AN: One more chapter leftttt! Eh. I used to get all emotional when I ended stories, but after Forget Yesterday, which was like novel-esque length, a measly eight chapters doesn't really tamper with my emotions much.
Oh, BTW: I just wanted to say that this story isn't meant to be taken super seriously. I didn't put a tremendous amount of effort into it, and I'm not too concerned that it's very similar to the movie. I know that this isn't my best story, and that I didn't give all my effort, but I just wanted to write a simple Chadpay story. So I just wanted to put that out there for, uh... no real reason.
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 7
After Sharpay agreed to escort Chad to Homecoming, the two became nearly inseparable. Every day after school, for the next week and a half, she would go over to his house, him to hers, or they would go to the movies and dinner. They become an official couple, and, after the first few days of the rest of the school wondering very loudly how the union came to be, slowly it become the norm to see the two walking down the halls together, joined at the hip. Ryan and Taylor would send Chad these annoying winks and nods of approval every time they saw the two together, which made Chad paranoid that Sharpay would somehow notice and question him about it. Fortunately, she took no heed.
This particular Friday, the day before Homecoming, Chad was lounging around on Sharpay's bed while she did some homework, on the floor with her back against her desk drawers, when he noticed something sticking out from underneath said bed.
"Hey, what's this?" he asked curiously, bending down to pick it up.
Her eyes snapped up and grew wide when she saw what he was doing. She lunged toward him as he removed an easel from underneath her bed. "Let go!"
"Is this a painting?" he asked eagerly, as the back was facing him. "Can I see it?"
"No!" she squealed. "It's not done yet! Let go!"
"Aw, come on," he pleaded. "Just a peak?"
"I'll show you some of my older ones," she gasped, panting slightly from the effort of keeping the portrait covered up.
He sighed. "Fiiine," he relented, letting go and causing her to stumble backward. Making sure the picture was facing away from him, she placed it carefully in her closet. She then reached under her bed and removed a stack of completed easels, all signed with her loopy signature in the corner.
"Why are they under you bed?" he asked suspiciously, bringing the paintings onto the bed. She clambered up next to him, shrugging.
"Well, my parents don't exactly know that I paint," she confessed airily. "So I think it might be weird if they saw ten pictures suddenly hanging on my wall."
He looked at her like she'd said that two plus two made five. "So... tell them," he said obviously.
"Oh, I couldn't do that," she brushed his comment off. Her tone sounded so firm, like anything opposed to it was crazy talk, that he stared. "This one is my favorite," she added.
Chad finally drew his attention away from the girl and to her paintings. His jaw dropped as he viewed the paintings in front of him. They depicted various scenes in musicals, including the backs of heads from members of the audience, making them seem instead like a photograph Sharpay had taken as she watched. The one she mentioned as her favorite was from the show Grease, the scene near the end when Danny and Sandy embrace.
"I'm not so sure about this one, though," she said, biting her lip, and picking up a different easel. "There was so much going on... I don't think I paid enough attention to the detail of it all..."
This second one had to be just as good, if not better, than the first one. It was during the finale of the musical Hairspray, with the entire cast performing. Each performer was slightly out-of-synch, which is usually noticeable when someone takes a snapshot of a large group performing. They all had slightly different, yet similar, expressions of joy and exuberant delight on their faces, while the women's hair was painted as flying through the air in the middle of their spins.
"Sharpay..." Chad breathed, running his hand over the dried paint. "These are really... really good," he said, staring at them.
"I don't know," she sighed. "I just --"
"No, I mean, they're really good," he persisted. "Have you ever taken, like, art classes or something?"
"Well, I did Drawing and Painting last year as an elective," she confessed. "That got me interested."
He stared at her. "You should enter these in an art competition."
She blushed. "I don't think so," she said quickly. "These aren't good enough – I mean, painting pictures of people in musicals? It's not very creative, and --"
"So?"
She froze, chewing her bottom lip. "I – well, no famous artists paint pictures of musicals... they paint --"
"You don't have to be the best right off the bat," he reminded her. "And the fact that it hasn't been done before means it's creative, right?"
"Well..." she stammered, "I guess, but..."
He smirked at her frazzled state. "I've never seen you so self-conscious. Usually you're so high on your pedestal that I need a ladder to get you down."
Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Painting is new to me... I don't know how well my abilities are yet, okay?" she said defensively. She gathered the easels up and shoved them back under her bed, brushing strands of hair away from her face as she straightened up again.
"Are you excited for tomorrow?" asked Chad, the pit of his stomach stirring. He still felt horribly guilty about the money he'd been given to bring her to the dance, and he was more excited for the night to be over. Then he could start afresh with Sharpay and begin dating her without the help of money.
"I guess." She shrugged, settling back down on the ground with her math book. "Dances usually aren't fun."
"But I've never taken you to a dance before," he said masculinely.
"You're not a very fun person," she said condescendingly, her nose wrinkled. "Contrarily... you're quite boring."
He shook his head sadly. "You sure know how to kick a guy when he's down, don't you?"
"Why are you already down?" she asked absently, and he pursed his lips as he realized his slip-up.
Thinking quickly, he explained, "Well... you'd already said that you weren't excited. Then you drop the bomb that I'm boring!?"
"Oh, why don't you grow a pair," she said sarcastically, but he didn't even hear her comment. He was relieved with his successful lie, and continued counting down the minutes until Saturday night was over.
--
Sharpay and Chad walked into East High gym, where the Homecoming dance was to take place. The two had gone out to dinner beforehand, and then Chad had driven them to the dance. She was gripping his hand rather tightly as they stepped inside, and he bent over, muttering, "I think I'm gonna lose the feeling in my fingers soon."
She let go sheepishly and began wringing her hands together instead. "Sorry."
He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why are you so nervous?" he asked.
She pursed her lips and shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like I shouldn't be here."
He rolled his arms and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Who cares what other people think?"
"I don't care," she snapped. "It's just weird."
"Chad! Over here!"
Glancing up, Chad nodded over at Gabriella. "There they are." He led the blonde over to the rest of the group, where Gabriella was beaming.
"Sharpay, you look so great," said Gabriella earnestly. "I love your dress."
Sharpay smiled. "Thanks. You look nice, too."
Taylor and Ryan smirked knowingly at Chad, but he ignored them. He looked down at Sharpay and asked, "Wanna dance?"
She nodded. "Sure."
The two led the rest of the group further inside the gym, where, in the middle, a large group of teenagers were grouped together to dance to the rap song currently being broadcasted by the DJ. The group squeezed themselves into the crowd.
Chad placed his arms around Sharpay's waist, and her own snaked around his neck. They moved slowly, close together, their bodies pressed up against each other. Standing on her tiptoes, Sharpay put her lips up to his ear and said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"When?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
"When you asked me to come the first time," she sighed. "I shouldn't have blown up. So, I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven," said Chad, and he swallowed the large lump of guilt in his throat.
She suddenly smiled evilly at him as she pulled back. "But just so you know," she warned, "we're going shopping tomorrow. And you're holding aaall my bags."
"Do you usually buy a lot when you go shopping?" he asked uncertainly.
Sharpay shrugged. "It depends on how much money I have. And this particular day I have about a thousand bucks."
"Oh, fantastic," he said sarcastically. She grinned and pressed her mouth to his.
--
"So, if Chad and Sharpay 'broke up' tomorrow," asked Taylor, from her and Ryan's position about ten feet away from the aforementioned couple, "we'd still be allowed to date, right?"
Ryan nodded. "Oh, yeah." He laughed. "Sharpay and I don't have to break up together, too."
She gestured her head toward the couple. "I don't know if Chad knows that." Ryan followed her gaze to Chad and Sharpay, whose foreheads were touching and every few seconds they would kiss. "It looks like he's still trying to keep her hooked."
Frowning, Ryan said, "I don't think I told him that he wasn't needed after the dance." He glanced back at Taylor. "Do you think I should tell him?"
Taylor nodded affirmatively. "He'd probably appreciate that," she laughed, "so he doesn't have to keep up the charade longer than he has to."
Ryan dropped his hands from Taylor and walked over to Chad. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" The corners of Chad's mouth tipped downward as he nodded, allowing himself to be led on the outskirts of the sweaty mass of teenagers. "Hey, you don't have to keep this act going any more," he informed Chad. "After tonight, just do whatever you need to."
"I know," said Chad through gritted teeth.
"Oh." Ryan's eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "Because you two seemed like you were having a lot of fun together."
"No, I know," said Chad. "I might be seeing her tomorrow."
Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said, in a loud voice so Chad could hear it over the thumping music, "Look, I paid you for you to take her out before, but I'm not paying after tonight."
--
As Chad walked away, Gabriella skidded over to Sharpay, her face already flushed, and Troy's hands were wrapped around her waist loosely from behind. "Are you having fun?" she asked breathlessly.
Sharpay nodded, smiling. "Yeah. We're having a good time." She looked at Gabriella gratefully. "Thanks for convincing me to come."
Gabriella waved the comment away. "Don't worry about it." She grabbed the blonde's hands and said, "Let's go get some water." Craning her neck to face Troy, she said, "We'll be right back."
She practically dragged Sharpay after her, and they passed the spot where Ryan and Chad were talking.
"... paid you for you to take her out before, but I'm not paying after tonight."
Sharpay froze, her blood running cold, the color draining from her cheeks. She stopped so suddenly that Gabriella stumbled backward; Sharpay stared at the two boys, her mouth slightly open. Chad spotted her over Ryan's shoulder and his face fell. Gabriella's jaw dropped as well, and she looked back and forth fearfully.
"Nothing in it for you, huh?" spat Sharpay finally, her voice cracking, and she turned on her heel and ran out of the gym.
At the sound of his sister's voice, Ryan jumped and whipped around, but by then Sharpay was gone. He looked back at Chad, who scowled at him before brushing roughly past him to follow Sharpay.
"What --" began Ryan, looking at Gabriella for help, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at him pitifully, a deep frown on her face. Taylor trotted over to her boyfriend and friend, glancing between the two of them.
"Why did Sharpay and Chad run out of here?"
Gabriella still didn't say anything, simply about-facing and jogging out of the gym. Ryan and Taylor gazed at each other in bewilderment.
--
"Sharpay, wait!"
She could hear him calling her name, over and over again, but it just made her angrier; thus, she ran faster. However, it was a hard feat to accomplish in three-inch stilettoes, so it was no surprise that he finally caught up with her, in the middle of the parking lot.
"Let go of me!" she shrieked. She had to get out of there. She felt like she was going to explode at any moment. Her heart was racing and her hands where shaking from fury.
"Can you just let me explain?" he pleaded with her, holding her wrist so tightly that she knew it would be bruised the following the morning.
Sharpay refused to look at him. She kept her head down and continued her attempts to wrench her arm out of his grasp. "Explain? I heard it all. Ryan paid you to go out with me." She laughed bitterly. "I should've known."
"No, it wasn't like that!" he cried desperately. "Please, look at me. Let me explain."
Her rage got the better of her, and she finally looked up to glare maliciously at him, not caring if he noticed her red rimmed eyes. "What was it like, then?" she asked in a low, deadly voice, and Chad's eyes widened at how harsh her tone was; she took the opportunity to yank her arm away from him. "A down payment now and a bonus for getting me in bed?"
"I didn't care about the money, okay?!" Chad shouted back, his feeling of hopelessness imminent in his voice.
"Then what did you care about?" she screeched hysterically. "Were you getting perks, too?"
"I cared about you!" he exploded. "Are you happy? I cared about you!"
His head jerked sideways as her palm connected with his cheek. His hand fluttered over the red mark glowing on his skin and he stared at her, her brown eyes swimming with misery and resentment. "Am I happy?" she spat, glaring at him murderously. "Fuck you," she said in a dangerous voice.
She marched away from him, but only made it ten steps when he called, "You don't have a car."
Sharpay became very still as that realization sunk in with her. She didn't have a car. He'd taken her to the dance. She bit her lip. Shit.
"Sharpay."
She glanced around at the sound of a female voice, and was startled by a set of keys being hurtled toward her. She caught them, stunned, and saw Gabriella standing some feet behind Chad. "Troy and I will find another ride home."
Feeling too desperate to get as far away from the scene as possible, Sharpay just nodded and practically ran to Gabriella's car.
--
Chad turned to Gabriella, who was staring at him. "What'd you do that for?" he asked.
"What?" she retorted. "You wanted her to walk home instead? That's smart."
"No," he said in a strained voice, watching as Sharpay drove out of the parking lot. "I was gonna take her home."
Folding her arms over her chest, Gabriella snapped, "You really think that would've been a better idea? She is pissed beyond belief at you. Taking her home would not have been a good idea."
"So letting her sleep on the fact that I'm the most despicable human being on the planet is better?" he snarled.
Gabriella glared at him. "You've already been slapped once before. Don't make me do it again."
"What are you talking about!?" he burst out. "Jesus, Sharpay is already mad enough at me. Now you too?"
"You deserve it!" she shouted. "I TOLD you not to take any more money from Ryan, and you did it anyway! You had this coming, Chad! You should've just told Ryan the truth and given him the money back!"
"Give him the money back?" repeated Chad. "What good would that have done?"
Gabriella stared at him incredulously. "It would have shown," she explained slowly, waving her arms for emphasis, "that you care about Sharpay, and not the money! Do you really not understand the impression that gives off?"
He was silent for a moment, chewing on his lip as he turned Gabriella's words over his mind. "If I gave the money back now," he asked, "do you think she'd forgive me?"
Her expression finally softening, Gabriella's hands fell limply to her side and she looked at him sympathetically. "I don't know," she confessed quietly. "I don't know, Chad."
--
Sharpay was surprised that she didn't crash on her way home, or at least get pulled over. She went seventy miles per hour the entire way, and her hands were shaking so badly that she was lucky the roads were nearly empty, or else all her lane-weaving would have earned her a serious injury had she rammed into another car.
She burst into her house and was too enraged to close the front door behind her; she didn't bother to greet her parents as she stomped up the stairs, tripping every couple of steps. She kicked her shoes off so hard that the heel of one dented her wall. Her arms shook as she stood in the middle of her room, trying to figure out the best way to unleash her uncontrollable anger. She had a huge urge to trash her room, but that shifted to trashing Ryan's room; he's the one that started the entire mess.
But then she decided that no matter how many rooms in her house she messed up, the fact that Chad had been paid to date her would still stay the same. She looked around her room wildly, hoping to dispose of anything that reminded her of him, but they'd been dating for so little time that hardly anything did.
A thought struck her and threw open the doors of her closet, wrenching out of it her most recently completed painting, having been finished earlier in the afternoon. Gripping it so tightly that her palms went numb within seconds, she marched down the stairs, through the still-open front door, and shoved the easel into the trash can. Brushing her hands together triumphantly, as if to rid them of imaginary dirt, she strode back into her house and up to her room.
Upon reentry, though, her anger had diminished entirely and she was left with only one emotion; anguish. It filled her very arteries, flowing through her like blood. Her heart pumped it faster and faster throughout her body, and every time she took a breath, she felt her lungs constrict. Her brain pounded as she threw herself onto her bed, her hair still in it's up-do, her makeup still heavily applied, her dress still hugging her body, and let the tears fall.
--
AN: o teh dramaz