"Oh, Chad! You're everything I've ever dreamed of, and I hate to say it out loud but I'm in love with you…"

Sonny's jaw dropped. She tore her eyes away from the screen and searched the dark movie theater for Chad. He was up at the front, grinning proudly. He felt her staring and met her eyes with a questioning look. Tears welled in her eyes, and Selena kept gushing in cheesy romantic prose on the screen, and she couldn't make either of them stop. Sonny pushed her way past rows of velvet seats and rushed to the lobby of the premiere hall. She sat down on a bench and calmed herself. What was Chad thinking?

Chad saw Sonny hurry out of the theater, and some impulse in him urged him to go after her. So he did. "Sonny!" Breathless, he found her hugging her knees to her chest, against a wall in the lobby. "Sonny!"

She glared up at him, eyes red.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, the words coming out more harshly than he had intended.

"Oh, nothing. Everyone just thinks I'm a hopeless romantic freak who's in love with you. No biggie." She hissed and smoothed down her dress.

Chad sat down next to her. "But you are."

Sonny's jaw dropped again and she scoffed. "I'm not in love with you! Why would you think that?"

He chuckled airily. "Yeah, you are, Sonny. You just are too scared to admit it."

"I'm not in love with you, and now I never will be."

Chad's heart faltered. Before he could speak, Sonny spoke up. "Why did you make me look like such a ditzy obsessed freak anyway?"

"Everyone is in love with me," he told her, matter-of-factly.

"I'm not!" She protested.

He paused, and gave a soft, superior smile. Sonny was confused. "Really?" He leaned in a little closer to her, so she could feel his breath tickle her neck, and his cologne was going to her head. "Are you sure?" She backed into the wall, but he only came closer, their foreheads almost touching. Her breathing became somewhat erratic, and goosebumps covered her when he pressed his fingers to her neck, feeling her heartbeat quicken. "Feels like you are."

She gulped and regained composure, and slid away from him. "I can't—you're not—"

"You can't what, Sonny?" he sounded frustrated that she was still denying it.

"No matter what you do, I can't be in love with you," Sonny whispered fiercely. "Do you have any idea what that even is?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Sonny, you shouldn't be in love with me. I get that. Same with me with you. But that doesn't mean you can't."

"They're the same thing," Sonny's voice was thick.

"Stop being stupid, Sonny," he dismissed her denial. "Just admit it. You love me."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Why aren't you admitting it?"

"Answer the question."

"You answer mine."

"Count of three?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good!"

"1…"

"2…"

"3!" They both yelled. Neither of them said anything. When they realized neither of them had intended to give in, they just glared at each other.

"So what if I love you?" Sonny said suddenly, deep in thought. "Would it make a difference at all?"

"A huge one," Chad told her, as if it was obvious. They both slumped against the wall.

Sonny glanced at him. "I'm not, but if I was….what sort of difference would it make? We wouldn't be friends anymore."

He ignored the fact that she called them friends for the first time ever. "You don't know that." To her surprise, Chad placed his hand on her cheek and gently kissed her. To his surprise, she didn't fight it. To both of their surprise, they stayed that way for a long, long time.