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DISCLAIMER: I do not own HSM or the characters associated with it.

Ryan waited outside the gym for basketball practice to be over. Sure he could have gone inside, but he didn't know the rules about outsiders watching practice, so he opted for the safe option. Pretty soon the boys came stumbling out of the double doors, freshly showered. Zeke and Jason were the first people Ryan spotted; there was no sign of Troy or Chad.

"Hey Ryan," Zeke said a little too enthusiastically. Ryan knew he was trying to be nice to him to get an in with Sharpay. "Can you give these cookies to Sharpay for me?"

Poor Zeke, so naive. "Sure, no problem." Truth was, the cookies weren't for Sharpay. Sharpay had asked Zeke to make them, and let him believe that the cookies were for her. In reality, they were for Chad.

"Thanks man. I've got to go. Tell Sharpay I said hi." Zeke and Jason both walked away, as more players filed out of the gym. Right when Ryan was beginning to think that Chad was never going to come out, Chad and Troy exited the doors, laughing. It was at this moment that Ryan could tell how close they really were. They were laughing as only best friends could.

When they finally caught sight of Ryan, the both stopped laughing, as well as walking. Since it was clear to Troy that Chad wasn't going to say anything to the blonde boy, he decided to speak up. "Ryan. What's up man?"

"Not much. Just picking up these cookies that Zeke made for Sharpay."

There was an awkward pause in their conversation. Chad still said nothing. "Well I've got to go find my dad. He wanted to talk to me." Troy tried to make his get away, but Chad grabbed his arm.

"Do not leave me alone." Chad spoke in a hushed tone so Ryan couldn't hear him.

"You're a big boy you'll be fine." He turned back to Ryan. "See you later Ryan."

As Troy ran off down the hall, Ryan asked, "You want a cookie? They are the best chocolate chip cookies you've ever had in your life."

"Um... sure." Chad took a cookie from the bag Ryan held out to him. He took a bite, and the cookie literally melted in his mouth. "Wow these are really good."

"That's why I'm thinking of keeping them for myself instead of giving them to Sharpay," he lied. "You have some chocolate on your mouth."

Without giving Chad a chance to react, he stepped closer, definitely closer then he needed to be, and used his thumb to wipe the corner of Chad's mouth.

Chad froze. Ryan just touched his lips, well almost his lips. He wished that Ryan had used his mouth to wipe away the chocolate instead of his finger. When the mental images of the two of them kissing entered Chad's mind, the only word he could think of to describe himself was pathetic.

"I got it." Ryan announced, bringing Chad back to reality.

"Uh... thanks." Was that all he could come up with?

"I've got to go. I hope Sharpay didn't leave me again." He took a step back, but before he could get too far away he whispered, "By the way, you smell really good." He smirked at Chad and took off.

Chad said nothing. He just watched Ryan saunter down the hall, as if he was king of the world. What the hell just happened? Chad felt like he couldn't breathe. Was that a dream? The ability to comprehend was gone. I need to find Troy.

Chad walked into the boy's locker room, and saw Chad through the window sitting in Coach Bolton's office. Coach Bolton was doing some work on his computer while Troy was sitting in an adjacent chair, messing around on his phone. No doubt texting Gabriella. Chad burst through doors while both Bolton's looked up at the intruder. They could tell that he was not happy. "Can I talk to you please?" Chad directed at Troy, through gritted teeth.

"Actually I'm talking to my dad." He was trying to protect himself. Troy knew Chad was going to kill him for leaving him alone with Ryan.

"No, we aren't. You've been sitting there on your phone for the last fifteen minutes. You boys can go. Good practice today."

"But dad, didn't you say you had something you needed to talk to me about?" Troy hoped his dad would get the hint. He did not want to deal with the wrath of Chad.

"No, not that I recall."

Troy tried to protest again, "But-"

Chad grabbed Troy's arm and pulled him out of the chair, "Come on. Bye Coach Bolton." He pulled Troy out the door. "Have you completely lost your mind? Why did you leave me alone?" Chad exploded.

"So you could talk to your boyfriend in private," Troy tried to lighten the mood, but seeing Chad's face it was too early for jokes.

Chad was definitely less than amused, "Stop it. This isn't funny. I told you I can't handle it right now."

"But you like him."

Chad blinked a couple of times before answering, "What's your point?"

"That you like him. What happened anyway?"

Chad's eyes widened as he answer, "He gave me a cookie!"

"No! How horrible!" Troy answered sarcastically.

Chad glared at his best friend. He was not in the mood for this. "He gave me a cookie, then invaded my personal space by wiping chocolate off my mouth with his thumb, and told me I smelled good."

"Wow, this boy has it bad for you. He is putting serious moves on you." Chad stared and said nothing. "Let me ask you this. What would you do if Ryan was a girl?" Again, Chad stared, but this time as if Troy had lost his mind. "If you liked a girl as much as you like Ryan, you wouldn't be freaking out. So what would you do to pursue this girl?"

"Well I would flirt with the girl for awhile first, so she would know I was interested. Then I would charm her Danforth style, then ask them out on a date."

"Why not do that with Ryan?"

"Now you have gone mad. He is Ryan Evans. He's talented, smart, well semi-smart, funny, good looking, and a boy. I don't know how to flirt with a boy. I just freeze whenever he gets within ten feet of me. I feel nervous when ever he talks to me. I don't know what to do."

"Sounds to me like you really like him."

Chad nodded. "I do."

Troy threw his arm over his best friend's shoulders, and started to pull them down the hall and away from the school. "Let's go home." He paused before adding, "You do smell good."

"Shut up." Chad pushed Troy away from him, and glared at him. He was thankful that Troy was his best friend and he supported him so much. He was glad they could joke about this situation and Troy wasn't freaked out about it.

As the boys walked towards Troy's car, they never noticed the lone figure in the shadows of the hall. The mysterious person was "unintentionally" eavesdropping on their conversation, and smiled at the information that was unknowingly revealed to him.

Walking into the door of his house, he was bombarded with questions from Sharpay.

"Slow down Shar. You're talking 50 miles an hour, I didn't understand anything you just said. Thanks for leaving me at school... again. I had to take the disgusting public bus home."

Sharpay ignored his comment. "What happened?" She asked simply.

"It worked better then planned. Zeke's cookies were perfect."

Sharpay squealed, "I'm so excited. Okay next, we need to-"

"No. There is no next. I'm taking over. I don't need help."

"What are you talking about? We just started. You need some way to suck Chad in."

"That is not a problem. He's already hooked."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"You sure?" Why did Sharpay always doubt him?

"I overheard Chad telling Troy he likes me."

"That's perfect. Now is when you have to make a grand gesture and who knows better about grand anything then me."

"Sharpay I don't want to scare him."

She looked as if she was going to protest but she didn't. "Fine, you know where to find me if you change your mind."

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