Title: Evans(ton) Family Secrets
Author: Live2TiVo/ Musical Junkie/ Tally
Feedback: makes me feel like my dog does when someone accidentally drops food on the floor.
Pairing: Rypay (NOT Twincest)
Word Count: 1,143 (Without this chart thingy at the top)—A lot shorter than my last chapter, but think of it as the 6th Harry Potter book, a bunch of meaningless stuff leading up to the next book. Like this is a lead in to the next chapter
Rating: T (PG-13)
Genre: Romance/Humor
Summary: Nobody had any idea that Ryan and Sharpay Evans weren't actually related, and the pair hoped to keep it that way. At least, they used to.
Notes: I know it took me forever to get this posted. I've had it handwritten for over a week, but I couldn't get around to typing it. Stuff just keeps getting in the way. Like leaving my handwritten version in my locker over Thanksgiving Break and writing a 1250 research paper about 90s television for my AP Lang class. Well, as they said in Sky High, that's High School.
Special Thanks: To all NINETEEN reviewers. I've never gotten that many reviews on a story or chapter before. Especially so quickly. You guys are so great. And love to the people who added my story to their faves or alert lists. That makes me happy. And after the LoVe breakup last night on Veronica Mars, I really needed it. Thanks. And extra thanks to Jacky, without whom this fic would be a plot bunny in a corner of my mind.
Spoilers: She dies at the end. Oh, wait, that's Love Story and it's not exactly a spoiler considering it's revealed in the first line of the movie. As for HSM spoilers, not so much since I assume you aren't going to be reading HSM fandom if you've never seen HSM, am I right?)
Warnings: Lots of pop culture references, and a little fluff.
Disclaimer: If I owned HSM, the pop-up edition would've been a whole lot juicier. (And perhaps a little dirtier, hehe). And, since I just found out about the whole Cassandra Claire incident with "Draco Dormiens" (which was one of the first fics I ever read), any lines of dialogue that bare resemblance to lines of dialogue from various mediums of pop culture aren't mine either. I dunno if I used any, but if I did, keep in mind that I have 11 TV shows that I watch religiously every week and can not contain my pop culture knowledge. I highly doubt that made any sense, but just go with it.
They chickened out.
It had been two weeks since Ryan and Sharpay had decided to tell their friends they weren't related, but they still hadn't worked up the nerve. Ryan and Sharpay, the only two people at East High who could claim never having an ounce of stage fright, couldn't muster up enough courage to tell anybody. Oh, the irony.
Of course, this fact was far from their minds Monday of show week. Especially because they were a little too preoccupied at that time to think at all.
"I love having our own dressing room." Sharpay whispered to Ryan.
"I love that no one ever comes in here because they think we're mentally preparing for our performance."
"How much longer before they'll knock and tell us we're on?"
"We've got a good seven minutes."
"Lucky number seven, huh? Well, Ryan, if we've got seven minutes we should…"
"Yes?"
"Run our lines."
Ryan sighed. "Fine, I'll start."
"Go."
"Then let lips do what hands do. They pray."
"Good place to start."
"Shut up, Shar."
"Make me."
"With pleasure."
They fell into each other, planning to put their remaining six minutes to good use.
Six minutes passed too quickly, and Kelsi was knocking on the door, telling them it was time.
"Coming," the couple said in unison.
"We have to tell them," Ryan said as he tried to fix his hair.
"Fine, but not that we're dating. Just that we're not twins."
"Then we'll tell them that we're together later, right?" Sharpay had been putting off their confession, and Ryan was getting tired of it.
"Right."
There was a pause as the two just stood there silently.
"We have to go."
"What?"
"Rehearse, Sharpay. We have to rehearse."
"Oh, right. Let's go."
Ryan and Sharpay walked out into the theater. Troy, Gabriella, Kelsi (who had composed an underscore for the play), and the rest of the drama club were sitting in a circle on the stage arguing about the 2004 Tony Awards. Chad and Taylor (who Gabriella and Troy had convinced to help with the sets) were there as well, looking thoroughly confused at the conversation. Sharpay was relieved to see that Troy was participating. They had taught him well. Before he was in Twinkle Towne, Troy couldn't even name a single Sondheim show. Now he knew the words to "Comedy Tonight." The drama club was proud of all he had learned. There was, however, one face missing from the crowd.
"Where's Ms. Darbus?" Sharpay asked.
"She left to get her clipboard," Gabriella explained before going back to defending Avenue Q's win as best musical.
Sharpay and Ryan didn't join in the discussion. Instead, they stood to the side, talking.
"Now would be a good time to get this over with," Ryan whispered.
"You do it then."
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because you're the guy."
"What does being a guy have to do with this?"
"As the guy, it's your responsibility to tell our friends that we're not related. It's proper manners."
"You know, Shar, I really don't think that Emily Post has a rule for this kind of thing."
"Just do it, Ryan."
"Why can't you do it, Shar?"
"Me? You're the one who's all 'we have to tell them'!"
At this point, Sharpay and Ryan had stopped attempting to lower their voices. They were actors and they knew how to project and would often do so unintentionally. This was one of those times. Suddenly Hugh Jackman beating out Hunter Foster fell second to eavesdropping on Ryan and Sharpay. Although, is it really eavesdropping when the two people are yelling?
"We do have to tell them, Shar. It's been twelve years and I can't take it anymore!"
"It's your fault anyway, Ryan."
"My fault? How on earth is this my fault?"
"You're the one who couldn't wait to tell everyone, Ry."
"That doesn't make it my fault, and we'd have to tell them eventually. Twelve years is a freaking eternity."
"Since when is twelve years an eternity?"
"In the run of a Broadway show, in celebrity marriages, and in keeping secrets!"
"It was your idea, Ryan."
"It was not my idea. It was a mistake. Just like what happened two weeks ago."
The drama club (plus Chad and Taylor) was enthralled. Ryan and Sharpay never fought like this. Sharpay had the ultimate authority over Ryan and all of their arguments ended quickly with Ryan accepting this fact.
Sharpay held back tears at Ryan's harsh words. "A mistake? You'd call the last two weeks a mistake? Nobody makes the same 'mistake' that many times, Ryan, no matter what the bail jumpers try to convince Dog the Bounty Hunter. What about ten minutes ago in the dressing room? Was that a 'mistake', too?"
A state of shock encompassed the spectators. Whatever mistake the Evans were talking about was riveting. That and the fact that Sharpay made a Dog: the Bounty Hunter reference.
"I didn't mean it that way, Shar. You of all people should know that. I never meant it to come off that way. At first, I thought what we were doing might be a mistake. But then you… and I knew if it was a mistake, it was the best mistake I could have ever made. And that may be cliché, but it's true."
"Where is all this coming from," filled the minds of those who bore witness to Ryan's confession. Of all the people at East High, Ryan was the least likely to be saying these things. Especially since he wasn't reading lines. Especially because he was saying these things to his sister.
"Ryan, are you serious?"
"Sharpay, not even I am that good of an actor."
Forgetting everyone else in the theater, Sharpay pulled Ryan into a kiss. The kind of fairy tale kiss that took place in a giant elephant outside of a Parisian strip club with the world spinning around the two oblivious participants. This was the kind of kiss that followed songs like "I'll Cover You" or "Grow Old with You." This was the kind of kiss that ended romantic comedies after the main characters realize they're perfect for each other. This was the kind of kiss that occurred when a girl got off a plane to Paris to tell a guy that she loves him.
It was the kind of kiss that probably shouldn't be done in front of people who think that the two people kissing are brother and sister.
The loud thump as Chad, having passed out, hit the wooden stage floor, brought Ryan and Sharpay out of their own dimension. Arms still wrapped around each other, they turned slowly towards the shocked countenances of the rest of the auditorium's inhabitants as a familiar voice rang out from the back of the theater, screeching, "What in the name of Neil Simon is going on in here?"
That's it for now, people. I'm working on chapter three, but as I said in my author's notes, this is a filler chapter before they actually tell everybody. Please review. I'll love you forever if you do. Promise.
