AN: HSM 3 production is starting. Insert heavy sigh here. I'm not seeing it. I refuse. And to be completely honest, one of the biggest reasons is the Chad/Taylor coupling. I know, I'm close-minded. Shut up. But I also don't wanna see another hour and a half of Troy and Gabriella not being able to kiss throughout the whole movie because of Disney's lame advertising techniques to keep people watching (... did people really watch HSM 2 just to see Troy and Gabriella kiss? Would you have stopped in the beginning if they had? Just curious...) and "Omgah please dun leave me 4 college, Troy!" and "Dun worry, Gabi, I luv you!" Ugh. I didn't like their relationship in HSM 2. It was so much better in the first. Did the writers, like, forget Gabriella's personality? Do nerdy math geniuses giggle over everything and make stupid comments like, "Your shoes don't match. Kidding! -giggle-" I think HSM 2 turned me off from them. Well, that and horrid fanfiction.

Okay, sorry, this has turned into a rant that was not planned. This is a Chad/Sharpay story. Soo... enjoy.

Title: Cruel to be Kind
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.
Genre: Romance/Humor
Chapter: Chapter 3

The front of East High School have never looked so unwelcome and repellent to Chad Danforth. He had purposely arrived to school late, parking away from his friends, and pretending to do homework so that when his friends finally found him, he had an excuse. But they correctly questioned the legitimacy of his supposed homework claim, and jumped him; they discovered that he'd been doodling pictures of Sharpay's death ("That way, I won't have to ask her out!"), and pushed him out of the car toward the front of the school.

Chad took a deep breath, the sweet feeling of fresh, crisp dollar bills in his wallet building his resolve. "I can do this."

"Yes, yes you can," urged Gabriella and Taylor in sing-song unison.

He took a couple steps forward, but froze midway up the steps and pivoted on the spot. "I can't do this!" he hissed. "I'm about to go in there and ask out Sharpay Evans!? Am I fucking insane or what!?"

He tried to sprint past them, but Ryan and Troy grabbed hold of his arms. "I gave you ninety bucks," Ryan snarled, "now go ask out my sister!" The two boys heaved at the same time, causing Chad to stumble up the steps.

"Fine!" he snapped, rubbing his ankle. He took another gulp of breath. "Okay. I'm going." Walking determinedly up the rest of the way and through the double doors, he strode purposefully through the halls, the six friends following about twenty feet behind him, until he found the blonde he was looking for at her locker.

His heart suck way down into his bladder. Fuck. He was actually going to do this.

Swallowing rather painfully, he walked up to Sharpay and said, "Hey," in as casual a voice as he could. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw Ryan, Taylor, Gabriella, and the others watching, their heads poked around the corner of the wall.

Sharpay looked at him strangely and very briefly. "Hello," she said shortly, turning back to her locker to dig out her books.

"So..." He cleared his throat. "How are you?"

"I was good," she sneered, not looking at him.

Chad clenched his jaw, but jammed his hand into his pocket. He clutched his wallet tightly, reminding himself of the fat wad of compensation that he could spend on about ten basketballs later. But first, he had to get through this.

"You know..." he drawled, "you should totally come to the movies with me sometime. Say, Saturday?"

She froze, her hand halfway in her locker. Chad waited, with bated breath, hoping her stillness was a good sign. However, then she reared back her head and let out a bark of laughter.

Chad wanted to laugh as well – the situation was quite atrocious – but he figured that Sharpay would no longer believe he actually wanted to go out with her if he started laughing. He waited patiently for about thirty seconds until her loud giggles subsided. "Is that a yes?"

"You-you've gotta be kidding," she chuckled. "You? Me? Are you insane?"

He sighed. "No." Breathing in through his nose, he said, "Come on. Please?" Pausing, he added, "Just go out with me, once. Maybe it'll be... fun."

Sharpay leered at him. "Um. No." Shaking her head in annoyance, she closed her locker. "Why would I go out with you, of all people?" She cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on it, giving him a nasty look. "And why do you even wanna go out with me? We hate each other."

It took the greatest amount of self control Chad could muster to not say, "Good question." Instead, he bit back the remark and said, "I don't know. I just do. Saturday at eight?"

She rolled her eyes. "I maintain a firm policy that I will only date guys in college. All high school guys," he eyed him, "are way too immature."

Chad glanced over her shoulder again at Ryan, who nodded furiously. "Uh, well. I actually should be in college."

Sharpay blinked in surprise. "Really?"

He nodded. "I, uh, got held back in, like... kindergarten. I failed paper folding."

She snorted, and Chad become hopeful. If she thought he was funny, maybe...

"Then I guess I was wrong about all college guys being mature," she smirked, turning around and marching away.

Chad threw up his hands in defeat as he approached the rest of the group. "She flat-out said no. You saw. She won't go out with me. I told you!"

"We just have to regroup," said Ryan.

Shaking his head furiously, Chad exclaimed, "No! No regrouping. She won't date me. End of story." Clapping his hands together, he glanced around. "Now. Because of that traumatizing experience, I think I'm gonna skip school and go buy myself something nice with the beautiful bills currently burning a hole in my pocket." He made to leave, but Ryan grabbed him by the shirt.

"When I shell out ninety," he began, "I expect results."

"You saw me try to get them," Chad reminded him.

"Again," he said, "regroup. We'll just go through her stuff or something. Find out what she likes."

Chad gaped. "You're her brother. Don't you know?"

"Exactly. I'm her brother," Ryan said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You think I know what turns my sister on?"

Groaning loudly, Chad complained, "I'm tired. Give me a break."

"A break?" repeated Ryan. "I gave you a break. I gave you money." He pointed a finger at him threateningly. "Now, you're gonna take out Sharpay, or so help me."

--

"Hi, Mom," greeted Ryan enthusiastically as he and Chad walked into the house after school. Ryan had poked his head inside rather quickly, to make sure that Sharpay wasn't in there, before bounding inside jovially. Chad followed, smiling tightly. "This is Chad."

"Nice to meet you, Chad," said Mrs. Evans merrily. "Are you and Ryan best friends?"

Chad coughed loudly. "We're... friends, Mrs. Evans."

Clapping her hands together happily, Mrs. Evans turned to her husband. "Ryan has a best friend, Howard!"

Howard did not move his eyes from his newspaper as he grunted in response.

"Okay, we're gonna go," said Ryan, taking a step backward. "Oh, by the way," he said with faux-casualty, "when is Sharpay leaving?"

"In a few minutes," said Mrs. Evans airily. "She has a four o' clock appointment."

"Faantastic," drawled Ryan, and he and Chad jogged up the stairs. "Don't let her see you," said Ryan in a low voice, as they slipped into his room, right across the hall from Sharpay's.

"You are so sickeningly flamboyant," Chad said in irritation as he sat down on Ryan's bed. "And we're B-F-Fs now?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "That's just my parents. They would say the same thing to anyone I brought over."

Chad yawned. "So what are we doing here?" He picked up a baseball on Ryan's bedside table and started tossing it in the air. "Am I gonna jump her, or what? Run into her room in a loincloth and seduce her?" He froze suddenly. "I'm not gonna have to have sex with her, am I?"

"No," said Ryan. "We're just gonna search her room to see what kind of guys she likes."

"We know what kind of guys," Chad reminded him. "College guys. Well, all except for me."

"Well, yeah," said Ryan slowly, "but there has to be other things. Like... not smoking, or something."

"I should pick up smoking," Chad said instantly.

"Shh," hissed Ryan suddenly, putting his ear up to the door. They heard the pitter-patter of heels on the tile floor outside their rooms. They listened as the steps grew fainter and fainter, ending with the loud close of the front door downstairs.

"Okay, let's go," said Ryan. The two slipped out of his room and ran noiselessly through the hallway, so as not to attract the attention of Ryan's parents. They entered Sharpay's room, and Chad gaped as Ryan shut the door.

"Well, she likes pink," he said sarcastically.

It was clearly an understatement; all four walls were painted cotton-candy pink and the carpet was snow white. Her canopy bed was positioned in the middle of the room, with a pink comforter and translucent pink curtains surrounding three quarters of it. Her headboard was also pink, with the white letters "SE" embellished on it. Her furniture was white, and on a shelf near her bed stood all her various Drama awards.

"Maybe if you wear pink," Ryan suggested coyly, "she'll go out with you."

Chad smiled with fake brightness. "Can I borrow some of yours?"

"Touché," commented Ryan, nodding. "Okay... let's go."

They both stood still.

"What exactly are we looking for?" asked Chad uncertainly.

Clearing his throat, Ryan said, "I'm... not too sure." He casually approached her desk and placed his hand on the drawer handle. "If there are tampons in here..."

"I'm leaving," Chad interrupted.

Ryan opened the drawer bravely, and exhaled in relief. "Oh, good." He pulled a stack of papers out of her desk. Sitting down in her desk chair, he began sifting through them. "Shit, shit, shit..." he said dismissively, tossing papers aside. He froze, picked up a small, rectangular slip of paper, and said, "Success!"

"What?" asked Chad carelessly, walking around and surveying her room.

"One ticket to the Southwest Theatre for tomorrow night."

"What's that?" asked Chad. "A movie theatre? Never heard of it."

Ryan grinned sheepishly. "Actually... it's a fancy musical theatre."

Chad laughed loudly. "Wow. What are you gonna do with that?"

"Well... I'm not gonna do anything with it," smirked Ryan, "but you are."

Chad blinked, and then his jaw dropped. "Come again?"

"You're gonna go, too."

"No!" Chad started pacing back and forth. "No, no, no! I'm not gonna go to a musical for her! No! You said I was going to take her out once, and that was it!"

"Yeah, but she's not going for you," Ryan said patiently. "You have to go to extremities."

Chad snarled, "And with what money am I gonna buy this ticket with?"

Ryan smiled. "Didn't you just get a ninety dollar paycheck?"

Scowling, Chad said, through clenched teeth, "Fine." He snatched the ticket from Ryan and read it over, paling. "'Beauty and the Beast'? You've GOT to be shitting me."

--

Chad walked up the steps of the Southwest Theatre later that day, a slip of paper clutched tightly in his palm. The very thought of him being outside a musical theatre caused him to break out in a cold sweat. He swallowed, his throat like sandpaper, and stepped up to the ticket booth. A middle-aged woman with too much botox done and makeup on was sitting inside, reading Cosmopolitan magazine and looking bored to death.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Chad drawled in his best charming voice.

The woman glanced up at him over her reading glasses. "What? You need a ticket?"

Nodding, Chad unfolded the sheet of paper in his hand. "Yes, but I need a certain seat..." He slid the paper through the opening in the glass and said, "I need a seat right next to this one," he said. "E 15?"

Sighing, the woman said, "I don't know if I can do that. Lots of tickets have been ordered already, and..."

Chad slid his hand through the glass window and placed it over hers. She raised her eyebrows as he said, "I know you can. Come on. It's important." He winked. "I'm sure you have the authority to move people around a bit, don't you?"

The woman smiled slightly and said bashfully, "Well... okay." She typed something into her computer, and a ticket shot out of the slot next to it. She pulled it out and handed it to him. "Here you go. Seat E 16."

Flashing a charming smile, Chad exchanged it for money, deliberately brushing his fingers over hers. "Thanks."

She beamed and said, "I'll see you there tomorrow." Lowering her voice secretly, she whispered, "I'll be wearing a green, low-cut dress."

Chad felt his gag reflex react, but swallowed. "Great," he croaked, giving her a final wave and power-walking to his car.

--

"So, you're really going to see 'Beauty and the Beast'?"

Chad had enlisted in Gabriella's help as he got ready for the show that night. The two were in his room, Gabriella sitting on the floor in his beanbag chair as he moaned and complained and whined continuously.

"Yes!" he groaned. "And I had to flirt with the ticket lady to get myself next to Sharpay, so now she's gonna try to seduce me tonight. I got the wrong woman, Gabriella."

"What's wrong with the ticket lady? Once you're done with Sharpay, just move on to her..." She smiled teasingly.

"Gabriella, she's FIFTY!"

Gabriella shrugged. "And...?"

"I'll go out with her," spat Chad, "when you go out with her fellow old home male friends."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, standing up. "Okay, so what are you wearing?"

Chad blinked and gestured to his outfit, which consisted of tan shorts and a white tee-shirt. "This."

Frowning, Gabriella said, "Oh, no, no." She walked over to his closet and flipped through his clothes. "Chad, all you have is shorts and those lame message tees."

"What's wrong with them?" he asked defensively.

Shaking her head, she didn't respond. "Where are those pants you wore when you worked at Lava Springs?"

Chad dropped to his knees and reached under his bed, digging around before extracting a wrinkly pair of pants, looking slightly grayish due to the thick coating of dust around it.

Gabriella made a face. "Those are horrible. Please tell me you have some other pants."

"Uh..." He approached his closet and shuffled through some clothes on the ground, finally holding up some black slacks.

"Oh, good," sighed Gabriella in relief. "Those aren't nearly as bad. Go in the bathroom and put those on while I look for a dress shirt."

"It's my house," Chad retorted. "Why don't you go in the bathroom while I change?"

"Because I have to find you a shirt," she repeated. "I don't give a shit whose house this is. Go!"

Grumbling the entire way to the bathroom, Chad muttered, "I liked you better when you were a pushover."

--

Chad felt very out of place in the lobby of the fancy theatre. Couples were walking around in tuxedos and gowns, and Chad was wearing a pair of black slacks and a forest greet button down shirt. He patted his hair down self-consciously and walked into the theatre, not caring about buying the soundtrack or checking out the program.

He saw a mane of curly blonde hair in the seat next to his and gulped in preparation. Mentally readying himself, he walked to the middle the fifth row, taking his seat casually.

He saw Sharpay glance his way briefly, and then do a double-take. "Chad!?" she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

Chad glanced at her like she was crazy. "What do you think I'm doing?" he asked. "I'm here to see 'Beauty and the Beast.'"

"You like this show?" she asked skeptically.

"Don't you?"

"I – of course," she said, looking very confused. "It's one of my favorite musicals."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Mine too!"

She let out a bark of laughter. "I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it, babe."

--

Sitting through the first act of Beauty and the Beast was like when someone is babysitting, and they do whatever they can to please the child so the kid will like them. Chad wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, but Sharpay was so immersed in the show that he knew he couldn't leave. She gasped and whispered, "oh!" at various points throughout the musical, her hand seemingly glued to her heart. He tried to stifle his yawns, but she saw one.

"Why are you here if your mouth is just gonna hang open the whole time?" she hissed.

"Just because I'm tired doesn't mean I enjoy it any less," he retorted under his breath.

Come intermission, right after Beast realizes that Belle must love him before he can become human again, Chad nearly bolted out of his chair. He wanted to run into the bathroom and phone Ryan to scream at him, but he figured that it might be smarter to stick with Sharpay. After all, he could always call Ryan at two in the morning to yell at him. He'd probably be more annoyed with that.

"Shall I escort you for sustenance?" he asked cordially.

She rolled her eyes and stepped around him, grabbing some of her pink gown so as not to trip on it. He followed, locking his jaw.

Sharpay led him over to the snack table and grabbed herself a chocolate chip cookie. He took an oatmeal one and grinned at her. "Enjoying the show?"

"Of course," she said, swallowing her food. "Are you?"

"Yeah. But Beast is a nasty little guy," he mused. "He totally ripped off Belle's sleeve, for a freakin' rose!"

She smiled knowingly. "I knew you weren't paying attention."

He flushed. "I was!" he said indignantly.

"Did you completely miss the opening scene?"

"With that nasty old hag?" laughed Chad.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Why are you here, anyway? You're kind of pissing me off."

"Well, would you rather be alone?" he challenged.

"Yes," she said seriously. "I like to enjoy my theatre, without someone breathing so loudly next to me."

"So," he said sarcastically, "if I hold my breath, you'll be happier?"

She shook her head. "If you left," she countered, "I'd be happier."

"Tough luck," he said, flashing her a charming smile.

She groaned and stomped back into the theatre. His smirk sliding off his face, an annoyed Chad followed her. A familiar redheaded woman winked at him, wearing an emerald green gown, but he pushed past her.

--

The second half of the show was, Chad had to admit, slightly interesting. After he concentrated on not yawning, he found himself enamored in the plot. He was on the edge of his seat when Gaston decided to hunt down the Beast, and felt his throat close up when he fell from the balcony. He was so enraptured that he did not notice Sharpay watching him.

"He isn't gonna die right?" he whispered furiously. "He can't die – he's in love with Belle!"

"I can't believe you've never even seen the movie before," she responded humorously.

"There's only one petal left!" he hissed, ignoring her statement.

"Shh!" a woman in front of him said.

Sharpay held her hand over her mouth as she giggled quietly.

Chad breathed out in relief. "Oh, good. He didn't die."

"You're such a softie," she teased.

"Am not."

"Yes, you are."

"SHH!"

--

"I can't believe you almost cried."

Directly after the show, Chad and Sharpay walked out of the theatre towards their respective cars, Sharpay keeping warm in a cardigan.

"I did not almost cry," retorted Chad.

"Mhm," she murmured, not convinced.

Scowling, he said, "You're telling me you didn't cry the first time you saw it?"

She shrugged. "Sure. But then again, I was seven. And a girl."

"Being sexist now?"

Sharpay didn't answer; she saw him yawn again, and said, "You don't have to walk me to my car, you know."

"I'm not," he said. "I'm just enjoying the fresh air and taking a detour."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay."

They reached her vehicle and she opened up the passenger door, tossing her purse inside. "Well, even though I have no idea why you came," she said, shrugging one shoulder, "I guess it was kinda nice."

"Kinda? Well, I guess if that's the best I can get." He smirked and leaned against the front of her car, his arm supporting his body weight by resting on the hood. Right before she got into the driver's side, he asked, "So, movies? Tomorrow?"

She paused, halfway into the car. After a few seconds of contemplating, she said, "I'll let you know." She got in her car and, as he straightened up, drove away.

Chad jogged into his own car, whipping out his phone and texting to Ryan and Taylor both: "You. Owe. Me. Big time."