Sharpay was the one who instilled skepticism in him.

What did a basketball geek want with a theater nerd? To the point where he had singled Ryan out every day for a week, to say hi, to ask about his day, and to ask for opinions on current events. It was surreal. So Ryan was understandably pretty skeptical.

So after seven days of it, Ryan called him out.

"What's your deal?"

"What?"

"Why do you keep talking to me? We barely know each other."

"Exactly. I want to change that, Ryan. I want to get to know you better."

"Why? What are you getting at? What kind of sick joke are you and your team cooking up?"

"The other wildcats have nothing to do with this. They didn't see you up there on that stage. They don't know how incredible you can be."

Ryan suddenly felt very warm.

"Why are you talking like that? What do you want from me?"

Chad hesitated.

Ryan's expression hardened. "This is just a game to you. You're just building up my confidence to knock it down, all jocks are the same."

"You don't know me," Chad said.

"Exactly. I don't know you. And you don't know me. So maybe you should just leave me alone." Ryan turned to walk away.

"Ryan, wait."

"Yeah?"

"You asked me what I want. Well… I really did mean it when I said I want to get to know you better. Can we talk later? In private?"

Ryan was steaming, worked up, and convinced that Chad was trying to pull something on him.

"One chance, Danforth. You have one chance. And if you're not straight with me then I'm not going to let you toy with my feelings any longer."

Chad nodded eagerly. "I'll explain everything if you give me the chance. I just can't talk about it now."

"I'm free after classes," Ryan said.

"I have practice until 4:30, but I don't have anywhere to be after that. Where should we meet?"

Ryan decided that if Chad was picking the time he had to pick the turf.

"You know where the theater is. Now that the play's over it'll be empty."

"Deal. I'll meet you there at 4:40."

"I'll give you twenty minutes to say what you need to say, and then all of this is over, okay?"

"Okay."

Ryan felt like he was going to puke. Chad could be so charming, it had to be a ruse. It had to be a trick.

"I'm going to be a little bit late today," he warned his sister at lunch.

"How late?"

"A little after five. I have to let that dumb jock explain why he's been in my business lately."

"It's probably a trick," Sharpay said.

"I know."

Ryan felt too nauseous to eat. He didn't want it to be a trick. He wanted genuine friendship from Chad but he knew it was impossible. He was popular with a very small group of people and was still overshadowed by his sister. Chad was just popular, everyone in school knew him. If Chad lived in anyone's shadow he didn't act like it. Chad was confident and charismatic and so handsome…

Ryan realized then that that was one of the things that made him the most upset. Chad was a cool, attractive guy who was paying Ryan special attention right now. That was something that Ryan yearned for, that he coveted. While his twin sister could flirt with any guy she wanted, if Ryan even looked at a guy like that he would at best get called a slur, at worst he would be attacked. Chad could make small talk and play with Ryan's feelings but in the end, it would just be bait. In the end, Chad was just waiting for Ryan to fall for him so he and his basketball buddies could beat him up.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Sharpay asked, as if just now realizing violence was a possibility.

"Yes please."

"I'll stay in the car until you're done with your talk. Call or text me if anything happens."

"Thank you, Sharpay."

"I've got your back." She didn't always, but she was there when it counted. Like now.

Ryan was anxious when he got to the theater. He tried to do homework while he waited but it was hard to focus on anything other than his impending demise.

"Ryan, you actually came."

"I'm not a liar, Danforth. I hope you're not a liar either. You swear the rest of your team has nothing to do with this?"

"I swear."

"You play baseball too, right? None of them put you up to this?"

"No, not at all… How'd you know I played baseball?"

"I've been to a few of your games."

Chad beamed involuntarily, "You've been to my games?"

"That's not important right now. What do you want with me?"

Chad hopped up onto the stage, sitting next to Ryan, their legs dangling off the side and almost touching. Ryan could hardly breathe.

"Please don't judge me," the basketball boy said suddenly.

Ryan's head spun."Yeah, you don't have to worry about that. You and your friends are the ones who judge me."

"I'm sorry for that, for them, for me. That's unacceptable, it shouldn't have happened and it won't happen anymore."

"Is that what you wanted to tell me? That there's no more bigotry in basketball?"

"I… No. I haven't talked to them about it yet but I will. I'll make sure no one ever antagonizes you like that again."

"Why? Why do you care about me?"

"Because no one deserves to be treated like that, Ryan."

"Obviously, but what made you realize that now? We've gone to the same school for two and a half years."

"And I regret that I didn't see you correctly until now. That I didn't see myself correctly until now. I saw you up on that stage and it was like I saw you for the first time. I saw you and the whole world fell into place. And I don't expect you to feel the same way about me but I fell in love with you then and I've been falling further every day."

Ryan let out a bitter laugh.

"I knew it. I knew you were just baiting me, trying to get me to admit that I liked you so you could turn everyone against me, is that what you want? Is that what this whole thing has been about? Well, you've won. I'm gay. I like men. I'm not ashamed of that but you- you should be ashamed of yourself because I can't change being gay but you can certainly change being an asshole."

Chad blinked back tears.

"Ryan, I swear it's not like that. I haven't told anyone else, not my parents, not my best friend, and certainly not my teammates. I'm telling you now because you're the only person in this whole school that I care about. I genuinely have feelings for you. I did some research… I think the correct term is bisexual? It means I like both men and women."

"I know what it means," Ryan said, softening a little. Would Chad really do that much research for some sick prank?

"I saw the flag, with the blue and the pink and the purple. I like it. I like knowing that there's something for people like me. That there's a whole community. And I know it's safer if I don't tell anyone but I can't not tell you, you're the first guy I've ever fallen for. Even if you don't feel the same that still means something to me, Ryan. Even if you walk out of here at 5 o'clock still hating me know that I'll owe you a lot because you helped me realize who I am. You helped me see clearly for the first time."

Ryan was beginning to see clearly now too. Though his anxious heart was still screaming to be cautious, the screaming was becoming muffled. Chad was baring his soul without expecting reciprocation.

"You know I could tell everyone. People would treat you differently."

"I know."

"And you're telling me anyway."

"Because I have to be honest with you. I can't hide my feelings or I'll explode."

"Oh."

"I don't need you to feel the same way, Ryan. I understand that not every crush works out and I've been rejected before. But I wanted to tell you and to thank you for helping me discover the truth."

Ryan glanced at his watch. 4:56. He had a few minutes before Sharpay would be expecting him, and there was no one in the theater.

"Chad," Ryan said, "can I kiss you?"

Chad looked flustered and breathless at the prospect but he nodded and soon Ryan's lips were on Chad's and their bodies were pressed against each other's. Chad felt warm and for the first time in a long time, Ryan felt not only unashamed of his queerness but safe in it. Maybe his identity put him at risk in the rest of the school, but in the theater, in Chad's arms, he was secure.

"I feel the same," Ryan said when he pulled away, "if that wasn't obvious."

"I want to do this again," Chad said as Ryan's phone began to buzz. It was five and Sharpay was calling to make sure that Ryan was alive. Ryan felt far more than just alive.

"We will. We'll work out the details later but for now…" Ryan left a kiss on Chad's cheek. "Thank you. For being real, and not a trick or a trap."

"Can I put my number in your phone?" Chad asked, obviously starstruck after such a long and passionate kiss.

Ryan nodded, "But then I really need to go."

"You can text me. We'll plan for next time."

"I'll see you in homeroom," Ryan said.

Chad held onto Ryan's phone a moment longer and laughed a little.

"What?" Ryan asked, the anxious part taking the reins for a moment once more.

"Earlier you said you wanted me to be straight with you. I hope it's okay that I wasn't straight at all."

Ryan groaned, but he was grinning. "Is this what I'm going to have to put up with if we start dating?"

Chad's eyes shone brighter at the prospect.

"I guess you'll have to date me and find out."

Ryan laughed and said a hasty goodbye to his maybe-boyfriend before dashing out to where Sharpay was waiting in the car.

"So what was that about?"

"I misjudged him. He really, genuinely wants to be friends."

"You smudged your chapstick," Sharpay said knowingly, but she didn't ask for any details, so Ryan didn't volunteer any. He was happy to keep his romantic little rendezvous a secret for now.