Conversations of the irrational mind
By velja
A Chyan One-Shot (PG-13) inspired by HSM3.
Rehearsals for the "Senior Year" Musical once again came to an end when the last note Kelsi had played on the piano slowly faded away and Ryan dismissed them all with a content "See you guys tomorrow!".
And just like the last few times in rehearsal Chad didn't notice his friends leave, chatting and laughing happily, because he was once again lost in the sight of Ryan Evans wearing another one of his ridiculously colorful outfits that should have "Not suitable for… anyone actually" written all over it and that Ryan was somehow still able to pull off completely without looking ridiculous. In fact he looked rather sexy or… hot as hell. And he was prancing around the stage knowing it fully well… prancing around like he owned the stage.
Okay, maybe Ryan wasn't so much prancing but simply walking around the theater, waving goodbye to the others and grinning, happy and proud. And, really, he had every reason in the world to be proud.
Proud of the first East High Musical with his own choreography and of how good the Wildcats were doing under his lead. Chad kind of knew that… or, at least the rational part of his mind did.
But rational was not something his brain could pull off right now. Not when Ryan was looking like… like that!
'Seriously, does he have to keep doing that?' Chad's inner voice screamed while his body was moving forward on autopilot.
Ryan chose exactly that moment to turn around and face Chad with a brilliant smile.
"Chad," he beamed breathlessly, "you were great, man. All of you…"
And Chad's irrational mind somehow took the praise as a cue to translate its earlier thoughts into a frustrated outbreak:
"Stop doing that, damn it!"
"Ugh, what?" Ryan asked confused and frowned in that special way that made him funnily scrunch up his nose and thus looking just too cute all out of nowhere.
Chad had noticed Ryan's special frown shortly after becoming friends with him over the course of summer but up until now he'd never seen it paired with the hot outfits or the confidence Ryan seemed to be oozing since he'd started choreographing the Musical.
The combination was simply too much for Chad and something inside him snapped.
"That!" he shouted. "Seriously, dude, you have to stop it. You can't go on striding around here, all confident and happy and…and looking like that!"
Chad finished his outbreak with helplessly gesturing arms, encompassing Ryan and his outfit in one swift motion. Ryan followed the movement with his eyes, quickly scanning the tight-fitting shirt and skinny dark jeans he was wearing today. Nothing wrong with that, was there? He had to ask:
"What's wrong with me looking like this?"
Chad wanted nothing more right now than to bite his tongue and wish for a trap door to miraculously open up under his feet to make him disappear in the depths of the theater. And probably die there from embarrassment. But his treacherous brain had other ideas and somehow forced his mouth to go along with it. Before he knew it the words rushed out:
"You're driving me crazy looking like this all the time!"
"Like what?" Ryan asked, desperate for Chad to get to the point. Involuntarily he'd made a step forward and was now staring into the jock's aggravated face mere inches away from his. Chad looked like he was about to explode. Really, what was his problem?
"Like… confident and… happy!"
"I'm happy, so?"
"And… damn cute and… and sexy and… hot!" Chad exclaimed.
Ryan let out an incredulous yelp and nearly choked: "Hot?"
"Damn hot!" Chad nodded desperately. "And you can't do that! You're a guy, you can't be looking all hot and making me want to kiss you and jump you and… you can't be doing that!"
The last part had come out rather defiant and when Ryan looked into Chad's eyes he could make out determination mixed with confusion and a great deal of closeted stubbornness.
"Sorry," Ryan answered and, suddenly rebellious, shot a very defiant look back, "but it's not as if I do it intentionally! I kind of can't help it!" Well, more or less.
Chad stared into Ryan's blue eyes for an endless moment, listening to the silent battle going on inside his head. It seemed as if the stubborn heterosexual part of his mind ("He's a guy! You can't be looking at a guy like that, stop it!") was currently fighting that part where the inner voice was still booming.
Fighting and… apparently loosing.
Because eventually Chad broke out of his stupor and into a determined smile.
"Neither can I help doing this," he shrugged and, pulling Ryan's face forward with both hands, captured the rebelliously pursed lips in a firm kiss.
Chad felt a rigid shock go through Ryan's trim body before he too lifted his arms to wrap them around Chad's shoulders.
The kiss was everything both Ryan and Chad had ever wanted a kiss to be. Firm, determined and strong, but also gentle, soft and… promising more.
And Chad's irrational mind kicked in again, drunk on the temporarily victory over the stubborn heterosexual part, and dared to brag and glee:
'You're never to be seen again, you stupid stubborn hetero-brain. This closet stays open for good!'
And if Ryan's mind could have heard, it would have agreed wholeheartedly.