Skittles

Warning: Fluff and abuseand the first kiss!

Chapter Four

Troy led Ryan home when the rain had calmed to a beating drizzle. It was warm in the Bolton household. Troy shut the door behind him with an ominous click.

"You want some dry clothes?" Troy asked him, noticing Ryan shivering in his soaked shirt and pants. "I'll run upstairs and get you some. I think there's some chocolate in the kitchen, if you want to check."

Ryan nodded and Troy leapt up the stairs, two at a time, while he went into the kitchen.

Troy returned downstairs to the homely aroma of chocolate. Just in time, Ryan brought in two mugs of hot chocolate. "I hope these fit you," Troy said as he handed the suit of clothes to Ryan.

"Thanks."

Ryan emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, Troy's long-sleeved T-shirt billowed from his thin frame and the soft corduroys folded up a few inches at his ankles. Troy noted that Ryan was even skinnier than he had imagined, but decided not to mention it as he beckoned for Ryan to join him on the couch.

The two sat in the comfort of the other's presence. They sipped slowly at their mugs, letting the substance warm their entire being. Noticing that Ryan still huddled into the overlarge T-shirt, Troy surreptitiously maneuvered his warm arm around Ryan's shoulders. After a while, Ryan's head fell against his shoulder into a relaxing cuddling position.

Ryan opened his eyes and suddenly he felt a suffocating heat. He pushed away and set his mug down on the table and stood up as swift as possible. Troy looked up in confusion at Ryan's awkward behavior.

"So... You wanna work on the songs?" Ryan asked timidly. Troy nodded and put his mug down.

As the night grew darker, the two found themselves reasonably comfortable as they practiced their parts. Troy liked the sound of Ryan's voice, light yet masculine, complementing his seemingly lower and huskier voice. He liked the way the voices collaborated.

Suddenly Ryan stopped singing. "I think - I think I should go home, it's getting late."

"Sure," Troy replied awkwardly. Ryan's nervousness bugged him a bit. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

'That would be wonderful,' Ryan thought to himself. But he knew he couldn't. "I'll be fine. I'll just get Sharpay to pick me up." He picked up his phone and was about to hit SEND, but he felt Troy's lingering eyes on his back. "Is something wrong?"

"Ryan... Why are you so nervous around me?" Troy ran a tanned hand through his hair. "I don't know why I make you so jumpy, but we have to work together, so - "

Ryan smiled. "It's not you. I guess I'm just jumpy from the cold," he lied smoothly. "I don't have warm blood."

Still suspicious, Troy collected the mugs slowly as Ryan connected to Sharpay on the other line.

"Yeah, Shar, can you pick me up? I'm at Troy's...Yes, the Bolton, remember, I told you? ...Yes, I realize that..." Suddenly his voice dipped into a whisper. "No, he shouldn't be back til later. He has to work an extra hour today... All right, if you say so. I'll see you in a bit."

He hung up the phone with an unintended snap and sighed bitterly. Suddenly, Troy flashed a piece of chocolate in his face. "Troy...what the..?"

"Have some chocolate, it's almonds and good." Troy emphasized by taking a large bite of his own.

"Oh...thanks, I guess." Ryan accepted the chocolate and held it in silence. "Troy, why did you give me random chocolate?"

"Too skinny, need to fatten you up," Troy responded nonchalantly.

Ryan smiled and took a nibble. "I'm not a girl."

"Oh, that's too bad," Troy muttered before he could stop himself. He looked up quickly to see Ryan staring at him with a frown.

"...What?"

"Er..." Troy felt a lump in his throat and his face heat up.

Ryan packed his belongings before staring at Troy again. "Troy, why do you want me to be a girl?" He could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest and Troy's electric eyes were hypnotizing. He took a deep breath and hope that his voice came out calmly.

Troy sighed. "Because then this wouldn't be so confusing," he murmured dejectedly and before Ryan could question, Troy grabbed his chin and tilted his head so that their lips could meet.

Ryan's eyes widened, but then he felt himself melting into the kiss. Their bodies were pressed tightly together and their hands found themselves everywhere. Their mouths parted and tongues fought to gain entrance to the other's mouth.

Troy could not imagine that Ryan would taste so good, or that his body would fit so perfectly into his own. Or the fact that he didn't push him away. That Ryan was responding made Troy more happy than he could have hoped to be. It meant there was a chance...right?

BEEP!

The two broke away quickly in uneven pants, their faces red and hot. "That-That must be Sharpay," Ryan said softly.

"Yeah, it must be," Troy said, embarrassed. He watched as Ryan carried his bag to the door.

"Er, I'll return your clothes as soon as I wash them."

"Sure thing, take your time. Are we...going to practice again tomorrow?" Their eyes met.

"That sounds good." Troy smiled as Ryan climbed into the car, waving as Sharpay pulled out of the street. He could still taste Ryan in his mouth. A chocolate kiss.

VvVvV

The twins entered their house warily and were relieved to find that Michael had not returned from work yet. They made dinner and left some in the oven for their father when he returned home.

Sharpay opted for the showers first, leaving Ryan with an hour of nothing to do. He poured himself a cup of tea when he noticed that his clothes smelled of cinnamon and chocolate. Ryan brought his rolled-up sleeves to his nose and sniffed. It smelled like Troy.

A lilting voice intruded his thoughts. 'Shar must be singing Defying Gravity again,' Ryan guessed, since it was her current favorite Broadway song. Ryan preferred I'll Cover You.

He found himself humming the melody when a foreboding breath released on him. "What are you singing, my little fag?"

VvVvV

Sharpay heard the scream and debated on whether she should go help Ryan, which probably wouldn't help, or stay where she was, which is what Ryan wanted. With suds still on her, she pulled on her robe and grabbed her Chem textbook and cautiously descended the stairs.

But she didn't need it. Their father was on the floor, eyes shut and army knife a foot away from his big hand. Ryan was opposite him, shirt torn and bloody from where the knife had slashed at him. There were tears running down his face and his cup had broken into ominous shards of glass.

"Ryan!" Sharpay dropped her book and ran to her brother, cradling him in her lavender smelling arms. She was careful not to get the soap into his cuts. "Did you..?"

Ryan shook his head. "He passed out. Big lump of drunk." A searing pain spread through his body and he clenched his jaw tightly. As Sharpay went to get the First-Aid kit, he pulled the sleeves to his face and noticed it smelled of blood.

Troy's shirt was ruined.

VvVvV

Sorry for the late update, really sorry. I was into Rent for a while and forgot. But anyway, I'm back and I hope you like this chapter. I'm really trying to improve my writing so if anyone has any tips, they would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I was reading Untitled by MissLovelyx3 and it is amazing. It inspired me and made me hurry and finish this chapter.

Please review so I'll write the next chapter quicker!