A/N: Well, it's taken awhile to get this to a point where I think it sort of works, but it's here now. The pairing is Ryelsi and the "food" (really drink) item is: tea. Sort of a missing scene for HSM3. Please forgive the lack of plot and onslaught of fluff to ensue. Thank you and enjoy.
Tea
"Dagnabit," Kelsi muttered under her breath as she attempted to situate her music and tea accessories so that she could access her keys to the school. She'd been coming in especially early this past week just to catch up on her writing for the Senior Year musical.
"Need a hand?" came a voice so unexpected that Kelsi nearly dropped her fine china to the ground as she whirled around to meet his face.
Ryan smiled, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just noticed that you were having a little trouble there…thought I might offer to help."
Kelsi gave a quick glance up and down his figure as if to ascertain that it was truly him speaking to her, then she nodded with a confused half-smile on her face. She held out her music and teapot to him, keeping the keys and cups to herself.
He looked down at the objects she had given him. "Mmm, why do you have a teapot?" he asked curiously.
Kelsi merely shrugged, trying to hide the blush creeping up on her face in embarrassment as she opened the door and ushered Ryan and her belongings inside.
She jaunted quickly down the hallway, and Ryan followed her a little more casually, whistling and strolling, examining the walls as if they would look different when no one else was in the building.
When he finally got to the practice room, he found Kelsi setting her things down and preparing the piano for play. He carefully set down her teapot and music before walking absently around the room and reading all of the miscellaneous wall decorations.
Kelsi stared at him for a moment then opened her mouth to speak for the first time.
But, as usual, he beat her to the punch.
"Why am I here?" he mused without looking toward her. "I knew you came early every day. I've tried calling your house and you're never there, so I figured you must be…well, here."
She nodded needlessly then tilted her head.
"I wanted to talk to you," he continued lightly. "About the musical and…stuff."
Kelsi glanced sideways for a minute, as though expecting someone to pop into the room, but nothing happened.
"You really do write beautiful songs, Kelsi," Ryan went on. "And any girl who can write such beautiful music impresses me."
He finally turned around to look at the silent entity in the room.
"You impress me, Kelsi," he said softly.
Her eyes grew wide with perplexity.
"I know this is a little…weird. But I just feel like we've known each other for so long, Kels. I mean you were the only girl, besides my sister, that I talked to up until last year. We've been friends longer than almost anyone else in this school, haven't we?" he ventured.
"Well, all right. I'll grant that I've been fickle before. I didn't actually become your friend, per se, until last year. But we've always talked. We've always hung out and known each other in some distant and mysterious way. Our shared passion for music sort of draws us toward each other," he stated excitedly.
Kelsi's eyes were still wide, but they held less confusion and more anxiousness at this point.
"Kelsi…good grief, think about it! You and I—we've known each other forever! And Troy and Gabriella just met a year ago, and they're dating. Taylor and Chad just began talking to each other last year, and they're dating. Does that make any sense whatsoever?" he chided.
Kelsi began to shake her head slowly.
"And…I mean, wow! Look at where we are now. You and I are—are standing here together, alone in a room, and yet we're—why, we're just talking! Actually, I'm just talking. You haven't even said anything."
He began turning and gesticulating in a wild and rambunctious fashion. "I just don't understand this logic! I don't even think you know what I'm saying—what I'm trying to say. I've just never done this before. I've never thought before, and all of a sudden, you and I, we get paired up for this musical, and instantly—BAM!—I start to think straight. But now that I'm here and just babbling and blurting stuff, I'm beginning to question whether or not I really am thinking straight, and I—"
Abruptly, Kelsi was standing right in front of him, looking at him with eyes full of amusement. She put a finger to his lips (he felt a slight tingling pleasure at this) and talked for the first time since they'd encountered this morning.
"Want some tea?" she asked quietly, nodding toward her teapot and the two cups that sat by it.
He sighed heavily, almost disappointed, but smiled and relaxed a little. "Sure."
Kelsi grabbed her teapot and walked over toward the piano, beckoning Ryan to follow her with the cups, and she took a seat on the piano bench, leaving him plenty of room to sit by her.
"Sorry about that," he murmured.
She shrugged nonchalantly, "It's fine. You're just a natural actor. You get a little dramatic and intense sometimes."
Was that an insult? "Yeah…"
He watched in silence as she poured tea into each cup, but the more time passed, the more anxious he felt, and he could no longer take the suspense.
"Well?" he prompted her.
She didn't look up, "Well, what?"
God, do I have to spell everything out? "Well…aren't you going to say anything? I mean, I just spilt my heart out to you! Granted, I rambled just a tad, and I was probably incoherent most of the time, but, I mean, geez, the least you could do is give me an answer."
He was getting passionate again—babbling, demanding, loud. He slammed his shaking and sweaty hands on the piano keys roughly, causing a discordant bang of notes to blast through the room, cutting through the tension swiftly.
To Ryan's astonishment (and mounting respect), Kelsi remained serene. "An answer to what? You never asked me anything."
He thought back quickly, attempting to recall everything he had said in the past few minutes, and found that she was right. He'd never posed any question, yet he was demanding an answer.
"Oh," was all he could manage to say as he ducked his head away from her, certain that his hat would hide his embarrassed and flustered face.
They continued to sit together, though, Ryan awkwardly gazing at Kelsi's music sideways and Kelsi coolly fiddling with her music and teacup as she took a sip.
"Wow," Ryan couldn't help but comment as he read her heartfelt lyrics. "How do you write this stuff? Like, what inspires you?"
Suddenly, Kelsi lost her calm and choked on her gulp of tea.
He whipped his head around to look at her, "What's wrong?"
She spared him a millisecond sideways glance then coughed roughly. "Um, I think I burnt my tongue on my tea," she provided nervously.
He continued to stare at her, his gaze softening from concern to interest. His eyes moved rapidly across her face, playing lengthily on her lips. "Maybe I can help."
Kelsi turned to look at him curiously but found herself mere millimeters from his face. The close proximity caused her heart rate to quicken, and she was too preoccupied with breathing properly to notice Ryan closing the gap between them.
Suddenly, his lips were on hers, but it was over as soon as it began. Ever thoughtful, Ryan hadn't wanted to push Kelsi too far before she was ready—he just had to get his point across.
The both sat in semi-shocked silence for a few moments, then Ryan cleared his throat. "Did that help at all?"
Kelsi's eyes had been glazed over, staring into space, but Ryan's voice brought her back to reality as she shook her head. "What?"
"I said—never mind," Ryan mumbled, so thoroughly embarrassed he felt like he could crawl inside the piano and close the top to escape the situation.
"You," Kelsi whispered finally.
Is that an accusation of some sort? Ryan queried to himself nervously. "Huh?"
She looked up at him. "You asked me what gives me inspiration. The answer is you."
He blinked once. Twice. Three times. That was unexpected.
"Really?" he asked, his voice now shaky with excitement.
Kelsi nodded slowly. "I've never been in a relationship, and watching Troy and Gabriella together can only do so much for my inspiration. I have to know what it feels like to be in love, you know?. And…well, I started to think 'what guy do I like?' and it turned out that, every time I went to write lyrics for a song, your face would pop into my mind. I didn't know if that meant anything for a long time, but then I started to realize that," she gazed at him genuinely, "I really like you, Ryan. But I've always been too quiet to do or say anything."
He cracked a warm smile. "Hey, it's okay. I'm loud enough for both of us, nowadays."
They shared a succinct laugh, and then he paused. "Wait, so you've liked me since you started writing songs for Troy and Gabriella?"
Kelsi shook her head embarrassedly. "Before that. I wrote 'What I've Been Lookin' For' a long time ago, before Troy and Gabriella got together. It was just when I started writing love songs that I began to think of you."
Ryan gave a low whistle. "That was awhile ago."
"Yeah," she agreed nervously, fiddling with her cup of tea even more.
Ryan looked at her and shook his head in wonder. How had he been so oblivious all these years?
"Well, we can make up for all that lost time," he said to her, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close.
This time the kiss was more natural, and both were prepared. They eased into it easily, without any hint of awkwardness, until they were just smiling too much to continue. They burst into wonderful, ecstatic laughter until Ryan saw Kelsi's eyes become wide and frightened as she stared at the doorway.
He turned around to see the source of her fear, and his insides twisted.
Ms. Darbus.
They stayed like that for maybe a minute, Ryan and Kelsi apprehensively shifting on the piano bench and Ms. Darbus just staring at the two with a look of some emotion neither of them could rightly place.
"Huh," was all their drama teacher said before leaving and closing the door behind her.
The two occupants of the room eyed each other uneasily, frightened of what potential consequence this might have, but then they heard a most peculiar noise from the hallway.
"Ah, FINALLY!" they heard Ms. Darbus exclaim as she scampered away.
Ryan gave Kelsi a perplexed look, and she just started to giggle hysterically at the absurdity of everything that had happened to her life in the past few minutes. She couldn't help but silently agree with Ms. Darbus.
"I'm starting to think she's been playing matchmaker, having us work together so much," Ryan mused, a half-smile on his face.
Kelsi shrugged. "I guess we have been working together a lot. That's why I always bring two cups with my teapot. In case you ever show up. Or anyone else, I guess…I just figured you might come in early one day to work on your choreography."
Ryan grimaced slightly. "I've been meaning to. Come in early and work with you, I mean. I just hadn't gotten up the nerve to come tell you how I felt, yet."
Kelsi smiled at him. "Well, now you can come in early every day."
Ryan returned the grin. "I think I will. Besides," he said, "it's always better to have two for tea."
Yeah, so...not much else to say. Hope you liked it! Reviews are always welcome, whether critical or encouraging. Thanks for reading!