The Accompanist
By aussiesheila47
Summary: Kelsi watches Ryan demonstrate swing-dancing to the Wildcats, and wonders. A missing-moment rehearsal scene from HSM2.
I never knew the art of making love
Though my heart aches with love for you
Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by
A chance that you might love me too
Michael Buble - 'You Don't Know Me'
Her fingers fly over the keys, tinkling the ivories (and the ebonies too). She knows this piece off by heart, has played it so often that her fingers know instinctively where to go. It's why she can look up, over the belly of the baby-grand, and, like everyone else in the room, watch the two dancers in the middle of the floor.
Ryan Evans is showing the group some new steps, with the help of Martha. Kelsi's world has imploded, she thinks. Ryan is supposed to stay with Sharpay, is supposed to keep the Drama Club part of her life separate from what she does with Gabriella and Tr-
No. Not Troy. Not this time.
Ryan is very good at his dancing. Kelsi can't see his feet directly; the piano is in the way - but she can see him twirl Martha around on the pale parquetry, their faces alight with glee and exhileration from the exercise. The moment is ruined, though, when someone's cell-phone starts to beep, alerting its owner to an incoming text-message.
"Sorry," says Taylor, flying to her bag to retrieve the device.
Kelsi catches sight of the clock, and strikes half-a-dozen false notes in a row before her fingers stop. "Guys, I'm sorry; I have to go play in the dining room now. I mean, my shift starts in, like, five minutes and I have to get changed -" By now she has jumped off the piano stool and raced over to her bag, sitting right next to Ryan's. "- but we'll all be here again, this time tomorrow, right?"
"Right," say the Wildcats, not quite in unison.
"See you then," said Ryan, waving her off as she flees.
She concentrates on getting dressed in the locker-room, and then on the notes she plays in the dining room, but when Ryan walks in, she switches to a piece she could play in her sleep, and allows her thoughts to wander. What if it was her that he would dance with?
Nah, it'll never happen. Not as long as Kelsi's stuck behind the piano. He'll never notice the accompanist.
A.N: I wrote this a while back and completely forgot about it, until my laptop died and I was checking the files I had backed up for my major Harry Potter projects, so it was a pleasant surprise to find this again. Reviews are always appreciated.