Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny With a Chance.
A/n: I've been working on this one for a while, forgot about it for a while, finished it today. I hope you enjoy, and reviews are love! :)
Better Than Midol
Sonny Munroe loved life.
She loved everything about it. She loved acting, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces, and springtime, and kittens, and Coca-Cola, and So Random!, and sunsets, and palm trees, and cows, and plaid shirts, and mascara, and crossword puzzles, and red nail polish, and polka dots, and dancing, and flowers, and laughter. She could name a thousand things she loved about life.
She didn't hate very much. She was a generally happy and optimistic person and could hardly ever be found in a bad mood. However, on May 6, 2010, it is to be noted, that Sonny Munroe was in a spectacularly terrible mood.
Terrible.
In fact, if zooming in on the young actress, one would find her, at 2:41 pm, at rehearsal, saying in a very polite manner to Tawni,
"YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH, AND THIS IS A STUPID SKETCH AND YOUR HAIR ISN'T REALLY THAT BLONDE!"
So yes, she was in a rather unusually terrible mood. Well, not so unusual, really, as her co-stars had come to understand. In fact, Sonny Munroe, America's exploding ball of sunshine, was not very sunny at a certain time every month.
Sonny Munroe could name thousands of things she loved about life, and one she hated. She despised her period.
This was why Tawni Hart didn't bother to get offended by such an insult. (It should be noted that later that night she re-dyed her hair, however) Instead, she merely shook her head and told Marshall she couldn't work with Sonny on the sixth of the month. Ever.
Sonny, angry before, was now very upset. ("Mood swings," Tawni had proclaimed with a sniff.) Currently, she was lying, curled up in the foetal position on the bathroom floor, holding back tears.
Which brings us to the real reason Sonny hates her period.
It hurts like fucking hell.
Sonny's cramps were terrible. Terrible. Worse than the bad mood she was in ten minutes earlier, and the cause of that mood too. Her cramps were like someone was putting a hammer to her abdomen, someone was repeatedly slinging cannonballs at her, someone had reached inside her and twisted her insides into unbreakable knots. Her cramps always ended up with her curled into a ball around the toilet, attempting not to vomit from the pain.
And the worst part?
Sonny couldn't swallow pills.
She'd tried everything. Tried with water and without. Tried distracting herself, or crushing them up. None of it worked. She had a psychological barrier to the pills. She just wouldn't swallow them. Which left her in a pained heap on the bathroom floor, holding back tears of sheer frustration.
Tawni had long abandoned her co-star, sniffing with frustration, "Oh, not this again," leaving Sonny feeling very sad, very alone, and very much in pain.
She sat up with a determined expression. She would swallow that pill. Midol would not get the best of her, again. She would not wait so long to swallow it that it dissolved in her mouth, the medicinal taste causing her to gag and throw up again. She wouldn't. She would be strong and independent and swallow the pill. She would do it.
She was pouring herself her fourth glass of water in preparation for swallowing the pill, when she heard a knock at the door. Not in the mood to deal with anyone, she left it. Because, she knew of course, who it would be. There was only one person that somehow showed up at the worst times.
"Son-nay!"
Chad Dylan Cooper.
"Guess which fabulous teen tv show is on the cover of Tween Weekly for the fifth time in a row? I'll give you three guesses."
She would just ignore him. He had to go away eventually. Besides, she was going to swallow that pill, and nothing was going to stop her. She would not fall for his distractions! Even though he was a rather attractive distraction…
Oh crap, I'm in so much pain I've gone mental.
"Nope, it's not whatever your lame funny show is called. I guess you'll just have to try again Sonny."
Okay. She would just put the pill in her mouth, on the back of her tongue, and drink the water. And she would simply swallow the pill with the water. The pill would go down her throat and stop the insanely painful cramps. It would work.
She could do this.
"Sorry Sonny, it's not that stupid Teen Gladiators show either. I don't know why you think it's any good frankly. Oh, and I saw you looking at that one Gladiator guy. Why were you looking at him like that? He's not a good actor Sonny. And he's ugly. And I don't know what you see in him Sonny, because he's not good enough for you."
Sonny looked at herself in the mirror with a determined expression. The pill was in her mouth. She took a drink of the water. She would swallow the pill now. She would let it pass down her throat. She would swallow it.
Damnit, why wouldn't she swallow it?
It was starting to taste awful again, the Midol taste creeping at the back of her mouth, tingling on her tongue. She would ignore it and swallow the pill. She would not let her gag reflex get the best of her, again.
She really wouldn't.
"Not that I care, you know, about whether he's good enough for you. I mean, it's not even that I don't care, it's that I don't even think about. Because why would I think about that? Right? I mean, you can look at whatever guy you like. Just not that one. Or the other Gladiators. Or really, anyone at this studio, because they're all jerks. Not that I care if you like a jerk. Or anyone. I don't care if you like anyone – Sonny? What was that noise? Are you okay?"
"That noise" as Chad kindly put it, was Sonny's gag reflex getting the best of her again. Damnit, why did every pill make her vomit?
Sonny slumped on the ground, spent. She was sick, and tired, and frustrated, and Chad was right in front of her. Since when was Chad right in front of her? How did he get through the door?
Her dizzy gaze landed on Tawni's keys, lying on her dresser. Ah. Tawni hadn't locked it. Well. That made more sense.
Well, no, she reminded herself, it didn't. Why was Chad even here? And what had he been going on about? Gladiators?
"Sonny?" he said, his voice unexpectedly gentle and full of concern. He pushed a strand of hair back from her face. "What's wrong?"
That was a funny question, Sonny thought dizzily. What wasn't wrong?
This thought led Sonny into a dramatic inner tirade against the world, only interrupted by Chad stumbling backwards, looking pale. Light-headedly, Sonny turned her gaze to what had made Chad so startled, and… disgusted?
Ah, she noted, bursting into laughter. The box of tampons on her counter.
Chad turned towards her indignantly, although his eyes softened at her laugh. "It's not funny."
"Yes," she smiled, amused. "It really is. Calm down Chad, it's just my period. Every girl has it."
Looking mildly horrified at Sonny's previous statement, Chad glanced around the room, attempting to find a way to change the subject. "Um, so, why are you curled up around the toilet?" he asked, a glint of mischief and faint concern lighting his eyes. "Are you sick?"
Sonny rolled her eyes. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck. On a freeway. Repeatedly."
His eyes grew larger as he sat down in front of her, biting his lip. "Do you have a cold? Should I get you soup or something?"
She laughed. "Chad. I'm not sick. How oblivious are you?"
Chad's expression instantly turned confused, eyebrows furrowing together. "But you said…."
Sonny sighed, and grabbed the box of tampons, waving them in his face. Chad instantly flushed. "Ah," he choked out, fiddling with his sleeves.
"I have terrible cramps," she explained to him lightly. "I feel a cross between being stabbed in the stomach by a thousand knives, fifty cannibals eating out my abdomen, someone injecting me with lethal poison, and being socked repeatedly in the stomach by a professional wrestler."
Chad's eyes widened, as he scratched his head. "That sounds really terrible," he said gently. "Can I do anything? Get you a pill or something?"
Sonny couldn't help it; she burst into hysterical laughter.
"Hey!" he said immediately, eyes wide. "What's so funny?"
But Sonny didn't stop laughing. She was on her back, her hair pooling out on the bathroom floor, side pressed into the toilet, Chad cross-legged beside her, shaking with laughter. Slowly, she calmed herself enough to look Chad in the eye, and biting her lip sheepishly, explain, "I can't swallow pills."
He looked at her in disbelief. "Very funny. You can't pull one over on me, Munroe."
Sonny rolled her eyes, sitting up. "Au contraire, I'm not lying. I cannot swallow a pill. I throw up when I try."
Chad raised his eyebrow, slowly considering her expression. "Seriously?" he asked.
Sonny nodded with a sigh, expecting Chad to offer some other solution – chewable pills (which did not take away the pain), liquid pain relief (which did not exist), or the mere cheer of his presence (which was kind of nice—no, wait, what was she thinking?).
Instead, Chad burst out in hysterical laughter, until he was the one lying on the floor, Sonny looking down at him in annoyance.
"It's not funny," she insisted. "Do you know how much it sucks that I can't swallow pills?"
Chad shook his head, slowly sitting up. "Sonny, how old are you? Seriously. I can't believe you can't swallow pills. Tween Weekly would have a field day."
Sonny's eyes widened. "You –"
"I won't tell them," Chad said with a sigh. "Do you honestly think I'm that big of a jerk?" Sonny bit her lip. "Don't answer that," Chad replied quickly. "Just… try to take another pill."
Sonny sighed. "I've tried everything Chad. I can't swallow it, okay? I should just give up and go to bed."
Chad shook his head, grabbing the pill box. "Where's that famous Munroe optimism, Sonny? You can do this."
Sonny knew how this would go, but she played along. She took the box from him, and let one Super-Strength pill fall into her palm. "What brilliant idea do you have to get me to swallow this?" she asked him lightly.
Chad chewed on his lip in thought. Then his eyes lit up. "Just put the pill in your mouth," he said mischievously.
"Chad…" Sonny began, wary of the look on his face.
"Just do it, Sonny."
Sighing, Sonny put the pill in her mouth, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Alright Chad," she said around the pill, "what are you—"
She didn't manage to finish her sentence before his lips were on hers.
Surprise wasn't a big enough word for what she was feeling, but despite the fact that she was sitting frozen in place, he kept kissing her. His lips were warm and God, he tasted amazing. She could feel butterflies in her stomach replacing cramps. She swallowed, hard, and began to kiss him back.
If she wanted to be honest, she'd thought about kissing Chad before. In fact, she'd thought about it a lot. She was a girl who daydreamed a lot, and recently, Chad Dylan Cooper and his lips had featured prominently in those daydreams.
Sonny knew nothing came out of daydreams – real life could never compare. And she was right. Kissing Chad in real life was nothing like kissing him in daydreams. Kissing Chad in real life was, well…
It was fifty times better.
He gently pulled away from her, gasping for breath. In fact, Sonny noted, she was pretty close to breathless herself, and she could feel how flushed her cheeks were.
Chad, however, was also wearing a triumphant smile. "What?" Sonny asked, confused.
"It worked," he explained with a grin. "I was right."
"What worked?" she asked, having no idea what he was talking about.
"You swallowed the pill," Chad grinned. "I thought that maybe it was like hiccups. If the person got surprised…"
Sonny forced herself to smile, feeling an abject sense of disappointment. He kissed her to make her swallow the pill; to surprise her. Nothing more than that.
"That's great, Chad," she muttered, attempting to sound cheerful.
"You know what this means, right?" Chad continued, with a dazzling smile.
Of course, Sonny thought. It means that you didn't actually want to kiss me, it means nothing at all.
"It means," Chad went on, "that I'm going to have to kiss you every time you have to swallow a pill. You know, out of the goodness of my heart, to help relieve your pain. And think of the number of pills you'll need. Advil, and Tylenol, and Midol…"
Sonny felt the disappointment dissolve, and a smile break out on her face. "You know," she said. "Midol really doesn't work that well, so I've heard. But I'm going to be in so much pain, I might need to be surprised. You know, distracted…"
"Are you suggesting," Chad said with a grin, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, "that I'm better than Midol?"
"I don't know," Sonny said with a smile. "Kiss me again, and I'll see."
Chad was more than happy to do the honour.
And this is where we leave Sonny Munroe – in a fierce liplock with Chad Dylan Cooper on her bathroom floor. And from this day forward, even Tawni felt that she could deal with Sonny on the sixth of the month. At least she didn't have to deal with Sonny laying next to the toilet crying anymore. All she had to put up with was a great deal of kissing with Chad.
Which, as Tawni saw it, was a slight improvement.
And so life would continue. Sonny Munroe would continue to love life. She would continue to love a thousand things – sorry, a thousand and one things – about life. She would still love acting, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces and so on, but after May 6, 2010, she would also add Chad Dylan Cooper to that list.
The top of that list, to be exact.