Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. I only own Rachel Hamilton.
Full Summary: He was the school's leading man. She was the girl no one wanted. What happens when they are forced to work together?
Author's Note: First High School Musical fic. Wow…I fell in love with this movie! And I love Ryan Evans! Lucas Grabeel was awesome in the movie and I like his character.
- Pairings: Troy/Gabriella, Chad/Taylor, Ryan/Rachel, Zeke/Sharpay, Jason/Kelsi
- Again, I made up Ryan's middle name, and any other details you don't recognize.
- Changed the title of the story, been listening to John Mayer's Room For Squares a lot lately.
Love Song For No One
(formerly Let The World Hear You)
By: that drama queen
Chapter 2: Tensions Rise
Ryan was busy doing his homework when he heard a knock on his bathroom door.
"What do you want, Shar?" he called out, knowing his twin was the only one who would come from the bathroom they shared between their rooms.
Sharpay's serious voice came from the other side of the door. "Can we talk, Ry?"
"There's nothing to talk about," he shot sharply as he continued to type away at his English homework.
Almost instantly, just as Ryan expected, Sharpay emerged from the bathroom. "Wow, you never disappoint, do ya, sis?" he thought to himself as Sharpay sat down on his bed and announced with her no-nonsense tone, "Ryan Michael Evans, we need to talk, NOW."
Ryan spun his desk chair around and replied, "I told you – there's nothing to talk about, Sharpay!"
"What's going on, bro?" Sharpay said softly, changing her approach, "We used to talk all the time."
Ryan rolled his eyes and turned back to his computer as he spoke. "No, Sharpay, it was always you talking and me listening, you leading and me following."
"What's with the attitude, Ryan? I'm just trying to be a better sister here. I'm sorry if you've felt that I've been pushing you around all the time. It's just the role I've played. I've always made sure you weren't left behind. I always made sure no one would mess with you. I'm sorry my tough attitude's made you feel this way."
"Well, do me a favor and stop trying to protect me, Sharpay. You've always had a strong sense of who you are. You're the one who wants to be noticed, the one who wants to perform…you can do it without me. I need to discover who I am, who I really am, without you."
Sharpay nodded in comprehension despite Ryan not being able to see her then asked in an unusually sad tone, "Are you mad at me, Ry?"
Ryan turned to face Sharpay again. "No…just…let me do this. Please?"
Sharpay nodded again. "I'm sorry I've always been this way…protecting you's always been a huge part of me…" she thought to herself as she said, "Okay…just remember that I love you and I'm always here for you." She left Ryan sitting at his computer, lost in his thoughts.
The next day, Ryan walked into Miss Delgado's class and sat down at the back corner desk. He watched as people started making their way to class. As Rachel sat in front of him, he let his thoughts drift to the conversation he had with his music teacher the previous day. He thought about Rachel and having enough sensitivity to break through. He wondered what Miss Delgado meant…
"Good morning class! I have an announcement. I'm going to give your final performance guidelines today and go over them with you so you can have all semester to prepare them."
"This is it," Ryan thought to himself as Miss Delgado spoke, "It's showtime!"
As the word duet was mentioned, Ryan heard a chorus of groans. "And now, I'm picking your partners," Miss Delgado went on, and more groans were uttered. "Saving the best for last, huh?" Ryan thought as Miss Delgado announced, "…and Rachel, I want you to partner up with Ryan."
Kelsi, who was sitting sideways on her chair, gave him a shocked look. All Ryan could do was shrug good-naturedly.
"I CAN'T WORK WITH HIM!" Rachel blurted out to everyone's surprise.
Ariel Rodriguez, who was sitting next to Kelsi, looked at Rachel and said with a snicker, "She speaks!" Her comment was met with a glare from Rachel, which caused the Latina girl to turn around and face the front quietly.
"Now, Rachel, this is not optional. You refuse to work with Ryan, you fail the course," Miss Delgado said firmly.
"But…" Rachel couldn't complete her protest because she knew her teacher wouldn't budge about it. "Fine," she finally conceded.
As class went on and Miss Delgado lectured about the history of jazz music, Ryan couldn't help but feel nervous about working with Rachel.
At lunchtime, the gang (minus Ryan) was sitting at their usual table. Zeke frowned at Sharpay, who poked at the lunch he had made for her. Fettuccini Alfredo was one of her favorites but when she didn't show any interest in her gourmet lunch, everyone started to worry.
"Honey, did you get into a fight with your brother again recently?" Zeke asked his girlfriend gently.
Sharpay pouted. "I always figured that Ryan's always followed me willingly."
"Well, you do have a way of pushing people around," Chad pointed out.
Troy chimed in, "Remember in kindergarten when you told Ryan to eat a scented brown crayon 'coz you thought it might actually taste like chocolate but you weren't sure and you had him check for you?"
"It was harmless!" Sharpay exclaimed.
"As far as I can remember, you've always been the leader, and Ryan's always followed," Kelsi spoke up. Troy, Chad, Jason and Zeke agreed with her.
"I know," Sharpay said quietly, "I've always had his back, staring down jerks that made fun of him for loving to sing. I figured that pulling him into my musical theater world would let me make sure he wouldn't get hurt, let me always be there to protect him."
Gabriella and Taylor exchanged looks before Taylor said, "Oh sweetie…" She wanted to say something reassuring but nothing came.
"Do you guys have any idea how it feels to know that you've hurt the one person you'd die for?" Sharpay said hauntingly after a moment of silence.
"You know what you need?" Gabriella suggested after a few minutes of letting Sharpay be, "A sleepover!"
"We'll do it tonight!" Jason chimed in, "My parents are out of town and Kelsi was gonna come over but we'll take the party elsewhere if you guys are up for it!"
Everyone seemed to agree.
Taylor asked, "We're doing the usual at Sharpay and Ryan's, right?"
Sharpay shrugged. "Just don't count on Ryan joining us," she answered, and then started on her lunch, hunger finally taking over her thoughts.
Ryan felt really nervous about working with Rachel. He figured that since he hadn't heard the singing from the music room all morning that Rachel hadn't come around for a while. He figured she was probably afraid he'd find out her secret, not knowing how much he already knew.
He grabbed the doorknob and turned it, surprised that it was unlocked. "Hey Miss Delgado, you in here? I need to talk to you for a minute!"
He stopped at the doorway when he realized that Rachel was in the room.
As Rachel's expression tightened, Miss Delgado explained, "I'm sorry, Rachel, I forgot to lock the door."
Rachel ignored the Latina woman and glared at Ryan. "You're stalking me, aren't you? I know you've been following me!" she yelled at Ryan.
"I wasn't following you! I couldn't help but hear you. You have a beautiful voice and you're delusional if you think you can keep that kind of talent to yourself!" Ryan yelled back as he approached her.
"Yeah, well maybe I was delusional for thinking people would actually appreciate my talent!"
Rachel pushed her way out of the room, nearly knocking Ryan over.
After school, Ryan was waiting for Sharpay in the parking lot when Kelsi found him.
"Hey, Ry, how was your day?" she wondered out loud.
Ryan shrugged. "Uneventful," he lied.
"Yeah how about that Rachel Hamilton girl, huh?" Kelsi went on, volunteering some information, "She transferred from West High. New kid. No one really knows anything about her."
"And why do you think I'd be interested in talking about her?" Ryan asked edgily.
"Thought you'd be interested in talking about her…I can see how you look at her in class sometimes…"
Ryan blushed; Kelsi was the one person aside from Sharpay who could read him well. She sometimes read him better than his twin did. "I just want to figure out how to deal with this girl. 25 percent of my grade is on the line."
"Yeah that's a weird one on Delgado's part. A duet?"
Ryan shrugged. "She's got a method to her madness, I guess."
"Oh I meant to tell you, we were talking at lunchtime, and we've decided to reinstate Friday Night Sleepovers."
Ryan exhaled sharply. "I don't know if I'm up for it this week," he said quietly.
Kelsi nodded. "Well, think about it. We'd really like to have you around. I mean, we're having it at your house this week."
Ryan nodded as Sharpay approached.
"See ya tonight, Shar?" Kelsi directed her question to the female Evans twin.
Sharpay nodded as she and Ryan went into their car. Kelsi waved as they drove off, silence hanging in the air.