A/N: This is just something new I decided to try my hand at. As always, this is Tryan, Troy/Ryan slash. If you are a close-minded flamer, I recommend a distance of at least fifty-feet between you and my stories.
Set during HSM3, around the time Troy delivers his infamous line, although sort of AU, as Troy is… unaffected by Gabriella's absence at East High… and you will soon learn why. I own nothing.
Stage I.
Do you realize it…?
You don't know, do you? The things you do to me? The way you're slowly breaking away at the barriers that keep me at bay… The barriers that keep me from you. The more you chisel away, the more my lust, my longing, my need for you grows…
Soon, I won't be able to hold back. And I'll have to take all of you…
"Mr. Evans, don't you agree?"
Ryan Evans stared blankly at the old woman, unaware that his mind had drifted. Drifted to matters far more imperative than drills and due processes he had been versed in numerous times. He was the choreographer, couldn't she at least cut him some slack? Alas, that was probably too much to ask for. His beauteous daydreams of a certain brunette basketball god were forced into confinement until the sun set on the horizon and black ruled the sky. Of course, they could only be just that, right? There was no way Troy Bolton of all people could possibly reciprocate feelings of such unholy origin. It would be considered blasphemy among their peers for the boy that legions of them worshipped to commit an act of such a sinful nature as having feelings for another boy.
Troy Bolton himself was not as ecstatic about his status as resident god of East High as his worshippers. Sure, popularity had its perks, endless crowds of people dropping down on their hands and feet, begging you to even cast a glance their way. Hordes upon hordes of supporters, people that didn't even know him personally on stand by, ready to scream his name out without any other purpose or intent than to prove how loyal they were. Ah, yes, there was nothing better than having crowds of people watching and following his every move, absorbing every decision he made and picking it into little pieces for closer examination. Oh, and the limitations on what he could or couldn't do, after all, he had to put his reputation first. Yes, everyone wanted to be Troy Bolton. Except Troy Bolton. As the brunette fixed his eyes on a certain decadently dressed blond, he came to the revelation that popularity really was overrated.
Troy finished bringing the blonde to a stop in his arms, but as it came time for her spin across the stage, his foot dragged, throwing both himself and drama queen Sharpay Evans off balance.
"What was that?!" Sharpay demanded, more concerned with her pride than her own physical condition.
"I tripped." Troy offered weakly.
Sharpay threw her hands to her sides, voicing her frustration in a growl of fury. No one, Troy Bolton or otherwise would make her look like a fool in her last musical production at East High. A couple of rookies to the drama department looked up in alarm, unaccustomed to the way the girl functioned. "Ryan, deal with this!" She gestured pointedly to Troy, as if he were an object rather than a person. Stomping off on her open-toed, glittering stilettos, she went to her "personal assistant" a blonde Britanian transferee in her sophomore year, with a name so horrible it could only be as phony as its owner, Tiara Gold.
Ryan could only shake his head, resisting the urge to throw a rankled look the girls' way. It was even more of a challenge to conceal the smile holding the joy he harbored as he walked over to take his place beside the taller brunette boy.
"Kelsi." Ms. Darbus looked to the quiet brunette girl, and the composer complied, picking up the chords of the song from where Troy and Sharpay left off. Linking hands, the two boys fell naturally into the rhythm, their steps matched, their timing flawless. When the trouble spot arrived, the choreographer and the athlete executed the twirl smoothly, dazzling their audience.
Jimmie Zara, an over zealous addition to the basketball team, and having a serious case of hero worship for its captain, whose role he was the understudy for, even went so far as to cheer for his idol, earning a half-hearted glare from Ms. Darbus.
"Bravo, boys!" The teacher congratulated the pair, whom seemed quite pleased with themselves. "Well done. You could learn a thing or two from them yourself, Ms. Evans."
Sharpay let out a scoff, preferring to sulk. Tiara shared her companion's bitterness, turning up her nose at the praise the boys received.
"Let's move on to the final number." Ms. Darbus declared, gesturing dramatically with her hand.
Once again, Kelsi immediately obeyed her instructor's orders. Everyone else on stage skittered frantically about to get in their places. Eyes focused on other things, they all failed to see the secretive smile the drama boy and their revered golden boy shared, a smile meant only for one another. Perhaps Troy's little mishap was not so unintentional after all….
Chad Danforth jogged up on the side of his friend, concerned with the manner in which the boy's blue eyes were fixed blankly on nothing. "You alright, dude?"
It took Troy a moment to respond, his thoughts filled with images of the pale skin, glittering blue eyes, and luscious ruby lips belonging to the theater king. "Huh?" Gazing at his best friend's face, recognition flickered in his eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Well, I'm kinda worried, dude. You know, you've been," Chad paused, then resumed warily, testing the waters, "… different since…"
Troy blinked, discerning that he was being spoken to about something that should have held a position as a top priority for him. He's talking about Gabriella. "Yeah.." He answered. There was sincere concern in Chad's brown eyes, and he did not want to plague his carefree friend's bushy haired head with unnecessary worry on his behalf. "But don't worry about it, man. I'm fine with it. Seriously."
Chad gave him a skeptical look. "You sure?"
"Absolutely." Troy replied. He was great, really. Why did people worry about him? Then again, Ryan had done his own fair share of worrying for Troy's sake after the jock's relationship with his girlfriend simply dissolved. Everyone expected him to take it hard, be down and out with grief. He and Gabriella were East High's "perfect" couple. But really, he had gotten over it fairly quickly. Things simply didn't work out. Gabriella was going to Stanford, one thousand miles away from her friends and boyfriend in Albuquerque. Neither one of them could deal with the long distance soap opera their relationship had become, and Gabriella was way too clingy, making it a daily ritual to sob to him on the phone about her inability to say goodbye. He had grown tired of it. Of her.
He needed a constant, and he certainly wasn't finding it with her. Then there were eyes of blue and the flash of a smile from an angel, and somehow everything was fine again.
"If you're sure, dude."
"Positive man." Troy smiled, void of any sort of telltale traces of pain that most would carry after a break-up with someone they seemed so happy with. You can't always accept things for the way they appear to be on the surface.
"There are principles you have to follow, Troy." Ryan reminded the brunette, chuckling softly.
"Like what?" Troy asked, his boyish grin brimming with amusement, his eyes glowing with affection.
The blond could feel his heart lurch in a way that was not unpleasant. The two of them had been discussing prom. Although Ryan had been toying with the idea of escorting Kelsi, Troy Bolton was now the most desired bachelor on campus. He would be a fool to refuse such perfection. His heart, and his body simply wouldn't allow it. Of course, he couldn't give Troy the delusion that he was easy. "Well, asking someone for starters." He suggested, biting his lip.
Troy drew in closer until his heavenly masculine aroma wreathed about the shorter boy. Ryan could feel his loins give a sharp ache that was reciprocated with equal intensity in his chest. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to ask." The golden boy whispered, his pink lips hovering over the succulent red lips of the Evans boy.
Ryan's eyes were half closed, his lips parted in invitation.
"Will you…" Troy began.
"Yes?" Ryan prompted softly, daring to hope.
"Ryan Evans,"
Twining his arms around the other boy's strong neck, Ryan's breath hitched in his throat. His grip tightened, pulling the brunette in closer.
"Be my date for the senior prom?" Troy's thumbs were tracing the little circles on his pelvis that he loved so much.
Peering into the ocean blue orbs of the basketball god revealed only sincerity. Leaning in, Ryan left gentle bites along his earlobe, welcoming the groans of satisfaction from Troy's throat. Because he knew that Troy was oh-so-sensitive there. Only he had this affect on Troy. Only he knew just where to focus his talents to earn a yelp or a moan from the god-like boy that made his entire body tingle. Unlike it had been with Troy and Gabriella, they shared the pleasure of their experiences. Troy and Gabriella had only shared a kiss. Desire burned in his stomach, and Ryan continued, making his way slowly, intentionally to Troy's lips. "Yes." He whispered between kisses. "Nothing would make me happier. But…"
Troy tensed. He did not like "buts", although he did have quite an attraction to the drama king's rear.
"Are you sure you're prepared to deal with them?" Ryan's eyes flitted away from Troy's face to the space around them. The other people. Outside of the safety of their bubble, the world was a hateful place, filled with people who would sooner spit on you than look at you. Whom reserved kind words for their friends and loved ones, and gave everyone else as much regards as they would the piece of dog defecation that they stepped in strolling down the sidewalk. And if you happened to have the misfortune of falling for another boy…
Well, Ryan could vouch for that.
As far as Troy was concerned, he could care less about people that thought he was better off when he had to put up with Gabriella's selfishness, and put his own dreams on the back burner. The people whom considered Ryan, his angel from above, evil, could fuck off and go to hell.
Ryan only cared about the well being of the being of the being of divinity that held him in his arms. He had been putting up with shit his entire life, and although it would be easier with someone by his side, he didn't know if he could handle those sick people getting their despicable, conniving, twisted hands on Troy.
There was no hint of fear in Troy's voice as he answered firmly, "Let them try to mess with us."
It was exactly what Ryan wanted to hear.
"Did you have any luck getting that music out of Kelsi?" Sharpay asked, her lips pursed in that way that has always struck fear in her brother's heart.
Ryan drew in a breath."…Shar? I'm gay."
"And?" She was now in her no-nonsense posture, a stance that would send a message to any sane man that whatever point he had to make was of no relevance or importance.
Seducing girls is immoral. I don't even like her that way. I'm going with someone else. He opened his mouth to let his sister know that he had other plans, but allowed the words to form and die on his lips. Maybe if he had a spine, he wouldn't give in like he always did. He could stand up to everything else, why was his sister so difficult? If Troy was here… He couldn't rely on Troy for everything… although he admitted to himself that everything was easier with the brunette at his side. There was no pressure to give into, no demands to meet.
"You're an actor, Ryan. Fake it. Do what you have to do."
When Sharpay became hell-bent on something, there was no talking her out of it. Stardom was everything to her, and she would do anything in its name.
Ryan? What was he fighting for? What was his purpose, his drive? It was something, he knew. He could feel it. But as of now, it lacked a name. Although he knew for a fact that it did not concern disillusioned pre-Madonnas and shy, quiet girls that he was supposed to seduce. Perhaps it had to do with a certain athlete with a mop of shaggy, side-swept brunette hair that wanted to be with him for the person he was, not the person that someone else wished for him to be perceived as. For once, there was someone who cared about him without him hiding his true feelings behind a naïve smile. And he would give anything to be with that person, a constant at their side as long as life remained in his body in a no-strings-attached relationship. He was sure he felt the same.
I would give you forever. I would reach out into the night sky, my hand enveloped in black velvet, and pluck up a few stars. Together, we would peer at their celestial light, and I would say that they can't compare to the beauty of your eyes…
…If only life was that simple…
