Sonny and Zora were sitting on the couch in the prop house on either side of a large wood chessboard. Sonny was staring at the board pensively while examined the layout of the board with a small smile on her face. Sonny finally reached out and moved one of her pawns to capture Zora's knight a wide smile decorating her face. Zora smiled even more widely and took Sonny's queen with her rook. Sonny frowned and sat back to examine the chess board again.
"I'm glad you decided to teach me to play chess, Zora. It's nice spending time with you, and learning how to play chess makes me feel so smart." Sonny said moving another one of her pieces only to watch Zora's Queen swallow it up.
"No one else will play with me after they found out Bobby Fisher was my cousin." Zora said watching Sonny move her rook into the path of her Knight.
"Who's Bobby Fisher?" Sonny asked frowning as Zora's Queen sidled up to her King.
"No one important." Zora said smiling as she ended the game.
"Hey, Sonny." Tawni said as she walked into the prop house. She was smiling brightly in the brunette's direction.
"Why are you so smiley today?" Sonny asked as Zora set the board back up.
"I was just reading something interesting in this week's issue of Teen Beat." Tawni said pulling a magazine from behind her back. She opened it and feigned reading. Sonny glanced over and squawked as she saw a picture of herself and Chad Dylan Cooper on the front cover. The headline read 'Teen Heartthrob reveals all about So Random Crush.'
"Give me that." She yelped jumping up and grabbing for the magazine. Tawni leapt from her chair and danced away from Sonny.
"Chad Dylan Cooper revealed in a recent interview that So Random's Sonny Munroe is sporting a not so secret crush for him. 'Sonny would never admit it but she really likes me, she even told me I have sparkly eyes once.'" Tawni read from the magazine as she darted back and forth to avoid her cast mates snatching fingers. As she ran past the couch Zora snapped the magazine from her hands just in time for Tawni to run into the side of the sarcophagus.
"Ow, that hurt." Tawni whimpered as she walked back to her chair rubbing her forehead. Zora sat back down onto the couch and began to read the rest of the article for herself. Sonny reached for it but jerked back her hand as Zora glanced at her and growled.
"I'm going to kill him!" Sonny said beginning to pace back and forth behind the couch. Tawni watched her still rubbing her forehead. "I've told him a hundred times that I don't like him, and now gone and told a magazine."
"Could you stop pacing? You're making me nauseous." Tawni whined as her eyes continued to follow Sonny across the floor. Sonny sat down on the couch with a huff.
"I mean why would I even like Chad; he's a melodramatic pretty boy who can't act." Sonny grumbled crossing her arms across her chest.
"So you admit you think he's pretty." Zora said without looking up from her magazine.
"No, of course not, well maybe. But he thinks' I'm cute too. He didn't mention that in his interview." Sonny said standing and stamping her foot.
"Why don't you go talk to him and his sparkly eyes?" Zora said barely looking away from the magazine to glance at Sonny.
"You know what, I will. I'm going to march right over to McKenzie falls and give that boy a piece of my mind." Sonny said walking to the door quickly her heels making a sharp staccato on the floor.
"Oh, score! Shirtless pictures of Taylor Lautner." Zora said as Sonny slammed the door shut behind her.
"Let me see." Tawni squealed jumping from her chair and flopping on the couch.
Sonny marched across the studio to the MacKenzie Falls stage. As she rounded the corner in front of the stage doors the security guard put down his sandwich and glanced at the wall of photos featuring people banned from the set and stuck his hand out. Sonny ignored the outstretched hand and attempted to walk past him he reached his arm out and wrapped it around her, picked her up, set her down away from the door. Sonny glared up at him before reaching over and snatching his sandwich off the podium, turning she tossed it as far as she could and walked onto the set of MacKenzie Falls as he was chasing after it.
It took Sonny a few minutes to find Chad's dressing room. He insisted on changing dressing rooms once a week to avoid 'crazed stalkers' and Sonny. She was about to give up when she walked past the janitors closet and heard a soft sob. She stopped and listened closely to make sure she wasn't hearing things. She heard the ragged sobbing sound again and reached out to gently knock on the door.
"Go away." Sonny gasped as she recognized the sound of Chad's voice. She opened the door and stepped inside quickly closing it behind her. Chad turned his back quickly but she could see him scrubbing at his eyes when he turned around his eyes were obviously bloodshot. His eyes looked bluer than ever, almost seeming to glow from the redness.
"What do you want?" He asked, she barely heard the tremor in his voice.
"What's wrong?" She asked her anger evaporating suddenly; it startled her to see Chad displaying actually genuine human emotion.
"Nothing, just leave me alone; what are you even doing here? I banned you."Chad said glaring at her; despite his facial expression his eyes still looked miserable.
"I distracted that guard, now what's wrong with you, you're actually crying." Sonny asked putting her hands on her hips stubbornly.
"I was not crying, someone forgot to dust the stupid fichus in my dressing room and my allergies are acting up." Chad lied.
"If it's just your allergies then why are you hiding in the janitor's closet?"
"I don't want to talk about it, could you just get out of my way, I need to go put some drops in my eyes. I have to shoot a scene in twenty minutes." Chad said moving to get around her.
"I'll move when you tell me what's wrong." Sonny said shifting to block his escape.
"Sonny, for once in your life please leave me alone." Chad said his bottom lip trembling slightly. Sonny stared at him a moment before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him. The young actor stood stiff and still for a moment before returning the embrace his head dropping to Sonny's shoulder. Sonny only squeezed harder as Chad's shoulders began to shake and fresh tears bled through her shirt to her skin.
"Oh, god, Chad what's going on?" She asked rubbing her hand in gentle circles on the boy's back.
"James Conroy is back on Mackenzie Falls, they're talking about making him a regular character." Chad said quietly his voice throaty and raw.
"Why is that so bad?" Sonny asked softly. Chad tore away and walked over to the corner of the closet and stood there without speaking. Sonny stood by the door and waited for him to say something, finally the silence grew thick and she opened her mouth to say something when Chad turned around.
"I'm going to tell you something, something almost no one else knows. If it gets out my career is over and I'll be stuck playing in after school specials and Canadian television." He said glaring at her as he scrubbed his eyes again.
"I wouldn't tell anyone something you told me in confidence." Sonny promised.
"Sonny, I'm gay." Chad said in a rush quickly turning away to face the corner again.
"Chad, Chad it's okay." Sonny said closing the distance and putting her hand on his shoulder.
"You won't tell anyone?" He asked turning around to look at her.
"I promise, now what does this have to do with James?" Sonny asked cocking her head to the side inquisitively.
"James and I dated, after Tawni. We went out for a few weeks, he got what he wanted, and then he dumped me." Chad said burying his face in his hands.
"What did he want?" Sonny asked a confused look on her face. Chad's head shot up and he fixed her with an incredulous look.
"Really, Sonny?"
"What?" She said shrugging before a look of realization crossed her face. "Oh…oh my god. What a fudge bag." Sonny said her face suddenly registering rage. Chad said nodding sadly.
"That's why I teamed up with Tawni when he was going after you, I didn't want him doing that to anyone else." Chad said his face turning grim. "I hate him so much; I though he loved me and all he wanted was….that."
"Why don't you talk to Marshall, if you tell him you don't want to work with James maybe he'll stop them from adding him to the cast." Sonny asked rubbing her hand over his shoulder again.
"I can't talk to Marshall, he'll want to know why I don't want to work with James and I can't tell him." Chad said shaking his head. "Once you come out in you can't get a job in this town, especially not on a teen show."
"So what're you going to do?"
"I don't know, I can't work with that boy, and I can't tell anyone why. Maybe I'll pay the writers to kill him off." Chad said shrugging.
"Do you want me to stay with you for a while?" Sonny asked patting him on the back.
"If we go back to my dressing room to you promise not to tell anyone where it is?"
"I promise, scout's honor." Sonny said raising her fingers in the Brownie Scout salute.
"Alright," Chad said sliding past her to open the door. "You never told me why you're here." He asked while he held the door open for her.
"I came to scream at you over the interview in Teen Beat." Sonny said after taking a moment to remember.
"Are you still going to scream at me? I don't want to be screamed at right now." Chad said his eyes tired and hollow. For the first time since she had met him Chad Dylan Cooper was not only acting like a human being but acting like a frightened little boy. She just couldn't bring herself to kick him when he was down.
"No, I'm angry that you told the reporters that I like you, but I'm not going to scream at you right now, it just wouldn't be right." She said sighing as followed him through the halls of the MacKenzie Falls stage.
"But you do like me." He said as the stopped in front of another door marked janitor's closet. Chad pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door to his dressing room.
"I do not, even if I did that doesn't give you the right to tell anyone. Besides I thought you liked me too." Sonny said allowing herself to pout for the first time. It was true that she had feelings for the blonde haired boy with the beautiful blue eyes. She had always been pretty sure he had feelings for her too. Now that she knew he was gay she couldn't help but feel a little upset. Chad let her into the dressing room and locked the door behind her.
"I do like you, Sonny. You're funny, you're cute, and you're a great person. You're my best friend." Chad said turning to fix her with his startling crystal gaze. Sonny quickly looked away from his eyes away from him.
"Stop that, Chad. It's not fair to use your eyes on me like that anymore, not when you're not interested in me." Sonny said jabbing her finger at his chest.
"I'm sorry, Sonny. I didn't mean to lead you on, and I honestly don't realize when I'm doing that with my eyes anymore. Just remind me, okay?" He asked, he was still using his puppy dog eyes but she was pretty sure he was being genuine.
"You're doing it again." She said unable to keep from smiling.
"Damn it." He said covering his eye with his hands. "I really am sorry."
"I know, am I really your best friend?" Sonny asked walking over to take his hand and uncover his eyes.
"Yes."
"What about all these people at MacKenzie Falls?" She asked waving her hand to encompass their surroundings.
"They don't care about me; they're just nice to me because I'm the star. You're the only person who cares enough to argue with me and try to keep my head from getting too big." He said smiling at her.
"I'm going to apologize for this before I say it. Chad, if I'm your best friend that's kind of sad." Sonny said shaking her head.
"I know." He said sitting down in his makeup chair and staring into the mirror. "I know I'm not the nicest person in the world. I don't know when I stopped trying but I did. I don't even thing I realized how bad I got until you showed up and started calling me on it." He said looking and her reflection in the mirror and smiling at her reflection.
"So why don't you start trying again?" She asked dropping her hands on the back of his chair.
"I have." He said earnestly.
"Really, Chad, really?" She asked one hand going up to drift through his hair. He twitched a little bit but did his best not to move away from her hand. It had been years since he'd let anyone touch him casually, and longer than that since he'd let anyone play with his hair.
"I'm nice to you aren't I?" He asked twisting around to look her in the eye.
"I always thought that was because you were attracted to me, but I guess you're right, you're getting better." She said ruffling his hair one last time before going to sit down on the couch.
"I hate that couch," Chad said spinning to face her. "I lost my virginity on a couch like that." Sonny jumped up and started swiping briskly at her skirt. "Relax, Sonny, I said a couch like that. I had that couch burned after James broke up with me." He said smiling.
"James was your first?" Sonny asked sitting back down.
"Yeah." He said sighing.
"What a bastard." Sonny muttered jumping and covering her mouth as she realized what she had said.
"Well, well, well, listen to the mouth on Ms. Munroe. Who knew Wisconsin's Sweet Heart was such a gutter mouth?" Chad said smiling broadly at her.
"Since we're telling secrets here, Chad, I have another question." Sonny said ignoring his mocking tone.
"Haven't I told enough secrets today?" He asked spinning back around to look in the mirror.
"I'll tell you a secret first." Sonny offered scooting forward on the couch. Chad picked up a bottle of eyes drops and tossed his head back.
"Two secrets and they better be juicy, because the secrets I told you were whoppers." He said putting the drops in his eyes.
"Alright, two secrets extra juicy." Sonny said nodding quickly as Chad picked up an unlabeled tube from the makeup counter.
"Deal." He said unscrewing the tube and squirting a pearl of white cream onto the tip of his finger.
"I'm a virgin." Sonny said rolling her eyes embarrassedly. Chad rubbed the cream in the hollows under his eyes before glancing at her in the mirror.
"That second one better be a lot better than that," he said before screwing the cap back on the tube. "You said you were going to me secrets." Sonny made a face at him in the mirror.
"My first kiss was with my best friend in Wisconsin." Sonny said her face completely blank.
"That girl that you crashed my birthday party to talk to?" He asked spinning around in his chair to stare at her.
"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone." She said her face absolutely serious.
"I'm in no position to be telling secrets, Sonny." Chad said smirking before turning back to the mirror.
"Guess not, so can I ask you a question now?" She asked sitting back on the couch.
"I guess so, that first secret was kind of weak, but the second was juicy enough for two." He said pilfering around the counter until he found a tube of lip gloss.
"Why are you so paranoid? You change your dressing room once a week; you put a janitor's closet sign on your door. What are you so afraid of?" She asked crossing her legs. Chad dropped the lip gloss and stared off into space for a few moments before he locked eyes with her reflection. He got up from the makeup chair and walked over to filing cabinet in the corner. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a sheet of crumbled paper from a black folder and handed it to her. Her eyes widened as she read down the paper. She laid it on the couch beside her and stared at him as he applied the gloss to his lips.
"I got that my first season on MacKenzie Falls." He said glancing at the letter. "I was sixteen years old; the woman who wrote it was forty-five."
"That must have been scary." Sonny said scooting the letter further away from her like it was some venomous thing.
"Yeah, there are a thousand others like it in that folder, some better some worse." He said sitting the lip liner down on the counter. "Most of them are just letters, but you never know when one of those people is going to get it in their heads to follow through on it. I'm scared shitless."
"I understand. I'm so sorry, Chad. I guess if I had to deal with stuff like this I would have shut down too."
"I can handle it." He said.
"Can I ask a favor?" Sunny asked getting up from the couch.
"You can try." He said watching her reflection.
"Will you lift my ban so I can come and see you? I promise not to barge on stage when you're trying to act."
"Alright, I'll lift the ban if you promise not to barge on the set when I'm acting." He said giving her a pointed look.
"I promise not to barge on stage when you're acting." Sonny said crossing her heart.