I thought 21 Jump Street hit the nail on the head w.r.t. (modern?) high schools, a lot of the most popular kids in that movie were also the smart, "nerdy" types. Could be a regional thing though, who knows.
Sure sure. The smartest kid at my high school was also one of the funniest people I've known; he didn't hang out with the "popular" cliques or anything, but everyone knew and liked him. You can be a nerd and not horribly awkward.