A/N: Hey you guys! Long time no see! Well, I hope you enjoy this. It's my first shot at writing anything not Chad/Sonny....it felt weird. I think you could probably twist this so it's Tawni/Sonny, but it's absolutely not supposed to be like that. This is a friendship fic :) Title and inspiration goes credit to the song by Allison Iraheta. She has an amazing album, you should check it out!

Don't Waste the Pretty

The brunette figure of Sonny Monroe set down her hairbrush and turned her attention from her mirror to her dressing room door. Two familiar voices could be heard from the other side.

"You'll call me later, right?"

"Jeez, Tawn, I don't fucking know. Depends on what I'm doing."

"But…we had dinner reservations at sev-"

"Well maybe I don't want to eat dinner with your family. Did you ever think about that?"

"Well, yeah, but you said you were fine with it yesterday…"

"Yeah, well yesterday you weren't an annoying bitch!"

Sonny's jaw dropped at the audacity of Tawni's boyfriend. Sure, the blonde wasn't always the nicest girl to grace the planet, but she didn't deserve to be treated like that at all. There was a tangible moment of silence.

"…call me later?"

"We'll see."

And that was the end of the conversation between the two celebrities, signified by the heavy sounds of footsteps slowing fading down the hallway.

There was another moment of silence before the door opened and in walked Tawni Hart. Composed and icy as ever, Sonny believed no one would be able to see through her façade. As a matter of fact, the Wisconsinite doubted that she herself would have been able to sense the chinks in the armor if she hadn't overheard the conversation in the hallway.

"Hello Sonny," Tawni mustered as cheerfully as she could to her castmate.

"Hey Tawni," Sonny replied cautiously as the eyed the blonde, who had taken up her almost permanent residence in front of the mirror. After a few moments of admiring the reflection, Tawni saw Sonny's gaze still on her.

"I know I'm amazingly pretty, but we have five minutes before we have to be on set. Try taking your eyes off of my flawless skin and brushing that mane you call hair."

"Tawni…I heard what happened in the hallway."

Tawni's grip on her Coco Mocho Coco lipstick slackened as she turned to face her newest castmate.

"How much did you hear?"

"Tawn," Sonny said affectionately before pausing as she phrased her next statement. "I… I don't think James is right for you."

Tawni's face seemed to tighten at Sonny's words.

"Well, I hardly think you're fit to make that kind of assumption after eavesdropping on a conversation where James was clearly upset."

"Well, I hardly think you deserve to be in a relationship with an emotionally abusive jerkface!"

"You have no right in judging him, Sonny. He's just stressed a lot. That's why he's been so tense lately. It's tough being a famous heartthrob. It's very demanding."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is, but it doesn't give him an excuse-"

"He's not making excuses!"

"Then you're making excuses for him, Tawni! That's not right!"

"Sonny, I'd thank you not to make commentary on my relationship with James. Seeing as the only relationship you've ever been in sunk like the Titanic, I don't think you're in the spot to give advice on the matter."

And with that, the blonde was out the door, on her way to rehearsal, leaving a dumbfounded brunette in her wake.

.::.::.::.

After a very productive rehearsal, the two eldest girls of the So Random! Cast returned to their dressing room, not acknowledging one another. Each girl made a beeline for her own mirror, wiping the pounds of makeup off of their faces. Sonny heard a sigh from the other end of the dressing room. As she turned around, she found Tawni glancing down at her phone.

"We're supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight," the blonde spoke softly, not taking her eyes off the phone.

"Tawni…" Sonny said to her, moving over towards the blonde, who had made her way to the couch.

"You know where he is, right? Probably hanging with "the guys" doing who knows what. That's what he always does after we have a fight."

"How often do you fight?" Sonny asked. Tawni paused before replying.

"At least four times a week…"

"That's not a good sign, Tawni."

"Well what am I supposed to do about it, Sonny?" the older girl snapped at her, suddenly becoming defensive. "I can't break up with him!"

"And why is that?"

The blonde sighed.

"My parents think we're the perfect couple, believe it or not. They absolutely love James. Or at least, they love his success… Plus, have you seen the magazines? We look so good together. We're both so pretty…" Tawni trailed, her voice breaking as her eyes glistened with forming tears.

Never one to be vulnerable, Tawni hurriedly stood up, turning away from her castmate.

"So you're only staying with him because of the media and your parents' expectations, basically," Sonny realized.

"I don't even know why were talking about this. I have reservations to cancel," Tawni replied, beginning to walk away from the couch. Sonny grabbed her upper arm to stop her, causing Tawni to yelp with pain. "Watch it!" she shouted, jerking away from the brunette.

Sonny sensed at once something wasn't right. She didn't grab her very hard…it shouldn't have caused that amount of pain to the blonde.

"Tawni…" Sonny warned, getting to her feet.

"What now?"

"Roll up your sleeve," the Wisconsinite demanded cautiously. The blonde's eyes grew wide as she backed away.

"W-why?"

"I just want to see something…" Sonny insisted.

"No."

"Tawni…"

"Really, it's nothing."

"Tawni…does James…" Sonny asked, trailing off.

The blonde girl took one look at the concerned of her castmate's face before she opened her mouth and forming a tearful and quiet response.

"Only once…two days ago." Tawni could see Sonny about to launch herself on a rampage, so she quickly intervened. "I mean, he didn't mean to! He apologized for it a thousand times. It's just…" Tawni let the tears fall, "It's so hard being a heartthrob."

Sonny opened her arms, letting her blonde castmate find refuge in the form of a friend. Through Tawni's sobs, Sonny was able to make out "Pretty couple," "Didn't mean to," "Pretty," "Apologized," "Pretty," "Stressed," and, once more, "Pretty."

"Tawni," Sonny began in a motherly tone, "Appearances aren't anything. Think of all the little girls who look up to you. Can you imagine how they'd feel if something bad happens to you, and you had the power to stop it? They look up to you because you're a strong role model."

"They look up to me because I'm pretty," Tawni contradicted, shaking her head.

"Well, that may be the case for some, but don't you want to show them you're much more than that, Tawni?"

"I'm known to my fans as pretty, I'm known to my coworkers as pretty, and I'm known to my boyfriend just as pretty. I don't think-"

"Tawni, you're a great person! Not always the nicest, I'll admit, but you're much more than pretty. Don't waste your time on James anymore, Tawni. I know that cutie intern Hayden has his eyes on you…" Sonny tried lightening the mood.

Tawni was torn between interest and hesitant.

"But…what about James?"

"Don't waste your pretty on James, Tawni. Find someone who appreciates that and your personality."

Just as Sonny closed her mouth, Tawni's pink cell phone started blaring music. Glancing at the caller ID, she looked at Sonny, alarmed. It's James, she mouthed before opening it. Sonny waited next to her friend in silence; she could barely make out what was being said on the other line.

"Hey."

"Hi James…"

"I can't make it tonight."

"I figured as much."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm done, James."

Silence.

"What?"

"You heard me."

More silence.

"I'll call you tomorrow. I'm giving you time to cool down. I'll be expecting you to answer."

"Don't count on it."

And Tawni Hart hung up the phone on James Conroy.

Taking a deep breath to clear her head, she smiled gratefully at Sonny.

"So…uh…about that Hayden guy?"

A/N: I want to dedicated this to everyone over on Twitter... You know who you are :)

PLEASE REVIEW! :)