Will corrected with a charming grin. Which he turned on Chad. Which seemed less charming and more...predatory?
And Chad really got a look and even he could see this was the kind of guy that actors were made of: stunning good looks, with hugely expressive hazel eyes and a mouth. And freckles.
"Will wishes," Ryan shot back and oh, right, they were talking.
"But how do you get saddled with such a beautiful newb? Please tell me Ryan stalked you and forcibly made himself your RA," Will demanded of Chad.
"Because Ryan is just that pathetic," Ryan put in.
"I would say entrepreneurial, but whatever works for you." Will shuffled over and nudged Ryan companionably. Ryan gave in and smiled.
Good friends. Probably for a while. Chad felt distinctly like the outsider.
And he still hadn't said anything. Damn.
"Good to meet you, man."
"You, too, man," Will shot back, exaggerated. "You're such a Violet. What sport?" he asked dutifully.
"Basketball," Chad answered, sure of that, at least.
"He ran track and played baseball in high school, too," Ryan offered.
Will shot him a swift, unreadable look before turning his attention back to Chad. "So you're ripped, right?"
Chad was saved from having to answer that-or address the rather scary gleam in Will's eye-by the squealing arrival of a whirlwind of a girl.
"You're joking, this is Chad?" she asked, all bouncy and excited and...possibly high?
Chad shot Ryan a nervous glance. "What does that mean?"
"We've heard of you! Sharpay talks about you like you have a communicable disease." She tilted her head, considering. "You don't do you?"
"No!" Chad said, offended.
"Yay! Oh, I'm so happy!" She grabbed him in a hug, pulled back, then hugged him again. She didn't seem inclined to let go, but thankfully Ryan stepped in, got an arm between them, and pulled her back against him. He moved a couple steps away and took her with him.
"Chad, this is Katie," Ryan introduced, still holding the squirming girl.
"I'm Katie," she said brightly, in case he'd missed it.
Chad smiled. She was kind of charming. "Nice to meet you." And hot as hell with her long brown hair streaked with orange and hot pink, big brown eyes, smooth pale skin. The effect was striking. Hot little figure, too, from what he felt and could still see amongst the twirly skirt and bajillion necklaces.
She flashed Chad a grin and then kind of petted Ryan's face, still snug up against him. "Polite, polite. New Mexicans are so polite. Makes me wanna tie you to things with headscarves and see what'll get you to scream profanity at me."
"Please do. And let me watch," Will said.
"Wow, you have some seriously twisted friends," Chad said without thinking. Then he thought about it and nope. Wouldn't take that back.
Ryan looked down and flushed. Katie hmmed and traced it with her fingers. When she nipped at his chin he poked her in the ribs and she moved back, giggling.
"You're surprised? I thought you grew up with Ryan and her highness," Will said.
"If you mean Sharpay, then yeah."
"Then you get it," he said simply. And mysteriously because...not really?
Not that it seemed to matter. Will clapped his hands. "Onto this evening's activities. In honor of the newbie, methinketh we should have an old-fashioned pub crawl. Gotta get the boy acquainted."
"Must catch him up. Or catch him." Katie nibbled on a fingernail and looked like she couldn't decide which.
Ooookay. Ryan's friends? Bunch of freaks.
Chad was surprisingly cool with that.
***
Chad and Ryan stumbled back into the residence hall around oh-freakin'-early in the a.m. and it was all thick and slow fumbling up to their floor. Chad couldn't remember how to use his keycard, but Ryan the Brave was on the case and would not fail him in these dire times.
"Your friends are freaks," Chad said again, for the millionth time. Then he giggled.
Ryan giggled, too. "They liked you."
"Will wants in my pants."
"Will wants in everybody's pants. I think you have the wrong card thingy." He shook it like that might help.
Who knew? It might.
Chad frowned and tried to focus on the card. Cards. One of them, anyway. "Worked before. Does Will want in your pants?"
"Will wants in everybody's pants. Wait, did I already say that?" Ryan asked muzzily.
Then the light clicked green and the door opened and Ryan really was his savior. Chad was about to tell him so, when a sound reached their ears, a sound not unlike a lawnmower or woodchipper, an inhuman sound that nothing human could make.
"Dude," Chad said. "My room was invaded by mutant woodchippers."
"Think it's your roommate," Ryan said instead, peering into the darkness where said roommate apparently slept. "Do you have earplugs?"
"Not that I know of?"
"Do you have vodka?" Ryan tried again.
"I know I don't have that," Chad said mournfully.
"Well. Good luck with that." Then he patted Chad's arm and started off. Weaving his way down the hall.
"Ryan!" he hissed, over-loud, even to his own ears. "You're just gonna leave me like this?"
Ryan meandered back and focused on him, thinking intently. "I say we make a pact not to mention our welcome to NYU activities tonight," Ryan decided.
"But-that wasn't my question."
Ryan smiled, serene, then rubbed a hand over Chad's mouth in some kind of...petting thing? Then he wandered away again.
Ooookay, maybe there was a reason Ryan was friends with a bunch of freaks.
***
Evil mutant woodchippers had taken up residence in Chad's head. He thunked it down on the cheap wooden desk-a desk the chippers would just love-as he waited for Intro to Acting to start, God knew why he'd signed up for that. And now his head was pounding in time to the woodchippers' beat and he was surrounded by a bunch of wannabe actor-types and the girls in too-low tops weren't even hot.
The world hated him. Obviously.
Professor Holloway breezed in, reminding him eerily of Darbus in no kind of good way, and Chad managed not to fumble roll call too badly, which he figured would be it for him-
Until he saw the door open again and Ryan saunter in.
Ryan, who looked cool and collected and all sorts of other 'c' words which Chad was not, even cheerful, and Chad could just die. It'd be fine. Better, even.
"Now, class, I would like to introduce you to your TA for our time together, Mr. Ryan Evans. Ryan was a brilliant pupil of mine and he has so graciously offered to guide and aid you in our journey together. Please, bid him welcome." Scattered applause seemed to be what that meant, so Chad clapped dully along.
Ryan caught his eye and his mouth curled, just a touch, but Chad could tell.
He stopped clapping.
"Sadly, our time for today has run its course. Ryan will orient you further in your TA sections. Adieu!" And out she breezed, followed more slowly by the rest of the class. Ryan shook hands with some, offered quick tips, and Chad just sat there and took it all in. Because the energy to do anything but wince? No idea where that was gonna come from.
The second-to-last student finally left, the door swung shut behind him, and Ryan collapsed down with a groan. "Oh, my head," he moaned.
Chad stuttered out a laugh. "Really? You, too?"
"Next time, stop me. Remind me of this, tie me up, kill me. Whatever you have to do."
"Tie you up with headscarves and see what makes you scream profanity at me," Chad mumbled.
Ryan's head shot up, then he winced in pain at the movement. "Ow."
"Dude. You're my TA," Chad informed him.
"Yeah, noticed that."
"You're gonna, like, grade me and stuff."
"I'm also your RA who went out and got illegally drunk with you last night."
"So you're doing well with the whole responsibility thing," Chad said idly.
"Seems like it."
"Cool. Keep up the good work."
***
New York was...different. It was hard for Chad to get used to being constantly surrounded by people. Back home everything was spread out; there was so much space. Rolling hills and plains of nothing were typical, usual. Here-it was like New York was piled on top of itself. The weight of all that noise and sound and mass of stuff going on could be overwhelming.
So Chad made his little corner of it, filled it with Ryan and his friends and Zeke, and set about building it into something comfortable. It was a little shocking how easily it happened. After three days if he didn't see Ryan at least three times, it was a little odd. Regular calls, e-mails, texts, and instant messages kept him anchored with his old friends-Troy, Taylor, Gabi-while Ryan and his friends had set about adopting Chad. Or else he had a serious case for harassment, what with the relish Katie, in particular, seemed to adore pestering him.
The first weekend Chad got a text from Zeke that he was coming down to "visit" and could he crash on Chad's floor? Chad was instantly suspicious, but said yes anyway 'cause that was what friends did.
Somehow they ended up at a packed place called SOB's, which Chad found hilarious, and somehow Sharpay just happened to be there, holding court at the bar, wearing a gold dress and drenched in the gold and orange light. These things were far too unlikely to be coincidence and Chad's suspicions were confirmed when Zeke didn't even pretend surprise at seeing her.
"You set this up," Chad accused Ryan.
Ryan simply grinned and swiveled his hips to some kind of French-Caribbean beat. Which he shouldn't be able to make look easy, because Chad knew it wasn't, but since when did Ryan follow rules?
"Would I do that?"
"Yes," Chad said hotly. Possibly the atmosphere was getting to him.
Ryan tsked. "Please. She'll turn him down, for the hundredth time, and he'll sulk and get over it. What's the harm?" Ryan asked easily. He sipped on his cocktail-called a Brazilian Kiss, he'd been informed-his throat working, and Chad's thoughts got derailed a bit.
Ryan bobbed his head like the silence was agreement. "That's what I thought. C'mon. Come dance with me." He hooked two fingers in Chad's belt and tugged, but only the barest amount.
There was temptation there. Everyone was easy and relaxed here, the rhythms infectious, people singing and dancing along to music they seemed to know.
Chad stood rooted to the spot, mind taking in just how unconcerned people seemed to be with the gender of their dance partners, Ryan subtly moving to the rhythm already, and was he wearing glitter?
He leaned in close to Chad's ear and Chad smelled rum and Ryan's fancy cologne and passion fruit. "Downer," Ryan breathed, a laugh contained in the word, and then he let Chad go. He skipped off to join the dancing throng and a couple people immediately curled around him, moved with him. A couple guys, Chad noted.
Zeke walked up and nodded at the dance floor. "Ryan's good."
"Yeah, he is." Chad took a swig of his beer and wondered why he still felt thirsty.
Zeke grabbed his arm. "Oh, wait, wait-yes! He's leaving. Later." Then he was up and gone and if Chad didn't know how pathetic it all was, he'd have been confused. As it was, he simply looked over to where Sharpay had sent her latest suitor away and yep, there was Zeke, approaching with a gift and a curious lack of pleading.
A notable lack of pleading, actually. He marched right up to her, took her hand and placed whatever it was in it, looked right in her eyes and started speaking intently. Sharpay didn't scream, screech, flail, or do anything other than blink up at him and listen.
Chad's beer stayed suspended halfway to his mouth. That was different.
When Zeke finished he pushed back a little and Sharpay swallowed, then looked at what was in her hand. Whatever it was must have been good because she smiled a genuine little smile-for her-and hopped off the barstool. She caught Zeke's hand and pulled him onto the dance floor where he wrapped around her and pulled her close.
And that seemed to be that.
"Hey," Will called into Chad's ear, jostling against him in some kind of greeting. Chad nodded absently back. "Where'd Sharpay go?"
Chad gestured out to the floor with his beer, at the tangle of limbs that was Sharpay and Zeke.
Will made an appalled sound. "My lady!" he said in protest, not that anyone could hear him.
"Dude. Yeah, she's hot, but doesn't anyone else see that she's, like, evil?" Chad asked Will, Zeke...possibly the world.
"Blasphemy. But of course she'd run off with the new guy and ignore her devotees of many long years," he grumbled.
"Actually, Zeke's been after her longer than you have."
Will made an affronted sound, but Katie ran up and hugged both of them at once, then, squealing out, "My boys, you're such partyers, just look at you!" Her cocktail threatened to spill all over someone.
Chad smiled; Will lamented some more: "My true love has been lost to me."
Katie patted his cheek. "That's just the pot, honey. Come dance with me, mmkay?" She perkily ran off, then came back. "And you're invited, too, sad-Chad." She stroked the skin under his left eye. Why? Who knew?
"I think I'm good," Chad assured her.
"Yay!" She then handed him her drink. "Have some. It's Sex on Bubbles!" She bounced off and crooked a finger at Will, who seemed to have forgotten Sharpay's existence. He followed and tangled himself up with her as much as Sharpay had with Zeke.
And there he stood, leaning against the cold pillar at his back, a drink in each hand. Sad-Chad, indeed.
***
A couple weeks in, Chad's roommate found himself a girlfriend. Consequently, Chad found himself locked out a lot.
Chad stood in Ryan's doorway after practice-sweaty, exhausted, and fed up. "They're having sex again! All I want to do is take a shower and go to sleep and now I can't." Was he whining like a girl? Possibly. Did he care?
Nope.
"Yo, Junior College!" Chad heard from behind him. "Locked out again?"
"Eh, blow me," Chad shot back at Alan, who laughed and walked on. Freakin' freshmen.
Ryan grinned from where he sat on his bed. "Is that supposed to be off-putting?"
Chad rolled his eyes. "Don't fake-flirt with me. I'm pissed. My roommate is almost as evil as your sister."
Ryan gave him a vaguely sympathetic look and gestured to his private bathroom. "You can use my shower..."
"Can I sleep in your bed?" he asked, grumpy and not really meaning it.
"Oh, baby, any time you like." A beat. "Or you can use the futon I keep here."
Chad sighed and dropped his chin to his chest. A saving grace, right here. "I love you," he said, meaning every word.
"I would hope so."
Chad's head snapped up. "No, wait, I hate you. Where were you all those other times I got locked out and had to sit in the common room while the weepy girls watched 'One Life to Just Kill Yourself Now?'"
"Ahh, the other shoe drops. How fickle the love of a teenage girl can be." Ryan sighed dramatically.
"Yeah, whatever. I'm using your soap."
"That'll show me." He tossed Chad a clean towel. Chad tossed him a rude gesture.
***
One minor issue with showering in Ryan's shower: it smelled like him. Sure, this made sense. It had all his hair products and skin products and, holy God, bathing products. The number of products was, like, infinite and Chad was a tiny bit scared.
Of that and the fact that it smelled like Ryan. Which he, Chad, recognized. And which was absolutely not diminishing his hard-on at all.
...this might be another problem, but honestly, he was too tired to worry about it at the moment.
So he shrugged and turned on the water. He selected the bottles he deemed least likely to turn him blond by morning and slid under the spray.
The very warm spray in this very private bathroom that smelled like Ryan and really, it was only natural he was hard. His teammates at practice were still ragging on the new guy and he hadn't been able to properly jerk off in weeks, while his roommate did nothing but have sex.
Really, it was totally understandable that he'd take this one moment of alone-time, brace against the tile, and stroke himself until he had to bite his hand to keep from crying out, panting and weak-kneed, blond in his thoughts.
Totally understandable.
***
Chad smelled coffee. He sat up abruptly and his blankets slipped down to the futon, but he didn't even care because somewhere there was a source of caffeine and he hadn't made it his yet.
He rubbed at his eyes and zeroed in on the to-go cup in Ryan's hand. "I will pay you for some of that." Ryan looked amused...so Chad guessed his hair was not looking its finest.
"I'm ridiculously rich," Ryan informed him.
"I'll have your firstborn."
Ryan laughed. "Now that I'd like to see you pay off. You're just lucky I'm nice." Ryan produced another to-go cup from the bag sitting slightly behind him on his desk.
"No, you're not," Chad muttered. But Ryan handed him coffee then, so the fawning over caffeine might have detracted from his spite.
"Well...I'm nice to you," Ryan amended. And there Chad couldn't disagree.
He sipped and sipped and gulped and then it must have reached his bloodstream because everything looked sharper, especially how Ryan watched him.
"You're not one of those horrible morning people, are you?" Chad asked him when his coffee was all gone, but Ryan still there, perched on his desk.
Ryan gestured to himself with his cup. "Responsible adult right here."
"Oh, God, you should be years from that."
"Kids' lives are in my hands. It's a sacred duty."
Chad snorted. "You broke the rules the first night. You didn't even make it a full twenty-four hours."
"Since when are you a kid?" Ryan asked with a grin.
"Yeah, I'm a manly-man."
"Hey, manly-man, wanna get the hell up so I can put the futon away?"
Chad grumbled, but made his way to standing. He watched, forlorn, as Ryan efficiently tucked the quite comfortable futon away, blankets thrown into a basket. He was very efficient at that.
"Why do you have a futon, anyway?" Chad asked.
"In case Shar wants to stay over." Like that explained everything, no questions needed. Duh.
"Sharpay Evans sleeps on the floor?" Chad asked, aghast.
"Sharpay Evans kicks me out of my bed and I sleep on the floor." Oh. Right.
"No wonder it's so comfortable."
"Nothing but the best."
But Chad had gotten distracted because Ryan had pictures. Pictures which he hadn't noticed last night. Printed and in actual frames-how quaint-many of Sharpay, others of Will and Katie and some other guy, and then some more...touchy-feely ones of Ryan and some random guy.
"Who's the dude?" Chad asked.
Ryan glanced at the picture, then casually away. Too casually. "That's Tim. He and I went out for a while. It ended badly."
"Why?"
"Shar didn't like him."
Heh. "Then we know my virtue's safe," Chad joked.
Ryan blinked at him. "Shar doesn't hate you."
"She thinks I have a communicable disease!"
Ryan grinned like it was all some hilarious joke. Traitor. "That shows you're on her radar. She doesn't speak to people she really hates. Wouldn't even acknowledge Tim. I tried with him for a while, but, well...that's a deal breaker. And he turned out to be an ass in the end, so..."
"I'd say you were pussy-whipped, but that's so wrong given she's your freakin' sister." Chad moved on to the next photo-this time an Evans family portrait. Of course they'd have that.
When Ryan's voice came, it held something guarded and careful in it: "You know, most people don't even ask when they see the pictures."
Chad made sure to look over and meet Ryan's gaze. "Shuffle their feet, get uncomfortable, maybe blush and look away?" Chad guessed.
"Gosh, and I had you pegged as the blushing type," Ryan said, dry as the freakin' Sahara.
"I've got-" Chad counted in his head, "-five words for you: pink shirts and sparkly hats."
Ryan got it immediately and rolled his eyes. "My sparkly hats were works of art."
"Gayer than that dude from 'N Sync and that other Italian guy." Hmm, that could have been a more effective analogy.
"My sparkly hats were legendary," Ryan continued, still up-in-arms about the hats.
"Whatever, man. All I'm sayin' is you weren't exactly subtle."
Ryan smiled fondly. "Good times." He swung open his door and Travis was right there, hand poised to knock. "Jeez, Travis!" Ryan said, startled.
"Sorry, I know it's early, sorry, but I can't find my key and my multilinear algebra notes are in there and my prof is legendary for giving pop quizzes and we can use our notes, but mine are in my room and I'm locked out of it because I can't find my key," Travis got out in a rush since it was a Tragedy of Epic Proportions and all.
Chad felt him on the locked out part, if not the multilinear algebra crap. Notes. Honestly.
"Did you try knocking?" Ryan asked. The kid blinked, started to speak, shut his mouth, did an about-face, and walked away.
"Yeah, kids' lives are in your hands, all right," Chad said.
"Sacred duty," Ryan agreed, nodding. Then they both cracked up.
***
"Didn't you wear that yesterday?" Ryan asked him as they finished up with breakfast. This was composed of fruit, yogurt, and some type of oatmeal/granola for Ryan. Chad went with the grease: eggs, bacon, ham and cheese omelet, not to mention the fried potatoes of many delicious varieties. Ryan had taken one look at Chad's plate, blanched, and refused to look again.
Chad looked down at himself and finished chewing. "Yeah..."
"Are you going to change?" Ryan asked, just a tad faint.
Chad shrugged. He hadn't planned that far ahead. "I dunno. Joey and Michelle usually stay 'til morning and since it's, like, ungodly early and all, I doubt they're gone by now. What's the big deal? The pants are fine and my shirt even has buttons."
"Oh, in that case," Ryan drawled. He sipped at his orange juice and eyed Chad levelly.
And Chad didn't really give a crap what other people thought of his clothes, but the way Ryan was looking at him...
"I know just the thing," Ryan decided.
"This can't end well."
"You've been in New York for weeks and you probably haven't set foot in a clothing store. It's a crime. We're fixing it immediately."
Chad rolled his eyes and stuffed half a roll in his mouth. "Do I have to mention the hats again?"
Ryan grimaced. "Mid-chew is a good look for you. Besides, that was years ago. I promise we won't get anything you don't like. Think of it as an adventure." Ryan seemed genuinely excited, which was fun to see, so Chad simply shrugged. It wasn't like Ryan could force him to buy anything.
"Sure, why not?"
Ryan grinned, sunlight bright, then promptly grabbed the half-finished roll from Chad's hand and tossed it on his tray. "C'mon."
"Hey! I'm not done here yet," Chad protested. There was still the matter of dessert to consider.
"You've stuffed yourself full of more artery-clogging food than I eat in a week. I think you'll be fine."
Chad simply sat and stared at him.
"Up, up!" Snappy hand gestures accompanied the directive and suddenly Chad was standing and wow, Ryan really did have his Evans moments, huh?
Ryan's phone rang on cue, so of course Chad was left to take both their trays. And he could just guess who would call this early in the morning.
"I'm taking Chad to Calvin Klein to play dress-up. Hey! Wanna come?"
"No!" Chad barked, horrified.
Not as horrified as Sharpay, apparently. "Ew," Ryan muttered. "She says she'd rather eat her own intestines. Here, lemme put you on speaker."
"Don't go to Calvin, you unsubtle boor. They're doing an Astair classic retro thing. Go to Boateng. And you can pick up some things for me." She sounded quite pleased at that idea.
"Am I your errand boy?"
"Oh, brother dearest. When haven't you been?"
***
'Boateng' was apparently a guy who designed stuff and his store was modern and cold and off-putting like most designer's stores seemed to be. Like, you better have a trust fund to even enter the premises and Chad really, really didn't.
Ryan seemed right at home, ordering people around with relish and giving Chad these plotting looks that were just a tad disturbing. They'd even opened the store early for him.
"You realize you're, like, terrorizing these people, right?" Chad asked.
"They love it! Are you kidding? They're thrilled it's me and not Shar. Now she knows how to terrorize a staff. I feel bad for her future help," he mused. Then one of the attendants walked up with a suit and Ryan scoffed aloud. "Tell me you're joking. Did you see the sneakers on him?" Well if she hadn't she did now. Chad frowned and looked down. What? They were clean.
"Do you think sneaker-boy is gonna stuff himself into a suit any time soon?" Ryan continued. The woman's face cleared in understanding, then sympathy.
"Hey!" Chad protested.
"I'm just being realistic. That suit is the work of an artist. It'll just sit in your closet and soak up the smell of sweaty socks. Give it some respect and let some fabulous guy with impeccable taste actually wear it." The woman was in full agreement, nodding and taking it away.
"The key word is functional," Ryan said louder and Chad kind of wanted to die at the way they all nodded in mute agreement. People did this for fun?
"Oh, now that is fabulous," Ryan said at what Chad would swear was a ten dollar plain red t-shirt. "C'mon. They need to measure you."
Ryan steered him to an area surrounded by mirrors and lights that clearly showed every wrinkle in every piece of clothing he wore. A really good-looking, icy guy walked up, tape measure in hand, and started...measuring things.
Chad just kind of stood there, stiff and awkward.
Ryan made a disgusted noise. "Let me," he said, then grabbed the tape from the man's hands, who relinquished it almost gratefully.
Yeah, fuck you, too, buddy.
Ryan took the man's place and leaned in to speak lowly in Chad's ear. "Stop being paranoid. He's not trying to get your pants off...unless it's to destroy them in the office shredder. He likes girls, as, I might add, do you. And since you don't mind me touching you..." Ryan put word to deed and ran his fingers down the tape measuring his arm.
Chad blew a piece of hair out of his eyes. "Fine. Just tell me what to do."
"Now that's what I like to hear," Ryan said. He tossed the tape back to the guy, who now just seemed amused. And didn't these people talk?
"You can measure me, but no shredding my pants," Chad told him as he approached.
His eyes flicked down at said pants, then back up. "I'd need an industrial shredder for those."
Behind them Ryan laughed.
***
Part 2
Recipient: coffeewordangel
Title: Happenstance
Pairing(s): Chad/Ryan, mentions of Zeke/Sharpay
Summary: "I'm, like, the normal, focused, straight-down-the-middle jock. How'd I end up in the psychotic, orgiastic, stoner, trust fund, drama kid group?"
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): Graphic sexual content
Word Count: 22, 505
Disclaimer: All High School Musical characters herein are the property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: College AU. Alice's Tea Cup, Artisanal, Nougatine, and Jean-Georges are quite real (and highly recommended). SOBs is real, though I can't vouch for it, myself. Verve is not and Boateng doesn't yet have a boutique in Manhattan, so I took liberties with both of those. The schools, programs, and degrees are real. I'm not entirely sure about transfer housing, so I also took some liberties there. Cast: Katie, Will, Walker. Many thanks to my beta, J. All other mistakes are my own.
***
Chad and Zeke had stopped to try and decipher which way meant north on the newfangled map when an incredulous voice rose above the din of eight million people stuffed onto an island.
"Chad?!" An incredulous, familiar voice.
Chad turned...and blinked. "Ryan Evans?" he asked, hardly believing it.
Zeke gestured to himself. "Zeke. Now that we're done with introductions," he joked.
Chad swatted him and Zeke swatted back and then Ryan was there, in front of them, and he looked...different. Still with the hat and messenger bag, but his shoulders had broadened, his clothes weren't quite so look-at-me flashy, and his smile wasn't nearly as boyish.
Chad got over the awkward beat and clumsily pulled Ryan into a hug, then released him just as quickly. "Dude, what are you doing here?" he asked.
Ryan's smile turned rueful. "Getting an education, or so they tell me." He and Zeke bumped shoulders companionably and wow, Chad couldn't get over seeing him here, now.
Then he frowned as Ryan's words caught up with him. "Wait. You go to NYU?" He didn't remember that.
"CAP 21," Ryan answered instantly.
Their blank looks must have gotten across because his face fell a bit. "At the Tisch School. It's-you know what? Never mind." He gestured to Zeke thoughtfully. "You're at school here, right?"
"Yup. Up at The Culinary Institute of America."
"The good old CIA," Chad chimed in. Zeke rolled his eyes, failing to appreciate Chad's humor. Because no, it wouldn't stop being funny. Ever.
Ryan grinned-he, at least, had a grasp of what was funny-and nodded at Chad. "You up here visiting?"
"Moving's more like it. I drafted Zeke into helping me. The dude totally shows up without brownies. Who does that?" Seriously. Chad had been looking forward to the brownies. He might have neglected to mention that to Zeke...but Zeke should just know stuff like that, obviously.
"He only likes me for my baked goods," Zeke said with a grin.
"Who said I like you?" Chad shot back.
"Oh, you see that? I was going to whip up something for you but now? 'No soup for you.'"
"Wow. That just took me right back to high school," Ryan said. His smile was small and Chad couldn't tell if he was nostalgic or mocking them. Or himself.
Chad shook his head and cuffed him on the shoulder. "It's been what? Like two years, right? Man, where've you been hiding?" Because he hadn't seen Ryan at any of the impromptu high school reunions, even during the school breaks.
Then again, Central New Mexico Community College had been like one big high school reunion anyway. A reunion that never ended.
"Here," Ryan answered simply. "New York is good for hiding."
"What'd you need to hide-"
He was interrupted by a very familiar call: "Ryan! I've been waiting for almost five minutes. What could you possibly be-oh. You two!" As she approached them, Sharpay spared Chad a glance one might give a bug. On a generous day. Then she addressed her brother. "Explain."
Chad blinked at all the changes in her. No longer the stick-like kid from high school, she'd gotten curves in all the right places. She was rocking the progressive folk look...and actually making it hot.
She looked-like an adult. Chad supposed Ryan did, too, with the harder planes of his face, emphasizing blue, blue eyes.
Ryan ignored her tone and instead was Mr. Peppy, Upbeat Person. "Shar, look who I ran into. Our old friends from high school. Isn't that great?"
"Friends, indeed." Sharpay raked her eyes up and down Chad, then dismissed him with a flick of her hair. Her perusal of Zeke was much more thorough. And creepy and shark-like, if Chad was any judge.
"Nice to see you, too, oh, Fair One," Chad muttered. Ryan grinned and looked down to hide it. Sharpay's attention snapped back to Chad...which hadn't actually been his goal...
"Danforth. Playing tourist, I see."
"Or new resident." Her raised eyebrow prompted him. "I just transferred into NYU."
"We'll be going to the same school, how cool is that?" Ryan asked, excited.
Sharpay kept her face carefully blank, then nodded at Zeke. "Joining your old basketball teammate, here? It'll be just like old times."
Zeke frowned. "I'm not at NYU."
"Nah, he's at the CIA," Chad said.
Sharpay definitely frowned at that, but Zeke hastily jumped in. "The Culinary Institute of America, he means. It's-a really bad joke."
Chad grinned. "Still funny to me."
"Not that that's saying much," Sharpay sniped. Then she turned to Zeke again. "The Insitutute is well regarded." Not a question, more like an observation. Maybe a prompt? Chad had nothing.
Zeke didn't seem to, either, but then, he'd been half in love with Sharpay for forever and a day, so his fumblings made more sense. "Um, yeah. That is-it's the best." They both stopped talking and some kind of weird vibe was at work-
Ryan cleared his throat loudly. It successfully broke the awkward moment and made Sharpay turn her attention to him. Then she moved a few steps away. "You better not be getting sick, Ry. I'm already exposed to every germ from two schools. Getting sick from one I don't even go to is not okay."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, thanks for the concern," he said to her. Then he addressed Chad and Zeke. "Shar's in a very prestigious program so of course everything's a crisis."
"Wow, you're not on Broadway yet? Huh," Chad said, sweetly shocked. Ryan covered a laugh with another cough and Chad couldn't help himself, he just loved the way her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. There was nothing quite like needling Sharpay Evans.
Sharpay threw out her hands in disgust. Then she walked off.
Ryan stayed behind for a beat, scribbling something frantically on a torn-off piece of a flyer. He shoved it at Chad, just as Sharpay got impatient. "Let's go, Ryan! We're late already."
"My number. Call me and we can hang out. It's great to see you guys. Really," he said sincerely.
"Ryan!"
And with a long-suffering grin he was off, jogging to catch up with Sharpay, dodging the constant stream of people that never seemed to end in New York.
"Wow," Zeke said, watching her swaying hips as she walked away.
"No kidding," Chad agreed. Although...probably in an entirely different way.
***
Chad would be living in the residence hall designated for transfers...not that he could remember the hall's name or anything. Which was why he was at the general housing orientation, a madhouse scene where pretty much everyone was clueless.
He knew he was with the transfers and realistically, some freshmen were probably gonna be thrown in because of space concerns, but he was cool with that. As long as he didn't get some douchebag roommate he'd-
"Ryan?" Chad asked.
Ryan looked up and grinned, seemingly honestly pleased to see him. "We meet again."
"What are you doing here? This is for new students."
Ryan pointed to his nametag. "RA. They let me answer questions like I actually know something, can you believe it?"
"You're an RA?" Chad realized that might have sounded really offensive, so he backtracked immediately. "I mean, not that you'd make a bad one, just that I wouldn't have thought you'd be into, you know, hanging with the masses and all." It was possible that hadn't made things any better.
Ryan just laughed, though. "Hey, now, I'm not my sister."
"Ain't that the truth. Wow. Cool. Now I know who to go to if I have questions."
"I'm here for you, Chad."
"So what residence hall are you advising, anyway? Lemme guess: the theater one."
"3NTAC," Ryan said immediately.
Chad blinked. "Wow, I didn't think they actually had one, but-"
"That's an Exploration Community, actually. Not really the same thing, but you can apply for them so you know that everyone on the floor has your same interest. Just if you want to. I'm not the RA for 3NTAC, though."
"Why not?"
Ryan made a face. "I spend enough time with drama kids. I need to meet normal people once in a while."
Chad snickered. "You do realize you just called yourself not normal, right?"
"You should meet my classmates."
"Crazy artistes?"
"Like you wouldn't believe." He paused and Chad didn't really know where to go either, so it got kinda awkward.
"What hall are you in?" Ryan asked, clearly trying, which Chad appreciated.
"Uhh, I have no idea?"
"You're not with the athletes? Wait, you're playing basketball, right? I just assumed, but-"
"It's okay and yeah, I'm playing."
Ryan looked down at the stack of papers on his clipboard and ruffled through some of them. "You should be on the athlete hall list...and I see that you're not."
Chad scratched the back of his head. "I, uhh, might have forgotten to turn in that form."
Ryan didn't bother to hide his laughter. "Of course you did!"
"Yeah..."
"Don't worry about it. It saves you from rooming with the rest of the athletes and their wounded egos."
"Huh?"
"Well, you are called The Violets. Not exactly the Wildcats, ya know?"
"Dude, I'm just glad to be going to a school that has a basketball team, Division III or not."
"Good point. Oh, you're with the rest of the transfers. Cool. I'll be your RA."
Chad blinked. And shook his head while that information took a second to process. Ryan Evans. His RA. "Wait, really?"
Ryan showed him his name on the list. "I hadn't looked at the list or else I'd know that." He flushed delicately. "Sorry. Usually I try to have everyone memorized but this year's gotten away from me."
"School hasn't even started yet," Chad protested.
"I'm doing well, huh?"
"About as well as me. But, hey. At least I know one person."
"That's what I like to hear. Here's your map and instructional guide. We're meeting at the hall this afternoon for check-in and orientation. Don't be late. You wouldn't want to miss the name game." Ryan waggled his eyebrows way too excitedly.
"Oh, joy. I can hardly contain myself."
Ryan grinned, but was distracted as another new student asked him something and Chad got himself out of the way of the rest of the newbies.
Ryan Evans. His RA. How much weirder could this get?
***
"If it makes you feel any better, my choice would have been charismatic," Ryan offered.
"It doesn't," Chad said darkly, eyeing the overreaching freshman chick who'd piped up before he could get a word in. Freakin' freshmen.
"Charismatic Chad. Or maybe casual. Those both work."
"No, now I'm gonna be known as Cheerful Chad forever and it's all her fault. She won't think I'm so cheerful when I drown her in her bathtub," he said darkly.
"She doesn't have a bathtub," Ryan pointed out.
"You've foiled my plot. Guess she'll have to live." Chad grinned slyly at Ryan and Ryan grinned back and it was bizarre how they could just pick it up like this, their friendship that hadn't survived high school. But it was like nothing had ever happened.
Chad liked the feeling.
"Now what?" Chad asked. He looked around at everyone else, each as clueless as the last. Most of the group had stayed in the common room and still chatted, exchanged info. The ever-awkward process of making new friends.
Ryan shrugged. "Now you're a big-city college student. Now you get to do whatever you want."
"So what does a big-city college RA do for fun?" Chad asked.
"I'm meeting up with some friends later. You should come along. They'll probably drag us to a pub or one of their apartments, so nothing too exciting. But they're good people." He almost sounded like he was apologizing in advance. Jeez.
"Sounds good. I'll just go update my ensemble." Chad gestured to his body and affected a pretentious, Sharpay-type look.
Ryan eyed Chad's clothing with a slight grimace. "If only." Then he grinned and raised his eyes back to Chad's. "The entryway at 9:30, okay?"
"Done deal."
***
His roommate, Joey, was the awkward-but-not-smart kind of geek so it was basically kind of a nightmare. It'd be one thing if Joey were just geeky smart. Chad could handle geeky smart. He'd managed well enough with Taylor and even Gabi. But he could not do awkward, stuttered silences.
They'd met like five seconds ago and already it was a 'hi' and 'bye' kind of deal. Oh, well. It wasn't like he needed a new best friend anyway.
"Hey," Chad nodded to Joey and flopped onto his bed, wondering what to do until 9:30. But then his phone started buzzing and he dug through his pockets to find that yes, Troy must be psychic because he was actually calling.
"Dude," Chad answered the phone.
"What's up, bro? How's the first day been?"
"I'm at NYU," Chad said, settling back onto his pillow.
"No kidding. I hadn't heard."
"Screw you. Also, your psychic powers amaze me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I was just thinking about you and then you called!"
Troy lowered his voice dramatically. "What was I wearing?"
"I hate you a lot. And my first day was fine. You're never gonna guess who my RA is!"
"Um, using my psychic powers and your rambling e-mails I'm going to guess...Ryan Evans!"
"Shut up. How'd you know?"
"Wait, seriously? Like, Sharpay's brother, Ryan Evans?"
"One and the same."
Troy laughed hysterically and right in Chad's ear. He lifted the phone away until it sounded like Troy was done. "-is hilarious," Troy was saying. "What are the chances?"
"I know. Crazy."
"It means you'll be spending more time with Sharpay. Good luck with that, man. And hands off. Zeke still has a thing."
Chad gaped, then realized Troy couldn't see him, and scoffed audibly. "I can't believe you just said that. She's Evil. And Zeke is pathetic, but I'm not surprised. If there's one thing I'll give him, she's a hottie, man. Damn."
"Must be. He saw her for point five seconds and it's like Adrianna Lima walked up and started stripping."
"It wasn't nearly that hot, but yeah. I've gotten the e-mails, text messages, phone calls."
"And he's not far. Maybe you can hook him up and then you guys can double date!"
"Screw you, too, mophead."
"Oh, you've hurt me terribly," Troy said dryly. "How's the roommate sitch?"
"Ehh, ya know."
"Wow, don't get too excited."
"Oh, no worries there."
"Can't talk? Got it. I feel ya. But at least it can't get worse than my chainsmoking OCD Russian mobster."
"Dude, don't knock the Russian mobster. He probably tapped your phone and is putting out a hit as we speak."
"In that case, since this'll be our last conversation, I just wanna say...I love you, man," Troy cried dramatically.
Chad snapped his fingers. "Now I remember why I moved to New York. It's all coming back to me."
"'Kay, but when I have a convenient heart attack-"
"At twenty?"
"-you'll be sorry," Troy sing-songed. "TTYL, beeyotch." Then he hung up.
Chad did the same and looked at his phone. "My best friend is such a douche," he said.
Joey kind of laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, yes, I-uhh-yeah," he stuttered out.
Chad forced a smile and kinda nodded. Right. Nightmare.
***
"Ooh, he's gorgeous." Chad suddenly had fingers running through his hair. Male fingers to go with the male hands attached to the guy who was currently in Chad's face. And hair.
Ryan quickly slapped those fingers away. "Hey, now, William. Hands off the merchandise."
"Is he for sale?" The guy-William-asked it with a scary kind of relish. Thankfully Ryan seemed to know how to handle him because he just shooed him back and the guy obeyed.
"Chad, Will. Will, Chad. Will's in musical theater with me."
"Will dominates musical theater and Ryan worships the ground beneath his feet, is what he means," Will corrected with a charming grin. Which he turned on Chad. Which seemed less charming and more...predatory?
And Chad really got a look and even he could see this was the kind of guy that actors were made of: stunning good looks, with hugely expressive hazel eyes and a mouth. And freckles.
"Will wishes," Ryan shot back and oh, right, they were talking.
"But how do you get saddled with such a beautiful newb? Please tell me Ryan stalked you and forcibly made himself your RA," Will demanded of Chad.
"Because Ryan is just that pathetic," Ryan put in.
"I would say entrepreneurial, but whatever works for you." Will shuffled over and nudged Ryan companionably. Ryan gave in and smiled.
Good friends. Probably for a while. Chad felt distinctly like the outsider.
And he still hadn't said anything. Damn.
"Good to meet you, man."
"You, too, man," Will shot back, exaggerated. "You're such a Violet. What sport?" he asked dutifully.
"Basketball," Chad answered, sure of that, at least.
"He ran track and played baseball in high school, too," Ryan offered.
Will shot him a swift, unreadable look before turning his attention back to Chad. "So you're ripped, right?"
Chad was saved from having to answer that-or address the rather scary gleam in Will's eye-by the squealing arrival of a whirlwind of a girl.
"You're joking, this is Chad?" she asked, all bouncy and excited and...possibly high?
Chad shot Ryan a nervous glance. "What does that mean?"
"We've heard of you! Sharpay talks about you like you have a communicable disease." She tilted her head, considering. "You don't do you?"
"No!" Chad said, offended.
"Yay! Oh, I'm so happy!" She grabbed him in a hug, pulled back, then hugged him again. She didn't seem inclined to let go, but thankfully Ryan stepped in, got an arm between them, and pulled her back against him. He moved a couple steps away and took her with him.
"Chad, this is Katie," Ryan introduced, still holding the squirming girl.
"I'm Katie," she said brightly, in case he'd missed it.
Chad smiled. She was kind of charming. "Nice to meet you." And hot as hell with her long brown hair streaked with orange and hot pink, big brown eyes, smooth pale skin. The effect was striking. Hot little figure, too, from what he felt and could still see amongst the twirly skirt and bajillion necklaces.
She flashed Chad a grin and then kind of petted Ryan's face, still snug up against him. "Polite, polite. New Mexicans are so polite. Makes me wanna tie you to things with headscarves and see what'll get you to scream profanity at me."
"Please do. And let me watch," Will said.
"Wow, you have some seriously twisted friends," Chad said without thinking. Then he thought about it and nope. Wouldn't take that back.
Ryan looked down and flushed. Katie hmmed and traced it with her fingers. When she nipped at his chin he poked her in the ribs and she moved back, giggling.
"You're surprised? I thought you grew up with Ryan and her highness," Will said.
"If you mean Sharpay, then yeah."
"Then you get it," he said simply. And mysteriously because...not really?
Not that it seemed to matter. Will clapped his hands. "Onto this evening's activities. In honor of the newbie, methinketh we should have an old-fashioned pub crawl. Gotta get the boy acquainted."
"Must catch him up. Or catch him." Katie nibbled on a fingernail and looked like she couldn't decide which.
Ooookay. Ryan's friends? Bunch of freaks.
Chad was surprisingly cool with that.
***
Chad and Ryan stumbled back into the residence hall around oh-freakin'-early in the a.m. and it was all thick and slow fumbling up to their floor. Chad couldn't remember how to use his keycard, but Ryan the Brave was on the case and would not fail him in these dire times.
"Your friends are freaks," Chad said again, for the millionth time. Then he giggled.
Ryan giggled, too. "They liked you."
"Will wants in my pants."
"Will wants in everybody's pants. I think you have the wrong card thingy." He shook it like that might help.
Who knew? It might.
Chad frowned and tried to focus on the card. Cards. One of them, anyway. "Worked before. Does Will want in your pants?"
"Will wants in everybody's pants. Wait, did I already say that?" Ryan asked muzzily.
Then the light clicked green and the door opened and Ryan really was his savior. Chad was about to tell him so, when a sound reached their ears, a sound not unlike a lawnmower or woodchipper, an inhuman sound that nothing human could make.
"Dude," Chad said. "My room was invaded by mutant woodchippers."
"Think it's your roommate," Ryan said instead, peering into the darkness where said roommate apparently slept. "Do you have earplugs?"
"Not that I know of?"
"Do you have vodka?" Ryan tried again.
"I know I don't have that," Chad said mournfully.
"Well. Good luck with that." Then he patted Chad's arm and started off. Weaving his way down the hall.
"Ryan!" he hissed, over-loud, even to his own ears. "You're just gonna leave me like this?"
Ryan meandered back and focused on him, thinking intently. "I say we make a pact not to mention our welcome to NYU activities tonight," Ryan decided.
"But-that wasn't my question."
Ryan smiled, serene, then rubbed a hand over Chad's mouth in some kind of...petting thing? Then he wandered away again.
Ooookay, maybe there was a reason Ryan was friends with a bunch of freaks.
***
Evil mutant woodchippers had taken up residence in Chad's head. He thunked it down on the cheap wooden desk-a desk the chippers would just love-as he waited for Intro to Acting to start, God knew why he'd signed up for that. And now his head was pounding in time to the woodchippers' beat and he was surrounded by a bunch of wannabe actor-types and the girls in too-low tops weren't even hot.
The world hated him. Obviously.
Professor Holloway breezed in, reminding him eerily of Darbus in no kind of good way, and Chad managed not to fumble roll call too badly, which he figured would be it for him-
Until he saw the door open again and Ryan saunter in.
Ryan, who looked cool and collected and all sorts of other 'c' words which Chad was not, even cheerful, and Chad could just die. It'd be fine. Better, even.
"Now, class, I would like to introduce you to your TA for our time together, Mr. Ryan Evans. Ryan was a brilliant pupil of mine and he has so graciously offered to guide and aid you in our journey together. Please, bid him welcome." Scattered applause seemed to be what that meant, so Chad clapped dully along.
Ryan caught his eye and his mouth curled, just a touch, but Chad could tell.
He stopped clapping.
"Sadly, our time for today has run its course. Ryan will orient you further in your TA sections. Adieu!" And out she breezed, followed more slowly by the rest of the class. Ryan shook hands with some, offered quick tips, and Chad just sat there and took it all in. Because the energy to do anything but wince? No idea where that was gonna come from.
The second-to-last student finally left, the door swung shut behind him, and Ryan collapsed down with a groan. "Oh, my head," he moaned.
Chad stuttered out a laugh. "Really? You, too?"
"Next time, stop me. Remind me of this, tie me up, kill me. Whatever you have to do."
"Tie you up with headscarves and see what makes you scream profanity at me," Chad mumbled.
Ryan's head shot up, then he winced in pain at the movement. "Ow."
"Dude. You're my TA," Chad informed him.
"Yeah, noticed that."
"You're gonna, like, grade me and stuff."
"I'm also your RA who went out and got illegally drunk with you last night."
"So you're doing well with the whole responsibility thing," Chad said idly.
"Seems like it."
"Cool. Keep up the good work."
***
New York was...different. It was hard for Chad to get used to being constantly surrounded by people. Back home everything was spread out; there was so much space. Rolling hills and plains of nothing were typical, usual. Here-it was like New York was piled on top of itself. The weight of all that noise and sound and mass of stuff going on could be overwhelming.
So Chad made his little corner of it, filled it with Ryan and his friends and Zeke, and set about building it into something comfortable. It was a little shocking how easily it happened. After three days if he didn't see Ryan at least three times, it was a little odd. Regular calls, e-mails, texts, and instant messages kept him anchored with his old friends-Troy, Taylor, Gabi-while Ryan and his friends had set about adopting Chad. Or else he had a serious case for harassment, what with the relish Katie, in particular, seemed to adore pestering him.
The first weekend Chad got a text from Zeke that he was coming down to "visit" and could he crash on Chad's floor? Chad was instantly suspicious, but said yes anyway 'cause that was what friends did.
Somehow they ended up at a packed place called SOB's, which Chad found hilarious, and somehow Sharpay just happened to be there, holding court at the bar, wearing a gold dress and drenched in the gold and orange light. These things were far too unlikely to be coincidence and Chad's suspicions were confirmed when Zeke didn't even pretend surprise at seeing her.
"You set this up," Chad accused Ryan.
Ryan simply grinned and swiveled his hips to some kind of French-Caribbean beat. Which he shouldn't be able to make look easy, because Chad knew it wasn't, but since when did Ryan follow rules?
"Would I do that?"
"Yes," Chad said hotly. Possibly the atmosphere was getting to him.
Ryan tsked. "Please. She'll turn him down, for the hundredth time, and he'll sulk and get over it. What's the harm?" Ryan asked easily. He sipped on his cocktail-called a Brazilian Kiss, he'd been informed-his throat working, and Chad's thoughts got derailed a bit.
Ryan bobbed his head like the silence was agreement. "That's what I thought. C'mon. Come dance with me." He hooked two fingers in Chad's belt and tugged, but only the barest amount.
There was temptation there. Everyone was easy and relaxed here, the rhythms infectious, people singing and dancing along to music they seemed to know.
Chad stood rooted to the spot, mind taking in just how unconcerned people seemed to be with the gender of their dance partners, Ryan subtly moving to the rhythm already, and was he wearing glitter?
He leaned in close to Chad's ear and Chad smelled rum and Ryan's fancy cologne and passion fruit. "Downer," Ryan breathed, a laugh contained in the word, and then he let Chad go. He skipped off to join the dancing throng and a couple people immediately curled around him, moved with him. A couple guys, Chad noted.
Zeke walked up and nodded at the dance floor. "Ryan's good."
"Yeah, he is." Chad took a swig of his beer and wondered why he still felt thirsty.
Zeke grabbed his arm. "Oh, wait, wait-yes! He's leaving. Later." Then he was up and gone and if Chad didn't know how pathetic it all was, he'd have been confused. As it was, he simply looked over to where Sharpay had sent her latest suitor away and yep, there was Zeke, approaching with a gift and a curious lack of pleading.
A notable lack of pleading, actually. He marched right up to her, took her hand and placed whatever it was in it, looked right in her eyes and started speaking intently. Sharpay didn't scream, screech, flail, or do anything other than blink up at him and listen.
Chad's beer stayed suspended halfway to his mouth. That was different.
When Zeke finished he pushed back a little and Sharpay swallowed, then looked at what was in her hand. Whatever it was must have been good because she smiled a genuine little smile-for her-and hopped off the barstool. She caught Zeke's hand and pulled him onto the dance floor where he wrapped around her and pulled her close.
And that seemed to be that.
"Hey," Will called into Chad's ear, jostling against him in some kind of greeting. Chad nodded absently back. "Where'd Sharpay go?"
Chad gestured out to the floor with his beer, at the tangle of limbs that was Sharpay and Zeke.
Will made an appalled sound. "My lady!" he said in protest, not that anyone could hear him.
"Dude. Yeah, she's hot, but doesn't anyone else see that she's, like, evil?" Chad asked Will, Zeke...possibly the world.
"Blasphemy. But of course she'd run off with the new guy and ignore her devotees of many long years," he grumbled.
"Actually, Zeke's been after her longer than you have."
Will made an affronted sound, but Katie ran up and hugged both of them at once, then, squealing out, "My boys, you're such partyers, just look at you!" Her cocktail threatened to spill all over someone.
Chad smiled; Will lamented some more: "My true love has been lost to me."
Katie patted his cheek. "That's just the pot, honey. Come dance with me, mmkay?" She perkily ran off, then came back. "And you're invited, too, sad-Chad." She stroked the skin under his left eye. Why? Who knew?
"I think I'm good," Chad assured her.
"Yay!" She then handed him her drink. "Have some. It's Sex on Bubbles!" She bounced off and crooked a finger at Will, who seemed to have forgotten Sharpay's existence. He followed and tangled himself up with her as much as Sharpay had with Zeke.
And there he stood, leaning against the cold pillar at his back, a drink in each hand. Sad-Chad, indeed.
***
A couple weeks in, Chad's roommate found himself a girlfriend. Consequently, Chad found himself locked out a lot.
Chad stood in Ryan's doorway after practice-sweaty, exhausted, and fed up. "They're having sex again! All I want to do is take a shower and go to sleep and now I can't." Was he whining like a girl? Possibly. Did he care?
Nope.
"Yo, Junior College!" Chad heard from behind him. "Locked out again?"
"Eh, blow me," Chad shot back at Alan, who laughed and walked on. Freakin' freshmen.
Ryan grinned from where he sat on his bed. "Is that supposed to be off-putting?"
Chad rolled his eyes. "Don't fake-flirt with me. I'm pissed. My roommate is almost as evil as your sister."
Ryan gave him a vaguely sympathetic look and gestured to his private bathroom. "You can use my shower..."
"Can I sleep in your bed?" he asked, grumpy and not really meaning it.
"Oh, baby, any time you like." A beat. "Or you can use the futon I keep here."
Chad sighed and dropped his chin to his chest. A saving grace, right here. "I love you," he said, meaning every word.
"I would hope so."
Chad's head snapped up. "No, wait, I hate you. Where were you all those other times I got locked out and had to sit in the common room while the weepy girls watched 'One Life to Just Kill Yourself Now?'"
"Ahh, the other shoe drops. How fickle the love of a teenage girl can be." Ryan sighed dramatically.
"Yeah, whatever. I'm using your soap."
"That'll show me." He tossed Chad a clean towel. Chad tossed him a rude gesture.
***
One minor issue with showering in Ryan's shower: it smelled like him. Sure, this made sense. It had all his hair products and skin products and, holy God, bathing products. The number of products was, like, infinite and Chad was a tiny bit scared.
Of that and the fact that it smelled like Ryan. Which he, Chad, recognized. And which was absolutely not diminishing his hard-on at all.
...this might be another problem, but honestly, he was too tired to worry about it at the moment.
So he shrugged and turned on the water. He selected the bottles he deemed least likely to turn him blond by morning and slid under the spray.
The very warm spray in this very private bathroom that smelled like Ryan and really, it was only natural he was hard. His teammates at practice were still ragging on the new guy and he hadn't been able to properly jerk off in weeks, while his roommate did nothing but have sex.
Really, it was totally understandable that he'd take this one moment of alone-time, brace against the tile, and stroke himself until he had to bite his hand to keep from crying out, panting and weak-kneed, blond in his thoughts.
Totally understandable.
***
Chad smelled coffee. He sat up abruptly and his blankets slipped down to the futon, but he didn't even care because somewhere there was a source of caffeine and he hadn't made it his yet.
He rubbed at his eyes and zeroed in on the to-go cup in Ryan's hand. "I will pay you for some of that." Ryan looked amused...so Chad guessed his hair was not looking its finest.
"I'm ridiculously rich," Ryan informed him.
"I'll have your firstborn."
Ryan laughed. "Now that I'd like to see you pay off. You're just lucky I'm nice." Ryan produced another to-go cup from the bag sitting slightly behind him on his desk.
"No, you're not," Chad muttered. But Ryan handed him coffee then, so the fawning over caffeine might have detracted from his spite.
"Well...I'm nice to you," Ryan amended. And there Chad couldn't disagree.
He sipped and sipped and gulped and then it must have reached his bloodstream because everything looked sharper, especially how Ryan watched him.
"You're not one of those horrible morning people, are you?" Chad asked him when his coffee was all gone, but Ryan still there, perched on his desk.
Ryan gestured to himself with his cup. "Responsible adult right here."
"Oh, God, you should be years from that."
"Kids' lives are in my hands. It's a sacred duty."
Chad snorted. "You broke the rules the first night. You didn't even make it a full twenty-four hours."
"Since when are you a kid?" Ryan asked with a grin.
"Yeah, I'm a manly-man."
"Hey, manly-man, wanna get the hell up so I can put the futon away?"
Chad grumbled, but made his way to standing. He watched, forlorn, as Ryan efficiently tucked the quite comfortable futon away, blankets thrown into a basket. He was very efficient at that.
"Why do you have a futon, anyway?" Chad asked.
"In case Shar wants to stay over." Like that explained everything, no questions needed. Duh.
"Sharpay Evans sleeps on the floor?" Chad asked, aghast.
"Sharpay Evans kicks me out of my bed and I sleep on the floor." Oh. Right.
"No wonder it's so comfortable."
"Nothing but the best."
But Chad had gotten distracted because Ryan had pictures. Pictures which he hadn't noticed last night. Printed and in actual frames-how quaint-many of Sharpay, others of Will and Katie and some other guy, and then some more...touchy-feely ones of Ryan and some random guy.
"Who's the dude?" Chad asked.
Ryan glanced at the picture, then casually away. Too casually. "That's Tim. He and I went out for a while. It ended badly."
"Why?"
"Shar didn't like him."
Heh. "Then we know my virtue's safe," Chad joked.
Ryan blinked at him. "Shar doesn't hate you."
"She thinks I have a communicable disease!"
Ryan grinned like it was all some hilarious joke. Traitor. "That shows you're on her radar. She doesn't speak to people she really hates. Wouldn't even acknowledge Tim. I tried with him for a while, but, well...that's a deal breaker. And he turned out to be an ass in the end, so..."
"I'd say you were pussy-whipped, but that's so wrong given she's your freakin' sister." Chad moved on to the next photo-this time an Evans family portrait. Of course they'd have that.
When Ryan's voice came, it held something guarded and careful in it: "You know, most people don't even ask when they see the pictures."
Chad made sure to look over and meet Ryan's gaze. "Shuffle their feet, get uncomfortable, maybe blush and look away?" Chad guessed.
"Gosh, and I had you pegged as the blushing type," Ryan said, dry as the freakin' Sahara.
"I've got-" Chad counted in his head, "-five words for you: pink shirts and sparkly hats."
Ryan got it immediately and rolled his eyes. "My sparkly hats were works of art."
"Gayer than that dude from 'N Sync and that other Italian guy." Hmm, that could have been a more effective analogy.
"My sparkly hats were legendary," Ryan continued, still up-in-arms about the hats.
"Whatever, man. All I'm sayin' is you weren't exactly subtle."
Ryan smiled fondly. "Good times." He swung open his door and Travis was right there, hand poised to knock. "Jeez, Travis!" Ryan said, startled.
"Sorry, I know it's early, sorry, but I can't find my key and my multilinear algebra notes are in there and my prof is legendary for giving pop quizzes and we can use our notes, but mine are in my room and I'm locked out of it because I can't find my key," Travis got out in a rush since it was a Tragedy of Epic Proportions and all.
Chad felt him on the locked out part, if not the multilinear algebra crap. Notes. Honestly.
"Did you try knocking?" Ryan asked. The kid blinked, started to speak, shut his mouth, did an about-face, and walked away.
"Yeah, kids' lives are in your hands, all right," Chad said.
"Sacred duty," Ryan agreed, nodding. Then they both cracked up.
***
"Didn't you wear that yesterday?" Ryan asked him as they finished up with breakfast. This was composed of fruit, yogurt, and some type of oatmeal/granola for Ryan. Chad went with the grease: eggs, bacon, ham and cheese omelet, not to mention the fried potatoes of many delicious varieties. Ryan had taken one look at Chad's plate, blanched, and refused to look again.
Chad looked down at himself and finished chewing. "Yeah..."
"Are you going to change?" Ryan asked, just a tad faint.
Chad shrugged. He hadn't planned that far ahead. "I dunno. Joey and Michelle usually stay 'til morning and since it's, like, ungodly early and all, I doubt they're gone by now. What's the big deal? The pants are fine and my shirt even has buttons."
"Oh, in that case," Ryan drawled. He sipped at his orange juice and eyed Chad levelly.
And Chad didn't really give a crap what other people thought of his clothes, but the way Ryan was looking at him...
"I know just the thing," Ryan decided.
"This can't end well."
"You've been in New York for weeks and you probably haven't set foot in a clothing store. It's a crime. We're fixing it immediately."
Chad rolled his eyes and stuffed half a roll in his mouth. "Do I have to mention the hats again?"
Ryan grimaced. "Mid-chew is a good look for you. Besides, that was years ago. I promise we won't get anything you don't like. Think of it as an adventure." Ryan seemed genuinely excited, which was fun to see, so Chad simply shrugged. It wasn't like Ryan could force him to buy anything.
"Sure, why not?"
Ryan grinned, sunlight bright, then promptly grabbed the half-finished roll from Chad's hand and tossed it on his tray. "C'mon."
"Hey! I'm not done here yet," Chad protested. There was still the matter of dessert to consider.
"You've stuffed yourself full of more artery-clogging food than I eat in a week. I think you'll be fine."
Chad simply sat and stared at him.
"Up, up!" Snappy hand gestures accompanied the directive and suddenly Chad was standing and wow, Ryan really did have his Evans moments, huh?
Ryan's phone rang on cue, so of course Chad was left to take both their trays. And he could just guess who would call this early in the morning.
"I'm taking Chad to Calvin Klein to play dress-up. Hey! Wanna come?"
"No!" Chad barked, horrified.
Not as horrified as Sharpay, apparently. "Ew," Ryan muttered. "She says she'd rather eat her own intestines. Here, lemme put you on speaker."
"Don't go to Calvin, you unsubtle boor. They're doing an Astair classic retro thing. Go to Boateng. And you can pick up some things for me." She sounded quite pleased at that idea.
"Am I your errand boy?"
"Oh, brother dearest. When haven't you been?"
***
'Boateng' was apparently a guy who designed stuff and his store was modern and cold and off-putting like most designer's stores seemed to be. Like, you better have a trust fund to even enter the premises and Chad really, really didn't.
Ryan seemed right at home, ordering people around with relish and giving Chad these plotting looks that were just a tad disturbing. They'd even opened the store early for him.
"You realize you're, like, terrorizing these people, right?" Chad asked.
"They love it! Are you kidding? They're thrilled it's me and not Shar. Now she knows how to terrorize a staff. I feel bad for her future help," he mused. Then one of the attendants walked up with a suit and Ryan scoffed aloud. "Tell me you're joking. Did you see the sneakers on him?" Well if she hadn't she did now. Chad frowned and looked down. What? They were clean.
"Do you think sneaker-boy is gonna stuff himself into a suit any time soon?" Ryan continued. The woman's face cleared in understanding, then sympathy.
"Hey!" Chad protested.
"I'm just being realistic. That suit is the work of an artist. It'll just sit in your closet and soak up the smell of sweaty socks. Give it some respect and let some fabulous guy with impeccable taste actually wear it." The woman was in full agreement, nodding and taking it away.
"The key word is functional," Ryan said louder and Chad kind of wanted to die at the way they all nodded in mute agreement. People did this for fun?
"Oh, now that is fabulous," Ryan said at what Chad would swear was a ten dollar plain red t-shirt. "C'mon. They need to measure you."
Ryan steered him to an area surrounded by mirrors and lights that clearly showed every wrinkle in every piece of clothing he wore. A really good-looking, icy guy walked up, tape measure in hand, and started...measuring things.
Chad just kind of stood there, stiff and awkward.
Ryan made a disgusted noise. "Let me," he said, then grabbed the tape from the man's hands, who relinquished it almost gratefully.
Yeah, fuck you, too, buddy.
Ryan took the man's place and leaned in to speak lowly in Chad's ear. "Stop being paranoid. He's not trying to get your pants off...unless it's to destroy them in the office shredder. He likes girls, as, I might add, do you. And since you don't mind me touching you..." Ryan put word to deed and ran his fingers down the tape measuring his arm.
Chad blew a piece of hair out of his eyes. "Fine. Just tell me what to do."
"Now that's what I like to hear," Ryan said. He tossed the tape back to the guy, who now just seemed amused. And didn't these people talk?
"You can measure me, but no shredding my pants," Chad told him as he approached.
His eyes flicked down at said pants, then back up. "I'd need an industrial shredder for those."
Behind them Ryan laughed.
***
Part 2