Disclaimer : No , I still don't own High School Musical just playing in New Mexico .

The Beanery Coffeehouse wasn't Starbucks or Paddy's Bakery but the ambiance was warm and inviting with bistro tables and chairs scattered around the shop, even a small loveseat done up in an Aztec print and a comfy oversized chair held court in a corner for those who wanted to have privacy with their drink of choice . The smell of coffee mingled with that of freshly baked breads and pastries tempted Kelsi as she took a sip of her Red Zinger tea and smiled , brightly . She usually got a nice cup of chamomile or a tasty British blend but decided that she needed to be more adventurous .

The Red Zinger tea had a nice zing to it and if all else would keep her alert for studying later on . She tried to resist the urge to check her phone which was tucked in her bag to see if Ryan had called but refrained from doing so .

A handsome , exciting musician was interested in her and she was pining over Ryan which was senseless and silly ! Ryan was her friend and she might as well accept it .

" Kelsi, am I boring you ? Where did you go ? " Maxwell invaded her thoughts , trying to hide his annoyance that she hadn't been listening to a word he said as he was used to being the focus of attention . Females tended to fall over themselves for him but the quiet young woman seemed oblivious to the fact .

Kelsi blinked , embarrassed behind her frames, and took a nervous drink ." I'm sorry , Max, I didn't mean to ," apologized Kelsi, feeling contrite ," I get scattered sometimes ..music notes stuck on the brain . "

He picked up her hand and caressed it , lightly ." I'll forgive that distraction as it has happened to me as well . Curse of the brilliant '

She smiled ." I suppose ," muttered Kelsi , then curiosity got the best of her ," I'm sorry if this sounds crazy but I have to ask it . If you auditioned yourself and your music to Sharpay why are you with me and not working with her ? I know how Sharpay works and she'll want to run through a new song at least two hours tops the first go round ."

Max flashed her white teeth and a dazzling grin ." I stood her up so we could get to know each other better , Kelsi . If Sharpay intends to perform my music then she can perform them according to my schedule and not hers ."

Kelsi was taken aback by his statement . " Oh, uh oh, that wont be good , Max . I mean, I understand how your proud of your work and you want it to be the way you wrote it but it wont work that way with Sharpay . It has to be her way only "

She folded her hands around the tea cup to warm them ." She isn't like Ryan ..he listens and understands . Sharpay is a bit much to put it nicely , trust me '

Max took a drink of his rich French roast , weighed her advice and inclined his head , understanding . It hadn't taken him long to find out the scope about the brother and sister duo or that Ryan was the weak link in the pair .

" Drama majors always are divas ," dismissed Max, casually ," I know how I will handle Sharpay but I appreciate the advice, Kelsi. I have some really edgy ideas for a one woman show featuring Sharpay and I thought what a better way for us to get to know each other than working on the music together . How does that sound to you ? "

Kelsi hesitated as she knew the kind of numbers the blonde preferred and sometimes composing for Sharpay tended to make her nervous and nerve wracked .

" Well, I am kind of working on a new song right now but it really isn't suited for Sharpay ," mumbled Kelsi , softly ," I would love to see what you've written though ? Do you have any of your compositions with you ? "

" Always ," Max handed her his music portfolio then placed a hand on her arm forcing the shy pianist to meet his intense gaze head on ," Then I thought we could make this more personal , kelsi, and tell me what makes you tick ."

Kelsi swallowed the lump of nerves in her throat , flustered by the attention , and wished she could duck and hide under the table all the while wondering what on earth she had gotten herself into ?

She took a deep breath, opened her mouth to talk though it was actually more of a ramble and prayed that any of her friends would rescue her before she made a complete fool out of herself and Max decided she was a loser and a freak .

This was a prime example of why she didn't date !

********************************EHS************************************

" Come on, honey , " cajoled a desperate Chad as he followed Taylor and Gabriella into the school ," this is a really stupid thing to be mad at me for ! I didn't mean anything about it ! Kelsi and Ryan are my friends too ! Are you seriously going to hold this against me , woman ? "

Taylor pursued her lips together , deliberating on making her boyfriend sweat it out some more even though her best friend was giving her a scolding look .

" I expected better from you, Chad ," Taylor stopped to hold her books against her chest ," not to mention you stood me up at lunch "

Chad placed a hand on her arm to stop her from moving ." I'm sorry, I really am but me and the guys were giving Evans a pep talk ," went on Chad, truthfully ," Ryan is seriously into Kelsi and majorly freaking out over this Max dude . We were trying to help ."

Troy draped an arm around Gabriella's shoulder and nodded ." It's true , he isn't lying . We didn't blow you off on purpose , ladies, we were trying to help Ryan ."

Gabriella kissed her boyfriends cheek, lightly ." I believe you both ." She sent Taylor another look ," They were just being good friends and you cant be angry at that ."

" I suppose not ' said a resigned Taylor , giving in to the adorable puppy dog expression on Chad 's face ," I guess I forgive you, you lunkhead ."

" Awesome , thanks " Chad leaned in to steal a kiss ," lighten up a bit , babe ."

Taylor returned the kiss and linked her hand through his arm as the foursome entered school side by side . Jason and Martha took time between their morning make out session to wave at them and the group avoided the gaggle of wannabe Sharpayettes as they made their way over to the girls lockers before the first bell rang .

" I still feel horrible about setting Kelsi up with Max ," worried Gabriella," I feel like I should do something for poor Ryan . Did you boys make any progress talking to him about Kelsi or is that some secret Man code honor you cant tell us about ? '

Troy and Chad grinned and exchanged a high five ." Ryan is confident on the dance floor but is a gibbering idiot when we brought up him asking Kelsi out on an actual date .'

" I tutored him in math a bit last year ,' confided Gabriella , knowingly ," it seems to me as Ryan tends to panic when he is insecure in things he doesn't quite know how to do . "

" Not to mention having Sharpay for a sister must really be trying on the guys ego sometimes ," interjected Taylor, tapping her fingernail against her lip ," she isn't always the nicest to him . Not to mention in the past she had been incredibly rude and mean to Kelsi and since its so obvious , Ryan is crushing on her , he is super nervous ."

" No need to analyze it to death, Taylor ," reminded Chad , knowing how serious Taylor tended to take things ," things will work out on its own . Troy and I gave Ryan some pointers and besides I got faith in our little playmaker , she wont go for some slick player when Mr. Hotshot Sensitive choreographer likes her ."

" Chad is right ," agreed Troy, hoping to alieve some of Gabriella's guilt ," Ryan is the only guy I've ever noticed Kelsi actually flirt with so it 'll work it self out.'

Gabriella was thoughtful but she appreciated the gesture the guys were making .

" I hope so " murmured the dark haired girl , nudging her boyfriend," Come on, my Wildcat, walk your girl to class ."

" Happy too " Troy took her hand and Chad did the same with Taylor as they made their way towards first period unaware of the new drama that was taking place near the lockers of Ryan and Kelsi or the girls would have turned right around to interfere .

Kelsi adjusted her scarf around her neck, brushed at her brown curls , and pushed her frames up on her nose , hand on the door of her locker , idly aware of the time and wondering why Ryan was running late . He was always on time , always .

She hoped something was wrong since she hadn't talked to him last night .

Finally just as Kelsi had shut the locker door, she spotted Ryan's blonde hair and the the jaunty striped hat above the throng of students as he made his way to his locker and was surprised to find the object of his dreams waiting for him .

" Hi "

Kelsi searched his face , found he seemed guarded behind his bright blue eyes and instantly worried about him . Had Sharpay been cutting him down again ?

" Are you alright, Ryan ? "

He glanced at Kelsi , touched by her genuine concern for him, and noted she was wearing the scarf he had bought her over the summer and sent her a warm smile .

" No, I'm fine ," Ryan focused on turning his locker combination ," just running late this morning and Dad wouldn't let me take the car and Sharpay was in a snit so I rode my bike ."

Kelsi touched his arm." I would have picked you up this morning if you called me , Ry"

" I know ," Ryan began pulling books down from his locker , paying no attention to what he grabbed , his eyes solely on the pretty girl in front of him ," So, um, I guess you changed your mind , um, yesterday about us studying after school and all ." He paused ," I got hung up in class then Troy and Gabriella stopped me but I saw you leave with the new guy , Kelsi ."

That didn't hurt at all - he could keep things normal between them and Kelsi wouldn't have to know how much it was killing him inside . He could be cool. He'd watched his friends last year when they were fighting with their other half and he could still keep his cool . Kelsi was that important to him and he respected her choices .

" Oh, I wondered where you were ," says Kelsi, brightening at the prospect that he hadn't deliberately stood her up ," I did wait for you , Ryan then max came with all of these ideas about composing music for Sharpay ..I mean, him and I , that is ."

Why did she feel foolish explaining it to Ryan ? He wouldn't care .

" Sharpay told me about his grand ideas and music " said Ryan, dryly .

" Max really is a talented composer and his music is suited for her , I think ," went on Kelsi ," More so than what I compose but he wanted to discuss our collaboration over coffee yesterday ."

Ryan had been wrong as a large size boulder managed to lodge in his throat .

" You don't drink coffee " It was lame but it was all that would spew out .

Kelsi laughed a little and tugged playfully on his hat ." I had tea, silly ," managed Kelsi , trying to make him smile ," or did you stress drink coffee this morning ? "

Ryan's lips twitched , slightly ." Funny, Kels, and no . "

He had a bad tendency to drink coffee when highly stressed , a fact that Kelsi had discovered after she had witnessed him and his sister coming to blows last year about his social life not fitting into her plans , and she had listened and calmed him down with tea .

He tugged his hat off and placed it on her head ." You forgot a hat this morning "

" I did but I was playing with some lyrics this morning …" beamed an excited Kelsi ," oh thanks , Ryan , but now you'll be hatless "

" It looks cuter on you "

Kelsi blushed but smiled up at him ." We could share the hat between classes ."

" Sure ," Ryan cleared his throat then plunged forward ," so, Kelsi, are you , you know , going out with Max now ? "

It was an honest question and they were good friends . It was a harmless question .

What is it the guys said in sports ? No harm, no foul or was that the wrong game ?

Kelsi was taken back and blinked ." We just went for coffee , it wasn't a date ."

Before Ryan could react , Kelsi had the floor pulled out from under her as Max placed a possessive hand around her waist and dropped a kiss on her surprised mouth rendering them both speechless and the New Yorker feeling quite smug .

" Good morning my Pixie girl ," replied Max, taking the hat from her and handing it back to Ryan , smoothly ," hey Evans , nice to see you. Isn't Kelsi sweet afraid to admit our coffee date was in reality a first date ? So refreshing from the kind of girls I used to date back home ."

Kelsi stepped away from him." Max, uh, it was only coffee ."

" Which is usually constructed as a date," Max flashed her a brilliant smile ," let's not bore your pal with all the technical details . Let me walk my girl to class .."

Kelsi was at a loss for words as she glanced hopefully at Ryan to please help her but he could only look at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes .

She didn't know what to do and didn't want to call attention to herself or make a scene .

" I'm going to be late to class ' she managed ,unaware that Martha and Jason were studying them with keen intrest ," I need to go now ."

" Catch you at lunch , Kelsi " managed a forlorn looking Ryan , watching as Max caught her hand in his own and escorted her down the hallway ," see you, Maxwell .'

Jason caught up with Ryan , slapping a hand on his back ." That dude is too much ."

" Kelsi could have said no " pointed out Ryan , depressed ," I know its in her repertoire .'

" You could have rescued her and showed the girl you care " said Jason ," the dude steamrolled her the way your sister does poor pathetic Zeke every other day ."

Ryan slammed his locker shut ." Jason, leave it be ."

" Naw cause you taught me , the clumsiest dude alive to dance and not look like a fool ," reminded Jason ," Kelsi is just overwhelmed because Max is slick and charming and he's really putting in the effort to get her . You cant stand on the sidelines , Ryan ."

" She doesn't like being in the spotlight and I wont make her feel uncomfortable ," stated Ryan ," I wont stand in the way if Kelsi likes Mr. Slick "

" Now your just being the fool ," Jason shook his head ," Never figured you for the type ."

Ryan stuffed his hands in his pockets , wishing he could dull the numbness in his chest as he ambled down the hall to his dreaded math class all the while replaying his conversation with Kelsi in his head to try to gain some clarity and insight .

****************************EHS**********************************

Kelsi didn't know how these things happened to her or how she let them get out of control but somehow Max believed they were dating now . She had tried talking to him, tried to explain how she didn't like to rush into things , and that they barely knew one another but none of that seemed to bother him in the least . He just smiled at her and assured her he would take them slower until she was more comfortable with it .

It was like talking to a handsome , charming but bossy brick wall and she was so out of her element here . Oh sure she was flattered Max was this interested in being with her but just being with him had garnered her more attention than she cared for and Ryan probably thought that she had lied to him. Which bothered her but she didn't know how else to convince Max she wasn't that into him and oh, this was a utter mess !

She was relieved when Max went to his psychics class and she all but fell into her seat in home room , glad to have a little time to herself to absorb everything that was happening to her . Most girls would probably kill for the attention but Kelsi felt overwhelmed .

Martha nudged Chad out of his seat and pulled the desk closer to Kelsi ." Ok, girl, what is going on with you and Mr. Hottie Pushy New York this morning ? Did you suddenly forget about Ryan or what ? "

" Sssh , Martha ! Of course I haven't forgotten ! I went for coffee with Max and he wont listen to a word that I say ! And I've actually said a lot and he still insists we're dating and two of Sharpay's little clones tried to trip me this morning on top of that ."

Martha got down to the serious ." Maxwell s is a big time player , hun , that has to be it . He must think your playing hard to get or is this to make Ryan jealous ? "

Kelsi shot her friend an annoyed look ." Martha , Ryan hasn't said or done anything to show me he reciprocates how I feel and I don't want to be a fool if he thinks we're just good friends . It will ruin everything between us ."

" Kels,hiding how you feel about him isn't really working for you either '

" Then maybe I should stop acting like a frightened little girl and try to enjoy all the attention Max is showering at me ," decided Kelsi, her feelings all over the place ," it isn't as if guys are beating down the doors to date me , Martha . So what if Max is a little aggressive and …well, he does actually seem interested in me ."

" Aggressive isn't a good thing , sweetie ," said Martha , cautiously ," and you just said how he didn't listen to a word out of your mouth . This isn t smart , kelsi ."

" Well maybe I need to get out of my shell more " argued the composer , defensively .

Chad happened to overhear the girls conversation and leaned between them .

" Kelsi, the dude isn't sincere ," replied Chad , in undertones ," I don't mean to tell you what to do but can you trust me on this one ? I'm a guy and I don't like him ."

Kelsi only got more defensive ." You have barely spoken two words to him, Chad ."

" Maybe not but you're my friend and I'm looking out for you, " retorted Chad , feeling Taylor smiling at him from behind ," there is another dude who likes you."

Kelsi snapped her book open, perturbed that her friends didn't think she could take care of herself . She was just as capable as Taylor or Gabriella or Martha !

She wasn't some complete innocent baby , she was smart and clever too !

" My love life is not up for discussion ! Or gossip ! I'll date whoever the hell I want to date and you can give your advice to someone who cares ! "

If Max wanted to date her then she would allow it , she was the one being dated and to hell with what all of her friends thought ! It was her life , not theirs !

.