This Girl
Chapter Three: More Chad, Spit Takes, and Potter Puppet Pals
Oh sugar honey iced tea. Chad? Seriously? Of all her ex-classmates, the one who never liked her and insulted her every single day of her high school life had to be the one who was now at college with her?
Sharpay had no idea what to do. She couldn't move a muscle, which was unfortunate, seeing as her hand was still lightly touching Chad's. She couldn't' speak, either. Too many things were racing through her mind, and if she tried to talk, she'd say something stupid. She was really waiting for an insult and for Chad to walk away. But he wasn't. Instead, he gave her a smirk.
"Well well. If it isn't Miss Sharpay Evans. I heard you were going to be attending U of A with me."
Sharpay couldn't respond. And really, how could she to what he said? "Well well, if it isn't Chad Danforth. I had no idea you were attending the same college as me. Isn't this awkward?" Yeah, that's always a great icebreaker.
"You can talk, you know. I won't bite, I promise." Chad chuckled.
So you say.
"S-sorry. I didn't notice you were going for the salad as well." Sharpay said. Pulled her hand back away from Chad's.
"It's alright, really. It's not like I took it and you just knocked it off my tray."
"Still." Sharpay said. This was way too awkward for her. Worse than her earlier encounter with Maltese.
"You know, Sharpay, you don't seem that happy to see me." Chad commented. Sharpay looked up at him sheepishly.
"It's not that. I'm just…surprised."
"Look, I know we weren't really friends at East High," Sharpay raised an eyebrow at the boy's subtleness, "Okay, okay, I couldn't stand you, and you couldn't stand me right back. But that was then. And you're the first familiar face I've seen since I got here last week."
"You were one of East High's primo boys, Chad. I'm sure you can make new friends easily."
"Maybe. But…look, Troy is my best friend. And after graduation, he told me how you two were friends now. And when Troy says he's friends with someone, it's hard for me not to be too. And I'm not asking for us to be all 'BFFs,' where I'm Ashley Tisdale and you're Vanessa Hudgens. But I'd like to try…if that's okay."
Sharpay looked deeply into Chad's eyes. Not only was he known for being a great basketball player, popular, and slightly cocky, but he was also known for being a jokester. And Sharpay wanted to make sure she wasn't his first college prank.
"…I think we can work something out." Sharpay said, causing Chad to smile. "But for the record, if we do become best friends forever, I call being Ashley Tisdale. She's much hotter than Vanessa Hudgens." Chad laughed and nodded.
"Deal. Now, if you want, would you like to eat lunch with me, m'lady?" Chad asked in a British accent.
"I'd love to, kind sir." Sharpay replied. She grabbed the salad, while Chad grabbed one of his own, and together they walked over to check out and find a table.
Maybe college wouldn't be that bad.
--
"And then we walked in on him singing Hilary Duff songs into my hairbrush. And that's when we knew that Ryan wanted to be a performer." Sharpay said, finishing her story. She had Chad cracking up as they walked across campus to Chad's dorm.
"Aww man. That's too priceless." Chad said between laughs.
"That's Ryan for you."
"He sounds pretty darn cool. I've told you everything about my family, and you've told me everything about yours. So now tell me about Jimmie." Chad said as they entered his building.
"Jimmie?" Sharpay didn't know that he knew. Did Troy tell him? Or had they really always been that obvious?
"Jimmie Zara? Pretty tall, has that cliché surfer haircut, attends East High School? Last time I heard, your boyfriend?"
"How did you-"
"Please, Sharpay. That kiss you two had in the musical? Gabriella and Troy never even kissed like that."
Sharpay looked down at her shoes as they walked up the stairs. "How are they? Gabriella and…Troy?"
"Troy's good. He's super excited that he doesn't have a roommate, so that Gabriella can come over anytime over the weekends and he won't have to consult with anyone. And I haven't talked to Gabriella lately, to be honest. Last time I did was a few weeks ago before she went back to Stanford. We all went bowling one last time together, and she's was…well, she was just Gabriella. Always happy and sweet." Chad answered with a smile.
"She means a lot to you." Sharpay observed.
"Well, yeah. She's my best friend's girlfriend. And since she'd always end up hanging with us, we became close. I sometimes like to think of her as my sister, you know?"
"Sorry, not really. I never had that many close friends." Sharpay mumbled.
"…Oh." Chad wasn't sure how else to respond to that. She was right. The only friend she ever seemed to have throughout high school was Ryan. And he wasn't sure why. After spending the entire day with her – from eating lunch to signing up for classes to buying U of A sweatshirts at the campus bookstore – he learned that Sharpay was a really awesome girl. She was super smart, really funny, and just a cool friend in general. Chad felt sorry he and his friends had been such jerks to her growing up. If only he had known…
"It's okay. I do have friends. I have Ryan, and Jimmie, and Emma, Lea, and Jackie back at Lava Springs." Sharpay said, naming her closest friends.
"And you have Troy." Chad added.
"Yeah…Troy." Sharpay repeated under her breath.
"And now, you have me." Chad said, draping his arm over her shoulders as an afterthought. Sharpay looked up at the taller boy and smiled.
"What else does a girl need?" Sharpay said as Chad unlocked his door and the pair entered the dorm room.
"So, do you have a roommate?" Sharpay asked as she plopped on Chad's bedspread.
"Yeah, this dude Trevor. He's from New Jersey. They put us together because he's on the basketball team too." Chad explained as he turned on lights.
"Where is he?"
"I think he said he was with his girlfriend for the night. Want anything?" Chad said, opening his (personal, of course. There's no way he could share something so sacred) mini fridge and grabbing a Red Bull for himself.
"Water, if you have it." Sharpay requested. Chad nodded and tossed her a plastic bottle. He got up and took a seat next to Sharpay on his bed.
"So how are things with Taylor?" Sharpay asked before taking a sip of her water.
"Oh. We broke up." Chad answered simply. As if they were in a movie or TV show, Sharpay's reflexes caused her to spit out the water she had yet to swallow. Chad looked at her like she was insane for spitting water all over his floor. Sharpay's expression mirrored his.
"Big afro boy say what?"
"We broke up. What's so big about it that's worth drenching my rug?"
"Chad! Are you crazy? Is that hair letting any oxygen reach your brain? Why would you break up with Taylor!?" Sharpay asked, stunned.
"Sharpay, she's at Yale. That's all the way on the east coast. And I'm still here in New Mexico. We'd never work out." Chad explained.
"How do you know?"
"Our relationship would have been way too complicated."
"Chad, I'm dating a sixteen year old boy who's still in high school. I know what a complicated relationship is. And you don't see me ending things with Jimmie."
"But she's miles and miles away. We both knew we wouldn't last." Chad sighed.
"Didn't you love her?" Sharpay asked innocently.
"Of course I did. I still do. She was my girlfriend for a really long time. She was my first love."
"Well then, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that two things, no matter what your excuse may be, can never come between true love."
"And what are those two things, Evans?" Chad asked.
"Age and distance." Sharpay answered. Chad looked at Sharpay, with her big brown eyes twinkling. They reminded him of Gabriella's eyes – so sweet and welcoming. They also reminded him of Taylor's – so curious and interested. He gave her a smile.
"You're one of a kind, Sharpay Evans. No wonder Jimmie is crazy about you. But enough lovey-dovey, 'if you're a bird, I'm a bird,' Titanic romance talk for tonight. How about we watch something?" Chad suggested, taking his laptop from his desk and placing it on his lap.
"Like what?" Sharpay asked.
"Ever heard of Potter Puppet Pals?" Chad asked with a sly grin.
--
"Never in my life have I heard a better poem about a button." Sharpay commented an hour later.
"Snape is a poetic genius." Chad agreed.
"What I don't understand is why Dumbledore is naked. What purpose does that have to anyone?"
"It's because he's an android, Sharpay. He told us that. He's a gay android! It explains everything."
"Does it explain why Neville is a potato? I mean come on! All of those puppets were pretty damn good and professional. And they can't bother to even make a crappy looking one for Neville? He has to be a potato with a stick up his butt?"
"He said Hagrid's butt crack! He deserves it!" Chad defended.
"Technically he said Hagrid's butt cwack."
"Same difference."
"And where the heck is Voldemort? I mean Harry can just push Ron down the stage and all of a sudden there's Voldemort? I mean where are they? Holliday Inn?"
"You nitpick too much." Chad commented.
"I do not nitpick!"
"Do too. You're a nitpicker. Just admit it, Sharpay!" Chad teased.
"Well…maybe I occasionally like to express my unique opinions on a few topics-"
"-Oh come on Sharpay! You made a list of everything that they got wrong about the characters!" Chad exclaimed.
"Whatever." Sharpay said as she stretched. "Hey, what time is it?"
"Umm…around eleven?" Chad read off of his watch.
"Well I think I should be getting back to my room. Thanks for everything today, Chad. Who knew a lunk-head basketball player could be so much fun to hang out with."
"And who knew that a drama queen could be such a devoted nitpicker?"
"Whatever. Well, night Chadykinz." Sharpay said as they both stood up and walked to the open door.
"Hey, if we're gonna be friends, I refuse to have pet names for each other." Chad warned.
"Oh please, Chad. We aren't going to have pet names for each other. I'm going to have a pet name for you." They both laughed and Chad wrapped his arms around Sharpay.
"You're a pretty cool girl, Sharpay. Troy knows how to pick them." Chad whispered. Sharpay frowned. She hoped that as their newfound friendship progressed, Troy would be mentioned less and less. She pulled out of Chad's embrace and waved at him.
"Text me sometime if you wanna hang." she said.
"Will do, Evans." Chad said. They exchanged one last smile before Sharpay turned around and began to walk down the hallway to the staircase.
By the time she reached her own dorm room, it was quarter after eleven. It was a school night, and Mrs. Zara had curfews set for Jimmie on just about anything, but she thought one little phone call wouldn't hurt. She stripped off her clothes and pulled on her pajamas while she waited for Jimmie to answer.
"Hey Shar." She missed the sound of his voice.
"Hey Jimmie." Sharpay said.
"How are you? Have you seen where everything is on campus? Have you met anyone? Have you-"
"Wow, slow down there, boy." Sharpay cut him off. "I'm good, just a little tired and homesick. And yeah, I did take a little tour of campus with Chad Danforth. You remember him, right? He was on the team with you?"
"Oh yeah. He's a cool dude."
"Yeah. So we hung out today. It's nice to see a familiar face. I just wish it was yours." Sharpay said, taking the photo of Jimmie and herself into her free hand.
"I miss you a lot, Shar. It's lonely without you. And school's going to be super horrible with Tiara in all of my classes." Sharpay giggled.
"I'm sorry. Well, at least you have Donny to help you get through." Sharpay said, tracing Jimmie's face in the photo.
"He's nothing like you." Jimmie responded.
"And Chad's not the greatest substitute either. But I'm gonna talk to you every night. And I'm coming to stay with you over the weekend, remember?"
"Yeah, I know. Still, I wish you were here with me."
"Believe me, Jimmie. I'd like nothing more to be lying in your arms in your backyard. But until then, I just want you to know that…"
"Know that what?" Jimmie asked.
"…that I love you. I love you more than anyone could possibly love somebody. And that I miss you just as much."
"Same here, Pay." Jimmie agreed. They stayed silent for a while, just taking in the fact that they really weren't physically together anymore. And that phone calls were the best thing they had. But hey, if Troy and Gabriella could keep a relationship while at different colleges, Sharpay and Jimmie could keep a relationship while one was in college and the other was in high school…right?
"Well I better let you go. I'm sure your mom's gonna burst into your room any second and see that your on the phone after hours."
"Yeah. And I better let you rest up for all of your wild college parties tomorrow." Jimmie chuckled.
"Oh yeah. Because I'm such the heavy partier. Well, call me tomorrow to tell me how classes went."
"You too. I love you Sharpay." Jimmie said.
"I love you too, Jimmie. Night."
"Goodnight." Jimmie said, before they hung up. Sharpay sighed as she placed her phone on her bedside table. She looked down at the picture of her and Jimmie. The sound of Jimmie's voice repeated throughout her head as she fell asleep, the picture held close to her heart.