In response to the Rylor challenge that Danny Phantom SG-1 and I thought up. Well, no, it was DPSG1's idea really . . .

There aren't enough Rylor's in the FF World. So we thought we'd write a bunch, and who knows, maybe one day, it'll match the massive ranks of Troyella!

(If you want to try the challenge, go to the HSM Forums, or my author page, and look for the Games, Quests and Challenges forum. It's under the Challenge: Rylor topic.)

Disclaimer: You know the drill. HSM belongs to Disney.

She really didn't want to be here.

But Taylor had promised Troy and Gabriella that she'd come with Chad. She couldn't go back on her word. What was the point?

Sharpay was strutting around the auditorium like she owned the place, and didn't say sorry to Taylor when she bumped into her, even though it was her fault.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Taylor explained quickly, "Oh, I'm here with Chad. He's here with Troy, who's here with -"

"Look, just stay out of the way. Okay?" Sharpay snapped, her piercing brown eyes cutting through Taylor soft brown ones. She sauntered onto the stage.

Taylor sighed, and looked around for somewhere to sit. Gabriella said she had needed the bathroom, and Chad and Troy had gone to sit down, but now Troy was on his own.

Taylor huffed, and crossed her arms. They were supposed to be here helping Sharpay and Ryan! She didn't know what for, but she didn't want to hang around for nothing!

"Troy," Taylor called to him, "Where did Chad go?" Troy shrugged.

"To find Gabi, I think." he said. "Sorry Taylor. I don't know where they've got to." Troy made his way onto the stage to help Sharpay anyway.

Taylor's eyes narrowed. What's the point in me being here then? she thought, ultra peeved.

Taylor whipped around, only to blindly smash into someone with piercing eyes.

It was only when she lay sprawled (and very dazed) on the floor that she realised who those eyes belonged to.

She sat up, and gazed at him apprehensively, as he got up. She knew that he was Sharpay Evans' brother, Ryan, but she didn't know much else, so she fiercely hoped he wasn't like his sister.

"Uh . . ." she figured she should say something. "I am . . . so sorry! Yeah, um, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Ryan said quickly, "Oh no, it's all my fault. I should have been paying attention." he held out his hand, and Taylor took it.

"Okay, then. I'll let you take the blame." she joked, and Ryan laughed.

"Nice doing business with you."

"Pleasure." giggled Taylor, when she realised she still hadn't let go of his hand.

She let go, flushing, but couldn't help looking at his blue eyes, which were also slightly grey. They were almost as piercing as Sharpay's, regardless of the colour.

"Your eyes," she murmured. "They're different from -"

"I got my eyes from my Mom. Sharpay got it from my Dad." Ryan stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So tell me. Why would someone like you hang around in the auditorium?"

Taylor hesitated, wondering what to tell him. But curiosity swept thought her, so she told him what she told Sharpay, to see how alike his answer would be.

"Oh, I'm here with Chad, who's here with Troy, who's here with Gabriella, who came to help yourself and Sharpay for something."

"You're here with a lot of people!" Ryan snorted.

"Not really. Only three others."

"Yeah, but when you say it like that, sounds like quite a crew."

Taylor giggled; Ryan was just being overly silly. But she was okay with that. Hanging around with Jocks meant that when they were practicing for a game (which they were constantly doing), the atmosphere was always so serious.

"Who are you here with?" she asked.

"Sharpay. Nothing further said." he grimaced. Taylor genuinely felt sorry for him. Imagine having Sharpay for a sister!

"How come?"

"Barvarde."

"Bar – what?"

Ryan smiled. "Barvarde. It's a Youth Theatre, across the road from Pete's Pizza. You can do acting, singing or dancing club for fun, as well as other things, but you can do proper professional courses as well."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Me and Sharpay are preparing for an acting course. We'll be away all of next week."

"What? The whole week?"

"It's a proper course. You need all the hours of all the days of the whole week."

"That really is hardcore." Taylor gazed at Ryan admiringly, clearly impressed.

He was so dedicated to the Performing Arts, and really perfected his talents. What did Taylor do?

Sums.

How interesting.

"But . . . wouldn't it cost a fortune to go there?" Taylor asked, and Ryan nodded.

"Seems like Sharpay is hell bent on stripping our parents bare, so she can be the most amazing, glorious -"

"RYAN!" Sharpay screamed from the stage. "If you don't get up here right now and stop talking to the Math Girl, I can GUARANTEE that you will FAIL your course!"

"I'm so sorry," Ryan apologised, and Taylor gave a weary smile. "Look, maybe we can -"

"HURRY UP!"

Ryan gave her on more apologetic look, before hurrying up to the stage.

Taylor stared after him.

She really wished that he'd finished that sentence.

…HSM…

Later that day, Friday afternoon, Ryan leaned against his locker, waiting for Sharpay. They were going to practice one last time for their course, but Sharpay was late. She was never one for being punctual anyway.

As Ryan sighed, he heard a familiar voice. "Hey, you."

He turned around, thinking they were talking to him, but it was Gabriella talking to Chad. "Gabi! I thought you were with Troy."

"Oh. Him." Gabriella snorted, and Chad laughed. Ryan watched, anxiously. He shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he couldn't help it.

"Are you going to go and find him?"

"No. Chad, I . . ."

Ryan didn't hear the end of that, because he was already walking away; when Chad mentioned finding Troy, Ryan thought that he should look for his nuisance of a sister that was Sharpay.

As he walked through the Science Block, he noticed how quiet it was; everyone was spending the rest of their Lunch Break elsewhere. Ryan had no idea why he was, ahem, 'looking for Sharpay' in the Science Labs, but he liked the silence.

As he drifted along he went through all the acting techniques he could remember in his head; connecting with the audience, facial expresions, loud and clear voice, body language -

"Dammit!" screamed a lone voice which was accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, making Ryan jump right out of his skin. He hurried to find the source of the noise, to see if they needed help.

"Taylor?" Ryan said tentively, and she looked up at him, flustered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm . . ." Taylor looked down at the glass on the floor. Clear liquids seeped onto the floor, as well as a gooey mixture. "I was just making Nylon. The beaker slipped . . ."

"Don't panic - I'll help." Ryan quickly got a pair of disposable gloves and a dustpan and brush, to help clear up. "Nylon . . . isn't that the stuff you use to make tights?"

Taylor giggled. "Yeah." And she started going on about what you react with what to make it. When she'd finished, Ryan shook his head confidently, and said "Yeah."

Taylor burst out laughing. "Ryan Evans, you're a joker."

"What?"

"Your acting skills are pretty slick, but it was so obvious that you didn't have a clue in hell what I was going on about."

"Oh . . . yeah." Ryan chuckled. Taylor stared at him for quite a while after that. Ryan started getting paranoid.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Ryan joked as lightly he could manage.

Taylor said quickly, "Oh, no! No, I just can't get over your eyes."

Instantly, Taylor mentally kicked herself. Now he would think that she was a weird, psychotic science girl who checked out people's eyes.

"I mean," Taylor tried to correct herself, "It's because they're so different from Sharpay's and -"

"Taylor . . ." Ryan said softly. They both knew that she was just digging herself a deeper hole. "It's okay. I get you."

They finished clearing up in silence.

"I get it from my sister." Taylor thought, but when Ryan looked at her, she realised she'd said it aloud.

"Get what?"

"My sister has a phobia about eyes."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"Apparently, she can only date guys with unusual eyes. Not brown, blue or green, but grey and hazel."

"Really?" said Ryan interestedly. Taylor grinned.

"She also likes guys who have different colour eyes. Like one blue, one brown. And she likes when their eyes colour is mixed, like half green, half brown on each eye."

"So would your sister date me?" Ryan grinned.

"Your eyes are blueish greyish, so yeah. She probably would." Taylor smiled.

I'd date you too . . . cackled a little, mischievous voice in her head, and Taylor was appalled that she would think something like that while she was dating Chad.

She didn't want him to miraculously guess what she was thinking, so she just started babbling, "Uh, well, we'd better – I mean, what's the time?"

"Time to go to class." Ryan smiled, as he checked his phone and exclaimed. "Woah, we must've missed the bell; class started about seven minutes ago!"

"Damn." Taylor stressed, and hurriedly collected her things and stood by the door.

"Hey, if I don't see you again today, then good luck with your course. And, um . . ."

Should she say it or not? Taylor cleared her throat.

"Look, I really liked that -"

"Taylor? Is that you?" came a voice, and Taylor immediately knew who it belonged to. She was already out the door.

Ryan faintly heard her voice, "Chad! What are you doing here? Why aren't you in class?"

"Well . . . I'm looking for you, of course, Tay!"

Ryan frowned. That didn't sound very convincing.

"Aww, my knight in shining armour."

Ryan sighed. Getting up, he left the lab, and right outside the door he spotted a familiar face. "Gabriella? What are you doing here?"

Gabriella whipped around. "Ryan? I could ask you the same question!"

Ryan bit his lip. I was just in an empty classroom with your best friend. Don't worry, we didn't do anything, was the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, you could ask me, but I wouldn't answer." He laughed shiftily, and Gabriella gave her own awkward laugh.

"Yeah, Same here, I guess." Gabriella smiled, and as soon as she drifted away, someone else screamed down the corridor.

"RYAN! I am so gonna kick your ass . . . !"

What now? Ryan swallowed and turned around. "Sharpay . . . ?"

He gave another one of those sighs, but as he followed her to the auditorium, all he could think of was what Taylor had said, or was about to say.

'Look, I really liked that . . .'

He really wished that she'd finished that sentence.

So, what did you think for the first Chappie? Hope you liked it, I had fun writing it. Please review and let me know what you thought!

I don't think his chapter is as good as the second one, but you might think differently, so stick around :)

Star x x x