Hello all! Welcome to another random Ryan-centered story! This story came about when Louisa got really bored and wondered what Ryan would be like as a Dad. Enjoy
crushie- thank you so much! I always feel so loved with all the comments you always give me
HorsesRMyFriends- I'm glad you liked it. This is my first father/daughter story type of thing
deathcab4lor- I just picture Ryan as being the adorable kind of doting, loving, overprotective dad. I love young father :)
Bal8rokstar- I'm glad you can't wait, haha!
PLEASE R&R!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter Two
Tabitha flicked the ashes of her cigarette, and skillfully breathed exhaled a large cloud of smoke. Hearing heavy footfalls in the hallway, she tied the robe around her tighter and casually opened her front door. But of course, it was Ryan and Lilly; Lilly was currently sitting atop her father's shoulders, calling out orders such as, "Lower the gangplank! Weight the anchor! All to the starboard side! Let loose the sails!" She snorted, and smoke filled the air once again.
"On another wild sea adventure, Ryan?" she smirked. He merely smiled.
"Off to dig up our buried treasure, to be exact"
Tabitha took in the large bags under his eyes, and how Ryan's legs almost seemed to drag along the floor. She jerked her head at him meaningfully. Ryan caught her glance, and set Lillian carefully on the ground.
"Go scout out the territory Captain; I'll join with you in a minute." Lilly saluted him, took the right key from his keychain, and scampered off to their apartment door. Once the pipsqueak was out of hearing range, their neighbor asked,
"How'd the job interview go?" A slump of the shoulders confirmed her suspicion. Tabitha ran a finger through her bold, purple curls, and switched her weight from left hip to right. "Tell you what; whenever all the treasure is dug up, send Lilly on over. I'll cook her dinner tonight." When he opened his mouth in protest, she simply put a long finger (with a claw-like purple nail at the end) against his lips. "I know you don't have the money for it. Just let me do it as a friend; I'm not expecting any return"
"I'm just sick of taking in so much charity," Ryan yawned.
"You're just plain sick," Tabitha corrected, and placed a cool hand against his forehead.
"I'm not sick," Ryan insisted, brushing her hand away. "Just a little tired that's all"
"When was the last time you had a good five hours of sleep?" He shrugged, and she skillfully exhaled rings of smoke through her mouth. "If you want to serve your own kid better, get some sleep. I am going to sentence you to a peaceful night tonight, buster"
Ryan glared at her, but realized all resistance was futile. Ryan thanked her softly and continued on his way to his one-story apartment. The middle-aged woman checked her watch, and sauntered back inside her living area, turning off her soaps to look around her pantry for something to tempt a preschooler.
The former dancer leaned his small, exhausted frame against the doorway. He slowly turned his head to survey his domain. It was definitely "lived in," as Sharpay put it. The paint was peeling, and the couch no longer contained any stuffing (it had been through many raids by pirates). Unkempt boxes were piled in corners, and you could hardly walk two steps without stepping on a toy. The wall was crammed with pictures, and the lighting was slightly dimmed—several light bulbs were missing. Not much, but it was home. Their home. Ryan closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds.
"Daddy, what's wrong? You sleepy?" Ryan forced his eyelids back open, and smiled down at his daughter.
"A little, sweetheart. But what's that you got there?" Her face shining, Lillian proudly held up a brand new stuffed animal.
"I found a kitty! It was hiding among the buried treasure!"
"No way!" Ryan squatted down to her level. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Lilly pondered her answer carefully.
"A girl. Mr. Teddy needs a partner"
"And what's her name?"
"Well, what's my mommy's name?"
The question caught Ryan completely off guard. "You want to name the kitty after your mommy?" Lilly nodded seriously.
"Yep. All the other kids at school talk about their mommies." There was an awkward pause, but only Ryan noticed it.
"Do you…want a mommy?" he asked cautiously.
"Naw," Lilly responded immediately, still inspecting her kitty. "It would ruin our fun, wouldn't it?"
"I guess so…" he said unsurely. "But this is fun, isn't it? Just the two of us?"
Lilly's braids bobbed. "Yes sir!"
"Just the two of us—a pirate and a high-born lady!"
"I wanna be the pirate!" Lilly proclaimed.
"But I can't be the lady," Ryan pointed out. "So I'll have to be the pirate this time." And he swung the giggling girl over his shoulder. "Arr, I've got you now, missy!"
"Oh, someone save me!" she cried, obviously not wanting to be saved.
"I'm gonna make you walk the plank!" Ryan growled, now tucking her under his arm; ignoring her tiny fists beating against his side. Once inside her bedroom, he dropped (very cautiously dropped) her on her bed. "Now get dressed for dinner! You're gonna eat with the notorious Lady Tabitha tonight!"
Ten minutes and two Band-Aids later, Tabitha had a knock on her door. When it opened, a short girl in a pleated blue dress with flowers in her hands grinned toothily up at the full-grown woman.
"What's this?" Tabitha laughed as Lilly shoved the flowers underneath her neighbor's nose.
"My daddy said to give these to you as a thanks." Tabitha rolled her eyes.
"I'm guessing you're hungry. Common in; you just happened to interrupt me making cheesy baked potatoes!"
"YUMMY!" Lilly bounded inside, hiking up her dress so she could run more efficiently.
Two hours later, Tabitha put her finger to her lips as Lilly opened the door to her family's apartment. Picking up the preschooler and resting her on her hip, Tabitha tip-toed into the master bedroom. Ryan lay sprawled shirtless across the bed, sheets tangled all around him. Lillian wiggled in Tabitha's arms, causing the woman to set her down. Lilly crawled over to her sleeping father and snuggled inside his arms. Shaking her head, Tabitha straightened out the sheets and tugged them over the small family.
"G'night," she whispered. Lilly smiled, and then buried her face against Ryan's bare chest.
Tabitha turned back to look at them from the doorway. "They're almost the perfect picture of a family," she thought. "But they're still missing something…or someone." She locked the door to the residence on her way out.
Ryan coughed, straightened his tie, tipped his stool as far back behind the counter as it could go, and took in his surroundings. A graveyard would seem like a rock concert in the music supply store. Ryan's fingers twitched compulsively from the lack of noise, and drummed against the leg.
After forty-five minutes of complete silence and fourteen head-over-heel falls off the stool, Ryan decided to "test the equipment." He picked up two brand-new, shiny drumsticks and twirled them around his fingers in one hand. Sauntering casually over to a drum set, he hit one of the symbols ever so lightly. A boyish grin broke across his face. It was too tempting. A small drum roll wouldn't hurt anyone. And hopefully neither would a drum roll in fortissimo dynamics.
Only when people passing by began to stare at him through the glass windows did Ryan consider cutting his testing short. He lightly jumped off the sound system he had been playing electric guitar on, and moving away from the guitar selections, he settled for the keyboards.
His fingers paused inches away from the plastic keys. A quiet voice inside his head happily sang out all too familiar lyrics practiced an endless amount of times to a similar keyboard.
I've never had someone
Who knows me like you do
The way you do
He smiled to himself. Ryan had almost forgotten all about "Twinkle Towne." In his mind, he could easily recreate the East High hallways and see him and his twin swaggering through everyone in their crazy, stylish, flamboyant outfits. He laughed aloud when he thought of his jazz squares and one-handed cartwheels. Curious, he stood up and found an open portion of carpet. Taking a deep breath, he completed a one-handed cartwheel easier than when he was a sophomore. Laughing with adrenaline and memories, Ryan performed cartwheels all the way over to the grand pianos.
Realizing what a fool he must look like, the old drama king bent over the instrument. It was as if all the energy left his body. He suddenly calmed down, and recalled another, not so familiar, and not so well-rehearsed scene back in high school. He stared blankly at the ivory in front of him for several minutes before realizing he was doing so. Sighing, he picked out an old favorite and began to sing to the audience of reeds, brass, wood, and plastic.
My gift is my song
And this one's for you
And you can tell everybody
That this is your song
It may be quite simple but
Now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is
Now you're in the world…
"Excuse me," a small, elderly voice said from the shadows. The figure might have bellowed at him the way Ryan reacted. Embarrassed beyond measure, Ryan tripped over the bench and was sent sprawling on the ground. He quickly looked around to try and find out where his jacket. He crossed his fingers that the boss wouldn't come in anytime soon—name tag on the ground, shirt untucked, shoes lying off in a corner, the situation wasn't looking terribly professional. He was fired for sure. Ryan settled for hiding his lower half behind a piano.
"How may I be of service?" Ryan said, the required greeting refusing to show itself. The tall old lady laughed gently.
"Actually, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I'm Mrs. Shepherd, the retired music teacher at Westbrook Preschool." Ryan's eyebrows raised, but other than that gave no response. "I happened to overhear your singing and piano playing a few second ago," Ryan's burned with humiliation, "and I think you would make a terrific assistant music teacher. The girl who has just taken over might be a bit shaky on her own, I think; she could use an assistant"
Ryan felt almost like a codfish as his mouth hung agape. "You…would just…give me the job?" She nodded buoyantly.
"Of course you would still have to fill out all the paperwork, but that really isn't a big deal. Please say yes!"
"I…I'll have to quit this job first," Ryan stuttered, running out of excuses.
The elderly woman laughed. "My dear boy, I was able to hear your guitar playing across the street. There will be no need for you to quit"
Kelsi shot a paper basket at the trashcan and missed terribly. Sighing, she carefully took the dozen different files off her lap and walked over to efficiently throw away the mound of missed shots surrounding the basket. Grumbling, she moved it directly next to the desk so she wouldn't have to stand up again.
A knock sounded on the door. "Come in." Mrs. Shepherd bowed her tall stature so her head would not bump against the doorframe, but someone far shorter followed in her wake. "Ryan, what are you doing here?"
"I offered him the job as your assistant!" Mrs. Shepherd said jubilantly, patting an ill at ease actor on the shoulder.
"But Mrs. Shepherd, I've told you countless times that I am perfectly fine by myself! I don't need an assistant; I much prefer working alone! Thanks for your time, Ryan, but you will not be needed"
The gray-haired guitarist caught the retreating father by his coattails. "Now Kelsi, be reasonable. Do you have anything personal against Ryan Evans working with you?"
Kelsi squirmed. There wasn't really anything wrong with Ryan; he himself had never been mean to her in high school. He could be a bit snooty at times, but maybe that was because he was so oblivious—and because of Sharpay. He had never said anything particularly rude to her, but they had never been chum buddies. And then she remembered their last meeting. How he must despise her for running away like that when finding out about…Lilly. Things would be so uncomfortable between them, it would never work.
"Kelsi, you haven't answered my question. Do you have anything personal against working with Ryan?" She glanced at the guy in question. He was gazing at her with a puzzled look, as if he as well wanted to know the answer. His pale blue eyes bore into her mind. With all of her resistance crumbling, Ms. Neilson sighed.
"No. I do not have anything personal against Ryan." Her peer relaxed with relief.
"Do you doubt his musical abilities?"
"Oh no!" She had heard enough performances by the twin to know that he was an expert at what he did.
"Then what is the problem?"
"I wish I knew," Kelsi thought to herself. "Nothing, I suppose," she responded aloud, accepting her defeat.
"Excellent! Then it's settled. I would appreciate it if you give him the proper forms to fill out. And then you two can spend the rest of this gray day chatting about your plans for the second semester. Ryan—I mean Mr. Evans—would you mind if I talked with Kelsi alone for a minute?"
"Not at all," he answered hurriedly, and quickly exited the room. Mrs. Shepherd took Kelsi's hand in hers.
"My dear, I would not leave this position so happily if I did not know that I was leaving you in safe hands"
"But Mrs. Shepherd, things are going to be so awkward-"
"Nonsense. I whole-heartedly believe that this is for the best. And outside of the business world…I think you two should get to know each other better"
"But-"
"No more buts." Kelsi smiled, and the 70-year-old music teacher took one last, long look around the room.
"I will miss this place…so many memories." Kelsi nodded understandingly. "Ah well, I must be going." After kissing her pupil on the forehead, Mrs. Shepherd departed from the preschool. Ryan walked bashfully back in and sat Indian-style next to Kelsi on the carpet.
"You both certainly are attached to each other"
"I've known that lady for a long time. It's only natural we became fast friends." A pause. "Look, Ryan, about the other day-"
"Forget about it," he cut her off. "It's only natural for you to act that way"
"I just had no idea…" she stopped herself this time. "Anyways, it's in the past. Where should we start first?"
"How about cleaning up this mess?" Ryan suggested, a cocky grin flickering across his face. "And then we can begin planning, I suppose"
"I'm sick of organizing files!" she complained, throwing down a pile on the table. "It's old people work!"
"You certainly have changed from the neat freak in high school," he laughed.
Kelsi merely rolled her eyes. "And you certainly have changed from the stuck-up pretty-boy who almost never talked to me"
"I'm talking to you now, aren't I?" he asked defensively.
"And these files look like a pigsty, don't they?" After staring at each other for three minutes, Ryan gave in first and burst out laughing, Kelsi following suit a moment later.
"Let's just forget about old difference, 'k?" Kelsi proposed, holding out a hand. Ryan shook it.
"Agreed. But we still need to put these files somewhere"
"I told you, I don't want to organize another manila folder ever again!"
"I didn't say anything about organizing. But we might get in trouble if we just leave the room messy. Let's at least pretend we can keep a classroom clean." Kelsi giggled.
"Alright. Here, you take this stack, and I'll take this"
Ryan backed up away from the desk, but was not planning for the trashcan placed directly behind his leg. He tripped, falling onto his back. Kelsi, not planning for the trashcan either, stumbled over his feet and came toppling down on top of him. Laughing at their disgrace, Ryan pushed himself up on his elbows, and Kelsi brushed the hair out of her face. Their eyes met.
"Oh god," Kelsi's mind screamed. Kelsi's heart pounded out of her chest, consciously aware of how close their bodies were. He seemed so warm, and his face just kept on getting closer. "Oh god…"