Love Songs: Ryelsi

AN: Both movies have happened!

EDITED ON 9TH APRIL, 2009!

CHAPTER THREE: You Are the Music in Me by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens

Ryan Evans stopped abruptly outside the music room. He would have recognized her voice anywhere. But it was the song that she was singing that really piqued his interest. Brushing a stray strand of blond hair out of his eyes, he cautiously pulled open the door and was greeted by the sight of a demure, auburn-haired girl seated at a piano, her fingers pressing down on its ivory keys as she softly sang.

He coughed quietly, hoping she would hear him over the chords she was playing. She did; her sudden pause in playing and the flaming of her cheeks was a clear signal. He laughed and strolled over, seating himself on a plastic chair. "Isn't that the song you wrote for Troy and Gabriella last summer?" he asked curiously, studying the music sheets sitting in front of her. Kelsi Nielsen fidgeted with her folder of music as she tried to think of an answer that would not make him laugh again – although she did love his laugh.

"They never sang it at the talent show, though, remember?" she eventually replied timidly. "I just found it tucked away here and decided to try it out again." A wistful look appeared in her brown-green eyes. "It's a beautiful song. It fits them so well." A quiet sigh escaped her. She felt Ryan's gray eyes on her and hurriedly averted her gaze, feeling her cheeks redden even more. He always seemed to have this sort of an effect on her. Ever since their Lava Springs summer, she had admired him from afar. The courage it had taken for him to stand up to his sister and help her 'sworn' enemy, Gabriella, was something she wished she had. Of course, everyone knew that Ryan was still secretly in love with Gabriella.

Wasn't he?

Ryan reached for the sheet, reading the lyrics in Kelsi's neat, loopy cursive. He let his finger graze over the word 'dream', inwardly wondering what would happen if he dared to dream. Dared to dream that he could ever have the affections of the meek pianist sitting next to him, on a worn wooden piano stool, with her round wire-rimmed glasses perched on the tip of her nose and her newsboy hat pulled down to cast the upper half of her face into darkness. He shook away his thoughts and smiled brightly at her. "I never heard all of it… could you play it for me?" She shot him a startled look and hesitantly played another chord. Ryan recognized where she was playing from, and began to sing along with her notes.

Kelsi abruptly stopped playing again, feeling the tips of her ears heat up with embarrassment. She glanced up at Ryan's face, expecting to see an amused smile, but was instead met by his concerned gaze. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I hope you didn't mind me singing. It really is a lovely song."

She tried to gather words to form a coherent sentence. "No," she heard herself saying. "No, it's okay." Shyly, her eyes still meeting his, she added, "You have a great singing voice." She felt herself flush with pleasure as he beamed at her.

"Why thank you," he grinned, nudging her left hand. "Will you sing with me?"

She didn't reply; she merely began to play again, and once he started singing, she added her voice to his.

He moved from the plastic chair, taking a seat next to her on the piano stool, mentally thanking the heavens that it was a broad, elongated seat. Whoever designed piano stools in this way should get a medal, he thought as she picked up the tempo in the song. Ryan rested his chin on her shoulder to survey the words once more, noticing how she paused for a moment and then started again. His arms were still placed on the cushioned surface of the seat as he lowered his voice so that he didn't deafen her, feeling a sudden pang of nervousness shake him.

Kelsi winced when he placed his chin on the ticklish part of her shoulder, but decided to bear it. Something about his smell, though, was doing something to her insides – they were somersaulting and writhing like a nest of snakes. Somehow, it wasn't an uncomfortable feeling – in fact, she rather liked it. It was a new, different feeling. She knew that no matter what happened today, this song would always be her favourite.

Ryan was sure he startled her when he took her hand from the piano and pulled her up. He could see her eyes widen and flash with confusion. He silently laughed at her adorably bewildered expression, and fought against the urge to lean down and kiss her. Instead, he twirled her gently as he continued to sing, smiling encouragingly at her. She too matched him note for note, and he strained to hear her soft, musical voice singing to him.

Kelsi laughed softly, interlacing her fingers with his as she placed a hand on his shoulder. They waltzed around the room, Ryan making sure that they spun often. She was beginning to feel pleasantly dizzy, and leaned slightly against him for support. His free hand had found its way to her waist, and the hand clasping hers was warm and comforting. She marveled at the sheer size of his hands – how was it possible for someone to be so big? Her hands looked like those of a child, compared to an adult's. But suddenly, she didn't care about his hands being big or her hands being small. There was just them, and the music.

Ryan felt the reassuring smile slide off his face as he looked at her. His eyes were suddenly lost in the sea of her gaze, and he felt helpless as she looked steadily back. Words refused to come out of his mouth, but Kelsi didn't stop singing. In that heartbeat that his eyes were trapped with hers, he felt like she was reading his very soul – that she saw the real Ryan, the Ryan who wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. Not the Ryan who followed his sister around like a faithful pet and always had to pretend to be dumb, because Sharpay couldn't stand anyone being smarter than her. And in a sudden flash of insight, Ryan knew that Kelsi was afraid – she was afraid of feeling so strongly for someone. But she did – she loved him.

Kelsi broke their eye contact, pulling her hands away from his. She felt violated and naked; his intense gaze had stripped her of everything, and bared the truth to him. In his eyes she had seen a lifetime of love for someone – a someone she had thought was Gabriella, until then. Until she had seen herself in his eyes, and known that he lovedher. And she was sure he had somehow seen past her and delved into her very soul, to see the truths she wanted so desperately to hide. Because love wasn't like the plays and the movies and the books – love was real, and love hurt.

He took her hand, and felt her flinch. Ryan sighed softly, wanting to draw her gaze towards him. "Kels?" he spoke quietly, and saw her eyes dart up to his face. "Kels, what's wrong?" He rubbed her hand between both of his, suddenly aware of how clammy it had become. "You can tell me. Please." He tried to bring her out of her stupor by singing a stanza from her song, but her gaze remained vacant and fixed on something just beyond his shoulder.

"Ryan." Her voice was still soft, but there was an element of harshness he had never heard in it before. "Ryan. Please… please don't be…" Tears were gathering in her round eyes. Her glasses slipped from her nose and clattered to the floor, but neither of them took any notice. Ryan gazed into her eyes and tried to decipher what she was trying to say, but for the first time, he failed to read her. "I'm sorry," she murmured, slumping forward into his arms. "I'm sorry." He managed to catch a faint melody from her before her body jerked spasmodically.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, not sure if she could still hear him.

He sat outside in the hallway, lit by bright fluorescent lights, and knew she wasn't coming back out. A nurse had explained everything to him after Kelsi had been admitted into the hospital – Kelsi had had a heart problem for years, and had always known that it was highly unlikely for her to live past the age of eighteen. When he heard the white-clad woman speak, he felt like wailing in frustration. Why hadn't Kelsi told him? He would have confessed to her so much earlier – they could have had years…

He clenched his hands into fists as he heard a low moan of disbelief come from behind the closed door – Mrs. Nielsen, he thought dully. She was gone. He bit down savagely on his knuckles as tears obscured his vision, blurring everything around him. She was gone. The words pounded in his head, in his heart, throughout his body. She wasn't coming back.

He tried to comfort the inconsolable Mrs. Nielsen as he drove her home, but could scarcely come up with words to comfort himself. At least you knew, he thought angrily. At least you were always preparing yourself for this. I didn't even know. What am I supposed to tell the gang? He drove back home in silence, trying his hardest to hate the petite pianist for keeping such a massive secret from her friends, but not succeeding.

He lay on his bed that night, tears rushing to his eyes again. He clutched his pillow close to muffle the sobs that spilled out of him at an alarming rate. He didn't want to worry his mother, or summon Sharpay – she was always irate when woken from her 'beauty sleep'. Neither of them would have any pity for the girl he had loved. He frowned, immediately rearranging his thoughts. No, for the girl he loved. He would never stop loving her.

As if from far away, he heard the last lines of 'You Are the Music in Me'. He closed his eyes, knowing that Kelsi was still watching him and would always live on – as the music that would forever be in his heart.

Fin

AN: What did you guys think? Was it okay? I wanted to try a slightly tragic spin on this oneshot. Did it come out all right? Hopefully, I'll have updated It's the Real Thing by tomorrow!