Ryan's Closet Misadventure

Basic Summary: Ryan discovers more than he ever wants to in the closets of his two best friends.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: High School Musical and all related characters do not belong to the author. Valeria Locke and Valerie (the crazy RA), however, do. Danielle Lawrencia belongs to ax1000xdays.

Author's Notes: I've got no lyrical inspiration to post for this, ha. My friend and I were discussing the curfew at Juilliard... Thus, this one-shot was born.

Enjoy!

"So, the bartender asks the blondes why they're so happy about completing a jigsaw puzzle in six months. One says, 'Well, the box says four to six years!' Isn't that hilarious? No offense, of course, Ryan. You know we love you, even if you can't do jigsaw puzzles."

Ryan Evans waved off his friend's joke, resorting to sticking his tongue out at the redhead instead of replying. It was not the most mature thing to do, true enough, but it would get his point across.

The blond currently inhabited the dorm room of his two best friends, Danielle Lawrencia and Valeria Locke. Their traditional movie night had ended rather late - the digital clock atop the television read '11:56' in glowing red letters - thus, he was tired and in no mood to be made fun of.

He decided that Danielle was infinitely nicer due to her lack of blond jokes.

"It's late... I should probably get going," Ryan said, standing up from his place on the couch.

"Yes, it's late, which is exactly why you should spend the night. You could be kidnapped, mugged, or raped on your way back to your room. It's much too dangerous," Danielle quipped, tugging on his hand to get him to sit back down. Ryan laughed.

"Danielle, this is Juilliard, not the ghetto," he said, though he sat down nonetheless. "I don't think I'm going to get raped while walking up one flight of stairs."

"You say that now, but just wait until it happens to you," Valeria said seriously, never cracking a smile. The look on her face coupled with Danielle's ill-refrained giggle was enough to send Ryan into hysterics.

"Seriously, though, stay. Your couch has been lonely," Danielle said after the three had calmed down.

"Okay, you win. What about that insane RA, though? She's gone crazy on the room checks for you guys," Ryan said, causing Valeria to roll her eyes.

"That's because she has a crush on you and thinks that she's my new best friend because our names are one letter from being the same," the redhead grumbled.

Indeed, the RA in question was named Valerie.

"She wants to catch you in our room so she'll be forced to "escort" you back to yours. Which, by the way, actually means that she's going to have her way with you, if you catch my drift," Danielle pointed out, grinning triumphantly at proving her earlier point.

"Room check!"

This exclamation was followed by a knock on the door. The three friends stared at each other for a moment, wide-eyed, before Danielle sprang into action.

"Val, go distract her! She likes you better," the Latina instructed, ignoring the death glare being sent her way. "Ryan, you come with me. We need to hide you."

With that said, Danielle quickly pulled the blond in the direction of the girls' bedroom just as Valeria was putting on a fake smile and heading toward the door.

"Here, stay in there and don't make a sound," Danielle said, quickly pushing Ryan into her closet when the two reached the bedroom. Sighing - then mentally kicking himself for making noise - Ryan listened as she bounded back to the living room. He prepared himself for a long wait in the cramped space.

Within the first two minutes, Ryan found that he could not move his head without getting a face full of fabric. About a minute after that, he spotted an entire section of particularly extravagant fabric that was separate from Danielle's usual wardrobe. Carefully extricating himself from the grasp of a winter coat, Ryan shifted closer to the unidentified clothing so he could get a better look.

As the blond began to sift through what he found to be numerous sparkly dresses and outrageous outfits, he realized exactly what he was looking at.

'Dance costumes,' he thought, pulling each one out in turn. Dresses, dresses, a leotard, more dresses... He suddenly paused and did a double-take. The leotard he had found looked, at first glance, normal. Only when he pulled the garment back out did he realize that it wasn't a proper leotard at all. The material was sheer, looked as if it had been shredded in a few places, and was backless. It would seem that the leotard had been in an unfortunate incident with the Locke family's Great Dane, but seams sown along the tears proved otherwise.

'What kind of dance does she wear this for?!' Ryan thought, eyes wide. Shaking his head, he then decided it would probably be safer to sit down and rifle around in the random objects that were scattered about the closet floor. Settling himself carefully on a folded blanket against the wall, Ryan began examining anything that caught his eye.

Five minutes later, he found himself staring at a charred yoga mat with the words "To hell with Yoga Tuesdays!" scribbled across what was left of it. Ryan gaped at the mat, struck speechless.

'How could she?' he thought. Yoga Tuesdays had been a tradition with Ryan, Danielle, and Valeria since the three had arrived at Juilliard. He knew the girls had never been particularly fond of yoga, but he hadn't suspected that either of them would go so far in their dislike for it. A little miffed, he tossed the yoga mat into a corner and kept looking around.

After finding suggestive dance routine pictures and roughly thirty issues of Cosmo magazine, Ryan decided that Valeria's closet might be safer.

He listened for a moment and, after hearing the voices of his friends and the RA from the living room, quickly tiptoed across the small distance into Valeria's closet. He shut the door quietly and turned around, bracing himself for whatever he might see.

Thankfully, Valeria had no skimpy leotards. Instead, Ryan's quick glance over her wardrobe revealed normal clothes, and the blond was very thankful for that fact. Relieved, he sat down and began to shift through his other best friend's closet, trying to pass the time.

The discovery of his multiple seasons of Punk'd on DVD almost made Ryan forget that he had to be quiet.

'I've been looking for these for ages!' he thought, frowning. What were they doing in Valeria's closet? Surely the redhead must have forgotten that she had them, because every time Ryan mentioned misplacing them, she never said a word...

He shrugged and placed the DVDs to the side, then looked at what they had been sitting on. It seemed to be a plastic package containing some sort of fabric, but Ryan couldn't tell much as to the contents. Curious, he leaned closer and discovered that the fabric seemed to be a kind of net. Why would Valeria need a net in New York City? Ryan reached out and picked up the package, turning it over. When he saw the front, he realized what he was holding. Ryan dropped the package as if he had been burned, forgetting to be quiet entirely.

He shrieked.

Within the next few minutes, Ryan faintly heard a door closing, two sets of hurried footsteps, and another door opening. Seconds later, the door to Valeria's closet was flung open, and he found himself staring up at his two best friends. Danielle was the first to speak, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Okay, Ryan, that is definitely not where I left you," the Latina commented, crossing her arms. Ryan scrambled to his feet, getting out of the closet as quickly as he could.

"Jeez, Ryan! Give yourself away, why don't you?!" Valeria added frustratedly. "I had to blame that scream on a tea kettle! Who the hell uses a tea kettle any more? Apparently the little hick from Tennessee does, or so I had to tell Valerie..."

"I moved because where you left me was scary!" he exclaimed in a voice that was slightly higher than his normal pitch, ignoring Valeria completely. He wrapped his arms around himself with a shudder. "There were Cosmo magazines, racy pictures, a burned -"

Ryan abruptly came to his senses, dashing over to Danielle's closet to fish out the desecrated yoga mat. He held it up with a pout.

"How could you, Dani? Yoga Tuesdays are a sacred tradition!"

"Actually, Ry," Valeria said, having to concentrate very hard to keep a straight face, "that was my idea. We both had a part in it, but it was my idea. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"But... Why?" Ryan asked, his question almost coming out as a whimper. Danielle sighed - the face he was making got her every time. She reached out, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I hate to break it to you, Ry, but we hate yoga. We only do it for you," she explained. Valeria nodded.

"Sorry, love."

Frowning, Ryan tossed the yoga mat back into the closet. He then pulled out the 'not-a-leotard,' as he had named it, and whirled around to face Danielle.

"Okay, what is this, then? What would possess you to wear something like this?" he questioned. Danielle blinked, then giggled.

"Ryan, that was a dance costume. Remember Quinn? That twenty-four year old guy that was helping out in dance? The two of us had to perform together, and that was my costume."

This new information did not seem to make Ryan feel any better, if the pained noise he made was any indication.

"I'll be happy to model it for you, if you'd like," Danielle said with a wink, causing Valeria to burst into laughter and Ryan to pale significantly. Feeling a need to take a seat, the blond dropped the leotard, shuddering and shaking his head frantically. Once on the floor, he looked up at Valeria, head tilted curiously.

"Did you know that my Punk'd DVDs were in your closet?"

Valeria suddenly looked everywhere but at her best friend, and Danielle let out a cough that sounded a lot like a laugh.

"Were they really? I had no idea... I must have, er, borrowed them and forgot about it or something..."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, looking at Valeria suspiciously. Then, as if he had been electrocuted, he quickly leaned over into the redhead's closet and pulled out the clear package that had terrified him earlier. He held it up with the very tips of his index finger and thumb. Valeria's eyes widened.

"Speaking of modeling, Val, when do we get to see you in this?"

The 'net' had turned out to be a bra and g-string made of fishnet material. Valeria's cheeks burned, and she quickly reached down to snatch the package from Ryan.

"Never, you twit! It was a gag gift! My friend Madison in Nashville mailed it to me for my birthday," she declared, tossing the lingerie back into the depths of her closet. Ryan folded his arms across his chest.

"Why is the package opened, then?" he asked, earning silence and then a smack to his shoulder. Ryan groaned, flopping onto his back on the carpeted floor. "I can't believe all of this. You have that, Dani has a practically non-existent leotard and Cosmo magazines... Seriously, Danielle, why do you need those?"

"Actually, Ry, the Cosmos were given to me by Sharpay."

"WHAT?!"