"She's my lab partner in Chem... Yeah, but... Alana, that's not..." That's all I had been hearing the past twenty minutes. My next door naighbor, Chad, was talking to his girlfriend on the phone. Basically everything he would say into the phone, cheerleading captain Alana Greene would cut him off, lecturing him on whatever the problem was... or atleast it sounded that way to me.
Our bedrooms were literally feet away from each other. If we each just sat at our window sill, Chad and I would be able to talk about anything for countless hours. Both of our windows were, well, obviously open, as I could hear his part of the conversation plain and clear. Bored, I got up from my sitting position in bed, turning down the volume on the Keeping Up with the Kardashians rerun that was playing and closing my untouched Bristish Lit binder, only so I could sit at my window seat. Chad had probably been pacing for a while, as I saw him just take a seat on his bed. His forehead was now resting in his hand, obviously getting annoyed with whatever Alana was saying.
You're on the phone with your girlfriend
She's upset
She's going off about something that you said
"Alli, c'mon," he sighed, picking his head up, "You know you're the only girl for me. Nothing's gonna change that." I rolled my eyes at that statement. Chad and Alana had been fighting on and off the past month. And always, Alana would be the one to start it. Whether it was jealousy and suspicion of him with another girl, or just something that embarassed her at a party, she would call him up and yell at him about it. "I love you," I saw Chad smile as he said that. Seeing that kinda saddened me, especially since he had been to hell and back with Alana multiple times.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow... okay, bye." Chad hung up a second later, then threw his iPhone angrily at the wall. He lied down on his bed, covering his face with a circular basketball pillow I had gotten him for his tenth birthday. Chad was the biggest basketball fanatic, as well as his best friend Troy. Both were co-captains of the East High Wildcat basketball team at our school. I heard a loud groan muffled by the bright orange pillow, making me smirk a bit.
"Yo Danforth!" I called towards the open window.
But she doesn't get your humor
Like I do
Chad removed the pillow from his face and looked up. His face softened when he saw me sitting by the window. "Hey Gabs!" he got up, walking up towards the window. "What'cha up to?"
"Oh you know, a little homework, a little Kardashian drama..." I smiled, teasing him a little bit about his crush on Kourtney.
"A little eavesdropping?" he smirked. He was now sitting on the window sill. He had a higher window seat then I had in my room, that way he was able to have one leg just dangle outside his window while still sitting on the cushiony sofa part of the seat. Lucky!
My smile increased in size a little bit, as he chuckled at my reaction. "What's the problem this time?" I asked a second later. His dark eyes rolled in annoyance. He looked down for a little while, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to find the right words. He looked up, replying plainly, "Lots of drama."
"Sorry..." I said sincerely, not knowing what else to say. "It's okay, it's just..." he sighed, looking up to the stars in the midnight blue colored sky. "I'm getting really sick of it, you know?" We sat in silence for a minute, the only sound being the very faint sounds Khloe Kardashian and her boyfriend Rashad arguing on the phone as her two older sisters listened in.
I'm in the room
It's a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
After a while, a light bulb went off in my head. I got up from my window seat, heading over to the iHome on my desk. I plugged in my iPod, seeing that I had turned it off last in the middle of "I Kissed A Girl." I started the song over and pressed play, turning the volume up as loud as it could go... without having my mother yell at me about interupting her from the paperwork she was doing in her own bedroom.
Just as Katy Perry's voice started singing, I slid on the hardwood floor in my bedroom, a pair of sunglasses now on my head. I slid them over my eyes and quickly grabbed the hairbrush off my little vanity that sat next to the window. I turned around and started dancing obnoxiously, similar to Heidi Klum in the Guitar Hero World Tour commercial, as well as belting the lyrics to the song into the make-shift microphone. I didn't care about the fact that the world could see me in Kermit the Frog pajama shorts, or that Alana and friends would drive by and hear their least favorite artist blasting from Chad's neighbor's place.
Chad still sat at his window seat though, laughing his ass off. Midway through the song, he managed to pick up his iPhone off the floor, and began videotaping me for the whole world to view on YouTube.
Once the final note was sung, I took off my sunglasses and rested them back on my head just above my hairline. Chad was still laughing a little as he placed his iPhone back into his pocket. "I can see it now, 'Gabriella Kissed A Girl And She Liked It,' the next YouTube hit!" he smiled.
"Gracias, gracias! Te amo mis... fans?" (Thank you! I love you, my fans!) I thanked my imaginary fans. It was almost like Demi Lovato in her one YouTube video she put up last September. The teen next door laughed, the dark curls in his afro bouncing with the slight movement of his head. "And you got an award for getting all A's in Spanish?"
"Goodnight, Danforth," I smiled, beginning to close my window as the next song in my playlist started playing through the speakers of the iHome.
"'Night Montez," I heard Chad call before my window was shut. I saw Chad close his window as well while I turned out my light. I turned off everything that was on my desk, walked over to my bed, grabbed my binder - which was covered with about a billion pictures of Chad and I, and our other close friends - and stuffed that in my school bag.
I climbed into my bed, turning up the volume on the TV. Apparently Kourtney had broken it off with her boyfriend Scott as well, and was having his car towed away so it would be sent to Scott's place in New York. Now Chad could have his chance with Kourtney.
Though, secretly, I really hoped he wouldn't go off with any other girl. Ever since I was younger, I have had the biggest crush on Chad. "Crush" wasn't even a big enough word to describe it... and the hit by David Archuleta couldn't even describe my feelings enough. How pathetic was that? I had practically been head-over-heals in love with him. But, like that would ever happen! He was a jock, dating a cheerleader, insanely popular at East High. I was... well, just the average girl next door... literally. But Chad and Alana were the "It" couple at school. There was nothing that could change that. Besides, how weird would it be to hear that your best friend is in love with you? ...Yeah, kinda creepy.
But she'll never know your story
Like I do
The next morning for me was like any other school morning. I had gotten up, got ready for my day, grabbed a to-go cup of coffee, and left for school with one of my close friends, Sharpay Evans.
We walked into school together, Sharpay recieving numerous compliments on the new brunette color she had gotten the previous day. Sharpay had pretty much the same popularity status that Alana and the other cheerleaders had. She and her twin brother Ryan were deeply involved with Ms. Darbus's theater program. Ryan was also liked by most of the school. He even spent some time outside the theater out on the baseball field... and kicked ass at every game.
While Sharpay was distracted by one of the football players, I stood at my opened locker before homeroom started. I put in my untouched English homework from the night before, removing my notebook for U.S. History. I was just about to slam the metal door shut just as I heard a familiar male voice call to me. Before I could respond, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I was picked and twirled around in a couple circles before being set down on the red and white tiles of East High's, giggling loudly as my ballet flats met the floor.
"You know, you really shouldn't do that," I smiled as the male figure walked towards my locker door so he could face me. His caramel colored skin glowed a little, even under the crappy lighting the hallways in this building had.
"And why's that?" Chad asked, leaning against my locker door. "Well, people, especially Alana, will think that we're a couple," I said in a Duh tone. As usual, he ignored me, staring at the pictures I had taped up in my locker.
"Ew, you're on Team Jacob?!" (I can say that, I'm on Team Jacob myself!) Chad asked, removing a picture I had of Taylor Lautner in the long black wig he had worn in the first Twilight film.
"Yeah, so? What's it to ya?" I joked, snatching the Popstar magazine cutout and taping it back where it originally was on the inside of the locker door.
"Everything," Chad smiled, as we began walking towards the cafeteria, where our whole group usually met in the morning before homeroom. "So... any word from Alana yet?" I asked randomly, trying to stuff my notebook into my school bag.
"Not yet, but-"
"Chaddy, baby!" we heard a female voice call. I looked up from my bag, seeing none other than the cheerleading squad head our way, their leader Alana racing towards us to be with her boyfriend. She, as well as the other cheerleaders, had somehow decided to wear denim mini skirts that day. They were so short, I wasn't even sure if they even passed the school dress code. Alana, especially, had decided to wear a red tank top with her skirt that showed way too much cleavage. How did she even walk through the doors with Principle Matsui's permission?
"Hey baby," Alana smiled as her arms wrapped around Chad's neck. His smile widened a little bit, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. But there was something about that smile that got me a little suspicious. Something kinda phony and fake about it...
She wears short skirts
I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain
And I'm on the bleachers
"Hey, you," Chad said, still embracing his girlfriend. The cheerlleaders awed at the happy couple, admiring their relationship. I felt like puking seeing the mushy gushyness that was going on, and just walked off towards the cafeteria to meet up with our friends.
Dreaming about the day
When you wake up and find that what you're looking for
Has been here the whole time
School that day was a drag. I was just relieved when Sharpay drove me home again that afternoon. Once she dropped me off, I walked to my backyard, deciding to relax on the hammock we had. I loved to go there when I had a lot on my mind. I would just lie there with a good book and some sort of junk food, hearing the neighbor's kids play kick ball in the streets or riding their bikes. Or even the craziness at Chad's house, since he had younger sisters that always played in their backyard.
Thankfully, the elementary schools in Albequerque wouldn't let out for another good half hour. I walked into the house and opened up our pantry, grabbing a package of Oreos. I brought them outside with me and rested on the hammock. I rummaged through my bag to find my New Moon book, which I had decided to catch up on before the movie would come out. The movie sounded really good, especially after the trailer that premiered at the MTV Movie Awards. And Taylor Lautner's body... I was falling in love with him all over again.
If you could see that I'm the one
Who understands you
Been here all along
So why can't you see
You belong with me
You belong with me
I had just gotten to the part where Bella was standing on the cliff, "speaking" to Edward before her dangerous cliff dive, only to be interrupted by another person sitting on the hammock
Walking the streets
With you and your worn out jeans
I can't help thinking
This is how it ought to be
"Twilight addict," Chad mocked, now lying down on the hammock beside me.
"I thought you had basketball practice," I said plainly, moving towards the opposite side so he could have more room.
"It got cancelled," Chad replied plainly, grabbing five Oreos from the package all at once. "Besides, we already beat the Knights last year, we'll cream them again on Friday!" he added, talking about the biggest championship game of the year against the West High Knights, our biggest rivals.
I smirked at Chad's cockiness, grabbing my own cookie and taking a bite out of it as he did with one of his. "I'm not too sure about that," I said, some chocolate crumbs still in my mouth, "Last I remember, I whipped your ass on Saturday in your own driveway!"
"Okay, A - that was beginner's luck. And B - my dad had just washed his car, the driveway was still wet," he defended. "Yet, I was wearing flip-flops and still beat you," I continued, sitting back and smiling at myself. "You know what Montez?" Chad asked, a smirk played on his face.
"What?" I asked sweetly and innocently. He grabbed two of the Oreos in his hand, and smushed them on top of my head. It had been his way of payback ever since we were five years old. It was at my birthday party, and I beat the pinata down, Chad had some birthday cake... yeah, you get the picture.
I laughed once he removed his hand, as well as he. A second later, our sprinklers surprisingly went off, causing me to squeal as he laughed harder. We both jumped off the hammock and grabbed our stuff before headed inside, still cracking up.
Laughing on a park bench thinking to myself
Hey, isn't this easy?
"Oh God, that was fun," Chas continued to laugh, sliding our backdoor that seperated the kitchen from the outside world shut. Mine died down shortly after, as I had looked up and saw his face. He was still smiling about our mishap outside... but it was a true, genuine smile. Not the fake ones he had given to Alana the past month, and it wasn't like his laughter when he was joking around with his boys.
And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I haven't seen it in a while
Since she brought you down
"So, what happened with The Wicked Witch of East High today?" I asked calmly once we both calmed down. His smile dropped slightly, which I didn't think he wanted me to notice.
"Hey c'mon, she isn't that bad," Chad defended as he leaned over our kitchen island. "Uh, yeah, she is," I retorted back, still keeping my tone light and playful so he wouldn't get angry and defensive about her. Though, he never really did get angry. That's what I loved about him; he was genuinely a happy guy.
"Same thing as yesterday," Chad started, looking down at the counter top for a second. He picked his head back up, looked into my eyes and continued, "She caught me during Study talking to Kelsi about our Chemistry project due Monday..."
"Well, if she doesn't trust you, why are you still dating her?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders.
You say you're fine
i know you better that that
"It's kinda complicated," he replied back, shrugging his shoulders. "I like that boom, boom pow/Them chicken's jackin' my style/They try to cover my swagger/I'm on that next-" blared suddenly from his pocket. Chad removed his cell phone from his pocket, checking the caller ID. "It's her," he sighed. Why did our conversation have to end?
"Go. I'll talk to you later," I told him. He smiled and pressed the reply button on the touch screen. "Hey baby," he said into the phone happily, walking towards the backdoor and exiting my house, but not without a smile and wave towards my direction.
Hey what you doing
With a girl like that
Friday came within a heart beat. Once the 2:15 dismissal bell rang, the hallways of East High were crowded with the 3,000+ students the school taught everyday. The gym was crowded with both East High students as well as West High from the other side of town. Colorful banners and signs were held up by everyone rooting for either Wildcats or Knights.
I sat a couple rows behind the area where East High's boys meet up for time-outs and to discuss plays. Sharpay, Ryan, our friend Kelsi Nielson (who was dating another basketball player, Jason), and the senior class president Taylor McKessie were sitting right beside me.
On the opposite side of the basketball court stood twelve girls, dressed in red and white and gold uniforms, performing one of their cheers as both the Wildcats and Knights shot hoops and ran drills for the upcoming game. Alana was dead center of it all, performing a backhand spring perfectly and landing with a split, the other girls waving their pompoms in the air.
She wears high heels
I wear sneakers
The game started about five minutes later. The Wildcats were off to a good start, scoring the first four points of the game. But when half time came, we were down for points: 32 to 36.
Once the halftime buzzer went off, the teams went to their designated areas, while the cheerleaders came out, performing the halftime show. As usual, they performed a perfect routine as guys swooned over them. I rolled my eyes and scoffed when I took a look at some skaters drooling over them.
She's cheer captain
I'm on the bleachers
When their performance had finished, the cheerleaders ran to their spot where they had watched the game and cheered the boys on. I saw Alana smile as she made her way to another basketball player. I saw his mouth move as he said some cute comment to her, and then their lips connected with each other. They were kissing! In front of the whole East High student body, no less. My mouth dropped slightly as the sight. How could she do that to Chad?
I took one look over towards his direction. He must've already noticed, as he stormed over to the brunette with an angry look on his face. I couldn't make out what they were saying, as everyone on the crowd was talking to one another, but it did look like they were yelling at each other.
Dreaming about the day
When you wake up and find that what you're looking for
Chad angrily walked away from the pair, heading towards the gym doors. Concerned, I stood up from my seat and exited the bleachers, jogging to catch up with him. "Chad!" I called a few times. Eventually he heard me when we were few meters away from the boys' locker room. I saw his face soften a little at the sght of me as I caught up to him. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Alana's been cheating on me," he said, his lips pouting into a slight frown. I looked up to his eyes, seeing more hurt and disappointment then I had ever seen in them. He almost looked like he was gonna cry. I felt so bad for him. The only thing I thought I could do was wrap my arms around him, giving him one of my trademark bearhugs. "I really thought that she loved me."
Has been here the whole time
"It's alright," I tried to comfort, hearing his voice cracka little in that statement as his arms circled around my waist. "It's okay. You deserve so much better than that."
If you could see that I'm the one
Who understands you
Been here all along
So why can't you
See you belong with me
Once halftime ended the game was back on. And Chad's game was better than I had ever seen. I guessed that whatever anger he had towards his girlfriend, er exgirlfriend, he put into the basketball. He was running faster and dribbling the ball harder, jumping higher for the basket, the ball swooshing through the net a little more than in his usual game.
However, Troy made the winning shot in the game. That didn't matter too much though. East High was the reigning champ in Albequerque, brightening up Chad's move I noticed.
Standing by and waiting at your backdoor
All this time how could you not know
The after party took place that night at Troy's house. It was pure craziness. Kelsi served as DJ, the stereo system booming with the sounds of Jamie Foxx's "Blame It" and Britney's "Womanizer." The dance floor was packed as well. Even the trampoline in Troy's backyard had a couple of the cheerleaders, Martha Cox and Leah Simmons, doing their trademark "pop and lock and jam and break." (:P) Troy, Chad, Jason, and the other basketball players all sported their red and white varsity jackets, making the team identifiable to everyone who was there.
Baby, you belong with me
You belong with me.
"Gabs!" I heard a male voice call to me as I was talking to Taylor about our yearbook commitee. Again, I felt a pair of arms encircle my waist as the person behind picked me up and twirled me around. Yep, Chad was in a much better mood than before.
"Put me down, you ass!" I giggled, as he continued spinning around, Taylor and now Sharpay, who must have joined her, smiling at the two of us. "What's that?" Chad called, "I can't hear you! Kelly's singing is too loud!" He laughed and put me down a second later. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we turned to face our friends. "Ladies."
"Chad," both Sharpay and Taylor said simultaneously. "Hey Sharpay, Taylor!" we heard fellow basketball player Zeke Baylor call to us, another teammate, Chucky at his side. "Would you two ladies care to dance with us?"
"Sure," Sharpay smiled as Taylor nodded happily. Sharpay linked her arm with Zeke as Taylor's did with Chucky, the four heading to the little dance floor that was there. "Well what do you know?" Chad asked when they were out of earshot, "Zeke and Sharpay?"
"Oh c'mon, they do make a cute couple," I defended.
Oh, I remember you driving to my house
In the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh
When you know you're about to cry
Just then, the song switched from "I Do Not Hook Up" to Jason Mraz and Colbie Cailat's duet, "Lucky." One of Chad's favorite ballads. I turned to him and smiled a little. Maybe this could be my chot to get together with Chad... or be a way to completely humiliate myself.
"Need a dance partner?" I smiled, taking a couple steps back, holding my hand out for him to take if he were to go along with it. His face lit up as well, making me smile a little more. "Eh, why not?" he joked as he took my hand. I let out a nervous laugh and led him to the dance floor.
I know your favorite songs
And you tell me about your dreams
Think I know where you belong
Think I know it's with me
Once we were in the middle of the crowd, we wrapped our arms around each other and swayed to the soft music Kelsi had chosen to play. I smiled nervously, realising what was going on. I was slow dancing with my best friend. The guy I had been crushing on practically my whole life. We knew virtually everything about each other. And surprisingly, dancing together like this didn't feel as weird as I had though it would.
Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along
"You know, this doesn't feel as weird as I thought it would be," Chad said as Colbie's voice started singing. Had he read my mind or something. "Yeah, I know," I replied back. "It feels pretty nice actually."
"Why is that?" he asked. "Well, maybe 'cause we already know each other so well... and we do have a closer relationship with each other than with anybody else?" I suggested, biting my lip as I wondered if it made any sense. Chad smiled a little more, adding in, "You look so cute and innocent when you bite your lip like that."
"Yeah?" I smiled, both of us laughing nervously again, just as the chorus began playing.
So why can't you see?
You belong with me
"You know, this is gonna sound pretty stupid," I started. Now seemed like the perfect time to tell him. Especially since the lyrics in the song we're exactly how I felt. "I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend/Lucky to have been where I have been/Lucky to coming home again..." "But, I had a little bit of a crush on you when we were younger."
"Oh really? How young exactly?" Chad smiled.
Standing by and waiting at your back door
"I don't know," I sighed, not knowing exactly how to say it. So, I lied and said, "around 7th grade-ish, maybe." I felt a couple of butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach, scared of what he would say next. "Well," he said a second later, "Do you still feel the same way about me now?" My mind came to a standstill for a moment. Did that mean he liked me too?
"Well that depends," I started, "Do you feel the same way about me?"
All this time how could you not know
Baby, you belong with me
You belong with me
"Will that answer your question?" he smiled. He leaned in closer to me so our lips would touch for a little while. He was kissing me. The one guy I had been practically in love with for my entire life was kissing me. The few butterflies I had in my stomach soon flew into the moonlit sky.
You belong with me
Unfortunately, we pulled apart a few seconds later. We both smiled huge smiles toward each other. "Yeah, that answers that," I replied back. Chad pulled me in for a hug, whispering softly in my ear, "I think you might be a better person for me than Alana."
"That's good to hear," I smiled. We still stayed in that hug, continuing to sway our bodies to the popular song.
Have you ever thought just maybe you belong with me?
You belong with me
Wow, 4,974 words! Haha. I meant to put this up a couple weeks ago, but I felt like it kept needing some fine tuning and editing and all that good stuff :) Hope you all enjoyed it as much as i did writing it. Send in your reviews.
And to my other readers: I PROMISE that I'll update "TOW The Proposal: Niley Style" some time this week, as well as "Laser Bowling." I finally got the 2007 version of Microsoft Word on my laptop and can write a lot more for you guys :D
Peace!
Megs