Painfully Perfect
Author's Note: I'm listening to If Only by Fiction Plane right now. It's a full version of the song from the book Holes and I love it. Yep! Anywho, you guys are absolutely amazing. Thank you for all the reviews! I hope you like this chapter. I think it's pretty okay I guess. But what you think is more important! I also tried to update as soon as possible! Hope it was quick enough :) Special thanks again to little.miss.sarcasm who has the amazing talent of making up dramatic endings on the spot. :) Enjoy!
Chapter 8
As soon as the doorknob had started twisting, it stopped and was quickly replaced by three small knocks. "Hey Sharpay! Can I come in?" Sharpay hurriedly stood up and pulled her clothes back on and turned towards the mirror, trying to look natural. "Fine."
Ryan opened the bathroom door and smiled brightly at his twin. His wet hair was glistening and his cheeks were bright red. "Can I borrow some toothpaste? I'm all out."
Sharpay breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure. No problem." Along with her brother, she squeezed a line of toothpaste onto her white toothbrush and started brushing. It was silent for a couple of minutes, except the sound of toothbrush bristles scraping against teeth and the occasional running water from the faucet.
Ryan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smiled at himself and looked at his sister's reflection in the mirror. "Thanks Shar. Night." Their eyes met for a moment before Ryan turned on his heel.
"No problem Ryan," Sharpay whispered quietly. A part of Sharpay wanted to breakdown right there and tell him everything she was feeling. But Ryan was already gone. Instead Sharpay flipped off the bathroom light and tucked herself under her comforter tightly, silent tears leaking out of her closed eyes.
--
"Guys I've got to go to my locker quick then we can go," Kelsi informed her three friends.
"Okay," Taylor and Gabriella said while Sharpay nodded. The four girls made their way down the hallway and stopped at Kelsi's locker.
"Anyone else not understand our Chem homework except me?" Kelsi whined with a giggle.
"Well that's why we're studying together," Sharpay said in a tone you would use with a five-year-old. Kelsi gave a small laugh and shut her locker. Kelsi, Gabriella and Taylor chatted the whole way to the car while Sharpay just concentrated on getting to the car before passing out. "SHOTGUN!" Gabriella squealed when they approached the it. Sharpay unlocked the car doors and slid into the driver's seat, Gabriella in front and Taylor and Kelsi settled in the back.
Taylor and Kelsi started up a conversation amongst themselves, leaving Gabriella and Sharpay in an awkward silence up front. "So..." Gabriella started. "How was your day?"
"Fine," Sharpay said plainly, her eyes fixed on the road. "Yours?"
"Great actually. I'm glad we all get to hang out today even though we will be studying for the most part. I only have our Chemistry homework. Oh and I got an 'A' on my English paper so I was happy about that. And Troy and I are going on a date on Friday after we go to your house. He was so cute about it," Gabriella replied in one breath. She stared intently at Sharpay, mentally willing her to say something. Sharpay could feel the gaze resting on her so she glanced at Gabriella and flashed her a quick smile. "That's fantastic!"
"Mhm," Gabriella replied lamely. "You should join us! We could get Zeke to come to and it could be like a double date."
Sharpay sighed and made a right turn. "What would you be doing?"
"I'm thinking we are going to dinner and then probably grabbing some ice cream and taking a walk in the park," Gabriella spoke dreamily.
Sharpay's stomach lurched and she felt uneasy. "Well, Gabi I've told you plenty of times. I like Zeke, but not like that. He's just a friend, so it'd be awkward."
"Well we Troy and I could set you up with someone!" she offered.
"No thanks Gabs. I'll pass," Sharpay said stubbornly as she pulled smoothly into the driveway. Her three friends piled out and headed to the front door, Sharpay bringing up the rear. They four girls entered the nearly silent house and removed their shoes. Dropping their backpacks in the living room, Gabriella turned to enter the kitchen, Kelsi and Taylor following. "Oh my I'm so hungry. Do you think we could have a snack before we start our homework Sharpay?"
"Yeah please!" Taylor chimed in, Kelsi nodding in agreement.
"Well," Sharpay looked around at her three friends, all begging her, "You guys can have a snack if you want."
"You're not gonna have anything?" Taylor asked.
"Uh no. I'm not that hungry and dinner is just a few hours away. I'll just start on my homework," Sharpay responded simply and turned to the living room to start on her homework.
Three sandwiches, two bowls of chips and a handful of crackers later, all four teenagers girls were laying around the living room doing their homework. Kelsi was laying on the couch upside, her hair dangling down towards the floor, her book propped up against her knees. Gabriella was lying on her stomach on the floor, her feet crossed up in the air, her Chemistry book lying on the floor in front of her. Taylor had her knees pulled towards her chest on the chair, her hand propping up her homework. Sharpay, who had finished her homework while her friends were eating, was looking through the racks of CDs in her living room, looking for something to put in. Honestly, Sharpay was itching to get upstairs and go to sleep but had to wait for her friends to leave. "Hey Gabs," Taylor said, breaking the peaceful silence. "When was your mom picking us up again?"
Gabriella glanced down at her watch and then turned towards Taylor. "She should be here in about ten minutes." Taylor, Gabriella and Kelsi quickly loaded their homework and books into their backpacks and set them by the entryway. "I like getting together to study," Taylor said happily to her friends.
"Me too," Kelsi and Gabriella replied together. "I'm starting to really understand chemistry a lot more than I did," Kelsi added.
"Yeah, we should do it another time soon," Sharpay said, her voice sounding far away.
"Before the next chemistry test," Taylor offered.
"Yeah definitely." Sharpay's mind was spinning, making her feel queasy and her stomach was quietly growling at her. Sharpay, who was standing up around her friends, tried to focus on Gabriella who was talking about hanging out on Saturday. "Would you want to Shar?" Gabriella asked, but to Sharpay it sounded like she was miles away. It happened quickly, Sharpay's mind got fuzzy and suddenly she dropped face first onto the floor, the world around her turning black.
"Sharpay!" Gabriella shouted. She dropped to her knees and shook her blond friends' shoulders, Kelsi and Taylor kneeling around Sharpay with looks of alarm painted across their face. "Sharpay!" Gabriella said more urgently.
Slowly, Sharpay's world was coming back to her. She could hear screaming and quickly realized it was Gabriella. Sharpay grabbed her spinning head and slowly sat up. "Oh Sharpay," Gabriella cried with relief, clutching her heart. "Thank goodness." Taylor and Kelsi both grabbed one of Sharpay's elbows and slowly helped her stand up.
Sharpay rested her hand on the staircase banister to keep her balance. She shook her head. "What happened?"
"I was going to ask you," said Kelsi. "You just...passed out."
Gabriella stared with concern at her friend. "I must just have been really tired," Sharpay lied.
"Probably," Taylor and Kelsi agreed, but Gabriella was silent. "I'm just glad you're okay," Taylor said.
"Yeah, of course. I'm just fine," Sharpay acted, her voice sounding happy and she flashed a wide fake smile. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Sharpay pulled the front door open. "Hi Ms. Montez."
"Hello Sharpay," Ms. Montez said, pulling the young girl into a hug. "How was studying girls?"
"Great. We got a lot of work done," Kelsi said.
"That's great. So I'm taking you and Taylor home correct?" Ms. Montez questioned.
"Correct!" Taylor said with a giggle.
"Well, we best be going. I wouldn't want your mothers being upset with me if I got you home late."
"Okay." Taylor and Kelsi pulled their backpacks onto their backs and started heading out the front door with Ms. Montez.
"Mommy, I've got to use the bathroom quick so I'll be out in a second," Gabriella said quickly.
"Okay dear. We'll be in the car." Once the front door was shut again, Sharpay and Gabriella were left in silence.
"You know where the bathroom is...right down the hall," Sharpay pointed out to Gabriella.
"Shar, I don't have to go to the bathroom. What happened just a couple of minutes ago?" Gabriella asked.
"I told you," Sharpay spoke with speed, walking into the living room and straightening pillows as to avoid Gabriella. "I'm just tired. It's been a long week so far and I'm tired. Okay?"
Gabriella had followed Sharpay into the living room, much to Sharpay's dismay. "Are you sure it's not something else? If anything is wrong...you know you can always talk to me, right?"
"Of course I know that. But nothing is wrong," Sharpay lied.
"Are you sure there's nothing? Nothing you want to tell me at all?" Gabriella asked with concern.
Sharpay stared her friend in the eyes coldly. "What? You want something to be wrong Gabriella? You want their to be some problem with me?" Gabriella was taken aback. "There's nothing wrong. Don't you listen? I'm just tired. And I don't need you worrying about me over nothing. You just assume because I passed out once that I have some problem! Well I don't! I think you should leave, now." Sharpay walked over to the front door and yanked it open.
Gabriella was shocked. "Sharpay, I don't want their to be anything wrong with you--."
"But you think their is something wrong with me don't you?" Sharpay interrupted rudely.
"I'm just saying if anything is bothering you or if something is wrong then please tell me. I'm your friend Sharpay and I care."
"Well there is nothing bothering me and nothing is wrong. So just stop! Your mom's waiting so hurry up." Sharpay motioned her hand for Gabriella to leave and she took the hint. Quickly grabbing her backpack, she headed towards the open door. She turned and looked at Sharpay and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Sharpay softened slightly. "It's okay. I would tell you if something was wrong. See you tomorrow Gabs."
Gabriella smiled and bounded off towards the car. After pulling out of the driveway, Ms. Montez turned towards her daughter. "So what took so long?"
Gabriella giggled softly, "Nothing mom. We were just talking and got carried away. Sorry."
"No problem sweetheart. So who am I dropping off first?"
--
Sharpay stalked into the kitchen and glanced at the clock. 5:30. She still had a half an hour before Ryan or her parents got home. She quickly started searching through the kitchen. It took only a couple of minutes before she found a Hershey's candy bar lying in snack cupboard. Sharpay ripped it off the shelf and went upstairs as fast as she could. Once she reached her room, she ran into her closet and sat down against the wall. Slowly removing the wrapper, the smell of chocolate quickly encompassed Sharpay. Slowly moving the candy bar to her watering mouth, she bit off a small piece and sighed in happiness.
Meanwhile downstairs, Ryan had just gotten home early from playing basketball with the guys. "Thanks for the ride Zeke!" Ryan called to his tall friend and then shut the front door. He removed his shoes and grabbed a towel from the downstairs linen closet before heading up the stairs. "Sharpay?" Ryan called down the long hallway upstairs. He waited for a reply but didn't receive one. So, he walked down the hall to Sharpay's bedroom and entered. "Shar?" He called again. He didn't receive a response and was about to turn to go to take his shower when he heard the distinct sound of a wrapper crinkling coming from Sharpay's closet. He approached it and yanked open the door. "Sharpay?" he asked with confusion.
Sharpay was sitting on her closet floor, consuming a chocolate bar. She glanced up at Ryan when she heard his voice and quickly made to hide the empty candy wrapper as she stood up. "What?" she snapped.
"What were you doing...in the closet of all places, eating?" Ryan asked, his voice dripping with confusion.
"Nothing. Like you said, eating, okay? Can you leave now?" she bit rawly.
"Sis, that's a little weird...why were you eating in a closet, I ask again?"
"I don't know! Okay?! Just leave! Now! You didn't even ask to come in my room!" Sharpay was angry as she pushed her brother by the shoulders out of her room.
"Your door was open!" Ryan protested.
"That still gives you no right to come in my room! Leave you stupid, selfish, evil little jerk!" Sharpay didn't even have to push Ryan out anymore because he left, upset, all by himself.
"Ugh!" Sharpay huffed as she slammed her bedroom door shut. She rushed into her bathroom, locking the door behind her and dropped down in front of the toilet. "This is for eating that chocolate bar you stupid idiot!" Sharpay said to herself. Jamming two fingers down her throat, she gagged and felt the food quickly coming upward. She looked down at the toilet once more, before pushing her fingers down her throat again, this time causing herself to choke. Instead of throwing up, Sharpay started coughing into the toilet, her throat burning as if it was on fire. When she looked down, she was confused when she saw dark flecks of red. Upon closer examination, she realized that it was blood. Sharpay was worried that she had made herself cough up blood. "Well, no more eating and purging I guess. It's back to skipping meals," the voice in Sharpay's head spoke nonchalantly. Sharpay slowly raised a shaking hand to the toilet and flushed before backing away from the toilet with fear.
--
The next morning Sharpay woke up in a daze. Yesterday, in Sharpay's opinion, had been a stressful one. She slowly pulled herself out of bed and entered the bathroom to take a shower. Her shoulders were shaking because she was so cold, so she turned the shower heat to high and stepped in.
Thirty minutes later, Sharpay found herself applying makeup in her bathroom. Today she had decided to wear a pair of dark wash jeans, a pink t-shirt, that had once hugged her body fittingly now hung loosely around it, and a large gray sweatshirt. For the past week, Sharpay had started applying cover-up under her eyes to hide the dark circles that lie there and blush to her cheeks, so she wouldn't look as pale as she did. Sharpay finished with a swipe of lip gloss on her lips and slowly made her way downstairs.
"Morning Mom," Sharpay said politely.
"Morning Shar," her mother returned, setting a basket of toast on the table. Sharpay made her way across the kitchen to a cupboard and pulled out a bag of green tea. Her throat was unbearably sore and she had heard once that green tea could speed up your metabolism. After filling a mug three-quarters full with water, she set the mug quietly in the microwave and let it heat for a minute.
As the microwave beeped and Sharpay pulled it out to set the tea bag in it, Ryan came bounding down the stairs with a smile. "Morning Mom! Morning Dad!" Ryan said as he grabbed a glass and the orange juice out of the fridge.
"Morning son," his parents replied in unison. "Uh, morning to you too Ryan," Sharpay said, waving her hand in front of his face as to point out that she was in the kitchen.
"Morning Shar," he said stiffly, grabbing his glass and sitting down at the table.
"Mom, I've got to go finish a little bit of homework so I'll eat breakfast at school," Sharpay lied quickly. With her mug in hand, she slipped quietly up the stairs and into her room. She sat on the edge of her perfectly made bed and took a long sip of the steaming tea, her hands grasping tightly on the hot mug as to warm them. A million thoughts and feelings were running through Sharpay's mind. "Nobody cares about me. Not my dad, or my mom, or Ryan or my friends or anything. Maybe they'll care once I've lost a little more weight. I just have to work harder," Sharpay thought sadly to herself. It took her a moment to notice that she was crying. The tears were streaming slowly down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the flick of her hand and downed the rest of her tea, slightly soothing her throat.
Sharpay stood and swung her bag around her left shoulder and made her way down the stairs slowly. Ryan was standing at the bottom of the stairs as if he was waiting for Sharpay. "Finally decided to come downstairs?" He said coldly and handed her her shoes. She slipped them on as fast as she could and followed Ryan out the front door.
The ride to school was quiet, the air stiff with Ryan's anger at Sharpay. "Why are you so mad at me?" Sharpay said, daring to break the cold silence that surrounded them.
Ryan laughed bitterly. "You don't remember what you called me last night?" Sharpay racked her brain but couldn't recall. She did remember her fight with Ryan, but nothing about calling him something mean. "A stupid, selfish evil little jerk, I think it was," Ryan said, enunciating every syllable.
"I didn't mean it. I think you're overreacting, Ryan."
Ryan stared at Sharpay incredulously as the came to a stop in the school parking lot. "I was just concerned about you Sharpay! I'm your twin and I care about you and you think I'm overreacting? You spazzed out cause I asked you why you were eating in your closet of all places. Just because I 'made you mad' gives you no right whatsoever to be rude to me. You know what, whatever. See you in homeroom." Ryan unbuckled and stepped out of the car, slamming the door powerfully as he left, leaving Sharpay in a stunned silence, the sound of the door slam echoing through her head. School didn't start for another half an hour, but that wasn't even on Sharpay's mind.
It was a few minutes before she was snapped back into reality. She was startled when she heard the car door open and close. After jumping form seeing Taylor sitting in the driver's seat, Sharpay held her breath. Taylor looked directly into Sharpay's eyes. "Sharpay, I know your secret."
Author's Note: Ohhhhhhhhh what's gonna happen now?! Ha, I already know. But anyways, what'd you think? I think this was one of my fastest updates. You guys are amazing!!
Review Replies:
LuciaAyala23: :) I love that you thought it was over. But no, no no no. Not for awhile at least, I'm thinking. I've got a couple of ideas up my sleeve.
Mill1on: I hope you liked this! But I want to know what you think about HSM2!! Let me know! Haha, especially about the T necklace. That STILL bugs me. Hah!
Corbin's My Man: Hope this was quick enough! I'm thinking it was. Ha:)
Lady Charity: Yes, shocking, I know but I updated! That really made me laugh. :) Well, you got your wish about who was at the door, but I'm thinking people might be a bit disappointed about it. Sorry! Hah but I hope you like it.
MiseryluvsDeath aka Fidele: Correct, not good at all. But it turned out differently than I'm thinking people are thinking it will turn out. Hah, if that makes sense.
Stessa: Oh don't feel bad for missing reviewing a chapter. I'm glad you reviewed the last one though! I hope you like this chapter too. Bit of drama going on in Sharpay's world.
KatieMalfoy19: Awesome chapter, you say? Yay! Well your wish will come true eventually about Ryan finding out. But not yet. Sorry! Haha.
ascii27: Well, it LOOKS like someone would find out. But, nope. Sorry about that. I couldn't have him find out yet! I know exactly when he's going to find out. Hope this update was quick enough!
marri: Yay you loved it! Hah that makes me happy. But don't follow by Sharpay's example in my story, please. Ha, it's not good. :( But do, by all means, enjoy reading this.
BlackBeauty613: I hate cliffhangers but love them, too! Haha, so yes it does make sense:)
Pumpernickel Muffin: I WISH Ryan was finding out now. But I couldn't have him find out just yet. But I know when he's gonna find out and it will be sad. :(
VampireLover101: I know, it is sad. I feel bad for Sharpay and a lot of the people in my story. Haha. Hope you like this!
charmarctravis: Sorry that he doesn't find out. But he will soon, I promise! He's concern because it's his sister, his twin, who is harming herself. Well, he doesn't know she is, but he was concerned about her because they are siblings. Does that make sense? Ha
SoMuchForMyHappyEnding: BJ! I updated! And I hope you love this one too! Hah you should update soon. I'm dying here. I can't believe she's pregnant, for goodness sakes. I hate Simon! Hah love you!
vehicular feelings: Great story? Thank you! And thank you so much for pointing that out to me. I know I've heard that before but thank you so much for telling me:) Hope you enjoy this!
Sarah -or- Miley Cyrus Fan: I did update ASAP! Yayy! Haha I hope you update really really really soon because I absolutely love your story!! And your welcome for watching your videos! I love them all, but especially Never Far Behind! You should make another one too when you aren't swamped with life. :)
little.miss.sarcasm: I don't know how I thought it was bad. Haha, I just did. And...I thought it was choppy. Haha. Yeah, in my first draft she WAS going to go to the nurse's but I changed that in like my third rewrite. Haha, Sharpay-ish. That's a funny word. Hah, yeah I had to boost her confidence a little. But, of course...she's still worried about her weight. Well, I think you'll like this chapter..cause Ryan calls out Sharpay for being a brat. Well, by my definition he does. Let's get our update up soon! Or just chat! Hehe:) Whooooooohooooooo!
I'm currently obsessed with the movie Holes, like I was a couple of years ago. Just thought I'd let you guys know! Haha! Until next time:)