Hi guys, this is a collaboration between me, darkwriterff and a friend rescuemama2007. We hope you guys like it.
Also, we don't own the Days Characters, there are some other characters we made up. No copyright infringement intended.
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"What can I get for you this morning?" Sonny greeted his next customer cheerfully despite the fact that he had a line out the door. His new venture, Common Grounds, a community coffee-house and gathering spot, was so far appearing to be quite successful. He was going to have to hire more help if business stayed that good. Not a bad problem to have.
Sami Brady stepped up to the counter, "I'll take a soy latte with an extra shot, please. What would you like Will?" She shifted her focus to the blonde, blue-eyed teenager behind of her.
"What, Mom?" Will brought his attention back to her and then quickly moved it to the very attractive barista behind the bar. "Uhh, hi, sorry. I'll take a large cup of dark roast, no room." Will smiled widely and held Sonny's gaze for a brief moment.
"Sure, coming right up," Sonny said as he turned to prepare their drinks. He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder a couple of times to get another look at the guy at the counter. "He certainly isn't a boy", Sonny thought, correcting his early assumption. The two looked to be about the same age. New to Salem and apparently the only gay man in the entire town, Sonny really just wanted a friend and wondered if this Will person might just be gay, too. With the drinks finished, Sonny grabbed a lid for both and set them in front of Sami and Will. "Okay, that will be $7.23, please," he knew off the top of his head what the total would be but ran it through the cash register anyway.
"Here you go," Sami said and handed him a $10 dollar bill, "keep the change. It's Sonny, right? Adrienne and Justin Kiriakis' youngest son?"
"Yep, that would be me," Sonny replied now that he and his family were back on good terms.
"This is my son, Will. Will, this is Sonny. If I remember, you and Will are about the same age...19-20?" Will put out his hand to shake Sonny's. He used his apron to clean up a little before taking a hold of Will's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sonny," Will said flashing him another smile. "Welcome back to Salem. Are you taking classes at all at the U?"
"Eventually," Sonny responded with a nod. "As soon as the business gets established, and I've got the right amount of staff hired, I do plan on finishing my degree here. So, if you know of anyone looking for a part-time job, send them my way. I've got a couple more positions to fill." Sonny finally released Will's hand, which was unusually soft and smiled. "Great to meet you, too, Will. Hope to see you around."
Just as Sonny finished with the pair, the two newest staff members he had hired arrived for their shifts. Sonny let them get settled behind the bar and stepped out to clear a few tables. As Sami and Will headed out the door, he heard Will make a comment about how this would be a great spot for a first date. Exactly what Sonny thought, too. He'd be here almost every day...Will could come back in for a date any time he wanted. "I'd certainly take a break for him", Sonny mused to himself and watched Will walk out the door.
Walking back towards the bar, Sonny noticed that Carol and Travis had a good system going and were getting through the line of customers efficiently. Carol would take the order, write names on cups, and hand them back to Travis. He would make the drinks and then she would ring them up at the register. "Americano, coming right up, and your name please?" Carol asked the woman next in line.
"Janice," the woman replied. Sonny looked at her immediately, as if she might just be "his" Janice. It was doubtful, since the last time Sonny had seen her, she was still in London and refused to come to the states with him. But it didn't stop him from looking every single time he heard that name. It was a long time ago, but the memories were still fresh.
Five years ago, while living in Paris with his family, Sonny realized that he was gay and he desperately wanted to come out to his parents. As most young teens would in this situation, he was having a hard time finding the words. One evening, when he was about 16, he sat down at dinner and just let it out. He told them that he was gay, he didn't want to be set up with their friend's daughters, their business partner's nieces anymore. He knew they would be shocked. He even knew they would probably be angry. But he never expected to be disowned. With only a few harsh words to him, they tossed him out into the street. He was 16 years old, in a foreign country and homeless, no friends, no family, not a single person to help him in t his desperate time. He picked up what few belongings his parents let him pack in his backpack and walked into the night to find a place to stay.
Wandering the streets of Paris, he ran into a street-walker named Janice. She was a beautiful 18-year-old woman who had long red hair and skin like ivory. Sonny was captivated by her presence. As he spent the first evening following her around, he could clearly see that she was a professional. She could talk her way into or out of any situation, and Sonny wanted to learn everything he could from this wonderful person. Feeling a mutual kinship, she took Sonny in, and together they began selling their services for money. Sonny was a male escort in England, a stripper in France, a lounge singer in Belgium, a street-walker in Ireland. It didn't matter where they went, he enjoyed his time, and lived off of the amazing income. Together the two toured the world and made themselves a nice living. With no one else to worry about but themselves, money wasn't an issue. They had an apartment together in England, where they ended up settling back and they began an escort business. Sonny, being the son of a lawyer, knew the ins and outs of the legalities of a business, so he took care of the contracts. Janice, easily managed the clientele and grew their business so that they were barely able to keep up.
On Sonny's 17th birthday, Janice took him to a gay bar, where he learned how to table dance. He learned how to move his hips, and grind himself into the table to make him the center of the whole bar's attention. Sonny had grown out of his awkward, teenager looks, and now was tall, dark, and built. Living on the streets tended to age a person faster than normal. It was undeniable that Sonny was gorgeous, and the owner of the bar offered him a part-time job dancing, which Sonny gladly accepted. He found that he loved the techno music the best, dubstep second. They had great beats, and he could really use that to move his body to. Soon Sonny was doing what the other guys did, waxing, oiling his entire body and that seemed to make him even more popular with customers.
For the next few years, Sonny spent his time between dancing and walking the streets with Janice, who had become his adopted sister. Where one was, the other was not far behind. On his nineteenth birthday, he was getting ready to go to work at the bar when he got a call from Janice. She was at the hospital. She had been negotiating with some clients when she felt light-headed and passed out. One of them had the decency to take her to the emergency room. She was fine, but the Dr suggested she have someone accompany her home since she sustained a pretty good head wound. Since they owned their own business, Sonny was able to rush to Janice, without any damage to their income. He didn't know what he'd do without her. He'd be completely lost. She had become his world.
On the cab ride home, Janice told him that she had done something behind his back and hoped he wouldn't be mad. Sonny wasn't totally surprised at this. Janice was really the true businesswoman behind their enterprise, and she often made deals without him. She told him it had nothing to do with the business, at least not directly. That's when she confessed that she had done some research and had contacted his parents. They were no longer staying in Paris and had moved back to the states to Salem, where his father's family lived. "They are coming to get you, Sonny," Janice had said to him staring him directly in the eyes. He remembered replying angrily, "No, I won't go with them." He had been determined to stay with Janice. It didn't matter what they had to offer, this was his life now and he wasn't leaving her.
All of his protesting, yelling, screaming, crying, fighting did nothing to sway Janice. As her final plea, she told him something he wouldn't forget for the rest of his life. "Sonny, I'm sick," she said to him with tears in her eyes. "I don't think I'm going to be around much longer. And the one thing I ask of you before I die, is to please leave this life. You have a good family that wants to rebuild their relationship with you. Please, Sonny, clean up your life while you can. For me it's too late. Don't make the same mistakes I did." The next day Sonny was on a plane with his parents, leaving the only life he knew, the friend he adored, and starting over in the tiny, mid-western town of Salem, USA.
Those days with Janice seemed like so long ago. He wondered where she was, if she ever thought of him, if she was still around. Shaking his head to bring his thoughts back to the present, he realized that the tables were all bussed and the last customer had just left the shop. Putting Janice out of his mind, he joined Carol and Travis behind the bar to get ready for the lunch rush.