Sonny With a Chance

After You, M'Lady

Chapter 1

Author's Note: I've had a series of ideas floating around for a while, so I decided to write this story as a series of four one-shots that take place at different periods in Chad and Sonny's relationship. I hope you guys enjoy them! I'll be posting them one at a time after I get a few reviews for each, but they are all written and ready for y'all to read!

After You, M'Lady – Chapter 1

Sonny Munroe stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a full glimpse of the line that seemed to stretch for miles ahead of her. She was currently at the tail-end, waiting for her turn on the most intimidating, highest-dropping roller coaster in Los Angeles.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and theme park goers were out in full force despite the 90-degree weather that was sending heat waves swirling from the black pavement. She glanced around until her gaze fell on her four castmates who were occupying a bench, huddled under a scrawny tree for shade. They'd all decided to join up for a So Random day at the park, but unfortunately Sonny had found herself the only enthusiastic participant of the bunch.

"Guys!" Sonny yelled over to them from across the walkway. "Come over and ride this baby with me!" She gestured excitedly with her hands for them to join her.

"Sorry, but me an' Grady are dyin' from the heat over here," Nico answered first.

"Yeah," panted his chubby friend, wiping sweat from his forehead. Suddenly, a new energy lit up his eyes as he suggested, "Hey – why don't we go get some Dippin' Dots?"

"No, no, guys – can't you wait for your ice cream until after you ride with me?" Sonny begged, not wanting to ride solo yet again. But her plea was thrown into the wind as both boys escaped out of earshot and headed over to the nearest Dippin' Dot station before she could even blink.

The brunette sighed and turned to her two friends remaining on the bench. "Tawni? Zora? Can one of you puhleeaassee come with me?" she whined loudly, hoping to eke a little bit of sympathy out of their heartstrings.

"Sonny, you know better than to ask me on that machine of terror," Tawni shuddered. "It will absolutely murder my curls, and it took me almost a full hour to style today," she stated, carefully fluffing her hair.

Sonny turned a pleading gaze towards the youngest Random, which was quickly rebuffed. "Don't look at me, sister," Zora snapped. "I may like catapults on a small scale – like my cold cut version – but I don't like the idea of something besides me catapulting my body into the atmosphere," the doomsayer said wryly, shaking her head.

Sonny's shoulders dropped despairingly as she turned back to face the long line alone.

"Awww, looks like somebody doesn't have a ride buddy," a familiar voice taunted from behind her in a mock sympathy.

Sonny whirled around to address the individual. "Chad? What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" she asked, her face twisted into a confused yet accusatory frown.

"What? Me? Of course not. Don't flatter yourself," Chad Dylan Cooper shot back snidely. "I'm getting paid to be here."

"What for? Are you on exhibit from the zoo?" she prodded sassily.

"Ha ha, you're quite the comedian today, Munroe. Only problem is – you're a lame comedian."

"Thanks, Chad. What a compliment! But you still haven't answered my question: why… are… you… here?" she questioned him pointedly, slowing her words down to a grinding halt.

"For a Mackenzie Falls meet-and-greet," he bragged. "Didn't you see the sign at the ticket office? For an extra twenty dollars, you can get my very own priceless signature, a 100 mega-pixel poster of me, a t-shirt with my glorious face on the front, and – if you're lucky – you can stand in line for a few hours to get the chance to meet me in person," Chad concluded, popping his collar arrogantly.

"Ah, poor deluded people. What a rip-off." Sonny sighed in sympathy.

"You're just saying that out of jealousy because you don't have a So Random meet-and-greet," Chad countered.

"Ha! Why would I be jealous? I get to ride roller coasters like this while you're out there being attacked by rabid fans."

"Oh, so you think I have the bad end of the deal? What about you? You don't even have someone to ride with you, and that's half the fun!"

"Well, I'd rather ride with nobody than to have to ride with you!" Sonny shouted angrily, her eyes blazing with the same intensity of the heat that was beating down upon them all. She paused to catch her breath, not quite realizing how loud and irritated she'd become over the course of the argument. A few moments passed while an embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks, and she tried to field the curious stares that she was attracting.

"In that case, if that's the way you feel, then I'd be happy to join you," Chad broke the silence calmly, knowing that his presence would irk her to no end.

"WHAT? No! No, no, no. You are not coming with me," she declared, albeit halfheartedly. It would be nice to have a partner to ride with…

"Yes, I am. I still have some time before the meet-and-greet starts," he said, glancing at his Rolex, "so it would be my pleasure to annoy – I mean, accompany you," he finished, earning a glare from Sonny for his "slip-up".

"You do know we'll be in line for another hour or more," Sonny reminded him, trying weakly to dissuade him while there was still time.

"I know," Chad replied, shoving his hands nonchalantly into his pockets.

Sure enough, the time crawled by as Chad and Sonny inched their way forward through the never-ending line. Often, they waited in silence. More often than not, however, they started meaningless fights just to pass the time. But before either teen realized it, they found themselves standing at the loading station, just a few minutes away from taking their turn.

Sonny rocked forward nervously on her feet, the pre-coaster jitters setting in as she watched excited teens being strapped in for the ride. Her edginess didn't go unnoticed by Chad, who simply smirked down at her.

"Nervous, Munroe?"

"No, Cooper." She retorted adamantly with a frown. Suddenly, she felt a comforting hand rest on her back for a few seconds, but it soon began to push her forward as the loading gates opened for them to walk through.

Chad let her enter the car first.

"After you, m'lady."

Sonny hid the half-smile that crept onto her lips as she stepped down into her seat on the far side, securing the harness over herself until it clicked.

Any trace of that smile was wiped clear off of her face within the next nanosecond.

For Chad Dylan Cooper had strolled clear off, leaving her behind with nothing but a wink and a thumbs-up for a goodbye. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Sonny regretted ever falling for that smooth line. She should have known that it was just a pretense so that he could walk away scotch-free. But she wasn't going to let that jerkface ruin her ride, and her spirits began to brighten as a spunky redhead about her own age stepped forward to take Chad's vacant seat.

They hit it off, and were soon squealing, laughing, and chatting during the thrilling ride. Before long, both girls had arrived back at the loading station and were exchanging numbers and waving goodbye to each other as they walked down the exit ramp and parted ways.

Sonny decided to take a look at the automated pictures from her ride, so she stepped up to the booth located beside the coaster's exit.

"Hi, are you a Miss Sonny Munroe?" One of the staff members asked her as she approached to view her photo.

"Um, yes," she replied uncertainly.

"I was told to give this to you," the employee said, handing her a personalized print-out depicting her and the redhead side by side in the car, holding on for dear life. Their hair was tossed around them, and both mouths were wide open, clearly screaming bloody murder.

Laughing at the picture, she turned to the staff member. "Who told you to—" Sonny stopped mid-sentence as a small inscription on the bottom right corner caught her attention. It read: "Looks like you found a ride buddy after all. Too bad she's nowhere near as hot as me. TV's Chad Dylan Cooper." She shook her head ruefully at his outrageously arrogant statement, but all the same, she knew that she'd already forgiven him on the spot. But the note didn't stop there: "P.S. Don't throw this away – it's worth a good $20."

Sonny smiled, thanked the worker, and strolled away with a light step, shaking her head. On her way over to meet her castmates, however, she noticed a huge Mackenzie Falls poster with the details for the meet-and-greet displayed along the walkway. She stopped to look for the official starting time of the event. As she glanced over the schedule, a puzzled look came across her face. That look was soon to be replaced by an ear-splitting grin.

It seemed that the great Chad Dylan Cooper had purposely missed the first full hour of his own meet-and-greet to wait in line for a ride he'd never be able to enjoy… just to share in the company of a certain "lame comedian", a.k.a. Sonny Munroe.

Author's Note:

So… for all of you that were throwing virtual knives at Chad: it turns out that his leaving her at the ride was for a very unselfish reason all along! Hope you liked this vignette and that it wasn't too confusing. I love to add crazy plot twists to surprise my readers. ;)

All the best,

Victoria L.