Falling Star
Chad Dylan Cooper was a narcissistic, selfish, insensitive guy. He was the lead actor and star of the hit show Makenzie Falls. If he was so awful, how could a guy like him ever have a chance with the innocent Wisconsin comedian Sonny Monroe?
The answer? He didn't.
They were to different to ever stand in a relationship. That, and they absolutely despised each other.
So, when Chad saw the reflection of a certain brunette's scowling face in his vanity mirror, he wasn't all that pleased. He twirled around in his swivel chair to face the livid, cross-armed girl. A smirk crawled onto Chad's face as he saw her, "Sonny."
"Chad." She replied in a snarky tone.
"What do you need? I was in the middle of something here."
"And what would that be? Staring at yourself in the mirror?"
The blonde starlet rolled his eyes, "I'll have you know that looking at your reflection multiple times a day increases confidence."
"Really? Then that explains why you and Tawni have so much in common."
"Are you actually comparing me to one of your chuckle buddies?"
Sonny nodded gleefully, "Okay, let's just get this over with. I need to ask you something."
"Oh, you don't have to say it Sonny, I understand. I'm a handsome, strong actor. And believe me, I hate to disappoint, but I can't love you."
Sonny looked taken aback, "Chad, I don't-"
He placed a finger on her mouth to silence her, "Shh, Sonny. You're in denial, I understand. But I'm in love with someone else."
"Yeah, yourself." The girl muttered. She slapped Chad's hand away, "And why would I ever fall in love with a shallow guy like you? All I came here for was to tell you..." She stomped her left foot on the ground, "Darn! You made me forget." She looked at him through the hair that had fallen over her face, "I guess I'll have to come back later...unfortunately."
"Good." He said.
"Good."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
And then, the brunette stomped off without another word.
A twelve-year-old girl, Zora Landcaster, ran up to Sonny as soon as she walked into the cast Prop House.
"So?" She said eagerly.
"So, what?"
"So, did you get my Nightlight back from Chad? Were they using it for evil?"
"Oh, that's what I was supposed to do." She said angrily, "Sorry Zora."
The small girl pouted, which was quickly transformed into a sinister smile, "You know what? It's alright."
Sonny stepped back a few feet, looking very frightened.
"Do you know why it's alright?" She asked.
"No…"
"Because I'm going down there myself. And tell Chad you are positively in lo-ove with him."
"Don't you dare!" She shouted.
"Oh yes. Either that, or your other secret."
"You don't mean…"
"Oh, but I do."
Sonny stiffened up and nodded, "Be right back."
She ran away quickly to the set of Mackenzie Falls and rolled her eyes as she saw the dramatic scene being recorded.
"Oh, Alice." He tilted the actress's chin, "No matter how much I care for you, we can never be together."
"But Mackenzie, I have risked so much coming here! If my father found out-" She gasped, and held a upturned palm to her forehead.
"We come from two different worlds, you and I." He responded dramatically, "I wish you could stay."
"Then let me, Mackenzie! Let me stay, and I will be yours forever."
Chad ducked his head and shook it dramatically, "I'm so sorry."
Sonny walked across the set and tapped Chad on the shoulder, "Hey."
"Cut!" He shouted.
A bell rang, and everyone except Alice and Chad left set.
"What is she doing here?"
"Abigail, just go and get yourself some Loganberries. Alright?"
The snooty actress rolled her eyes but did as she was told.
"What do you want, Sonny?"
"I want you to give me Zora's nightlight." She commanded.
Chad rolled his eyes, "Really? You think you can just barge in here and demand things from me? Chad Dylan Cooper?"
"Pretty much." She replied, "Now, give it." She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers.
"Hm-I don't think so." He said, "I'll think I'll keep this."
"But that's Zora's! You gave it to her!"
"Yeah, well it was mine first. And I think I'll be keepin' it, thank you very much." He walked over to his lighted vanity and picked up the night light. Sonny scowled at him as she watched him toss it in the air and catch it with that ridiculous smirk on his face.
"You know what Chad? You are a narcissistic, vain, unsensitive actor."
"Okay-Uh, first, I don't know what any of those words mean. And second? There is no way I am giving this back to the Randoms. Let alone to you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let me spell it out for you Sunshine." He put the nightlight down and slid up out of his chair, "You and your little chuckle city friends are nothing. And will never be anything. Especially to you, because you are the worst person on the show. You're not even funny."
A tear slid down Sonny's face, and she looked up at Chad with a look of extreme horror. The blonde, as heartless as he was, quickly regretted his choice of words.
"Sonny, I-"
"How could you say something like that to me?" She said, her eyes red and puffy, "I hate you Chad Dylan Cooper!"
She stomped off, yet again, and didn't even care or notice the guilty look on Chad's face. He had gone way over the line this time, and he knew there was no way he could take it back.
Sonny returned to the prop house again, Zora bouncing up to her. But the brunette was not in the mood. She grabbed her Bumblebee hat off the Alien Statue in the corner of the room. She then threw it on the ground and stomped on it multiple times until the antennas broke off.
Zora's excitement faded into worry when she saw the brunette acting like this. The thought of getting her nightlight back slipped from her mind and she ran over to her friend, "Sonny?"
Sonny looked down at her fellow co-star, and wiped a tear away, "What do you want Zora?"
"I want to know what's wrong. Why are you crying?"
Sonny just ignored the girl and ran by her, bawling her eyes out. She entered her dressing room and collapsed onto the large orange chair.
Tawni was by her own vanity, staring at herself in the mirror. She felt extra beautiful today, but felt she still needed a little something. She uncapped her Cocoa Mocho Cocoa lipstick and happily applied some, but her happiness was interrupted by the loud wailing coming from Sonny.
"Sonny! Could you please stop making that ridiculous noise? Your distracting me."
The brunette just dug herself deeper into the chair and pulled a blanket over herself. The blonde actress wasn't used to being ignored. At the very least, Sonny could have made some sort of comeback like she usually did.
Which filled Tawni with her least favorite emotion- caring. She reluctantly pulled herself off her seat and sat down on the arm of the chair, "So…? What's wrong?"
Sonny pulled herself up and started blubbering. Tawni grabbed the girl's hand and frowned, "Chad told you you were the worst comedian in the world.'"
Sonny pulled herself up and blubbered out some more nonsense.
"Oh, he said you were the worst actor on the show."
Sonny nodded and threw herself into Tawni's arms, wailing again.
"Fine. I'll go get you some cocoa. But this is the first-and last time."
She got up to leave, but Sonny grabbed her wrist. She wiped a few tears away and blubbered some more words to Tawni.
"Fine. I won't tell anyone. Now let go."
Sonny nodded and watched the blonde leave, then pulled herself off the couch. She wrapped a red, fuzzy blanket around herself and started picking up things and placing them in cardboard boxes.
"You're the worst person on the show." Chad's hurtful words echoed in her mind, which prompted her to pack faster.
"You're not even funny."
More tears drip-dropped down her face, and onto the cardboard boxes. Even though she was upset, she couldn't just leave without an explanation. So, she grabbed one of Tawni's glitter pens and scribbled down a note.
Nodding, she picked up her boxes and left the dressing room, and the Condor Studio, forever.
She had texted her mother earlier with all the information. She was going to be on her way back to Wisconsin now, because let's face it. Chad was right. She just wasn't star material.
Tawni came back in holding a mug of cocoa. She looked around and found it puzzling that the girl she had just left was gone. But then she noticed the pink piece of paper taped to her vanity mirror. Curious, Tawni grabbed the note.
Dear Tawni, Nico, Grady, and Zora-
I'm sorry, but I must leave. Chad was right. I'm not a good enough actress to work in Condor Studios. I'm just an ordinary girl from Wisconsin. That's all I'll ever be.
But I love every one of you.
Love,
Sonny.
P.S.- Make sure you enjoy the spotlight, Tawni.
Tawni read the note multiple times. She had never felt so disappointed to be in the spotlight. Oh darn, here comes that caring feeling again.
She didn't (for whatever reason) want to disappoint Sonny, but she had no choice. She just had to know what was going on. The blonde, note held in hand, rounded up the Random gang as fast as she could.
"Sonny's leaving?" Nico Harris said sadly.
"Yes."
"That little…" Zora muttered through clenched teeth, "That little jerk-face!"
"You're tellin' me. Who's gonna make me Turkey Legs for my birthday?" Grady Mitchell said stupidly, rubbing his stomach.
The three other cast members turned to him, all glaring at him.
"What are we supposed to do?" Zora groaned, "I don't want to lose Sonny!"
Tawni shook her head, "I agree."
The rest of the cast gasped, and Tawni just rolled her eyes. She motioned for her friends to follow her, and they all made their way to Stage 2-where Mackenzie Falls was shot.
A gray cloud of fog blocked Sonny's view of Condor Studios as her mothers' car turned another right. The innumerable rainfall matched Sonny's current mood. She pulled out her phone out of her coat pocket and teared up at her lock screen photo.
It was her, along with her friends, dressed in their costumes after another show. She was only a few streets away from the studio and yet she felt like she was already in Wisconsin. The brunette typed a quick message to her best friend Lucy, telling her she'd be coming back home.
Because she didn't deserve to be a star. Sonny was just another girl who tried but couldn't make it into the television process.
"Honey?" Connie Monroe said from the drivers' seat, bringing Sonny out of her trance.
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure you want to do this? You worked so hard, and I could make a turn back-"
"Mom, I don't belong there."
Her mother sighed but said nothing more on the subject.
Tawni and her friends marched up to Chad the second they saw him. He seemed confused by their angered faces and was about to ask why when he was smacked in the face by a female blonde.
"Ouch! What was that for?" He said, rubbing his right cheek.
"Sonny's gone!" Zora yelled through tears.
"Yeah, thanks to you!" Nico shouted.
"Whoa, whoa, woah. What do you mean she's gone?"
"She quit So Random!" Grady yelled.
Chad looked over the faces of his enemies. Sure, he had majorly gone over the line, but he had never expected Sonny to quit!
"I didn't do anything wrong." He said in defense, which was a complete lie.
"Oh, Rea-ealy?" Tawni sing-songed, "Because if you did nothing wrong, then Sonny would never have quit you BIG. UGLY. DISGUSTING. AWFUL- "
"Tawni!" Zora said, bumping the girls' elbow, "Cool it."
"What's-her-face- "
"Zora."
"Whatever. I'm going to call Sonny, and I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. There's no way Sonny would quit."
He took out his phone and dialed Sonny's number.
The sound of a mooing cow filled the Wisconsin girl's ears, and she picked it up. Much to her distaste, it was Chad. She growled and denied the call.
"Hi, its Sonny- " The automatic voicemail said.
Chad looked up at the Randoms, who were looking at him like he was the devil.
"Didn't answer you, did she?" Tawni said.
"Can't say I blame her." Nico muttered.
"J-Just hold on, let me try again." He dialed the number again.
After denying his calls four times, Sonny was forced to answer on the fith.
"Sonny! Finally, you answered." He said.
"What do you want Chad?" She said angrily into the mouthpiece.
"Woah, no need to get all angry on me Monroe." He said in a cocky tone.
"Oh, but I will. Thanks to you I am moving back to Wisconsin! And I hope I never see or hear of you again!" Sonny denied the call and blocked his contact number.
Chad pocketed his phone. He looked nervously up at the Randoms, who were looking livid. The phone hadn't been on speaker, but she had been talking so loudly everyone in a ten-mile radius could've heard her.
"Believe us now, Chad?" Tawni hissed.
The blonde actor ran a hand through his perfect, touched-up hair, "Look, I never meant for this to happen!"
"Well, we never mean for things to happen." Nico said.
"Yeah. Like us eating twelve-day-old sandwiches." Grady said.
"But the point is- you made this mess. So, you have to fix it."
"What? How could I do that?"
"Just shut up and come with us." Tawni demanded. She grabbed him by his ear and dragged him out of the studio.
Just one more hour. Sonny thought to herself.
Just one more hour, then she'd be back in Wisconsin where she belonged. Her earbuds were plugged into her cell, and she was listening to some horrible country playlist on Pandora. One she wasn't really listening too.
The rain had stopped, but she wished it hadn't. All this sunshine was making her feel the opposite of happy. And the fact that her name was Sonny didn't help her situation all that much either. In fact, the nicknames Chad had given Nico and Grady had been much more fitting.
"Sonny." He had said, "Cloudy, Rainy…"
Chad… why did her thoughts always seem to drift back to him?
But it didn't matter. What's done was done. She had made her final decision, and there was no going back.
She wouldn't ever be seeing him again (at least, that's what she hoped for). But unfortunately, her Fairy Godmother couldn't grant her that wish. Because when she got out of the car with her luggage cart, there he stood.
Sonny pursed her lips and walked around him. She walked around him, motioning her mother to do the same. Lucy ran up to her and wrapped her friend in a hug.
"Lucy!" Chad shouted, waving hello to the girl.
But she just shot the big-headed actor a warning glare over her shoulder. She grabbed Sonny's luggage and helped her inside a one-story house that Chad guessed was her old home.
He ran after her, following her to the house. He tried to enter but Sonny jabbed him in the chest, making him fall to the ground.
"Sonny!" He shouted, turning the knob to the door.
But she had locked it shut. He growled as he saw Sonny and her mother unpacking their things. Much more, how upset the girl looked. He swore he saw tears in the girl's eyes, which made his heart break in half.
He pounded on the door. Sonny walked over to the window and shook her head, then closed the curtains.
"C'mon, Sonny! Open the door!" He shouted, pounding it much harder this time.
Inside, Sonny covered her ears to keep the stuck-up actor's ridiculous voice out of her head.
"Maybe you should just go talk to the guy." Lucy suggested, "I mean, he came all the way here to see you. Its kind of sweet if you think about it."
"Sweet? Please. In my country we call that stalking."
Lucy reached over and gave her friend a side-hug.
That night, Sonny finally came out of her house. She was carrying a shopping basket and looking up at the cloudy sky as if it was her best friend, "Finally."
She didn't bother to grab an umbrella. The salty drops felt too good on her pale skin. She walked down the steps, but mistakenly tripped over one.
This is it.
This was Chad's chance. He ran as quickly as he could and caught the fearful brunette in his arms.
"Chad." She spat.
"Sonny."
She wrestled out of his grasp and brushed the dust off her long-sleeved maroon shirt and torn blue jeans.
"Well, are you going to thank me?"
"For what?" She asked.
"Saving your life, of course."
Sonny rolled her eyes, "You did not save my life. I just tripped." She defended, "And as I recall, wasn't I the one who saved your life?"
"I was just acting." He said.
"Sure." She replied, stepping around him. But he stopped her by grabbing her shoulders.
"Sonny…" He said.
"Chad, I don't have time for whatever stuff you are going to say to me now. I get it. I'm the worst actress of our generation, aren't I?"
"No, you're not." He said.
Sonny raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"
"I didn't mean any of the things I said. I'm sorry." He apologized.
She crossed her arms, "And here I thought Chad Dylan Cooper never apologized?"
"He also doesn't do this." He grabbed Sonny and dipped her, placing a soft, tender kiss onto her petite lips. He raised her upward and was pleased to see her smiling.
"See? I'm full of surprises."
The End
