It's a fucking prank. It is definitely some weird, very in-depth prank. Ryan had decided this overnight and he strolled into the high school more confident than the day before, smirking knowingly at Gavin when he saw that the British boy had waited for him.

"Hi, Ryan! You're earlier than yesterday!" He beamed happily, trotting along at Ryan's side. "I thought I'd wait for you because... Well, um, because you might get lost on your way to the cafeteria!" Gavin faltered slightly, his face reddening.

Ryan glanced at Gavin, then to the entrance of the cafeteria that was right beside them, and cocked an eyebrow. Surely Gavin had only waited to assure the prank could continue, Ryan decided, mentally patting himself on the back for his deduction skills.

"Thanks, Gav." He smiled and Gavin positively radiated joy (from being able to continue the hoax, Ryan was sure).

They made their way to the same table from the previous day, but a new face took the place between Michael and Jack. A girl with red hair cut into straight bangs and round cheeks looked up at him, her mid-laughing face turning to one of shock.

"Ryan, this is Michael's girlfriend, Lindsay."

"Gavin, please. I'm more than Michael's girlfriend. Introduce me the way we discussed."

"But I only said that because he KNOWS Mi-"

"The way we discussed!" She snapped playfully and Gavin sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Ryan, this is Lindsay, cat extraordinaire and Enderman queen." Lindsay praised him and he snorted before taking a seat after Ryan. He pulled his chair closer to the new boy in the process, a detail that Ryan's preoccupied mind missed.

"Hey, mind if I have a word with the new kid? I gotta ask him a few things." She nudged Michael jokingly and he snickered.

"Well... I guess?" Gavin's brow furrowed confusedly, but Ryan was even more confused as he was pulled away rather harshly by the spunky girl. As soon as she was at a good distance and facing away from the table, her face sobered.

"So, I'm sure by now you've noticed something strange about this place."

"You mean your dumb little prank? I figured you guys out." Ryan grinned smugly, crossing his arms, and Lindsay smacked herself in the forehead gently.

"It's not a prank, kid. These students actually fucking sing."

"C'mon, I'm not an idiot."

"Listen, I know it's hard to understand. I've been here three years and I honestly don't get it at all, I've basically just accepted it. But this school is fucking weird. It's like they're living in a musical and they have no clue. Music comes from nowhere and they literally don't remember even doing any of it."

"That's absurd. Actually, it's impossible." Ryan's mind began to race with possibilities and he frowned; he really hated not understanding things.

"Yeah well it's fucking happening." She spat at him and Ryan felt like what she was saying was truth.

"O-okay. Um, well, tell me what you know about it, I guess."

"As far as I can tell, it doesn't happen before or after high school. I really think it just happens these four years for some reason. Also they don't seem to notice if I don't sing along, as I'm sure you've already witnessed when I was absent. Man, I picked a shitty time to get sick." She mused, tapping her chin absently. "Anyways, I usually just bullshit. Then again, I'm really into theater so it's pretty fun."

"I mean, I really like theater, too." Ryan muttered, scrunching up his nose.

"Then just have fun! C'mon." She led him back to the table, brushing off the others' confused looks. "Ladies, Ryan has agreed to join the school play!" She announced and Ryan fixed her with a dubious look.

"Wh-Ow! I mean, yeah, of course I have." He scowled at Lindsay as she stomped on his foot, batting her eyelashes at him innocently.

"That's wonderful!" Gavin stepped in, catching Ryan's attention. "I mean, I was thinking about doing it, too!"

"What? Gavin, you said the play was fucking stu-Ow! What the fuck!" He too looked to Lindsay, glaring at her almost as ferociously as Gavin was glaring at him. Of course, this too went unnoticed Ryan, the young man's mind racing with the new phenomena he was part of, plunged into by happenstance.

In fact, he was fairly amazed by it. He spent the next couple weeks studying each movement, occasionally laughing when he saw Lindsay joining in, a single person being completely random and wild in a sea of perfect organization. He also got to know his new friends better, enough to actually start calling them friends; so he was fairly pleased when he was invited to his first weekly meeting of the video game club, the Achievement Hunters.

"You're a fucking piece of shit!" Michael screeched at Ray as the shorter man destroyed him in Mario Cart. Ray laughed, never taking his eyes off the screen. It was a fierce competition between Lindsay, Ryan, Gavin, and Ray; well, between the first three, anyways, because there was no way any of them would be catching up to Ray. Jack, Geoff, and Lindsay watched from various other places in Geoff's basement, cheering them on. When the race finally ended, the three losers switched out.

Ryan sat on the couch, stretching unceremoniously. Gavin stumbled into the place beside him, their shoulders pressed together with his closeness. "O-oh, sorry Ryebread!" Ryan smiled at the nickname Gavin had taken to call him, shrugging gently.

"Nah, it's cool. I don't mind." He grinned at him, about to turn back to the game when he heard the music building. "What the fuck? It happens out of school?"

Lindsay paused the game just as the others turned to face Gavin, her face one of horror as she knew what was coming. "Fuck. Hey, um, Ryan! Mind going to the kitchen with me to get snacks?" She asked nervously, biting her lip.

"And miss this? Nah. I wanna see what they're gonna sing about. The music seems too slow for something happily video game-related." He had begun to pick up on the moods of song and found that he enjoyed several of his friends' voices; he was particularly fond of Gavin's smooth, accented singing ability.

Lindsay tried again, tugging on Ryan's arm. "I really think we should-"

Too late.

Gavin was staring right at Ryan, his hazel eyes wide and passionate, and Ryan was staring right back, admittedly much more confused and curious, as Gavin opened his mouth and began to sing softly.

"I've watched a lot of lovers
Give it a shot in my time,
And I always thought it wasn't for me,
I didn't deserve the sublime.

My heart was cold and useless,
Guarded by my brain,
And I didn't have a problem,
Because I didn't feel pain."

Ryan was now fully invested, still clueless, and paying no mind to the frantic Lindsay babbling loudly at his side. Gavin leaned forward, eyes impossibly wide and captivating.

"But then I met you, Ryan,
And I didn't think it true,
But I think you've gone ahead
And made me fall in love with you."

Ryan tensed, mouth falling open slightly as the weight of the lyrics hit him head-on.

"Shit." Lindsay muttered, cupping her face in her hand and sighing loudly. "These singing assholes..."

"Um. I don't... I gotta go." Ryan practically ran out of the basement and up the stairs, leaving a still-singing Gavin looking sadly after him.

-

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." Ryan was walking down the street, hands tangled in his hair and blue eyes focused on the ground as he mumbled to himself; he was much too far from his house to walk there, so instead took a seat on the nearest rock large enough to accommodate him.

"Okay, you're a rational man, Ryan." He spoke aloud, taking in a deep breath through his nose. "Rational enough to access your feelings. Let's do this in list form." He decided, nodding to himself. He liked lists; lists were smart and organized. "Firstly, do I like men?" He thought about it for a moment, the distinct images of several shirtless men flashing through his mind. "Okay, I definitely am not opposed to liking men."

"Secondly, do I like Gavin?" He took longer with this one, mulling it over. Gavin was charming for sure, definitely attractive, and happy. He was also annoying, cocky, and overly-enthusiastic. "Yes, but that adds to the charm. Everyone has faults, and his are pretty cute." So he did like Gavin then. He smiled, glad that was settled.

"Lastly, how do I go about this?" He was assuming Gavin had no idea he knew, considering they never really remembered singing. So he had the advantage of surprise, right? But how was he going to initiate this?

Well, he thought, when in Rome...

-

Gavin was waiting for him, just as he did every day (God, how had Ryan never noticed it before?) and Ryan took a moment to just look at him. A bit of stubble was beginning to grace his tanned skin and his hair was perfectly disheveled, as if he'd spent time to purposefully make it look that way. His pink lips curled slightly when he smiled and Ryan thought yeah, he could definitely fall in love with that.

"Hi, Ryan!" He greeted happily, footsteps matching up to the sandy blond-haired man as they made their way to the table. Lindsay eyed him carefully as they approached and Ryan winked. He'd wanted to ask her if it were possible for an outsider like him to do what he was about to, but he thought it'd be better if he didn't know.

So instead he sat there for a good ten minutes, saying nothing, willing for something to happen. When nothing did, he threw a major 'Fuck it' to the wind and stood up, scrunching his face up as if to brace himself for a punch; he was in theater, he could do this.

"Where are you going, Ryebread?" Gavin was the first to ask, of course, and Ryan clenched his broad hands into fists.

"Nowhere, Gavin. Actually, I have something to say to you."

"Well sit down, you mong. You look like a bloody lunatic." Improbable, Ryan thought, considering nobody besides their table was paying him any mind.

"Gavin..." He took a deep breath, disheartened when no music started, but he had already decided on this, and Ryan Haywood does NOT back down, so he began to sing.

"When I moved here I was bitter,
Could you blame me, I ask?
After all, moving so late
Can prove to be an arduous task."

Still no music. He faltered slightly, glancing desperately to Lindsay; she grinned at him, nodding her head for him to continue and elbowing Michael harshly when he snorted.

"Um, I-I am a systematic fool
My mind works on a different wave,
And I'd decided a while ago
No one would take any love I gave.

So I chose to not try it,
And never gave a chance for my heart
To care for another being
But I think, with you, I'd like to start."

He finally looked up at Gavin, smiling warmly when he saw the huge grin on his face. Gavin stood and Ryan took his hand; he mentally cursed when the music finally started, accusing the school of being biased to new kids silently.

He continued singing, pleased the tune matched what he had been doing previously.

"I didn't think it'd happen;
At least not in this way,
But I'm pretty glad it did,
And glad I got to know the day."

Gavin began to sing then and Ryan took the opportunity to squeeze his hand, testing the waters; holding Gavin's hand felt warm and homey, and he found himself wondering for the first time what it'd be like to kiss someone you care for. He listened to Gavin craft perfect lyrics from Ryan's admittedly sub-par song and smiled when the music began to die, pulling Gavin close to him.

"Is it okay if I kiss you?" He asked, his free hand resting on the small of Gavin's back as their chests were pressed together.

"I never knew you were such a gentleman, Ryebread." Gavin muttered before plunging forward and connecting their lips; for the first time, Gavin wasn't doing an action perfectly. In fact, the kiss was messy and varied and all over the place and so incredibly imperfect that Ryan wanted to capture it and never forget it. Gavin's arms wrapped around Ryan's neck, deepening the kiss and the new boy certainly didn't object, flicking his tongue out experimentally. They broke apart only when the realization that they were in a school cafeteria caught up to them, blushing furiously as the two students awkwardly retook their seats, hands still entwined.

"So... Call it a hunch, but I think Ryan has a crush on Gavin." Ray broke the silence and the table erupted into laughter.