"I'm hungry," Tawni whined. I glanced up at her angry expression. Her perfectly arched brows knitted together in frustration. I rolled my eyes and blew my bangs out of my face.

"Would you like me to go get you something, Oh Mighty Queen?" I snapped. She was oblivious to my sarcasm.

"Ooh! Can you get me a Double Caramel Pecan Swirl with just a sprinkle-winkle of Cinnamon?" she gushed. A smile automatically found its way to her glossy lips.

"I'll take a Strawberry-Spaz with gummy bears and sprinkles!!" Zora called from somewhere in the vent. I sighed angrily as Nico and Grady careened around the corner of the prop room.

"Get me a burrito!" they hollered, simultaneously.

"Oh, I'm sorry Dears. Burritos aren't served on Fridays!" I imitated, adopting Madge's accent. They huffed and their eyes lit up again.

"I'll take a Chocolate-Crunch!" Nico yelled as Grady screeched, "Get me a Va-Va-Vanilla Vroom!"

I raised an eyebrow and popped my hip out-a smirk already taking over my features. "No substitutions!" I deadpanned. Even though my cast mates rolled their eyes, I smiled wide.

"Sorry…I just-" I started but was rudely interrupted.

"-Love playing this character…" The hungry teens finished. They really did look miserable…

I glanced at the door and caved. "Okay, fine! I'll go get you guys some yogurt! Jeez! Stop badgering me!" I hissed-maybe a little too overdramatically…

They exchanged an odd look as I stepped out the door. I looked down at my feet as I began the short trip to the cafeteria.

I sang quietly to myself in sync with my footfall. "You lift my feet off the ground, you spin me around…you make me crazier, crazier…"

"Taylor Swift, huh?" a voice interrupted my soft ballad. I looked up to see the one-and-only Chad Dylan Cooper. He had a guitar draped across his back. My heart skipped a beat.

"I mean, it makes sense…she's all, I don't know…Country-and you're from Wyoming-"

"I'm from Wisconsin!" I quickly amended. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You say Potato, I say Tomato…" I stifled a giggle.

"Anyways, the point is…uh…Okay great! You made me forget what the point was!" he snapped. I pursed my Strawberry-flavored lips and stepped into the cafeteria. It was vacant except for Josh-the mail guy. I'd forgotten it was almost 8:00 pm.

"Hey Jeff!" Chad called. Josh ignored him. I stepped ahead of Chad and smiled.

"What's crackin' Josh?" I cried. He turned to me and smiled.

"Nothin' much Sonn-ay!!" We both laughed at our quirkiness. I looked back at Chad just in time to see him roll his eyes.

"Hey, Sonny!" I looked back at Josh.

"Huh?"

"I'm in charge-" Josh started, but was cut off.

Chad was smirking. "Are you really, Jeff-"

"JOSH!"

"-Josh… Are you really?" I smacked his arm.

"Stop being rude or I'll smash your guitar over your overly HUGE head, Chad Dylan Cooper!" I warned. Chad wiped that smug look off his face and took a step back.

"Thank you…" He looked around the room nonchalantly.

"So…you're in charge, Josh? And?" I prompted the mail cart driver. He snuck a peek at Chad before continuing.

"And I'm going to be locking up tonight so I'm gonna need you to close the door when you're done. It'll automatically lock so, be careful…Okay?"

"Okay," I vowed. Josh looked reassured.

"Wait, wait, wait…" Chad burst. I sighed.

"Nobody makes Chad Dylan Cooper do their job for them! Especially not a lousy mail worker!" My eyes widened at the Jerk.

"Chad!" I cried, but Josh was already making his way out the door. I glared at Chad with so much anger, I was almost sure he could feel the heat radiating from my eyes. Apparently he didn't…

"Go. Apologize. Now." I hissed. He backed away from my nervously and reluctantly trudged out the door.

"Hey, uh… Josh!" he called. I was surprised to hear he remembered Josh's name.

Josh turned around angrily. "What, Cooper?" he barked. I stifled a giggle at Josh's hateful expression.

"I'm…I'm…Uh, well…I just wanted to say…uh, I just…Um…Sorry."

Wow…pitiful…but, at least he said sorry? Oh well. Josh eyed him suspiciously and then nodded.

"Bye," Chad added and turned back towards me.

"Nice job apologizing, Chad!" I squealed in a very condescending way. It flew right over Chad's head. His face contorted into a smug grin.

"Props accepted…" he drawled, popping his collar. Then, he located a mirror to check his hair.

I sighed and rolled my eyes-yet again-and made my way over to the frozen yogurt machine.

I was in the middle of making Tawni her "Double Caramel Pecan Swirl with just a sprinkle-winkle of Cinnamon" when a deafeningly out of place 'click' disturbed my thoughts.

"DID YOU CLOSE THE DOOR?!?!" I whirled around to see a very guilty and panicked looking Chad Dylan Cooper viciously attacking the door handle. My breathing reached hyperventilation and the room began to spin.

We both whipped out our phones, only to realize we didn't have service. Great! Note the sarcasm…

I was stuck in a cafeteria with the biggest jerk in the world who just so happens to hate me. What else can go wrong?

I spoke too soon. A loud flash of light electrified the night sky and a heartbeat later, a deafening crack of thunder filled my pounding eardrums.

A scarily girlish scream escaped my lips and Tawni's yogurt slipped out of my hands. I began to shake and saw Chad turn towards me and give me a quizzical look.

"You're afraid of thunderstorms?" he asked in a soft voice that surprised me immensely Another nerve wracking boom crippled me even further and I collapsed on the ground.

Tears filled my eyes almost immediately and I nodded feverishly. Chad looked at me-still unsure what to do. I pulled my legs to my chest and bound them together with my arms. The lights flickered around me. I gasped and my eyes widened in fear.

The storm raged on outside and I could hear the wind shriek through the trees. The wind smashed branches into each other and the rain came down in dismal grey sheets across the sky. Again, the lights flashed and a blinding bolt of electricity struck a nearby power pole.

I squeezed my eyes shut and heard Chad groan in frustration. I was afraid to know why but I opened my eyes reluctantly. It was pitch black.

Another defeated squawk left my mouth and I leapt up.

"What are you doing?" Chad asked-genuinely confused. I tightened my grip around his waist and pressed my ear against his toned chest.

"Hugging you, duh…" I choked out. He smelled so good!

"Oh, uh…alright…" he stammered. I chuckled inwardly as he awkwardly brought his hand up to hesitantly stroke my hair. I almost smiled until yet another jolt of thunder resounded. My heart rate spiked and I strained to distract myself.

I pressed my ear into his chest harder and tried to hear his heart. It took a while but I finally could make out the distinct thump-thump. I blocked out every noise except his heartbeat and stayed in that moment for an immeasurable amount of time.

I faintly felt him shuffle us over to the lunch tables. He sat down on the bench, pulling me down with him. His arms wrapped around my waist-which shocked me a little-and he rested his chin on my head.

I smiled and breathed in his musky scent. As another magnificent spark of storm lit up the cafeteria, I glanced up at his face. His lips were curved up and his wonderful blue eyes sparkled. The resemblances in both of our expressions were undeniable.

Thunder erupted again and both, Chad and I, could feel my body start to tremble. He ducked his head down to my ear.

I felt a warm gust of sweet breath sweep across my neck and, shivered at our intimate proximity.

"It's alright, Sonny," he whispered. "Let's get your mind off this storm."

"What do you have in mind?" I matched his tone.

He caught a disobedient strand of my chestnut hair and tucked it behind my ear.

"Well…why don't we play a game?" he suggested.

I pondered his suggestion for a moment. "Sure, why not? What do you want to play?"

"How about 20 Questions?" he suggested. I laughed and nodded.

"Okay, you go first though…" I warned. He smiled and I felt my heart flutter.

His blonde brows knit together and he untangled a hand from my waist to tap his chin, thoughtfully. As soon as his digits left my side, I felt myself grow empty. I know it's stupid, but that's what I felt.

"Hmm… What it your full name?" he said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Allison Isabella Monroe…" I waited for him to laugh but, he didn't.

"That's a beautiful name," I thought he was kidding but, he looked serious.

"Well…thank you…" I stuttered. I couldn't help but smile. The king of beautiful names just said my name was beautiful!

"Your turn…" he reminded me. I blushed a deep red and chuckled nervously.

"Um… have you ever been in love?" I ventured. His smile grew and I gasped.

"Who? When? Where? Why? How?" I screeched. His eyes twinkled and he sighed.

"I am in love!" he beamed. My heart sank.

"Who?" I squeaked, tears filling my eyes.

"Ah, ah, ah, missy…It's my turn!" His eyes sparkled, but with mischief this time.

"Allison Isabella Monroe…Have you ever been in love?" I gulped, loudly and shrank away from his embrace. Turning away from him, I let a single tear fall.

"Twice," I muttered, sounding very melancholy. He was still startled by my abrupt distance and stayed where he was when he spoke.

"Do you feel like talking about it?" I needed to tell someone. I hadn't even told Lucy about my first love-and she was my best friend.

"Well, I think I'm in love too, but that's not anything I will discuss with you…" I started. He nodded.

I scooted back towards him and looked in his guarded cerulean eye s. "It was when I was still in Wisconsin." He listened intently.

"I was fifteen and I became best friends with Jake. He was sweet and funny and amazing and… ugh! He was unbelievably cute. After a few months we got closer and I got a huge crush on him. We told each other everything so, I asked him how to tell the guy I liked that I had feelings for him.

"He suggested I just tell him. So, a few days later I just told him I really liked him. Apparently, he liked me too because he asked me out. We went out for eight months and he told me he loved me…" I smiled unconsciously at the memory.

Chad noticed and his hand clenched beside him. I was too absorbed in my thoughts to notice, though.

"Anyways… We were supposed to go to the movies and I told him I'd meet him at his house at 5:00. I had a little extra time so I decided t surprise him."

Tears pricked at my eyes, threatening to spill over.

"I walked into his bedroom and, and…" My tears overflowed. Chad could see where my story was going and rubbed soothing circles in my back.

"You don't have to…"

"No! I need to tell you what I saw!" I insisted. He pursed his lips in sympathy and let me continue.

"He was in his bed, hovering over the popular girl, Stephanie. I could tell they weren't wearing anything and…It was kind of obvious what they were doing.

"I guess he heard me when I started crying, so he threw on some clothes and chased after me. He told me it wasn't what it looked like, but I knew better. I yelled at him about how he'd cheated and betrayed me so, he, um… Well, he told me I was ugly, and he didn't know why he ever went out with me."

I burst into tears and Chad pulled my close.

"Shhh…Shhh," he soothed. I took a few deep breaths.

"Look at me, Sonny," he urged. I reluctantly met his gaze.

"You are way too good to have ever gone out with that loser, okay? You are not ugly, by any stretch of the imagination! You are beautiful, and funny, and amazing, and nobody can take that away from you-not even him!" he spoke, his eyes smoldering into mine.

I felt my heart burst into a sprint and melt into a puddle of mush at my feet. Without thinking, I crashed my lips against his.

He was still at first, but after a few seconds he kissed me back. Our lips moved against each other's and the simple kiss became more. My arms snaked around his neck and tangle in his perfectly smooth hair. His hands ran down the length of my side, trailing down to my hip.

He traced his tongue lightly across my bottom lip, and soon we were both battling for dominance. I craved his taste-sweet but also acidic-and couldn't bring myself to detach my lips from his.

His hand fluttered to my cheek and his callused hand swept across my cheekbone. I was beginning to get dizzy from lack of oxygen, and pulled apart. We were both breathing heavy, and I was amused to see that we both brought our hands to our lips, immediately.

"What, what just happened?" I asked-more to myself than to him.

"I think we…" he hesitated. "I think we just, you know…kissed!" he gasped, incredulously.

I smiled widely. "We did, didn't we?" I whispered. He nodded, then mirrored my smile.

He kissed me again, quickly and rested his forehead against mine.

"I like being able to do that!" he beamed.

"Me too!" I added as I gave him a chaste kiss.

We both laughed.

"We are such dorks!" I exclaimed. He feigned an angry expression.

"Chad Dylan Cooper is not-I repeat NOT-a dork!" He tried to stay serious but I was already laughing so, he didn't last long.

I yawned.

"Are you tired?" he asked. I nodded and he looked around the room.

"Let's go lean against the wall," he suggested. I agreed and we both trudged over to the corner of the cafeteria. He sat down and I curled up in a ball against his chest. He slid his blazer off and draped it over my back.

I smiled and pulled his chin down to my level. Our lips met and, for the second time that night, I needed him.

I feverishly moved my lips against his and we both seemed hungry for each other's flavor. He nipped softly at my lip, earning him a soft squeak from me. He chuckled victoriously and I felt my cheeks grow hot.

I managed to inhale a quick gulp of air and, in no time, I was wrapping my hands around his tie, pulling him closer-if that was even possible. He locked a palm around my neck and I felt my back press against the wall.

I froze and Chad immediately pulled away.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Sonny," he gasped. I just closed my eyes, remembering the last time anyone had tried that with me. Jake always tried to get me to do more, but I never caved in. Maybe that's why he decided to go behind my back.

I opened my eyes to see Chad's anguished expression. He really didn't mean to do it.

"I'm sorry, Chad. It's just…the last person to try to go any farther than that was Jake and, and…" Chad was beginning to look angry.

"So even when we're kissing, all you can think of is that jerk?" he exploded. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Back to square one…" I muttered.