A/N: Wow...the first chapter of my first fanfic…This feels kind of special. Anyway, seeing as it's my first try, please excuse any errors I may make. I hope you all like it, and I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed it, seeing as I would like to know how I could make my writing better. Anyways, enjoy!

Standard Disclaimer: High School Musical and its characters belong to Disney. I do not own them, nor am I making any profit from this story. I am merely writing for my enjoyment.

I Should Tell You…

Chapter One

Chad Danforth grinned widely as he and his teammates left the gym, hurrying off to the locker rooms to go change. He caught up with his best friend, Troy Bolton, who was at the head of the charging mob of basketball players rushing off to the showers. "Good game, Troy." He said as he nudged his best friend playfully in the ribs.

"Right back at you, Chad." Troy grinned back, and shook his head of exquisite hair. He was as sweaty as Chad was from the practice; Coach did not go easy on him, even though he WAS his father. Troy earned his position as Captain of the basketball team through his own hard work. Basketball was always first on Troy's mind, except for Gabriella, and occasionally the musical that he happened to be in.

Chad really didn't understand Troy's newfound talent in show business. Sure, his friend was an excellent singer and he did love performing with his girlfriend Gabriella, and sure, Chad supported his best friend, just because he knew Troy needed his friends support and as long as it didn't affect Troy's basketball skills, Chad was fine with it. He just didn't understand it. And the last thing Chad needed was for Troy to turn in an Evans, which he almost did last summer.

Be fair. Chad mentally admonished himself. I mean, Troy did apologize to all of us for being such a jerk, and he did make it up to us later. And still…being an Evans doesn't exactly make you a terrible person. I mean, Ryan Evans turned out to be a cool person, didn't he? You never knew he could play baseball like that…or that his dancing wasn't totally geeky…I mean, when he danced he was almost…Sexy.

Chad gasped in horror, did he really just think that to himself? Was he mad? He wasn't even gay in the first place, he had a girlfriend, didn't he? And Taylor was smart, pretty, and in her own way, very attractive. And he certainly didn't have any thoughts about guys in that way. And even if he was gay, he certainly wouldn't go for the Drama King, Ryan Evans. They barely knew each other. Chad had gotten pretty close to Ryan over the summer, but once school started, everything pretty much went back to normal. Except for minor things, like Troy singing and Zeke baking, the cliques still stuck together. Chad sat with the jocks at lunch, Ryan sat with Sharpay on the top level of the cafeteria, looking down on the rest of the school with the drama nerds. They barely talked anymore, except for brief acknowledgement in the hallways. Chad sometimes felt a twinge of regret for the loss of what could have been a great friendship, but he didn't dwell on it too often. So why these thoughts now?

Troy looked at his best friend, an odd look in his beautiful blue eyes. "Um..Chad, did you just gasp? You alright dude?" He asked worriedly, wondering if Chad was sick, or just overexerted from the practice they had just had. A big game was coming up next week, so the Coach was pushing them all a little hard, but perhaps Chad hadn't been feeling that well in the first place.

"Huh? Did I?" Chad asked, looking a bit distant. "Nah, I'm fine Troy. Just a bit tired that's all. And I remembered I have a ton of homework when I get home that I need to work on." He muttered half heartedly.

Troy almost laughed, but stopped himself in time. He did let out a soft chuckle, however. "You? Worried about homework? Since when?" He joked. "I thought the famous Chad Danforth had been behind on his homework since preschool. So why the sudden worry?" He asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Chad let out a laugh as well, though it sounded a bit forced. "Uh, yea…But still…I mean, it isn't that good to be so behind in class, is it? I still need to go to college, and I won't get a scholarship with my grades, even if I do play basketball really well. I think I'm just going to go home, ok?"

Now Troy was worried. Chad never went home directly after a game, unless it was a matter of life or death. And homework to Chad was never a matter of life or death. To him it was just a brief annoyance that needed to be procrastinated as long as was possible. He always went back to the lockers and channeled the team spirit until they were all shouting, "What team? WILDCATS!". Chad was the life and spirit of the team. So why was he heading home without saying goodbye to the team? Troy frowned as he watched his friend walk away. What is up with him? Troy wondered, resuming his walk to the boys' showers.

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Ryan Evans rolled his eyes as his sister made them practice the song for their audition once again. This had to be the fifth time today they were rehearsing it. And the audition wasn't for another week. Sure, Sharpay Evans may have gotten a bit nicer after the summer, after Troy quit her talent show because she had been mistreating his friends. From then on, she had tried to think about others before herself, but old habits died hard, and for all her attempts, she still came off as selfish and conceited. And she still liked winning, which is why she was not going to let Gabriella upstage her in this musical.

"Ryan!" She snapped angrily, her blood heating up as her competitive streak all Evans seemed to possess flared, "That kind of thinking was what lost us the lead in the Winter Musicale last year. I will not accept losing the lead to that Einsteinette again. Now come on." She tossed her mane of blonde hair and got into the beginning position of their number.

"I'm tired Shar." He said in what he hoped was a bored voice. He was tired, but that wasn't the real reason he didn't feel like dancing. The real reason was that he was feeling a bit down this week. Even though it had been almost a whole school year ago, he couldn't help missing his friendship with Chad Danforth. They had barely seen each other the whole school year. Ryan supposed this was partly his fault, he had separated himself by sitting at the Drama table again, but he couldn't find the courage to sit with the jocks. He had hoped that the jocks would invite him to sit with them, but they never did, and eventually Ryan gave up hoping.

The truth was, Ryan was in love with Chad. He had never really felt anything but contempt for the jock until last summer, when the baseball game happened. Chad had given him a chance, and agreed to let Ryan teach him to dance. Ryan could feel sparks fly between them during the game, and it thrilled him. He felt accepted…he felt part of a team for once. He had never felt that before. Afterwards, when Chad insisted they switch hats and shirts, Ryan had fallen for the boy hard, seeing what a kind, caring, enthusiastic boy lay under the tough exterior. They had gotten so close…but when the summer ended, so did their friendship.

Sharpay glared at her brother, then seeing his expression, her gaze softened. "You're thinking about Chad, aren't you?" She asked gently. Ryan had only come out to her and their parents, and the whole family was fine with it. He hadn't officially come out to the whole school yet, but it was widely assumed Ryan Evans was gay. He was in theater, he wore a lot of pink, he coordinated his outfit, and he always wore those hats. Your stereotypical homosexual.

Ryan nodded sadly, his face taking on a sour expression. "Look Shar. I really don't feel like rehearsing anymore. Can we please just stop now? I really want to get some alone time and think about things." He sighed forlornly. He really missed all the Wildcats, not just Chad, though he did miss Chad the most. But he missed Gabriella and Taylor, who had taken him in and made him their friend after Sharpay had ditched him for Troy.

"Well…alright Ry. If that's what you want." Sharpay added softly, knowing how her brother was hurting right now. She had felt like that when she was crushing on Troy, but it had to be worse for Ryan, seeing as it seemed how he had absolutely no chance with Chad. Chad wasn't even gay, and if he was, he did a great job hiding it. "Just..try not to dwell on it too much, alright?" And with that, she bounced out of the room.

Ryan sighed and leaned back on his chair, brushing his blonde hair behind his ear as he stared at the ceiling. Why did things have to turn out this way? I'm beginning to wish I had never gone to that staff baseball game.