A/N: Sorry the first chapter was kinda crap but I'm kinda getting used to writing the story so I just need to get into it. I've decided to do alternating POV's but I don't know the extent, right now it's only Chad and Taylor. Sorry this took so long my laptop got confiscated.

Disclaimer: If I owned HSM I'd die of happiness, guess it's a good thing I don't. Or is it?

Chapter 2: Too School For Cool

CPOV

When I walked into the party, I wasn't surprised to see everybody stop st-staring at me but I wasn't even paying attention to any of them, it's not like I normally gave a shit. Instead my eyes were subconsciously searching for her. I was almost disappointed with myself for acting like such a lovesick puppy. She was just so great! Hehe, the biggest player in school getting nervous about a GIRL, what kind of parallel universe was I in?

Naturally I downplayed my affections into oblivion and continued playing the part by flirting with anything that walked - boobs were good too- and messing around with all my basketball bros. My main aim, however, was to talk to Taylor….. Today, I would make my (sort of) move.

I knew where she was and quickly swaggered up to her, only to notice that her eyes were glazed over - remembering something.

"Earth to Taylor,"

I said to her waving my hand infront of her face. And yes, I know, it was cheesy and lame and really old but I just didn't know what to do when I was around her. Like, all of my disgusting 'let's get it on' pick-up lines just wouldn't cut it with her and I knew it.

Whilst I had been thinking she slowly focused in and looked at me in utter confusion, it made sense but still hurt like hell. I just wanted to know her better but from the dawning distaste in her eyes it didn't look like any advancement was on the horizon.

"What do you want Chad?" Is it possible that even they way she said my name was fantastic? How she didn't emphasize the 'd' like everyone else did and let the 'ch' sound whistle through her teeth softly like when people grasswhistle, know what I mean?

"Wanna dance?"

"W-what?"

"Would you like to dance?" She started at me incredulously for a second and I was so sure she'd turn me down and then she went, "Sure," and just like that, I had one foot in the door…

TPOV

I was beyond confusion. Like this was a warped, twisted version of a 'wtf' moment (and no I don't mean 'where's the food'), why in the hell was Chad Danforth asking to dance with me? Not that I minded, I mean, he was a freakin' great dancer, he,like, flew across the dancefloor! But, I was still confused: if ever one of your wildest and most unachievable dreams came true, would you just take it no questions asked? Well, if so, it's a wonder we're not the same person. Anyway though, I had to unearth his undoubtedly ulterior motives.

"W-w-wait a minute there, Romeo," I can not believe I just said that! And to make it worse, he chuckled…. so I smacked him. Actually, that might've come out more flirty than aggressive. Oh crap!

"I wasn't done! Why the fudge would you ever decide to grace me with your holy presence?" I asked sarcastically.

He could tell I was being sarcastic but decided not to mention it, instead picking up on my use of language, "Fudge? Really? Do we still replace the vowel sounds in swear words so we don't have to say them?"

Oh my goodness I was actually going to punch him! Why was he such an idiot?!

"Were you dropped on your head at birth? Because otherwise I see no reason as to why you can't keep your retardedness in check. Like seriously N-O-Y-B! Just 'cuz I don't need to wash my mouth out with soap and can actually refrain from swearing 24/7, you have to

make fun of me! And then you wonder why I didn't want to dance with you!"

I muttered the last bit and was extracting myself from the dance position while he stared at me in shock. I was just about to make a dramatic exit but, I guess he anticipated that because he grabbed my arm before I could move away.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you, " he sounded actually sincere, like my feelings meant something to him or some such crap. Of course my defensive barriers went up at that.

"Oh, right, yeah. Let's stop pretending it makes a difference to you whether I'm hurt or not so we can both move on in life!"

CPOV

That really hurt, what she said, I mean, of course I cared about her! But I think I managed to mask my face so that she couldn't tell. Atleast I hope I did. I didn't even know what to say! This little talk had sooo not gone as planned. Then again though, could I really say I was surprised? I knew she was a more interesting person than the others, I shouldn't have expected her to allow me to walk all over her; I shouldn't have expected my social status to aid in any way. She just wasn't like any other girl I'd met before…. And she was walking away from me whilst I mentally wondered at her greatness.

"Hey, Taylor. Wait, stop a minute, I need to talk to you!" She turned around for a second and hope bloomed in my heart until I saw the expression of disgust on her face as she turned back around and continued to walk away.

I'd have to put my pride on the line to fix this….

"I'm sorry for being an idiotic prick!" she whirled around with a smirk on her face.

"The first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem." And suddenly she was back next to me and everything was okay again…. for now.

We danced around for a while before I dared to talk again, I was just savouring her soft body against mine before I had to mess everything up, but I really wanted to get to know her. I mean I knew she was smart, she was definitely hot and she had a sarcastic streak too! What more could a guy want if they were looking for that kind of thing, which, I realised, I was. And then Tod had to come and fuck it all up!

"Hey Chad, what's up with you? How are you even touching her without fainting from her boffin-ness?" Tod yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the current 'state of affairs'. Taylor went an immediate red (or as red as she could go) but carried on dancing, ignoring the jibe. I was about to lay into Tod for what he'd just said, but when I realised that Taylor was maturely ignoring the mockery, I figured I should too since he wasn't even insulting me. I was still surprised, though, that she managed to go through all of it with her head held high.

See? Another reason why I loved her! I would've ignored that little hiccup too, if it weren't for the fact that it got everyone else started with the teasing and name calling.

"Geek",

"Nerd",

"Freak",

"Ass-kisser."

I was appalled and kept repeating to myself it doesn't happen to her everyday, it doesn't happen to her everyday, it doesn't happen to her everyday but I knew it did and I couldn't believe I hadn't realised. Whilst claiming that I loved her, I'd failed to notice one of the most important details of her life.

I turned to her and noticed tears brimming in her eyes. I wanted to help her; to tell her that it would be alright, but it was my fault (or Tod's) that this was happening to her in the first place and I couldn't make a promise that I couldn't keep.

Horrified, I watched- as if in slow motion- as she ran out the door, to everyone's large cheers and guffaws. However I noticed a small group in the corner, looking about as horrified as I was pretty sure I did, and staring after her. I knew two of them - Troy and Zeke - they were two of the nicer guys on the team; Troy was going out with a girl from the scholastic decathlon team, Gabriella? She was there with two other girls, Martha and Kelsey, but I knew almost nothing about them. Then there was Sharpay and Ryan, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't know them.

A/N: Right so tell me if you think it's too long and drawn out or if there's too much affection too early or if you just generally think it's crap, I'm open to opinions. I'll see when I can get out the next chapter but imma have to figure out what's gonna happen and then write it before I post it. If you hadn't figured, I'm sort of making this up as I go along.

Also, try and find the 3 song references I accidentally did. One is LMFAO and one is Of Monsters and Men.

See ya dudes,

-myfriendsrock73