Chad sat in the back, hood up over his curly hair. His face was covered by shadow, giving him a sinister look. His cheerful peers were all roaming around the class before school started, chatting in excitement about the upcoming baseball game. Chad's excitement had come and gone with one simple incident.

His bright brown eyes flashed over to Sharpay Evans and her twin, Ryan. Both were surrounded by the members of the drama club. Sharpay was droning on about something excitedly. Probably raving about her baseball star of a boyfriend, Ronald Collander, or Ronny as Sharpay called him. Chad glared at Ronald who was hovering over her, smiling. He watched with hatred as Sharpay looked up at him lovingly with radiant brown eyes, as he kissed her luscious lips, smudging her lipgloss which she would later reapply. Ronald didn't deserve her, no matter how arrogant, selfish, and stuck up she was.

Ronald and Chad were teammates on the baseball team along with Ryan Evans, the new addition to the team. They'd been friends for quite some time, because of the team. Chad was the captain and the team's pitcher. Ronald played center field and was probably the team's best hitter. Ronald's family lived in the same gated community as the Evans'. His father owned a big telecommunications incorporation. Chad had lost all respect for him the day before.

Sharpay looked away from Ronald at one point, her eyes catching Chad's. She noticed his harsh scowl. She did not flinch, though, knowing it was not meant for her. She returned Chad's look, telling him to back off. It wasn't his business, her love life.

Chad did not soften his piercing stare, though. Keeping his eyes on her handsome, wealthy boyfriend, he completely ignored the perfect blonde. Sharpay turned her attention to Ronald to make Chad angry. She kissed him softly. Chad's lip twitched.

"No PDA's," Ms. Darbus announced as she walked in. Sharpay pulled away from Ronald and got down from the desk she'd been perched on. She relocated to her assigned seat, happy that she was unable to see Chad Danforth behind her, but she still felt his burning gaze.

Troy had been sitting next to Chad, having a long, in depth discussion with his girlfriend, Gabriella. He punched his best friend in the arm. Chad looked at him, expression changing. Troy gave him a questioning look. Chad simply shook it off and gave his easily distractible attention to their eccentric advisory teacher.

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"See you later, hun," Sharpay said before kissing Ronald. School was now over. Sharpay needed to do her homework while Ronald had one last practice for that night's game.

Ronald headed to the field for practice. Sharpay started toward the school exit. The building was practically abandoned, save a few students at their lockers. Many students were preparing for the baseball game.

Sharpay glanced up from her compact mirror, catching sight of a familiar afro of curls. Chad Danforth was leaning against the wall, almost as if he were waiting for something.

"Don't you have practice, Danforth?" Sharpay called, starting to separate the large space between them. Chad looked up at her. His eyes ran over her beautiful face and fell to her torso and stomach. She was wearing a black tank top with the words Royal Pain running across her breasts in gold. Her short leather jacket covered her perfectly tanned arms. Chad was surprised. The jacket was quite edgy for her style. She also wore a skin-tight pair of blue jeans. Chad tried to recall ever seeing Sharpay in jeans. He couldn't.

"I certainly do. I wanted to talk to you," Chad replied. His arms were folded over his chest. Sharpay stopped in front of him.

"About?" she wondered. Chad remained silent, but made eye contact with her. Sharpay rolled her eyes, no longer needing an answer. "I told you yesterday, Danforth, stay out of my love life," she whispered harshly.

"That's love. Wow. If that's the case, I hope I never fall," Chad replied, leaning his head forward, to close some of the space between their faces.

"It was a one time thing," Sharpay said, looking at the floor, no longer able to look into his violent eyes.

"One time?" He grabbed her waist and switched their position. "Your make up does an excellent job hiding your cheek, but..." He lifted her tank top slightly, revealing a large, fading bruise on her stomach. "This one is at least week."

"How would you know?" she asked, not denying his hypothesis.

"I've had bruises before, Sharpay," he replied, calling her by her first name. Sharpay took this as a sign of his genuine concern. She never called him by his first name and in return, he never called her by her first name. He hadn't called her Sharpay since sixth grade.

She felt her eyes become teary and a lump form in her throat.

"And if he saw us now, he'd probably hit you again, huh?" Chad asked rhetorically. A hot tear fell from her eye. It felt searing hot against her skin. Chad wiped it away as it reached the center of her cheek, also wiping away some of her make up. A small blue mark appeared where his finger had just rubbed. "This one is from yesterday."

"Chad, you can't tell anyone," Sharpay said as more tears streaked down her cheeks, ruining her mascara. Chad took a moment to think. This was a serious situation. Sharpay was being abused and Chad needed to help, no matter how stuck up she was. Honestly, he liked her in a weird way. There was a strange connection between them, but the two hid it with their constant arguing.

"I want to help," Chad admitted.

"You can't!" Sharpay said in desperation.

"You can't hide this forever and it can't continue."

"I know, Chad, but he... he's so much stronger."

"Not stronger than me," Chad said, hinting at something. Sharpay caught the message and shook her head.

"Chad-"

"I won't tell anyone," Chad said, not giving up his plans. Sharpay nodded gratefully.

"Thank you," she said in a tone almost inaudible.

"Go fix your make up." Sharpay chuckled, wiping her eyes.

"Wow. I must look like a total idiot."

"No," Chad said. She smiled to him before turning and heading to the bathroom. Chad watched over her protectively. "In fact you've never looked more beautiful," he muttered to himself.

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Chad ran to the dugout and took off his catching glove. He lifted his cap off of his forehead and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He grabbed his white with red trimming batting gloves from on top of his duffle bag and pulled them on. He stretched out his fingers in them before pushing the gap between his fingers together. He did this every time the Wildcats were up to bat. It's how he played.

He looked at the scoreboard. The Wildcats were behind by two and it was their last chance. He looked at the batter. Jason was up. He was a pretty good hitter in Chad's opinion. He gripped the gate of their dugout, watching the game intently.

"Come on, Jase!" Chad cheered. He was one of the few team members supporting their teammates. He looked back at the bench, seeing a bunch of the guys huddled in a circle around Ronald. He'd been tuning in and out of the conversation all night. It was all about Sharpay, most of which Chad believed were lies.

"So, you gonna hit a home run?" he heard one of the guys say. Finally, baseball talk. But wait, Ronald had made plenty of homeruns. What were they discussing?

"Yeah. Tonight's the night. You know, after the after party at Zeke's, I'll take her to my place and-" Chad stopped listening then. How dare he talk about Sharpay like that? How dare he treat her like a punching bag and expect her to give up a part of her?

"Danforth! You're up," the coach shouted. Chad left the dugout, grabbing a baseball bat on the way out. He twirled it with ease.

"Number eight, captain of the East High Wildcats, Chad Danforth up to bat," the announcer called. The crowd cheered exuberantly. This was where Chad shined. In basketball, Troy got the glory, but right now, it was Chad's time. But tonight, everyone was shut out of his mind.

He bent his knees, lifting the bat. He ignored the catcher's snide comments about him. Ronald's words rang in his ears. His eyes were locked on the pitcher, but he didn't seem to exist.

"Go Chad!" he heard Troy, Gabriella, and Taylor cry from the stands. He let out a deep breath.

"Strike one," he heard as he swung. He sighed, closing his eyes. Pull it together, he thought to himself. He opened his eyes, setting up for the next pitch.

"Strike two!" the umpire called. Chad groaned. He was too hard on himself and it was throwing him off. He heard Ronald's voice ring in his ears again. He threw the bat aside and paced back to the dugout angrily.

"Danforth, what are you-" Chad ignored the rest of the sentence. He pushed his way through Ronald's gathered audience.

"Chad, what the he-" Ronald began, but didn't finish. Chad grabbed a hold of his neat, yet slightly dirty uniform. He slammed him into the gate and took a moment to think things through. He needed a way to make no girl ever want to date him. But this guy was unnaturally attractive. He needed to be ugly like his personality.

Chad swung a clenched fist at Ronald's jaw. His head jerked to the side, the profile of his face hitting the gate. The whole team was on their feet, but only Jason, Zeke, Ryan, and Chucky dared to separate the players. But only after Chad got a few good hits in.

Along with Jason and Zeke, Troy dragged his best friend out of the dugout away from Ronald. He had run from the stands to encourage Chad to swing once more only to find him swinging at something else.

"Cool it, man!" Troy said to a fuming Chad. Chad's eyes were stuck on his enemy. Ronald was attempting to break out of Chucky and Ryan's clutches. He finally succeeded in his mission and charged Chad, tackling him to the ground.

In the crowd, Gabriella, Taylor, and Sharpay all gasped at the fight in front of them. Sharpay's eyes widened as the two males rolled around in the dirt, punching, kicking, grabbing. Gabriella and Taylor looked at Sharpay and then at Chad. There had to be something they were missing. There were only two things these two boys had in common: baseball and Sharpay.

Troy, Ryan, and the coach managed to separate the two. The two fought the clutches of their captors, but still the coach stood between them.

"What's this about, Danforth?!" Ronald yelled, blood shooting from his mouth.

"Karma sucks, huh?" Chad shouted back. He caught sight of Ronald's eyes flickering to Sharpay before they returned to him.

"You're out of the game, boys!" the couch shouted.

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Chad rounded the corner heading behind the bleachers. He took a step back, seeing Sharpay and Ronald. He only heard a few words of the conversation. He mostly studied their body language. He could only see Sharpay's face and she looked scared, her eyes filled with tears.

"I didn't tell him!" Sharpay urged. Chad crept up behind them.

"Then how did he find out, Shar?!" Ronald shouted at her. She backed away out of terror. "Huh?!"

"I don't know!" she lied. She cowered as he lifted his arm. Chad grabbed his arm and pulled it back. He twisted his arm and pulled it behind Ronald's back.

"I suggest you back off," Chad said in a low, threatening voice.

"Or what?"

"Daddy can't help you if I tell the cops that you've been abusing Sharpay. You will go to jail. But if you stay away from Sharpay, I'll just say me and you had a fallout. No harm, no foul."

"It's Sharpay's decision if she wants to be with me or not." Chad looked at Sharpay who stood a couple yards away.

"Shar?" Chad said. Shar looked back and forth between the two boys. She hesitated in answering. "Shar?" Chad repeated. There was care in his voice, a hint of love even.

"I don't want to be with you, Ronald," she admitted, taking another step back out of fright of what the outcome would be. Chad held Ronald tightly.

"You selfish, ungrateful-"

"Don't be petty about it," Chad said. "Walk away." He tossed him aside, going to Sharpay. He stood in front of her protectively. Ronald looked at the two of them. He laughed at his crazy realization.

"Wow. Wow. I can't believe I didn't see it," Ronald said. Chad and Sharpay looked at each other with confusion. Chad looked back at Ronald.

"What are you talking about?" Chad asked.

"The two of you. Of course. The constant arguing and now you're suddenly protecting her. You two love each other."

Sharpay looked at Chad with a look of disbelief and then looked at Ronald with a sneer.

"Eww! Not if the human race depended on it!" Sharpay said, coming back into her normal self. Chad rolled his eyes.

"Gee, thanks," Chad said, looking back at her.

"No offense, Danforth."

"There you go again. I just assume and you try to cover it up again. You know what? I'll just leave you two to your secret pleasures. Sharpay's too much of a hassle to fight for," Ronald said, turning to leave. Chad glared at his back as he left.

"Thanks," Sharpay said in a low voice when Ronald was finally gone. Chad turned to face her. She looked quite insecure, her leather clad arms covering her chest, eyes focused on the ground. Chad lifted her chin tenderly.

"It's okay. No one deserves such abuse." She nodded in agreement.

"Well, I better get going."

"Not coming to the after party."

"We didn't win," she noted. Chad heard the crowd cheer. He looked up through the bleachers at the Wildcat supporters.

"I beg to differ," he said. She chuckled.

"I don't know," Sharpay said.

"Would you go," Chad stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, eyes on the ground, "as my date?" Sharpay quirked an eyebrow.

"As your date?" Sharpay repeated. Chad looked up at her, making eye contact.

"Well... yeah. I mean, it's not like a girlfriend-boyfriend type thing. It would just be like an acquaintance thing. Or if you wanted it to be like a date date-" Sharpay placed a finger on his lips to shush him. A smile of amusement passed over her face.

"I will go as your date, Chad."

"Really?"

"Really. Just stop ranting."