Chapter Text
"Troy, how long until we get there?" Asked Chad, all the way from the farthest backseat of their van, pressing his knees to his chest and putting his head between them. Clearly bored and irritated.
"Chad, for the twelfth time, we're almost there." Troy responded slightly annoyed, taking his eyes off the road to look at Chad.
Gabriella, seated next to him, kept her eyes on the road, just in case she had to take control over the wheel.
Ryan's phone started ringing. Chad leaned over his seat to sneak a peek at Ryan’s phone.
He started grinning and nudged Ryan's arm.
"Ryan, you should pick that up! Your mommy's calling!" He mocked. Which made Ryan turn his head around. He was smiling a little.
"Can you not?"
"No. I'm bored."
Their faces were right next to each other.
"Ugh, not now you two." Taylor groaned dramatically, from the same sitting row Ryan was in. She was on her computer, doing some important stuff without headphones on. If you don’t wanna be bothered, bring your damn headphones.
"What now?" Both Chad and Ryan turned to her. Chad rolled his eyes as he leaned back into his seat.
"Good news guys!" Yelled Gabriella in an excited voice from the passenger seat. Her head turned around to face all of her friends.
"We're here!"
"Really, then why are we still moving?"
"It's around the corner, Chad."
After a minute Troy turned off the engine. Leaning his head back so slightly, just so others could hear him.
"We're here everyone!" He yelled happily and placed his hand on Gabriella's for a second, before getting out of the car.
They all stood in front of the wooden cabin surrounded by woods.
"Wow, it’s pretty cool here." Said Ryan while sharing a glance at Gabriella, who smiled at him in return.
"Really? Not too boring and dirty for your taste, Evans?" Remarked Chad with a slight tug on his right lip, keeping his eyes steady on the cabin.
Gabriella and Ryan sighed simultaneously and shared another look.
Taylor bumped her fist against Chad's shoulder.
"Hey! What was that for?" He yelped just so Taylor could hear. She rolled her eyes at him and started walking towards the cabin door.
Taylor caught up to Gabriella, who was already standing in front of the cabin door "So Gabriella, do you have the key with you?"
"No, my uncle usually keeps it under the mat." She pointed at the mat that read 'welcome home!".
Taylor squatted down and reached for the mat with her right hand. A second later she turned back to face the others and proudly showed them the key in her hand before standing back up and unlocking the door.
Everyone came closer to the door. Taylor turned the handle and opened the door.
An old wooden smell was the first thing noticeable. It felt warm and, well, like a cabin in the woods.
"This place looks great." Said Troy as he shooed away some dust that was floating in the air.
"Yeah, me and my family used to go here all the time. It's a great vacation spot."
"Sounds good. So, where are our rooms?" Asked Chad.
"Hey uh me and Ryan are gonna get our stuff out of the truck." Troy said, giving a look to Ryan to signal that they should go. Gabriella smiled and nodded in his direction, before turning her attention back to Chad.
"Yes about that. There are two rooms with two queen beds and one room with a twin sided bed."
"I wa-" started off Chad before Taylor, who was standing next to the kitchen counter, checking everything out, interrupted him.
"I'm taking the twin sided bed. There's no way I'm risking sleeping next to someone who snores" she looked at Chad. "Or someone who counts sheep out loud to fall asleep." She looked at Gabriella.
Chad just furrowed his eyebrows, while Gabriella focused her gaze on the floor.
"Okay..." Started Chad. "But how are we gonna divide the rooms then?"
"I thought Troy and I would sleep together."
"Oh so that leaves me with..." Both Gabriella and Chad looked outside at Ryan who was taking one bag off of Troy's shoulders.
"Ryan." He looked at Gabriella, ironically impressed by how she divided the rooms.
"I thought you and Ryan-"
"Did I hear my name?"
Troy and Ryan came back in through the door with heavy bags on their shoulders, carefully placing them inside.
"Yes. We are just talking about how we should divide the rooms."
"Well how many rooms do we have?" Asked Troy.
"We have three. Two with one lounge bed, and one with a twin sided bed. But Taylor already called dibs on the room with the one sided bed."
"Oh okay." Ryan said, smiling. "That's fine I can just sleep on the couch if necessary."
"Actually..." Said Gabriella, tearing her eyes away from Ryan to look at the couch.
"It's...not really in a good shape. I was left to sleep on it once, and every time you move it screechs, like a door!"
She made a displeased, almost disgusted, face, replaying the night in her mind.
"It's also half broken. That part" she pointed her finger at the lower part of the couch. "That part has broken all the things that are keeping the couch together." She looked around at everyone. "So warning! No one sit there."
"How does that even work?" Asked Taylor from the kitchen. "We basically stuffed the lower part with cardboard so it would look normal. Not very comfortable."
"My point is" she turned to face Ryan "I love you Ryan, so as your friend. I'm not letting you sleep there. You're not gonna get any sleep!" Said Gabriella defensively even though no one was arguing with her.
"Alright. So I can just...sleep on a mattress."
"There are none."
Silence filled the room once more. Ryan's and Chad's eyes met. Chad lingered on the eye contact for a little before finally breaking it and breaking the silence.
"It's okay, we can share a bed. No big deal, right?"
"Yeah it's fine, obviously." Despite what he was saying Ryan’s smile looked like it hid something deeper behind it.
...
"I'm going to settle in my room," said Gabriella. Breaking the awkward tension that has filled the room. She took hers and Troy's bags and started walking towards the hallway.
"Our room." Troy speed walked behind her and took his bag from her shoulders.
"Guys, the rooms are in this hallway. Taylor, yours is right at the end. Chad and Ryan, yours is right next to mine and Troy's."
After about an hour or so everyone was settled in their rooms already.
*Chad and Ryan's room*
"This place is pretty nice. We have a nice bed and the details are amazing." Said Ryan while holding a small train that was a part of the big toy train station that they had all around their room, placed practically on the shelves and around their bed frame.
"Yeah, I have to admit that the train stuff is pretty cool." He said while walking to stand next to Ryan. Once Chad was close enough he took the train out of Ryan's hands. Ryan let him, he instead just went to lay on their bed.
"I mean how did they even put it on the bed frame. It's awesome." Exclaimed Chad enthusiastically. More entertained than he should've been for almost an adult. He squatted down next to the bed frame, on the side Ryan was laying on. He was looking closely at the train tracks. "So awesome." He whispered. He was talking to himself but since him and Ryan were so close, there was no doubt Ryan heard it.
"You seem very happy about this. Is someone here perhaps a train enthusiast?"
"What pfft" Chad scoffed. He stood up.
"I mean real trains are cool. Their models and stuff are cool. But these little train toys? No. You have the wrong idea man."
"Right of course," said Ryan leaning on his right arm that was now supporting his weight. Chad stood with arms crossed and slightly furrowed eyebrows.
"...I don't believe a word you just said but sure" continued Ryan.
"I'm not that childish, come on."
"Sure you're not"
"You're the childish one."
"You fight like a kid." Ryan giggled because really? What are they twelve? To say 'no you are!'
"Well I could beat you in a fight"
"Like a fist fight?"
"Sure, every sort of fight"
"Dude you're impossible." Said Ryan, fully changing his position to sitting. Chad standing in front of him. Causing Ryan to look up.
"You know I'm right. " said Chad with a pointed finger at Ryan.
"I'm not dou-" Ryan started talking and his hands were also. He swayed them around in the air as he talked. Chad suddenly gripped each of his hands with his own. Stopping Ryan suddenly.
Ryan looked shocked at the sudden action. He was shocked for a few seconds, even while finishing his sentence "... doubting you."
"...uh and! Now you can’t use your hands even if you tried and I could beat you up if I wanted to." He said in one breath before letting go of Ryan's hands.
"But I won't because I'm nice and I'm a good person and I don't beat people up." He said in a hurry. But the tension was still there.
"As I said...I'm not doubting you." Ryan said as he rubbed his wrist. "You're right, your grip is really strong" Chad went to the other side of the bed and grinned proudly.
"Yeah I know"
"I maybe wouldn't be able to get myself out if I tried." Ryan smirked.
"You didn't even try?!"
*Troy's and Gabriella's room*
"It's really nice here!" Said Troy. Both of them were laying on the bed, resting after they successfully unpacked everything.
"It is. I used to love it here when I was a child. Now I love it here mainly because of the memories." A small smile appeared on the edges of her mouth, looking around the small but cozy room.
"It must have been fun." He started to look around also. "Growing up here."
"It was." She chuckled. It fell quiet for a bit.
"I hope you guys will like it here." She finally looked over at Troy. Who immediately did the same.
"Don't worry I like it here already." He said, reaching for a plush toy that was laying between them.
"I like Mr. Teddy over here." Gabriella giggled and snapped Mr teddy out of Troy's hands.
"You can't be mean to him. He may be a little rusty-"
"And stained" interrupted Troy.
"- But! He's a part of the family."
They both talked for a while. Gabriella shared a few memories of her and her cousins doing numerous things at this cabin in this specific room.
"...but then! He went into the room next to ours, aka Chad's and Ryan's room, to hide away from our uncle!"
Troy was laughing in shock.
"Wow you guys! I and Mr Teddy are so disappointed in you!"
They were both laughing now. When suddenly Gabriella mummered something to herself.
"Chad's and Ryan's…"
"What?"
"Oh sorry." She looked at him, her sweet smile returning for a split second.
"Do you think they're mad at me?"
"Who? Ryan and Chad?"
"Yeah...I mean, Chad seemed rather disappointed. And Ryan didn't look very happy either."
Troy just stared and listened to her.
"We could've divided it differently. But I thought him and Ryan were cool! Actually, I thought they were more than cool! They flirt like all the time and-"
"They do?" Jumped Troy in quietly, Gabriella gave it no attention, it was more of a realization for Troy than it was a question.
"And I thought this would be a good opportunity for them! But I'm scared I just messed it up between them."
"Gabriella...So Chad and Ryan like, like each other?!"
"Yes obviously!"
"Oh my god, how did I not notice before?" He leaned back and put his hand in his face in disappointment.
Troy sighed but sat up straight again.
"Gabriella. You have nothing to worry about. This is a great opportunity for them!"
"It is?"
"Yes, just like you thought! If they actually like each other this could be it!"
"It?"
"The shared bed and everything is a great opportunity in itself....but we can take it further and wingman them."
"Troy, this doesn't sound like you, I'm getting worried."
"No it's just...Chad hasn't been in a relationship for so long and I just want him to be happy. Oh my god, seriously Ryan? I didn't even know he was gay"
"Troy.."