The Sleepover
Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.
Summary: The gang gets together for a movie night with high expectations. What actually happens, however, is much better.
Author's Note: This one actually started back on Halloween with a mental image that kept running through my head. I returned to it more recently when that image started to have a fuller story, and now it's finally done. I leave for Israel in just three days and won't be able to put anything up between now and August, so I hope you guys like this! Dedicated to Tom and his fedora :)
"Give me back my pillow!" Sharpay shouted, trying to pry her pink pillow away from her boyfriend. "Oh, hi Kelsi!" she added without relinquishing her hold. Kelsi giggled and carefully placed her duffel bag and pillow in a vacant corner of the basement. When she turned back around, Sharpay was holding her pillow above her head like it was a trophy of some sort.
"Incoming!" Chad called down the stairs. At least, Kelsi assumed it was Chad. Though she couldn't see his face, his hair was unmistakable. He walked backwards into the room, carrying a large mattress with Troy's help. They set it down beside the other three and Chad dramatically collapsed on top of it. Troy leaned against the wall and laughed at his best friend.
"Chad, why do you have 4 mattresses in your house?" Jason asked. Troy stared at him in confusion. "I mean...wait, what do I mean?" Martha smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her and then back at the others. Then he shrugged and fell onto one of the mattresses, accidentally squishing Chad.
"Pile on Chad!" Troy exclaimed, taking Jason's actions as an initiative. He and Zeke jumped on top of their teammates. Gabriella, the last to arrive, walked in just in time to see the four boys start to wrestle as Chad fought to get out of the pile.
"I'm not going to ask," she decided and walked to Kelsi. There, Taylor and Sharpay joined them. Martha and Ryan were on the other side of the spacious basement, looking through Chad's extensive collection of movies. Troy jumped off the dog pile to greet Gabriella. Chad followed him, turning at the last second to steal Kelsi's fedora. He ran away from the four girls with Kelsi on his heels. Jason stood up and saw her too late. The two of them fell back onto the mattress. Jason turned their bodies so he caught the brunt of the fall, landing beneath her. Kelsi rolled off Jason quickly. In her haste, she bumped into Ryan's feet.
"Missing something?" he asked, referring to her hatless head. He offered her a hand, which she took gratefully.
"Chad stole it," Kelsi grumbled, trying to keep the inevitable blush from her face.
"Again?" Ryan asked. "Isn't that the third time this week?" Kelsi nodded. Over her shoulder, Ryan saw Chad poke his head through the door. He sighed, defeated, and walked to Kelsi and Ryan.
"It's no fun if you don't chase me," he complained, handing her the fedora and sinking onto the couch.
"You shouldn't take my hat," she shot back. He grinned.
"Why not?" everyone laughed as Taylor shoved his shoulder playfully.
"Be nice to Kelsi," she chided.
"Yes dear," he whined sarcastically. He glanced at Taylor, then at Troy, and then at Kelsi's hat. Her hands went to her head immediately, protecting the fedora. Ryan laughed from beside her and playfully bumped his shoulder against hers. She blushed.
"Who wants pizza?" Gabriella asked, understanding that Kelsi was starting to feel self-conscious. Kelsi smiled at Gabriella gratefully.
As soon as they finished their pizza, Chad popped in an action movie. The ten teenagers made themselves comfortable on the small couch and the four mattresses. They didn't watch much of the movie, however. Instead, they listened to the running commentary that went with it, supplied by Chad and Troy. Jason rambled on about camera angles and directing styles until Martha kissed him, if only to shut him up. The girls gasped.
"Martha, since when are you-" Taylor began to demand.
"Only like a week I swear!" Martha interrupted. Jason looked at the ceiling, trying to calculate something in his head.
"I thought it was 3 weeks?" he pondered aloud. Everyone's jaw dropped. Martha blushed harder. Taylor, Sharpay and Gabriella began to interrogate her, the movie long forgotten. The boys ignored them and discussed the pros and cons of some of their new basketball plays, and Kelsi and Ryan joked about musicals they loved. Exhausting all the details they could out of Martha, the girls pulled Kelsi into their discussion. Soon enough, the clock chimed. Midnight fell over Albuquerque. As the girls' gossip turned toward Kelsi, Gabriella looked around.
"What do you say we get into our pajamas, and then we can meet up back here," she suggested, unknowingly saving Kelsi for the second time that night. Kelsi agreed immediately, jumping up and dashing madly for her overnight bag. Sharpay laughed slightly at the smaller girl's expense. She wandered over toward her bag, intentionally meeting Kelsi partway there.
"You aren't going to get away with your crush on my brother that easily."
"It's two o'clock in the morning," Taylor observed. After changing into their pajamas, the teens had neglected putting on another movie in favor of just talking and relaxing. They had unrolled their sleeping bags and squished onto the four mattresses. Through one of her latest schemes, Sharpay had somehow managed to place Kelsi directly beside Ryan—not that either one was complaining.
After the debacle at Lava Springs Country Club the summer before their senior year, Sharpay had decided to turn her manipulative nature into a more productive sort than it had previously been. Her first task, she decided, was to hook up her choreographing brother with the composer he had been eyeing for months. Gabriella and Taylor both smirked at her. She shrugged nonchalantly as she snuggled into Zeke.
Kelsi looked around, searching for a place to rest her head. Everyone was yawning and getting comfortable, ready to turn in. She knew by Sharpay's smile and by Gabriella and Taylor's smirks that Sharpay had planned for her to be in the spot she was, and part of her was a little angry with the blonde. The other part? Well, the other part had trouble thinking straight due to her proximity to Ryan. She sighed and laid down, her head on Ryan's chest.
"Comfortable?" he asked quietly, his voice quivering slightly as she rested her hand on his stomach. He could feel the soft skin of her palm and the rough calluses of her fingertips through his thin grey shirt. His arm wrapped around her shoulders tentatively. Blushing, she nodded, glad that someone had dimmed the light. Chad stood up and turned the light off the rest of the way before reclaiming his place at Taylor's side.
Only the white moonlight continued to shine in from the window, casting an angelic glow on Kelsi's resting form. Neither she nor Ryan could fall asleep, even as the others drifted off to the lands of their dreams. A cool wind blew in through the slightly open window. Rather than pull her blanket up higher, Kelsi curled tighter into Ryan. Instinctively, he began caressing her back soothingly. He heard her sigh in content.
"I could stay like this forever," she whispered just before she finally fell asleep. Ryan nearly started at her words. Had she just said exactly what was on his mind? His mind fought to remain lively, even as her steady breaths lulled him to sleep. Finally, he succumbed to the sleep that called him, immortalizing her in his dreams.
Later that morning, as the sun shone brightly through the windows, the gang slowly woke up and ascended the stairs to scour Chad's kitchen in search of food. One at a time, the pairs left the basement until only Ryan and Kelsi remained.
"You know Martha, I have to admit, I thought Ryan and Kelsi would get together before you and Jason," Taylor mentioned casually. Chad's mother had quickly ushered them out of the kitchen in favor of preparing something for them all to share rather than allow her son to have free reign in there. Gabriella nodded her agreement, as did Sharpay.
"So did I," Martha admitted. "I heard them last night, talking about musicals and hats while we were gossiping. They seem like they're always at ease with each other, even if they won't admit their feelings. Why hasn't he made his move?" she directed the last question at Sharpay, who shrugged and yawned. Zeke, the only Wildcat allowed in Mrs. Danforth's kitchen, appeared with a tray of five mugs.
"Mrs. Danforth insisted that we're too young to drink coffee, so I compromised. Tea, ladies?" he offered, placing the tray on the coffee table in front of them. They reached out eagerly when he stepped back before leaning back on the couch, breathing in the steam off the top of the mugs. "I should probably warn you: Troy, Chad, and Jason are putting on ninja gear."
"Why?" Gabriella asked suspiciously, looking up at him. Naturally tall, Zeke had the additional advantage of standing while they sat.
"They wouldn't tell me anything except that it has to do with the fact that Ryan and Kelsi haven't come upstairs yet. Apparently they're feeling especially protective of her today," Zeke relayed quietly. The four girls looked over their shoulders in time to see the boys try to sneak down the stairs. Try to being the operative phrase. They took one look at their respective girlfriends and ran back to Chad's room, leaving Kelsi and Ryan—who had finally woken up—alone for a few minutes longer.
"I think we should get up," Ryan whispered, hearing the footsteps clunk back up the stairs. Kelsi nodded her head but didn't move.
"Can we stay here for another minute?" she asked. "I want to remember this moment." Her back was to the stairs, so she had a perfect view of the Danforth family's picturesque backyard. Ryan nodded and pulled her closer, reveling in their moment together before they had to return to their friends and pretend they hadn't just fulfilled their deepest desires. Ryan closed his eyes, failing to notice Gabriella at the top of the stairs. She slowly led the other girls down the stairs, cameras in hand. The flashes startled the couple, and, having been noticed, they circled around Ryan like vultures approaching their prey. Kelsi automatically hid her face in Ryan's chest, which only encouraged their friends.
"What do I have to do to make you delete those pictures?" Ryan asked. Sharpay grinned. Only she had known this question would come from her usually outgoing brother.
"Kiss her." Kelsi tensed at the blond girl's words. Kiss. Four little letters that filled her secrets and dreams. The truth was this: Kelsi had been kissed only once. By Ryan, no less. He lifted her chin.
"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," he whispered. She shook her head.
"It's okay, I want to." Her words were not lost on any in the room, and her lips met Ryan's in a soft embrace.
"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Sharpay teased. The four girls raced back up the stairs. Ryan and Kelsi barely heard their giggles; their eyes still locked together. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Finally, Kelsi spoke up. Rather, her stomach did. Its growl interrupted their silence. Kelsi rolled away from Ryan so he could stand and pull her up. Steady on her feet, Kelsi refused to release his hand, and he didn't object. Together, they walked up the stairs to join their friends.
"Perfect! Everyone's up just in time for breakfast!" Mrs. Danforth gushed, freeing Kelsi and Ryan from the inevitable scrutiny of their friends. Chad, Jason, and Troy—having heard the word "breakfast"—ran from Chad's room straight into the kitchen, still wearing their ninja gear. Martha noticed the confusion on Kelsi's face and simply grabbed her boyfriend's hand. They all sat down around Chad's large dining room table except Zeke and Mrs. Danforth, who were still in the kitchen grabbing the plates of food. Kelsi leaned into Ryan while they waited, ignoring the knowing looks on their friends' faces. Chad and Troy glanced at each other, trying to decide what they should do. Gabriella and Taylor, sitting between them, shook their heads.
"If you mess this up, you're dead," Taylor whispered in Chad's ear as Gabriella gave Troy a similar ultimatum.
"Yes dear," Chad and Troy whispered back.
Author's Note: To any of you that were wondering, the idea that started this was the image of Kelsi looking around for a place to rest her head and finally deciding on Ryan's chest. Please review!