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Chapter Text

The Danforth household was what one might call progressive. They had always supported equal rights of all kinds. Chad and his older sister Amber were born to a Jewish mother, and they carried on the traditions she taught them when she was alive. Their father remarried when Amber was in high school and Chad was in 5th grade. Charlie and his wife had a daughter together when Chad was in middle school, her name was Naomi. They were a very loving household. Chad and Amber called Charlie's wife their mom, and they accepted her odd habits. No one moved the picture of Michael Crawford out of the fridge even though they hated that it was there. 

Keeping this in mind, Chad was still terrified of the prospect of ever coming out as gay. He had known he was gay since he got his first crush. Coincidentally, it happened to be on his best friend Troy Bolton. Chad's mother, his biological mother to be specific, had always had this knowing smile on her face every time Chad spoke about Troy. She could be driving him to his dance class, and he would be telling her all about how he and Troy played superheroes. Troy would let Chad be Batman, but he didn't know Chad picked Batman so Troy could be Superman. 

The fear of his sexuality, that he hadn't admitted to, came after his mother died but before his father started dating again. He was in the 3rd grade, and he finally had the ability to tryout for the elementary school basketball team. He hadn't quit dance just yet, but after a 5th grader on the team called him a faggot at the mention of him taking dance class, he did.

It was a word said with such hatred. He didn't know what a faggot was, but he sure as hell didn't want to be one. If taking dance classes made him one, he vowed not to take another one. The word finally had a meaning a year later. A couple moved into the house next door. They were both men, and they didn't own the house. They were just renting it. Chad woke up one morning and got ready for school. When he and his dad went out the front door, Charlie froze in his tracks, stopping Chad by putting a hand on his chest. That word was spray painted on the new neighbors car. Faggot was written in big black capital letters. He asked his father what the word meant when they got in the car.

Charlie looked Chad in the eyes and told him the truth. "It's hateful, and about gay people. Those two men are gay, they love each other like I did your mother, like I do with Cynthia now. People don't like that, so they hate them and want to hurt them."

So, Chad, in 4th grade, knew he could not be gay for his own personal safety. He already had enough issues as it was. People hated him because he was black, and there were people that protested outside of his synagogue because they hated Jewish people. He didn't want to give people more reason to hate him. He had already dropped dance because an older kid on the basketball team had called him that word without even knowing about his crush on Troy or Blade from the movie of the same name.

It wasn't until middle school that Chad knew of someone his age that was gay. The Evans family moved to Albuquerque, Vance and Derby owning the country club Lava Springs. The twins were transferred to the same school as Chad and Troy. They were both triple threats, joining choir, the school musical, and Ryan joined the dance team. Ryan Evans was openly gay, and his family had enough money that no one dared to bother him about it.

There was an air of untouchability to the Evans twins. Sharpay, at only the age of 11, was a stone cold bitch. Things went her way or they didn't happen at all. She had a smile that was predatory, and she would find dirt on anyone she deemed a threat. Rumors were spread, started by her. Ryan seemed to use her as a shield. He stood tall, a couple of steps behind her and slightly to the left. Their outfits were coordinated, and they didn't look fully human. Chad hated them. He hated Ryan because he could be gay and use his evil sister and their family's money to make sure no one bothered him. He got to dance, and no one snarled and called him a faggot to his face.

It was lunchtime on the last day of school in their year of 8th grade. Chad was sitting with Troy, Zeke, and Jason. There was a commotion as Ryan Evans stood on the table of the drama club. He was pulling his sister up to stand with him while singing rather loudly. "The name on everybody's lips is gonna be Sharpay! The lady raking in the chips is gonna be-"

Sharpay smiled widely and joined in. " Sharpay! I'm gonna be a celebrity, that means somebody everyone knows," she booped Ryan on the nose and smiled.

Chad turned to Troy and gave him a look of disbelief. "Are you seeing this shit?" He said.

Troy had his brows furrowed as he continued to watch the twins sing their altered version of Roxie from Chicago. "They're so lucky it's the last day of school."

Chad would never admit to knowing what musical they got the song from. He wouldn't admit to knowing all the words to the original song, either. If anyone ever found out, he would blame it on his stepmother. She was the one that he watched Chicago with. Things he had seen at a younger age, he could blame on his mother. No one had to know, because if they knew they could use it against him.

East High had a status quo. Following it was safe. Chad was in 3 sports teams, and his best friend was the most popular kid in their grade. He pretended to flirt with cheerleaders to fit the image people expected of him. While managing straight As, he made jokes in class and didn't do a lot of homework. Part of him believed that even if he wasn't gay, or even if he was but he was out, he still wouldn't do a lot of homework. Amber had shown him studies that proved teachers only gave homework to keep students busy. Chad wasn't going to be made into a workerbee. He was gonna make a name for himself, and to do that he had to stand out. Just not too much.

Taylor McKessie was a girl that Chad only knew in passing. They had never spoken, and they ran in different cliques. She was on the academic decathlon team and in the science club. Despite the impression she gave other people, she didn't hate him. Chad even had a feeling she liked him. It was their social status in the school that stopped her from pursuing him, as far as he knew. 

He would catch her watching him, which would make her grimace and look away after rolling her eyes. The split second before she realized he was looking at her, she had this look on her face. It was like Cady in Mean Girls when she was looking at Aaron Samuels. Chad wondered why she liked him. He tried to make himself as unappealing to smart girls as possible. Did she see through him? Was he transparent, yet just opaque enough for her to not know the act was because he's gay?

He pretended not to notice that she liked him. It worked for a while. They had no reason to talk to each other. Two and a half years, they didn't speak a word to each other. They were aware of each other and had classes together, but they didn't talk. There was no reason to until Gabriella Montez transferred to East High in the middle of junior year. 

The status quo was snapped in half. Chad didn't have the stability he needed until college. It was all Gabriella's fault. She got into Troy's head, made him decide to audition for the winter musicale. He tried to talk Troy out of it, even came up with a scheme to break the couple up. He and Taylor realized how miserable it made their best friends and decided that it was a mistake. They got them back together and even helped them audition. 

After the game, he decided he needed a firmer grasp on the mask of heterosexuality that he presented to the public. Since Troy and Gabriella knocked the social hierarchy over like a Jenga tower, he asked Taylor out on a date. She lit up like a Christmas tree at the invitation, and he heard her squeal with Gabriella. Guilt made his stomach turn. He couldn't be Taylor's boyfriend, no matter how much he wanted to pretend he could. Still, he already asked her out. He couldn't be a douche bag by blowing her off.

His eye caught sight of Ryan talking to Troy, and it made him pause. There was fire under his skin. Troy looked comfortable to be near Ryan, the way he was with any stranger. He should hate Ryan because of the fact that he's Sharpay's little lapdog. Yet, Troy didn't hate him. He didn't even hate Sharpay. There didn't seem to be a bone in Troy that was capable of hating someone.

There was a tap on Chad's shoulder, causing him to turn around. Sharpay had a conniving smile on her face. "I heard you're taking Taylor to the after party?" Her head was tilted to the side, feigning innocence. It was a thing Chad could spot a mile away. He had seen Mean Girls a million times, and Sharpay was Regina George for the Disney Channel.

He nodded. "Yeah. Why?" He narrowed his eyes, hoping she wasn't going to say he should take her instead.

"I hope you're a really good actor if you want to make it work," she stood up straighter. Craning her neck, she looked behind him towards Ryan and Troy. Then, she met his eyes. It was like staring down a lion. "Try to look at her the way you look at Troy. Maybe then she'll believe you actually like her."

He stopped breathing, feeling his heart pound. Sharpay knew. She saw right through him, and sunk her teeth in the moment she had an opportunity.

She waved, making sure to wiggle her fingers, as she walked away. "Toodles," she called over her shoulder.

He was screwed.

His hands shook as he changed out of his uniform. It felt like he was on death row. Sharpay could pull the rug out from under him at any time if she wanted to. He wouldn't put it above her to out him, even though her brother is gay. She flaunted that she knew right in front of his face, and then walked away without a single threat being made.

When he got out of the locker room, Taylor was waiting with Gabriella. Troy was still getting changed, so she was likely waiting for him. Chad took a deep breath and approached Taylor. "Hey," he gave her a nervous smile. That was all he could muster at that moment.

Taylor smiled widely at him. "Hi," she looked at Gabriella, who gave her a thumbs up before walking away.

"Do you wanna walk to the after party? I don't have a car," Chad rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans, making sure to keep eye contact.

She seemed to think his nervousness was due to liking her, so her face flushed as she nodded. "Yeah sure. It's at the Bolton house, right?"

They always were. Coach invited the team, the cheerleaders, and their parents to have celebratory soda and snacks if they won a game. Chad smiled and started walking. "C'mon, I know how to get there. I walk there all the time after track."

Taylor was walking beside him, just a little too close for his taste. "So, what made you ask me out?"

"I've known you like me since this time in freshman year," Chad admitted. He looked at her, making sure his expression was kind, with just enough playfulness to know he doesn't want to hurt her feelings by bringing it up. "Troy and Gabriella kind of started a trend tonight, so I wanted the chance to get to know you better."

She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Alright. I have to say I'm kind of shocked, I didn't think you were interested in me."

The words were coming out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He was thankful that no one else could hear them. They were walking alone on the sidewalk, it was dark, and the only cars passing by them wouldn't know what they were talking about. "I'm gay."

This stopped her in her tracks. She put her hand on his bicep to stop him. "Are you fucking with me?" Her eyes were pleading.

He shook his head. "I don't want anyone to know, and I also don't want to lead you on."

"Then why did you ask me out, asshole," the grip on his arm got tighter.

He put his hands up in a placating way. "I didn't specify that it was a date, I just wanted to know if you would accompany me because our best friends would likely be sucking face the entire time."

She pointed at his face. "Do not put this on me!" The grip on his arm was released and she ran her hands through her hair. "Jesus Christ, I'm sorry, Chad. Why are you telling me you're gay if you don't want anyone to know?"

"The thing is I had this really awful plan where I was going to lead you on so you could be my beard, but I realized that would make me the biggest asshole to ever asshole."

She laughed. "God. Thanks for deciding against that."

He smiled and put his hand on her shoulder blades, guiding her so they could keep walking. "If you want to, and you totally don't have to, we could be friends and let people assume whatever they want about the nature of our relationship. We won't tell anyone we're together, but we won't do anything to make them think we aren't."

"That's literally the craziest idea I've ever heard."

"Crazier than live streaming Troy saying Gabriella isn't important to him so we could break them up, causing them to not audition for the musical?" Chad lifted his eyebrows.

She leaned her head on his as they walked, letting out a loud laugh. "You got me there."

There was something about Taylor that reminded Chad of Amber. She was funny and smart, and she rolled her eyes when he would say something stupid. He thought that maybe they would get along if Taylor ever got to meet her when she was visiting from college. "What do you say?"

"I'll do it, I guess. But, we will have to hang out more than just tonight."

"I can live with that."

She smiled at him, and Chad felt safer than he had all night. "My sister always says that boys are stupid because they all have this thing called boy disease. I can't wait for her to find out that my first boyfriend is gay and I'm his beard."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Y'know your sister is right about boy disease. I'm pretty stupid."

"That right there is a lie. There is no way in hell I could have a class with someone stupid that isn't just homeroom."

This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Chad finally had someone he could talk to about his feelings without worries. It was freeing to have a safety net in someone that understood at least some of his struggles.

When Chad got home, he was the only one there. A note was left on the coffee table. "Hope the game went well. Sorry we couldn't make it. Had to take Naomi to the ER. Allergic reaction to ant bites. Love dad."

That night, Chad got more rest than he had in a while. It wasn't until he woke up in the morning that he remembered what happened before he came out to Taylor. Sharpay knew, and if she didn't already tell the whole school, she still could. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She could hold this over his head for as long as she possibly wanted, and the only way he could stop her was to come out on his own terms.

Chad really hated Sharpay.

He took a shower and went downstairs, thankful he had an entire weekend to think about what would happen at school on Monday. There was movement coming from the kitchen, so he assumed either his dad or his stepmom was awake. When he got there, Cynthia was sitting at the table with a mug full of coffee, while Charlie was taking a Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl out of the microwave.

"Good morning," Chad greeted.

Charlie turned to him as he closed the microwave. "How was the game?"

Chad smiled as he took a seat at the table, Charlie sitting in front of him. "We won."

"Oh that's wonderful," Cynthia said, giving him a tired smile. "There's a pot of coffee if you want any. We had a late night. You were asleep when we finally got home from the hospital."

"Is Naomi okay?"

Charlie nodded. "It was a lot of bites and she swelled up real fast. Fell into an ant hill outside before she even got the chance to get ready so we could make it to the game."

Naomi had a tendency of ignoring the warnings about the back corner of the backyard. There was a big ant hill that had been there since Chad was younger than her. "She asleep?" He asked.

Cynthia nodded, placing her elbow on the table and resting her head on her hand. "You okay? You don't seem all there. Thought you'd be happy to have won the game last night."

"I am happy about winning, really," Chad said, leaning back. "There's just something I need to tell you."

Cynthia placed her coffee on the table. Charlie brought all of his attention on Chad. "Did you break a law?" Charlie asked.

"What? No!"

"Well you're acting like we're gonna be mad. Either you got someone pregnant, or you broke a law."

"I'm gay, dad."

There was a moment of silence. Charlie sat up straight, and Cynthia looked into her coffee. "Did you think we would be upset about this?" Charlie spoke hesitantly.

Chad shook his head and leaned forward. He rested his elbows on the table. "No, I was nervous. The first time I admitted it out loud was last night."

Cynthia grabbed one of Chad's hands with her free one. It was warm from holding her coffee. Chad met her eyes. "We're proud of you for gaining the courage to tell us. It means a lot."

Chad smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I think mom, my birth mom, knew," he looked at Charlie. "I remember how she would get when I talked about Troy. It was like she just knew."

"She once told me about how you were talking about marrying Troy," Charlie's voice was wistful. There was that sad nostalgia that was ever present at the mention of Shira. "I thought it was just that thing kids do when they imitate grownups but get the details wrong."

Chad looked down at his hand intertwined with Cynthia's. "He was my first crush," he admitted. "I mean I was just a stupid kid at the time. I thought he could like me back."

Cynthia rubbed his knuckles with her thumb. "Did you tell him last night?"

"No, I told this girl that likes me," Chad chuckled. "She thought I was joking so I could get out of not dating her."

Charlie snorted. When Chad looked at him, he saw him shaking his head. "How'd she take it when you told her you weren't?"

Chad rubbed his face and relaxed. "Uh, she agreed to just be friends and not to tell anyone until I'm ready."

"That's good," Cynthia let go of his hand and took another sip of her coffee.

"Her name is Taylor, and she's actually best friends with Troy's girlfriend."

Charlie furrowed his brows. "What's her last name?"

Chad frowned. Why would that matter? "McKessie."

"Amber used to be real close to Monique McKessie when she was younger," Charlie nodded. "Monique had a younger sister about your age."

"Taylor told me that her older sister said all boys have something called boy disease."

Charlie laughed. "That sounds like Monique."

The rest of the school year went without an issue. The Evans twins didn't speak to him, people assumed he and Taylor were dating, and he actually had a nice time hanging out with her while Gabriella and Troy were busy with rehearsals. Taylor got along well with Chad's parents and Naomi. Chad got along well with Taylor's parents, even though they would sometimes give him a skeptical look when they would be hanging out in her bedroom.

There was a rule when they hung out at the McKessie household. The bedroom door was to remain open at least an inch. They would lay on Taylor's bed and watch movies on her laptop, and at random times one of her parents would open the door some more to check on them. Sometimes Chad would be sitting upside down in her desk chair while she was laying on her bed. They would talk for hours.

"No I'm not kidding," Taylor said as Chad laughed loudly. "I saw it! He gave her his boxers to wear as pajamas!"

His face was red, and he gasped for air between laughs. "They're 16!"

There was a knock on the open door and Chad turned his head to see Taylor's mom leaning against the door frame. "I was wondering if you two wanted me to make you some snacks? We just got a cantaloupe from the grocery store."

"Yeah, sure," Taylor sat up. She leaned her back against the headboard. "Do you know when Mon is gonna be visiting from college?"

Mrs. McKessie gave her a small smile. "She'll be here once the term ends. She needs the weekends to study for finals." She then turned to look at Chad. "You better sit right side up or you'll crack your head open."

Chad lifted himself up on his elbows, carefully turning so he can sit upright. Mrs. McKessie smiled and gave him a thumbs up before heading down the hallway. Chad turned his attention back to Taylor. "Which pair did he give her? Was it the ugly red and white plaid ones?"

Taylor laughed like she hadn't expected that. "No they were Superman."

His stomach dropped at that. He stopped smiling. Taylor frowned and tilted her head. "I got him those for his birthday a couple years ago."

"Oh," Taylor said, her voice quiet. "I'm sorry he gave them away."

Chad shook his head and slouched. "It doesn't matter."

It did matter. Taylor knew it did, but she dropped the subject. Instead, she brought up the musical number the drama club table had during lunch. The Evans twins had gotten the club to sing Summer Lovin' from Grease, Sharpay of course taking the role of Sandy, while Ryan was Danny. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that it was weird how comfortable the twins were with portraying lovers. Still, it was known that Ryan was gay.

Chad and Taylor went on a "double date" with Gabriella and Troy. It was Troy's idea, surprisingly. He invited them to see Dead Silence in theaters. When Troy was driving his dad's car to pick Gabriella and Taylor up, he had turned the radio down.

"Girls really like to cuddle during horror movies," he said.

Chad rolled his eyes. "Are you telling me this because you think Taylor is gonna let me feel her up while we watch a movie about a murderous puppet?"

Troy scoffed. "I didn't say anything about feeling her up, you're the one that said it."

"You implied it," Chad stated.

"You've been happier since you and Taylor started going out. I just think you might want to take an opportunity to kick things up a notch."

So, it was obvious they didn't do a lot of things couples did. Troy genuinely thought that Chad was dating Taylor, and that he wanted to have sex with her. "Did it ever occur to you that there might be a reason we haven't kicked things up a notch? "

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Do Jews wait until they're married?"

"Shut the fuck up, Troy."

The rest of the drive to Taylor's house was silent. Chad sent her a text when they entered her neighborhood, and she was waiting outside when they got to her driveway. "Hey, guys," she greeted as she climbed into the back.

Chad turned to look at her and smiled. "We're going to that theater that doesn't card for R rated movies. You got cash?"

She nodded. "Of course. We're sharing a popcorn and a soda, and I'm getting you a bag of Skittles."

"You're the best. Literally a goddess among mere mortals," he turned back to look out the windshield as Troy began to head towards Gabriella's house around the block.

"Why are you buying snacks and not Chad?" Troy glanced at Taylor through the rearview mirror.

Taylor was looking out the window as she answered. "We don't follow patriarchal standards for dating. When he doesn't have money and I do, I pay. When I don't have money and he does, he pays. When neither of us has money we stare longingly at what we want or go to one of our houses."

Troy nodded, as if he hadn't thought of that before. Chad had a feeling it was gonna be a long night.

It was a good movie. Chad had fun watching it. He probably wouldn't have if Taylor wasn't there. Maybe if it was just him and Troy he would have, but he felt sick every time he would turn his head and see that Gabriella was hiding her face in Troy's chest. It didn't feel as bad as it used to. Before he and Taylor became friends, it was the worst way Troy had ever made him feel. Now, it was just a dull nausea. 

Of course, as a group they went on more "double dates". After a private discussion with Taylor, he had taken to kissing her on the cheek when it was appropriate near Troy. It was natural, in the way you kiss a family member on the cheek. Chad just hoped that he wouldn't have to kiss her on the mouth.

Chapter Text

During the weekend before the last week of school, Amber came home. Taylor was helping Chad babysit Naomi while his parents were both at work. It was always fun to watch Taylor interact with Naomi. They would talk about some scientific thing Naomi read in a book she borrowed from the school library. Taylor made sure to keep the discussion in simple terms so that Naomi would understand what she said.

When Amber opened the front door, Naomi was sitting in Chad's lap while telling Taylor all about a ghost story she read. Apparently, there were kids books that discussed urban legends, and Naomi was obsessed with them. "Maybe you should read Goosebumps," Taylor said just as Amber walked in.

"Oh, are we getting the little princess started on spooky things again?" She left the door open as she carried her suitcase inside. "Dickface, can you get the rest of my shit from my trunk?"

Chad had covered Naomi's ears as soon as the word dickface came out of Amber's mouth. "If she starts cussing, I'm making sure they know it's your fault." Taylor grabbed Naomi by the waist and lifted her off of Chad's lap. He stood and got out of the way so that Naomi could take his seat. "Amber, this is my friend Taylor. Taylor, this is my older sister Amber," he said before heading to the door. "Don't teach her anymore bad words while I'm gone."

When Chad got back inside, he gently kicked the door shut. Amber wasn't anywhere in sight, but Taylor pointed him in the direction she went. She was in her old bedroom. He placed the last of her bags on her bed. "Do mom and dad know you're here?"

"Mom's dead, so Cynthia and dad know, but mom doesn't," she said. Chad took a deep breath and sat on the corner of her bed as she began unpacking. "Is that your girlfriend out there?"

Chad had forgotten that Amber didn't know. When he was at home there wasn't anyone who didn't know. "No, she's not my girlfriend."

Amber nodded. "Side chick?"

"I'm gay, Amber."

That got her to look at him again. "So she's your fag hag."

Chad felt his cheeks heat and his stomach turn. "Never say that word again."

"Sorry," she didn't sound at all sorry as she continued.

Chad grabbed her suitcase and pulled it away from her. "What the hell has gotten into you? You turn 20 and think you can be a bitch all of a sudden?"

"It's none of your business, Chad," she roughly threw her shirt onto her bed. "Maybe I'm pissed off you all act like mom never existed and Cynthia is a replacement."

She looked at him, and her eyes were vacant. "That's not it. Last time you were here, you called Cynthia mom. She's not a replacement, and you know that. So, tell me what your problem is so we can fix it," Chad stood up, making himself the same height as her.

"I'm pregnant," she said. "And I don't remember having sex.

His knees gave out, and he sat back down on the bed. "What happened?"

She moved her luggage some more so she could sit beside him. "I went to a party at a frat house. My roommate had been invited, and she let me tag along. I didn't even have alcohol. I got something called Jungle Juice and put my drink down to play darts. After I finished my drink, I think I passed out. Woke up the next morning in my bed with a killer headache and no memory of what happened after that game of darts."

Chad hesitantly took her hand. He wasn't sure what it was she needed from him, but it was definitely comfort. She pulled him into a hug and started crying. "I'm sorry, Amber," he said as he rubbed her back.

"I wish mom were here," Amber whispered.

His chest ached. "I do too."

Amber pulled away from him and wiped the tears from her face. "Your friend is probably waiting for you."

"She can wait longer," he assured her. Amber gave him a small smile. "Do you know what you're going to do."

She nodded and stood. "You can't judge me for my decision though."

Chad furrowed his brows and looked up at her. "Why would I judge you?"

"I'm getting an abortion."

"That's the smartest option to take considering the circumstances," Chad stated.

She looked at him, disbelief evident on her face. He pulled her suitcase closer to her. Amber ducked her head and let out a sad chuckle as she began unpacking again. "When the hell did you get so wise?"

He shrugged and stood beside her. "It probably has something to do with Taylor. She plans on becoming president one day."

"That'll do it."

Chad gently pat Amber on the back before heading back into the living room. Taylor and Naomi were cuddled up on the couch, watching Spongebob. No matter how empty he felt inside when he lied to Troy, or when Troy would be too busy with Gabriella to hang out with him, he would always have his sisters. All three of them.

After a few episodes, Amber got out of her room and joined them. "Is there still a Planned Parenthood around here?" She asked, tapping Taylor on the shoulder.

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Yeah. Do you want me to go with you?"

Amber smiled and looked at Chad. He nodded. "That would be great," she said as she stood up straight and looked at Taylor again. "We can get to know each other, and I can have some company."

Naomi didn't have to be asked to switch from cuddling Taylor to cuddling Chad. Taylor stood and adjusted her clothes. "I'll probably have to go home after we get done," she looked at Chad. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he leaned back, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "Stay safe."

Amber kicked Chad's calf. "Get your feet off the table, bitch."

Naomi laughed, pressing her face against Chad's chest. "Bye Taylor, bye Amber. Love you," she said, her voice muffled.

Chad cooed. Taylor's mouth feel open, just a bit. Amber leaned forward to press her hand on Naomi's leg. "Bye bye. I'll be back real soon. Love you."

"I love you too, Naomi," Taylor said. She meant it. Over the past few months, she had come to see Naomi as her younger sister. Amber grabbed Taylor's wrist and lead her out the front door. 

Naomi lifted her head and looked at Chad. "What's Planned Parenthood?"

Chad laughed and shook his head. "It's a center that specializes in women's health."

"Should I go to Planned Parenthood?"

"You'll know if you should when you do need to go. Don't worry."

After school on Thursday, Troy came over to Chad's house for the first time in what felt like forever. Gabriella and Taylor had already made plans to go shopping for swimsuits together since summer break was so close. So, Troy finally decided to grace Chad with his presence one on one. 

They walked from school to Chad's house, like they used to when they weren't getting driven to the Bolton's by Troy's dad. Chad dribbled his basketball as they walked. "Did you notice that Sharpay was staring at you earlier?" Troy said.

Chad grabbed the ball once it came back up from the ground. "What? When was she staring at me?"

"We were waiting with Gabi and Taylor for Ms. Montez to pick them up," Troy stated. "She had this look of disgust, aimed at you when you did that thing where you spun Taylor."

His heart was pounding. It was probably a good idea to keep walking. "Maybe she didn't like that we were making fun of how gross you and Gabi are?"

Troy shook his head. "I don't think it's that. She doesn't like that me and Gabi are together. Why would she not be okay with people making jokes about us?"

Chad shrugged. He nervously spun the ball in his hands. "Maybe she's racist?"

"She only looks at you like that when you get couple-y with Taylor. What if she has a thing for you?"

That suggestion made Chad scoff. "Yeah right. If Sharpay has a thing for me, then I have a thing for Lindsay Lohan."

Troy gave him a pointed look. "How many times have you seen Mean Girls?"

"It's a good movie!"

When they got to the Danforth household, Amber was relaxing on the couch while I Know What You Did Last Summer played on the TV. She turned the volume down and turned her attention to them. "Chad, why didn't you tell me your boyfriend was coming."

Chad threw his basketball at her. She caught it, laughing maniacally. "Shut the fuck up."

"Chadwick Danforth!" His father's voice came from the kitchen. "Don't make me come in there and beat your ass!" His face grew hot at the realization that he had forgotten that his dad would be home. "Amber, what did we say about harassing Chad and his friends?"

Amber smiled and handed the ball back to Chad. "Sorry, daddy!"

"Don't get smart with me!"

Troy laughed, and Chad realized that he felt as at home as he did when Amber finally came back. He pushed Troy towards his room. "Make sure to keep the door open! I don't want any funny business," Amber called over her shoulder.

Chad rolled his eyes but collapsed on his bed, keeping the door open. "I forgot how obnoxious she can be," he tossed the ball in the air and caught it as it came tumbling down.

"What was that about, anyways?" Troy sat down at the foot of the bed.

She knows I've had a crush on you since I was 5. She doesn't know you don't know I'm gay. "She's been fucking with me ever since she got home on Sunday," Chad admitted. "She asked if Taylor was my side chick."

Troy shuddered at the idea. "Gross."

"I think it's her way of saying she missed me," Chad rested the ball on his chest and looked at Troy. "I mean she just finished her junior year as an undergrad, and she comes home to me and Taylor babysitting Naomi. You don't come over for almost a week, when we used to hang out every single day. Things are different now and she feels out of the loop, I guess."

He wanted to tell him then. Chad was looking into Troy's eyes and he wanted to say the words I'm gay but there was something stopping him. An ache in his sternum. The world slowed down in that moment. It wasn't like it used to be. The ache came from the fear of Troy reacting badly to him coming out. It was an irrational anxiety because he knew Troy would accept him, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

The ache of longing had dulled. It wasn't as intense. Maybe the space was what they needed for Chad to not want to ruin their friendship by admitting he wanted to be with him. He still did like Troy, but it was manageable. There was no overwhelming urge to kiss Troy every time he saw him. He just wanted his best friend back.

"I've missed you, dude," Chad said, allowing just a little bit of vulnerability to come through.

Troy smiled and leaned back until he was laying beside him. "I've been right here the whole time."

Chad blinked and gave him a small smile. No you haven't.

"So, do you have any summer jobs picked out?" Troy asked.

Chad sighed. "I applied to McDonald's, Wendy's, Hot Topic, and Claire's."

Troy frowned and furrowed his brows. "Why Claire's?"

"I was at the mall and they were hiring. They want someone to work the piercing gun."

They both shuddered in sync. It was just like old times. "Have you heard back from any of them?"

"No. How about you? Have you applied for anything?"

It turns out that even though Troy had yet to apply for anything, people were looking to hire him. After school on Friday, the official beginning of summer, Troy had gotten a phone call. Chad had tried to ignore the turning in his stomach as Coach joked about the way Troy talked on the phone with Gabriella. It turned out that that phone call was from Mr. Fulton at Lava Springs. 

Troy had gotten job offers for all their friends and acquaintances. Chad decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. A job offer without even applying? That was an opportunity not to be missed.

When the Wildcats arrived at Lava Springs, Chad's first sight was Sharpay Evans waving at Troy. His second sight was Ryan Evans looking in his direction while lounging by the pool. It took a moment for him to realize that Ryan was looking at him and not toward him. He stretched himself on the pool chair like a cat, soaking in the sun. His attention was on Chad.

Then, Sharpay fell in the pool.

A lot of the Wildcats were given jobs in the kitchen, including Chad and Troy. They were waiters, which was so not what Chad had in mind for his first summer job at the age of 17. Troy seemed to be the only optimistic one - aside from Gabriella, who had the glamorous position of lifeguard - saying, "we can totally turn this around! It's our summer. We can still have fun while working our asses off and getting paid."

It seemed as though Mr. Fulton was specifically trying to make their lives a living hell. They had to wait on bossy rich white people and address them formally. Everyday after work, the Wildcats would shoot hoops until they had to go home. Even though working was awful, they made it fun. It was just like Troy said it would be.

Until it wasn't.

"Now if you're done goofing off," Mr. Fulton's voice caused the high schoolers to scatter. "Mr. Bolton, Mr. Danforth, you have been specifically requested to caddy this afternoon."

When Chad said he'd caddy for Godzilla if he was being paid $40, he didn't think to factor in the knowledge that Sharpay is worse than Godzilla. The only good thing was that Sharpay was ignoring him in favor of Troy. In fact, almost all of the Evans family was ignoring him. Yet, Chad still noticed that Ryan would look him up and down when Mr. Evans wasn't looking. It caused his heart to hammer and he bit the insides of his cheeks, hoping he didn't blush.

Chad wasn't used to guys checking him out. Yes, he did like it a lot, but that doesn't change the newness of it. He had never spent time with Ryan, nor had he paid enough attention to him, to notice if Ryan had an eye on him. The way Taylor used to look at him wasn't the same as this, at least Chad didn't react the same. The look from Taylor made him uncomfortable in a bad way. He pitied her for having affection for someone who just couldn't return the feelings. The look from Ryan, on the other hand, caused goosebumps to form on his arms. Even in the heat of the New Mexico sun, he had to restrain a shiver. It was… wonderful to feel that way. He liked it when guys looked at him with longing.

Mr. Evans got Troy to putt, and the Evans family watched in awe. However, Ryan was focused on Chad. Chad bit his lower lip and stood up straight. They made eye contact for a single moment, yet Chad knew that Ryan knew what it meant, even if he wasn't completely sure.

Being this close to Ryan in his natural habitat let Chad actually take in how pretty he was. Not handsome. Pretty. Yes, his clothes were ridiculous but they accentuated the right things. His hats drew attention to his face, and he really did have a nice face. Both Ryan and Sharpay were objectively attractive, everyone at East High knew that. The pants and shorts he wore were tailored specifically to make sure he looked presentable and hot. And his arms - oy, his arms - were unbelievable. 

Chad was broken out of his thoughts when the golf cart started driving away. Troy on the back with Sharpay, while Derby and Vance were in the front. They left the bags with Chad and Ryan, who they also left behind. "Fuck," Chad breathed, looking up at the sky.

"Sometimes I really don't like Troy," Ryan said as he grabbed the bag that Troy was carrying before.

Chad looked at him for a moment. "Me too, to be fairly honest."

Ryan bit his lip. "Well, they aren't gonna play anymore golf. I can walk you to the kitchen."

That was really unexpected. Chad ducked his head and smiled. "You sure you don't wanna try to catch up with them?"

"And watch them treat him like he's their son and I'm not? No thanks," Ryan scoffed. "C'mon."

They didn't have much to talk about on the walk from the golf course. It was still nice. Chad would look at Ryan every now and then, just to appreciate the way the sun highlighted his silhouette. The quiet wasn't uncomfortable, which wasn't something Chad could expect from a walk alone with an Evans. "Why do they treat you like that?" The question came out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Ryan shrugged. "Mom is actually the only one of them that likes me for me and not what I could represent. She only goes with what dad says because she feels she has to. Dad, on the other hand, doesn't get the whole gay thing."

"Does he think golf is gonna change that?"

"Any sport at all, really."

Chad snorted. "I'm on three teams, and I'm just bursting with homoeroticism."

That statement got Ryan to laugh. "You should tell him that. Show him that dance class didn't make me gay."

"Is it a religious thing or an old person thing?"

"It's a straight person thing," Ryan's tone was playful, but it was obviously not a joke.

Chad nodded, thinking back on his own experiences with dance class. He was the only boy in the dance class, and the parents of the little girls would glare at his mother and whisper about them. "My older sister called Taylor a fag hag."

He expected Ryan to get tense at the casual use of That Word, but he didn't. "I would say Sharpay is a fag hag, but I don't know for sure if she's straight."

Chad's eyebrows shot up. "No."

"She's way too obsessed with Gabriella to not at least be bi."

They were too close to one of the populated areas of the country club to continue their conversation. Now that the ice was broken, they walked in companionable silence. That is, until Ryan saw Taylor and gave her the golf bags to put away. She looked at Chad for a moment before smiling and taking the bags. She winked at Chad before leaving.

It wasn't until Chad had been back in the kitchen, serving the rich white patrons, that he realized something. That was the first time he had ever spoken to Ryan Evans. They had a full conversation, and Chad told him something he hadn't actually told anyone. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the time he spent alone with Ryan during the walk from the golf course. It was such a strange thing to admit to himself.

He must have looked slightly dazed, because Jason grabbed his attention and smirked. "What's going on with you, Danforth?" He asked.

Chad shrugged, slightly horrified at what Jason might think was going on. "Just thinking."

"You got any uh plans with Taylor?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Chad laughed and shook his head. "Nah, man. Just wanna go home."

Jason looked like he didn't believe him. "You had this look on your face but… oh well whatever you say, dude."

Then, they went back to work.

Chad and Jason were to be waiting tables while Troy sat on his ass and had dinner with the Evans family and some important people from the University of Albuquerque. It would have been like Troy had stabbed him directly in the gut, had it not been for the discomfort on his face. Ryan looked up at Chad with an expression that screamed help me as he refilled his iced tea. 

One of the many bad things about having a job was that work didn't end until it was dark out. Chad had a feeling that would be a frequent occurrence in the real world. Taylor clocked out immediately after him and smiled, biting her lower lip. "Do you think I could get a ride with you?" She asked.

"Sure, my mom should be here soon," Chad smiled as she linked their arms.

During the months that Troy was too busy to spend a lot of time with him, Chad had noticed that Taylor was quickly becoming his best friend. They had seemed to pick up each others mannerisms due to the amount of time they spent together. Sometimes they would do things in sync without intending to. It was nice to have that camaraderie with someone again.

They walked to the car lot together, Taylor recounting some events that happened during her first say. Chad hadn't managed to get a word in aside from responses to her long recaps. It wasn't until Cynthia's minivan pulled into the lot that Chad got to talk. He told Taylor about a customer he waited on that was particularly annoying as they made their way to the vehicle.

Chad got in the front while Taylor got in the back. "Hi, Taylor," Cynthia greeted with a smile.

"Hi Mrs. Danforth," Taylor buckled her seatbelt. "My parents tend to go to bed pretty early, so I told them I would get a ride with someone. I hope that's okay."

Cynthia began pulling out of the lot. "It's totally fine, sweetie. No need to worry," she assured her. "How was the last day of the first week for you guys?"

Chad shrugged. "It was a job."

Taylor looked like she knew that that's not all that day was. Yet, she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she told Cynthia a brief rundown of the jobs each wildcat had. Chad told a funny story from within the kitchen, and a mishap while waiting tables. 

After Taylor got dropped off, Cynthia began driving to their house. "You've been awfully quiet," she said.

"I love you," Chad hadn't been able to stop thinking about Ryan since the experience caddying. He was lucky to have such accepting parents, especially such an awesome stepmom. That includes the Michael Crawford in their fridge.

Cynthia smiled. "I love you too, but what is this about?"

Chad shrugged. "Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you and dad."

"I'm glad to be here for you. You've grown into such a lovely young man. I'm sure Shira is very proud of you."

That night, Chad fell asleep with his arms wrapped around one of his pillows. In his dreams, he was a kid again. He danced while his mother sang in Hebrew. It was one of the songs she used to play when she cooked dinner. The sleep was restful, but he woke up with dread in his gut.

Shockingly, the dread must have been some form of precognition. Troy got a promotion, teaching golf to kids. He was wearing new clothes and Italian golf shoes. Chad was convinced that Troy was only putting on a front for Sharpay so that he could get the scholarship she was offering him. He'd secure the scholarship, and then everything would go back to normal. Yet, as he watched Troy teach Sharpay to hold a golf club, his stomach turned. 

Almost a week went by, and Chad realized that maybe Taylor was right. Troy had been acting differently. He was starting to treat his friends like shit, and it was awful. The whole thing was like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Troy's body may have been walking around, but that wasn't Troy. The time was truly awful.

The only beneficial thing to the change was that Ryan was free from Sharpay. He would lounge around, and Chad would notice him watching him. It should have been creepy, but it was starting to sneak into his dreams at night. When he woke up one morning with sticky boxers from a dream about Ryan, he realized the blonde was quickly taking Troy's place in his fantasies. 

After Troy had bailed on the game of two-on-two and the staff baseball game, Chad was pissed. He couldn't believe that that was the guy he spent so long wanting to be with. The scholarship was fine, so was hanging with Sharpay. What wasn't cool was the attitude Troy had while he did it. He had this holier than thou aura as he walked around in his new clothes, talking to college basketball players. 

After Chad changed into his Wildcats baseball uniform, he didn't expect to see Ryan on the sandlot. Gabriella had the wonderful idea to invite him to play in the game, so long as he helped with their performance in the talent show. The stupid goddamn talent show that Chad couldn't believe he was excited about. He couldn't be. Not without Troy to make it all okay.

"You wanna play ball, grab a mitt," Chad pointed at Ryan's face. "But I don't dance."

Ryan smirked and looked him in the eye. It sent a shiver down his spine. "You don't think dancing takes some game?"

Okay, so they were flirting. Chad bit his lip and looked Ryan up and down before returning his gaze. "You got game?"

"A little."

Game on.

It was practically a blur. The game was really close, and it was as if Chad and Ryan were the only ones playing it. They threw playful jabs back and forth, Chad couldn't remember any of them if you asked him to repeat them. He just knew that they were talking about dancing, but not really.

And Ryan was good. Like, really good at baseball. He hoped his excitement at this new knowledge wasn't noticeable. Well, he hoped Ryan knew and that he returned the excitement. 

The Wildcats won. Chad slid into home with Ryan sliding on top of him just a moment too late. His heart pounded as the team cheered around him. Ryan had a frown on his face, and Chad hated it.

"Evans!" He called. Ryan froze, and Chad decided it was now or never. "I'm not saying I'm gonna dance in the show," he watched him closely for any physical response. "But if I did… What would you have me do?"

Chad couldn't see the smirk on his face, but he knew it was there. Ryan had a certain swagger in his walk as Chad followed loosely behind him to the locker room. Thankfully, everyone had decided to leave them be. They would start eating without the star players. Chad couldn't complain.

He stopped when he reached the closed door. Anything could happen while they were in there. Alone. Together. After what had to be the hottest game of baseball in the history of the sport. Slowly, he opened the door to the locker room and sealed his fate by taking a step inside. It was exhilarating. 

Ryan stood with his back against a locker that was facing the door. Despite the game they played, his clothes still looked pristine. The door slammed shut as Chad walked toward him.

Just a couple steps on Ryan's part and they were kissing. It was his first kiss, so Chad wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. He just knew he wanted - needed - more. His hands were on Ryan. One was on the back is his neck, pulling him close, while the other was on his hip.

Ryan pulled him closer with his belt loops, causing him to gasp. He took that opportunity to slide his tongue into his mouth. The hand on Ryan's hip slid under his shirt, and he took a step. He seemed to take the hint, because he let Chad guide him to the bench. Their mouths separated, but their faces were closer. Chad's nose brushed against Ryan's cheek as their foreheads pressed together. Their hats fell to the ground with dull sounds.

"What are you gonna do, Danforth?" Ryan's voice was raspy.

If Chad wasn't already breathing heavily, that sound would have caused him to start. "What do you want me to do?" He whispered.

Hesitantly, Ryan began to pull on Chad's belt. Chad kissed him again, and this time Ryan's knees hit the bench. He sat with a huff of air as Chad kicked off his shoes. Ryan watched Chad for a moment before doing the same. With his belt unbuckled and his shoes off, Chad straddled Ryan's lap.

He didn't have to ask for Ryan to kiss him again. With hands on his hips and another guys tongue in his mouth, Chad couldn't help the moan that came from deep within his chest. He ground his hips down on Ryan's erection, eliciting a gasp.

His hands went to the get of Ryan's pristine white shirt. He tugged upward, and Ryan was quick to take it off. Chad took the opportunity to take his own off. It left them both in their undershirts. "Hold on," Chad said. He stood, and Ryan took the hint. His heart hammered in his chest as Ryan unbuttoned his pants for him. As Chad took off his pants, he watched Ryan do the same.

Finally stripped down to a level he could breathe in, Chad went back to sitting in Ryan's lap. His legs were on either side of the other's hips. Ryan's hands immediately found a place on his thighs, over his boxer briefs. "You look sexy like this," Ryan whispered before kissing him.

"Good," Chad murmured when their mouths separated.

He kissed Ryan again. This time, he was the one to add tongue. He felt the hands on his thighs slowly inch up to his waist band. They froze in a question. Chad moved his hips to the rhythm of their kiss as an answer.

The expected, yet chilling, sensation of another hand on his cock caused Chad to stop kissing. He let out a gasp, squeezing his eyes tight. The contact was loss, the air was in its place. He opened his eyes and saw Ryan spitting into his hand. 

This was really happening. That was his only thought as he watched Ryan slick his hand up with saliva. Then Ryan made eye contact with him. The wet hand grabbed his cock, and Chad's jaw dropped as Ryan spread it to have some lubricant. He was familiar with the action, he would do it to his own hand when he didn't have any lotion or actual lube on hand when he absolutely needed to rub one out.

It was different to have someone else's hand do the same motions. "Fuck," he gasped. His eyes slid closed and his head fell to Ryan's shoulder. The strokes were slow and rhythmic, something only a dancer could do. He couldn't help but move his hips along to the fluid movements.

That moment was like their own dance. So was the baseball game, if Chad was honest. Even though it had been years since Chad had danced, he still had certain things ingrained in his psyche. He led on the field, and Ryan was leading then. If given the opportunity, in that moment Chad would let Ryan take complete control of his body. Fine motor functions be damned.

He gasped and moaned and groaned. "Ryan… oh please… fuck," his words were nonsense, but they made Ryan happy. "I'm gonna cum," he said.

Ryan didn't change his rhythm. Chad's hips bucked one final time before they stilled. Ryan continued stroking, even as Chad came all over his hand and wrist. He only stopped stroking when Chad deflated on him. 

Chad took a moment to catch his breath before he grabbed Ryan's forearm. Ryan furrowed his brows and just watched. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but he licked the cum off of Ryan's hand and arm. "Oh dear god," Ryan murmured. It tasted salty, and kind of gross. "That was so hot," Ryan stated.

That caused Chad to smile. He tucked himself back into his underwear. "I thought the same thing out there," he used his head to gesture to the door before he stood. Ryan looked up at him, his expression unreadable. Then, Chad sank to his knees. "I've never done this before, so forgive me if it sucks."

Ryan blinked, then nodded. Chad took that opportunity to take his cock out of his briefs. The only time Chad had seen another guys cock had been porn, and it was nothing compared to the real thing. He took a deep breath and gave a tentative lick. His gaze went up to Ryan's face as he heard a sharp intake of breath.

Chad was sure it was one of the world's worst blowjobs to ever exist. It took some time for him to find a rhythm he was comfortable with, and then he had to remember to breathe through his nose. That didn't even mention the fear he felt anytime the head got near his throat. He did not want his first sexual experience to end with him vomiting on the other guy.

Thankfully, that's not what happened. Ryan made the prettiest noises, and he had his hands on Chad's shoulders. Then, one of his hands went to the back of his neck. He gasped Chad's name every now and then, and it would be a sound forever etched into his brain. There was a warning that Chad didn't heed. Instead, he let Ryan fun in his mouth. He pulled off and swallowed. It was a truly disgusting taste, but it allowed for there to not be a mess to clean up. 

"I don't know about you, but I could definitely eat right about now," Chad said as he grabbed the closest pair of pants near him. It wasn't until he pulled them on that he realized that they were Ryan's.

Ryan bit his lip and watched him button and zip the pants. "I could eat," he said. "If you're gonna wear my pants, you gotta wear the whole outfit."

Chad didn't feel like it was conceited to say he looked damn good in Ryan's clothes. Ryan looked good in his too. They walked to the area the rest of the staff was having their lunch, and Chad had a feeling that they reeked of sex. If the clothes didn't give them away, then the stench definitely would.

He couldn't bring himself to care.

If the team was fine playing baseball with Ryan, then they shouldn't have a problem with him coming out. For the first time in a long time, Chad didn't have anxiety pooling in the pit of his stomach about his sexuality. He probably should have talked to Ryan sooner. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to spend endless nights agonizing about whether or not he could eventually be happy.

As they sat at one of the picnic tables with their food, they were pressed close together. It was like they couldn't stop touching each other. Chad had never felt this physically drawn to a person, and there was the added benefit of the way Ryan made him smile. There was a liberating air to the humor Ryan had. But, Chad wanted to know why Ryan stopped playing baseball after he won the little league world series championship. It just didn't make sense to him for someone so good to quit.

"Nice hat," Chad turned and saw Taylor standing behind him. She tugged on the rim of the hat and smirked.

Chad glanced at Ryan and saw Gabriella standing to the side of him, her hand on his shoulder. She was smiling that sweet smile she always had. "So, some of us are coming to my house after this," she said, turning her attention to Ryan. "I would love for you to join us."

Ryan looked at Chad, and Chad could only nod enthusiastically. Then, Ryan looked at Gabi with a wide smile. "I'd love to."

"Great!" Gabi grabbed Taylor and pulled her so they could sit in front of them. 

Taylor sat in front of Chad, and he couldn't look her in the eye. "It's good to see you two getting along."

Chad squeezed his eyes tight and grimaced, dropping his forehead onto Ryan's shoulder. "Shut up, McKessie," he lifted his head and glared at her. She laughed, then smiled at Ryan.

There was only a small group that went to the Montez residence. Kelsi, Jason, Zeke, and Martha rode with Gabriella in Ms. Montez's mini-van, while Ryan drove Taylor and Chad in his gorgeous blue Mustang. Chad had never been in such an expensive car. He sat in the passenger seat while Taylor sat in the back.

When they were a good distance away from anyone being able to hear them, Taylor leaned forward just a bit. "I hope you guys shower when you get home. Maybe buy some condoms and lube."

"You know?" Ryan took his eyes off the road to glance at Chad. Chad curled in on himself and covered his face. 

Taylor scoffed. "Of course I know. Why else would you switch clothes? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Chad rolled his eyes. Ryan shook his head. "No, I was asking if you knew Chad's gay. I thought you were like… his beard but unaware."

"No, thank god," Taylor sat up straight. "He came out to me and we agreed to just let people assume what they want to assume."

"Oh that's sweet," Ryan smiled. "Shar was convinced he was being an a sshole and leading you on."

"He almost did. Something made him come to his senses."

Chad shuddered. "Sharpay came up to me after I asked you to come with me to the after party and scared the shit out of me. I thought she was gonna out me."

"She wouldn't out you," Ryan stated. "She'd just make you think she will so she has something to hold over your head."

Taylor shook her head. "What a bitch… no offense."

"None taken."

They arrived at the Montez residence, and Taylor linked her arm with Chad's. "You better give me all the details later," she whispered. Chad groaned and pulled her inside the house.

It turned out that Ryan was a really fun addition to Wildcat hangouts, and not just for Chad. He was funny and the girls enjoyed dancing with him. Chad even danced with him. It must have been a sight for the guys to see Ryan spin him and hold one of the best members of the team from behind. He knew his face was burning when Ryan dipped him, holding him ever so carefully. 

When Chad got home, he ignored the confused looks from his parents at the wardrobe change and went to his room. He made sure to be gentle with Ryan's clothes, folding the pants with care and hanging the shirt on a hanger. Biting his lip, he put the hat on his nightstand. Once he was in his sweatpants, he jumped into bed and had a very restful sleep.

There was some time before they had to clock in, so Chad wasn't surprised when Taylor grabbed him and pulled him into a maintenance closet. Briefly, he wondered what it might look like to other people. She closed the door behind them and flipped the lightswitch. 

"What happened yesterday between you and Ryan?" She asked.

Chad looked up at the ceiling. "Do I have to tell you?" The air was knocked out of him when Taylor smacked him in the stomach. He looked at her and frowned. "We uh… let's just say I now know what both his and my own cum tastes like."

"Ew!" Taylor covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

He held up his hands in a placating manner. "It was very heat of the moment I uh… I came in his hand and there wasn't any way for him to clean it so I just… licked it off."

She slapped him in the chest. "That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard!"

Chad put his hands on his chest. "This is black on black violence, what would the white people think?" She scowled and he put his hands on his hips. "Or maybe it's antisemitic violence, or homophobia."

"Shut the hell up," she sighed. "Okay so uh, did he cum in your hand and you decides to lick that too?"

His face was red he knew it. "No, I uh… I blew him."

Her jaw dropped. "You swallowed, didn't you?"

"It was so disgusting. Don't taste semen."

The work day was normal. Until it wasn't. At the time Chad started his lunch break, Ryan made an appearance in the kitchen. "Chad," he said as he approached. Chad had his lunch already on a plate. "Do you want to eat with me in the dance studio?"

"Yeah," Chad said rather quickly.

Thankfully, Chad got to eat his food. They sat on the floor of the dance studio and ate as music played quietly from the radio. It was nice. Peaceful. They could talk about anything, and there wasn't a pressure on Chad's chest. He was laying on the ground, eating a ham sandwich, and staring at a beautiful guy.

"Why did you stop playing baseball?" He asked.

Ryan took a deep breath, but other than that was unbothered. "Well, when you're in 5th grade and surrounded by guys you made friends with, you're bound to get a crush on one of them." He took a bite of his sandwich. "I liked this guy, we were best friends, and his name was Michael. One day, I don't know what came over me, I kissed him. He shoved me down and called me a faggot. After that, I quit baseball. Mom and dad got majority shares for Lava Springs, and we moved to Albuquerque."

"I used to dance," Chad admitted. "I've never told anyone this, but I loved it so much. Third grade, Troy and I were finally able to try out for the basketball team. An older kid overheard me telling Troy I had to go because I was gonna be late for dance class. He called me a faggot and he just sounded so disgusted and I thought I don't know what that is but I don't want to be one and I told my dad I wanted to quit dance to focus on basketball."

Ryan understood. He was probably the only person Chad thought would be able to understand what he went through. "The world is a fucked up place," Ryan said, his voice quiet.

Chad nodded. "I mean I was already used to people calling me shit all the time. When my mom was alive, we went to visit her family in Kentucky and this stranger saw us and started screaming the n word. At home, there would be people that spray painted a swastika on the sign for the synagogue. I just didn't wanna add anything on top of that."

"That's awful," Ryan whispered.

Chad shrugged and was silent for a moment. He let the music process in his mind. "Is this Amy Winehouse?" He asked.

Ryan nodded. "Rehab. It came out in December of last year."

"My stepmom has a CD of her previous album that she plays on cleaning day."

Ryan smiled. He had a really nice smile. It was strange how good he made Chad feel just from a look. "She likes jazz?"

Chad shook his head. "She likes music. Any kind of music."

"What about your dad?"

"Classic rock and 90s hip hop," he said. "But you can't go wrong with Queen."

"Of course," Ryan said.

Chad smiled and bit his lip. He couldn't explain how he felt around Ryan. It was a strange giddiness that made him want to cover his face and hide. Yet, he couldn't look away from him. He didn't want Ryan to stop looking at him either.

They talked for the entirety of Chad's lunch break. Chad didn't want to get back to work, but he needed this job so he could save up for a car. He had to restrain himself from kissing Ryan the entire time because he didn't want to ruin anything. Maybe the sex was a one time thing. Chad honestly could go without the sex as long as he could still have Ryan close to him.

Chad felt like he was walking on air for the rest of his shift. He didn't even mind seeing Troy in the dining room with Sharpay. Nothing could drag him down.

After he clocked out, he found Kelsi cleaning up her station at the piano. "Kels," he said, and she turned with her brows raised. "Could I talk to you?"

"Yeah of course."

He smiled and began helping her. "I've been thinking about the performance at the talent show."

"You're doing it?" She sounded genuinely shocked, which wasn't really a surprise.

Chad nodded. "Yeah and I actually have an idea for the song we should perform."

"Oh wise one, please lay it on me."

Watching Kelsi in her element was certainly a sight to see. With everything Chad said, she had a sparkle in her eyes. Naomi got the same look on her face when Chad would play pretend with her. Childlike wonder is the only way he could describe it. Kelsi definitely loved writing music, and she was really good at it. 

The next morning, when Chad arrived a bit early to work, Kelsi pulled him aside and showed him the song she wrote. "This is amazing," he said.

"I'll give Ryan the instrumental so he can start choreography today during lunch," she said. Her smile was soft, and it made Chad feel like he accomplished something.

He hugged her. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Work that morning was more fun than the Wildcats have had together all summer aside from the baseball game and the after party. Everyone was buzzing about the first rehearsal for the talent show that they would have during lunch. The cooks were singing songs that had been playing on the radio on repeat for the past couple of weeks, and the waiters had a pep in their step.

Having something to look forward definitely made them more productive than they had been in a while. It was like the life had been breathed back into them. They were revived and looking on the bright side of life.

Chad really needed to stop letting Amber play Pocketful of Sunshine on full blast in the mornings.

At the beginning of lunch break, the Wildcats were replaced by the senior staffers. They all quickly changed out of their work clothes, and made a beeline for the dance studio. As Chad walked, Gabi and Taylor were on either side of him. They were talking, and he was ignoring them. He was too focused on thinking about the song. He couldn't wait for Ryan to find out it was written for them.

When they got to the dance studio, Kelsi was at the piano, and Ryan was waiting. "Hello everybody. It is wonderful to see you all."

"What song are we doing?" Zeke asked.

Kelsi smiled, looking at Chad. Ryan was the one that spoke. "Kelsi wrote a song called Everyday and she refuses to let me read the lyrics, but she does have the arrangement ready for us."

There was a wave of whispers coming from the Wildcats.

"Let's get started!"

Each time Ryan touched him to correct his form during a run through, it was like electricity was coursing through his veins. Chad knew that Ryan didn't have to touch him as often as he did. Hell, he didn't have to touch him at all. There was one thing Chad could admit - he had always been a good dancer. Still, Ryan took any opportunity in front of him to put his hand on him.

It was wonderful.

Around the end of their lunch break, the Wildcats scattered. "I have a day off tomorrow. Do you wanna hang out?" Chad asked.

Ryan smiled. "I'd love to."

Before Chad could say anything else, Taylor pulled him away. Chad turned his head and saw Gabi hugging Ryan goodbye. It was nice to see that the two of them had become such good friends.

When Chad got home after work, he knocked on Amber's bedroom door. She replied with a shouted what which meant he could open the door. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked, tapping his foot anxiously.

She looked up from her cellphone and frowned. "If you came to me with that look on your face this time last year I would have asked if you knocked someone up."

"I hate you," Chad crossed his arms over his chest.

Amber rolled her eyes. "You really like to kvetch. Close the door, this must be serious."

So he closed the door and stepped further inside. "I know this is gonna sound weird but uh," he paused and looked at the floor. "Have you actually… had sex?"

"You want my advice?" Amber said. Chad looked at her and noticed she was looking at her phone again. "Condoms and a lot of lube."

"I know that!"

"Then what do you need me for?" She smiled and looked at him again. "Sit," he sat on the corner of her bed and she sat up straight. "Have you lost your virginity recently?"

He bit his lip and pulled at a loose thread on her blanket. "That's not important."

She grabbed his hand and he looked at her. "It is, though. Sex is a very intimate thing and it changes you. Not even just emotionally, but chemically. Well at least when there's a vagina involved. I know that when I had sex the first time I started gaining weight in my hips."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Okay."

"What did you wanna talk to me about?"

Chad cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Well, I had sex with this guy," she nodded for him to continue. "And now I'm feeling… All sorts of things when I see him or even think about him."

She chuckled. "I'm assuming you don't mean sexually because you wouldn't need me for that."

He nodded. "It's like… I look at him and I feel like everything is gonna be okay. Like it's just the two of us and that I'm fine with that."

"Do you get winded sometimes?"

"Yeah!" Chad finally had a word for it. "And I get kinda embarrassed and I want to bury my head in the sand when I think about him."

Amber gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "That means you wanna romance him."

"Alright," Chad found himself believing that it actually was alright.

"So," Amber leaned back and looked at him. "Tell me about it. How did you lose your v card?"

Chad stood up. "I wish you were aborted."

Amber cackled loudly as Chad went to his room. He was greeted by the sight of Ryan's hat still on his nightstand. Ryan had yet to give him his baseball uniform back, and he had yet to give Ryan his clothes back. He wondered if that meant something. 

Once he got changed, he groaned as his phone rang. Without checking the caller ID, he answered. "You've reached the S.S. Danforth, this is your captain speaking."

There was a wet chuckle, and it was obvious that whoever was on the other end of the line had called him whilst crying. "Hey, dude," it was Troy.

"Hey," Chad was kind of breathless. He hadn't expected this at all. "You alright?"

There was a sharp inhale. "No," he didn't need to be there to know Troy shook his head quickly. "Gabi just uh… she quit her job and broke up with me."

Chad's jaw dropped. "Oh my god."

"Is there any way I could get her back?" Troy's voice was quiet.

Chad bit his lip and looked around. He sighed. "Just give her some space, man. Show her you're not gonna be treating everyone the way you have been treating them. Eventually, she'll come back to you."

"What am I even supposed to do without her?"

"Well," he layed back on his bed. "You're gonna perform in that talent show with Sharpay and get that scholarship to UofA. But, you're not gonna let it get to your thick ass skull. I'm gonna convince her to get her job back because she made a promise to the Wildcats. We'll figure the rest out later."

Troy took a steady and deep breath. "Thanks, Chad." There was a moment of silence that passed between them. "Do you and Taylor have any problems?"

Chad laughed. "She called me disgusting the other day, but I admit it's because I told her about something nasty that I did."

"What was it?"

"You don't wanna know. Trust me."

Troy laughed. "God, I've missed you man. I'm sorry I've been such a jerk."

"Troy?"

Chad wasn't sure if he was really gonna do this or not. Then, Troy distractedly said, "yeah?"

"Taylor and I aren't dating," he paused to let Troy process that. "We never were."

There was silence. "Why did you let me think you guys were?"

"Because I'm gay," Chad closed his eyes and held his breath. He was ready for the world to open up and swallow him whole.

"Oh."

Chad opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah."

The longer that there was silence, the more anxious Chad got. He didn't want to hang up in case Troy did say something. It wasn't seeming like he was.

"Do you have any… questions?"

He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled sharply. "Yeah," Troy said. His voice was quiet. "When did you figure it out?"

"Well," Chad tried to think back on it. "My first crush was on" you "Paul Rudd in Clueless. I was 6, mom got a VHS of it for Amber."

"You were 6 when you figured it out and you didn't tell me until now?"

Chad sat up and put his back against his headboard. "Taylor was the first person I told, to be fair."

Troy sounded so… disheartened. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I liked you and I was scared you wouldn't wanna be near me when I came out?" The words tumbled out of his lips and he took a moment to process what he just said. His eyes widened and he pressed his hand against his forehead. "But don't worry! I don't like you like that anymore. I got over my crush. I like someone else now, and a lot more."

Troy was silent, and Chad wanted nothing more in that moment than for a plane to fall out of the sky and land directly on his house. It would spare him the embarrassment. "Dude…"

Chad felt like he was having heart palpitations. "Yep I totally just admitted my deepest darkest secret to you and I really don't like talking about how I used to feel about you."

Troy laughed. Chad wasn't sure if he should have been offended or not, but the laugh made him relax. "Okay… who do you like now?"

"Oh my god, you sound just like Taylor."

"You're my best friend! You can tell me, I promise."

Chad sighed. "Ryan."

"Ryan Evans?" Troy didn't sound like he believed him.

Chad nodded, then remembered that they were talking on the phone. "Yeah, uh… during the staff baseball game we had some friendly competition. I admit I was flirting with him the entire time. I think everyone that was there knew what I meant when I shouted that I'd show him how I swing."

"That is the worst pickup line I've ever heard!"

Chad laughed. "Hey! I was having some sort of gay baseball high or something."

He could picture Troy shaking his head with a fond smile on his face. "You're such a loser," Troy sighed.

"I should probably go," Chad said. "Ryan and I have plans to hang out tomorrow."

Troy made an excited sound. "Have fun."

Chad shook his head as he hung up. It really was a good day. Even though Troy and Gabriella broke up, Troy seemed to realize how much of an asshole he was being, and things are turning out okay. He bit his lip and sent a text to Ryan.

When Chad was getting ready, he found himself to be humming and moving as if he were dancing. He put on Ryan's hat and a t-shirt that proclaimed "I'M THE GUY" in bold blue letters. Once he was ready, he went downstairs and out the front door. He grabbed the basketball from the grass and anxiously dribbled. Every now and then, he'd shoot the ball, but the most part he was working out his nerves.

He threw the ball back in the grass when he saw the blue Mustang turn down his street. He took a deep breath and smiled. This is it. They were gonna be alone together without any of their friends and away from the country club. And Chad had to make the stupid decision to wear Ryan's hat.

The anxiety went away when Ryan parked at the end of the driveway with a smile on his face. He exhaled, then jogged over to the car. "Hello," he greeted as he got in the passenger side.

"Love the hat," Ryan said as he started driving again. "Sharpay and my parents are at Lava Springs, so we have the entire house to ourselves until we decide to go somewhere else."

Chad had a feeling that was innuendo, and when they got to Ryan's room he realized he was right. 

Ryan closed and locked the door before grabbing Chad by his belt loops. He pulled him into a kiss, and Chad melted. His mouth fell open, inviting Ryan to add tongue. It was nice to kiss him again. Really nice. He hooked his arms around Ryan's neck and pressed their chests together.

They separated as they took off their shoes. "God, you're gorgeous," Ryan breathed.

Chad shivered and pulled his shirt up. When he took it off, the hat fell onto the ground. He dropped the shirt and watched as Ryan took off his own. "I could look at you all day and never get tired of it," Chad said before kissing Ryan again.

They walked together until Chad's legs hit the bed. Their mouths never separated, even as Chad climbed onto the bed, backwards. Ryan's thigh brushed against Chad's groin, and he made a sound in the back of his throat. Before he knew it, Ryan was laying him down. He pulled off of Chad and went about unbuttoning both of their pants. "How do you wanna do this?" He asked.

"I want you to fuck me," Chad said. He was already breathless.

Ryan looked him in the eyes from above as he pulled his pants and boxers down. "Yeah? You want me to fuck you?"

Chad nodded and lifted his hips so Ryan could strip him. "Please."

He watched as Ryan's pupils dilated. It was a sight to see. Ryan kissed him again, and this time they were both naked. He wanted to tell him about the song. He wanted to say this wasn't just sex anymore. Instead, he arched his back and ran his hands down Ryan's sides.

The kiss was broken and Chad held back the urge to stroke his cock at the sight in front of and above him. Ryan reached over and opened the drawer of his nightstand. He bit his lip as he watched Ryan grab a condom and a bottle of lube. He opened the cap and poured some of the liquid onto his fingers. It was way more than Chad expected.

Then one of the fingers touched his rim and he held his breath. It was so cold. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. More lube was applied, and then the finger was slowly pushing inside him. "Oh fuck," Chad threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Relax," Ryan whispered before kissing him.

Chad had never fingered himself before. No fingers had been in his ass at all before Ryan. It was a sensation he hadn't expected, but he enjoyed. Fingers were slowly added with more lube applied when needed. He bucked his hips as the fingers were pumped inside him, rubbing against his prostate. He grabbed the sheets when Ryan wouldn't let him touch himself.

"I-I'm close," he said. All at once, the fingers were removed. He whined, and Ryan kissed him. 

After he rolled the condom on, he slowly entered Chad. "You're doing so great," Ryan whispered and kissed his neck.

Chad moaned at the praise and instinctually scratched his nails down Ryan's back when he began moving. It was like the feeling of fingers, only bigger and better. Ryan was sucking a hickey onto his throat and fucking him ever so gently. It was slow and sensual, and Chad couldn't help the noises he made. It was like he had given up complete control of his body and let Ryan do as he wanted.

"Please," he heard himself. His voice was coarse. "Oh, fuck, Ryan." He dug his nails into Ryan's back and let out a loud moan. "Oh fuck, yes. I'm gonna cum."

And Ryan stopped moving his hips. He licked the fresh bruise then looked at Chad. "Not yet," he said. Chad could only nod and take a shuddering breath. "Only when I tell you to. Okay?"

"Definitely. Yes," Chad closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You can keep going… if you want to."

Ryan smiled and grabbed Chad by his thighs, pulling him closer. Then, he continued. This time, he kissed Chad on the mouth.

After a couple minutes Chad had to stop kissing. He threw his head back onto the pillow and groaned. Ryan picked up the pace, and Chad found himself to be panting. "Please," he began moving his hips faster to better match Ryan's thrusts. "Please, oh please Ryan. Fuck I need-"

He cut himself off with a silent moan. "What do you need?" Ryan teased.

"I need to cum. Please," Chad held Ryan as close to his chest as he could manage while he trembled.

Ryan didn't say anything, he only kissed him. He kept at his pace, and he peppered kisses in random places on Chad's upper body.

"Fuck!" Chad shouted. His moan was loud. "Oh fuck, please," his voice cracked and he moved his hips faster.

"You can cum now," Ryan whispered.

He wrapped his legs around Ryan's waist and allowed himself to relax even further. He planted his lips on Ryan's and opened his mouth. It was messy, and Chad was breathing very heavily. His nails ran down Ryan's back again, then he grabbed Ryan's ass. He squeezed, and his hips stuttered as cum painted both of their stomachs.

His vision whited and he let out a large breath, collapsing in on himself. He needed a moment to just lay there and breathe. Ryan pulled out and Chad looked at him. "Do-do you need a uh… a hand?" He asked, letting out an airy laugh.

"You seem overwhelmed," Ryan said. He placed a gentle kiss on Chad's lips. "I can take care of myself. Plus I have a sight I'm really enjoying."

Chad smiled and bit his lip. "Can I watch?"

"Yeah," Ryan sounded like he couldn't believe Chad would ask that.

The sight of Ryan jerking himself off was definitely going in Chad's spankbank. It was beautiful. The way Ryan moved his hips with his hand, the twists of his wrist. Ryan painted and moaned in the most enticing way. If Chad wasn't already spent, he'd definitely be touching himself. Then, Ryan came.

They laid together for a while after Ryan cleaned up. Chad closed his eyes and pretended the world was just them. Ryan had his arms wrapped around him, and he placed a gentle kiss on Chad's shoulder.

"I asked Kelsi to write the song in the talent show," Chad turned and put his arms around Ryan. He looked at him. "I told her some feelings and she wrote the song based on them."

Ryan looked him in the eye and stayed silent for a moment. Chad felt his hand rubbing his bicep. "What were those feelings about?" He asked.

Chad leaned his head on Ryan's chest. "You," his voice was barely above a whisper. He heard Ryan inhale sharply as he froze. "The song is about you."

"Why won't she let me read the lyrics?" Ryan asked.

Chad closed his eyes and pecked his collarbone. "I asked her to wait until I said it was okay. It's okay now."

Ryan grabbed his hand and kissed it. "Yeah?" He whispered.

Chad nodded, then looked at him. "Yeah. We just gotta get Gabriella to agree to get her job back."

"She hasn't actually quit yet, she just put in her notice," Ryan smiled. "I think I can convince her."

Chad chuckled. "Ryan Evans you are a genius!"

Something must have happened between when Chad left and when he went to work the next day. Gabi was cleaning the pool in her lifeguard getup, and Chad waved to her. She smiled and waved excitedly. When Chad clocked in, he saw Troy in the kitchen.

"Hey man," he said in confusion.

Troy nodded. "I made Fulton give me my old job back."

Chad furrowed his brows. "What about the scholarship?"

"He's still doing the duet with Sharpay," Taylor informed as she clocked in. "He's just not gonna be a dick about it."

Troy chuckled and nodded. Chad smiled. "It's good to have you back."

Then, they started getting to work. There were only a few customers at this time of day, so they had a lot of free time. Chad found himself going over the steps to the dance for the talent show with Jason at one point. After Chad brought food out to a couple of loud old white ladies, Troy pulled him to the side.

"Dude, y'know how you said that thing about Ryan the other day?" Troy said, making sure to keep his voice down.

Chad furrowed his brows. "Yeah?"

Troy sighed, and Chad rolled his eyes. "I don't like how close he and Gabi are. It's like… I interrupt them dancing by the pool, then that night she quits her job and breaks up with me? Then I come to work today and she has her job back and says Ryan convinced her to stay."

"Troy are you saying you think Gabi and Ryan are becoming a thing?"

Troy shrugged. "They just seem awfully close for a guy and a girl that are just friends."

Chad pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ryan's gay, Troy."

He didn't even allow Troy to respond, he just walked away. God, how fucking stupid could Troy be? Ryan has been out for as long as they've known he existed. It's like Troy couldn't read context clues and had to have things pointed out to him. How Troy hasn't flunked English, ever, is a mystery to Chad. Well… maybe it's because he's had Chad and now Gabriella to cheat off of when necessary. Still. For fuck's sake.

It wasn't until their lunch break that Troy could try to talk to Chad again. When Chad was stuffing his face with a sandwich, Troy grabbed his shoulder. "How do you know?"

"What?" Chad asked, not even caring that his mouth was full of food.

Troy sat down and leaned in close to him. "How do you know Ryan is gay?" He whispered.

Chad laughed. He covered his face and ducked his head because he was laughing so hard. He swallowed the food in his mouth and then looked at Troy. "He's been out since sixth grade, and if that wasn't enough," he lowered his voice even more, "we had sex yesterday."

Troy froze and his eyes widened. "You… What?"

Chad stood. "Anyways, I gotta go. It's Wildcat dance rehearsal time. The show is in a couple of days."

That was somewhat of a lie. They didn't have dance rehearsal that day. Chad just wanted an out and he had set up a meeting with Kelsi for them to finally show Ryan the lyrics. The plan was for Kelsi to give him the sheet music and for the two of them to sing the song together in preparation for the show. 

When he got to the dance studio, Kelsi was waiting by the piano. "He should be here any minute," she said, smiling up at him. "I cannot wait for his reaction."

"Neither can I," Chad said as he sat beside her on the piano bench.

They really didn't have to wait long. Ryan smiled when he saw them. "Hello my lovelies," he greeted. He hoisted himself up so that he was sitting on the piano in front of Chad. "So, this song. Everyday."

Kelsi nodded and handed him the sheet music with the lyrics. "I highlighted your parts in blue, and Chad's in red. The parts you sing together are highlighted in yellow."

"So organized," Ryan teased. "I love it."

Kelsi took a deep breath and got situated on the bench. "Let's start, shall we?"

She began playing on the piano, and Ryan took a deep breath. "Once in a lifetime means there's no second chance. So I believe that you and me," Ryan flanced up from the paper and looked at Chad, "should grab it while we can."

"Make it last forever and never give it back," Chad smiled and offered his hand to Ryan.

Ryan took the hand and smiled back. "It's our turn now and I'm lovin' where we're at."

"Because this moment's really all we have," Chad stood."

"Stop," Ryan said. His voice broke and Kelsi hit the wrong key before silence fell in the studio. "Do…" tears slipped down his face. "Do you really mean… all this? This whole song?"

Chad squeezed Ryan's hand. "Yeah, I do. I like you a lot. Like, you give me this rush of adrenaline and I feel like I could do anything as long as you're with me," he bit his lower lip and Ryan continued to cry. There was a smile on his face, so it was a good cry. "I get butterflies and I wanna just listen to you talk about your choreography plans or why you think RENT is a shitty musical adaptation."

Ryan laughed and wiped his face. "I like you too," he said. "A lot."

"That's good," Chad nodded and wrapped his arms around him. "So… boyfriends?"

"Boyfriends," Ryan hugged him and rocked forward a bit. Chad could tell by his tone of voice that he rolled his eyes.

Chad smiled and kissed the top of his hat. "Can't wait to tell everyone in the whole wide world that I'm dating Ryan Evans, future Tony winner."

Kelsi let out an 'aw' and both boys turned to look at her. "Sorry," she chuckled. "You guys are just adorable together."

"Y'know," Ryan sat up straight and fully paid attention to Kelsi, "Gabriella is single now."

She lifted her middle finger. "If you weren't dating a basketball player, I'd stab you."

Chad smirked. "Gabi isn't dating a basketball player."

"Oh I take it back you're both horrible and I'm gonna fucking kill you both in your sleep."

When Chad got home that day, he admittedly did a flip once he got out of Cynthia's car.

"Sweet baby Jesus," she said as she put her hand on her chest. "You've never had this much energy after a day at work."

Chad gave her a thumbs up as he ran into the house. Luckily, Amber and his dad were both sitting on the couch watching reruns of Friends. Cynthia closed the front door as Chad bounced where he stood. "Guess what," he said.

Amber looked at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Aliens invaded and they want to harvest the organs of David Duke?"

"I have a boyfriend!"

Charlie raised his eyebrows. "What's his name?"

Chad collapsed onto the recliner and put his legs over the arm. "Ryan Evans," he said. "He dreams of being a Broadway star, and I kissed him after a baseball game."

"The chutzpah!" Amber exclaimed. "You won't tell me-"

Chad flailed his hands around and made loud sounds. "Shut up!"

Charlie leaned back and looked at Chad. "No. What was she talking about?"

Amber smirked at Chad. She raised her brows challengingly. "Ryan and I had sex," Chad said.

Cynthia gasped. Charlie was frozen at the admission. "You… what?"

"It was very heat of the moment," Chad said. "We were safe and since we're both guys you don't have to worry about him getting me pregnant."

"Ew!" Amber shouted, covering her ears. "You didn't have to tell us you're a bottom!"

Charlie smacked the couch. "Your sister is asleep."

Chad threw himself off the recliner and stood. "Anyways, I'm going to bed."

"Oh no you're not, young man," Charlie raised his hand up then pointed at the chair. We are gonna have a long discussion about this. Man to man."

"Oy vey…"

Rehearsing the performance for the talent show with the lyrics to the song was nerve wracking. Ryan had the wonderful idea where the two of them ballroom dance before the rest of the Wildcats join in. Yes, it was definitely better to rehearse in front of an audience in preparation of the actual thing, but Chad was still nervous the first time. The second time they ran through the entire song, Chad was feeling a lot better. The evaporation of his nerves must have been evident because the team cheered once they finished.

The evening of the performance honestly couldn't come any sooner. Chad was backstage, standing next to Taylor, as they watched Sharpay and Troy perform the altered version of You Are The Music In Me. "She's actually really good," Taylor stated. "Ballads aren't her thing. At least she knows what she's good at."

"Why does that feel targeted?" Chad crossed his arms over his chest.

She smiled and shrugged. "Maybe because you've hidden how excellent of a dancer you are."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed. The fact that she waited this long to tell him she was disappointed he didn't dance anymore was shocking. He had expected her to lecture him as soon as rehearsals began. "Be glad Ryan even got me to dance again," he stated.

"You two are really cute together," Taylor put a hand on his back. "Do your parents know?"

Chad nodded. "Amber got me to admit that I'm now sexually active, and dad lectured me for an hour about STDs and STIs."

Taylor laughed, then covered her mouth. "God… that must have been traumatic."

"My question is why the hell does he know so much about gay sex?"

Taylor's laugh would have been louder had Chad not put his hand over her mouth. Sharpay and Troy were taking their bows, and Sharpay even hugged Troy. It was kind of strange yet sweet to see Troy returning the hug before they walked off stage. Fulton introduced the next performers, which just so happened to be them. "And now, I welcome to the stage our junior staffers and our beloved Ryan Evans."

It was like Chad was possessed. He walked onstage and kept his eyes on Ryan.

Once in a lifetime

Means there's no second chance

So I believe that you and me

Should grab it while we can

Make it last forever

And never give it back

It's our turn, and I'm loving' where we're at

Because this moment's really all we have

Everyday...

Of our lives,

Wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight

Gonna run

While we're young

And keep the faith

Everyday...

From right now,

Gonna use our voices and scream out loud

Take my hand;

Together we

Will celebrate,

Celebrate.

Once the song finished and they took their bows, Chad finally noticed his family in the audience. His smile grew wider as he watched them clapping. Amber and Naomi were standing as they cheered. Chad squeezed Ryan's hand and saw Cynthia give him a thumbs up.

The other performers walked back on stage and Chad closed his eyes. He honestly couldn't care on his own behalf about winning. The only reason he wanted the star dazzle award was so Ryan could have earned one without his sister there to hog the spotlight.

Speaking of, when Chad opened his eyes, Sharpay no longer looked like she wanted to climb Troy like a tree. In fact, she looked human. Maybe she noticed how well her voice would mesh with Troy's and decided she would need to perform with him at least one time.

"The winner of this year's star dazzle award," Fulton began. Sharpay crossed her fingers and closed her eyes. "I'm very proud to announce, goes to… Ryan Evans and Chad Danforth with the junior staffers."

Ryan shouted in excitement and took the trophy with the biggest smile on his face. Sharpay smiled proudly and clapped. Chad hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, hoping that it wouldn't go noticed by everyone in the audience. The audience cheered louder. It was exhilarating. Chad could admit that it gave him the same rush as winning a game. The smile it put on Ryan's face made it better.

They got off stage, and Sharpay hugged Chad and Ryan at the same time. "Oh my god, you guys were amazing," she said as she pulled back and looked at them. "You deserved that win so much more than me."

"Wow," Chad said. "No getting mad at us for stealing your thunder?"

She rolled her eyes and hooked her arm with Ryan's. "You got Troy to sing with me. I gotta give you some credit."

Troy was at Chad's side rather quickly after that. "Dude that was awesome," he said.

Content was the only word Chad could use to describe how he felt for the rest of that night. Ryan's mother hugged him tightly and said she was so glad that her ducky had someone so handsome. Chad looked at Troy with wide eyes and he watched as Troy stifled a laugh. Vance Evans awkwardly shook Chad's hand and congratulated them on the win.

After everyone got back into their regular clothes, a small group of Wildcats went to the field by the golf course with lanterns. Troy and Gabriella were walking and talking, but they had a good distance between them. Zeke was talking to Sharpay while looking at her longingly. Jason and Martha were laughing and talking about something. Kelsi had a blush on her face as she talked to Taylor. Chad gently squeezed Ryan's hand and pointed to them.

"Kelsi is the biggest lesbian in the world," Ryan said quietly.

Chad had a feeling Taylor wasn't as straight as she thought she was. The way she rubbed her shoulder against Kelsi's and looked at her like she hung the moon. "Well, this so far has been the best summer of my life."

Ryan smiled and looked at him. "Mine too."

The wish Chad made on the lantern was something he never imagined he would have the opportunity to wish for. 

I wish to be this happy for the rest of my life.

Chapter Text

The Evans family invited the Danforths over for dinner one Friday evening. Chad had already been to the estate so he knew what to expect, but he was nervous to see how his family would react. The Evans' had a lot of money, and everything they owned reflected that. Their house could only be described as a mansion, and they had a goddamn maid.

"If we're having dinner at their house, why do we have to dress up like we're going to meet the mayor?" Amber asked as she zipped Naomi's dress.

Chad took the scrunched off his wrist and tied his hair up. "They own a country club. That should tell you why."

Naomi furrowed her brows. "Are you gonna marry rich?"

Amber laughed and covered her mouth. Chad blinked and then looked at Naomi. "We haven't talked about marriage. We're too young."

"And it isn't legal for two men to get married," Amber tucked some of her hair behind her ear. 

Naomi frowned. "That's stupid."

They all piled into Cynthia's minivan. Chad had asked his dad if he should be the one driving since he already knew how to get there, but Charlie assured him that Cynthia would be fine. Apparently, Charlie had exchanged numbers with Derby and she had sent over some helpful navigation information.

Chad kept tapping his fingers on his thighs, trying to keep from yelling at Naomi to stop swinging her legs around. Amber was leaning against the window, texting one of her college friends. Chad had no doubt she was talking about how much she really didn't want to go on a joint family dinner with her brothers boyfriend. As Cynthia drove, she had a CD of the Wicked soundtrack playing quietly. The drive could not feel any longer.

Naomi ooo'd at the sight of the Evans property. Cynthia parked behind Sharpay's convertible, and the Danforth's took a collective deep breath. They got out, and Charlie lead the way to the door. Chad wasn't far behind him.

The maid, a lovely woman named Diana, greeted them at the door and took their jackets. "Chad I gotta ask," Amber whispered as they were lead to the dining room, "is he paying you?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Chad glared.

She puts her hand on his arm. "You misunderstand me. Are you his sugarbaby?"

He was saved from answering that when the Evans family met them. Sharpay was making herself appear as perfect as possible. Ryan looked nervous, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Vance shook Charlie's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Danforth," he said.

Derby shook Cynthia's hand as Charlie said, "please, call me Charlie."

The adults continued greeting each other, then Derby spoke with a wide smile on her face. "This is Sharpay," she gesture to the girl. "And our star of the evening right here, my little ducky, is Ryan."

Ryan's face turned pink. "It's lovely to finally meet you guys," he said. "Chad speaks very highly of you."

Charlie smiled and put his hand on Chad's shoulder. "It's good to have a teenager that doesn't complain to everyone that his parents don't let them do anything." Amber rolled her eyes and licked her lips. She then smiled blankly. "This is my eldest," Charlie gestured to her, "Amber. She's going into her senior year at the University of Louisville." This got an 'ooo' from Derby. "You know Chad," Charlie laughed. "And this little one," he put his hand on Naomi's head, "is our daughter Naomi."

"I noticed that you called Amber yours and Naomi you said 'our'," Derby said. "Were you married before Cynthia?"

Charlie nodded. "Shira's Amber and Chad's mother. She passed away about 11 years ago."

Derby put her hand over her heart. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said.

"The University of Louisville," Vance changed the topic. "Why that school specifically?" His focus was on Amber.

Amber stood up straighter. "I got a cheerleading scholarship. They have the best program in the country."

Vance lit up at that. "Chad's a basketball player, right? He plans on being a redhawk like Troy?"

"Yes sir," Chad said. 

"So that means your sister would be cheering against you if we ever got a redhawk vs cardinals game," Vance gestured between the two of them. "That'd be quite the show."

The ice seemed to be broken at that, and they sat at the table. "So, Ryan, what are your college plans?" Charlie asked after wine was poured into his glass.

Sharpay looked like she was going to answer for the both of them, but Ryan spoke up. "Shar and I have been working to get into either Juilliard or NYADA our entire lives," he said.

"Oh, I've always loved New York," Cynthia said. "I saw Wicked on Broadway a couple years ago and I just adored it."

Chad chuckled. "Don't even get her started on Phantom of the Opera."

Ryan grinned at that. He must have remembered when Chad mentioned the picture in the fridge. "I gotta say, Michael Crawford is one handsome man."

"He really is," Cynthia took a sip of her wine.

One of the kitchen staff came in with a cart. He smiled and put food on each plate as the families talked. Amber was on her second glass of wine by the time the food was on her plate. "You made sure this was kosher, right?" Ryan asked without prompting.

The staffer nodded. "The chef went to a supermarket that exclusively sells foods that fall under halakha, as you asked Sir Ryan."

"Thank you," Ryan smiled as the staffer ducked his head then went back into the kitchen.

Vance raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know you asked for a kosher meal tonight, Ryan"

Chad cleared his throat. "Amber and I are Jewish," he said. "Our mother was Jewish, so we are too."

Derby nodded. "My grandfather was Jewish," she said. "He married a beautiful young Catholic girl he grew up with in Queens."

"That song you two performed in the talent show," Vance took a sip of his wine. "Was it from some up and coming musical?"

Sharpay took the first opportunity to speak that she could take. "Kelsi wrote it, just like she wrote You Are The Music In Me, the one I performed with Troy."

Amber covered her mouth and turned to Chad. "I'm drunk," she whispered with a smile on her face.

"How much wine have you had?" Chad leaned closer to her, making sure they couldn't easily be heard. She lifted her hand and held up four fingers. "I'm gonna stab you."

Chad looked at Ryan and saw that he was deep in a conversation with Cynthia, Charlie, and Derby. Vance and Sharpay were debating with Naomi about whether or not purple was better than pink. "Oh c'mon," Amber said. "I am… tired," she yawned.

"You're an embarrassment," Chad stated.

They seemed to have grabbed the entire tables attention. "I sure am," Amber laughed. "I mean you're 17 and dating someone with such a nice family, and here I am," she gestured to herself, "drunk because I can't stop thinking about how I got an A word and have no idea what I'm doing with my life."

"Ass?" Naomi asked, earning a stern look from Cynthia and Charlie at the same time.

"Abortion," Amber corrected.

Chad stood. "I'm very sorry Mr. and Mrs. Evans. I think we should get her home."

Vance stood and dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. "It was lovely meeting you all," he said. "I had a nice time tonight, and I hope to speak with you again in the future."

"Don't worry sweetie," Derby assured as she stood. "It happens to the best of us."

The walk to the car was quiet. Chad helped Amber stay upright and then get in the car. Charlie slammed the passenger door when he got in. "What the fuck was that, Amber Freida Danforth?"

Amber shrugged and looked out the window as Cynthia began driving. Naomi covered her ears and Chad closed his eyes. "I think I have depression," she slurred.

"What happened?" Charlie calmed down at this statement, his tone shifting to sympathy.

Amber sighed. "A couple weeks before I got home I went to a party," her voice broke. Chad could tell she was starting to cry. "Someone raped me and I don't even know who."

Cynthia exhaled sharply. "Why didn't you tell us, sweetie?"

"I didn't want to talk about it," she admitted. "I made Chad promise not to tell you once I got home from Planned Parenthood."

Chad wished she had kept his name out of it. "Taylor went with her while I watched Naomi," he informed. "When she got home she was acting weird, so I pestered her until she told me."

"It's good that you didn't break your sisters trust, but she needs to get help." Cynthia assured. "We can get you a therapist, sweetheart."

Chad looked at Amber and saw the makeup running down her face as she cried. "What about school? I go back a couple weeks after Chad."

Charlie rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "You'll see another therapist in Louisville once you get back to school."

"I'm never going to a party ever again," Amber said. "Worst fucking night of my life."

As Chad was laying in bed, he could hear three pairs of footsteps walking around the house. The voices of his parents and Amber talking about the past 2 months in Amber's life were muffled. He grabbed his phone off his nightstand and dialled a number without thinking.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Taylor asked, her voice groggy.

Chad sighed. "Do you wanna go cheap car shopping with me tomorrow?"

He could hear her turning over in her bed. "As long as we can watch a movie, sure."

"What movie?"

"Goodnight, Chad."

"I don't think I've heard of that one."

She hung up and Chad dropped his phone beside his head. With a sigh, he grabbed it again and dialled another number.

"Miss me already?" Ryan teased.

Chad smiled and turned over in bed. "If I did?"

He could practically hear Ryan's smile. "Well I'd have to admit I did too."

"Then it's a good thing neither of us are admitting that."

Ryan laughed. "Yeah."

Chad's expression fell. "I'm sorry about Amber. She shouldn't have been drinking."

"That is not the worst thing my family has seen when it comes to alcohol and our dining room," Ryan admitted. "When it's all four of us and no guests - which is rare, by the way - mom and dad let Shar and I drink with them. Let's just say Sharpay has more emotional outbursts than Amber will have in her entire life all in one evening."

"Dude…" Chad whispered.

Ryan sighed. "It's fine, Chad, I promise. What isn't fine, though, is the fact that my father brought up your intentions to be a redhawk and he didn't offer to put you in the coaches radar."

"Why is that not okay?" Chad asked, rubbing his eye with the heel of his free hand.

"Who do you think even brought up getting Troy a scholarship? It wasn't Sharpay."

That moment, Troy felt like a bag of bricks was thrown onto his chest. "Why wouldn't he bring it up to me?"

"I don't know but I don't like any of the ideas I'm having."

"Is your dad racist?"

If they were in the same room together, Ryan probably would have shrugged. "It's either that or he's not comfortable extending that olive branch to his sons boyfriend. I mean, he hasn't had any issues with the members of the redhawks currently that are black, so why would he have a problem with you?"

"So it's the gay thing."

Ryan sighed. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm honestly just pissed. What the fuck does he think? That I wouldn't notice? That Sharpay wouldn't notice?"

Chad's brows furrowed. "Sharpay noticed?"

"As soon as you guys left, she pulled me aside and said he should have mentioned the pull he has at the University. She's a daddy's girl so it means something that she said that."

"Hashem, please help us gays. I wanna be a redhawk," Chad chuckled.

"Who is… Who is Hashem?"

"God," Chad said.

"Fine, don't answer me."

Chad laughed. "No, Ryan. We call Him that. His name is Hashem."

" Oh. "

"You should sleep, don't want that pretty little brain of yours to rot."

Ryan scoffed. "I hate you."

"Goodnight, Ryan."

"Goodnight, Chad."

Neither of them hung up. Chad could hear Ryan breathing, and he didn't want to stop. He closed his eyes. "One of us has to hang up," Chad whispered.

"Or," Ryan whispered. "You could listen to my nightly routine."

"I don't want to hear you brush your teeth."

"That's not what I meant."

A light bulb moment. " Oh. Oh okay. Yeah."

There's a good reason that they say an orgasm is a good relief for minor insomnia.

Chad knew better than to expect that his first car would be nice. So while he had wanted one that at least looked like something he would drive, he ultimately was resigned to accept that all he could afford was a used 2002 Saturn. Taylor had pointed out the for sale sign on the side of the car, and when they knocked on the door to the house that it was parked in front of they were greeted by an elderly woman.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

Chad put on his best polite smile. "We were wondering how much you're taking for the car?"

She nodded. "Please, come inside," and she opened the door.

Taylor looked at him with raised brows, but they followed her inside. She lead them to the couch in her living room and they sat. "Why are you selling it? It doesn't look like you have a car aside from the Saturn."

"Well, it was my husbands car and he passed away not too long ago. I have this thing called agoraphobia so I don't leave the house," she informed. "I can't drive it, and my kids don't want it, so I'm selling."

Chad had no idea what agoraphobia was. "How much are you selling it for? It's a nice looking Saturn I like the paint job."

She smiled. "I don't really need the money and you look fairly young so I can settle on a thousand."

"Are you sure?" Taylor asked as Chad gaped.

She nodded. "It's a good car. Kenny got it when it was new and only used it for work and grocery shopping. I promise you won't find a deal like this anywhere else."

"Wow. Thank you," Chad said.

Just like that, Chad had an average looking car that was a couple years old. He wasn't lying when he said he loved the paint job though. It was a beautiful shade of red. He had always wanted a red car. A nicer one, but still red. His car was definitely better than Troy's truck considering it wasn't covered in rust or in need of repairs.

Chad drove to Ryan's house in his new car, and loudly sang along to the radio. It was nice to have his own vehicle and to drive alone. When he drove through the gate to the Evans property, he saw Ryan already waiting outside for him. He parked and smiled.

"Those sunglasses aren't doing anything for the sunlight, are they?" He asked as Ryan climbed into the passenger seat.

Ryan rolled his eyes behind the rose colored lenses. "They're fashionable," he said. "Why do you think I asked you to wear pink?"

Chad laughed. He had gotten a text that morning that he should wear either something pink or a color that was complementary of pink. So, he was wearing his Mean Girls shirt. Yes, Chad was very proud to own a pink shirt that said On Wednesdays We Wear Pink in bold white letters. "Is Sharpay also wearing pink?" He asked.

"Of course. She thinks the three of us should synchronize our wardrobe for senior year so that we are always wearing complementary colors."

Chad should honestly have expected that. "You don't have to wear colors that match her," he said. "Plus, I'm dating you. Not her."

That got Ryan to smile softly. He ducked his head to hide his blush. Chad always liked it when Ryan did that. "So just you and I will wear complementary colors," Ryan cleared his throat and smirked.

"You're awful," Chad teased.

When they got to the Bolton's, Chad noticed that they were the last to arrive. Troy and Chad's parents were sitting at a table on the back patio drinking bottles of beer, and the teenagers were sitting either in lawn chairs or in the grass. Amber was sitting in a lawn chair, and shockingly Sharpay was sitting on the grass in front of her. She was laughing as Amber braided her hair. Naomi was the only non-adult that was sitting with the parents. 

Kelsi and Taylor were sitting side-by-side. Troy and Gabriella were in two lawn chairs, while Zeke sat on the grass between their legs. Ryan jogged over to the only empty lawn chair and sat down. Chad heard Sharpay shout "hey! I was gonna sit there when she finished my hair."

"Chad!" Coach Bolton called.

Chad approached him. "Yeah, Coach?"

"What are you college plans if UofA doesn't give you a basketball scholarship? Troy's got plans for Berkeley because Gabi is going to Stanford."

"Well," Chad shrugged, "the baseball coach for Albuquerque has been talking to me about recruitment since last season. If I update my highlight reel I could get a scholarship."

Coach nodded. "What if that doesn't work out?"

"NYU maybe?"

Charlie crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you pick New York why I think you picked New York?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Chad blushed. "They have good mechanical engineering programs."

"Go to your friends," Mrs. Bolton said. "Enough about college, it's the fourth of July."

He took that opportunity and jogged over to the Wildcats. He carefully stepped over hands and feet, and landed in Ryan's lap. "Ugh," Sharpay groaned. "Now I'm gonna have to push both of you out of the chair?"

Chad stuck his tongue out at her before turning to look at Ryan. "Hi, gorgeous."

"How could I ever think you and Taylor were together?" Troy shook his head.

Taylor said something about sexist and hetero-normative assumptions in society, while Chad grabbed the sunglasses off of Ryan's face. "Time for me to smell the roses," he said in explanation as he put them on.

Ryan smiled and tilted his head. "They look nice on you."

"I have to deal with you two being overly affectionate at home enough of the time," Amber sighed. "You can't even go anywhere without saying cute shit like that."

Zeke leaned back on the palms of his hands. "Those are nice glasses, I might have to get me a pair."

Sharpay scoffed. "You can't afford those."

Gabriella furrowed her brows. "They're sunglasses. How much could they cost?"

"$200," Ryan said. He squinted his eyes and used his hand as a shield from the sun. "They're Ray Bans."

Chad had never worn such an expensive pair of sunglasses. "I'm sorry did you say these sunglasses were two hundred dollars? "

Sharpay laughed loudly. "Oh, poor people are so funny."

Amber slapped her upside the head. "I say eat the rich."

"That's cannibalism," Troy stated.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Redistribute your wealth."

Ryan wrapped his arms around Chad and rested his chin on his shoulder. "Our parents already do that. Charity balls are so boring."

"My balls aren't boring," Chad whispered.

"You're disgusting," Ryan shook his head.

Chad gasped. "Are you saying I'm wrong?"

"Obviously not."

"I'm not even going to ask," Kelsi raised her hands in resignation.

They watched the fireworks as a group of friends. This was honestly the first time that all of them could say they felt truly connected without any drama. They had an amazing summer, and Chad had a feeling it was going to be an amazing senior year.

It was strange to be back at school. He woke up at 5 with a text that listed colors he could choose from for his wardrobe, and he actually abided by it. The night before, Amber had meticulously put his and Naomi's hair in different styles of cornrows. He walked into school the way he usually did; without a backpack or any school supplies. 

The first person he ran into at school was Gabriella. She smiled as she shouldered her bag. "Can I see your schedule?" She asked as the two of them began walking to homeroom. 

He took his schedule out of his pocket and unfolded it. "Give me yours," he said as he handed his to hers.

As he looked at her schedule, he noticed that they had AP Lit together and they both only had half days. "Why are you taking Advanced Mechanics?"

"So I know how to fix my car," he joked. "I'm actually the TA for that class. Mr. Johnson emailed me the application over the summer."

Gabi made an impressed expression. "Is it a backup in case basketball doesn't work out?"

"Let me tell you a secret," he said. "I know I'm not going to be in the NBA. I'm like… 5'9. They look for guys over 6'0."

She furrowed her brows. "So this is what you're gonna do?"

He laughed. "The NCAA doesn't give two fucks about my height and the coach of the redhawk baseball team has been scouting me for a while. I'm practically guaranteed a scholarship."

"You've put a lot of thought into this."

"So have you," Chad pointed out. "What are your plans for Stanford?"

She sighed. "Law school."

"Oh so you're going full Liar Liar."

Once they got in home room, Chad sat on Ryan's desk. Ryan turned away from Sharpay and looked at him. "You look absolutely ravishing in that shade of blue," he said.

Sharpay rolled her eyes and mimed throwing up. Chad smiled at the both of them. "I would assume so, considering you were with me when I bought it."

"He bought that shirt for you," Sharpay corrected. "There is literally no way you could afford to regularly buy clothes that expensive unless you robbed a goddamn bank."

"Good morning to you too, Shar," Chad said blandly. She shrugged with a smile on her face. 

Jason rubbed his forehead. "Since when do you call her Shar?"

Troy sat down in his usual seat and gave Chad a questioning look. Chad stood and stretched. "Mid-July, I think."

"He spends way too much time with Ryan," Sharpay said.

Ryan frowned. "You don't have to come with us everywhere."

She sighed and looked back and forth between the couple. "You're literally crazy if you think the reason mom or dad hasn't caught you two having crazy gay sex is because you're quiet."

Troy coughed and covered his mouth as Chad sat down. Their conversations were all cut short when Ms. Darbus waltzed into the room. "Welcome seniors! I hope you had a lovely summer to begin your last year at East High," she began as she walked to the front of the room. "This year will both be very stressful for you and still very boring. If you begin to develop senioritis, do not hesitate to reach out to me. As your teacher, I strive to be not only a mentor, but a confidante. I will help you as much as possible during your remaining days here."

As the fact that this would be their last year at East High was reiterated over and over throughout the day, Chad became more and more anxious. Yes, he did want to finish high school, but he didn't want to lose his friends. Everything was going to change. Ryan would probably be in New York, Gabriella would be in California, Taylor would be in whatever state Harvard was. The only close friend he had a chance of still being able to hang out with in person was Troy, and even then that was if he decided not to go to Berkeley if Gabriella decides they should stay broken up.

That wasn't looking to be the case. They had begun to do that thing where they looked longingly at each other and smiled when the other one looked back. It was nauseating. Sure, it'd be nice for the lovebirds to get back together, but it didn't feel right if Troy was going to throw everything the two of them had worked for away because he thinks it'd be a good idea to follow Gabi to California.

But, he understood where Troy was coming from. He was planning on applying to a couple schools in New York in case he didn't get his scholarship to UofA. Ryan was going to be all the way across the country in a place just full of other gay people. It would be understandable if he wanted to call it quits with Chad. That thought alone made Chad's heart stutter in the worst possible way.

So, instead of thinking about it too much he opted to cherish the moments with Ryan he did have. They sat shoulder to shoulder at lunch, and held hands on the way to homeroom when they met up in the hallway. They went on group outings with all their friends, and they also went on dates. Chad was even tutoring Ryan. Sometimes tutoring would get interrupted and they would end up with hickeys in not-so-visible regions of skin. It was fun.

Of course, other students had noticed how the two of them were with each other. Chad had given Ryan a kiss one morning, and when he put his books away at the end of his half-day, there was a piece of paper that had been slid into his locker. He read it and tore it to shreds before slamming his locker. Of course. The first time he had been called a faggot in 10 years and it was on a note from a coward that couldn't say it to his face.

The first thing that Chad was looking forward to that year was basketball tryouts. It was the same thing every year and he was good at it. He was practically itching to put his Wildcats jersey back on and play against the West High Knights.

During tryouts, there were some freshmen to go along with the players from last year that wanted to continue their time on the team. Every year tryouts were the same, except for the group of students. Troy and Chad always teamed up when Coach said they had to grab a partner for that exercise. They were the best duo on the team and everyone knew it.

Chad was confident about his place on the team once tryouts were done. He was walking beside Troy with the rest of the guys to the locker room and he stopped. "Chad!" Coach called after him. He turned to Coach Bolton and raised his brows. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure," Chad said. Troy gave him a pat on the shoulder as he went into the locker room and Chad followed Coach Bolton to his office.

Jack closed the door behind Chad. "You and I haven't really had any talks since before you and Troy started working at Lava Springs," he said.

Chad nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "What's this about?"

"I want you to know that you're an amazing player and a good kid. In fact I consider you and Troy to be brothers. You're like a son to me," Jack said. "But I gotta ask you something you might not be comfortable answering."

That was the most terrifying sentence to come out of Coaches mouth. Chad had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Okay," his voice was quiet.

"There have been some complaints, and I need to know if a rumor is true," Jack stood up straight. "Are you… gay?"

Chad nodded. "Why? Why does it matter?"

Jack sighed, and Chad wanted to fucking cry. "I'm sorry, Chad, but you can't be on the team this year."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Hey!" Jack slammed his hand on his desk. "I'm the adult here."

Chad scoffed. "You're kicking me off the team because I have a boyfriend?"

Jack nodded and put his hands in his pocket. "I am. You can't be in the locker room with the other guys, and basketball is a contact sport when it comes to defense. Your sexuality has already made some of the guys uncomfortable."

"Which ones?"

"More than you might think."

Chad nodded and stood up straight. He wasn't a violent person, but in that moment he wanted nothing more than to punch Coach Bolton in the face. Instead he deliberately walked out of the man's office and out of the gymnasium. Both doors slammed behind him.

He took a deep breath as he looked at the empty alley between the gym and the garage for auto-shop classes. This was definitely the worst sports experience Chad had ever had. He turned and punched the brick wall, letting out a yell. Maybe time would stop if he kept yelling and punching the wall. Instead, he broke. 

Chad collapsed onto the grass and tears started streaming down his face. He felt so fucking stupid. The main reason he had stayed in the closet for so long was because of his fear of homophobia. He knew from the get go that athletes had a tendency of being homophobic, and yet he had the audacity to think he was safe with his best friends father as his coach.

"Chad?" Zeke's voice broke into his consciousness.

He blinked and rolled onto his back, seeing Zeke and Troy standing above him. The sight of Troy set something off within him. He stood and pushed Troy. "Fuck you!"

Troy stumbled, and looked bewildered. "What happened?" He asked as Zeke grabbed hold of Chad to keep him from trying to lash out again.

"Your fucking father happened!" Chad shouted. He recognized that his knuckles were bleeding and that he was still crying. "Kicked me off the team! Fuck you and your bitchass dad!" He spat.

Zeke held him tighter and shushed him. "You're alright, Chad," he whispered.

Troy was standing in shock as Chad deflated, letting the anguish take control over his body again. He screamed and turned in Zeke's hold, hugging him. "Why… why did he kick you off the team?" Troy asked tentatively.

"Because I'm gay," Chad said before he took a deep breath. The sadness and anger was replaced with a certain numbness. "He had the chutzpah to say he sees me as a son and that I'm a good athlete, then he fucking kicks me off the team because people he refuses to name told them they're uncomfortable with changing in front of a faggot!"

That word made Troy flinch. "I-I… I don't know what to say," he said, obviously searching in his head for an answer. "That's obviously fucked up."

Chad rolled his eyes and shoved Zeke off of him. "Whatever, I gotta go. Have fun this season, hope you have fun with your useless scholarship since you're too fucking short for the NBA, Troy."

He had no idea how he got home. Well, he knew his car was in the driveway and that he was home, but he had no memory of getting there. Charlie stopped him. "You okay?"

"No," Chad admitted. 

Charlie noticed the blood on his knuckles and grabbed his wrists. "Let me take care of this and you tell me what happened. Okay? I'll take care of it. I don't care whose ass I have to kick.

So, Chad explained everything. His father first rinsed his hands in the bathroom sink, then applied rubbing alcohol. Another rinse, then he dried the hands with a nice soft towel. Charlie was obviously angry at what went down. He applied Neosporin to the knuckles on both of Chad's hands, then put bandaids on them. Chad wasn't sure what he was gonna do about the limited range of motion that having the knuckles on both his hands wrapped caused.

"Jack only coaches the basketball team, right?" Charlie asked as Chad flexed his fingers.

Chad nodded and got his phone out of his pocket. "That means I still have baseball and track."

"I don't think I could do much by raising a stink about this, but I do want you to bring more wins than the basketball team can manage without you."

That brought a small smile to Chad's face. His dad was on his side, even if there wasn't anything either of them could do about it. "Of course. Who do you take me for?"

Charlie smiled and pulled him into a hug. "That's my boy."

Chapter Text

Chad walked to homeroom alone. He had gotten to school kinda early because he emailed Ms. Darbus the night before asking to talk to her. When he got to her classroom, she was sitting at her desk reading something on her laptop. She looked up when the door opened, and took off her glasses.

"Mr. Danforth, while it is lovely to see you, I didn't expect you to come to me for help, let alone be the first one," her tone was teasing. She was always a nice teacher, even if Chad thought she was a little crazy. He didn't care much about theater, and she was the type of person to call it theatre. "What seems to be the problem?"

Chad sighed and sat on the student desk in front of hers. "I don't know if you noticed but I… uh… I'm gay."

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Mr. Evans thinks very highly of you, and I'm sure she'd never admit it but Ms. Evans appreciates that greatly."

He blushed and ducked his head. Of course she noticed that he was dating Ryan. Ryan was her favorite student. "Well, I recently ran into an issue."

"Is it the cause of the bandages on your hands? I never took you for the type to get violent."

"I'm not," Chad assured. "I didn't get these from fighting a person. The only thing that got hurt was the brick wall outside the gymnasium."

She sighed. "Evidently you got hurt as well. Since you said you punched the wall to the gym, I can assume it has to do with tryouts?"

"Coach won't let me play this year."

That got her to sit up straight. She took a deep breath and looked down at her desk. "I'm very sorry that happened to you."

"If I were to be out in college, would it affect my future in sports?" He asked.

"What sport are you likely to play in college?"

"Baseball," Chad stated. "The coach for Albuquerque has been scouting me for a while. I'm only allowed to talk to him a certain amount of times a year before I graduate, but I have a campus tour scheduled for November 12th. If it won't impact my chances, I might tell him about what happened then."

She nodded and took a moment to think. "In the 70s, there was a player for the Dodgers. His name is Glenn Burke, he faced racism from the outside world. Due to the lack of acceptance and understanding, he hid the fact that he was gay from the media. However, he was openly gay to his teammates. His face is on trading cards."

Chad smiled. "How do you know so much about baseball?"

She laughed. "It has nothing to do with baseball. I try to be aware of the acceptance of queer people in all walks of life."

"Well… thanks. It means a lot," he stood up. 

"That is exactly why I do that. In the arts, as you know, there are many gay people. I myself am one, so I understand what it's like to be fearful. I want to make sure my students don't have to live in fear because of who they are, especially if they aren't involved in the arts." The first bell rang. "The twins should be here shortly," she said with a smile.

Chad went to his usual seat and sat down. "Can't wait to see if we're wearing the same colors or just complementary ones."

The class slowly trickled in. Ryan took his normal seat beside Chad. When Troy took the seat in front of him, Chad fully to Ryan and smiled. "Good morning," Ryan said.

"It's good to see you," Chad extended his hand.

Ryan grabbed Chad's hand and examined the bandage on his knuckles. "Jesus," he murmured.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Chad saw Troy slouch in shame. He knew it was wrong, but he felt vindicated to see Troy like that.

He had avoided Troy at school that entire day. It wasn't until he was at home, eating an afternoon snack, that he talked to Troy. Troy had come to his house after he got done with school, and walked in just like he usually did.

"Hey!" Chad shouted, pointing at him. "I need to take your key away if you're gonna break into my house when I'm pissed at you."

Troy rolled his eyes and closed the door. He tossed his backpack on the recliner and looked at Chad. "I'm sorry about what my dad did. But I don't understand why you're mad at me."

Chad took a bite of his sandwich and stared blankly at Troy. "Maybe," he said as he chewed, "I'm mad at you because you're my best friend and you haven't done anything about your dad being an asshole."

"Because he's my dad ! Do you talk back to your dad?"

"No, but you do! You always talk back to your dad, so much so that he said to my dad that I'm the well behaved one!" Chad stood and put his sandwich on the paper plate. "Maybe tell your dad he's a homophobe that needs to rethink his reasons for doing that!"

Troy sighed and rubbed his face. "I'll talk to him. There has literally never been an issue with you playing before, and he knows this."

"I'm so fucking tired, Troy. Can you just go?"

"I'm not leaving until you and I are in a good place. I can't lose you, man."

Chad sighed and sat back down. Troy took a seat next to him on the couch. "Taylor is coming over after the Academic Decathlon meeting and we're gonna watch whatever movies she's bringing over."

"Oh sweet," Troy said. "I asked Gabi out today," Chad looked at him and raised his brows. "She suggested we go on a double date with you and Ryan."

Chad smiled and rolled his eyes. "Of course she did. What does she want to do?"

"Saw 4 is coming out next week," Troy shrugged. "She said her mom rented the first three from Blockbuster and they watched them together."

"I don't think Ryan would like Saw," Chad laughed.

"He could hide in your chest during the scary parts," Troy nudged him.

Chad shook his head. "Horror really isn't his thing, but I can see if he's fine with watching it."

Troy had a smirk on his face. "Maybe he'll come home with you to cuddle."

"You think watching torture porn is gonna make him wanna fuck me?"

"I didn't say you'd be having sex."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Last time we saw a movie, we had this same conversation but you thought I was gonna fuck Taylor."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "I'm confused. If it would have been you fucking Taylor, why did you say Ryan would fuck you."

"Because that's how it is," Chad laughed. "How can that be confusing?"

"He's so… twinky."

"So?"

Troy laughed. "Wouldn't he be the girl?"

Chad punched him on the shoulder. "There's no girl!"

Troy grabbed his shoulder and let out an oomf as he continued laughing. "Explain it to me!"

"He puts his dick in my ass, Troy!"

Despite the tension that had been between them earlier, they were back to normal. They could make jokes and laugh, and Chad felt very comfortable with him. When Taylor arrived, she was fine with Troy watching the movies with them. Just like old times, Troy spent the night and had dinner with the Danforth family.

Chad did not want to be dragged to the Bolton home that Saturday. The last thing he wanted to do was be near Jack. It was like rubbing salt in a wound, but Troy insisted that the two had to talk. He said he was going to fix it and get Chad back on the team. If Chad was honest, he wasn't sure he even wanted back on a team that Jack Bolton was coaching.

He helped himself to a can of Sunkist and listened to Troy talk about their afternoon plans. They were gonna have a talk with Troy's dad and then shoot hoops in the backyard. Chad was explaining he would have to leave at 5 so he could get ready for a date he and Ryan were going to have when Jack entered the kitchen.

"Hey boys," Jack greeted as he scooted past them to get himself a soda.

Chad nodded, tight lipped. He looked at Troy, hoping he could read the discomfort in his face. Instead, Troy put a hand on his father's shoulder. "We actually wanted to talk to you, dad."

It was nerve wracking to watch Jack realize what this was about. The man nodded. "You both know that Chad is an excellent addition to the team. I just can't let him play again."

"You're on the wrong side of history, dad," Troy stated. "Chad wasn't doing anything wrong. He should have the right to play just like anyone else."

Jack shook his head. "It's not up to me. The team-"

"Fuck the team."

"Troy!"

Chad rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "Y'know what? It doesn't matter. I knew from the start that people wouldn't like the fact that I'm gay, so I hid it."

"You shouldn't have had to," Troy stated. He put his hands on his hips and gave both of them a stern expression. "It does matter what happens right here and right now. If you get permanently kicked off the team, it sets up a precedent of discrimination."

"Awfully big words, Troy. I didn't know you had it in you."

Troy hit him upside the head. "I'm trying to help you, and other students that are gay and wanna play basketball at East High."

Jack rubbed his forehead. "It wasn't even my idea, Troy! Some of the players went to the principal and complained. He made some good points, and if I didn't do what he asked anyways because I care about Chad, I could have lost my job."

"Then we file a complaint with the school board against Matsui," Troy countered.

Chad scoffed. "No. I'm absolutely not doing that. It all comes back to those players and their families. They, and you," he pointed at Jack, "have these warped ideas about my sexuality and my fidelity. No one knew I was gay before because I wasn't doing the predatory things they fear gay people would do. I definitely wouldn't be scouting for a hookup in the locker room now."

"I wouldn't say all the ideas are warped," Jack shrugged.

Chad clenched his fists. "Like what?"

"Adult gay men tend to prey on kids."

"Dad!"

"Adult straight men do too," Chad stated. "They're called pedophiles."

Jack sighed. "You know that's not what I meant."

"I was correcting you," Chad pointed at him. "Educate yourself. Listen to gay people, maybe the next time you have a player that comes out you'll treat him better. I don't want to go back on the team anyways. You kicked me off, so I'm done."

That was the end of it. Chad didn't stay for basketball. Instead, he went home and collapsed onto his bed. He had been reading the Iliad, so he continued it. Achilles and Patroclus… Chad was fully convinced they were lovers. It was like when he had to read The Great Gatsby for school and he was absolutely sure that one guy was in love with Gatsby. 

He had gotten ready, following the dress code that Ryan had given him. There was some sort of gala thing that Ryan had to attend with his family, so he had invited Chad. It was with the University of Albuquerque, so Chad wasn't exactly sure who would be attending aside from the board of directors and their families. The dress code was formal, and the only legitimately formal things that Chad owned were all bought by Ryan. 

After he got ready, Ryan picked him up in the Mustang. His pocket square was the same color as Ryan's hat, and the first thing he did upon getting in the vehicle was kiss him. Ryan smiled as he began driving. 

The gala was odd for Chad. He wasn't yet used to networking, however the University of Albuquerque seemed interested in him as soon as he entered with the Evans family. Sharpay pulled her father in the direction of the drama department, while Ryan and Derby stayed by Chad's side. 

Surprisingly, it wasn't only the board of directors at the gala. The baseball coach saw Chad and approached. "Mr. Danforth, I wasn't aware you would be here tonight," he said with a smile.

Chad shook his hand. "I'm just a plus one," he informed. "This is my boyfriend, Ryan Evans."

The coach nodded. "The Evans family is very well known in the university."

"Oh please, Phil," Derby chuckled. "Stop it."

Phil - the coach - gave Derby a hug. "It's lovely to see you again D," he said. Then, he turned his attention back to Chad. "It's basketball season, yeah? I hope that when you become a redhawk it's with me and the basketball team doesn't take you from us."

"Nah," Chad shook his head. "Not doing basketball with the redhawks. I'll be picking up a bat as a redhawk."

Phil looked excited by this. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, I won't be on the Wildcats team this year, so even if I hadn't made a decision already, I wouldn't be able to shoot hoops for the redhawks."

Ryan furrowed his brows, and Chad realized he hadn't told him what had happened. "Why aren't you playing basketball this season?"

Chad sighed and rubbed the palms of his hands on his pants. "People made complaints about a gay basketball player, so Coach kicked me off the team."

Phil shook his head. "Damn, that's a shame. A real team stands by their brothers."

It was nice to finally hear that from an authority in athletics. He felt like this conversation just cemented his certainty about his decision to not return to the Wildcats even if they asked. Taking a moment to think back on the things Phil said, Chad was sure he was going to the University of Albuquerque.

Later that month, Troy and Gabriella were officially back together. They had went on the double date with Chad and Ryan, and all four of them had a nice time. Ryan absolutely hated the movie, but he did enjoy the handjob that Chad gave him when they went back to his house. Halloween rolled around quicker than Chad had anticipated.

Of course, Sharpay and Ryan wanted to wear costumes that went together, and Chad and Ryan wanted to do a couple costume. This left the three of them to decide on a trio that could work well with them. Ultimately, they decided on Ryan as Captain America, Chad as Bucky Barnes, and Sharpay as Carol Danvers' Ms. Marvel.

It was a fun party. People that wanted to drink, drank, and a couple people passed around a joint. Chad personally didn't see the appeal, but it was still a fun party even if he was sober. They played Never Have I Ever and it was really interesting to find out what the Evans twins had already done in their short time on earth thanks to their wealth. Shockingly, Gabriella was not as innocent as everyone expected. Troy would blush when she took a shot after someone said a sexual thing. 

"Never have I ever… got eaten out," Taylor said with a laugh. If they were being honest, she was the cause of most of the sexual questions in the game due to her still being a virgin.

Gabriella very pointedly did not take a shot and instead punched Troy's shoulder. "You asshole," she slurred. 

Sharpay giggled and leaned forward. "Oh sweetie… you and I can change that."

Chad turned to Ryan with wide eyes, then laughed when he noticed Ryan was pinching the bridge of his nose. "I might have to take you up on that," Gabriella winked as a blush spread across her face.

There were shouts and cheers from all around the circle. "Never have I ever," Chad began, "eaten a pork chop."

The group groaned as they all took a shot. "Not even once?" Jason asked, squinting. "That's gotta be… hell."

"It's prohibited," Chad shrugged. "Can't eat pork because Hashem said so or something."

"Who the fuck is Hashem?" Sharpay sat up straight.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "It's what Chad has been taught to call God. Y'know, like how some people say Jehovah or Allah."

"Oh!"

"Anyways," Ryan sighed. "Never have I ever watched porn that had a woman."

Chad glared at Troy before taking a shot of water. "I fucking hate you," he said.

Troy laughed. "We were twelve how was I supposed to know you were gay!"

"You two watched porn together?" Zeke laughed.

Gabriella furrowed her brows. "Do boys not normally do that?"

"Some do but we were all friends in middle school and they never invited us," Jason stated. He wiggled his eyebrows.

Chad covered his face. "Oh my god do not suggest that Troy and I were gonna fuck when we were 12."

"You had a crush on me!" Troy countered.

"For there to be sex, you'd have to return the crush," Kelsi countered.

Troy shook his head. "That's not what I was saying. I was saying it couldn't have been too shocking that Jason would imply that, considering Chad had a crush on me."

Taylor printed at him. "He hasn't told everyone here about that crush, maybe they didn't know."

Zeke laughed and fell over. "Oh my god! How could we not know? It was always ' Troy said this ' and ' Troy said that '."

Sharpay nodded. "And the way he used to look at him."

"You didn't even know until I pointed it out to you," Ryan elbowed her in the side. "It's your turn by the way."

She let out an excited sound. "Never have I ever been into a guy."

Chad's eyes widened after he took his shot and he saw Troy taking his. "Oh I gotta hear this," he stated.

"Jensen Ackles is one very attractive man," Troy shrugged.

Everyone was a lot more relaxed around each other after that. Sharpay and Gabriella even hung out alone together all the time. Troy sometimes complained about that, saying it felt like Sharpay was trying to steal Gabi from him. Chad rolled his eyes and said that Gabi couldn't be stolen from him because he didn't own her. Troy said that he had been spending too much time with Taylor.

During the winter holidays, Chad got a call from Troy. "This better be good," he said into the receiver as Amber continued suctioning his hair. Ryan was painting Naomi's nails beside him.

"Okay so," Troy paused, presumably thinking of how to word what he was about to say. "Have you ever seen Three's Company? I'm kind of living that."

Chad furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Sharpay and Gabriela came up to me and were like hey we wanna date each other but Gabi will still date you and I just kinda agreed to it because what the fuck-"

"Troy, that is so not what Three's Company is about. That's like a Penthouse Forum or something."

Amber grabbed the phone. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Chad looked at Ryan. "Troy just told me that Shar and Gabi are dating now, but Gabi and Troy are still together."

Ryan frowned at him. "You didn't know that they liked each other?"

"I kind of gathered that but I didn't think they'd go all Free Love or whatever."

"An Evans always gets what they want," Ryan stated and continued painting Naomi's nails. 

Naomi furrowed her brows and squirmed. "Why didn't Daphne date Velma and Fred?"

Ryan shrugged. "People think being gay isn't appropriate for kids."

"You're a kid and you're gay."

"We sure are," Chad smiled.

Sharpay and Gabriella didn't change the way they interacted at school, so no one really noticed. However, Taylor and Kelsi hadn't made any announcements about a change in their relationship, but they would kiss each other on the cheek between classes. Chad went to Ryan's locker before lunch so they could walk together. They would hold hands, and bump hips. Sometimes Chad would spin Ryan under his arm as they walked. It was nice to have more free time to be with Ryan after school, and Chad was also glad his friends were happy together.

Ms. Darbus had put up a signup sheet for the original musical. Ryan watched Sharpay sign her name in pink sparkly gel pen, before walking away. He turned to Chad and raised his brows. "Care to join me?"

Chad bit his lip and tilted his head as he looked at the signup sheet. He definitely had a fun time with the talent show that summer. It reminded him of the joy that dance used to bring him. "I don't know," he said. Acting had never been something he did. "If I change my mind can I drop out?"

"Yeah," Ryan grabbed his hand and pulled him to it. "Of course."

So, they signed up together. Chad had no idea what show they were signing up for, but still signed up.

When Ms. Darbus eventually asked Kelsi about signups, Kelsi had put the rest of the homerooms names on the list. Of course, this caused some people to freak out. They had not signed up, and they were not down with being in a musical. That is, until Gabriella and Troy convinced them.

The show would be made by them and it would be about them. Their senior year. Chad was pretty sure that his senior year so far had been focused on his baseball scholarship and his relationship. Meanwhile, the majority of the guys had been focused on basketball. Ms. Darbus had announced which students were in the running for a Juilliard scholarship. He couldn't help the eyeroll he let out when she said that Troy was in the running for it.

Chad was, of course, ecstatic about the twins and Kelsi being in the running. They deserved it considering all the work they dedicated their lives to the arts. Basketball season was over, and Troy already had his own choices for college. He had applied to a few colleges, and Chad was hoping he would pick Albuquerque so they could be at the same campus.

It was baseball season, and since Kelsi was in charge of writing the show, Chad decided to ask her to give him a storyline. She smiled evilly and asked if she had free reign over what the baseball storyline was. Chad shrugged and told her to go nuts.

Along with baseball practice, games, and some small rehearsals while the show is still in the early stages of production, Chad had to worry about prom. "Are we even allowed to go together?" Chad asked as he was laying on Ryan's bed.

"No," Ryan sighed. "We could do a group thing but dance together."

Chad made a face and started biting his nails. "What would the group thing be?"

"Beards."

So, Chad stood on a table during lunch with a bouquet of flowers and asked Taylor to prom. Ryan asked Kelsi while she was running through a song for the show. They had dates, and their dates were also in need of something to allow them to actually go to prom together. 

Taylor had spoken to Chad one night after school, and she told him she had been confused for a long time. Spending alone time with Kelsi in July and August had helped her a lot with figuring herself out. "I think I might actually be gay," she shrugged. "Kelsi said that sometimes lesbians have this thing called compulsory heterosexuality and it causes them to think they have romantic or sexual interest in a man when they really don't."

"How would you be able to differentiate that?" Chad had asked.

She bit her lip. "The interest in the unattainable. I stopped being interested in you that way when I thought you asked me out, but I thought it was nerves. You said you were gay and I felt this sense of safety."

Chad smiled. "I'm glad."

"So you know three lesbians," she nudged him.

He laughed. Kelsi and Taylor were obviously two of those three, and he had a feeling he knew who the third one was. "Gabi is bi, right? That's how she identifies?"

"She said she doesn't know a label she likes right now," Taylor informed. "So she's not using one."

That was where they were. The only people in the friend group that had not come out as queer were Troy, Zeke, Jason, and Martha. There was a safety within their group. 

Kelsi showed Chad and Ryan the baseball number with a smirk on her face. "It's gonna have the same upbeat energy as I Want It All but it should feel more like a tango."

"I cannot see a baseball number as a tango," Ryan frowned.

She shook her head and put her hand up placatingly. "That's a metaphor for the sort of push and pull that's there. Think of the metaphor within Tango Maureen, how it's a battle for dominance while also trying to convince the other person of something."

Chad nodded. "Where would this be in the show?"

"Before A Night To Remember. It's like a weekend baseball game just between the two of you. Ryan is trying to get Chad to understand him and to show that he gets how Chad feels," Kelsi stated. "It's complicated, and heated, like Whizzer and Marvin with the tennis or chess games."

Ryan gasped. "It's a homoerotic metaphor!"

Chad laughed and covered his face. "Oh that's absolutely perfect."

Ms. Darbus gave them a suggested point in the show to have the number. "I Don't Dance should be at some point in the beginning of the show so it can marinate within the audience," she said. "There should be choreography that involves the baseball game, as well as the tension of a repressed romantic dance."

So, Ryan had an amazing idea for the choreography of the number. He described it to Chad as a war of seduction. Of course, private rehearsals in Ryan's room would end with the release of that tension. It was thrilling to have that fire between them, and it reminded him of their first time.

The closer to the show and the end of the school year they got, the more anxious everyone was. Prom was just around the corner, and people were freaking the fuck out. Troy and Gabriella had their own issues to figure out. Their relationship problems were about college or something. Chad was focusing on that baseball season, and the show, so he wasn't entirely sure what exactly was going on. When prom rolled around, Gabriella was in California. Troy had left town a couple days before prom so that he could see her on that night. 

Ryan, Sharpay, Kelsi, and Taylor picked Chad up for prom in a limo. "Shar is going stag," Ryan smiled.

She rolled her eyes. "Fuck off my girlfriend is off all the way across the country and her bitchass boyfriend didn't invite me to visit her."

"That's sweet," Chad said.

At the dance, it was rather easy for Chad and Ryan to dance together. "Is this a Jonas Brother's song?" Chad asked with his brows furrowed.

"When you look me in the eyes… tell me that you love me," Ryan nodded as he sang.

Chad licked his lips. "I do."

Ryan froze. "What?"

"I love you," Chad said. His heart was pounding.

Ryan kissed him, then held him close. "I love you too."

Chad closed his eyes and couldn't imagine a better prom.

The performance was a week after prom. Troy and Gabriella made it back to Albuquerque just a few days before that Saturday. Troy's absences weren't excused, and he came back announcing he had chosen to go to Berkeley rather than the University of Albuquerque. Sharpay grabbed Chad and pulled him off to a corner. "If I don't get into Juilliard, and I might not because Ryan and Kelsi really deserve this, I'll be going to UofA."

Chad furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you seriously just admit you might not get the scholarship?"

"If you tell anyone I will literally kill you," she pressed her finger on his chest. "Everyone needs safety schools and this is some tough competition."

"We could be roommates if we don't do dorms," he said.

"Ew."

The first number was Now or Never. The Wildcats had choreography with basketballs. This was followed by a depiction of them winning the game, and then Chad and Ryan are alone on stage. Ryan asks Chad why he didn't do basketball that season, and Chad said it wasn't his business. The two start setting up for a baseball game. Chad tosses Ryan a bat as Ryan says he could try dancing. That is the cue for the number to begin. It was even more thrilling to perform it on stage in front of the crowd. His family was in the audience. People from Juilliard were watching this performance. Still, when he finished singing the last note and they were nearly chest to chest, Chad had to restrain himself from freaking out in some way. 

Ryan panted in front of him and said "maybe you have some stuff to figure out," before he walked off stage. He knew it was the line, but he looked at the stage as the spotlight cut off. He took a deep breath and walked off stage from the opposite direction of Ryan.

Immediately, he grabbed Taylor and hugged her tightly. "Oh my god," he said. "Why the fuck was that so much harder than any game ever?"

She rubbed his back. "Because it's you without any filters."

Maybe that was why Chad felt like he was having an out of body experience for the rest of the show. When he wasn't on stage or holding Ryan's hand, he felt like he was a ghost watching the performance. During the performance of The Boys Are Back, Chad made sure to look as though he was obligated to say the line save the girl . When Troy made a superhero pose, Chad stood there and fidgeted. Ryan had suggested that when they choreographed that number. Troy would be facing the audience, and Chad would be a few steps behind and to the left of him. His heart was hammering in his chest. He could have asked them to not include this arc for him, but he knew the point of this performance was authenticity. 

When it was time to do the graduation scene, Chad was sitting against a wall backstage in the red cap and gown. His breathing was shallow and quick. His hands were shaking. He couldn't fucking stand. The room was tilting. 

Then Troy was crouching in front of him. He put a hand on Chad's shoulders and reminded him how to breathe. He said that everything was fine. "You're doing amazing."

Chad nodded and took a deep breath. 

Troy smiled. "You good?"

"Yeah," Chad lied. Troy pulled him up to his feet, and they went on stage.

Ms. Darbus announced that Kelsi and Ryan both got scholarships to Juilliard. Sharpay was going to the University of Albuquerque with Chad. Gabriella and Troy were going to California. Taylor was going to Harvard. Zeke was going to some culinary school. Jason fucking graduated. It was all so real.

They tossed their caps, and hugged each other. Chad grabbed Ryan's face and kissed him. He kissed him in front of everyone. The audience cheered louder than they had all night.

Then they really graduated. Amber was back home. She hugged Chad and cried. "Oy vey, you're an adult now," she cooed.

Of course, the Danforth's invited the Evans family for a big dinner. They made sure to tell them it was going to be casual, and in the Danforth home. Derby and Cynthia had apparently spoken frequently over the time their sons had been together. Vance and Charlie hadn't gotten close, but they were having a nice conversation about the University of Albuquerque. 

"Chad is going to make an excellent addition to the baseball team," Vance said before he took a swig of beer. "Coach Johnson has been telling the board about him since he first saw him as a sophomore. I would have offered to give him an in, but he was already set as long as he agreed."

Chad smiled at Ryan when Vance said that. "See?" Chad whispered. "Your dad doesn't hate me."

Ryan gave him a kiss. "Good."

"I might go vegetarian," Chad said as he ran a hand through Ryan's hair.

Charlie coughed, and the couple turned to him. "Excuse me?" He said after he cleared his throat.

Chad shrugged. "If I don't eat meat, I won't have to worry if the butcher killed it in a humane way."

Amber grimaced. "Just go to a Jewish deli."

"It's just a thought! I need protein for athletics."

"Beans have protein," Ryan shrugged. "I think it'd be cool."

"Thanks babe."

Sharpay threw her head back and groaned. "I'm gonna get a cavity."

Chapter Text

That summer, the Wildcats wanted to spend as much time together as possible before they had to leave for college. They weren't usually the types to party, but they did. Sometimes, they hung out at the Boltons home, others it was the Evans estate. Jack Bolton would leave them alone when they hung out in the Bolton backyard. It was obvious he knew his presence would make Chad uncomfortable.

Summer was thrilling. They each had their licenses and cars. Chad drove to Ryan's house frequently. They were laying in bed together making out. Derby and Vance were at Lava Springs, while Sharpay was with Gabriella. 

Ryan rubbed his hand up Chad's thigh. His fingers brushed against his erection. Chad let out a breathy gasp. "Baby," Ryan's voice was raspy. "You make such pretty sounds."

He put Chad on his back. Chad ground his thigh on Ryan's groin. "Yeah?"

Ryan kissed Chad's neck, and he let out a moan. Ryan carefully stripped Chad of his boxers as he kissed down his chest. He kissed his thighs, hoisting his legs up over his shoulders by his knees. Chad always enjoyed the sight of his legs being wrapped around Ryan's body. Ryan licked a stripe on his cock and looked at him through his lashes.

Since they started having sex, Ryan had always been more dominant than Chad. It was nice to let Ryan take control. There was something exhilarating in digging his nails into Ryan's skin and begging. Ryan would bring him to the edge over and over and over again before he would finally let Chad get a release. He would shake with how overwhelmed it made him.

He would spend the night sometimes. They would sleep, cuddling under the soft blanket. "I wish you could come with me," Ryan whispered in Chad's ear as they were trying to sleep.

Chad pulled Ryan's arm tighter around him. "Me too," he yawned. "We'd have an apartment together in NYC, overlooking the city."

"We'd watch baseball games, and go ice skating during the winter. Dancing on the balcony," Ryan drew patterns on Chad's skin with his fingers. 

Chad dreamt of the Statue of Liberty and the song La Vie En Rose.

Then, Ryan and Kelsi had to leave for New York. Gabi and Troy had already left, taking a road trip to get to California. Chad was going to be alone. Taylor, Zeke, Martha, and Jason were going to leave that same week. That just left Chad and Sharpay. At the airport, Chad took his time to say goodbye. "We're going to Skype every night, and if we can't we'll call and text."

Ryan kissed him tenderly. His hands were on Chad's face, holding him as close as possible. He looked him in the eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," Chad smiled sadly. "Call me as soon as you get there."

They talked on the phone for at least an hour that night. Ryan was exhausted from the plane ride, but he didn't want to stop talking to Chad. He actually fell asleep on the phone. Chad teared up as he ended the call.

Despite her protests, Sharpay rented a two bedroom apartment near the UofA campus that would let her bring Boi. She insisted that Chad moved into the second room and made it his own space. They were all each other had while everyone else was out of state. Of course, they still had ways to contact everyone, but it was different from them being there.

A couple days before school started, Sharpay and Chad were eating ice cream on their couch. Boi was asleep between them. "He's so small," Chad said.

Sharpay looked at him like he was stupid. "He's a yorkie. What, did you expect him to be a goddamn Great Dane?"

Chad laughed. He dropped his spoon and kicked his legs in the air. "Fuck."

"Are you high?"

"I don't know why I'm laughing!"

"You're having a stroke."

That only made him laugh harder. She laughed and punched him. Boi woke with a jolt. He let out a bark and jumped off the couch. "Look what you did, you bitch!" Chad could hardly get the words out as he laughed.

When the first semester started, the highlight of Chad's days were the calls he had with Ryan. He didn't go out on the weekends, even when Sharpay invited him to join her. His favorite activity that didn't have to do with school or calling Ryan was sleeping.

Before he knew it, he was going home for Thanksgiving. He was drained even though he hadn't done much of anything since early August. His closet was full of clothes that Ryan had gifted him, and he wore them frequently even though the price tag made him want to break out into hives. Just looking at the tags on the clothes gave him anxiety. Still, they were from Ryan. So, he wore them as often as he could.

Sharpay was actually really excited to celebrate Hanukkah with Chad. He hadn't expected her to even want to participate in the celebrations. Of course, she was singing songs from Falsettoland at any given opportunity. Chad would have to say his favorite of her renditions was Breaking Down. She was an amazing actress, and even though it was annoying for her to break into song at a random point, it was amusing to watch her pretend to lose her mind.

Then Christmas time came, and people were back in town. Chad couldn't keep his hands off of Ryan the entire time they were alone together. Troy, Zeke, and Jason would play basketball with Chad at the park. It felt as though things were back to normal. That is, until Troy announced he was planning to propose to Gabriella.

"Dude, you're 19," Chad said as he passed the ball to Jason.

Zeke laughed. "Yeah, man, we can't even drink legally."

Troy shrugged. "I just want to show her how serious I am."

"Then get her a fucking promise ring," Chad shook his head.

Jason frowned. "What is it like to be in love?"

"I think I might feel it for someone in my class," Zeke said thoughtfully. He was very hesitant and nervous.

That got Jason to smile. "Oh really?"

He shrugged and Chad raised his eyebrows. "Is this person in your class interested in you?"

Zeke scratched his chin. "I don't think so."

"Tell us more," Troy urged.

He took in a deep breath. "I've never felt this way before," Zeke admitted. "We're at the same workstation. He's planning on opening a bakery once we graduate."

Chad smiled at the pronoun. "Are we all gay?"

"I think I'm bi," Troy said.

Jason ran a hand through his hair. "I don't like anybody."

"That's totally chill," Zeke shrugged.

Before the New Year, Ryan told Chad that he was auditioning for a new Broadway show. He said that the role was perfect for him. The show was supposed to have a lot of dance numbers. Ryan was going for the lead.

When class started back up, Chad went back to his cycle of doing nothing. Days were blurring together. Chad had no idea how he was passing his classes and managing to fulfill the requirements to keep his scholarship. Sharpay hit him with a pillow and dragged him out of bed. 

She forced him to stop wallowing in his loneliness. He had to do something in order to get out of his funk. So, Sharpay made him go to the movies or just hang out somewhere. Over time, things were easier for him. Ryan had gotten his role after 6 auditions, and he was about to be on Broadway. Chad was happy for him, and he was starting to live a life of his own.

Then, Sharpay dropped out of school. She still stayed in the apartment with Chad. They hung out when they could. She had a job as a performer at Lava Springs, and Chad was working on the preparations for transferring to Monroe College in New York, New York. They had a baseball program that could help him get to major league, and it would allow him to be with Ryan.

There was a plan. The second semester was coming to a close, but Ryan would not be able to visit at all during the summer. He was doing a show every night and everyone was proud of him. Sharpay and Chad were planning to move up there. Sharpay wanted to make her own big break. She wanted to make a name for herself. Chad wanted to continue his education and his track to MLB. He just wanted to do that in New York.

It was weird how natural it was for Chad and Sharpay to live together. They moved to New York in July of 2009. Chad had made sure they had the money to rent an apartment in the city. They both got jobs, and Sharpay didn't complain at all.

Since they were living in New York, Chad was able to spend time with Ryan and Kelsi. The four of them threw small parties when any of them made an accomplishment. Chad finally felt like he could breathe again. He had gotten rid of that dark cloud over his head. 

Chad and Ryan would lay in bed together, just looking at each other. They were at home.

Chapter Text

Chad and Ryan are sat on stools in a white room. "Hello, I'm Chad Danforth."

"And I'm Ryan Evans."

They speak in unison. "We are doing the WIRED Autocomplete Interview."

Chad is holding a sign with some words visible. Others are covered with white strips of paper. The words 'is Chad Danforth' are visible at the top. Chad clears his throat. "Is Chad Danforth…" Ryan pulls the first strip of paper off the board. "Gay?"

Ryan laughs. "He sure is!"

Chad nods. "Yep. He is. Is Chad Danforth… mixed?" He looks at the camera. "Yes. My mother was an Ashkenazi Jew, and my father is black." 

"I really wish I could have met your mother," Ryan says wistfully. "I feel like she would love me."

"Just you making me happy means she would love you," Chad states. "Is Chad Danforth…"

When Chad pulls off that strip of paper, Ryan gasps. "Mean? Why the [beep] do people think you're mean?"

Chad shrugs. "Because I am mean."

Ryan rolls his eyes. "Shut up."

"Where is Chad Danforth from?" Chad reads the next question. "Albuquerque, New Mexico. Shout out to East High School. Go Wildcats!"

"Is Chad Danforth married?" Ryan reads the next question.

Chad shows his left hand to the camera. "Yes, to this twink. Have been since gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states."

Ryan cooed and put his hand on his chest. "It's so sweet that you think I'm still a twink."

"Who is Chad Danforth?" Chad laughs. "That's a good question. I'm a baseball player, a husband, son, brother, and father."

Now Ryan has a board. "Is Ryan Evans related to Sharpay Evans? Yes, she is my twin sister. I am very proud of her, please listen to her new album."

"Why would that need to be asked? You talk about each other all the time."

Ryan ignores him. "Is Ryan Evans in Hamilton?"

"You had a short run as King George," Chad nudges him. "I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love," he sings and bops around a little bit to the rhythm. "Am I even legally allowed to do that?" He laughs.

"Where is Ryan Evans from?" Ryan read from the board. "Originally from Newport, Rhode Island, but I have to say the most important things in my life happened in Albuquerque."

"Aw!" Chad grins. "He loves me!"

"I was talking about Ms. Darbus," Ryan smirks.

Chad nods and shrugs. "She gave me some great advice senior year."

"Oh that's great."

"Yeah! Thank you Laura Darbus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Being in your homeroom class was probably the best thing that happened to me."

"That's so sweet."

"I'm gonna stab you."

They look at each other. There is a moment of silence, then they laugh.