Painfully Perfect

Author's Note: You are all amazing. I feel this chapter is choppy. Ugh, what you think is what matters most. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Gabriella raced down the hallway as fast as she could and entered the large theater room just moments before the bell rang, Sharpay following just as the bell rung. Gabriella scanned the room, looking for Ryan or Troy, but was snapped at by a cranky-looking Ms. Darbus.

"Ms. Montez! Take a seat now." Gabriella sat down, still looking frantically around for either boy. "Class, today you will finish the movie but there will be no talking whatsoever! I am in no mood for it today! If I hear any talking, that person will write a five page paper on the movie and will have detention for a month!" Ms. Darbus fumed angrily, turning off the theater lights and clicking play on the movie. Soon enough Gabriella spotted Troy and Ryan sitting in the front of the room and silently cursed to herself. She'd just have to tell them after class.

--

Gabriella's next period was her free period so she waited patiently in the hallway until the halls were nearly empty, and then thought about where she would find her friends. Troy and Chad were practicing basketball right now, so that was the first place that Gabriella decided to go.

"Troy! Chad!" The petite brunette called to the two boys when she first entered the large gymnasium. They exchanged a look and ran over to Gabriella.

"Hey Gabs. What's up? Something wrong?" Chad asked, thinking something was up by the look on her face.

"Actually, yeah. It's...well," Gabriella started, now not feeling so sure of herself.

"Hey, anything you wanna say, it's okay. You can say it," Troy said, setting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's Sharpay!" Gabriella blurted out. "Something with her is really really wrong."

"What do you mean?" Troy questioned, sharing a confused look with Chad.

Thoughts raced through Gabriella's mind. "Sharpay...I...in the bathroom, I heard her throwing up."

Again, Troy and Chad exchanged a glance and stared back at the worrying girl. "Okay?" Chad said, coming out more like a question.

Gabriella had a pleading look in her eyes. How did they not understand what she was saying? "I think she was making herself throw up."

It was silent for a moment before Troy spoke. "Gabs, I don't think that Sharpay would do anything like that. I mean, it's Shar. I really don't think she would do something like that to herself."

"UGH! Don't you understand? Haven't you seen how she's changed? She looks sick, she's really thin and her attitude is so...not Sharpay."

"Gabriella, I'm sure your intentions are good. And yeah, I think some of what your saying is true. But Sharpay wouldn't take that drastic of measures," Chad spoke, unconvinced by what Gabriella was saying, or simply just not wanting to accept it.

"I'm telling you! Something's wrong with Sharpay!" Gabriella protested to Troy and Chad.

"Chad! Troy! Huddle up!" Couch Bolton called sternly to the basketball players.

"Gabi, we've gotta go. But everything will be fine. We'll talk later." Gabriella growled in frustration ad watched as Troy and Chad ran back to their team.

What was she supposed to do now? Gabriella returned to the hallway and walked slowly down it, her footsteps echoing off the walls. She looked up when she heard the familiar whistle coming from Ryan.

"Ryan! Thank goodness!" Gabriella squealed exasperatedly, hugging the blond boy tightly. "It's Sharpay."

A look of shock overcame Ryan's face. "What about Sharpay?"

"I...Ryan, I heard her throwing up in the bathroom today."

Ryan staggered a little bit and slid down the wall, resting his face in his hands. "Are you sure it was her?"

"Yeah...I heard her whispering," Gabriella replied, now sitting next to her friend, a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry. I just...I don't know what to do."

"No. I thought the same thing a couple of weeks ago. Sharpay wouldn't do that Gabi. I know she wouldn't. I'm her brother, her twin. And besides, I think the doctor would've noticed last week. I've gotta get back to class," Ryan stood up and walked away slowly, the same shocked look painted on across his face.

Why didn't anybody believe Gabriella? She wouldn't make something like this up. Maybe the only person she could talk to about it was Sharpay herself.

--

Sharpay slowly made her way to the theater for rehearsal. Just as she touched the door handle, a voice called her name.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella called, running to her friend. Sharpay managed a small smile. "Hey Gabs. What's up?"

"We need to talk. I'm going to get right to the point...I heard you in the bathroom today," Gabriella spoke quickly, a serious look on her face.

Sharpay's body stiffened, but she played it cool, her acting skills coming in handy. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't do that. I heard you throwing up."

"Oh that," Sharpay said, starting off her lie. "I wasn't feeling well. I think I'm coming down with something."

"Sharpay! Stop that! I know you aren't sick. What I want to know is why you would do that to yourself. I don't understand it."

"What I don't understand is what you are talking about," Sharpay hissed back. "Gabriella, just leave me alone. I'm getting so annoyed that all you do is accuse me lately. Quit being jealous."

"Jealous? Jealous? You really think I would be jealous that you are harming yourself? No, that's wrong. Sharpay, I care about you. You're like a sister to me, so please! Talk to me! I know what's going on, you can't hide it anymore."

"I know hanging out will be fun tonight, Gabs!" Sharpay said fake-cheerily when she saw Ryan approach the theater. Sharpay turned and entered the theater, waiting on backstage for everyone else to come in.

"Hey Gabi," Ryan said meekly. "What were you and Sharpay talking about?"

Gabriella stared right into Ryan's eyes. "You know what we were talking about. I wasn't lying. But Sharpay is. Why don't you try asking her what's going on. Maybe you'll get through to her," Gabriella said before opening the door for them to go into rehearsal.

Ryan was in denial and he knew it. He didn't want anything to be wrong with Sharpay, so he tried convincing himself that Sharpay was fine, but he knew that something as wrong. He followed Gabriella into the large room and went backstage to grab his script and ran into Sharpay.

"You're awfully quiet, Ry." A few minutes later, breaking the awkward silence.

"What? Yeah, I guess."

"How come?" Sharpay questioned, turning her glassy eyes to her brother. Ryan didn't respond so Sharpay asked him another question. "You haven't been talking to Gabriella have you? Don't listen to her! She's a liar. I don't have a problem. I just wasn't feeling well today."

Ryan listened to what his sister was saying and wanted so badly to believe her, but knew it wasn't true. "Okay, Sharpay." Ryan turned away from his sister and walked out on stage just as Ms. Darbus entered.

"Okay, let's take it from the top today. Places people!" Ms. Darbus said with the clap of her hands, her bad mood still lingering from early today.

The large group of teens got in their places and quickly started rehearsal. After about five minutes of dialog, Sharpay was supposed to sing her solo. She started and it sounded beautiful, but as the notes got higher, Sharpay's voiced started to crack and squeak. "Can I start over?" Sharpay pleaded to Ms. Darbus, putting a hand on her throat.

"Of course." Kelsi began playing the piano just as Chad, Taylor and Zeke entered silently slipped into seats in the auditorium. Sharpay opened up her mouth and her clear voice sang loudly throughout the large room, but again as she started singing higher her voice cracked.

"Ms. Evans," Ms. Darbus stopped her suddenly. "Are you coming down with a cold or something?"

Sharpay rubbed her hand against her throat, a slight red tint slowly creeping down her cheeks. "Yeah, I haven't been feeling well today. Sorry," Sharpay lied.

"Why don't you go to the nurse and rest up your voice for Monday's rehearsal. I expect you to be able to sing for us on Monday, also." Sharpay nodded with embarrassment and slowly walked backstage to grab her bag, running into Gabriella. "Told you I wasn't feeling well," Sharpay snapped, trying to convince Gabriella that she hadn't forced herself to throw up. She marched off and left the school entirely, zooming to her house as fast as she could.

--

It was six o'clock as Sharpay sat on the edge of her bed, staring straight forward. That's how she had been ever since she had gotten home two hours ago. Her phone was blaring different ringtones and then continuously beeping, alerting her she had missed calls. She knew who was calling according to their assigned ringtones. It was the gang and she knew they were trying to get her to go hang out with them at Troy's. But she didn't want to be around people, especially Gabriella, who had seen her mess up at rehearsal today. And she didn't want Gabriella hovering over her all the time to check if she was eating or not. Why was that any of her business?

For the first time in the last two hours, Sharpay moved, slowly making her way into the bathroom, locking it behind her. She removed her clothes and stepped on the scale. 101. "Come on Shar. You're almost down to double digits!!" She thought to herself. Sharpay stepped off the scale and scrutinized herself in the mirror, as she tended to do after weighing herself.

She ran a hand across her rib cage, her fingers pushing gently on the protruding ribs. Sharpay wrapped her left hand around her right wrist and her fingers overlapped slightly. To anyone, Sharpay looked sick. She looked as if she hadn't eaten in days and the life was sucked out of her. But to Sharpay, all she saw was fat, extra weight and ugliness.

With one hand, Sharpay grabbed her clothes and threw them in the hamper in her closet before pulling on a baggy pair of sweatpants, a large black sweatshirt and her white tennis shoes. Sharpay exited the house and ran, pushing herself as hard as she could go. She sprinted up the hill on her street and quickly made her way down the other side, panting and sweating. The blond ran for an hour before coming to a stop near her house, wheezing, sweating and her head spinning. Sharpay torpidly pulled herself off of the sidewalk, tried to steady herself and started walking. In one step, she came stumbling down to the ground again, just barely catching herself before hitting the gray pavement.

Sharpay eventually made it inside of her house and quickly went upstairs to shower, the boiling water scorching her skin.

--

Sharpay's weekend went by quickly, considering she spent most of her time sleeping and distancing herself from people. Mrs. evans was convinced Sharpay was ill because she slept the weekend away, and allowed her to stay home Monday and Tuesday. This was be the perfect excuse to say that Sharpay 'didn't have an appetite because she was sick,' making Sharpay extremely satisfied.

Wednesday morning Sharpay woke up, her body shaking slightly despite the fact that she was under a down comforter and three fleece blankets. Again, Mrs. Evans and her husband agreed to let Sharpay stay home again. Sharpay knew she was stretching it, but convinced her mom to let her stay home for one more day. At around noon on Thursday, Sharpay finally woke up, lightheaded and starving. She literally hadn't eaten anything for the past five and a half days except for a few glasses of water and a cracker. Weakly, Sharpay pulled herself out of bed, wrapping a green fleece blanket around her bony body and shuffled into the bathroom to weigh herself. She shrugged off her blanket and slipped off the long gray t-shirt she was wearing and then hopped up onto the black scale. The small device blinked momentarily before the number 97 flashed at Sharpay. Her jaw dropped and she quickly pulled her shirt back on and yanked the warm blanket around her shoulders. She smiled at herself in the mirror, but it wasn't full of the same energy it used to be filled with. Sharpay's cheeks were sunken in, along with her eyes which had round dark bags hanging under them.

Sharpay crawled back into her bed and thought about what she missed this week. She'd probably have enough homework to keep her busy all day Saturday and she had missed two musical rehearsals. Laying her head down on her soft pillow, Sharpay slowly faded into a deep sleep.

--

The bus was loud with chatter as the excited students of Ms. Darbus' homeroom rode downtown. "This is the perfect way to end a week," Taylor squealed to her friends, causing loud murmurs of agreement. "Oh, before I forget. My mom said you guys could come hang out at my place if you wanted."

"Yeah!" Most of the group said, before Sharpay spoke.

"Actually, our cousins Amber and Tony are coming up with our aunt today, so I don't think Ryan and I can make it," Sharpay said, glad she had an excuse to get out of hanging out with her friends.

"Yeah, but Shar, I'm sure mom and dad won't mind if we leave for awhile. I mean Tony and Amber will be up all weekend. We can hang out with them on Saturday and Sunday," Ryan pointed out, receiving a glare from Sharpay. "We'll just call you guys," Sharpay added, before turning her head and watching the town blur past her. Kelsi, who was sitting with Sharpay, turned to her friend and smiled. "Hey Shar. Something wrong?"

"No, Kels. Just thinking," Sharpay spoke with no emotion. After ten more minutes, the bus slowly pulled to a smooth stop in front of the theater. The kids quickly exited the bus and gathered around Ms. Darbus.

"Let me take attendance quick and then we'll head right inside. You can sit by your friends, but be quiet during the play or I will move you. Stay as a group and follow me," Ms. Darbus ordered with the wave of her hand as she gracefully led the group of twenty students into the large building. As soon as the entered the actual theater, the students scrambled to get seats and comfortably waited for the show to start. Sharpay was sitting at the end of a row, Taylor to her left and Zeke placed directly in front of her, sitting next to Chad. The lights dimmed, hushing the noise of the crowd and the play began.

Sharpay tried to stay focused, but her mind was wandering and her eyes were drooping as she rested her head on her right hand. She managed to stay awake for the duration of the entire play and intermission, but had literally zoned out, not noticing what was going on around her.

The sound of loud, thunderous applause pulled Sharpay out of her trance-like state and she followed suit. The rest of the field trip went by slowly for Sharpay. She was able to narrowly escape eating lunch by pulling Ms. Darbus into a long talk about what she had missed during the week, while strolling through the downtown.

After what seemed like forever, Sharpay was finally back at school, walking towards her car with Ryan at her side. "We'll see you guys tonight?" Chad called from his car, his hands cupped over his mouth.

"We'll call," Sharpay yelled back. "But I'm sure we'll be there," Ryan added.

Once they were in the car, Ryan talked to his sister. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, loads," Sharpay voiced, taking a sharp left.

"So, quick question. Did you not want to go to Taylor's tonight? Because I do wanna go," Ryan wondered aloud. Sharpay shifted somewhat in her seat before answering her brother.

"It's not that I don't want to go to Taylor's," Sharpay stressed, trying to think of a lie. "I just think it'd be nice if we were there to spend time with our cousins. You can go to Taylor's if you want to so badly, but I miss Amber and Tony."

"Shar, I do, too. But there gonna be there all weekend. It's one night of hanging out with friends. You sure you don't wanna come?" Ryan asked with a pleading smile.

"Nope. Have fun, though."

The twins pulled into the driveway, seeing there Aunt's car parked on the side of the street and hurried into the house. "RYRY!" Six-year old Amber yelled as her cousin entered the house. She quickly ran into his arms and he lifted her up and spun around with her.

"PAY!" Three-year old Tony yelled to his female cousin, running up to her and wrapping his arms around her neck. She planted a kiss on his rosy cheek and stared into his deep, dark green eyes. "Hi PayPay," Tony whispered, waving to his cousin.

"Hi Tony! I've missed you," she squealed, some real happiness filling her as she blew a raspberry on his neck. "Sharie!" Amber giggled, giving her older cousin a kiss on the cheek. "Guess what! I'm in kindergarten and guess what! I learned how to tie my shoes three days ago. Watch!" Amber pulled on her untied shoe and slid it onto her foot, picking the strings up in her hands. Ryan sat with Tony in his lap and watched Amber along with Sharpay.

"Build a tee pee," Amber whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, as she started moving her laces along with the song. "Come inside. Close it tight so we can hide. Over the mountain and around we go. Here's my arrow and here's my bow!" She exclaimed as she wiggled her foot with the tied shoe in Sharpay's face. "See! I did it! Guess what! I have magical powers."

"No way," Sharpay gasped, playing along with her cousin.

"Yes way. I can turn you into a frog. But you can't tell anybody except me, but I already know," Amber spoke quietly to Sharpay.

"Why can't I tell anyone?"

"Because then you would turn into a chicken."

"And why is that?" Sharpay wondered.

"I don't know. That's just the way magic works. Keep those lips zipped," the small brunette smiled as she pretended to zip her lip and throw away the key.

"Sharpay and Ryan!" The twins Aunt Angela called to them, pulling them into hugs. "How are you?"

"Great! And you?" Ryan said as they all entered the kitchen, Tony resting on his hip.

"I'm great. It's so good to see you guys! You look more grown up every time I see you." The room filled with laughter and conversation over the next twenty minutes before Ryan announced he had to leave. "I'll see you later tonight!" Ryan yelled happily after placing a kiss on the cheek of each person in the room.

"I better go upstairs and do some homework. I have loads because I was out of school for most of the week," Sharpay informed the room after Ryan left.

"No Sharie! Play with me and Tony!" The little girl begged, flashing a large smile and revealing her two missing front teeth.

"I will after I'm done with my homework, okay? I promise." Sharpay smied back to her cousin. Amber lunged forward and hugged Sharpay, only reaching just above her waist, but hugging her all the same. The blond hugged her cousin back before waving and heading up the stairs.

"Owwie," Amber whined after Sharpay left.

"What is it sweetie?" Angela asked her daughter, squatting down so they were at the same eye level.

"Why is Sharpay so poky?" Her small voice whimpered as she rubbed her arm a little bit. Angela stared up at her sister with a confused look before looking back at her daughter. "You're okay, Amber. It's okay."

--

Zeke, Chad, Ryan, Troy, Gabriella, Taylor and Kelsi sat around Sharpay's large basement engaging in conversation. "So Ryan, why didn't Sharpay come?" Taylor spoke the thought that was in everybody's head.

"She said she really wanted to spend time with our cousins so that's what she's doing, I guess," Ryan said, his tone bored.

Gabriella was fed up with the whole 'Sharpay situation', but nobody believed her the first time she told them. Not even Ryan, but Gabriella knew that was denial. So why would she bring it up again? All that Gabriella knew was that if Sharpay didn't get some help, something drastic was going to happen that would throw them all in shock.

Author's Note: Hmm, I think I'd say this was a filler-ish chapter. Did anyone like Tony and Amber? Haha, I added them so that Amber could do the 'poky' line..but I had to add some extra dialog. And they are little kids, so it was random. :) Sorry nobody believes Gabriella. Haha, but some dramatic stuff should be happening soon. Read the last line again...maybe it'll get you to thinking. :) I'd love to hear what you guys think is going to happen! Aren't you glad Gabriella knows though? Well, let me know what you thought. Review :)

Individual Review Replies:

nrisley19892007: Yay! You love it:) Dramatic stuff is gonna be happening soon! Hope you liked this!

MiseryluvsDeath aka Fidele: I know, finally. :)

SweetSmiles16: Aww, thanks for liking Sharpay's mom in the story. I just wanted to add her in a bit so it wouldn't be like the parents were TOTALLY oblivious to what was going on. So I had her be a little suspicious.

KatieMalfoy19: I'm glad your glad Gabriella knows. Are you happy I chose Gabi? I just wanted to have Gabriell find out first. I just wish people would believe Gabriella. But I've got some things up my sleeve, yet. :)

boptothetop: Yep, she told three people. But do they believe her? NO! But they will...eventually, unless I change it. Haha.

LuciaAyala23: See, I don't know if I had should have her faint during the show or rehearsal. I'm almost positive I'm going with rehearsal, just for a bunch of reasons. Thanks for reading!

charmarctravis: I liked your theory, that maybe Gabriella would think Sharpay was sick. It was kind of the other way around though wasn't it? Haha.

Zashleyrocks and Zanessa sucks: She's caught! Well...sort of. If people would just believe Gabriella then Sharpay would be caught. Hah, but I couldn't have that happen JUST yet.

BlackBeauty613: Haha, yep Sharpay didn't notice Gabriella left her bag! Too bad for Shar. At least it will be, poor Shar.

Pumpernickel Muffin: Now you know what happened! Are you wishing that Troy, Chad and/or Ryan would've believed Gabi? Yeah, me too, but I decided not to do that yet. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Lady Charity: Yay! You were right, Gabriella knew Sharpay was forcing herself and that it wasn't that she was sick or anything. Mhmm, Sharpay needs help. Lol but things will work out. At least that's what I'm planning right now. Hah thanks for reading!

Corbin's My Man: Kind of a quick update, eh? Just about three/four days. :)

glamourzXfakebestfriend: Haha, I LOVE the one word review. ;)

Stessa: I know, finally someone knows. And you'd expect her friends to know sooner, but I didn't want it to happen just yet. And I wanted Gabriella to find out officially first. I love that story I'm reading by you, it ends tonight! It's good:)

little.miss.sarcasm: Gabriella knows! She knows! She knows! Haha, you are smarticle. And she didn't chicken out, but NO one believed her. Your mad about that aren't you? Sorry, but things are gonna be..intense soon enough. I think. I don't know. But yeah. :) Yayy, you liked the doctor scene. I had it be subtle. Because even though she tricked her weight, even if she hadn't she'd still be classified as normal weight on the BMI scale but if the doc saw such a dramatic weight loss it'd be like whoaaaa. Ahh, whatever..I'm glad you liked it:) Double and triple YAYY! I'm glad that part made you laugh about 'Sharpay's time of month.' Haha, it's priceless to see a guys facial expression to that. Hehehe. So did you save our doc so it didn't self-delete? Ha, just wondering. And I update my other story again but I'm thinking about deleting the chapter I just posted. I hate it and it's really bad writing. Ughhh, why I posted it, I have no idea. Blech, just thinking about it makes me grrr-y. You update soon missy and we'll chat hopefully soon, too!

hahaheeheehaha: Sorry nobody believes Gabriella. But I hope you liked this chapter and I tried to update soon!!!!!!

Erin: Haha, much quicker update eh? That was only a couple of days so that's good. I hope you liked this!