Didn't Know It Before( An EJ Caswell/HSMTMTS Fanfiction)

Chapter Twelve: Hopeless

The next day I went to school wearing my next 'New Megan' outfit, which consisted of a black pinafore skirt with zipper pockets, a black, white, and peach floral button up, matching peach knee socks, and a pair of black ankle boots. My hair was in a bun on top of my head with shorter strands of hair hanging down around my face.

I was standing at my locker, getting my stuff when EJ came up, leaning against the locker beside mine.

"Hey," He greeted, "You look really nice today."I shot him a look, and his charming smile fell. "What?

"You're complimenting me." I said, closing my locker and beginning to walk down the hallway.

"Yeah, you're my friend. Friends compliment each other." He pointed out.

"Yeah...especially when they want to kiss up to you because they did a bad thing that said friend specifically told them not to." I pointed out. "You listened to the voicemail, didn't you?"

"Yeah..."

"EJ!"

"I know, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed. "But I was right! Ricky was calling to tell her that-"

"No, stop." I held up a hand, stopping him. "Its bad enough that you listened to it, but what Ricky did or didn't say to Nini is none of my business, so don't drag me into this with you." He sighed.

"I don't know what to do, Megan."

"Don't do anything!" I told him. "Give Nini her phone back, apologize profusely, and then hope she takes you back, that's all you can do at this point. If she forgives you, that's great, she's a really great person, if not...that's completely justified, and as your friend, I will help you get thought the consequences of your actions." He sighed. "I know you don't want to hear that but that's the reality of the situation, EJ. You can't charm your way out of every situation." He looked at the floor dejectedly and I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you at rehearsal, ok?"

"Ok." I nodded, walking away from him. I didn't get that far however, because a hand grabbing my arm stopped me. I whirled around to see a red-headed girl in an EHS Cheerleading t-shirt.

"You know he has a girlfriend, right?" She asked. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yes. We're friends, we're in the musical together." I said. "Thanks for the heads up random stranger." I went to leave, but she grabbed my arm again.

"If you know he has a girlfriend then you two shouldn't be standing in the hallway flirting in front of everybody." My eyes widened. "Its not like he'd actually be interested in some Ugly, anti-social, nobody anyway-"

"Hey," EJ said, coming over to us, "Stacy, what's this about?"

"I was just making sure your little friend knew that she was flirting with a taken guy." She told him, in a significantly less snotty way.

"She wasn't flirting, she was giving me advice," He said, using one arm to push me behind him, "But even if she was, why don't you mind your own business."

"I was just saying-"

"And I'm just saying that you need to leave Megan alone," He said, "and if I find out that you harassed her anymore, you're going to regret it. Am I understood?"

She nodded, shooting me one last look before stalking down the hallway. I looked down, tucking my hair behind my ear. EJ put a hand on my arm.

"Are you ok-"

"I'm fine." I interrupted, trying to ignore the burning sensation of tears behind my eyes. 

"Megan-"

"I said its fine, EJ!" I said, pushing his hand off of my arm. "Thank you for standing up for me, I...its fine."

I turned, walking down the hallway as quickly as I could in order to get away from him.

I've been enjoying not being invisible but...I forgot the appeal of it. When you're invisible, no one is threatened enough by you to attack you.

What have I opened myself up to?

~~~

"She really said all that stuff to you?" Ashlyn asked, as we sat in rehearsal later that day. Gina was rehearsing the new dance break that she and Carlos had choreographed for 'Stick to the Status Quo', so we were just kind of sitting there. I nodded. "Well...do you want to tell somebody, or..."

"No. I think EJ made it perfectly clear that she was to leave me alone." I said.

"Did that stop you from having anxiety the rest of the day?" She asked. I didn't answer her.  "Megan-"

"Ashlyn, please, can we just stop talking about this?" I asked. "EJ defended me, so I think its pretty safe to say that I wont' have to worry about it anymore. It happened, its high school, its fine." She nodded.

"You know none of that is true, right?" She asked. I shrugged. "Its not."

"What's not?" EJ asked, sitting down beside me.

"Nothin-" I started to say.

"We're talking about what Stacy said in the hallway this morning," Ashlyn told him, "Tell her its not true."

"Ashlyn!" I exclaimed.

"She's right though. It isn't." EJ said, putting a hand on my shoulder that prompted me to look at him.  

"You're shy, that's completely different from Antisocial," Ashlyn said, "And you're definitely not a nobody."

"And Ugly?" EJ asked. "I mean come on, you..." He trailed off. I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"I what?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Well, you...you're beautiful." My eyes widened.

"Everybody hold," Miss Jenn announced, causing us all to look up to see that Nini, who hadn't been at rehearsal the past hour we'd been here, was no standing in the doorway. "Nini, where were you? We've been here for an hour."

"I'm so sorry, uh, I lost my phone and basically spent last night living as a hunter-gatherer which, by the way, did you know that there are only on TV at a certain time? Ok, anyway, I finally picked it up in the lost and found and...oh wait, did you say an hour?" I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at EJ.

"Lost and found?" I asked. He cringed. "EJ?! You were supposed to-"

"I know! I know, I panicked! I started thinking about all that stuff you said this morning about consequences, and Nini being justified to never forgive me and I-I panicked.' I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Well, if you had been here, you'd know that Gina pitched a whole new dance break for Gabriella and Taylor in the middle of Status Quo, and she had Carlos work it all out with her, and it is just dazzling." Gina chuckled, going to stand in front of Nini.

"You and Carlos?" Nini added. Gina handed her one of the two bedazzled lunch trays.

"Gina, why don't you hydrate and show Nini the new choreo, would you?"

'Wait..." I said, "How did you even get Nini's phone?" I asked him. He didn't answer, just looked over at where Gina was standing.

So Gina, somehow knew that EJ wanted to steal Nini's phone, stole it for him, and then planned a rehearsal that she knew Nini would miss, as well as insert a bunch of new choreography that chances are, Nini can't do?

I smell a rat.

Nini went to put her stuff away, and then Ricky walked across the room to talk to her. EJ watched as he walked over.

"Hey, Nini," Ricky said.

"you see, you see, this is how things go horribly wrong, when Ricky asks her about the voicemail that she didn't receive because you stole her phone," I told him, "You didn't delete it or anything, did you?" I looked back at him and he made a guilty face. "Oh my gosh, you're hopeless!"