Thank you for the reviews. And here is the long awaited update!
Disclaimer: We don't own HSM or Popular.
Popular!
Chapter 8.
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Popular!
You're gonna be popular!
I'll teach you the proper ploys
When you talk to boys
--
Gabriella stood by her locker, finding her books to next lesson. She was thinking about yesterday, she hadn't slept in her bed, they had almost had sex there. Even though she had changed the covers, but she still didn't want to sleep in her own bed. She had taken a blanket and laid herself on the floor. She knew she was a little bit weird, but who cared.
Sharpay walked up to her. "Hey girl!" she greeted.
"Hey Sharpay." Gabriella said. "What's up?"
"Not much. But you know what?" Sharpay said, really excited.
"No?"
"I think you are ready." Sharpay jumped up and down, clapping her hands.
"Ready for what?" Gabriella asked, confused.
"And I thought you were smart. You are ready to ask Ryan out. Duh." Sharpay said as it was a something Gabriella should know. Like it was supposed to be clear as crystal.
"You think so?" Gabriella's eyes sparkled of happiness.
"Yeah, I have taught you the ground rules. The rest you have to learn of on your own. Use your own experiences." Sharpay said, just as she eyed Ryan down the hall; "Oh, there he is. Go ask him!" she pushed Gabriella towards Ryan.
Gabriella looked at him and all of a sudden, all her courage left her, "No, I can't!" Gabriella exclaimed.
"Yes, come on Gabby. You can do it. It is not that bad. The worst thing that can happen is a no." Sharpay tried to calm her down. She didn't realize that she was giving a very bad pep-talk.
"But no is really bad. I can't do it, Sharpay." Gabriella almost whined.
"Yes. Go on!" Sharpay pushed her the last steps to Ryan, and hurried away, leaving Gabriella alone there, her heart beating like crazy.
"Oh, hi Gabriella." Ryan said, looking up at her, a smile on his face, "Something you wanted?"
Come on, Gabriella, she told herself, letting out a deep breath, You can do this. It's Ryan, he's so sweet. You are not going to die, just do it. "I was… I came to ask you something." Gabriella confessed, shooting him the awesome Hollywood- smile she often saw Sharpay use.
"Okay…?" Ryan said, nodding his head a bit.
"Okay what?"
"Okay," Ryan said, chuckling lightly, "That would be your cue to ask me what you wanted to ask me. See?"
Gabriella started giggling madly, "Oh, yeah!" she laughed, "Silly, silly me… Ah, yeah, you see, I just wanted…" she paused and looking into the blue of his eyes, "I just wanted to ask you out."
"Ask me out?" Ryan questioned, cocking an eyebrow, "As… on a date?" he looked confused, which really made Gabriella worried. She thought they were on the same page, but maybe she had just been imagining stuff!
"Yeah…" she told him, her courage immediately falling into the bottom of her stomach, "I really like you, Ryan. I've just.. I've just been really shy, and now I finally thought I ought to ask you." She paused, awaiting his answer, "So do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Wanna go out?"
"Uhm…" Ryan said, not sure of how to say this gently. There really wasn't a way to say it gently at all. It was kinda harsh, but he knew he had to, "Gabriella… You're a really sweet girl." He told her, "I just… I'm gonna have to pass. So, no."
"No?" Gabriella questioned, her heart breaking into a million pieces.
"Yes." Ryan said, nodding his head, "No."
Gabriella turned around on her heal, walking down the hall to find Sharpay. She tried to fight back tears, but it was really hard. Who knew rejection could be that bad?
"Yes, come on Gabby." Gabriella said, mimicking Sharpay's earlier, really bad pep-talk, "You can do it. It is not that bad. The worst thing that can happen is a no."
--
Sharpay smacked the front door close, threw her purse on the floor, and opened her mouth to scream. She screamed higher than she did when she heard they had to do a call-back. She screamed longer than when she found a spider in her bed when she was 5. She screamed the worst she had ever done, which caused Ryan to stumble down the stairs, almost falling.
"Sharpay!?" he exclaimed, looking perplexed at his twin sister, "Sharpay? What's wrong? Did something happen? Did someone hurt you? What?"
"How could you!?" Sharpay stated, giving him a dirty glare.
"Okay," Ryan mumbled, taking a step back, "So I get the feeling that it was something I did? Whatever it was Sharpay… I'm really sorry."
"How could you say no to Gabriella!?" Sharpay demanded to know, hitting him across the chest, "She's so crushed! I thought you liked her too!"
"I do like her!" Ryan said.
"Then why did you say no when she asked you out on a date!?"
"I don't wanna say…" Ryan whispered, quickly making his way into the kitchen to get away from his raging sister. She was really mad. He had always figured she didn't care about other people, but somehow Gabriella's happiness meant a lot to her.
Sharpay followed him, her high heels clicking against the marvel floor, "What?" She asked, sitting down by the counter, "Why, Ryan? If you like her too, why not?"
"I can't say." Ryan replied, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge. He sat down opposite from her, happy that she had calmed down a little, and had stopped screaming.
"Why?" Sharpay said, "Why can't you tell me?"
"It'sgonnahurtyourfeelings." Ryan mumbled, looking at the table, not daring to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry," Sharpay said, smacking her hand into the table, "I didn't quite catch that, Ry!"
"It's gonna hurt your feelings!" Ryan finally blurted out, looking his dear sister into the eye. He loved her so much, so maybe this would really hurt her. But it was the truth. Why he wouldn't go out with Gabriella, would really hurt her feelings.
"What?" Sharpay asked, confusedness covering her features, "Why!?"
"She's too much like you, okay!?" Ryan yelled, standing up from his seat, "She's like you, exactly like you! She's wearing the same clothes, she's doing the same things, she's wearing makeup and she's flirting and wearing revealing clothes."
"So?" Sharpay questioned. She honestly couldn't see the big deal about that. That was what guys wanted, wasn't it? For girls to wear low cut tops and tight fitting jeans?
"Don't you get it?" Ryan asked, thinking that for once, she was the dumb one, "Can't you see it, Sharpay? I liked Gabriella! Not… Sharella!"
Sharpay still looked just as confused as before, so he thought he ought to elaborate.
"Sharpay, listen…" he said, moving towards his twin sister, "I love you, and you're perfect the way you are. Nothing should change about you. Just as nothing should change about Gabriella. She was perfect too. I liked her before she became like you. Now she's just… your clone."
"Oh…" Sharpay said, cocking her eyebrows together, "So you're saying you want the old Gabriella back, and then you'll go out with her?"
"Yeah." Ryan said, "In fact, I was hoping to ask her out back then, but suddenly she was… different."
"Are you sure you want all of her back?" Sharpay asked, hopping down from her chair too, "Like… Isn't it cool that she wears just a little makeup, but not too much? And her old clothes, can you honestly say they were cool?"
"I'll agree with you on a few things, Sharpay," Ryan said, looking strangely at his sister, as she backed towards the door, "Her clothes could be cooler, it could be more trendy. Makeup is okay too. But I don't want to date my sister's clone!"
"Okay…" Sharpay said, sending him a smile, "I get you point." She grabbed her bag from the floor and looked at him again, "Now, I really gotta go! Toodles!" and with that she turned around and rushed out the front door, leaving back a very confused Ryan.
--
Sharpay knocked on Gabriella's door, hoping the beauty was home. She almost couldn't stand still. She needed to speak to her, and she needed to speak to her NOW! It was so important.
She'd made a huge mistake in her changes and the judgment she had given the poor girl. How could she not have seen this? Her brother wasn't superficial like her, he cared about the inside, so looks shouldn't be important. She had an idea though, so all this wouldn't be a waste. They could still make it work.
Mix and match.
"Come on, Gabby…" she whispered, ringing the doorbell, and then knocking 5 times, "Please, please, please be home! Please!"
The door opened, and Sharpay let out a huge sigh of relief, when she came face to face with Gabriella.
"Gabby!" she exclaimed, sending her friend a smile, "Do you still have your old clothes?"
So, we hope this was worth the wait. Was it? Leave us a review, and next chapter will reveal what Sharpay has of ideas.
Toodles, Noukka and Stessa.
Peace out!