Sunshine

I HATE writers block because it gives me great IDEAS for stories, yet will NOT let me follow through in a way that ACTUALLY SOUNDS GOOD!!!

Sunny Baudelaire sighed as she fumbled for her key to the apartment that she shared with her boyfriend. It had been a long day, and she was looking forward to being able to just sit back and relax…

What was that smell? It was disgusting, yet vaguely familiar. It almost smelled like something was burning.

Burning. Fire.

Her eyes widened in panic and she turned the doorknob quickly, dropping her bag. Dashing into the living room, her head snapped left and right, trying to find the source of the smell.

Smoke was spilling out of the kitchen, and there was the sound of someone coughing violently. She approached it, running, and then slipped, almost falling, as she stepped on something. Looking down, Sunny saw a blackened piece of…well, she wasn't sure. Carefully, she brought it to her nose and sniffed: it reminded her of chicken.

Her attention was brought back to the situation at hand as the coughing continued. A person stumbled out of the kitchen, and Sunny screamed, "Ryan!"

She grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulders and said frantically, "Ryan, are you okay? Did you get hurt? What happened? Do I need to call VFD? Is-"

He cut her off by saying, "I'm okay, really, Sunny, no, you don't need to call VFD, and no, I'm not hurt."

Sunny let him go and sighed. "So what happened?"

Ryan looked sheepishly down and mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" she asked, growing suspicious. He shook his head and turned, hand reached out for the fire extinguisher that was always nearby. Sunny frowned and said, "Ryan, what happened?" He avoided her gaze and tried to head back into the kitchen.

"Ryan Dylan Alston, tell me right now what happened here or God help me, I will go get Klaus, and you will have to deal with him!" She punctuated her sentence with a stomp of her foot.

Ryan cringed, and said, embarrassed, "I was, um, trying to, uh, make dinner and, well, it didn't go as planned."

She peered over his shoulder. By this time, the smoke had pretty much cleared out and she could see the full extent of the damage. It, well, it looked like something had exploded. "I'll say," she muttered.

She directed her gaze back at Ryan and he said sheepishly, "The chicken exploded."

Sunny bit her lip to avoid laughing. "The chicken…exploded?"

"Well, it wasn't my fault, Sunny! I put it in the oven and waited the recommended time and then all of a sudden, it exploded!" Ryan shot back.

"I'm not mad, I'm just surprised."

"I didn't know that chicken was so flammable!" Ryan defended. Sunny waved her hand.

"I did. I grew up with Violet Baudelaire, the woman who can create weird gadgets and gizmos but can't cook to save her life. Chicken exploded often. No, what I'm confused about is why you were cooking."

Ryan looked uncomfortable as he said, "What? Can't a guy make dinner for his girlfriend without a reason?"

"When it's you, no." Sunny crossed her arms and waited.

"I…" Ryan sighed and pushed his blond hair out of his face. "Well, Sunny, I actually had to talk to you and…I thought that making dinner for you would…I don't know, make it better?"

Alarm bells went off in Sunny's head. "What did you have to talk to me about?" she asked, afraid of what his response might be.

"Sunny, I wanted to make dinner for you because I wanted to show how hardworking I can be, and that I'm willing to share the burden of domestic chores, like making dinner. We already live together, so we've been doing this already, but I was trying to prepare a meal to show you…" Ryan faltered off, cleared his throat and tried again. "To show you…" He took a deep breath and then finished his sentence quietly. "To show you what a good husband I could be." Pulling a ring out of his pocket, he sank to one knee and held it up to her. "Sunny Baudelaire, will you marry me?"

Completely shocked, Sunny could only stare at him with amazement. Finally, she took a deep breath and then let it out in the form of an ear-piercing, glass-shattering, window-breaking shriek, then, throwing her arms around Ryan's neck, kissed him hard on the lips. He slowly stood up, wrapping his arms around Sunny's waist.

After seconds, minutes, hours, or maybe even days, they pulled apart, grinning at each other. Ryan held up the ring and Sunny took it, sliding it on to her finger. Ryan hugged her again, and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Sunshine."

"I love you too, Ryan," she responded, a content smile on her lips and her head tilted back as Ryan buried his face in her neck.

FIN

I HATE WRITERS BLOCK!!! THAT SOUNDED LIKE CRAP!!!