Author's Note: Here's chapter nine! The final chapter will be up...yeah, I have really short stories, so what? Haha. Read and review!
Chapter Nine: Cliques And Crushes
Zeke was dreading to talk to Calista, but he had to. What she said about him, his friends, and Sharpay was mean, and Calista turned out to be the demon that he and the basketball team made fun of: well, that also ment Sharpay.
Zeke knocked on Calista's door, and noone replied.
"Can I come in, Calista?"
"You don't like me! I just know it!" Calista explained.
But, she opened the door anyways, and Zeke was letted in.
"I like you...it's just the way you talked about Sharpay." he responded.
"Yeah, well...my school has every single carbon copy of Sharpay ever born: blonde hair, blue eyes, a mean streak...they destroy everyone! So, when I found out you liked her, it didn't seem right." Calista stated.
"Well, let me tell you something: liking someone that doesn't like you seems bizzare, but once you get past what you don't like about them, they seem like an okay person. I always seem to stalk Sharpay since sixth grade, but once she got past that, she didn't seem like the Mountain Lion anymore." he explained.
"But...didn't bother you, though? Once someone likes a Sharpay clone, and they reject you, they fall to pieces." Calista said.
"Who said it did? I got teased for it, but I always tried again. I should get a medal or something just for that." Zeke commented, and a smile appeared on Calista's lips.
"Or what about Ryan and Haylie? Haylie looks to fit the bill of Sharpay's evil best friend, and Ryan's a drama geek." Calista said.
"Ryan and Haylie aren't really different, except Haylie came from a school where dating a jock was a must, and when she came here, she met Ryan. Haylie looks like Sharpay's best friend, but she isn't. She's sort of friends with everyone, and that includes Sharpay, even if Sharpay isn't always that nice to her. As for Ryan, well...I think you know what Ryan went through. Having a sister like Sharpay can be tough." Zeke replied.
"Wow. You know alot about them!"
"If you hang around with them like I do, it sort of comes naturally." Zeke anwsered.
"I guess first impressions are everything..I'm really sorry. It's just that you, Ryan, Haylie, and especially Sharpay seem like the popular type, that tweaking my self-image might help me win you guys over." Calista said.
"That sounds alittle overused, doesn't it? Being someone your not isn't the way to go to make friends, especially the people you just met."
"I know." Calista stated.
"But, I still think your a very cool person. I wouldn't mind being friends with you." Zeke stated, as he gave her a smile, and headed towards the door.
"Yeah. I like that." Calista said, as she gave him a smile inreturn.
When he returned downstairs, Sharpay was by herself, and he guessed that Haylie and Ryan were here somewhere.
"Hey...can I talk to you?" Zeke asked.
"Sure. What?" Sharoay asked, and Zeke looked at her: red, blood-shot eyes that were puffy, and she smiled sadly.
"Listen, Calista didn't mean to say all those things about you. She was just trying to impress us, and she says she's sorry." Zeke explained.
"Well...her sorry is accepted, I guess." Sharpay replied, and Zeke gave her a smile.
"That's good. Because she seems like a really cool person...kind of like you." Zeke complimented, and Sharpay grinned.
"And your not too bad yourself, Mr. Baylor. You sure do how to make a girl feel better about herself." Sharpay stated, and Zeke blushed.
There was a pause, and he heard her whisper in his ear, "I like you. Alot."
Zeke smiled, and gazed at her.
"Well, you already know I feel about you."
"Aw, isn't that cute, Ryan?"
They turned to see Haylie and Ryan standing there, smiling.
"I'll say!" Ryan explained, and Zeke rolled his eyes, while Sharpay laughed.
