You Remind Me of a Man

by: skyz

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

A/N: Continuation of Elevator which was chapter 5. Prompt was movie. The You remind me of a man quote is from the movie mentioned in the story. Everyone should appreciate a good Cary Grant movie. Thanks for reading. Enjoy.


12.

"You're so spoiled," Sharpay sighed as she glanced at Ryan

Ryan looked up from his task of chopping vegetables. He arched a curious brow and bent back to his chopping.

"Ryan," she drawled out. "You've got a man that actually makes you happy! I mean look at you," she made a moue of disgust and gestured airily at him. "You're domesticated."

"I know. Aren't I cute? This apron brings out the blue of my eyes," Ryan quipped and preened at her.

She tossed a leaf of lettuce at his head.

He had the nerve to duck.

She briefly contemplated throwing the whole bowl of salad at him.

"So...is Sharpay unhappy?" Ryan asked carefully.

"Sharpay would respond with a yes if she were to speak in the third person. Since I'm not a robot or being narrated by Emma Thompson, yes I am...vaguely feeling...odd."

"How so? It's coming together for you now. It might have taken longer than you anticipated but you're getting everything you wanted."

Sharpay shrugged and turned away from Ryan to stare out the window at Ryan's expansive backyard. She silently contemplated the newly laid garden and the small fish pond Ryan's partner had insisted would make the back yard look more...more.

Ryan had a nice place, she thought grumpily. A nice life with a nice guy living in his nice house in Albuquerque. How fucking peachy.

"That sneer means you're brooding. What's the what? You can't want what I have," Ryan said as he joined her by the kitchen window.

"God no," Sharpay made sure to add an extra bit of disgust to her voice. "You've been tamed, Ry, and that's just...sad."

"I'm happily tamed."

"Don't bore me with your sex life. I think I'm just feeling...nostalgic or something. I don't know. It'll pass as it always does."

Ryan placed an arm around her waist and leaned into her.

"As it always does? That means you've felt this way before? Don't tell me you're moping about Harold? He was so far beneath you I can't even imagine how you thought that would work out."

Sharpay smiled a little as she felt Ryan shudder against her.

"No. Of course not. I actually hadn't thought about him in years. And don't you dare say I'm pining after Troy Bolton, because it is certainly not true."

"But Troy was the one who got away and the love of your life and zzzzzzzzz. I've put myself to sleep with that. How sad."

She shoved him away from her with a growl.

"Mock me again and I'll...tell Greg about your stash," she threatened.

Ryan's hand flew to his chest.

"No! Not about Cary. If I had to choose I just don't know who I'd pick," Ryan wailed mournfully.

"Good grief," Sharpay shook her head. "Cary Grant is dead Ryan. Dead. Stick with the living," she snapped.

"Don't speak about Cary like that! Cary is Cary. Hey, you remind me of a man."

"What man?"

"Man with the power."

"What power?"

"Power of hoodoo."

"Hoodoo?"

"You do."

"Do what?"

"Remind me of a man..." Ryan finished with a laugh.

"I need to get out of here. You're beginning to get to me because that actually made sense to me. And I'm back to quoting movies with you."

She started to leave the kitchen.

"Hey, Shar?" Ryan called after her.

She turned back with a quizzical look.

"You know Chad's in town," Ryan said so quickly the words almost ran together.

Sharpay kept her expression blank and her eyes on the ground. The one bad thing about being a twin was that Ryan could always read her. She didn't need him looking at her with that pitying look of his.

"I don't know why you think I'd care," she muttered and disappeared through the doorway.

"Go get your man sweetie," Ryan called after her.

Sharpay scowled to herself as she let herself out of Ryan's house and headed towards her car. She glanced at her watch.

What the hell was she going to do? She didn't want to come back here too quickly knowing how Ryan and Greg were. Just like newlyweds and it had been five years for them.

Sharpay found herself at the Coronado 6 Theater half an hour later. She glanced through the listings of movies. She almost groaned aloud when her eyes landed on The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer.

She was tempted to text Ryan and gloat but with a frown she replaced her cell phone back into her Celine hobo bag. He was probably up to no good with Greg.

She shuddered lightly and purchased a ticket for the hell of it.

Ryan wasn't the only Evans who enjoyed a good Cary Grant movie.

She was surprised at how crowded the theater was and hesitated scanning the dimly lit room for an open seat. She didn't want to end up sitting next to someone odious.

She spotted an empty seat in the two seats reserved for handicapped individuals. And if anyone bothered her she'd show them the handicap tag she'd gotten when she'd broken her foot two years ago. It fooled them every damn time.

She hurried towards the empty seat and with a sigh sank into the seat.

"These are for the handicapped," a voice came from beside her.

She glanced around and was more than a little surprised to see Chad sitting there. She glanced at him once and then again to re-affirm that it was indeed Chad Danforth.

He was stretched out with a foot in a cast and a cane rested against his left knee facing the aisle.

"Being around all these people handicaps me in a way you'd never understand. What happened to your foot?"

"Would you believe it if I said my mom accidentally ran over my foot?" he asked hopefully.

She gave him a look that indicated she didn't believe him.

"Yeah. Thought so. Well I tripped and fell and my foot went in the opposite direction."

She made a noise of disgust and sat back.

"I broke my foot a few years ago. Awful. I had to hobble around. Finally I just came back home and stayed with my parents. I didn't have to do a thing. It was fabulous."

He grunted shifting in his seat.

She peered at the screen as commercials slid across the screen.

"I come to the theater to escape commercials and yet...they seem to have followed me. What is this?" she demanded gesturing towards the screen.

"Looks like...M&M's. Dancing, singing , looking like human beings," Chad mused. "I hate this commercial."

"Me too. I see you cut your hair."

She saw Chad run a hand over his close cropped hair from the corner of her eye.

"Yup. Needed a new...thing. I see you're still blonde. But I like the shorter do. It looks good on you."

"And a goatee. It looks passable on you."

"I'd hope so since it took me ages to grow the damn thing. What are you doing here?" he turned in his seat to stare at her abruptly.

She remained staring ahead.

"Home for a visit."

"You know," Chad began slowly. "I saw your poster for Chicago."

"Velma Kelly," Sharpay didn't bother to dim her proud grin.

" 'It's just a noisy hall where there's a nightly brawl,' " Chad sang and wiggled his fingers. " 'And all that jazz.' "

"Are you doing jazz fingers?" she asked with a chuckle. "So how's the man who does a little of this and a little of that?"

"Finally putting my education to work. I'm an assistant coach at Manhattan College. Go Jaspers!"

"For basketball I assume?"

"You are correct."

The lights slowly went off and the commercials rolled into the previews.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Everyone loves Cary Grant. And who can resist a knight in shining armor?" Sharpay replied flippantly.

"Not even you?" Chad asked she turned to look at him.

She felt that she should be insulted by his teasing smile but couldn't bring herself to do much except smile back at him.

"I like a man with a little tarnished armor..." she said coyly as she turned to the screen.

"I seem to recall asking you a question," Chad began leaning closer.

"I seem to recall having two more years," Sharpay countered.

"So..." Chad trailed off lifting a hand to cup her chin and turn her to him.

"So..." Sharpay drawled back.

"Are we still on maybe?" he asked with a lingering glance at her lips.

"I don't recall saying maybe. I said a date wouldn't be out of the question."

"But you meant maybe. Admit it."

"I'd mean maybe if...and that's quite a big if, you and I had that date."

"So you wanna date before marriage, huh? How old fashioned," he shook his head and Sharpay leaned forward pressing her lips to his.

She cupped the back of his head her hands slowly sliding down to the nape of his neck. He moaned into her mouth and kissed her harder while trying to press closer.

The sharp sudden clatter of his cane hitting the floor made Sharpay slowly ease back slowly catching his bottom lip between her teeth. She gave it a quick nibble and sat back.

"Does this count as our first date?" he asked rather weakly a dazed expression on his face.

Sharpay smiled smugly.

"It counts as something," she acknowledged. "Now be a good boy and let's watch Shirley Temple chase Cary Grant all around town."

"So when I ask you again in two years...?" he asked offering her some of his popcorn.

"Maybe."

She knew he was grinning and she kept her face averted because she knew she'd grin right along with him.

"Hey, you remind me of a man..." he started in an intone.

She threw a handful of popcorn at him with a carefree laugh.