AN: Well, this is a little one-shot that appeared from no where, really. But I hope you'll enjoy. :) Ryan and Kelsi are the best!
Again, please review -- like it? don't like it? characters in character? out of character? I'd love to know!
Kelsi Nielson was sick on the second week of summer. How on earth did this happen? Of course, all colds have to transfer from somewhere-- the common cold has probably been going around since the beginning of time-- so there's always someone to blame.
Was the culprit her dad? No, he'd been healthy and chipper as ever, if not a little mopey now and then over the fact that Kelsi was leaving for New York at the end of August-- two months away.
Or-- wait, no, Kelsi knew exactly where it came from. She, Gabriella, Taylor, and Martha had gone bowling before Gabi rushed back to Stanford in California. A girls' night out and a going away party all combined into one. And darn it all if none of the bowling balls would fit Kelsi's fingers. So after asking for one, an attendant delivered – not only the ball but one of the biggest sneezes to which Kelsi had ever been exposed.
"Sorry 'bout that," he had mumbled, with a rub of his nose and a pitying smile. He then handed her the ball.
It didn't take long.
The next morning, Kelsi rose early to work on her piece for the placement exams. She noticed the soreness of her throat as she said goodbye to Dad when he left for work. Her neat treble clefs and eighth notes, sketched on sheets of paper before her, melted into blurry smudges. Her eyes continually tried to close. Then, her head swimming, Kelsi realized she'd been targeted and taken down... by the common cold.
But there was no way that she could stop working on her placement exam piece. So that was why she was still bent over at her piano, fingers limply resting on the keys, a box of tissues on the windowsill next to her.
Kelsi breathed a puff of relief. A few more bars complete. You've earned your rest, Kels.
She shivered as she stood, and paused as her head pounded. I don't feel cold but... maybe I have a fever. Great. She tucked her hands into her armpits as she gingerly shuffled into the living room, making way for the two wicker trash bins that held her used tissues.
"Kelsi? You here?"
She stopped, transformed into an ice sculpture. An ice sculpture with a running nose.
"Hello?"
Ryan's voice. What was he doing here? Inside her house? Normal people ring the doorbell, right? Not just teleport inside!
Her eyes dashed around the room. Those yucky trash bins. Blankets piled up on the couch. Tea mugs, most with half-drunk cold tea inside. A plate with toast crumbs and jelly smears. Old compositions sprawled across the coffee table. And her much-loved, fifteen-year-old teddy bear, Ludwig, missing an eye, looking suddenly very worn out in his place on the floor next to the couch.
This was Ryan's first visit to her house and it just had to look like bedlam. ... Okay, it was actually his second, but the first time – when he picked her up for prom – didn't count. They were both too overcome that evening to actually notice anything other than each other, at least until they got to East High.
"Maybe she forgot--" Ryan's voice, alarmingly closer. Before she had a chance to do anything, he rounded the corner.
"Kelsi! Hey!" He sped toward her, face lighting with his bright smile. Suddenly Ryan stopped, a veil of worry crossing his face. "Are you all right?" He glanced around the room.
She cringed and tried to block her teddy bear from sight.
"I've got a cold. During summer. ... and sorry 'bout the mess." She sniffled. "I'm trying to work on my song for the placement exam and also figure out what I should take to New York-- my dad can't decide if he should drive out there with me or if I should take a plane, and – ugh..." Kelsi's head started jackhammering again.
"Whoa. Kelsi. Hold up. None of that will get done unless you're feeling a hundred percent."
She let Ryan navigate her to the couch, where he tucked her in the folds of her blankets.
"Um... not to sound rude, but why are you here?" Kelsi asked, settling into her new spot.
"Last week you asked me to drop by to hear your new song. So here I am."
"Oh, no-- that's right," Kelsi moaned, remembering how she had agonized days beforehand over how to ask him to visit so she didn't seem too forward. Only to have forgotten he had accepted her invitation! "It's about one-fourths of the way done-- I can play what I have so far--" She kicked her arms and feet to untangle herself from the blankets.
"Wait-- stay put, maestro."
Ryan attempted his best 'I'm warning you' stare, which only made Kelsi giggle. After nestling into the piano bench, he peered at the music and soon a few bars of her song broke the silence.
Kelsi closed her eyes. And listened; truly listened from a different perspective. It was faster in his hands-- maybe thanks to Ryan's sister's tendency to triple the tempo of her songs– but in all honesty, it sounded better. More alive.
"... And this is where your handwriting turns into a mudslide," Ryan joked as the piano went silent.
"That must have been what I wrote this morning." Kelsi said, blushing and opening her eyes. "It's so unfinished, though-- I still have to write lyrics, figure out the chorus--"
"But there's no way you'll fail to impress the staff at Julliard. With this song or any of your others. I mean, I still have the ones from the musical running through my head."
"Really? That means a lot to me, Ryan, especially from you." She paused; tried to reign in the hot red furnace that was her face. Normally she accepted praise with a humble smile and honest thanks, but for some reason Ryan brought on the blushing today. "... But what about you? You're working on something for Julliard too, right?"
He stood up, crossed the living room back to her with his hands in his pockets, while dodging a few empty tissue boxes.
"Lots of late nights, tons of eraser dust, and millions of routines on DVD paused and analyzed..." Ryan chuckled and shook his head. "Sharpay is constantly peering over my shoulder, trying to 'help'. And a few years ago I probably would have let her. But this time I've got to stand on my own. By the way," he added, "I'd love to use one of your songs for my solo, if that's okay with you."
If there was an adjective that rolled stunned, flattered and proud all in one, it would have fit Kelsi perfectly.
Ryan was right. A few years ago he would have let Sharpay run the show-- even to the point of dictating the budding choreographer's steps-- but Kelsi had watched him quietly step out of her shadow during the summer before senior year. He shined during the last musical.
And he actually thought that highly of her work-- that he would use it for his solo entrance exam! At Julliard!
"Um... er... that-- I--" Her mind had officially gone into overdrive. It was a good thing she was sitting. Kelsi's words could barely escape her mouth. And her face? She was surprised the fire alarm wasn't ringing.
"I haven't decided yet which one, but when I do... I'll let you know." Ryan dipped his head and met her eyes. "Sure you don't have a fever? You look a little pink."
"I'm fine, really, it's just – just this blanket," she said, trying to restrain an awestruck (and surely goofy) grin.
"Just checking. We've got a lot of work to do before New York, but a certain composer needs to get over her cold first. So take today off."
"But--"
"Rule number one." Ryan held up a silencing index finger. He grinned. "No objections."
Kelsi breathed a defeated sigh in jest. "Yes sir."
"Rule number two. Take a deep breath. Stress will only make your cold worse."
She inhaled refreshing oxygen along with Ryan, and as she exhaled she wondered if his calling wasn't choreographing but counseling.
"Rule number three. You want anything, you ask Ryan."
She raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Nielson?"
"... May I have a cup of tea?" She pouted playfully. "Please?"
"Your wish is my command," he said, and with a theatrical bow, Ryan disappeared into the kitchen. Kelsi soon heard the clink of tea cups, the tap running, and ... silence.
"Uh... everything okay in there?" Kelsi asked, between her sniffles.
"Oh yeah -- where's your tea?"
"In the cupboard, on the top shelf, next to the soy sauce."
"Got it!"
Kelsi gathered her teddy bear in her arms and snuggled into her blanket. Ryan was being so kind to take care of her, especially since they weren't really going out or anything. Prom had started a string of inconsistent study dates, late night coffee runs after cramming for finals, and meetings in the A/V room (where Sharpay was sure never to venture) during free period.
Hmm. It seemed graduating was the third wheel in their developing relationship. But now that they were heading off to New York together . . .
"Here you go." Ryan handed her a floral cup with a gold rim-- one of Kelsi's favorite cups-- and sat down with his own.
"Thanks, I really needed this. Guess I just got too into the game, as Troy would say." The warmth from the cup was a salve to her chills. Kelsi smiled gratefully at her friend, who returned with one of his own. Then. for a second, he glanced into his cup, giving it the same uncertain appraisal that students give a frog before dissection.
Well, I know Monkey Picked oolong tea doesn't sound very appetizing, but it's not that bad...
She lifted the rim to try and breath in some of the steam. At the bottom of the cup in greenish brown water sat a large clump of tea leaves. She blinked.
"Um... how do you usually make tea at home, Ryan?" Kelsi asked.
"I ask our butler and he brings a pot and a cup." Large blue eyes met hers; his forehead wrinkled slightly. "It's not supposed to look like this, is it?"
"Well, normally the tea leaves stay in the pot."
"They don't just... dissolve?"
Kelsi bit her lip hard to keep from grinning and shook her head sympathetically. "Not unless they're some new genetically modified mutant tea leaves or something." She nudged him. "C'mon, if I'm not allowed to do anything else today, at least let me teach you how to make a good cup of tea."
-
After a quick lesson on the art of brewing tea (Ryan proclaimed he could now do one more thing than Sharpay could do), both nursed fresh cups of Monkey Picked oolong, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch. The figures of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers flickered on the screen before them; Swing Time was one of Kelsi's and Ryan's favorites.
"... But I'll be teacher's pet yet, 'cause I'm going to learn to dance or burst." Ryan sang, giving Kelsi a pitiful look that mimicked Fred's in the movie.
"Nothing's impossible, I have found; for when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up-- dust myself off-- start all over again." Kelsi returned in her quiet alto, a contented smile growing on her face. She was feeling awfully warm, cozy, and... sleepy. Ryan was better medicine than any pill she could take or tea she could drink; and the song reflected her own thoughts. Tomorrow she'd be back on her feet, dusted off, and return to her composition with a fresh look.
"What are you doing a week from now?" Ryan asked as the song ended.
Their eyes were still on the TV-- at least, until Kelsi's drowsily closed-- but she felt him drape an arm across the top of the couch, then gently around her shoulders.
"What? Oh, nothing," she murmured, smothering another yawn and sinking into her soft blanket.
"Then I'll pick you up for a dinner and a movie at seven."
Kelsi's eyes popped open. Movie and a dinner. That sounded like... "... A date, Ryan Evans?"
"Rule number four: Thai food and a classic movie musical make for an excellent date night."
Kelsi had to smile and rested her head on Ryan's shoulder. Linking her arm through his, she said softly, "I'll be waiting."