HeyHeyHey.
Hate to say it, but I think this story is winding down. There are like, four, five, six chapters left. Not really sure.
And to think!
I started this story a YEAR ago to this date!
Funn.
The reality of it really settled in and overtook my system. I was frozen on the spot, my fingers curled over the iron ledge of the school's balcony, the afternoon sun no longer soft, but pretty burning. It was odd to know, to come to terms with myself over the fact that me. I. The same guy that used to be so afraid of this girl was now warming up to her and her fire.
That same girl that had tried to kiss me just after learning my name. The same girl that drove me insane with her and her quirky annoying ways.
And now. Now, of all times, with Bridgett Oliver's stupid dance coming up and high school being just around the corner, and basketball practices becoming more brutal than ever, I decide to lose my mind. I stumbled away from the edge of the balcony and back down the cement steps. The guys were probably wondering where I had gone off to. But meeting the grey double doors again, the not so unfamiliar sound of Bridgett Oliver's shrieks on the other side caught my attention.
"Sharpay! Let. Go. Of. My hair!"
Sharpay. She had said Sharpay. I hadn't been so tuned in to the rest of my girlfriend's drama, but she had said Sharpay, causing me to desperately push the doors open, revealing two tangled girls on the other side. Sharpay towered over Bridgett Oliver, a handful of her hair caught in Sharpay's hand. I could tell by the delicious, but immensely maniacal smile on Sharpay's face, that she was satisfied.
But at my sudden appearance, both girls untangled themselves. I scrambled for an explanation as to why I had fallen out of the sky, but only came up with, "I was just..." I was just tongue-tied. My eyes darted from Sharpay angrily crossing her arms over her coveted but desired chest to Bridgett Oliver who held a pretty scowl on her face and decided that it was best to focus on her. "What happened to you?"
She raked a hand through her disheveled hair in hopes of rescuing her good looks and linked her arm with mine, steering me down the hallway back to the cafeteria. "I swear, Troy." her sweet voice held a convincing tremor to it. "It's like she's psycho or something." but her mood instantly diverted to cheerful. "So." she stopped us just outside of the cafeteria doors. "Don't you have something to ask me?"
I looked back up the hallway, only to see that Sharpay was gone. "What?"
"The dance, silly! You need to ask me to the dance..."
I cocked my head to the side in confusion, Bridgett Oliver's green eyes filled with determination. "I thought it was a given that we were going together." I shrugged, hoping to avoid the awkward question and her feigned-surprised response. Her fingernails were digging into my forearms slightly and her perfect jaw clenched. "And how do you even know if we're having a dance anyway? Aren't you going to consider Sharpay's idea?"
She scoffed in disbelief. "Sharpay's idea? Troy, are you on something? We're having this dance. I'm going down to the principal's office right now to tell him that Sharpay and I agreed on my idea." she smiled at her own cleverness. I wanted so badly to speak up about what she was doing was wrong, but the red indentations along my arms seemed to be enough of Bridgett Oliver's wrath for now. I forced a smile onto my face and peered into the cafeteria, seeing all of my teammates still seated around the table. Chad waved me over.
"Guess I better get going." I offered, anything to save my stinging forearms. Just as I had eased myself out of her grasp, her fingers caught under my chin. There, in front of practially the entire school, Bridgett Oliver rose to her tiptoes in an attempt to kiss me. Her hand coasted down my arm and linked with mine as she continued to lean into me, her lashes fluttering shut, her lips only coming closer.
This very scenario seemed to familiar to me. Me, a girl, a door. It took me back six years, where two second graders stood in front of an anonymous door, the girl more than eager, the little boy scared out of his mind. And it struck me so hard that my stomach plummeted and I stumbled away from Bridgett Oliver.
Sharpay and me.
The little girl and boy were Sharpay and me.
"Troy, what's wrong with you?!" Bridgett Oliver exclaimed, obviously frustrated that I had ducked away from her kiss. I nervously scratched the back of my head, glancing back into the cafeteria. We had captured the entire basketball team's attention.
"I... I just..." I just didn't know what to say. But I didn't have to explain myself. Bridgett Oliver simply turned on her heel and took of towards the principal's office, her brown hair whipping me across the face as she went. I silently entered the cafeteria, the thirteen pairs of eyes of the boy's basketball team looking back at me. "What?" I asked simply as I slumped back into my seat.
Chad gave me a puzzled look. "What was that? You didn't let her kiss you!"
"Have you ever kissed Bridgett Oliver before?" Zeke injected.
I had, but now, all of a sudden, it felt so different. Wrong. Like making out with my mother or something. Maybe it was about time to end it with Bridgett Oliver, before things got worse, before my thoughts and opinions of Sharpay became even more tangled...
"She's like your first boner, man." Chad nodded wisely as the rest of the table erupted in laughter. I looked to him eyes wide in disbelief.
"What?!"
"Your first boner is always the best." he explained. "But it's also the one where you're like, 'how the hell do I get rid of this?'. Am I right?" his eyebrows moved up and down as I tried to swallow his logic. No. No, he wasn't right as far as I understood. "But then, when you finally realize how much fun getting rid of boners are, you want more. Am I right now?"
"Chad."
"It'll click eventually, my man." he grinned.
"No."
And I suddenly lost every boy's attention. Twenty-six eyes diverted to the cafeteria doors again as Sharpay casually sauntered in, not realizing the affect she had on the testosterone levels at our table. She passed our table, her eyes meeting mine for a split second before she looked away. It was okay though, since my eyes wandered elsewhere.
Did she remember the way I did? Did these stupid childhood memories toy with her conscience? I coudn't understand why it was happening to me all of a sudden, especially now, now that she had lost interest, and I had obviously found it. I nervously ran a hand through my hair, watching her skirt flounce around her legs. But there was always that glimmer of hope that she did think about us. What we used to be, even if it was enemies.
Maybe she could help untangle these thoughts.
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"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"About Jason and Sharpay?"
The ball that I thoughtfully slapped in my hands came to a stop. "I was there." I stated flatly. Across the court, Jason carefully stretched and held a conversation with another player. By the enthusiasm on his face, we all knew he was discussing Sharpay and the charming way he asked her out.
After coming to terms with myself, I could honestly tell myself that I had been sort of hurt when Sharpay said yes to Jason. It was just solid proof that she had moved on. And where did this leave me? With a girlfriend I wasn't even sure if I liked, and jealousy.
So wrapped up in thought, I never noticed Jason and his friend making their way over to the hoop where Chad and I routinely warmed up. Other teammates only approached us in game mode at this basket if it was truly important. And though Jason was new, he knew it as well, but I was curious about what he had to say.
"So are you going to as Bridgett Oliver or what?" Chad asked, shouldering off Jason, knowing that we weren't on speaking terms, but wasn't clued into as of why. "First boner..." he sang.
"What?!" Jason laughed, injecting himself into our conversation. "You compare girls to boners, Danforth? Why does that not surprise me?" he turned to me, brown eyes almost speaking for him. Why was acting as if we had never gotten into it before at his place? "Well, are you going to ask Bridgett Oliver, Troy?"
"What's it to you?" I snapped. "You're already going with Sharpay, remember?" I tried to catch myself and the jealousy that threaded my voice, but even Chad furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Good luck with that. I hear she likes to do some pretty freaky things." Jeering was the only thing I could do to silently prove that I didn't care that Jason had asked Sharpay to the dance unexpectedly. And by the way Jason's cheeks flushed red, I could tell that it had worked.
"What, are you pissed that you didn't get to her before me? I told you, Bolton, I'm not your matchmaker."
"Troy, what is he talking about?" Chad questioned. The dribbling of basketballs seemed to get louder and the squeaks of basketball shoes against the floors seemed to cut through my thoughts. "Holy shit, do you like Sharpay?!"
And before I could even process what I was doing, I dropped my basketball and lunged for Jason, both of us crashing to the high gloss wood of the basketball court. I hooked an arm around his neck and he struggled against me. "Troy, let him go, he can't breathe!" I heard a warning from a teammate and released my grip, but Jason only whirled around, four of his knuckles making contact with my jaw. From there, the rest of my actions were instincts as what was going to be me strangling Jason turning into an all-out brawl.
Over a girl.
Who didn't even like me.
Just as I had nailed Jason in the stomach, I felt two forceful hands come down on my shoulders, tearing me away from Jason. The rest of the basketball team scrambled as my father ordered Jason to go to the locker room. "And Troy?..." he looked at me, my jaw aching, my stomach ready to crumble, with disappointment in his eyes. "Just get out of my gym."
"Gladly." I found myself snarl as I pushed open the double doors of the gym and ran into the afternoon.
Ha! You know what I just realized?
Bridgett Oliver. BO.
Haaaaa.
Happppyyyy One year Anniversaryyyy!
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