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Ryan had the word Grin written on his right shoulder; it was in the same place at Sharpay’s clue Ball. Which he always thought was far more of a clue than Grin. Sharpay’s mark meant they were always forced to pay more attention to sports than Ryan preferred, Sharpay constantly dragging him to Basketball games, at one point she had been insisting that he would join the team in high school, but when he never had the growth spurt she had been sure of she pushed him toward baseball instead.
He still went to the Basketball games though and as his sister’s focus lasered in on Troy Bolton he found himself drawn toward some of the bulkier players. For a while he focused on Zeke who always smiled exuberantly when someone on the team made a good play, then Jason, who got boring quickly because he was rather stoic and borderline broody.
It wasn’t until a semi-final that he saw it Chad Danforth’s Grin, it was accompanied by a dorky victory dance and it floored Ryan entirely. That was until the realisation that it was aimed at a blonde cheerleader that Chad then lifted into the air as she giggled.
Ryan made excuses to Sharpay as he ran out of the gym for air. Trying to remind himself that the marks are clues, just because Chad Danforth had a Grin didn’t mean it was Ryan’s Grin.
Ryan’s phone beeped and showed a message from Sharpay asking where he was and then half a second later an impatient message stating they were going for Pizza in town and to meet her at the car. He sighed and pushed off the wall fixing his hat, walking toward Sharpay’s car, he really wished he drove himself.
“Where did you run off to?” Sharpay demanded as Ryan reached the car, she didn’t wait for an answer before launching into a story about how she had white knuckled an invite to the Wildcats post game celebration at the local pizza place.
They walked in to find the place rowdy and filled with their classmates, Sharpay barked an order to Ryan before stalking off to claim a place in what she considered the best spot. Ryan got in line behind none other than the subject of his earlier minor realisation. Chad must have seen him in his periphery because next thing Ryan knew Chad had his arm around Ryan.
“Evans! Didn’t think we’d be seeing you at this, our victory party! You ran out of the game pretty quick”
Ryan took a second to process the fact that Chad had noticed him leave before motioning to Sharpay.
“Something about this being a celebration that could solidify her social rank in senior year? I didn’t really follow.”
“Evans, my man, did you just snark about your sister? God damn” Chad was Grinning again. This was becoming a problem.
“It has been known to happen.” Ryan gave Chad a mischievous smirk and a shrug. Chad seemed to stumble for a second before asking
“So what’s with the silver hat today?” Ryan, for what felt like the fiftieth time was completely befuddled by this question.
“I’m only asking because, you normally wear the blue, but you know you have to wear the silver one for the rest of the season, right? For luck?” Ryan immediately wanted to ask how Chad knew he normally wore the blue hat to games, but they were interrupted by the cashier calling Chad up.
Ryan looked over to where Sharpay was sitting and realised his sister had predictably left no room for him where she had wedged herself between a player he couldn’t name, and Zeke of all people, Troy Bolton was nowhere to be found in her vicinity, which was interesting.
Chad finished up ordering and turned to Ryan
“We’re over here” and nodded in the direction of Troy and Gabriella, Ryan wasn’t sure if that was an invitation or just letting him know where they were and that they weren’t at the main table.
Ryan ordered a pepperoni for himself and a salad for Sharpay, convinced she would steal pizza off one of the players surrounding her anyway, and 2 diet cokes. Ryan once again checked if there was any room by his sister (there wasn’t) before dropping her coke off as he passed her and heading for Chad’s booth.
Gabriella saw him first and waved him excitedly over, ushering him in beside Chad who smoothly put his arm around Ryan without breaking his conversation with Troy.
“Carrie was so excited for me man; she came running up after for a hug and I was so pumped I lifted her up into the air” Chad was Grinning again as he told the story. Ryan put two and two together in his head and realised Carrie was the cheerleader soulmate of his friend from dance class.
“That cheerleader wasn’t your girlfriend?” Ryan asked abruptly suddenly aware of three sets of eyes on him very intensely.
“Oh Dear” was Gabby’s response
“Dude, you think Hats has a girlfriend?” Troy responded, his eyes bugging out of his head
“No way man, I’m waiting for my soul mate” Chad responded looking directly at Ryan despite the awkward angle, before glaring at Troy as if begging him to Shut up. Troy looked sheepish.
“Hats?” Ryan responded
“Oh Chad, that’s so sweet!” Gabby cooed
“Hats is just a nickname, coz um my hair is big, so I can’t wear them you know?” Ryan sensed there was something more to it but let it slide because Chad and Troy were both acting very strangely. Luckily Ryan’s pizza and Sharpay’s salad arrived and he used it as a distraction by delivering her salad himself instead of redirecting the waiter.
When he returned to the table, he slid back in to his spot (Chad’s arm noticeably missing from his shoulders) and there had clearly been something said while he was gone. Gabby was the first to break.
“So, Ryan, how many marks do you have?” This was a fairly unremarkable question; it was the closest you could really get to asking about soul mates without being considered rude.
“Just the one” He pointed to his right shoulder flippantly “what about you guys?” referring to Gabby and Troy, who he had long suspected were soul mates.
“We’re both fivers” Five marks meant you were confirmed soul mates, usually having no doubt in the clues as they got more personal with marks four and five.
“Chad has two”
“Three”
“Three?” Troy looked incredulously at Chad; he shrugged
“It came up during the game I think, it’s not like I don’t know who it is”
Three marks usually meant one person knew who their match was, but their match wasn’t quite so clued in, when they both knew and acknowledged it, they would gain a fourth mark.
“You know who your mate is?” Ryan startled himself with such a rude question, Chad looked at him in a way that Ryan would have almost called soft.
“Yeah man, I’ve known my guy since we were twelve.” Ryan’s head spun, he could feel Gabrielle looking at Chad with the same shocked face he knew he was, Troy didn’t look even remotely shocked by this revelation. Chad looked incredibly calm for someone who had for all intents and purposes just come out to a stranger. Chad sensed Ryan’s discomfort and gave him the Grin again while putting his arm back around Ryan’s shoulder (why did Ryan like that so much?).
“Doesn’t matter for now though Evans, got to wait on him to realise now huh? Who would have thought my dumb ass would get to three before him?”
Troy and Gabriella laughed and to thankfully for Ryan the conversation went back to normal high school banter and away from soul marks.
Ryan was having fun laughing and joking with Chad and co, when Sharpay marched up to the table insisting that they leave now. Ryan looked over and noticed that most of Sharpay’s table had dispersed at some point.
“I can drive you home later if you want?” Chad offered to Ryan, in his ear so that Sharpay couldn’t hear. Ryan shivered and checked his phone for the time, it was after eleven. Ryan reluctantly made his curfew excuses and stood up to follow his sister. Chad grabbed Ryan’s phone and quickly punched his number into it.
“That’s my number, if you ever need a ride” Chad winked and then Grinned and really Ryan was crazy gone on that Grin already, it was ridiculous.
Ryan just nodded silently and waved goodbye, following Sharpay to the car before she took off without him.
As Ryan sat in the car trying hard not to pay attention to Sharpay’s slightly reckless driving on the hilly roads that lead to their house he considered Chad’s number and thought it was weird for him to have Chad’s without it being reciprocal. He sent a quick text saying
Hey, this is Ryan, I also have a car, so if YOU ever need a ride… I can also be of use
He pressed send and then immediately cringed and put his phone away. It buzzed almost instantaneously.
Hey Ryan! Yes, I’ve seen your car, I will admit it made me drool a little bit when I saw you in it. What are the chances of you letting me drive it?
Haha, my dad gave me a very strict talking to when he gave me that car, he said not even my soul mate was allowed to drive it, even if they were a professional NASCAR driver.
Damn, clearly, I’ve got some sweet talking to do, is your sister allowed to drive it?
You are kidding, Sharpay has the lowest end car Dad could buy her without a hissy fit, she is the worst driver.
“Who are you texting?” Sharpay asked nosily, attempting to read his phone while he was driving
“Kelsi” Ryan replied quickly, shutting his phone.
“Oh? Did you tell her I cleverly crafted you sitting next to none other than Chad Danforth?”
“What by ditching me for Zeke?” Sharpay huffed
“I didn’t ditch you! It was all part of a cleverly crafted plan!”
“To find out if Zeke is your soul mate!” Sharpay spluttered
“No! I clearly know my soul mate is Troy I just…”
“Troy is five mark mated to Gabby”
“WHAT”
“Yeah they told me tonight, they both have 5, and Chad has 3”
“Chad has 3? So, he knows his soul mate, but they don’t know him?”
“Yeah I guess so.”
“And he sat with you all night?”
“I sat with them.”
“He had his arm around you.”
“He was just being comfortable.” Sharpay was giving him her patented ‘I was born 11 minutes earlier and I know things you don’t because of it’ look. Ryan rolled his eyes, glad to see their gate out the window.
Finally, in his room and out of sight of Sharpay’s prying eyes Ryan pulled his phone out to check his phone which had been buzzing incessantly.
C: Oh wow, two sister disses in one night, Ryan My man you are full of surprises
C: Oh man, why did you leave me with these two, they are so couplely but won’t let ME leave
C: I didn’t offend you about your sister, did I? Shit, sorry man.
R: Haha, no don’t worry, I’m aware my sister is a lot, also aren’t they your friends? Just leave lol
C: Seriously man, it was good to hang with you tonight, I never see you at events
R: Yeah well Sharpay has her eye on Zeke, so Basketball is king right now
C: You mean Basketball wasn’t always King? ;)
C: Gotta drive home, I can talk on Bluetooth tho?
Ryan waited all of 30 seconds before some bizarre courage took hold and he pressed call on Chad’s contact.
“Ryan? Hey man! I wasn’t expecting you to call!”
“Oh? I can go if you…”
“Nah man its cool you called! So, what’s up?”
“Nothing much, just got home, do you have a long drive?”
“About 10 minutes”
Ryan put Chad on speaker while he put his Bluetooth headset in and then proceeded to get changed.
“Oh, that’s cool then.”
“Yeah”
As Ryan took off his Jacket and shirt, he did his normal cursory glance in the mirror to check for new marks (There was an 80% chance that the first three marks would be on the upper half of your body)
“Oh my god.”
“Ryan? Are you okay?” Chad sounded worried.
At some point today Ryan had gotten a new mark, a second mark, the mark that is supposed to help you solidify a crush you most likely already have. There in grey silver letters, the same awkward writing as his first mark was the word ride.
“yeah, I just um... I have two now…” Ryan said, staring at it in wonder.
“You got your second mark? What does it say?” Chad exclaimed excitedly before correcting himself “I mean, like, you don’t have to tell me obviously, sorry I got excited... for you. But does it like… does it help? Do you know?”
“Did you know yours? From your second?” Ryan replies.
“Dude, I knew way before my second. Troy used to try and talk me out of it just in case you know? But I always knew that he was My Guy.”
“How come you haven’t told him?”
“He hasn’t really spoken to me in a year or so actually”
“But something must have happened to trigger your third at the game, right?”
“Uh…yeah”
“Sorry, all the mark talks tonight, I’m being super rude”
“No Ryan, it’s fine, it’s just not a phone convo? You know” Ryan understood, marks were a heavy topic, however he really wanted to know what Chad’s Marks said all of a sudden, he’d never offered anyone a ride in his car before, that couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Uh, I’m home now and I gotta sneak in..”
“Okay, I’ll see you Monday!” Ryan hung up the phone quickly, not waiting for Chad’s response.
Ryan spent Saturday morning going over every aspect of Friday night. He thought about including Sharpay in his deductions, but she was busy rehearsing something he could not be bothered being roped into yet. So, he started to piece it all together himself.
He hasn’t spoken to me in a year or so actually. When WAS the last time Ryan had spoken to Chad Danforth before that Pizza line? He couldn’t actually remember.
It came up during the game I think, it’s not like I don’t know who it is. This was the first game of the season that Ryan and Sharpay hadn’t worn Red for the wildcats, Ryan opting for a more stylish silver. But an outfit change couldn’t trigger a mark, surely.
Yeah man, I’ve known my guy since we were twelve. Ryan had met Chad at Baseball camp when they were twelve, he remembered they had a distinct conversation about how upset Ryan had been to only be able to bring 4 hats. To which Chad had replied “Dude, you got to show me this hat collection one day.”. Ryan remembered this because one of his Hats had gone missing on his way home from camp.
Which is why Ryan couldn’t let Troy calling Chad “Hats” slide. It was too coincidental.
Ryan decided to take a risk and send a picture of his hat collection to Chad. If they weren’t soul mates at least he hoped he would still appreciate it.
PIC + Thought I’d show you the collection, although I will admit it’s a bit bigger than when I was twelve.
A few long minutes passed, then Ryan felt his phone vibrate with a call, it was Chad.
“Chad? Hey, did you hate them that much you have to tell me to never text you again?” Ryan asked half joking, half serious. Chad seemed caught off guard.
“What, no I love them, I always have. Troy shut up” There was a sound like chad getting up and closing a door behind him, Troy sounded like he was giggling in the background.
“Sorry, Troy is a pest. I um. I called to ask for that ride? If you’re not busy that is...”
“Uh, sure? Now? What’s your address?”
“Uh, yeah, maybe we could see a movie or something, I don’t know, might be fun.” Was Chad, asking him out?
“Sure, I gotta pick a hat though.” Chad laughed at this and Ryan swooned a little bit at being able to make him do that.
“The purple one with the pink flowers, I’ll text you my address!” Chad hung up and it took Ryan a second to realise that the hat Chad had mentioned wasn’t in the collection photo he had sent, which means Chad knew the hat already. Ryan got changed quickly, and somehow wasn’t at all surprised to find Collection written on his collarbone.
Ryan was getting increasingly nervous as he pulled into Chad’s street sliding his Porsche smoothly into a spot in front of number 21. Ryan smirked a little as a man mowing his lawns stopped to check out his car. He knew it was gorgeous, but there was a reason he usually let Sharpay drive, people loved to fawn over his car, and it could get irritating.
Ryan hopped out of the car and leaned against it, willing his body to look chic and effortless while he waited for Chad, who came barrelling out the door seconds later only to stop upon seeing Ryan and was that appreciation for Ryan or the car in his eyes?
“Am I in a wet dream right now?” Chad said as he approached and Ryan almost choked, if he thought Chad had been flirting last night, this was next level. But then, Chad bypassed Ryan to stroke his car and Ryan breathed deep, reminding himself to recover and be cool.
“I mean, not right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun.” It was Chad’s turn to choke, he turned to Ryan wide eyed and red cheeked, a mischievous grin took his face and then was gone quickly… No no no Ryan quickly scampered to try and figure out what he’d done wrong. Then he realised. Chad had known for years, Chad had been waiting for years, Chad had probably been holding his tongue around Ryan for years. God damn it, Ryan was an idiot. Oh no, here comes that bravery again.
“So, I have three now.” That was all Ryan needed to say. Chad’s eyes went from confused to happy before Chad’s lips were kissing his, softly at first then hard, and their hands were awkward as they found the right places to settle and it was perfect.
“Can I see them?” Ryan nodded and laughed joyously as Chad dragged him inside where Chad showed him his marks, lined neatly above his abs.
1. Hats
2. Dance
3. Silver
Ryan kissed each one and showed Chad his, Chad laughed when he saw Collection.
“I have a confession. I sort of have one of your hats, from Camp.”
“What?” Chad jumped up and grabbed the hat from the top of his wardrobe. It was smaller than Ryan remembered and wouldn’t fit now.
“I didn’t know that we were going to the same high school, and I was so obsessed with you and my mark was Hats. I knew it was you, I wanted a reminder until we were reunited”
“When did you get Dance?”
“When you and Sharpay did that musical in Sophomore year, you had a dance solo in it. I remember just watching you and thinking holy shit, no one can dance like that. When I got home that night, there it was. Two full years later you finally come to my game in a silver hat. We did so well, but I’m always thinking about you, and I thought I wonder if Ryan’s silver hat was lucky? And then in the locker room I look and silver is there. I said, I’m gonna talk to him, next time I see him. Then suddenly there you were.”
“So, wait, does Troy know?”
“Dude, everyone knows, I’ve been obsessed with you since Camp but pretty openly obsessed with you since Dance. Honestly Troy thinks it’s hilarious. Told me to ask you what took you so damn long when you finally got it.”
“You never grinned before.”
“What?”
“You smile, you laugh, but last night during the game when you were hugging the cheerleader, I finally saw you grin, like the cheesiest happiest grin I’d ever seen.”
“Oh my god. Dude, that’s YOUR grin. Troy always makes fun of me for it, calls me dopey. I was telling Carrie that I got my third and I was gonna go for it.” Ryan punches his arm
“Then it’s your fault!” He waves at his mark incessantly “how was I supposed to know about the grin if you never showed me?” Chad sits on the bed next to him and turns on the cheesiest grin Ryan has ever seen. Ryan can’t help but laugh.
“God, you’re pretty” Chad says, suddenly serious, and Ryan’s laugh catches in his throat. They stare at each other for a moment before a mischievous smirk comes across Chad’s face.
“So… can I drive your Porsche?”
“Not a chance, Hats.”