A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone, but I've got about 7 stories going on at once. This is oneshot number two for the Game On series. I chose "Seven Minutes In Heaven" as the second prompt. It's entirely too corny if you ask me, but...I guess I'll wait and see what my readers think. Enjoy.
It was yet another typical Troy Bolton party. All of the basketball players were there to celebrate their second championship game in a row, and Troy had taken the liberty of inviting anyone and everyone else who wanted to come…excluding Sharpay Evans, of whom he was quite afraid. So, naturally, when Ryan received his invitation (apparently upon the request of Gabriella), Sharpay took the liberty of inviting herself.
But for that small fact, Ryan wouldn't have gone to the party. He decided to go in order to apologize to Troy for whatever havoc his sister was planning on wreaking. Unbeknownst to her, she was about to cause more damage than even she could imagine.
Everyone was just sitting around, chatting away. Sharpay did not do well in these kinds of environments. She needed excitement and danger. She needed a game…an interesting game. So, amidst the jumble of sounds, Sharpay cleared her throat to get people's attention.
"Everyone! I think we should play a game," she said succinctly, waiting for a response first.
The jocks all nodded their quick approval; apparently the urge to move around and do something was getting to everyone.
Ryan merely shook his head and rolled his eyes. There was really no point in approving of his sister's ideas as he knew she would get her way no matter what.
"What game?" asked Chad Danforth, who was pestering his unenthusiastic girlfriend, Taylor McKessie, by trying to get her to dance with him when she would much rather stay on the couch reading her book.
Sharpay's eyes sparkled with zeal. "We should play something…interesting. Something like…Seven Minutes in Heaven?" she suggested enticingly.
This garnered a few giggles on the girls' parts and some satisfied grumbles from the males. Well…most of them, anyway.
"Ew, I hate that game," came the chorus of two voices rarely heard together. Everyone turned to the couch to see Ryan and Taylor scrunching up their noses in disgust with the very idea of playing such a repulsive form of "entertainment."
Laughing loudly, Troy butted in, "Well, I guess that makes you two our first volunteers!"
Both of them shot him death glares, but he merely continued to guffaw.
Sharpay shrugged at his suggestion, "Why not? At least that way you two can get it over with…and then, those of us who really want to play," she said, gazing longingly at Troy, "can get started."
Everyone complied (Ryan and Taylor very reluctantly so), and began to make their way to Troy's basement, which everyone knew had a rather large closet in it for keeping all of his sports equipment. Troy was walking along with the crowd, hanging onto Gabriella's hand, when the force of something on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around and came face-to-face with a very steamed Chad Danforth.
"Dude, what's up?" Troy asked nervously, seeing the look of dissatisfaction on Chad's face.
"What's up? What do you think is up?!? You just offered up my girlfriend to go into a closet with some guy for seven minutes!" Chad said heatedly.
"Dude, chill, man. No one ever does anything in this game unless they're already dating," Troy said calmly.
"Oh yeah? How would you like it if Gabriella went off with some other guy? You have no idea what could happen!" Chad fumed.
"Look, man, I'm sorry. But, seriously, there's nothing to worry about," Troy said shortly, with an obvious hidden message in his voice as he winked at Chad secretively.
Suddenly, Chad seemed to understand. He chuckled a little in response and clarified, "I guess you're right. It is just Ryan."
But, what was meant to be a private conversation was overheard by the very topic of it. Ryan was walking by the two best friends when he caught Troy telling Chad that there was nothing to worry about.
He was just Ryan.
The worst part of it was the look of ultimate understanding and relief that passed over Chad's face at this very statement. Ryan was no threat to his relationship. He was no threat to anyone's relationship. He got the meaning loud and clear…and it angered him beyond reason.
Sharpay opened the closet door and began to throw Troy's things around the room. They needed more space, after all. Despite Troy's grunts of protest, Sharpay continued to toss his belongings out until the closet was next to empty. Then, she turned around, smirking at the first two culprits. "Well, get on in there."
Ryan and Taylor glanced at each other briefly before begrudgingly sauntering forward into the rather spacious closet. "Don't do anything too naughty. Remember, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton are still upstairs," Sharpay warned lightly to her brother.
Her warning received a few chuckles from the guys. This only proceeded to make Ryan even more miffed. He glared at them from under his stylish hat as Sharpay shut the closet door, leaving Ryan and Taylor alone in the complete darkness. The door seemed rather thick, so Ryan doubted anything they said would be heard by the outside occupants of the basement. Actually, he doubted anyone would be listening for anything from these two, anyway.
He was just Ryan, after all.
"Where's the light in here?" he grumbled, letting the rage in his voice shine through.
Taylor backed up a bit warily, having never heard Ryan so angry before. "I don't know. Maybe there's a switch on the wall."
Ryan felt around for the switch. When he found it, he flicked it up quickly. Then, he sat down on the floor, his hands angrily crossed in front of his chest like a child.
Taylor couldn't help but laugh at his dramatics. "Hey, this game's not that bad," she said, trying to calm him down.
Without looking at her, Ryan rolled his eyes and continued to pout. "It's not the game…"
Completely misunderstanding, Taylor sat down, and a hurt expression crossed over her features. "Oh…I'm sorry I'm not the girl you wanted to get stuck in here with, but—,"
Immediately, Ryan intervened, "NO! That's not it at all. Taylor, I…I'm just upset with something else," he said cryptically, finally looking over at her. The fury in his eyes died down a bit so that he could convey his apologetic tone better.
Taylor, however, was still unsure. "You seemed okay at the party. What's up?"
Ryan hesitated. Should he tell her? Well…what else were they going to do in this closet for the next five minutes? "They all think I'm gay," he said quietly to Taylor.
Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "There's nothing wrong with being gay," she said diplomatically.
Ryan let a small laugh escape. "No. That's not what I mean. The thing is, I'm not. They just think I am because of the way I dress and act. It just bugs me that they would judge me like that before they really know who I am."
Taylor nodded slowly, understanding. "I see. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think the way you dress is really snazzy."
Ryan grinned up at her, "Snazzy?"
Taylor giggled, "Yes, it is a compliment. You are a little on the dramatic side, though."
"I am not!" he puffed indignantly, sticking his chin up in mock defiance.
Her giggle fit wouldn't stop now. "I guess it's just because you're an actor. But, seriously, don't get mad at those guys. They don't know what they're talking about. It's high school. Everyone's like that. They're just jealous."
Ryan let a small smile play on his lips. "You really think so?"
She shrugged and said quietly, "They should be, anyway."
Ryan nodded uncertainly. "I guess I was just angry because I overheard Troy telling Chad not to worry about you and me being alone in a closet. Then, Chad said that he was right. He shouldn't be worried because I was…just Ryan."
Taylor's heart suddenly lurched in anger. "Just Ryan? Well…we'll see about that."
Ryan looked at her skeptically. "What do you mean?"
Taylor sighed, debating whether to say anything at all. "See, Chad has been…I don't know. He's a great guy to me and all, but sometimes, he's just so irritating. Like what he said about you, he says stuff like that about almost everyone. It's like he can't say anything nice about anyone anymore. I'd actually decided that I was going to break up with him this weekend if things didn't get better between us."
Ryan shook his head worriedly. "Oh, no. I don't want to be the reason you break up with Chad or anything, I was just—"
Taylor laughed a little. "No, it's not your fault Ryan. I was going to break up with him anyway. It just might be sooner rather than later now."
Ryan nodded, still nervous. "So…how much longer do we have to sit in here?"
Taylor looked at her watch and responded, "Two minutes."
Ryan simply continued to nod absentmindedly, his mind whirling. Taylor's mind, on the other hand, was working with rapid-fire speed as she sorted through all of her possible thoughts. Maybe now was the time…
"Ryan?" she said, suddenly breathless.
Her tone caused him to turn to stare directly at her, his blue eyes still shining with guilt.
She took a deep breath and proceeded to mumble, "I think I know what Gabriella was talking about, now…"
Ryan made a face at her, "What?"
Taylor situated herself so that she was sitting directly in front of Ryan, took a deep breath, and started, "One time, Gabriella told me that she felt like there was this whole other person inside of her waiting to get out. I told her I'd never felt that way before. But now…now that I've told you about me and Chad and I've got that out of my system…I'm beginning to understand what she meant."
Ryan shook his head slowly, still not following. "I don't understand, Tay."
Taylor laughed out loud, unable to believe that she had fooled herself for so long. "I've had a crush on you, Ryan, ever since the spring musical last year. I sat next to Gabriella in the third row and all I remember is that I couldn't stop talking about was how great you moved and sang and danced and looked and…Ryan?"
His eyes were now wide with shock as he stared at Taylor incredulously. He did not move otherwise.
Suddenly, amidst their stunned silence, the voice of Ryan's sister carried through the door.
"Okay, one more minute and you guys have to come out so the next two people can go!" Sharpay screamed perkily.
The two occupants of the closet looked at each other with wide eyes, both full of excitement, uncertainty, danger and the prospect of something new.
Unexpectedly, Ryan put a hand out to caress Taylor's face. As he did so, she closed her eyes and instinctively moved closer to him. Ryan pulled closer to her as well and they shared a warm, serene kiss in Troy Bolton's closet.
As they pulled away Ryan looked into her eyes, as if for approval. Taylor's own optics shined and gazed into his with awe. There was no way that Chad could beat that. It was like kissing your celebrity crush...and if she had a choice between her favorite celebrity and Chad, well, Chad could kiss her goodbye. But without the kiss.
"So much for not being a threat," Taylor whispered ironically, and both of them laughed.
They leaned in closer to each other until their foreheads touched. Taylor closed her eyes in the warm comfort of his embrace and Ryan continued to stroke her hair back, breathing in her scent.
"I wish I could take some of heaven back down to earth with me," he mumbled quietly.
Taylor gave him a small grin, "You're so cheesy, Ryan."
He smirked. "But that's why you like me, right?"
She let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed, opening her eyes to look into his. "But heaven might not be as far away as you think."
He smiled broadly. "Is that a promise?"
Nodding furiously, she retorted, "That's a promise."
Sharpay's voice carried into their enclosure. "FIVE, FOUR, THREE…"
Swiftly, the two moved away from each other and proceeded to sit calmly on the floor, as though absolutely nothing had transpired. No need to make a scene of it…yet.
"ONE!" Sharpay threw open the closet doors and peeked inside. Apparently, she had been the only one eager enough to see if the two had actually done anything at all in the closet. Everyone else was just sitting back, chatting, eating and watching TV.
Nonchalantly, Ryan and Taylor rose from their sitting positions and sauntered out of the closet. Ryan placed his hands in his pockets and tried his best to look uninterested so that only Taylor and Sharpay could notice the slight lift in the corners of his mouth.
Sharpay gave him a look of shock and demanded, "What did you do in there?"
Ryan lifted his shoulders and spared a glance over at Taylor.
"I spent seven minutes in heaven," he said vaguely, beaming.
Taylor, however, was walking over to the boys and Gabriella, who were all seated on the couch, watching the basketball game.
"Hey. I'm back," she said neutrally.
Chad did not remove his gaze from the TV, and he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth before answering, "That's great."
Taylor rolled her eyes, as did Gabriella, who got off of the couch and stood next to her.
Gabriella sized up her best friend, making note of the look of sheer joy in Taylor's eyes. "So…how was it really?"
Taylor grinned like an idiot, she was sure, but it didn't matter. "I think I might break up with Chad sooner than I planned…like tonight."
Gabriella's eyebrows lifted in amusement. "That good, huh?"
Taylor shrugged, "It's always good in heaven."
Gabriella stifled her laughter just enough so that she wouldn't call attention to herself. "He's rubbing off on you, already."
Taylor nodded. Then, she hugged her friend, so that she could tell her in confidence, "Thanks for getting him invited for me."
So...did you like it? Not care for it? Enjoy it to an extent? Find mistakes? Want to hug me for writing it? Get confused? Or perhaps you just wish for me to get on with the next chapter...whatever you feel, tell it to me in a review, please. I would appreciate it dearly.