Underneath My Skin
Chad Danforth is struggling with who he is and afraid to speak to anyone about his situation. His withdrawal from the Wildcats is raising eyebrows at East High, but what lands at his feet one dark and stormy night, will change his life forever. ChadxRyan (Chyan)
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own it…
Chad Danforth hated rain. He hated the cold that came with it and the inevitable need to remain indoors. The Wildcats had all headed off to the movies together to see the new action blockbuster. He didn't want to go. Lately he had no desire to hang out with his team mates and their girls. They were still his friends and he did miss them but he felt like he needed to be alone. That's why he had hoped into his car and was simply driving aimlessly around Albuquerque. He just wanted to be alone, he needed to sort his head out.
He flicked his blinker and turned left onto another street, still not sure where he was going. He had secretly always known there was something different about him, feelings he couldn't explain. Feelings he was struggling to understand and feelings he would never reveal to his team mates. They were suspicious already. He was spending inordinate amounts of time with Ryan Evans. The only one that seemed to care was Troy. The others simply got on with their lives and let him get on with his. Troy didn't like that Chad was spending his time with Ryan instead of with him, but Chad was almost beyond the point of caring. Troy had Gabriella and everyone assumed that Chad had Taylor, but he didn't. Taylor had drifted off to someone in the Science Club or Chem Club or something. Although they were still friends, he was almost on his own.
The rain started coming down harder and Chad scowled at it. Stupid weather was matching his mood. The road was straight, which didn't escape him as ironic and Chad was able to continue his train of thought.
The only one remotely interested in what was actually going on in his life was Ryan. He cared that Chad's parents were always fighting. He let Chad crash at his house most nights of the week. Sharpay never commented on it, she just gave him a smile…which did creep him out a bit. Chad and Ryan played baseball and watched the games together on TV all night. Ryan plied him with sports bloopers and chips when Taylor had left him and was always on hand with more when something else went wrong in his life. Although he and Troy were still as close as brothers, his relationship with Ryan was something totally different. It was something that Chad couldn't quite put his finger on.
Ryan copped a lot from some of the jocks off other teams at East High and nothing made Chad angrier. Ryan was different and in order to prove their heterosexuality, some morons attacked Ryan. Chad had found him in the locker rooms several times after being beaten. Ryan refused to say who was attacking him but promised Chad, Troy and the other wildcat basketballers that it wasn't anyone from their team but remained tightlipped about who it actually was. Chad had to sneak him home past Sharpay and their parents because Ryan didn't want to tell them either. Chad hated seeing Ryan hurt.
As this train of thought continued, something appeared on the side of the road. Chad couldn't quite tell what it was but it was covered in blood. As he neared it, he realised that it was a person, a young person. He quickly pulled the car over and parked. Chad flung the door open and thundered down the sidewalk as the person staggered and fell, face down. As he got closer, Chad could see that the person had blond hair and that his clothes were dirty and torn. Chad fell to his knees beside the person and saw that they were breathing, very faintly. He rolled them over so gently and felt his heart stop.
It was Ryan.