Well, here's the next chapter... I have to go for the long weekend, but I'll be back maybe around Tuesday. /If/ you all like it. I won't know if you don't tell me.
I had a few things, okay only one thing on my mind...
But he occupied my mind as if he was a million different things.
It was a bit early for anyone to be at school. So I lollygagged, naturally. I reached my locker in the quiet hallway of East High. Being winter, it was chilly, so I tried to warm myself up as I hung my jacket on the hook in my locker. Playing with my curled hair, I scanned my belongings to double check their order.
"You're here early." The voice made me jump and squeak a little. My heart's pace quickened.
"Do you always have to pop out of nowhere?" I asked, gaining my composure. I closed my locker and looked over at him.
Ryan laughed softly. "Well, I don't mean to scare you." he said leaning against the lockers next to mine.
"What are you here so early for?" I asked curious, as always.
"Well, Sharpay and I were supposed to be here for drama club stuff..." he said looking at his feet. "But, she decided not to show, needing beauty sleep or something." Ryan glanced up at me.
"So she just lets you go alone?" I asked. "Well, that hardly seems fair."
Ryan shrugged. "Nothing is really fair with Sharpay. It's a 'my way or the highway' sort of deal."
I nodded and started walking down the hall aimlessly. There was time to kill and nothing to say. But, apparently, a few things to think.
"Are you ok... Ash?" Ryan asked me as we walked a little in silence.
"Huh? Oh... I'm fine." I managed, after being thrown from my thoughts. "I just... have a huge test today." I said, lying.
"Uh huh." Ryan said, not convinced. "What's really going on in that head of yours?" he asked looking over at me.
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. "Just thinking." I finally said, simply.
"Fine, I give up." Ryan said giving in to my stubbornness. We walked for a bit more in the awkward silence.
"Ryan!" Sharpay's unmistakable whine came from around the corner. I nodded as if saying 'Of course'. I went to turn, in the opposite direction of the two. "See you later." I said with a small, pathetic wave to Ryan.
Sharpay looked from me to him. Although, I was already halfway down the hall. "All alone with her in a deserted hallway? I'm beginning to think you left me at home for a date with 'Ashley'..." She said my name with a dreamy voice to Ryan.
He just shook his head at her. "Just, give it a rest Sharpay." he said quietly, coldly. He walked away and before she could blow up on him, the bell rang.
They headed to homeroom, which was in the drama classroom. I had the same class, and at the moment, I was dreading it. Taking as long as I could, I entered the room with my backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Good Morning." Mrs. Darbus called to me from her position at the front of the classroom. It was funny how Mrs. Darbus insisted on practically yelling at you, when she was only a few feet away. The thought made me smirk a little as I found my seat somewhere in the middle of the room.
I sat next to Taylor, who was already there early, as usual. Taylor greeted me with a smile and I jumped almost literally out of my seat when the final bell rang.
"Somebody's skittish today." Taylor looked at me inquiringly.
"No, I'm skittish all the time." I said unconvincingly.
Mrs. Darbus finished talking with a mousy little person and projected clearly to the whole class. "Well! My lovely pupils..." she began airily. "As you know, the annual ski trip is being hosted tomorrow."
She paused for a bit of giggling and whispering. Taylor nudged me smirking knowingly. I couldn't help but smile remembering back to last year.
"Anyway!" Mrs. Darbus continued loudly. "Be prepared for that here tomorrow bright and early. Bags and possessions, don't forget anything." She looked around at us. "That is all." She 'dismissed' us from her lecture.
She usually wanted us to have a 'study hall' in the morning. Like that was going to happen.
I turned in my chair to face Taylor. "So..." she said eagerly.
"What?" I asked acting totally clueless.
"You know..." she said with her mischievous smile. She jerked her head in Ryan and Sharpay's direction.
"Yeah, I hate Sharpay... and?" I said simply, avoiding her soon to be asked question.
"Oh, stop!" she said pushing me.
I rolled my eyes, giving in. "What about him?" I asked innocently.
"He's looking over here... And it's not at me." she said looking over my shoulder at them. I didn't turn around to see, but inside I smiled.
"Aw, come on." Taylor said nudging me again. "I think it's cute."
I laughed at her acting this way. "You're hilarious." I said looking at Taylor.
"Fine, if you're not staying in like last time... Are you actually going to go skiing?" she wondered.
I scoffed a laugh. "Only if I have a good teacher." I said unsurely.
"You know I heard they have couples' classes." she said teasingly.
I laughed sarcastically and picked my bag up from the floor as the bell rang, ending homeroom.
Still angry at Ryan, Sharpay stormed out of the room, insisting she leave first. Taylor and I rolled our eyes in unison.
Taylor had to go quickly due to her class being on the opposite side of the school. "See you later." she said with a smile. Leaning closer to me she whispered. "Mr. Evans at twelve o'clock."
"Would you get out of here?" I asked pushing her out the door, laughing softly.
Pushing my hair behind an ear, I resumed gathering my things, trying to ignore Ryan. He was talking to Mrs. Darbus. Something drama related, surely. I walked out of the room slowly. Part of me wanted to talk to him, the other part didn't. I didn't know what I wanted.
"Excited for the trip tomorrow?" I turned around and smiled at him.
"Don't you ever say hello anymore?" He laughed. "Yeah, I've always loved the ski trip. Minus the skiing." I answered him, shrugging.
"Me too." he said simply. First period drama class was starting to arrive, so we got out of their way. Ryan shifted his bag and said, "Well, I better get going... But..." He leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear. "Save a seat for me on the bus."
My heart fluttered being so close to him, and it nearly did a backflip when Ryan kissed my cheek. Only about a centimeter from my lips. I watched him leave down the hall with a grin on my face. The freshman drama kids stared at me. I ignored them, walking slowly, and distracted to History.
Next Day...
"To Breckenridge!" the class cheered as everyone sat around waiting, giggling, and hyper. I had just entered the drama room and soon found Taylor over the mounds of suitcases. I plopped my bag down and gave her a hug.
"Got everything you need in there?" she asked skeptically looking at my duffle bag.
I laughed. "Yes Taylor, it's only for a weekend." I said looking at her 3, slightly smaller bags.
"True, but I had to make sure I've got all the necessities." She said.
I laughed and looked up hearing the sound of a selfish whine. It could only be Sharpay Evans. Ryan entered the drama room dragging in all of her bags. Panting, he dropped them with a 'thud'.
"Next time, pack lighter... and carry your own junk." Ryan said heading back out of the room for his own bag.
At that, Mrs. Darbus clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright! Now..." she began after satisfied that everyone was watching and listening. "There will be 3 chaperones, one for each cabin. Myself, Mr. Johnson, the choir teacher, and Coach Bolton, who most /graciously/ volunteered."
Obviously, Mrs. Darbus didn't care less about all of this and just wanted to get a move on. "Anyway, you know the cabin drill and don't do anything fishy..." she said peering at us above her glasses. "Boy, girl bus order as usual!" she shouted above the groans.
This didn't phase me much because I usually sat by some dork and just managed to sit behind Taylor to chat freely with her. I proceeded to carry my bag and one of Taylor's to make it even between us both.
The line of students filled the hall and moved toward the doors to outside. The bus driver shooed us off to throw our bags in the luggage compartment and get on with our seat partner.
Taylor grabbed Chad Danforth out of the crowd. "Just listen." she said as he started to protest. "Now, you arrogant basketball robot, I'm only going to suggest you sit with me because I don't want to be stuck with Larry." she said indicating a nerdy boy in the back.
"He /is/ in the scholastic decathlon..." he said mockingly. She rolled her eyes and dragged him toward the bus driver.
I laughed watching the two and felt a hand slip into mine. Ryan had yet again caught me off guard. "Hello." he said simply leading me through the crowd. "Ready, partner?" he asked as we approached the bus driver.
"Of course." I said glancing over my shoulder at Sharpay. She had Larry breathing heavily next to her. I felt bad for a split second but quickly forgot about my guilt.
"Go ahead." The grungy driver grumbled as he marked us off the list.
I found the seat behind Taylor and she watched me curiously. Sitting down, she gave me a look that said, 'Ooh...' as Ryan slipped into the seat next to me. I nodded to her look with a huge smile on my face.
"You can't deny it now..." she said in a low, sing-song voice, leaning over the seat.
Sharpay was the last to board the bus. She sat in the front seat scooting as far away as she could from the clearly thrilled Larry. The bus doors closed with a hiss and the noise on the bus was obnoxious.
I yawned, suddenly feeling the long trip ahead of us. "I'm tired" I stated blinking the yawn's remains away.
Ryan nodded noticing it in me. "Well, you can sleep." he said and watched as I leaned against the window.
I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder. "You're more comfortable." I said looking up at him innocently.
He brushed the hair out of my eyes and smiled at me. "I'm glad that I'm good for something." he said letting me use him as a pillow.
(Asleep)
Chad: Wake her up... We're almost there.
Taylor: hits his arm She can sleep if she wants to.
Ryan: whispers Hey, Ash... We're almost there.
Chad: Aw, come on... She's not going to wake up that way. You gotta be loud!
Taylor: glare Shut up. Why do you have to be so rude?
Chad: Why do you have to be so snobby?
Ryan: Why do the two of you have to act like an old married couple?
Taylor: looks out the window arms crossed
Chad: Well, Prince Charming... Wake her with a kiss. sarcasm
Taylor: urges him I'm sure she'd wake up then.
Ryan: No... She'll wake up when she wakes up.
Taylor: sighs I thought he'd do it...
Chad: Shows how smart you really are.
Taylor: fuming You know what...
"Guys, quit acting like a married couple." I mumbled, opening my eyes and sitting up straight.
Ryan laughed and gave them an 'I told you so' look.
"See? I told you being loud would wake her up." Chad said proudly.
"Maybe being ignorant woke her up." Taylor shot back.
"Wait, what?" Chad asked cluelessly.
"Exactly." Taylor turned to me. "Sleep well?" she asked and glanced at Ryan smirking.
"Yes, I did sleep well." I said smiling. I had slept the whole driving portion. Awake at the rest stops. "With exception of the bickering." I said looking at Taylor. I looked out the window again. "We're not almost there..." I said remembering the route from previous years.
Chad spoke up, "I'm thinking... 5 minutes." he said with a nod.
"But, then again, Chad thought that the first traffic light was halfway." Taylor said glancing at him. He ignored her and put in his headphones, bopping to the music. Deaf to our words.
I settled back on Ryan's shoulder. "Going back to sleep?" he asked.
"No, I just like it here." I replied with a smile.
"Okay," he said quietly and leaned his head on mine.
"Aw... Ooh ooh! That is such a Kodak moment." she said and turned to Chad poking him frantically.
Chad looked at her like she was crazy. "Nevermind." Taylor rolled her eyes. "Neanderthals don't carry around cameras." She sat back in her seat watching the scenery pass.
"I'm sorry I haven't been a lively seat partner." I said.
Ryan laughed. "You were tired. No need to appologize."
"Well, I like this seating arrangement better than last year's..." I said practically shuddering.
"Sharpay's not much better. And Larry's not that bad..." We looked over at him next to Sharpay, picking his nose.
"Ew! That's wrong on so many levels." I said completely grossed out.
"Okay... He's that bad." Ryan admitted with a laugh.
Taylor turned around in her seat. "We actually /are/ almost there!" she said excitedly, pointing ahead. "I can almost see it!"
Tell me what you think. I read all the reviews you send and love getting them. I'm way open to suggestions. Luv you all!
-Ali x3