Get'cha Head In The Game!

9. tomato face

The next morning Ryan was walking up the stairs of the school entrance fast and focused. He kept scanning around his field of vision searching for a specific afro. He stopped on the last step, hands gripping his messenger bag as he looked down at his fellow students. His heart was beating fast, not sure if it was from excitement about his newly found idea or if his mind was just as in the gutter as it had been lately.

And then he saw it.
A basket of brown curls moving up and down as a yawning Chad Danforth was approaching the stairs, one hand in his pocket and the other scratching his bellybutton.

Ryan practically flew down the stairs, pushing aside everyone he encountered. Chad turned his head to the right and grinned widely as he saw the blonde making his way towards him. 'Today he's wearing those pants I like', he thought while staring down for a little longer than he should've.

"Chad!" Ryan exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and then cupping the brunette's face with his palms.
Chad smiled even larger, cheeks squished between Ryan's cold hands.

"Hellow Rwyan."

"I have a plan for the basketball situation" he said as he moved his hands on the other's shoulders. "But I need you and maybe Troy's help."

Chad gave him a confused look, Evans shook his head and smiled.

"I'll tell you at lunch."

He grabbed Chad's wrist, leading him to their first class, which they shared.

The hours leading to lunch quickly passed by, Chad spending most of his time admiring Ryan's side profile when he turned to talk to Kelsi and Ryan getting up to go ask Chad about every single math problem the teacher was making them do, even though Chad wasn't exactly known for being the sharpest tool in the shed.

Lunch suddenly arrived, and the two decided to steal the meal that the chef had cooked Sharpay, knowing full well it would blow up in their face sooner than they expected. Today they decided to sit outside, at one of the lunch tables in the school yard.
As Ryan gracefully ate Sharpay's Greek salad from a pink Tupperware with a rose gold fork, Chad remembered about the 'plan' Ryan had told him about that morning.

"So," he started after swallowing a piece of his cordon bleau "aren't you gonna tell me about that plan of yours?"

Ryan's face lit up as his eyes widened, almost choking on a tomato slice. After drinking a cup of water to avoid dying, he cleaned his mouth with a paper towel. Then he explained.

"Ok so, you know how I hate basketball, right?" Chad laughed, then nodded "and you know how my dad wants me to play basketball, right?" Chad nodded again, posing his face in his hand.

"What if we just explain the situation to coach Bolton, he can just tell my dad that I'm coming to practice if he ever asks about it and I'll just go back to doing my theater thing.. and you'll go back to winning games instead of having to teach me."

Chad took a moment to chew on his cordon bleau, trying to think of an answer. That sure seemed like the best option for all the parties involved, and he was pretty sure that coach Bolton would understand, but. 'Godamn it Chad, why is there a 'but'? Because you want to be with Ryan as much as possible. And him not playing basketball anymore would take time away from your weird brain boner. Gaywad'

Ryan could see the brunette's mental dialogue from the way he kept chewing on a single bite of meat, while furrowing his eyebrows and staring at the lunch table.

"Danforth? Are you there?"

"Uh? Oh yeah yeah- uhm yeah I mean uhm no yeah yeah uhm-"

"You don't think it's a good idea?"

"Oh- sure I do, but.." Chad finally swallowed that poor piece of cordon bleau that had been in his mouth for almost five minutes "that wouldn't mean... that we would stop being friends?"

Ryan smiled in that sweet, comforting way that made Chad's heart melt away. He fixed his hat and put his hand over Chad's, which was resting on the table.

"Of course it wouldn't. I don't say this often, but I've never really had friends aside from Kelsi and my sister. Youre one of the first guys to stick beside me so I promise I'm gonna come and watch you at practice everytime I can and then we're gonna get dinner and we're gonna have sleepovers and play one of your stupid videogames."

Chad chuckled. "That sounds like a date."
Ryan immediately lifted up his hand but quickly got caught by Chad's, who held on it tightly.
Ryan's face flushed a bright red as Chad shifted his weight on his free hand, getting up from his seat, face forward into Ryan's eyes.
"Are you trying to take me on a date, Evans?"

"Ohmygodohmygod UHM I MEAN- LIKE UHM LIKE- LIKE IT'S NOT WHAT YOU- ohgod"

Their noses were almost touching and Chad kept on smirking in that God awful way that made Ryan's stomach twist and his legs shake, bringing him to the verge of tears.

"Mhh, it's not that hard to get you all worked up, is it Ry?" Chad lifted Ryan's hat off his head and put it on his, letting go of the other's hand and sitting back down.

'Why does he keep. FUCKING. SMIRKING.' Ryan thought to himself as he stumbled across the table to get his yellow and light blue hat back from the jerk.
Chad sat back, arms crossed behind his head, enjoying the view of an incredibly flustered and angry Ryan Evans reaching his hands as far as he could across the table unsuccessfully. Still smirking.

Finally grabbing his precious Italian hat, Ryan sat back. "You are such. A jerk."

Chad laughed loudly. "Not my fault you get embarrassed by everything. But I can't blame you, it must be hard to resist-"

A whole slice of tomato landed on Chad's face. Ryan sat back laughing while holding his stomach, as the tomato slipped down Chad's face slowly, leaving an oily trail behind it.
"Evans." Chad growled "you are SO. DEAD."

Chad jumped up, making Ryan fall off the cafeteria bench. He rolled around on the ground and quickly got up, clumsily running across the school yard while an oily faced basketball player chased him around, screaming like a damn serial killer.