I'm finally back! I'll try to get chapters 7-9 out sooner than that. I rewatched the first movie as I was editing these chapters and I'll rewatch the second one later as I tackle the next few chapters.

Troy Bolton also seemed to think it was going to be a great year. He was practically floating on air when he saw Chad, on the first day back from winter break.

"How was the lodge?" Chad asked, guessing there was a story there.

"Oh, great, great. My mom made me go to this teen party and it was actually kind of fun."

"Well you missed a real rager at the Danforths," Chad joked, but he was actually kind of glad Troy hadn't been there. If Troy had been there, he wouldn't have gotten to spend that time with Ryan. Wouldn't have gotten to come out to his parents and start the new year on the right foot.

"I bet. Sorry I couldn't come. Hope you didn't go crazy from boredom without me."

Chad chuckled, "It definitely wasn't boring."

"Good."

"Happy New Year," Troy added as almost an afterthought.

"It's going to be a happy wildcat new year, " Chad said, already getting caught up in the excitement of their upcoming championship.

The hype spread as they headed inside, getting passed by Ryan and Sharpay. Chad caught Ryan's eye and began to feel warm, only tuning back in when he heard Zeke say something about Sharpay being an ice princess.

"She probably spent the holidays how she always does," Chad heard himself start before he even realized what he was saying.

"How's that?"

"Shopping for mirrors." His friends laughed at that but Chad immediately felt bad. Ice princess or not, Sharpay was Ryan's twin sister. He really needed to work on keeping his subconscious in check.

He was still distracted by thoughts of his lover as they headed into homeroom, though he didn't miss the snarky comment from class president Taylor McKessie. And, though he didn't know it yet, he would soon learn why Troy was distracted as well.

He caught himself staring at Ryan as his friends caught up and Sharpay flirted with Troy. Ryan snuck him a smile but kept his head down. And Troy? Troy stared right past Sharpay, already enamored with the new girl.

Chad brought himself back to reality and pretended he didn't care when Ms. Darbus mentioned the upcoming musical, but in reality, he was very excited to see his boyfriend on stage again.

And then his very distracted best friend landed five people in detention for texting his new crush, Gabriella. Chad would have been mad about getting tangled up in all of that, but Ryan had gotten detention too, so it wasn't all bad. Maybe he'd even get a moment alone with him…

No, he had to keep his head down and be careful. He couldn't get caught with Ryan at school or they wouldn't be safe anymore.

Still, the thought of kissing Ryan during detention nearly drove Chad insane.

Taylor made another snide comment and he felt his blood begin to boil, she also drove him insane but for completely different reasons. He forced himself to look away to calm down and found himself staring at Ryan once more. It was hard to be careful when Ryan was that pretty.

At least Taylor also got detention…

At their first practice of the day, Chad got a little tense when Troy brought up the musical. The last thing he needed was Troy realizing Chad liked musicals now, 'cause that could lead to Troy finding out why Chad liked musicals now. He had to lay his faux-hatred on thick.

He wasn't actually worried until the next day when Troy disappeared during his free period.

"I think something is going on with Troy and that new girl, let's lay low," he advised Ryan in a whisper when they passed in the hall, trying not to get distracted by how good Ryan looked in pink.

Ryan didn't have to be told twice, though it was hard not to run his hand through Chad's soft hair like he had many times before.

They had to be careful, just in case Chad's fears were confirmed.

Which they were, the day after Troy's minor disappearance. Against all odds, Troy was tangled up with the musical.

"Sharpay is like, super pissed about it," Ryan said. "She's never had to do a callback for a part, she always just gets it. We practiced for weeks to be perfect, she even made me change out of the outfit I was wearing in homeroom so that our pinks wouldn't match."

"Well, she's insane because you looked great in that outfit. The green was nice too, though."

Chad almost lost his train of thought before snapping back to reality.

"Anyway, I'm worried that if Troy is suddenly a part of the drama club he's going to notice that you and I are spending a lot of time together," Chad admitted. "It feels like I already have to work overtime just to keep people off my back about my involvement with the theater geeks."

"Oh yeah? I don't think you need to worry about that, nerd. We just have to be careful who sees us. And us theater geeks are pretty good actors, after all."

Ryan leaned over to steal a quick kiss, and that was when they heard the squeak of women's shoes behind them.

"Not that good of an actor," Taylor McKessie said with a smug smirk.

Chad felt his heart sink.

"Taylor, this-"

"Isn't what it looks like? I'm not stupid, Chad. But I'm not going to tell anyone. In fact, I'm going to help you."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I need help, too. Gabriella is our best shot at winning the decathlon. We can't have her being confused by musical theater or basketball boys. You help me deal with Troy and I'll help you hide your secret relationship."

"What if I say no?" Chad challenged.

"Then your secret is safe with me, but I doubt I'll be the only one who notices."

"Chad, I don't know if this is a good idea," Ryan said.

"I have to try," Chad said, reluctantly shaking Taylor's hand.