A/N: Hello all you viewers! Or is it readers? Here's the chapter update you've all been waiting for! Sorry for leaving you on such a cliffhanger last chapter…but sometimes its fun to make you all guess…does that make me a sadist? I wonder…

Anyways! To business. The song from Chapter Five was "One Day More" from Les Misérables. Congratulations to everyone who got that right! I won't give out your names yet, in case people bug you for the preview I gave.

StillThereForMe- You were right about Fulton's line in Chapter Six- it is from "Master of the House." I only put it in there because I was listening to it at the time and thought it would be fun to slip it in. But I'm impressed with the observation!

Poppyfields13- That was my favorite line as well! Also, you have to try crème brulée if you've never had it. It's amazing.

Also, this chapter title is devoted to "Hair", which I saw last night at the Delacorte theatre. It was completely amazing. It's my new second favorite show after "Spring Awakening." Both of them star Jonathan Groff, whom I absolutely adore. So if you haven't seen "Spring Awakening", go get tickets!

And now for something completely different.

Standard Disclaimer: High School Musical and its characters belong to Disney. I do not own them, nor am I making any profit from this story. I am merely writing for my enjoyment. The title of this story also does not belong to me, but to Rent.

I Should Tell You…

Chapter Seven

"Ryan!"

Ryan jerked his head up, startled at the sudden interruption to his…activity.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open as she saw what Ryan was doing. He was…he was…

"Kissing a photo?" She said in disbelief. It just didn't seem like the sort of thing Ryan would do. He was so proud that he didn't seem like the sort desperate enough to do such a thing.

Ryan blushed furiously, hiding the photo and sitting on it so Gabriella couldn't see who the frame contained.

"Ryan, I can't believe I caught you making out with a photo." She said, not sure whether to laugh or be freaked out.

"I wasn't making out." He said defensively. "I just…gave it a small kiss, that's all."

"Sure." She said, rolling her eyes.

Ryan scowled, the infamous Evans attitude kicking in. "Hey, I didn't invite you to barge in on me!" He saw her face fall as he said this, and felt guilty. "Hey, I didn't mean that. Well, come on in, since you're here." He said, waving her in.

"Thanks Ry…So, whose picture was it?" She queried. He blushed, and looked the other way pointedly.

"Alright, don't trust me." She sighed, wishing she could help. She looked around his room, which was huge, and every square inch of his walls were covered in musical posters. "Wow." She saw posters for musicals she knew, like 'Phantom of the Opera', 'Hairspray', and 'The Lion King'.

She also saw a lot of posters for musicals she had never heard of, like 'Avenue Q' and 'Les Misérables'. One poster caught her eyes. A handsome youth leaned over a beautiful girl with dark hair and eyes, his hand on her breast. The poster had the name 'Spring Awakening' on it in white letters in a bold red square.

"Oh...that's Jonathan Groff." He said, looking up at the picture she was indicating. "He plays Melchior in Spring Awakening. It's my favorite Broadway show currently."

Gabriella nodded. "And the girl?"

"Lea Michele. She's Wendla. She's been in a lot of other musicals though. She was Young Cosette in the original 'Les Mis' and she was Chava in 'Fiddler on the Roof'. She has an amazing voice."

Gabriella nodded. "So, do they like…you know?"

"Have sex?" He asked, amused at her question. "Well, you'll just have to see it."

"Like I can afford to go to New York and buy Broadway tickets." She said as she reminded him that not everyone was as well off as he was.

"Then I'll take you one day. My treat." He smiled, then squirmed; sitting on a picture frame wasn't very comfortable.

Gabriella sat on the bed next to him. "Hey Ryan?" She asked suddenly, after they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. "Is that one of your hats on the floor?"

"Huh?" As Ryan leaned slightly forward to look, Gabriella gave him a shove, sending him toppling off the bed onto the floor with a painful sounding thud. She grabbed the photo he had been sitting on and flipped it over to stare at the face of…

"Chad Danforth!"

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"Chad Danforth!"

Chad snapped out of her reverie to see a very frustrated Taylor looming over him.

"Holy shit!" He fell out of his chair in shock, gazing up at his ex as if he were staring at a dinosaur.

"Chad, I've been talking to you for the last 5 minutes!" She said impatiently, extending a hand to help him up. "What's the matter with you anyways? You were basically trying to kill Troy with your glares this morning, and now you're all spacey. And twitchy. What's the problem?"

"I don't like him! I really don't! And I'm not defensive, and I have no idea what you're talking about! IseriouslyandtrulydonotlikeRyanEvansyou'reallinsaneandIhavenoid-eawhatyouwant from me." He said as he ran away.

Taylor just stared at him as if he had lost what little sanity he had owned in the first place, which he pretty much had. Those dreams he'd been having took a toll on his mental state. "Well, that made total sense. I know exactly what he was talking about." She shook her head exasperatedly. "And I wonder who it is he doesn't like?"

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Zeke glared suspiciously at Sharpay and Troy, who were looking at a piece of paper and whispering excitedly. Zeke wasn't really one to get jealous, but he was pretty upset that Sharpay had led him on, and then completely forgot about him to hang out with Troy, the basketball boy.

I'm a basketball guy too. He thought enviously. But then again, Sharpay's always been after Troy. Why are you so surprised? She was obviously just throwing me a bone to get me off her back. Or she was just using me to get my desserts. Whichever it is, it really hurts that's she's doing this to me.

He sighed, shaking his head sadly. Why do I even try anymore? I mean, I know I'm the optimist of the group, but there's only so much a baker can take. He gazed mournfully at the girl he loved, before shoving his hand into his pockets and walking off towards the kitchens. Maybe some baking can cheer me up. If that can't, I don't know what else will.

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"So they'll be coming next Saturday?" Troy asked, once again.

And Sharpay rolled her eyes, once again. "For the last time, yes, they're coming next Saturday."

Troy scowled. "I just wanted to be sure. We can't afford any screw ups."

Sharpay nodded. "Sorry for losing my temper. You're right. But we've gone over this so many times we couldn't possibly get it wrong. Unless some unknown, evil force works against us, I think we're in the clear."

Troy nodded as well. "Yea, and I can't possibly see what force could be trying to work against us. We're a couple of matchmakers, not a team of super heroes."

Sharpay had the vision of Troy as a 'matchmaker' and burst out laughing. Troy gave her a confused look. "Sorry, but I just had a vision of you as a Jewish woman wearing a huge dress."

This only made Troy twice as confused as he was before. Sharpay shook her head. "Never mind. You won't get it unless you've seen 'Fiddler on the Roof'." Troy shook his head, ignored her comment about him as a woman- Chad was the gay one, not him. Though he could see how a dress would show off his figure…

Troy sat bolt upright, almost slapping himself. "I've been hanging out with Ryan too much." He said half angrily.

Sharpay snorted, not even bother questioning what he meant, and scribbled some figures on the paper. "So Troy…about this party that we're planning…"

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Chad picked up the CD doubtfully, looking it over. He had decided that maybe if he started listening to musical soundtracks, he'd have more in common to talk about with Ryan. So he had gone to a CD store, and looked around the 'Musical Theater' section. The album of 'Hair' was the only one that had caught his eye- the man on the album had a fro, and Chad felt that if they had the same hairstyle, the music couldn't be that bad. Anyways, he had heard of 'Hair', apparently, the whole cast stripped in it. And anywhere hot girls were stripping- well, he guessed he'd have to change it to hot guys now- Chad Danforth was there. Well, maybe not actually there, since the musical was on the stage well before his birth, but at least he was picturing the naked girls- boys?- in his mind.

So he popped the disk into his CD player; he was a bit ashamed he didn't have an iPod yet- but his mother refused to buy him one, and Chad was saving up for a car, and he couldn't afford to spend a few hundred on an iPod. He began listening to the first song, but pulled his headphones off after only a minute.

"The dawning of the angel Aquarius? What's that supposed to mean?" He said, punching his pillow in frustration. He just didn't like musical theatre, it wasn't his thing. His only thing was sports, he was only good at basketball and baseball and anything with balls. His supposed maybe that affected his sexuality. He had no hidden talents like Troy or Zeke. What you saw was what you got.

And Ryan probably doesn't even like what he sees. Why would he want me? Chad said with a snort. He doesn't want me. That's obvious. He barely talks to me at lunch, yet he's always chatting it away with Troy. And talking about Troy, why does he have to be so damn nosey? He's always badgering me about Ryan…he has no proof that I like Ryan! Chad knew it was no use arguing with himself, he knew he was hopelessly infatuated with the Evans twin. Fine…so maybe I do like him a little bit, but that proves nothing. I mean, Ryan would never date a guy like me, and it's probably just a passing crush. I mean, Ryan's the only gay guy I know, so isn't it obvious I'd be attracted to him out of sheer lack of choice? Anyways, I bet I'll lose interest in him after another week or so. I just hope Troy doesn't find out. If I know him, he'll be determined to get involved and set us up together, and I have enough problems without forcing him to back down.

Chad groaned, throwing the CD player onto his bed; not too hard though, in case it broke, then he wouldn't have any music. Chad Danforth needed music to live, it was his one way to escape out of reality into his more peaceful place. But lately, that one peaceful place was blocked off to him by several brick walls and Ryan Evans. He sighed; it was going to be a long summer.

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"And he borrowed two dollars from me at the gas station…I don't want the two dollars back…Just him." Ryan sighed as he finished his long and agonizing tale of the car ride to Lava Springs with the unattainable Chad.

Gabriella nodded slowly, still absorbing the fact that it was Chad Danforth that Ryan Evans liked. She bit her lip, did Ryan know that Chad was gay? And if he didn't, should she tell him? She didn't like the idea of telling Chad's secrets for him, but it might cheer Ryan up, and perhaps make him brave enough to ask Chad out. She didn't know if Chad liked the blonde back, but still…it was quite possible. Especially seeing as he'd been acting very strange, more so when Ryan was around.

Yes, it's very possible that Chad likes Ryan back…but I can't be sure. Maybe I should confront Chad, but would he tell me? I can't tell him that Ryan likes him in case he doesn't like Ryan back, and it would make things even more awkward between the two. But even if he does like Ryan back, I can't guarantee that he'd be brave enough to ask him out…Ugh! Why is this decision so difficult? I think I should tell Ryan that Chad is gay, then confront Chad, but what if I mess everything up? She sighed. So many choices, and only one solution.

She took a deep breath, the exhaled slowly. "Ryan…you do know Chad is gay, right?"

Ryan's head shot up. "What did you say?" he demanded in a harsh tone she had never heard from him before.

"I said…Chad's gay." She said cautiously, in case he reacted badly to this news.

His eyebrows slanted together as he glared at her; she quailed under his hot blue gaze. "Don't mess with my head Gabriella. It's bad enough that he's straight without you goading me like that."

She shook her head. "It's true, Ryan. He came out to me and Troy and Taylor a few months back. He's just not ready to tell the school yet."

Ryan's gaze softened considerably as he seemed to look out into a world she couldn't see, but that was right in front of her. "Thank you for telling me that, Gabriella. It must've been a hard decision for you…Could you please leave now? I have some…thinking to do."

Gabriella got up, winking at him as she left. "Sure…thinking." She said suggestively, noticing his blush at her words. Boys…all they think about is sex. She closed the door behind her, leaving Ryan to 'think'.

She chuckled, in good spirits after she was able to help her friend, but then her expression soured as she saw Sharpay and Troy together…again. Troy spent more time with Sharpay then he did with her nowadays…and it bothered her badly. Shooting them a glare, she turned up her nose, and went to the other building- Ryan had instructed her on how to get to her room. She burst into the room angrily, surprised to see Taylor already sitting there.

"Hey Taylor." She said smiling and sitting on her bed, she felt as if she hadn't talked to Taylor in ages, and she needed a friend to talk to right now.

"Hey Gabriella." She said, smiling up at her best friend. "What's up?"

"Nothing really…Troy's hanging out with Sharpay a lot." She sulked, remembering why she was in such a bad mood. To her surprise, she saw Taylor nodding thoughtfully. Usually, Taylor always looked furious when she thought Sharpay was planning something.

"You know, I don't think she's trying to steal him this time. I think they're both up to something together…but I really think Sharpay's over Troy. She doesn't always come up to him like she used to."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Whatever, it's still irritating. And weird that they're spending so much time together."

Taylor shrugged. "And speaking of weird, Chad's been freaking me out lately. I only called his name and he basically shouted that he 'didn't like him' and he wasn't 'being defensive', though I hadn't even said anything about that. Then he muttered a line of gibberish and ran off. I don't know what's the matter with that boy's head."

Gabriella was careful not to let any emotion show on her face. "I'm not sure…boy trouble maybe?" She said slowly. Taylor had given her a lot to think about next time she had free time.

Taylor nodded. "I guess that could be it…it's still weird to think of Chad as being gay. I wonder if it was my fault that he went over to play for the other team?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Don't worry Taylor, you're very attractive. Chad doesn't know what he's missing. Just because you don't have extra equipment." She teased her best friend.

Taylor laughed. "I guess…seriously, I swear all the hot guys are going to the dark side." Taylor joked. "Except for Troy!" She said, noticing the horrified look on Gabriella's face.

Gabriella laughed. "Whatever. I have to unpack." She shook her head, thinking about what she could do for Ryan and Chad.

A/N pt 2. : Voila. Next update you shall see what Troy and Sharpay's plan is, and the force that shall oppose them…ignorantly. But yes, it'll be interesting to write. Anyways, it's harder to update so much now that school is back for the week, so apologies for the pause between updates. I'll try to do at least one chapter every two days…But sorry for this pathetically short chapter.