Thank you to everybody who read or left kudos for the last chapter. You're all wonderful. This was originally part of the previous chapter, but I realized it was too long. This section is primarily new material.

Chapter 70: Hell is teenage hormones and no communication skills.

Still December 17, 2008

Unfortunately, neither Kim nor Sharpay could find anyone else that could possibly take over. Sharpay knew she couldn't handle another day with Kelsi, so she called Penelope. Manslaughter charges would be in her future otherwise. Or they would be in Ryan's future. Despite the temporary truce, the situation had to be bad if she volunteered to spend all day tomorrow with Penelope without Zack present to be a buffer.

After explaining the situation, Penelope agreed to help if Sharpay could get Penelope moved to another room next semester. Malick's uncle's campaign to make Penelope so miserable she will drop charges has already hit residents' life. They're not letting Penelope switch rooms. Sharpay is not having that. She doesn't even want her worst enemy to pay for her mistakes, and Penelope is far from her worst enemy.

The afternoon performances were going better than the morning. That may be because this is Sharpay's class, and they were used to working with her. To keep her and Ryan from reaching over to strangle Kelsi during the performances, Jack and Ms. Ortega were sitting between them. So far, the bickering has stayed down to a minimum. Ms. Ortega had a better death glare.

"Ok, up next are Jackie and Jimmy, who will be performing a scene from Confessions of the Broken Hearted," Sharpay told the group. Then she pulled out the scripts for that scene and ignored everything else. This is the last performance for the day, thankfully. Unfortunately, she has to come back for part two tomorrow. Then, of course, there was the talent show/winter festival spectacular Friday. She was beginning to wonder why she wanted so much control over the drama club in high school. Whoever said be careful what you wish for may have been right.

This time Ms. Ortega's class was sitting in the back watching the performances. Poor Jason and Kerri had to sit through this twice. She could see Kerri smiling the moment Jimmie got on stage. She definitely had it bad. Sharpay wondered if Jackie and Kerri got to talk during lunch. Kerri promised she would, but Sharpay had a feeling that she just made out with Jimmie in the janitor's closet instead. Note to self, pick up condoms for Kerri. The twins do not need playmates.

"Do you love her?" Jackie asked Jimmy as her character Rebecca.

"It does not matter who I love. Why do you care so much about this?" Jimmy asked as Jack.

"Because it's you. I've always cared for you. Unfortunately, you were too blind to see that." Jackie spat back. Her words were filled with bitterness. Sharpay could tell that she was putting some real anger into this. Kerri definitely did not talk to Jackie during lunch. At least this is healthier than Kelsi's passive-aggressive behavior. Or the entire Taylor baseball bat to the plasma episode. Actually, that was preferable to Kelsi.

"I only pretended to be blind. I've always known that you were in love with me. But I'm not in love with you, Rebecca. You're my best friend. I love you as a friend, but it's never going to go beyond that. I'm sorry I couldn't love you the way you wanted me to." Ok, that was a different line. Jimmie was supposed to say, 'I can't see you as my lover."

"I know you can't love me because you love Kerri. I know she's been in your bed." That was the wrong name. She was supposed to say Christina. The only indication that Jimmy picked up on the slip was the look in his eyes. He continued with his lines as planned, except he switched the name. Sharpay was probably the only one besides Kerri who knew the slip was deliberate. This was not good. Sharpay sent a quick text message to Kerri asking if she had talked to Jackie. She wasn't surprised to get a no back.

"Kerri is just a friend," Jimmy said, looking Jackie directly in the eyes.

"Don't lie to me. I deserve better than that. I saw you kissing her."

"Shit!" Jimmie mumbled to himself. Sharpay read his lips, though.

"Last Friday night, when you were supposed to be with me, I saw you kissing her. Do you actually care about her, or is she just a replacement for the one you can't have? Neither of them are me. I'm just your pseudo-little sister, right Jack?" Jackie screamed at him.

"Those aren't the original lines." Sharpay heard Ryan whisper as the scene continued. Sharpay turned around to see Kerri sinking down in her seat. Sharpay looked down at her phone to see a message from Kerri that said, 'I totally fucked up.' They both knew this was no longer a performance. She's shocked Jackie didn't say Jimmie.

'You both did.' Sharpay texted Kerri back. Ms. D would kill her for texting him right now, but it was an emergency.

"I do not know what you're talking about," Jimmie said, reciting his line from the actual script. It fit because Jimmie definitely looked confused.

"If you were really my friend, you would stop lying. I've been waiting for days for either one of you to actually come to talk to me. Instead, I got chocolates and no note. I would've preferred an actual conversation. But you were too busy fucking around for that." Unlike the earlier "shit," everybody heard that curse word. Sharpay was just happy the principal wasn't there to see it. Technically, expletives were only allowed during the Drama III performances.

"They are not acting anymore, are they?" Jack whispered to Sharpay. He was probably the only one beside her who knew of Jimmie and Kerri's relationship.

"No, they're not," Sharpay whispered back.

"I'll text Teresa," Jack mumbled as he grabbed his phone.

"You're right. We should have talked to you about what was going on. I'm sorry," Jimmie replied with tears running down his face.

"Are you really sorry or just sorry I caught you?" Jimmie doesn't respond.

"It's fine if you actually care." Jimmie gives her a very dubious look. Like he already knows better.

"Ok, it's not fine, but it's not awful. I will hate you forever if you do what my sister did to Ryan. Kerri doesn't deserve to be your consolation prize, and she definitely doesn't deserve to be your beard. You know not everybody is as homophobic as my parents." There are definitely some unresolved issues there.

"We got to get her off the stage," Kelsi whispered as she finally caught on.

"Let the scene run its course." Ms. Ortega said to the other three. "She needs to get this out, and the stage is a safe space to do that."

"She essentially just outed Jimmie in front of the entire school." Kelsi's said in horror.

"More like she just dragged you out of the closet. We are the only ones that know it's gone off-script." Sharpay whispered. Honestly, most of EHS knew that Jimmie wasn't that heterosexual. Per Zack and Jimmie, Penelope kissed Jimmie last year to keep him from being harassed because she's apparently a professional beard.

"Kerri isn't a replacement for Marc. She's definitely not my beard. I'm sorry. We should have talked to you this weekend. I just didn't want to put one more thing on you because of the mess with your parents. What they did hurt you so much. I don't want to hurt you. Neither does Kerri."

"I'm glad she isn't your beard. In some ways, it makes it easier. She deserves so much better than what happened last time. In some ways, it makes it worse. At least if she was your beard, I could understand why you couldn't love me. Now I just wondered what's wrong with me."

"There is nothing wrong with you," Jimmie said, reaching for Jackie, but she pulled away. "You are absolutely perfect the way you are."

"Not perfect enough for you."

"I'm sorry. Maybe I'm Demi, too, not just bisexual? I'm not sure yet. All I know is I don't want to hurt you. You're my best friend," Jimmie was crying even harder now.

"Can you just stop apologizing?" Tears were streaming down her face. "I want to be angry at you, and you're making that really hard." Jimmie went to hug Jackie, and she let him hug her for a moment. But then she quickly pulled away and ran off the stage, crying harder than before. The students were all clapping except for Kerri and Jason, who knew what they just saw was real. Kelsi instantly went to follow her.

"Don't follow me, Kelsi. I don't want to talk to somebody who screwed with my friends for money. I like Sharpay a hell of a lot more than you." Jackie yelled at her sister as she marched off angrily.

"I will go get her. Sharpay, you're in charge of the class." With that, Ms. Ortega left the room with Ryan following behind her.

Xxx

Jackie: I screwed up really badly. I think I kind of accidentally outed Jimmie during our performance.

Teresa: I think it was more like he outed himself, and Jack says most people still think you were both acting. Apparently, you chose something really obscure that most people were not familiar with.

Teresa: Except for that blonde British girl who just got detention for calling Jimmy that F word. She is not happy that he still doesn't want to perform with her at the talent show. Jack says she's not even supposed to be there.

Jackie: She's not. That's Tiara. She's kind of the worst person in school. She acts like Sharpay did last year, except she takes it to 11. Also, it's not actually an act. She's not that skilled.

Teresa: Wasn't she the one who told you to check the gym for Jimmie and Kerri Friday?

Teresa: Jimmie just confirmed that he is bi. I wished I was that brave when I was his age.

Jackie:?

Teresa: I wanted to see your performance. So, I snuck in and watched from the balcony. The acoustics are excellent up here. So I can see the chaos unfold in real-time. Kerri just told Kelsi to go fuck herself for being a fake sibling. Jack just kicked Kelsi out of the school, which is for the best.

Jackie: Oh God.

Jackie: Tiara was the one who told me to go to the gym. I think I may have just fallen into a trap.

Teresa: Teenage hormones are the trap. Along with horrible communication skills. I didn't learn how to talk to people until college.

Teresa: And three years in therapy. I have issues. But unlike most of the people in our family, I actually dealt with them.

Jackie: Ok, you are right. I should've tried to talk to them at lunch, and it didn't happen. In my defense, I couldn't find them.

Jackie: Ok, I did find them, but they were kissing in the janitor's closet, and I'm just not dealing with that. Ok, I dealt with it in front of the entire school because maybe I should see a therapist.

Teresa: I heard Dr. Suarez is outstanding. I'll see if she has some openings.

Jackie: That might be useful. Apparently, they were afraid to tell me because I am kind of a mess right now due to mom and dad. I don't even know why they're trying to fight you. I don't want to go back to them.

Teresa: I'm going to be truthful with you. They just want Kimberly to pay them off. She will because she likes you.

Jackie: God. I just want to get out of here. Have most of my classmates left yet?

Teresa: Some. Where are you hiding? I'll come to get you.

Jackie: The roof.

Xxx

Teresa: Ryan, she's on the roof. I'm going to go have a long conversation with Jimmie and Kerri. Please take care of my niece. I apologize that the other one was so awful.

Ryan: That was not your fault. We see her. I'll text you in a few minutes.

Xxx

Jackie placed her cell phone back in her pocket as she heard the door to the roof crack open. She was hoping to see Teresa, but it was Ryan and Ms. Ortega. Technically she hasn't had Ms. Ortega for a teacher, but when Ms. D was out for her first round of cancer treatments years ago, Ms. Ortega took over the drama club. Since her parents couldn't be bothered to get her, she ended up hanging out after class with Kelsi. Since Ms. Ortega had a daughter only a little younger than Jackie, she took care of her. She Even brought Jackie little juice boxes and snacks.

"Am I in trouble?" She doesn't exactly remember everything she did while on stage. However, she thinks she hugged Jimmie instead of slapping him like she originally wanted to. That was probably for the best.

"Not necessarily in trouble, but you might have a visit to the school guidance counselor in your future." Miss Ortega mentioned.

"Aunt Teresa will find somebody because our guidance counselor is awful. She may Kerri cry." Which is another reason why Kerri won't try another therapist.

"I'm not even surprised." The English teacher sighed in exhaustion. "As long as you do actually talk to somebody. I hate to have to do this, but I'm going to have to give you detention for cursing on stage. If I don't give you detention and the principal finds out about it, we're all going to get in trouble."

"Just as long as it's not the same time as Tiara. Aunt Teresa said she's in trouble."

"I wouldn't even think of it. I am not putting the two of you in the same room right now. I know better."

"Ms. Ortega, I have it from here. I will even take Jackie back to her Aunt Teresa. She's waiting for us downstairs. I just texted her." Ms. Ortega raised an eyebrow.

"Over Thanksgiving break, I found out that Ryan's abusive mom was paying my emotionally abusive parents to keep Ryan and Kelsi together. They don't like the idea of a lesbian daughter. I might be the straight one, but I can't deal with that, so I'm divorcing them." It felt strangely good to say that out loud to somebody who wasn't family or her friends. Maybe more than one thing triggered the incident on stage this afternoon. Jackie's willing to acknowledge that much.

"I am so sorry. I know you're not in my class this semester, but I'm here if you need somebody." Ms. Ortega said genuinely.

"Thank you. I'm not gonna say it's ok, but it's definitely something I've made peace with." Ms. Ortega gave her another look.

"Ok, I'm trying to make peace with it." And it's evident to everyone that has not happened yet.

"We will be ok. We will be downstairs in a few minutes. With that, Ms. Ortega left.

"So, do you want to talk about what happened down there?" Ryan said, sitting beside her. She hasn't had a chance to see Ryan since everything blew up with her sister.

"Not really, but I probably should. I just don't know where to start. My best friend got the guy I wanted, and it kind of sucks."

"It always does."

"And I want to be happy, but I am just worried."

"I get that you're worried, but I don't think Jimmie will hurt Kerri on purpose." Jackie glares at Ryan for just a moment. "Trust me. I understand the situation better than you would think."

"You understand this situation?" Jackie asked dubiously.

"The man I was in love with for two years is marrying my sister. Also, I accidentally set them up in the first place because I didn't want my sister to live in the building without my friend. This situation is definitely in my wheelhouse." Ryan explained.

"You are dating his brother and Jason's sister. You're dating a lot of people's siblings."

"How did you know about Zack being Chad's brother? We just found out officially yesterday. We haven't even told Tiffany yet, so I doubt Kerri knows."

"We haven't even talked since Friday, so she wouldn't have told me anyway. Taylor said something about the DNA test to Jason, and he is chatty." Jackie explained.

"The East high rumor mill is undefeated." Ryan sighed. "You're right. I do have a new boyfriend and a new girlfriend. This means that even though my heart broke into a few hundred pieces, I could eventually move forward. Although I made a few mistakes. It may feel like the end of the world now, but it will get better eventually."

"Were those mistakes my sister and Nick's cousin?" Ryan's eyes went wide at the last name.

"You know all the best gossip, don't you?" Ryan asked.

"Always. They shouldn't have tried to hide this from me."

"Oh, I completely agreed they should have talked to you. Although I think this was more of an 'I'm trying to protect you by not telling you' sort of thing. Sharpay did this a lot. And I agree, it sucks." Ryan acknowledged.

"So very much. I really regret freaking out in front of the entire school." Everyone's going to be so awful to Jimmie now, and she really doesn't want that.

"Not the entire school, just your drama one class and a fourth period English 10 class."

"That does not make it better. You just stated that the East high rumor mill is undefeated."

"I still feel like it's not as bad as me dating your sister. I was so heartbroken over Chad asking Taylor to the prom last year that I went with your sister even though it didn't feel right," Ryan confessed. "I even let things go way too far that night because I didn't want to be the only virgin graduating. Turns out that was wrong."

"You slept with Kelsi at prom even though it didn't feel right?" Jackie asked

"And that definitely did not feel right at all. I deeply regret that. Don't do something just because everybody else is."

"It probably felt off because she's a lesbian," Jackie remarked.

"That was definitely a factor. But I was really just using Kelsi to get over my broken heart. Eventually, Chad and I did work things out, and we're better friends for it. I'm actually happy that he's going to be my brother-in-law. It doesn't hurt like I thought it would."

"It helps that you've moved on."

"I'm able to move forward because I made peace with the situation," Ryan tells her.

"Are you going to make me talk to Jimmie and Kerri?" Jackie asked. She is not ready for that conversation at all.

"Not today."

"Although it's probably going to have to be before Friday because there is no way I'm losing the talent show to Tiara. I think she set me up on purpose Friday night." She knows that the wicked witch set her up, and she will not fall into the trap.

"The show must always go on, but it doesn't have to go on with Jimmie. You can come over to our house tonight, and I will help you choreograph a solo performance. I'll even borrow Sharpay's songbook." Ryan suggested.

"I thought Kelsi always did the lyrics?" Jackie asked, confused.

"Because she always refused to use Sharpay's songs. However, you know Sharpay is a good writer, and she's done some songs."

"That's ok. Maybe I'll do something non-original. Lovesick has been my song for the last few days, but I don't know if it will work for a holiday show."

"We will find something," Ryan said as he got up from the bench.

"Thank you," Jackie said as she followed Ryan.

Xxx

Beautiful fiancé: Congratulations on winning the game.

Chad: Thank you. Although I wish I was there with you right now.

Beautiful fiancé: I wish you were here too.

Chad: Aunt Teresa sent me the video of the performance and of what Tiara did afterward. How was she even there? I know she's not in either of those classes.

Beautiful fiancé: She lied to her teacher and said she was helping with finals. She's getting detention for that too. Unfortunately, we can't suspend her, so the little diva will still do Friday's talent show. Actually, if there wasn't a video, I don't even think we would be able to give her detention. Tiara's daddy is a new source of EHS funding.

Chad: I'm not surprised at all. How horrible are they being to Jimmy?

Beautiful fiancé: Jack said that only Nicholas is willing to shower with him at practice this afternoon. Jack actually had to stay in the locker room to prevent the homophobic slurs from flying.

Chad: Again, I'm not surprised. I stayed in the closet for a reason. This is another reason I don't think I'm going to play next year. Whispers from what happened at Thanksgiving have made the rounds. I'm not denying it. So, the harassment is getting worse.

Beautiful fiancé: I'm sorry.

Chad: I can take it. I'm older than Jimmie. I just don't want him dealing with all of this. Poor kid.

Beautiful fiancé: You're barely a year older than him.

Chad: But I had two more years on the basketball team.

Beautiful fiancé: Ok, you have a point.

Beautiful fiancé: We're sure Tiara engineered this whole thing to keep Jimmie and Jackie from performing together in the talent competition. Turns out Jimmie actually can sing when he's trying and not distracted by Troy.

Chad: I know. I've been to a few rehearsals. Are they still going to perform together, or is it too awkward?

Beautiful fiancé: There performing but not together. It's still too awkward for a full conversation. However, enough text messages were exchanged through us intermediaries for Kerri to take Jackie's place during the performance. No one wants the wicked Princess to win. Jackie is staying over tonight, so we can help her develop a new solo performance. Even Penelope is assisting. She's not half bad at this.

Chad: Wow, you two are getting along.

Beautiful fiancé: The truce is holding. We'll see how it goes tomorrow when we judge part two of the performances. Thankfully, Jimmie and Jackie are working with different people for part two. Ms. Ortega is going to keep Tiara very far away. Her teacher has been informed that she isn't supposed to be helping with the auditions.

Chad: Good luck. I'm meeting Zack's sister in five minutes. We're getting drinks and late-night nachos at their favorite bar. I hope she likes me.

Beautiful fiancé: She will. What about his mom?

Chad: He's not quite ready to talk to her yet. It's part of the reason why Zack is staying in Albuquerque over Christmas.

Beautiful fiancé: I thought he was staying for Penelope?

Chad: This was planned before then. Although I am sure Ryan is also a factor. As soon as you have your credit card back, we have to get Ryan another gift basket. Finding out about your ex-boyfriend's exploits with your sibling is uncomfortable at best.

Beautiful fiancé: Good point. Let me know how things go.

Chad: I will send you lots of pictures.

Beautiful fiancé: You better.

To be continued…