B.R.E.A.D..C.R.U.M.B.S

A Sonny With a Chance Story

By EmbracingRain

Chapter One

Clue One

It was never going to be an ordinary day. There was no such thing when you were a cast member of So Random! at Condor Studios and your cast's mortal enemy was that of the teen drama Mackenzie Falls. Sonny had resigned herself to that little fact of life long ago. So when Chad barged into her dressing room Friday morning, she groaned and rolled her eyes, preparing to hear his complaints about whatever it was her friends had done now. Sonny would have put good money on Nico and Grady having done something stupid like TPing Chad's dressing room or putting a snake in the toilet in his personal bathroom. And by good money, she meant somewhere around a thousand dollars. She was that confident in their abilities (for lack of a better word).

Chad made himself comfortable in one of the chairs by Sonny's makeup table and she studied him in the mirror's reflection, thinking to herself that he was far too at home on the So Random! set than he should have been considering the circumstances. He was over there almost every day now, sometimes to antagonize Sonny, sometimes to complain about her friends. Most of the time, though, he was there just to talk and hang out, no strings attached. And that was odd for her, considering the negative vibe between their shows. She just couldn't see his costars being okay with him hanging out with her outside of tracking her down to rant about her friends and to possibly enact revenge.

Today, Chad had a plain, white envelope in his hands and he was fiddling with it almost nervously. The nervous twitch of his hands was the only give away that Chad wasn't actually feeling like his usual, pompous self, though. He was staring at her out of calm, azure eyes, a slight smirk tweaking his lips. But the envelope told Sonny that this wasn't exactly a social call. She had a bad feeling that that envelope contained a hefty bill for damages sustained during whatever prank it was the others had pulled.

"Whatever they did, I had nothing to do with it," Sonny said with a sigh. She turned to face the blond actor, a look of impatience flickering across her countenance. Chad's smirk faltered.

"What are you talking about? They did something again?" he demanded, frantic.

"Apparently not," Sonny replied, her eyebrows knitting together with confusion. "Well, if they didn't do anything, why are you here? I thought you had scenes to shoot first thing today." She hopped out of her chair and crossed over to her changing room to fetch the props she needed for the first rehearsal of the day.

"Wow, Munroe. You must really like me to have my schedule memorized like that. It's cute…and a little bit sad."

"How could I forget when you complained about it the entire time you were here yesterday?" Sonny bit out pseudo-sweetly. "Nobody said anything about liking you." She wrenched the curtains shut so she could change into her costume. "Seriously. What are you doing here if one of the others didn't try to physically harm you?"

"You're sure in the mood to get to the point today," Chad said. He let out a nervy chuckle that didn't match the annoyance in his voice.

Sonny paused for a moment to tie a stark white apron around her waist and to grab a feather duster out of the colorful crate that stood against the wall. Apparently, Chad had a sudden penchant for being a bundle of walking contradictions today and the comedienne couldn't figure out why.

"I have rehearsals in a few minutes," she finally said, walking back to where he was still sitting in the chair and toying with that mysterious envelope. "I'm in a hurry. What's with the envelope, Chad?"

"What are you supposed to be?" he countered rudely. Sonny could see the refusal to respond to her question until she answered his in his eyes.

"French maid," she told him shortly.

"Hot."

Sonny felt her face flush and noted with a bit of glee that Chad's was doing the exact same as he suddenly lost his composure. He leapt out of the chair he had been occupying for the past few minutes as if it was on fire, effectively putting some distance between himself and Sonny. They stared at each other for a few moments, wide-eyed and red-faced.

"What?" Sonny finally choked out.

"I didn't say anything!" Chad exclaimed defensively. "Here." He thrust the envelope into her hands as she gaped at him. "I'm supposed to give that to you."

"What is it?" the brunette asked warily.

"How should I know?"

"You're giving it to me."

"That doesn't mean it's from me."

"Then who gave it to you?"

"I don't know," Chad said, rolling his eyes and reclaiming the chair he'd abandoned. "Some guy."

"What'd he look like?" Sonny asked. She held the envelope up to the light to find out if doing so would allow her see part of its contents.

"Average. What are you doing with it? Do you think it's gonna explode or something? 'Cause I don't think looking at it all cross eyed is gonna help you if it does."

Sonny glared at Chad and stuck out her tongue.

"Charming, Munroe."

"What do you mean he looked average?"

"I don't know! He had a face and hair. All his limbs were intact. Average! Like… I dunno. The kind of person you see once and then forget when he's gone. Nothing like me. I'm memorable."

Sonny snorted. "Not for the reasons you think," she muttered, slitting open the envelope. She withdrew a single piece of paper and gave it a cursory examination. She studied Chad thoughtfully for a moment when she was done reading. "You're sure you don't know who gave this to you?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Sonny handed him the letter and he took it, clearing his throat before reading the contents aloud. "'Good morning, Sunshine. Let me start by saying that you know me better than most. After spending a great deal of time with you since you started working at Condor Studios and experiencing your wit, your charm, your wrath, and your friendship, I feel as though I've gotten to know you better than most as well. I would say more, but my identity has to stay a mystery for the time being. I'll have more to say to you once you've completed your adventure for the day.

"'I know you like a bit of mystery and adventure, so I thought I'd set up a scavenger hunt for you. I can promise you it'll be worth your while. And, at the end, you'll see me again; though I can't promise you'll be happy with who I am.'" Chad looked at Sonny, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "It's signed 'Anonymous,' and there's a riddle at the bottom."

"I know, Chad. I read it."

Concerned skated across Chad's face in a split-second before it was quickly replaced by amusement. "You're not actually thinking about doing this, Sonny," he said in a condescending manner.

"I don't see why not," Sonny said, snatching the letter back.

"This person sounds like a creepy, psycho stalker!"

"He intrigues me."

"How do you know it's a he? Could be a girl."

"It's a guy, Chad."

"How do you know?"

"Did you not hear the heinously awkward wording?"

"Maybe it was the way I read it that made it sound awkward," Chad said matter-of-factly.

Sonny scoffed. "It's a guy."

"Fine. But if he turns out to be a serial killer, don't come crying to me when he tries to kill you, Sonny."

"Don't worry, I won't," Sonny said mockingly. She took one last look at the riddle at the bottom of the letter before tucking it away in the drawer of her vanity.

"Fine!"

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good!

"So we're good here?" Chad asked, causing Sonny to roll her eyes.

"I've got dress rehearsals to get to, Chad. And don't you have scenes to film?" she asked as she pulled open the door and made to leave.

"What, I don't get a hug before you go?"

"You just want a girl dressed as a French maid to hug you," she retorted, looking at him over her shoulder.

"Hey, I don't crush your hopes and dreams!" Chad called after her as she left and he hurried after her. "C'mon, Sonny! Balance out the friendship here!" He heard her laugh as she rounded a corner in the direction of the So Random! stage.

"Perv!"

"I resent that!"

Glancing at his watch, Chad groaned and began a mad dash in the direction of Mackenzie Falls. He'd told Chloe and Portlyn he'd be a little late for personal reasons, stating an estimated time of arrival of about ten twenty. Right now, it was ten twenty-seven and the first scene of the day was set to start in three minutes. He sped past Marshall Pike, scaring the older man and causing him to spill coffee down his front. Chad didn't bother with an apology, just ducked his head and urged on a final burst of energy as he rounded a final corner and burst onto the Mackenzie Falls set with a single minute to spare.

"Where have you been?" Portlyn hissed as they took their mark.

Chad smiled absently at her. "I was spending some time in the sunshine," he told her. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair to fix any imperfections, preparing to ease into the character of Mackenzie like a favorite pair of shoes. Over Portlyn's shoulder, Chloe cast him a knowing smirk and gave him a thumbs up.

"Chad, it's raining."

"Congratulations, Portlyn. You've officially stated the obvious so many times you've just earned the rank of Captain. What's your point?"

"There's no sun when it rains."

"Sure there is. It just depends on where you look. And I happen to know exactly where to look."

"Were you on the So Random! set again?" Portlyn demanded.

"Why would I be?" Chad countered quickly, his eyes wide.

"Because you like Sonny Munroe."

"And what, pray tell, gave you that idea?"

"Uh… Duh! It's so obvious. You stick to her like glue. And I know what it's like to stick to glue."

Chad stared at Portlyn, both appalled at her stupidity and concerned for the state of her mental health.

"I worry about the state of your brain sometimes," he told her.

"My brain doesn't live in a state, nimrod. It lives in my body."

"Wow. You…got me there, Port."

"Chad, if you and Portlyn are done arguing, we'd really like to get on with the first scene," Steven Stevenson spat nastily from his director's chair, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "We're running late already, so both of you need to shut your mouths before I scream!"

Rolling his eyes, Chad shoved all thoughts of Sonny and the letter out of his mind and called forth his carefully memorized lines. But as he messed up the first of many lines and Steven Stevenson threw his first fit of the day, Chad knew he was going to work a lot harder to get Sonny off his mind for the time being, something he hadn't needed to do in a long while.

oOoOoOo

You turn to me when you want a disguise. In my depths, you'll find a clue and a prize.

This is just a cute little story that came to mind as I was helping my friend try to figure out how to entertain some little kids she was babysitting. It's completely unrelated to the Years story arc (Twelve Months and Four Seasons) and is more of a side project than my main concentration right now. Each chapter is going to contain one clue or more and will further add to Sonny's adventure to figure out who sent her on this scavenger hunt.

As always, reviews are loved, appreciated, and responded to!

Love,

EmbracingRain