Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Freshman Year 

Circa 2015

Ryan was dreading high school. Almost as much as he dreaded going to middle school. 

Granted, Ryan didn’t like school much, period. Being pretty obviously gay could do that to a kid, and he’d known he was gay just about since he could read. The words written on his inner forearm told him that much, at least. 

“You’re not like the rest of us guys, are you?”

What a dreamy thing to have your fucking soulmate say to you first thing.

But… given the choice to try to hide his sexuality or give in to the inevitable, he’d figured he'd just lean into being gay from a pretty young age, consequences be damned. That particular decision had come when he’d tried his hand at Little League, and while he was actually good, the other boys pretty much immediately picked up on the… queer vibes of their teammate, and he’d been basically ostracized after they’d decided that having a fully straight team was more important to them than any more championship trophies.

The next all-consuming interest that he’d found—one for singing and musical theater—had sparked the competitive streak in his sister, and they’d found their twin passion that had now carried on with them to high school.

So yeah, all in all, Ryan was dreading it.

But on the bright side, he’d heard that the theater teacher—Ms. Darbus—was pretty intense, so that was a perk.

He stuck next to Sharpay as they walked into the doors of the school, not willing to admit to his sister, or anyone else, that he was nervous.

The wall of sound hit him before the smell, and once that hit, he was almost overwhelmed. 

Looking over, Ryan saw that Sharpay looked severely unimpressed. Ryan had to smile slightly—his sister was gonna be running the place in less than a week.

Chad couldn’t be more excited for high school. He was gonna get on the basketball team with Troy, and everything else would work itself out. Maybe he’d even meet his soulmate, or, barring that, get a girlfriend.

He was excited to meet his soulmate, just like everyone else he knew, but something about the words gave him some pause.

“And let’s all give our thanks that I’m not.”

It looked almost snobby, between the words themselves, and the prim and proper handwriting that lettered itself on his forearm.

But, nonetheless, Chad was excited to meet his soulmate. Maybe he was just being paranoid about the snobbery.

It turned out, however, that he was wrong about being excited for high school. The basketball was good (he made the team, obviously), but it was basically just middle school 2.0 as far as the people went. 

The only person that caught his eye as being different from the rest was a boy that was never too far from his sister, who in herself seemed to be a whole force to be reckoned with. She practically ran the school, despite it only being a week into their freshman year.

The boy, though, wore flat caps and fedoras, and almost always wore a button down, all of which amused Chad for some reason.

He found himself next to the boy in line for lunch one day, and as Troy was chatting to him about a play he had in mind for the next game, Chad couldn’t help but turn to the boy next to him. He was wearing a crisp baby blue button down, and a matching flat cap. His sister, Sharpay, was nowhere to be seen.

“You’re not like the rest of us guys, are you?” He mused to the boy.

His head snapped up to look at Chad, his murky green eyes wide. He set his jaw, and glanced Chad up and down.

“And let’s all give our thanks that I’m not .” His voice was full of contempt, and he just… walked off. Out of the lunch line, and out of the cafeteria.

Chad gaped after him.

“Chad?” Troy’s voice interrupted his brain’s buzzing. “Are you listening to me?”

“Wha…” Chad said, eyes not leaving the cafeteria doors that the boy had just walked through like he owned the place.

“Did you even hear my idea?” Troy asked, sounding a little peeved.

“Who was that? Do you know his name?” Chad asked Troy urgently, “The boy that always wears those hats. Sharpay Evans’s brother.”

“Ryan, I think. He’s in my world history class. Why?” Troy asked, glancing towards the cafeteria doors himself.

“I think he’s—” Chad clamped his mouth shut, forcibly stopping himself from telling Troy. He knew Troy wasn’t homophobic, but he wasn’t great at keeping secrets, and they weren’t the only ones on the basketball team. He didn’t think they’d all take kindly to the new kid being gay.

Am I gay?

Chad had never considered it.

He supposed he could be. But…

But for Ryan Evans of all people to be his soulmate…

Chad was distant for the rest of the day, trying to puzzle out what to do.

Ryan was definitely panicking. Not only was his soulmate apparently a homophobe, but he was a jock. And then he had the absolute audacity to be cute? Ryan was fucked.

He found himself in the men’s restroom, hyperventilating.

Fuck.

What did the universe want him to do, coach this idiot jock boy through a sexuality crisis? Well he wasn’t going to do that , he’s damn well certain. 

Sure, Ryan had always known that his soulmate wasn’t exactly going to be perfect with those words on his arm, but he’d always been a romantic, an optimist, even when he didn’t want to be.

So he’d just innately figured that the situation with his soulmate would work itself out. That he wouldn’t have to work too hard, and that it would all be okay. It would all be perfect.

But now that this dumb jock was his soulmate…

How was he even supposed to deal with that? There was no way they had anything in common, and clearly the guy didn’t even realize he was into men.

So… the best Ryan could figure is that he would pretend to not have found his soulmate for the time being. He was sure he could trust the boy to do the same—after all, the look of vague horror on the boy’s face when Ryan had said what was clearly on his arm was enough to tell him he wasn’t about to blab.

Fuck.

Ryan took a few minutes to compose himself, and finally left the restroom, heading for the theater. He didn’t want to return to the lunchroom. He didn’t want to see the boy again right now.

Sharpay was in the theater.

“Well? Where’s my lunch?” She asked, annoyed.

He’d totally forgotten that he was supposed to be getting her lunch.

“I didn’t get it. Didn’t get to my own lunch.” He said, trying to move past why he’d not gotten her lunch, why he'd gotten sidetracked.

Sharpay let out a frustrated huff, “And what was so important that you didn’t get my food?”

“Do you know that boy that just made that basketball team? He’s always hanging out with the coach’s son. The one with the nice hair?” Ryan asked, hoping she didn’t look too deeply into the question.

Sharpay stared at him like he was stupid.

“Why the fuck do you care about some stupid jock?”

“Just… do you know his name?”

Sharpay sighed, “The one that wears the stupidest t-shirts imaginable?”

“Probably.”

“Yeah, he’s in my English class. Chad, I think.” Sharpay looked completely uninterested, checking her nails.

Chad.

What a stupid jock name.

Sharpay looked at him suspiciously, “Ryan… please tell me you don’t have a crush on that idiot.”

Ryan scoffed, “No.” 

But he knew he was blushing, despite the fact that he really didn’t have a crush on ‘Chad’. Not yet, anyway… 

A crush was bound to come. Ryan really was a hopeless romantic, and the idea of Chad being his soulmate was going to be too much eventually, and he was going to develop feelings for him.

It was inevitable.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, “Ryan!” She whined, “Why do you have to crush on the worst boys?”

Ryan cringed. He knew it was true. He’d liked this horrible boy in intermediate school, Tristan Ashford. He’d been in the theater club, and definitely gay, but Ryan could definitely admit now that he was just the worst. He’d been bitter about being gay, and had taken it out on everyone else. The startling amount of homophobic vitriol that would come from his bitchy mouth on the daily was enough to make Ryan finally realize that maybe he wouldn’t make for the most healthy relationship

“Just…” Ryan said, not really sure what to say, “I know.” He finished quietly.

“Good.” Sharpay said, seeming pleased that he’d given in so quickly.

Ryan was quiet for the rest of the day, not wanting Sharpay to ask him anything more about Chad, and why Ryan had so quickly developed an interest in him.

Chapter Text

Summer before Senior Year

Circa 2018

Chad was thrilled when the final bell rang on their junior year of high school, as they officially let out for summer.

Next year would be their last year at East High, and while Chad knew that would bring in some bittersweetness, for now, he just let himself be happy that it was summer and they were free .

He texted Troy as his mom took him home:

Chad: lmk if you get any job offers, i could try applying at the same places

Troy: definitely! itd be so cool to work together

“How was your last day as a junior, sweetie?” Chad’s mom piped up.

“Fine, mom.” Chad said, not looking up from his phone, “Nothing happened. No one was gonna teach anything, it was the last day of school.” 

Chad: im gonna try to apply to a night stocker job at the albertsons near my house

“Sure.” Chad’s mom said, “Now stop texting Troy and talk with your mother!” She was amused, but it was clear that that was no excuse to not listen.

“Would it help if I’m talking to him about getting a job?”

“A little,” She said, “But come on! Tell me about your job ideas.”

Chad sighed, and slipped his phone into his pocket.

“There’s an opening for a night shift at the Albertson’s, I was thinking of applying there.”

“Ooh, your Uncle Jerry worked there, he liked it!”

“Mom,” Chad laughed, “That has to have been thirty years ago. It might’ve changed since.”

“Maybe.” His mother admitted.

The rest of the ride home was fairly uneventful, and once they got home, Chad wasted no time before he sat himself down in front of the TV and started playing NBA 2k11 on his PS4.

His sister, Mia, whose school had let out an hour earlier, rolled her eyes from the chair in the corner of the living room, “Can you think of nothing better to do than play fake basketball?”

“I’d play real basketball, but I’d crush you.” He replied easily.

“Nuh uh.” Mia snarked, “I bet I’d beat your butt.”

“Mia, I’m a whole foot taller than you.” Chad told her, keeping his eyes on his game.

Mia blew a raspberry at him, and ran off to her room, careful to make sure she ran in front of the TV screen so that Chad missed a basket.

“Hey!” He called out, but she was long gone.

Chad had to smile. He loved Mia, despite her being an annoying little shit sometimes. He supposed that was all siblings, though. He knew he could be a shit at times.

He finished up his game, turned off the PS4, and went to go collect Mia for a quick 1-on-1 game of actual basketball. 

He had a feeling Mia would end up winning, but then again, he wasn’t about to let her lose.

Ryan was free for the summer, thank god . He couldn’t wait to get to Lava Springs. It was going to be relaxing and Ryan needed some relaxation after his junior year. After Troy and Gabriella had stolen he and Sharpay’s spots in the musical. Sharpay had been so pissed, and honestly so had Ryan. Both clearly had absolutely no formal training in singing or drama, but they were still that good? 

Yeah, Ryan needed some nice rest and relaxation at the country club. He and Sharpay would win their yearly Star Dazzle award, and everything would feel normal again.

Sharpay, in the driver’s seat, was already going on about how she was going to get Troy back from Gabriella.

Ryan, deciding to keep the peace, declined to mention that Sharpay technically never had Troy in the first place to be able to get him back .

“I’m going to ask Mr. Fulton to hire Troy as a pool boy, I know he’s looking for a job. If I just get him away from that horrid girl who stole our show, then he’ll see how wrong he was to ever go for her at all!” 

She took a sharp turn that Ryan could almost guarantee wasn’t signaled properly. Ryan clutched at the side of his seat discreetly.

Ryan sighed, and, as cautiously as he could, “Shar… you don’t think that, maybe, Troy just… isn’t into you?”

Sharpay gasped, “You take that back , Ryan!”

“Yeah, yeah, anyone would be so lucky as to have you, but… you can’t exactly pick and choose who you fall in love with.” Ryan said, sounding a little bitter.

Sharpay gave him a side eye, “Oh please. Ryan, tell me you aren’t still falling all over that idiot, Chad?”

Ryan felt himself flush. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He said quietly.

He’d hoped that his complicated feelings about Chad would die off if he just ignored them for long enough. As it turned out, they just got more intense with time.

Sharpay deflated slightly, “Fine. But my point stands. Don’t even waste your time on that jock.”

“Isn’t Troy a jock, too?” Ryan said, a small smile on his face.

“Psh. Details. My jock wouldn’t call me a slur.”

“Chad wouldn’t do that.” Ryan said, a little hurt on behalf of his soulmate.

His soulmate who had barely looked at him in the two and a half years that they’d attended the same school.

“Sure he wouldn’t. Ryan, be realistic.” Sharpay’s voice was quiet, like she knew what she was saying was harsh, but that she wanted to soften the blow.

“Shar?” Ryan said, heart pounding, “Can you pull over for a second?” He sounded stupidly close to tears.

She looked at him, actual concern in her eyes, a rare moment of caring about someone other than herself, and pulled over to the curb just a few blocks from their home.

“Chad’s my soulmate.” Ryan said, staring directly in front of him, feeling small. “We said our words in freshman year.”

Sharpay was quiet for a moment, “Ry…”

“I know. It’s stupid of me to hope that it’ll actually work out.”

“Ryan, you know I support you, always. But you’ve gotta calm down. If things are going to work out then they’ll work out. But don’t be a drooling idiot about it. And don’t hate yourself over stupid shit like you and Chad being soulmates. You are Ryan Evans . You’re better than all that.” Sharpay told him sternly.

Ryan blinked a few times, tears falling from his eyes. He couldn’t help but cry whenever Sharpay got protective like that. It reminded him that, for all his sister’s sharp corners, she did actually care about him.

“Thanks.” Ryan told her, and took a deep breath, “Now let’s go home.”

Chad was excited for the baseball game, at least. Troy had been a shitty friend, and the summer was turning out to be a whole disaster.

But baseball was something that was his and somewhere he could dominate.

Except… 

What’s Ryan doing here?

“What, did Fulton send you out here to spy on us?” Chad asked, a little too pissed at the world to consider how rude it was.

“Nah, my sister did.” Ryan answered smoothly, “She thinks you guys are going to upstage her talent show.”

“Oh, no worries. We were going to do the show, but then Troy bailed on us, so, whatever.” Zeke said bitterly.

Gabriella started going on about Ryan designing the show for them, and Chad had to roll his eyes a little.

“All right look, if you want to play ball, then grab a mitt. But I don’t dance.” Chad told Ryan.

“You don’t think… dancing takes some game?” Ryan shot back, and it felt so much like a double entendre that Chad’s heart sped up in his chest.

Some of the guys around them chuckled, but Chad barely heard it.

He looked Ryan over, “You got game?”

“A little.” Ryan answered, a small smirk gracing his face.

The rest of the game was almost a blur. Ryan kept swaying his hips in a way that told Chad that he knew that Chad’s mouth went dry every time he did it.

And Ryan just looked so at ease throughout. He had to have some baseball experience.

But fuck the intensity that he stared at Chad with was just setting his insides on fire.

Chad wasn’t stupid. He knew he definitely wasn’t straight. The fact that his soulmate was, well, a man told him that pretty clearly. 

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t terrified.

Sure, he knew most of the team would be fine with it, and his parents would love him either way, but it was still… a lot.

The only person he’d ever told that he was gay was Taylor. It had been their third date, and she’d gone in to kiss him, and he’d just… turned away.

He’d told her that he’d already met his soulmate, but that they’d barely talked since their first words.

Then he said that he was pretty sure he was gay. That his soulmate was a man. That he was sorry for leading her on.

Taylor had been understanding, and, after giving him a mini lecture on internalized homophobia, hugged him tightly.

“Hey Evans,” Chad called out to Ryan’s back as he began to retreat, coming suddenly back to the present, “I’m not saying I’m going to dance in the show… but if I did, what would you have me do.”

Ryan threw a smirk over his shoulder, and walked off.

Chad, on instinct, followed.

Ryan walked into a small shed, full of sports equipment. Chad had no idea what he was doing, but the air was electric.

And, as the door swung closed, Ryan wasted no time in crowding Chad up against the wall, and kissing him soundly, passionately.

Chad kissed him back, and the feeling of being on fire just overtook his whole body. This had to be what he was on Earth for—to kiss Ryan Evans with every ounce of his being.

He began to push his hands up and under Ryan’s shirt, feeling the surprisingly firm muscles he was hiding under it. Ryan quickly just took it off, throwing it somewhere behind him

Within a minute, Chad ditched his own shirt in a scramble of desperation to be closer.

And closer they got.

The rattle of keys in the lock finally interrupted their heavy breathing, sitting shirtless on the floor of the shed.

They hurriedly grabbed shirts and put them on, Ryan grabbing at the brightest colored shirt, figuring it was his just due to the coloration.

It was just a little big on him, but it was too late to switch back. He grabbed his hat, and, after a moment of hesitation, swapped it with Chad’s.

“What are you—?” Chad said, slowly putting Ryan’s flat cap on.

“Well I have to match , don’t I?” Ryan replied.

Chad snorted. Ryan’s shirt was just a little small on Chad, and Ryan couldn’t help but notice it, a little pleased.

One of the few non-Wildcat employees of Lava Springs finally unlocked the door, and started putting baseball equipment up. He eyed Chad and Ryan suspiciously, but said nothing as they slipped out the door.

They made their way to the outdoor eating space where everyone else was hanging out.

Ryan felt like he was on top of the world.

Then…

“What’s with the hat, Chad?” Jason asked with a smirk.

“Just, uh, symbolic, you know… since he played baseball, and I’m gonna dance. You know.” Chad said, stumbling over his words. He took a step away from Ryan.

And fuck if that didn’t just crush Ryan’s heart.

He thought they’d made progress. That they were going to be able to acknowledge their bond, and just… be together. But no. Apparently nothing had changed for Chad Danforth.

Jason laughed, and the subject was dropped.

Ryan left once he could without it being suspicious.

He collected Sharpay, who’d been pestering Troy about the talent show, and dragged her to her car.

“We’re going home.” He said, already buckling his seatbelt.

“Um, no .” Sharpay said, looking at him like he was insane, “Are you joking? Troy and I were going to practice our piece for the talent show.”

“No you weren’t , Sharpay! He doesn’t want to sing with you, he doesn't want to be with you, cause apparently we’re both an embarrassing pox to whoever we like, and we ought to just fucking give up trying to be anything but.” He was breathing heavily, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

God, he was so angry.  

Chad was just fucking stupid if he could have the best of both worlds—being able to be straight in the eyes of his teammates, but also being able to be with Ryan.

And it was obvious now which he was going to prioritize. 

Sharpay looked at him curiously, clearly trying to figure out whether she should be offended or worried. “What’s gotten into you, Ryan?”

“Nothing. I just want to go home.” He blinked, and the tears he’d been trying to keep from crying finally fell.

Sharpay slid into the driver's seat, and started the car without another word.

Chapter Text

Ryan wasn’t at Lava Springs the next day, and Chad couldn’t help but feel like it was because of him. Ryan had left pretty quickly after their… encounter yesterday, all but confirming that Chad was at fault.

Sharpay kept throwing various glares and scathing looks his way, which would have been alarming enough without Ryan being missing. Now he just felt guilty for… whatever it was he had done.

Halfway through the day, Troy made a motion to try to talk to Chad, and Chad—still pissed about everything Troy had been doing—just walked away. 

It didn’t make him feel any better.

But finally, the stress and guilt built up enough that Chad just had to talk to someone.

“Hey, Taylor?” He called out, jogging up to her as they were on their break.

“Hey!” Taylor said, “What’s wrong?”

She patted the chair next to her.

“Just…” Chad sighed, and ran a hand over his face, “I think I fucked things up with… with my soulmate.”

Taylor’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t say anything. She patted the chair again, a little more forcefully.

Chad sat down, hard.

“Start from the beginning.” Taylor suggested.

“Yeah… We said our words back in freshman year. I was stupid back then, and I just kinda… ignored it. I was embarrassed, and that was shitty of me. But I guess I’m stupid now, too. Cause… well,” Chad took a deep breath, and avoided Taylor’s eyes, “Ryan’s not here.”

Chad could hear a slight gasp from Taylor.

“Oh, Chad… If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? It seemed like you were getting along fine yesterday at the game.”

“Well, we played that baseball game. Then we, um…” Chad trailed off slightly, feeling his face heat up, “We kind of… made out a bit in a shed. And then he just didn’t come to Lava Springs with Sharpay this morning.”

Taylor nodded slowly. “And you didn’t do anything to chase him off? Go through what happened again, and be specific.”

Chad shifted uncomfortably. “We left the equipment shed after that guy with the beard that works here came in with the stuff from the baseball game, we ate some fries, he told me that he was a little league champion, Jason asked about the hats—oh! We’d switched hats. And, uh, and shirts.” Chad’s cheeks were burning, “When the beard guy was walking in. We grabbed the wrong shirts. Then Ryan left. He seemed… upset.”

Taylor was looking at him curiously, “And when Jason asked about the hats… what did you say?”

“Uh,” Chad furrowed his brow trying to remember, “Something about symbolism and him playing baseball, and me dancing?”

Taylor hit Chad’s arm harder than Chad felt was necessary.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“You don’t think that’s what he was upset about?” Taylor said with a glare.

“Well I wasn’t about to tell Jason that Ryan and I just fucked in an equipment shed, was I?” Chad said, feeling quite flustered.

“Yeah you don’t say that, but you don’t lie about it either! If you’ve been ignoring that he’s your soulmate for two years, don’t you think that pretending that nothing’s changed is gonna hurt him?”

Chad felt suddenly sick. He had just been trying to be discreet. And yeah, there was some embarrassment, which Chad wasn’t proud of, but he was going to work on it. He wanted to work on it.

“Shit.” Chad said.

“Yeah!” Taylor told him, as if this whole thing was an obvious conclusion (which it probably was), “You’d better apologize, Chad. Tell him that you’re going to try to do better in the future.”

“Yeah…” Chad said, a plan already forming in his head.

But… he was going to need Troy.

He was still mad at him, but maybe if he just explained things, Troy would understand. 

Maybe communication was as important as Taylor always claimed it was.

Chad was (thankfully) able to avoid running into Mr. Fulton as he gathered a few things, Ryan’s hat, some flowers from the grounds, and a stack of Zeke’s cookies. 

And then he found Troy at the golf course.

“Troy.” Chad said, bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly in his nervousness.

“Chad.” Troy looked somewhat hopeful.

“I need your help.” Chad told him, “I need you to drive me to the Evans’s house.”

Troy glanced dubiously at the bouquet of flowers in Chad’s hands, “I think Sharpay’s somewhere around here, man, but I don’t think that’s such a good idea…”

“Not Sharpay. Ugh.” Chad said, making a face, “Listen, long story short, Ryan’s my soulmate, we found out freshman year, I’ve been kind of a dick to him, and now I need you to take me to his house so that I can… fix this.” Chad’s mouth was dry, and he wasn’t looking Troy in the eyes. The flowers he was holding telegraphed how much his hands were shaking.

“You and Ryan are soulmates?”

“Yeah, didn’t I just say that?” Chad snapped, and his face immediately fell. “I’m sorry, man, I’m just a little… on edge.”

Troy nodded slowly, “Right. Um. So you need a ride?”

Chad let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Yeah. Thanks, man.”

Troy motioned something to the other golf pro, and headed off the course with Chad.

It was as they got in Troy’s truck that Fulton finally caught sight of them.

“And what, exactly do you two think you’re doing?”

“I’m choosing my friends!” Troy shouted as he pulled out of the parking spot, “And I’m quitting!”

Chad grinned, and let out a ‘whoop!’

“But Mr. Bolton!” Fulton shouted, “Why…” 

But they were already driving away, and out of earshot.

They were both laughing uproariously as they left Lava Springs’s gates.

“He’s back, baby!” Chad shouted, shaking Troy’s shoulder.

Troy laughed, struggling slightly to keep the wheel straight.

Once they’d been on the road for a minute, and once they’d calmed down a bit, Troy turned to Chad, pausing for a moment before he said:

“So… what are you gonna do?”

“Honestly? Beg.” Chad said, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. “I fucked up really bad with him.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what happened? When you found out you were soulmates.”

Chad huffed out a short laugh, “You were there, actually. Like I said, it was freshman year. I was being kind of a dick… Said ‘you’re not like other guys, are you?’ or something similar. He then said ‘and let’s all give our thanks that I’m not’. And walked off. I asked you who he was, and… that was about it. We didn’t interact much until Gabriella came in our junior year, and even then…”

“So what’s changed your mind?”

Chad scratched at the back of his head, still a little embarrassed to be talking about this, “Well, I actually talked to him. Playing the staff baseball game. He’s actually a better player than I am, you know. And then we kind of… made out and… stuff. In a shed. After the game.” 

Troy looked a little uncomfortable with the conversation as well, and Chad was glad when he just let it drop for the time.

“Anyway.” Chad said, “I tried pretending that nothing had happened to Jason after… that. And Ryan got upset. For good reason—I shouldn’t go back to pretending he doesn’t exist. That’s shitty.”

Troy nodded, “And now you’re going to try to win him over with his hat, some flowers, and Zeke’s cookies.”

“And begging.”

“Sounds like a plan, dude.” Troy said.

The rest of the drive was fairly quiet. When they finally pulled up in front of the Evans’s house, Chad took a deep breath, feeling suddenly hot and sweaty—and decidedly not in the way he’d felt back in that equipment shed.

“Good luck.” Troy told him.

Chad nodded, and stepped out of the truck, feeling distinctly like he was heading into war.

He walked the absurdly long path up to the front door (and seriously, how rich were the Evans’s actually?), and then paused when he got there.

Turning back towards the truck, he saw Troy give him a thumbs up.

Chad took another deep breath and quickly knocked on the door before he could chicken out.

It was a solid minute before the door opened, although it felt to Chad more like an hour.

And there was Ryan. He looked totally casual, but the redness of his eyes and nose betrayed him. Chad felt like a piece of shit.

“What do you want, Danforth?” Ryan asked. His eyes flicked down to the bunch of the flowers in Chad’s hands, and something like amusement flickered across his face.

“I wanted to apologize. I was a dick to you yesterday, and I’ve been a dick to you since freshman year.” Chad started, his heart racing.

Ryan rubbed at his forearm subconsciously.

“And I wanted to say that I’d like to try to do better. If you’ll let me.” Chad, suddenly remembering, “Oh! And I wanted to give you these.”

He held out Ryan’s hat, the flowers, and the cookies.

Ryan looked at them somewhat warily, and scuffed his foot on the doorstep, “And why should I trust that you’re actually going to change? I’m not going to stay in the closet the rest of my life.”

“I don’t expect you to. I’ll tell people, I swear. Just as long as you’re willing to take it… slow. For me. I’m not used to this, really. It was shitty that I just ignored this whole part of me for two years, but I’m… I’m ready to start trying. I- I mean, I even told Troy so that he’d take me here.” Chad said, still absentmindedly holding out the gifts to Ryan.

Ryan peered behind Chad to the truck that Troy was still sitting in, parked in the driveway.

“And you’re not embarrassed to be seen with me?”

Chad cringed, “I’m not.”

At Ryan’s semi-skeptical look, he continued, “Really. I think I’m just… I’m embarrassed with myself. I’m not good at feelings and emotions. What I said to Jason was… shitty. And I can’t guarantee that I won’t say something stupid like that in the future, but I’m willing to learn from my mistakes, if you’re willing to teach me.”

Ryan sighed, and finally smiled, just a little, “Yeah, okay.”

“We can try this? Us?” Chad asked, eyes wide.

“We can try.” Ryan said softly.

He grabbed the things from Chad’s hands, put them on something just inside the door, and kissed Chad. Softly, sweetly.

Pulling back, Ryan smirked a little wickedly at him, “Slow, huh? So that means that what happened yesterday was a fluke?”

Chad felt his face burn, but he laughed, a little surprised, “Well, slow-ish. How about that?”

And Ryan just dragged him inside with a laugh.