If it doesn't fit in with your headcanon, feel free to ignore this story. I only wrote it because I was curious, and I figured others might be as well.

Any prompts? (I'm starting to feel like a broken record. Maybe I should stop asking that question.)

Jake really doesn't have much of an opinion on Ryder at first. Sure, he's kinda pissed that Ryder's making moves on Marley, but that's easily fixed. He just has to remind Marley of his presence, the fact that he's superior to that fool. In the end, that's the reason Jake decides to audition for Grease.

No, it's not until dress rehearsals that Jake even spares Ryder much of a thought. Because suddenly he's seeing Ryder in his costume for the first time. And Jake can't get over how hot he looks. He can't decide if it's the leather jacket or the fifties' hairstyle, but he definitely hasn't been this attracted to a guy in a long time.

'Jake.' He jumps at the voice by his shoulder, reluctantly dragging his eyes away from the stage. Ryder's face was all scrunched up in concentration as he talked to Artie. Not that he'd been staring. 'Jake, do you have all your costumes sorted?' This time Jake makes sure he really is paying attention to Tina. She's kinda scary when she's angry.

'Yea, yea of course.' Actually, he's not sure if that's true at all. He can't really think straight at the moment.

Now Tina is watching him with a look of concern. 'Jake, are you ok?'

'Yea, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?' Tina looks like she doesn't really believe him, but she walks away anyway. Leaving Jake to his thoughts.

He looks around wildly, but Ryder's no longer on the stage anymore. He doesn't seem to be in sight at all. He can't help but wonder where he could be.

Which is ridiculous. Why should he care about Ryder? He doesn't mean anything to Jake. He's just some idiot who's trying to steal Marley away. Which reminds him. Jake hates Ryder. Because he's stealing Marley away. Yea, that's the reason.

Well, that and the fact that he's getting Jake distracted with these thoughts. Thoughts that he's told himself he's not allowed to have. So he's going to do his best to avoid Ryder, and that way he can't think about how good looking he is.

Because Jake's straight. And he's really got no interest in appreciating guys' appearances.

Xxx

Avoiding Ryder turns out to be really hard. Especially when Ryder joins glee club. Especially when Finn assigns them to work together. Especially when they become friends.

Why did Jake think it was a good idea to befriend Ryder again?

Actually, it turned out that it was pretty hard to hate Ryder. He's a pretty cool guy, way too nice for his own good. Jake doesn't know what it is, but he'd found himself wanting to confide in Ryder, wanting to share his kryptonite.

So now they're friends. And Jake's really pretty thankful for that. Sure, it kinda sucks that it's still really hard to block out how attractive Ryder is. But he'll manage. So long as he doesn't start crushing on the guy. Because Jake's straight.

'Dude, chill out. It's not like you're painting a masterpiece.' Jake looks across at Ryder, who's making rather a mess on his section of wall. He looks back to his own area, painstakingly painted with only a small section of graffiti covered so far. Seems like he got a bit too lost in his thoughts.

And well, he must have gone and got lost again. Because, suddenly, out of nowhere, he's getting spattered with paint. This means war.

It seems like it's only moments later when he's fighting hand to hand with Ryder. He feels the way Ryder almost cups his face with a slippery hand. His own hand slides down the smooth, long expanse of Ryder's neck.

It feels weirdly intimate, Jake can't help but think. And then he can't help but worry where that thought came from.

Xxx

For about a couple of weeks, Jake manages to forget about Ryder. He can look at him without considering how attractive he is. Ryder's a friend. And that's all.

Jake knows that the main reason for the change is Marley. They go on a couple of awesome dates, and he feels like he's starting to really get to know her. He really likes Marley. But he really likes Ryder as well.

Wait, where did that thought come from? Because there is no way that Jake really feels like that. There's no way that he feels the same way about Ryder as he does about Marley. Because he's straight. And he's getting sick of having to remind himself that he's only interested in girls.

'Jake, check it out,' Ryder calls to him. He's practising layups, preparing for basketball trials coming up. Jake was practising with him, but since Ryder hadn't actually scored a goal yet, he decided to take a break, give him more of a chance. Now, Jake's sitting at the bottom of the bleachers, lazily dribbling a ball between his feet. And thinking. Well, he had been, now he's just watching Ryder.

Jake likes Ryder, really he does. He's a great friend, and Jake loves hanging out with him. He truly is the best friend that Jake ever could have hoped for.

Except, if he's being honest with himself, it's more than that. He already knows that Ryder's attractive, but he's starting to realise he's also attracted to him. And sure, he thinks Ryder's a great friend, but it's more than that. Sure, he may not have wanted it to happen, but it turns out that he's crushing on Ryder.

If he's being really honest with himself – something he almost never does – this isn't the first time he's felt like that. But in the past, he's always tried to block it out, always tried to ignore it. But this time, he's starting to feel like maybe he doesn't want to do that. Maybe this time he can be honest about who he really is.

'Jake, c'mon,' Ryder sounds annoyed, like he's been calling for a while. 'There's no way you'll be able to get the ball off me now.' Jake heaves himself off the bench, promising himself he'll finish this thought process later.

Xxx

When Jake tells Ryder that getting to know Blaine is the reason he accepted that he's bisexual, he's telling the truth. To an extent. But Ryder is the other reason.

Because he's always known he was bisexual. Deep down, he really has. But he's never been able to admit it. He's never had a reason to want to admit it. But now he does.

So when he tells Ryder, he's hoping he'll admit to a similar interest. He's hoping that Ryder will admit to being interested in him. That's the real reason he tells Ryder. Not because he wants to give Ryder a chance to unfriend him – and yes, he does realise there's a bit more to it than clicking a button on Facebook. He knows that isn't an issue though, because he knows Ryder. And he knows that Ryder would never treat Jake differently because of his sexuality. Unless he was going to take the opportunity to make a move on Jake.

Unfortunately though, he doesn't. That's the problem with crushing on straight friends, Jake figures.

Xxx

Jake's stowing all his books away in his locker. It's the start of the Christmas break, and he has no intention of doing any homework while he's gone. He wants to avoid school after all.

Ryder bounces up to him as he slams the door closed. 'You excited, dude?'

'Yea, yea, of course.' And he is, he really, really is.

'We'll pick you up first thing in the morning,' Ryder tells him, starting to walk away. 'Make sure you're all packed, ok?'

Jake nods his agreement, before turning to walk in the opposite direction. He's excited to be going away with Ryder's family. Not only for the chance to visit another part of the country, and the beach, no less. But also just to spend time with Ryder. Because even though Ryder may never be interested in him, he's still a great friend. And Jake wants to hang out with him every chance he can get.

Besides, there's no telling what might happen on holiday.