Skittles

Warning: Fluff and...other stuff. More kissing.

Chapter Five

Time was clicking and after a few more practices, Troy and Ryan found themselves two days from auditions. Luckily, Friday was coming to a close, leaving them one glorious weekend to prepare for the big day.

"So where are we heading?" Troy asked as school let out, letting his arm loop around Ryan's shoulders in what appeared as a friendly gesture. Only they and Sharpay knew that it was their form of a public embrace. "Your house or mine?"

Even though the spring day was mildly warm and humid, Ryan could still feel himself melting into Troy's arm. "Er... How about yours?"

"Again?" Troy wasn't foolish. As many times as they had practiced, it had always been at Troy's house or the school. Ryan's house was apparently off-limits.

Ryan didn't want Troy to be angry, yet the slight chance that his father might walk in on them rehearsing or more... Ryan shuddered. The risk was far too great just to get on Troy's good side. "Why? Is there a problem?" Ryan bit back as kindly as possible.

"No, no problem," Troy responded, although in truth, he was very disturbed. Not to mention a little hurt. What would Ryan hide from him? He tried to bury these thoughts, but they lingered in the back of his mind when he invited Ryan into his house again.

"Let's go to my room. We'll have more privacy there." Troy, as annoyed as he was, couldn't help the eagerness in his voice or the smile that touched his lips.

Ryan loved Troy's room. It emitted a sense of protection to him. Decorated with posters of MVP's, cabinets groaning under the weight of trophies, everything that described the very essence of Troy. And Ryan's favorite was the adorable photograph of a chubby little boy that was the basketball star at three years old.

"Chubby cheeks," Ryan teased when he caught sight of the picture again.

"Stop it!" Troy cried, his hands coming up to cover his cheeks. He made a face and stuck his tongue out at Ryan.

Ryan caught the tongue and kissed him. "Too cute," he said in a baby voice and leapt away when Troy went, "Hey!"

Troy huffed and turned the frame over to prevent any more taunting. "You're cuter," Troy stated and smiled when Ryan turned pink.

"I'm not fighting with you," Ryan said and sat with his arms crossed on the bed, a smile waiting to erupt from his lips.

"Good," Troy responded as he shut the door to his room and locked it. They stared at each other with a comfortable silence. A minute ticked by. "Ha! I win!" Troy exclaimed gleefully when Ryan turned away and blinked. Slowly, life was getting a lot more comfortable for the two of them. They didn't do much more than snogging for the past few days and kept their kissing to themselves.

They also weren't titled. Neither of them had asked about what they actually were at this point. Boyfriend? Or just very friendly friends?

"Shut up, get the music!" Ryan retorted, chucking a fluffy pillow at Troy's head. It missed.

"And that's why you don't play basketball," Troy said jokingly as he handed the music to his partner. "C'mon, we have to practice the dance."

"You mean the one Sharpay wants us to do?" Ryan made a face. He sighed and stood up.

Troy sang the first line as the two stood back to back. They took turns using their powerful voices to weave an energy into the atmosphere. Their bodies moved together and at the refrain, Troy found Ryan in his arms. Ryan's arms locked around his neck, Troy's arms rested on the thin boy's waist. They sang together:

"Only you, whoever you are.

Only you could make me burn with this passion.

Only you, whoever you may be

Could ever say "I love you"

And make a believer out of me."

Soon after, in the same position, their voices lilted off into a lulling silence. Troy descended his lips and engulfed Ryan's in heat and warmth. His hands felt themselves slipping lower as Ryan's wound themselves in Troy's shaggy hair.

Worry escaped them both for the moment as three words waited to be said in both their minds. They didn't doubt the burning sensation in the pits of their stomachs. But embarrassed, they both buried the words until another day.

VvVvV

Sharpay agreed to accompany Ryan to the mall on Saturday. "We could look in Abercrombie & Fitch," she said. "Or American Eagle...and Hollister." They parked and entered the crowded mall. Many kids from school were there, but they mainly ignored the Ice Queen and her twin.

"What's it say on the tag?" Sharpay asked, unfazed by the ignorance she was receiving. She and Ryan could handle almost anything by now.

Ryan shook his head. "It's cut off." They had attempted to wash the stains off with bleach, leaving a light imprint on the shirt and the long slashes to be solved.

Sharpay strut her way into American Eagle, for which Ryan was glad. The loud music and dark claustrophobic atmosphere of Abercrombie and Hollister bothered him. Immediately, they began the search for the long white cotton T that could endanger their secret.

Ryan searched through racks and racks of clothes, finding close matches. But the shirt they were looking for was very basic. It couldn't be too hard to find. Finding another rack, he made a quick prayer and began searching. Lo and behold after minutes passed, he found it under layers of different colors.

"Sharpay! I found one!"

"...Ryan?"

Ryan whipped around just to see those electric blue eyes staring at him.

"Oh, hey Troy..." Ryan surreptitiously slipped the broken shirt into its bag. "What are you doing here?"

"Just looking around. You?" Troy leaned against a shelf with his hot smile. "You look good today."

Ryan blushed, the flirting putting extra pressure on his already pressuring problem. "Same. I'm just...looking around too. Yeah, I gotta go." He was ready to turn around abruptly, but decided against it. He didn't want Troy to take offense. He gave Troy a quick and secretive kiss on the cheek. Then he leapt off.

But fate doesn't work that way.

"Ryan! Did you find Troy's shirt... Oh, hi Troy..." Sharpay looked dumbfounded.

"My shirt?"

Ryan cursed fate.

"What shirt?" Troy looked from each twin's face. Sharpay's was twisted in an apologetic sort of way while Ryan's looked guilty. "My white one? What happened to it?"

The two were quiet. Sharpay tried to make an excuse, but her face turned red and she couldn't find the words.

Finally, Ryan sighed. He couldn't hide anything from those electric eyes. "Here." He handed the bag over and braced himself.

Confused, Troy opened the bag and withdrew his shirt. Or what used to be his shirt. It smelled of fresh laundry and was puffy. But it was also stained and gashed. Large blotches of magenta covered it. "What happened?"

"Are you mad?" Ryan asked.

"At you? Never. I don't care about the shirt. But these...are these blood stains? And cuts?" Troy looked worried. "Did you get hurt?"

"You could say that," Sharpay answered for her embarrassed brother, even though she was embarrassed as well. "Troy, let's get out of here. Too many people."

Troy could tell as they exited, that this was something that was going to change his life. He felt Ryan grip his hand tightly and he held it, ignoring the stares they were getting from others.

VvVvV

Yes! Troy's finally going to figure it out. I have an idea on how I'm going to end this fic, but I'm still open to more suggestions. So anyway, whoever has ideas, don't be afraid to tell them to me! Thanks so much for still staying with me. I expected you guys to have died out after my...break. Hehehe. But it has made me so happy that you guys are still reading!

All right, I updated so we can expect one from MissLovelyx3. I can't wait!

Thanks for all the reviews andplease continue to review!