Me and My PlayMaker (Chyan)

Ready to get fake married?

That afternoon, after school, Chad arrived at the auditorium a bit liter than usual. He had managed to catch Taylor before she left, asking her about some subtle ways to flirt - and make sure someone's into you.

Thankfully, she didn't ask who he was flirting with, but she did have that knowing look in her eye. Chad, however, couldn't bring himself to care. Not anymore, and not right now.

  Walking in to the auditorium, Chad felt oddly confident with him new found flirtation tips. Taylor was the brainiac after all, and had been quite the charmer when they first started dating. Everyone assumed Chad had been the one to make the first move, but it was in fact Taylor (I love strong, confident woman. What an icon).

That confidence melted away, however, when Chad saw candles and rose petals littering the stage. His heart stopped momentarily before remembering that they were practicing the wedding scene today. He couldn't help but notice, however, the flirty look Ryan was giving him as he leaned against the baby grand piano cockily.

  It was probably quite odd to do the wedding scene without their characters' wives - played by Sharpay and Gabriella, of course -, but the boys would take any chance they got to rehearse without Sharpays constant nagging. Plus, some lone rehearsing in an intense, romantic setting with the two wouldn't hurt one bit.

For acting practice, of course.

"Hey, WildCat." Ryan grinned, and Chad's heart fluttered. He cleared his throat, pushing his nerves out of his system and returning to his previous confident state. Even if it was merely a facade, if it helped him figure out if his feelings were reciprocated, it would be worth it.

  "Hey yourself, Golden boy." 'Golden Boy' was a nickname Chad coined when trying to convince Ryan that he was a triple threat of sorts ('dancing, singing, and acting? Jesus Christ dude'). Ryan's grin widened.

"Ready to get fake married?" Ryan mused, causing Chad to laugh as he made his way toward the piano, picking up his script from a neat stack on the shiny black lid of the instrument.

  Of course, by now Chad had memorized most of his lines, but the script still helped when he was rehearsing. Plus it gave him something besides Ryan's face - those eyes, and god forbid he stare at his lips - to focus on.

"Let's do this thing." Chad agreed. Ryan pushed himself up, not bothering to grab his script - 'show off' - as he got in position in the middle of the stage.

   The boys rehearsed for an hour or so, deciding to take a breather after going through the same scene three plus times ('That's not how you pronounce that word, Chad.' 'Well I don't like how it's pronounced.').

They were perched on the end of the stage, sitting way closer than would be seen as socially acceptable for two friends.

  They were talking about random, meaningless things when Chad decided to meet Ryan's eyes.

Those beautiful, bright blue eyes.

   It happened so suddenly, without a word from either.

They leaned in, closer, and closer, and

   Ryan pulled away. Ryan was the last one people would expect to deny himself the chance to kiss his crush, but the truth was, deep down, he was scared. Scared and hurt. He had been fucked over by way too many guys that he had completely adored and he was not ready for Chad to be one of them.

The boy in question gave the other a confused, hurt look, and Ryan couldn't bear it. It made his heart hurt.

   So he ran. Leaving his fashionable white messenger bag with gold studs - as well as his matching golfers cap -, he ran.

He ran to the parking lot, thankful that he had kept his car keys in his pocket, and that Kelsey had a different ride home tonight, and he drove.

   He barely gave himself a second to think about what happened - blasting the radio on his race home and immediately submerging himself in Homework the second he walked through his front door - until he was laying in bed that night.

And that's when the flood gates opened.

   Chad, however, had a lot of time to think.

Time to question.

   Time to regret.

And regret he did. He regretted being so cocky, regretted ever thinking that the Ryan Evans could ever like him back.

   When he had finally gotten himself to get up and collect his things, he grabbed Ryan's hat and bag before leaving the auditorium.

On his way out to the garage, he bumped into Kelsey, who was grabbing her stuff from her locker.

  "Hey, Kels." He greeted, forcing a somber smile.

Kels smiled back at him, before noticing the sad look in his eyes and stopping herself. "You ok, Chad?"

  Chad shrugged, and shoved Ryan's things towards the small girl. "You're riding home with Ryan, right? Can you give him these?"

Kelsey looked surprised, "Well actually I'm not gonna see him until tomorrow-"

   "That's fine." Chad interrupted, and Kelsey looked even more surprised. He pushed the things toward her more, but she shook her head.

"Not until you tell me what happened."

   The boy sighed, pulling his own back pack back on his shoulder. "I- I kissed him." He muttered, and Kelsey's eyebrows flew up.

"Oh?"

   "Yeah." Chad grumbled, ignoring the hint of happiness in Kelsey's tone. "And he pulled away."

"Oh." Now that was even more surprising. She opened her mouth to say more - some sort of phrase that would attempt, and fail to comfort her friend - but the basket ball player simply handed her Ryan's things, and left without another word.

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A/N: So I published that chapter at like 2am this morning, and I then proceeded to write over a million words until 3am.
Pro: I already have the start of the next chapter and an idea on how this book will end
Con: I didn't get up early enough to complete everything I need to do today. S i g h.
Also, about the Angst™ in today's chapter... uh... heh, heh... don't hate me.
Hadet💓