Work Text:
August 28th
"Coach?" Chad stood awkwardly in the doorway, still dressed in his uniform. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Sure, Chad." Coach Bolton gestured toward a chair, but Chad didn't take it.
"I just …" Chad rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "I wanted to let you know that there might be a problem with me in locker room this season." He licked his lips nervously. "I'm kind of dating a guy, and I don't want to freak anybody out."
Coach Bolton snorted and shook his head. "Nice," he said. Really, it was much more creative than most of the excuses he'd gotten so far. Chad blinked at him as he shook his head and went on, "I don't care how smelly Jesus' locker is when he keeps all his socks in it, and I don't care if Elliot clips his toenails in the shower. You use the same locker room as everyone else."
"But, Coach. I -"
"Suck it up," Coach Bolton told him. "Be a man and take a shower with your team." Chad stared at him, but Coach Bolton just shooed him out the door.
He chuckled as Chad left. Kids these days.
***
October 11th
Taylor nearly crashed into Chad and Ryan on her way to English. It wasn't unusual for her to be so busy checking her notes as she walked that she bumped into someone, but it was like they were blocking her path, waiting for her.
"Taylor!" Ryan exclaimed. She could actually hear the exclamation point. She didn't know how he managed to maintain this level of perkiness without collapsing into his spaghetti at lunch.
"Hey, Ryan. Chad. I'm going to be late for class, so I'll talk to you later." She moved to step around them, but Ryan moved with her.
"We just wanted to say something." Ryan flicked a glance up at Chad and said, "We're dating. We wanted to tell you, because your friendship and acceptance mean a lot to us."
Taylor grinned. "That's great!" Now she was talking in exclamation points, but she didn't care. "That's a much better act than Sharpay singing 'If You Were Gay.' Just let Kelsi know when you want to go on."
She shoved a flyer for the National Coming Out Day assembly into Ryan's hands, gave Chad a pat on the cheek, and hurried off.
She really was going to be late.
***
December 20th
"Dude," Troy laughed. "You're all red and," he waved his hands around his head in illustration, "messy. You must be having a good party."
Chad gave him a slow grin, like he used to do when they were kids and he'd managed to steal a whole bag of Oreos to hide in the treehouse. "I was just kissing Ryan," he said, and Troy laughed again.
"Oh, man. The decorating committee went wild with the mistletoe, didn't they?"
Chad's forehead wrinkled. "I was just out in the hallway kissing Ryan Evans," he said, speaking slowly and clearly. Troy wondered if someone had spiked the punch, because Chad sounded like people did when they were pretending to be sober.
Troy clapped Chad on the shoulder. "Yeah, those decorating girls are like kissing Nazis. They caught Zeke and Jason under some earlier, and they refused to let them leave until they'd kissed." He actually didn't know how they were getting away with enforced making out at a school sponsored event, but whatever.
Speaking of mistletoe, Troy spotted Gabriella a few feet away. "Later," he said. Chad nodded, but he looked kind of wobbly.
Troy made a mental note to check out the punch.
***
February 13th
"You are so lucky," Zeke said, glaring across the table at Chad and Ryan with all the venom he could muster. Which wasn't much, he knew. Zeke needed to work on his fierceness.
Ryan nodded seriously. "We are," he agreed. "Why specifically are we lucky?"
"It's Valentine's Day," Troy explained, dropping onto the seat next to Zeke. "The pressure is crazy." He rolled his eyes. "You don't just have to make your girlfriend happy; you have to do something so awesome that it impresses all her friends. Girls talk."
Zeke slumped so his chin rested on his hands. "You guys are so lucky to be single."
Chad and Ryan, who'd been smirking at Zeke and Troy, suddenly frowned at each other. "We're not single," Ryan said. "We're with each other."
"That would be great," Zeke said dreamily. "No flowers, no candy, no giant stuffed animals. Just hanging out with a buddy and laughing at all the jerks with girlfriends."
Troy bumped Zeke's shoulder. "Hey. Next year, you wanna be my Valentine?"
"I'm so there," Zeke promised. He sighed. "But this year I need to do something great for Sharpay." He glowered at Chad and Ryan. Single bastards.
"You're so lucky."
***
April 1st
Gabriella was giggling as she stepped up beside Chad on the way into homeroom. Chad grinned down at her. "You're in a good mood," he said.
"I was just talking to Kaitlyn," she said, tilting her head back so she could look up at him. "She thinks you're cuuute." She singsonged the last word.
Chad's eyes darted around the room. "Kaitlyn?" he asked in a loud whisper.
Gabriella nodded. "You should ask her out," she said. She put a hand on his arm. "Everyone should have a high school romance." She shot a glowing smile in Troy's direction and felt a surge of warmth when he beamed back.
"I have a high school romance. With Ryan."
Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "That Ryan? Over there?" she demanded, waving in the direction of the argyle baseball cap a few desks over. Chad followed her gesture with his eyes and smiled.
"Yeah, that Ryan."
Gabriella set her books down. "I may be trusting, but I'm not gullible," she said. She cocked her head. "From Troy's stories, I expected more from you than a bad joke."
Chad looked confused and maybe hurt, so Gabriella patted his hand.
"It's not that bad. Happy April Fools."
***
May 9th
"I can't believe you're wearing that," Chad said.
"Whatever. You just wish you could pull this off." Ryan did a spin that made the tails on his jacket flair. "I look fabulous." Much as he hated to admit it, Chad couldn't argue. He nodded dumbly as Ryan struck a pose. The tux might be a little over the top, but the cut of it made Ryan's shoulders look broader and his waist look narrower (which shouldn't have been possible, because Ryan was one skinny dude).
It was more than the outfit, though, that stole Chad's breath. Ryan's face was bright with happiness, like there was a spotlight on him everywhere he went. Whenever he looked at Chad or ran a hand over his boutonniere (which was the exact shade of burgundy as his tie, even though it had taken Chad four florists to find it), he seemed to light up even more.
Chad didn't know what was showing in his eyes, but whatever it was made Ryan duck his head and adjust his top hat. "You look pretty fabulous, too," he said.
Chad's tux didn't have tails, but he spun for Ryan anyway, drinking in the admiration in his gaze. When he stopped, he said, "We gonna do this?"
"Yeah, we are," Ryan said firmly. He took hold of Chad's hand and led him through the double doors into the auditorium. The room was decked out in streamers and glitter, and it was full of their classmates, all dressed up in satin dresses and black ties. All of whom turned to look at them as they walked in. Ryan clutched Chad's hand a little tighter, but he stood proud, looking elegant in his tux and top hat.
Chad felt kind of proud himself, just being there with him. He drew Ryan closer and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. He knew people were watching, but he wasn't showing off for them. He just … really needed to kiss Ryan sometimes.
When Chad stepped back, Ryan's personal spotlight seemed to be on high. He let out a breath that sounded like a laugh.
"Well," he said, rearranging his fingers around Chad's, "here we are at prom. I think we should dance, don't you?"
Chad was tempted to tease and say that he didn't dance, even though he'd gotten over that months ago. Instead he pulled Ryan toward the dance floor.
"I think we should."