A little bit of pre-Chad/Sonny romance to change things up a bit :) Hope you like it!
Her perfectly curled hair bounces on her shoulders as she walks down the hall. Her head is tilted down slightly and her thumbs move frantically over the cell phone in her hands as she—what, sends a text to someone? Updates her Flitter status? Whatever it is girls do on their phones. The blonde airhead follows closely behind her in nearly exactly the same position. I shake my head, They're probably texting each other.
I glance at the people standing around me. The other people from Mackenzie Falls. Don't they have somewhere to be? Rehearsal, school, the cafeteria?
"Must you follow me everywhere?" I ask them, fed up with their constant company. It's like everywhere I go, they're there, too. While I understand their obsession with me (I mean, come on. I'm Chad Dylan Cooper), I wish they'd give me some time to myself. They look around for a moment, as if they're lost, and then scatter in various directions away from me. Before long, I'm alone and the hallway is quiet. I consider my options of what to do next, and decide to head to the cafeteria.
As expected, Sonny sits with the rest of her So Random cast at their table. My usual table is empty, and as I take the steaming plate of fresh lobster from Brenda, I realize that I'll have to spend this meal without the familiar reminder of how amazing I am. As upsetting as this is, I'm glad for the moment of silence it will allow me.
Alone with my thoughts, I find my attention drifting to the So Random table. They always seem to be laughing, but what are they laughing at? What could possibly be that funny? From my vantage point, I have the perfect view of Sonny's profile, of her wide smile and bright eyes. She says something, I don't know what, but I find myself mesmerized by the way her lips form over her words, the way she fiddles with her fork as she speaks. The way the rest of the Randoms listen intently until she's finished, then all burst out laughing hysterically. What is so funny?
One of the others says something, the little one, and they all turn towards me. For some reason, my eyes lock on Sonny's—the rest of them hardly register in my mind. Her face softens, and I suddenly feel the need to defend myself, like she's offering me some kind of sympathy that I don't need. I roll my eyes and look away. What was that? Does she feel bad for me? Why?
I eat the rest of my lunch in a brooding silence broken by the occasional fit of laughter from the Random table. I don't need her pity. There is nothing wrong with me; as a matter of fact, she should be jealous! I've got the better show, the cooler friends, the more appetizing food in the cafeteria… there is certainly no reason to feel bad for me.
Scraping the remains of the mashed potatoes from my plate, I glance up at the So Random table again. They've all left. I notice they cleared off their trays, and the table is spotless—why would they do that? That's what janitors are paid for… right? We never clear off our Mackenzie Falls table. Too much work.
"What's up?" Sonny's voice sounds to my right, surprising me. She's climbed in to the seat next to me and is leaning her head on her hand, propped up on the table.
"Nothing, why?" My voice sounds wrong to me, like I'm hiding something from her. There is nothing to hide.
"Oh, no reason. Where's your usual entourage? Finally got sick of lying to your face?" She smiles sweetly. I narrow my eyes.
"Actually, I chose to eat on my own today. Sometimes it's nice to spend some alone time with the most talented actor of our generation."
"Oh, Zac was here? I didn't see him." She did not just go there.
"No! I would never—"
"I'm kidding, Chad. Breathe," she cuts me off, smiling again to herself. "You just looked lonely today, that's all."
"Lonely? Me?" Absolutely not. No way. "Why would you think that? Just because I don't have a girlfriend at the moment doesn't mean I'm lonely!"
"Okay, okay. Gosh, you're tense today." She sits back in her chair, stretches her legs out under the table.
"I'm not tense." At least I wasn't until she showed up. Why is she making me so nervous? "So what was so funny to you guys earlier? You were disturbing my quiet Chad time."
She rolls her eyes now. "Nothing you would find amusing," she brushes off my question.
"Okay then." I notice for the first time how she has avoided my gaze since she sat down. Usually she's good at keeping eye contact… not like I notice her eyes or anything. Is she hiding something?
"So… um, Zora mentioned something today while we were all eating and stuff… and it just kind of stuck with me." She pauses, folding my napkin (when did she get that?) over in her hands.
I finish eating my lunch and put my fork down. Sonny still hasn't gotten to her point. I check my watch and realize I'm not wearing one. "So… what did she say?" Now I'm curious; she's not usually the shy type.
"Well, I mean, we were all just joking around, so it could have been nothing." Another pause. She looks over towards her table, then to the hall leading to the rest of the studio. "She said that maybe you and I…" and the rest comes out as some kind of high-speed word jumble.
"I didn't quite catch that," I prompt, my body tense. You and I what? What are you talking about?
She sighs and finally her eyes meet mine. "She says that maybe the reason we fight all the time is because you like me, or I like you. Or something." Her face flushes a deep shade of red, and I think mine does, too. We both look away. Neither of us says a word. Awkward.
There is no way I 'like' Sonny Munroe. I mean, really. Our shows are rivals. She's a Random. She can't even call herself an actress—all she does is make people laugh on TV. Forget the fact that she's nice, and understanding, and sweet. That she smells like a combination of peppermint and something fruity, and that whenever she walks by, I wish I could follow her around just to be able to smell that all the time. And never mind the countless hours I've spent wondering what it would be like to hold her, to wrap my arms around her and feel her lips gently pressed against mine…
Mind out of the gutter, Chad. Where the heck did that come from? I blink, trying to clear my thoughts, as she taps her fingers on the table.
"So… yeah. I mean, I'm not saying I like you or anything…" she trails off and her eyes stare off into the distance.
"Yeah, no, me neither." Another heavy silence. Why did she have to bring this up now? Why couldn't she have waited until a different day, when she didn't have her hair all nice and shiny and her eyes weren't so bright and she didn't look so pretty? Except she looks like this every day.
Focus!
"I always just thought we fought because that's what we do… our shows, I mean, we're rivals, right?" She looks at me now, and I find I can't look back at her. She's lit some kind of spark in me, and I don't know exactly what to make of it—like she's brought some sort of emotion forward but I haven't quite figured it out. It's warm and unfamiliar, and distracting.
"I guess, yeah, that makes sense."
"I'm not saying I don't like you, because, you know, I do like you, as a friend." For some odd, unexplainable reason, this feels like a jab to the heart. What? Why would that affect me the least?
"Yeah, you're a good friend, too. We could even be more then friends, one day." Okay, time to be quiet. "Not right now, though, because… yeah." Stop. Talking.
She doesn't answer at first, and I wonder if I've said something to upset her. I search her face for something, but all I see are her brown eyes and her lips pressed tightly together.
"Yeah. Maybe, one day." She says this quietly, her eyes flickering to me briefly before dropping to the napkin in her hands. "I have to go, now. See you later, I guess." And then she's gone, as quickly as she'd appeared. I watch her retreat down the hallway, my mind racing. Maybe one day? What did she mean by that?
And why on Earth is my heart pounding a mile a minute?
Of course I know why, but I will never, ever admit it to anyone. Not even to myself. And especially not to her.
The thought forces its way to the front of my mind. I've fallen for Sonny Munroe. And she's fallen for me, too.