A/N: I know, I know, I took too long to post... I'm working on it, I swear! But next time, while you wait, check out this TaylorxSharpay my story inspired: "And With A Kiss, The Walls Came Crashing Down," by EndlessDreamer1024. Not only is it a good read, but mentioning my story in hers can only result in a returned favor ;o)
Standard Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor its characters nor its songs and I do not own RENT nor its characters nor its songs. Don't sue me for feeling inspired.
Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me
Chapter 9
"Chad Danforth, Chad Danforth, Chad Danforth," he muttered as he scrolled his finger down the cast list searching for his own name.
"Chad Danforth, ahh, Chad Danfor- TOM COLLINS!" Chad's voice rose from a mutter to a near scream.
He shot a pleading look at his best friend Troy Bolton, who had been silently standing next to him searching for his own name on the cast list, which was of course prominently at the top of the list with the words 'Roger Davis' next to it.
"Yeah, that's what it says, bro," Troy confirmed with a shrug.
"But I-I can't... It's just- I mean," Chad stammered, trying to form an argument.
"You can't play someone as smart as an M.I.T. kick-out?" Ryan, as enigmatic as ever, had once again performed his usual trick of materializing out of thin air at the exact moment that Chad didn't want him to. With a silly smirk, he added, "Yeah, that's definitely a bit of a stretch for you."
"Well, lucky you. Playing someone as flaming as Angel isn't a stretch for you at all," Chad shot back. At this rate, it was going to be a long day.
Ryan, ever the Drama Queen himself, emphatically feigned being hurt at Chad's words. He was immune to all the gay jokes by now and had learned ways to spin them back upon his offender. This one was handed to him on a silver platter.
"Hmm," he pretended to think out loud, "I could come back with that Angel quote, you know, the one about being more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get, but that would be too easy now, wouldn't it?" Ryan grinned, looking extremely smug.
Chad, not ready to give in quite yet, squinted his eyes and reached out, pinching Ryan's cheeks and tugging a little.
"Sharpay, is that you? You can take off the Ryan mask now, everyone knows you're the only one that frigid," Chad said with a completely straight face, but a twinkle in his eye.
"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much. Now either move or evaporate so I can see my name in print," demanded Sharpay, as she appeared and shoved herself between the bantering Chad and Ryan on her way to read the cast list.
"Ooo, I got Maureeeeen!" squealed Sharpay, jumping up and down and doing a little celebratory clap with her fingertips to congratulate herself.
"Oh, as if you didn't already know," countered an unimpressed Taylor, who had just arrived for her turn to look at the cast list, Gabriella by her side. "You were the only one to even audition for Maureen."
Sharpay spun around and shot Taylor a quizzical glance. "Don't ruin my moment," she stated, and then giddily walked off to homeroom with Ryan in tow.
Taylor and Gabriella shared a confused look, and then proceeded to the cast list. Gabriella scanned the list for her name, and upon finding it, she couldn't help but to smile.
"Congratulations," offered Troy, who was leaning against the wall watching Gabriella's reaction to the list with a big grin on his face.
Gabriella turned to him with a grin to match his own. "Thanks, Troy, it's going to be a lot of fun acting with you again," she said with her head cocked ever so slightly, eyes peering up at him.
Were it not for the support of the wall, Troy probably would have melted under her gaze. But he was not about to let anyone know that, so he continued to play it cool.
"Yeah, it is definitely going to be a good time. Especially if you wear that black outfit again," he suggested daringly. He and Gabriella jokingly had these kinds of playful conversations plenty of times, so he wasn't worried about her reading too much into his statement, even if he did actually kinda sorta mean it.
It took all of Gabriella's willpower not to let her legs turn to jelly and not to blush. That much effort and the real school day hadn't even begun. As much as Troy's statement appealed to her, she joked back with a raised eyebrow, "Well perhaps that could be arranged." Perhaps? Who am I kidding? she thought to herself devilishly, hardly waiting to get Troy alone for rehearsal.
Troy did his best not to look overly ecstatic about the possibility, and instead he chuckled, offered his arm to her, and asked, "Shall we proceed to homeroom?"
Gabriella linked her arm with his and smiled up at him, replying, "We shall."
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With two minutes left before homeroom, Jason Cross and Zeke Baylor nearly strutted into Ms. Darbus' classroom. With a wide grin on his face, Jason took his seat behind Taylor and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Looks like we're gonna have a duet," he stated, obviously pleased with himself.
Turning around, Taylor smiled at the boy and fed his ego. "Congratulations on landing Mark, Jason."
Jason grinned even wider and leaned back in his seat, placing his hands behind his head, replying, "Why thank you, Taylor." After a moment he noticed Taylor's raised eyebrow and quickly added, "Oh! Congratulations on Joanne!"
Taylor smiled again and shook her head, turning around to face front again. Jason could be so clueless sometimes. Meanwhile, Zeke had made a pit stop on his way to his seat. He squatted down in between Troy's and Chad's desks so he could talk to both of his buddies.
"So guess what I get to do as Benny," a smirking Zeke challenged.
Troy and Chad looked at each other but neither felt like guessing, so Troy simply asked, "What?"
"I get to see Maureen's 'lady lumps'," replied Zeke with a dirty grin.
Troy and Chad looked at each other again. This time Chad, still in a mood from learning what role he was cast in, spoke first.
"First of all, please never use the phrase 'lady lumps' ever again in your life," he started in exasperation.
"And second of all," finished Troy, "Darbus would never actually have Sharpay moon you, cuz, ya know, this is a high school musical, and she's underage and all."
A look of disappointment befell Zeke's face. He hadn't thought about that. Even after Sharpay used him for his ability to make her delicious baked goods, that didn't change the fact that he still thought she was hot. He knew the famous scene in 'La Vie Boheme' would be the closest he'd ever get to hitting that, and now his plan was shattered by the law. Oh well.
After a moment of thought, Zeke added, "Well maybe she'll at least bend over. That works for me." With that, he made his way to his homeroom seat.
As the bell rang, Ms. Darbus entered her homeroom with a smile. It would be a few minutes before the morning announcements came on over the P.A., so she thought she would address her students. Glancing around, she realized something.
"Well would you look at this. All eight of my leads are in my very own homeroom. I guess the administration did something right for once, giving me all the talent," she noted with a wink. Her students beamed back up at her.
"Since the eight of you are here, I'll let you know right now what I want you to do for the week so you can get started during your free period today," Ms. Darbus informed them.
"I want you to spend the rest of the week getting in touch with your characters. Study your songs, your parts, and start to feel what your character feels, be your character. Don't worry about getting together with singing partners, we'll start that next week. For now, focus on just yourself. There will be no need to stay after school and practice in the auditorium with the ensemble, just go home and practice there. Your next required practice will be Saturday morning, 9:00 AM sharp."
Right on cue, the morning announcements echoed through the room. The students sat in silence, waiting patiently for the end. After the sign-off, everyone grabbed his or her stuff and scurried from Ms. Darbus' room to his or her first period class. Everyone, that is, except for Chad, who hung back.
Cautiously, he approached Ms. Darbus' desk. "Umm, Ms. Darbus," he began.
She held up her hand. "Say no more, Mr. Danforth, I know where you're going with this. Let's see if I can put some perspective on the situation. It is about my casting you as Tom Collins, correct?"
Chad, with his head down, quietly nodded in agreement.
"I figured I would be hearing from you about this. How you auditioned for Mark, and how I praised you so highly for a job well done. The truth is, Chad, you were too good for Mark," Ms. Darbus stated.
Chad looked up at her with eyebrows raised in surprise.
She continued cryptically, "Sometimes what you think you want is not what the theatre knows you want."
Chad's expression changed from surprise to confusion.
"Let me explain," she conceded. "Consider the character of Mark. Barely an adult, trying to make it in the world with no money and a whimsical dream of becoming a filmmaker. Through him we achieve a general narration of the story. He helps it unfold. Seems important, right?"
Chad once again nodded in agreement.
"Now think about the character of Tom Collins. Kicked out of M.I.T., has AIDS, meets a transvestite on the street, falls in love. Doesn't seem so important, yes?"
For a third time, Chad nodded.
"And that is where you are wrong, my dear. Think about RENT and the true heart of the story. Now think about the characters and their relationships. What gives the musical its drive?"
Chad bit his lip as he thought about what Ms. Darbus was relaying to him.
"See where I'm going with this? The relationship between Angel and Collins is the glue of this musical. Without the two of them, no matter how much of a supporting role they may seem to play, their uninhibited love for each other inspired the change in and direction of all the other characters. Without them, the play is nothing."
Chad felt a pang of guilt inside as her words hit their mark.
"And then... watching you up on stage with Ryan, I could just feel the energy, the electricity flowing throughout the number. The theatre does not lie, my dear, and it was screaming from all rooftops that you, Chad Danforth, must be my Tom Collins." She paused for a moment, and then added, "And I trust you will do very well."
Chad smiled softly at her and humbly replied, "Thank you, Ms. Darbus. For everything."
"You're welcome, Mr. Danforth," she responded, fully understanding the context of the 'everything' to which he referred.
The first period bell rang. Chad was officially late for class. And he did not care.