Author's Note: This is just a little oneshot I thought of when I was watching a movie. Just a nice bit of Channy fluff. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
For the first time in my life, I was excited as I sat down in the cafeteria, waiting for Chad Dylan Cooper. It was a warm day, and the first day we were returning to the studio after a two month summer vacation.
It was during this vacation that I finally gave into everything I wanted so badly, and declared my interest in Chad Dylan Cooper. I blame New York for that part. It had been a long day of interviews, photoshoots and the paparazzi, and I had been resting in the hot tub provided in my hotel room. I wouldn't dare admit that for the past month and a half, I had been in emotional agony. It is a horrid thing realizing that you miss the one benefit of not being at work: I missed Chad, and it was killing me. He texted once a week, and my heart leaped whenever my phone vibrated, but apart from that, I had spent what should have been a perfectly great vacation not thinking of the jerk-throb, thinking of the jerk-throb. Sitting in that hot tub, smiling about the time we danced at the prom made me realize something that made me jump right out of the hot tub. I liked him.
It was when I was parading around my hot tub drying myself and quickly shoving on some pyjama shorts and a vest top, when I heard someone banging on the door. I quickly tied up my hair into a small plait, and opened the door, as if my world wasn't suddenly crumbling before me. Of course, that would have worked perfectly, had it not been Chad Dylan Cooper standing at the door. Yeah, he was standing there while I was standing there in a dirty black vest, and Little Mermaid shorts. It was weird, and don't ask me how I even managed to consider this while I was being mortified, but my heart leaped, and a part of me really just wanted to hold him tightly and kiss him.
"Wow, this is such a nice surprise," he smiled, "You just have so much going on that I could make fun of. And I thought this would be a wasted trip."
"And I thought I would have a Chad free summer," I replied, folding my arms, probably emphasizing the pizza stain from last night's feast. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in the city and I thought I would pay my good friend Sonny a visit," he winked, admiring himself in the…doorknob. Oh my God, what did I see in him?
"That is so cute," I smiled sarcastically. "You paid your visit. You can go now."
"Come on Munroe, I brought pizza," he shrugged his shoulders. He held out the box, and the two bottles of coke in his other hand, and I was forced to reconsider.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked him. I don't know why I did, because to be perfectly honest, it was everything I ever wanted, and it was the most difficult thing in the world not to smile willingly.
"We're not twenty-one and that leaves the city dead to us at night," he replied. "I'm bored, you're bored. Let's be bored together and call a truce just for tonight."
So we did.
We ate Chad's peace pizza, and then we ordered another one, as well as a few DVDs we would probably never watch outside of that hotel room. We sat on the balcony of the hotel playing cards and admiring the lights before us. It was when it was two am that we turned on one of the old movies we had ordered to watch. It was called 'An Affair to Remember', and it was a love story set in New York. I had never felt so strongly towards Chad in all of my life. Our hands were side by side, and I was heavily tempted to place mine on top of his. I was trying to look at the movie, but I found Chad more exciting. He made cute expressions when he was thinking, smiling, enjoying…he made cute expressions all the time. I hated this. I hated every minute of it.
"I completely win at life," he smirked, when he caught me looking at him. "The guy in this movie used to be the hottie of that era, and you're looking at me instead?"
"I was not looking at you," I protested, laughing a little too eagerly. Oh God, there was something really wrong with me. "And he is hotter than you, well, in the older man sense."
"Munroe, just say it," he pleaded, smiling. "You want to hold me, kiss me, and do everything the Beatles sang about, don't you?"
"I bet you want to do the same to me," I replied. I didn't even know what I was saying; I just had to jump to my defence before he thought my silence indicated that I really did feel that way. Of course I wanted to hold him, kiss him and make the Beatles proud, but I couldn't tell him that. Then again, was it really better insinuating that he felt the exact same way about me?
"You didn't really answer my question," he replied, stuttering a little. We looked away from each other, but I swear down, he was blushing.
"You've not really answered mine either," I argued, and then we were forced to look at each other. "Do you want to do that stuff to me?"
"Do you want to do that stuff to me?" He replied, and we both took a step back from each other, ignoring the emotional reunion taking place in the movie.
"Okay, let's answer each other's question in three," I suggested, and he nodded. I refused to acknowledge the fact that my heart was probably going to be broken in just a few minutes. "One. Two. Three."
"Yes."
I closed my eyes, until it dawned on me. He had said the exact same thing as me. Should I open my eyes? Did I really want to? Had I just hallucinated his response to make me feel better? The mere thought of him feeling the same way as me made my body spread with this unfamiliar sensation. My heart was racing and I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
I opened my eyes, and I looked over to see Chad sitting in front of the screen, looking at me nervously. He looked terrified, it was as if I was looking in the mirror.
"They finally ended up together," he replied, referring to the protagonists sharing a very passionate moment in each other's arms.
"It all worked out then," I smiled, sitting down next to him. I felt his hand clasp with mine, and my heart skipped a beat. I nervously rested my head on his shoulder, and he didn't even squirm.
And that's how it began.
That was why I was a little excited about seeing Chad in work. He told me on the phone that he had told his cast mates the night before on IM, and I had told my own cast mates this morning. Lucy was still on vacation from school and was spending the remainder of her vacation with me, so I was able to tell her as well. I won't lie to you; things were thrown, including insults, glares and even objects at a point. It was when I recited how it happened that I managed to convince everyone that this was meant to be.
"Listen here Janet, I'm not going to put this any other way. I either get on the cover of Tween Weekly or I pull the interview altogether. Have you seen me lately? I look positively god-like since I got a girlfriend, and if that doesn't sell copies, then I don't know what will. Yeah, you can call me back."
Before you ask, I had to remind myself of how I reacted whenever he looked at me so I could get past the whole arrogance thing. It had been a blissful two weeks, and I could almost forget just what a jerk he could be. When he hung up the phone, he looked at me and smiled. I smiled back, and I leaned over, and pursed my lips a little…yeah, we greeted each other with a kiss all the time. It was weird, every time it made me tingle.
"No, you do not have chapped lips," he replied, but he didn't look any closer to kissing them. Okay, I misread that signal, so I smiled again and leaned back. "Look, I can't do lunch today, because I really need to work out, is that okay?"
"But we haven't seen each other all morning," I protested, refusing to stop smiling, otherwise it would look a little desperate. Chad smirked, and placed his hand on the back of my chair.
"I know, but I think I'm still carrying some vacation weight, and the paparazzi are ruthless," he replied, biting his lip. Stupid cute maneuver. "Plus, I think we should maybe tone down the PDA. If my cast mates see I'm soft, how will they ever know to fear and worship me?"
"Yeah, totally," I nodded, and it was so hard not to lean against my chair and crush his fingers. "So, I'll see you tonight, right?"
"Oh, right, that," he replied, and it was so funny, because I knew exactly what was coming. "Look, I'm really sorry, but my Mom wants us to have a family night, so I can't make it. Is that okay?"
"Sure, I'll text you later," I replied. I would have so been inclined to believe his story, had I not known that his Mom was in Barbados sunning herself. Chad was lying to me already, and we hadn't even been together for a whole month yet. What was wrong with me?
"You're so awesome," he winked, patting me on the back, before walking away. I was left sitting alone at our special table, looking down at my cold sandwiches, wondering why I was so repulsive all of a sudden. Did he not like me anymore? Oh my God, was it because of my obsession with soft toys? It's not even an obsession, but I did tell him that I probably loved my soft toys more than him. What was it? Why didn't he want to sit with me?
"Maybe he really is busy?" Lucy suggested when we were sitting in the prop house. I had been feeling numb all afternoon, and I kept on checking my phone to see if he was ready to apologize. It was pathetic, see; this was why I never told him that I liked him before. Every time I explored the negative side to it, it made me feel sick. I narrowed my eyes and she stepped back with her hands in the air. "Okay, I'm sorry I said that."
"I keep thinking, what if it's another girl?" I said, the words feeling like poison. Whenever Chad had looked promising with another girl, I was always crippled by jealousy, but I could ignore it before, not now. "But I don't want to ask, incase he's not and I look paranoid."
"Well then you show him everything you've got," Tawni piped up, slamming her magazine shut, smiling confidently. "You want him to show you that he loves you? Then you have to make him want to show you affection."
"And how do you propose I do that?" I asked her, but she didn't sound too ridiculous. I couldn't believe that in my devastated state, that Tawni Hart sounded smart.
"I bet if you were upset he would," Lucy suggested excitedly, and we both looked to Tawni, who nodded her head with approval. I looked to Lucy for some kind of inspiration. "You could totally cry and run to him, and then he'd hug you and kiss you, and wipe those tears away. Think of something sad."
"Dog dying, dog dying," I replied, thinking of the childhood dog I'd owned that had passed away when I was young. When you're six, something like that completely crushes you, but then again, so did the death of my Father, but I didn't want to be too inconsolable and thinking of that always made me inconsolable.
"Yeah Sonny, that dog is dead and it is never coming back," Grady joined in, trying to inspire me. "You said goodbye to it one day when you left, thinking you'd see it again, but little did you know it was goodbye forever. It looked at you with those eyes, knowing its fate, but having to hide it from you. Now it's in doggy heaven, looking down and wishing it could have just one more minute with you, but that will never be –"
"I think she gets it Grady," Nico nudged him, and he was right. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and I quickly had to remember the dog, before becoming thrilled that I had managed to cry on cue.
Can I tell you something now? It is difficult crying all the way to Chad's rehearsal area. I wanted to laugh so many times, and I kept thinking of funny stories, with the sad stories slowly fading away, so I had to run. I barged my way onto the rehearsal spot and then burst into tears. I thought my sobs sounded ridiculously forced, but I saw Chad look to me with concern, and immediately rush over to my side.
"Are you alright?" He asked me, grabbing my arm. I kept on crying, waiting for him to embrace me, but he didn't. He looked at me with concern, and his eyes were wide with worry, but he was only holding onto my arm, with a fair bit of distance between us.
"No, I could really do with a hug," I sobbed, it is also complicated to heave your body the way you normally would if you were actually in tears. I wiped my tears away, and sobbed again, but he didn't embrace me. I tried to ignore the feeling growing in my gut, but I couldn't.
"Aw Sonny, come here," he smiled, and then I smiled in relief. My body was quickly jolted over to behind a curtain, where Chad signaled to his cast mates that he wouldn't be longer than a few minutes. "Look, I'm in the middle of a very emotionally draining scene, and you know I need to be in the moment. So, why don't you tell me what's up, and we can discuss it and then come up with a solution?"
"Really?" I snapped, opening my mouth in shock. "You're actually turning me away because you're in the middle of a scene?"
"I think we both know you would cry a lot harder if I didn't do well in this episode, right?" He asked me, smirking, but I glared at him like I was trying to burn him alive, forcing him to wipe that stupid grin from his face. "So, Sonny, are you alright?"
"You know what? I'm fine," I replied, pushing my way past him, storming back to the prop house. I actually couldn't believe him. He was turning me away for a scene? Sure, I had made my peace with the fact that his career took a lot of priority, because it was the same for me, but to actually turn me away when I was in tears? Well, not in real tears, but he didn't know that!
"He still ignored you?" Tawni asked, looking confused. "That's weird, it always works for me, but then again not all of us can be as charming as me, can they?"
"You're not helping," I replied, patting her knee a little harder than I needed to. "I'm going to have to dump him, aren't I? Or ask him if there's someone else?"
"Or someone could steal your purse!" Lucy exclaimed, after she had been lying on the floor, massaging her temples, obviously trying to think of an idea.
"How is that going to help someone?" I asked her.
"If someone stole your purse, then you can bet if Chad got it back, then he would be so arrogant and demand a kiss or something in return so he can bask in his awesomeness," she suggested, and suddenly her idea wasn't so crazy. Tawni and I smiled, looking towards Grady, who was enjoying his third taco of the day.
"Dude, they have that look on their faces," Nico nudged him worriedly. "The we-need-a-dangerous-favour look!"
"I am not doing anything without being paid," he told us, crossing his arms.
"I'll give you fifty bucks to steal my purse in front of Chad and let him chase you and win it back," I told him, mimicking his position and expression.
"Twenty dollars," he replied. "No wait, you said fifty! You can't take that back!" I nodded my head and gave him the money.
I expected Chad to come over to the studio to apologize to me, and I was correct. I was sitting on the sofa, Grady hiding in the corridor until he had to come forward and 'steal' my purse. I stood up, and walked over to the door, taking him out into the hall. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared for the feelings that surrounded me when I touched his arm. I still liked him, and even though I suspected all was not well, I couldn't stop myself from experiencing the emotions I had before.
"Look, I'm really sorry about how I acted before," he told me, taking my arm. "You're right, I had absolutely no right to turn you away during a scene – even though it was a two hour special and I had to be in the moment – anyways, I'm totally ready to talk now about whatever was bothering you."
"I wouldn't want you to strain yourself thinking of someone else for a change," I replied, forcing myself to look away from him. Despite the fact that I hadn't actually been lying about my tears, he hadn't been lying about his reaction. So yeah, I was going to make him feel a little bad.
"Look, Munroe, there is a reason why I was sort of pushing you away before," he sighed, and he looked serious.
"There is?" I asked him, my heart thumping. Was Chad about to be honest with me? Because it would be the second time that ever happened.
"Yeah, and I wasn't going to say it, but –"
We were suddenly disturbed by a total (non) stranger running towards me and stealing my purse out of my arms. Couldn't Grady have chosen a better moment?! I watched as Chad immediately ran for the thief, and watched the honesty run away with him.
"My purse! Chad, be careful!" I called, trying to sound believable. I was really surprising myself today; I could seriously act. I could easily be a drama queen. Even though I was feeling this way, I couldn't help but wonder if I would soon be without a boyfriend. The thought of it made me want to throw up. It felt like we had taken so long to get to this amazing place and it was slowly disappearing into fantasy.
"I think I'm dying!" My thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Grady, and the sound of a few punches being thrown in his direction. Chad met me a few minutes and handed me my purse, smiling triumphantly.
"Thank you so much!" I smiled, and I was about to throw my arms around him, when he stepped away from me, still smiling at me arrogantly.
"All in a day's work," he replied breathlessly, "I gotta get back to work. I'll talk to you tonight."
I was left standing before Grady, who had managed to crawl over to me, and my purse. Yet I didn't feel triumphant in the slightest. Something was definitely wrong here.
"He doesn't like me anymore," I sighed, burying my head into a pillow. "It's official."
"I can't even see!" Grady snapped, looking at his swollen eye in the mirror. "Dude, I'm going to need those fifty bucks when I need to go to the ER!"
"There must be something we can do!" Tawni snapped, and we were all surprised to hear her use the word 'we', something she realized immediately. "Well I don't want you to be moaning and crying all day, do I? You'll totally ruin my aura!"
"What else can we do?" Lucy asked, and then we all tried to think. I seemed to be all out of ideas. There seemed to be no other alternative than to talk to Chad and find out what was going on. Maybe that wasn't such a stupid idea. Maybe I was being paranoid and I just needed some reassurance that he did like me. All of the scheming and playing games wasn't being honest and it must have been leaving him confused.
"I'VE GOT IT!" Tawni exclaimed excitedly, grabbing my hand. "Guys HATE it when the girl they like is in danger or hurt. So, you have to hurt yourself. I mean you can totally fake it and everything, and he will come to your aid if he actually sees you falling or something!"
"That is genius!" I replied, it totally sounded better than what I was thinking, and a lot easier. I could easily fake a fall or something, and it would be just like the time he guest starred on So Random. You know, when I realised that he actually made my heart do somersaults.
"That HAS to work!" Lucy nodded her head excitedly, and then we practiced tripping and falling without actually hurting ourselves. It was actually very easy to do that, and all I had to do was skin my knee or something. I could easily endure that pain if it meant saving my relationship.
I would run to Chad's dressing room door and fall down as I did so, making sure that he heard me. It all sounded so easily, and I actually smiled about it as I walked along the hallway. Truthfully I was absolutely terrified that this wouldn't do the trick, and I would be forced to admit that there was something seriously wrong with my relationship and question whether he was worth all of the effort.
I started running at the exact spot I said I would, and I saw his door close in front of me. You know what I didn't see? I didn't see the fallen plant lying across the floor. You know what I did? I totally tripped over the stupid plant lying across the floor. I thought at first that it was an asset to my plan, but then I tried to get up, and my foot was actually agony. I'm not kidding you, I felt like I had broken it. I thought that it was just a pain I had gained from the shock, but I actually couldn't stand up. I was in real pain. I had actually tripped up, and I saw Chad come out of his dressing room worriedly.
"I really hurt my foot," I told him, trying not to sob. I tried to get up again, but I winced, and Chad immediately took my arm with concern.
"Okay, let's do this together," he told me, forcing my arm around his neck. "We're going to get you up in three, and then I'm taking you to the hospital."
We counted to three and then I got up. It was the single most painful getting up I had ever endured. I even screamed, and tugged on Chad's hand, as well as biting my sleeve. It was no use though; my foot was in real pain, even when Chad tried to massage it during a traffic jam. I had seriously hurt my foot trying to save our relationship, and he still hadn't even hugged me or anything. He hadn't said anything cute, and I was feeling like a total idiot about this fact.
"I think it's broken!" I whined, forcing his hand away.
"Okay, don't panic, you'll be fine!" He insisted, looking to the road, zooming towards the hospital. "One time I broke my wrist, and I lived. You'll survive this. This is a little dramatic Munroe." I decided to let that one go, but only because I was completely possessed by the pain.
"I don't like emergency rooms," I sighed, as we sat in the waiting room. There were so many other people with worse injuries than me, and it was at that moment I realised that I was actually a little freaked out by blood. Great, Chad didn't love me, and I was about to throw up. I tried leaning on his shoulder, but he edged away from me slowly, forcing me to sit up straight. "Just forget it then!"
"Forget what?" He asked, as if he had no clue what I was talking about.
"You don't like me, do you?" I asked him. I wasn't even thinking when I said it, and I covered my mouth in shock. Chad looked at me in shock, and I felt my eyes fill up with tears. It had been the question I wanted to ask all day, and I was terrified of the reply.
"What do you mean I don't like you?" He demanded, looking slightly annoyed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "I can't believe you would say that! What would make you think that?"
"Chad, you won't even let me put my head on your shoulder when I've seriously hurt my foot?" I asked him, looking at him like an idiot, the tears closer to escaping my eyes. "And you've practically ignored me all day! You wouldn't even let me kiss you when you got my purse back, even though you were feeling so smug! You turned me away when I was crying, and you totally lied about your Mom being home! I'm not an idiot Chad! And if that's what you think I am, then I am done."
"You're right," he sighed, looking away from me, and down at the pristine white floor. I tried not to cry. I didn't want to be right. I tried not to panic, realizing that everything I feared was true, and that he really didn't like me. I couldn't believe it. My gut was radiating this indescribable pain throughout my body, a pain that was a lot worse than the pain radiating from my foot. "But it's not because I don't like you. It's worse than that."
"What could be worse than that?" I asked him, wiping away a tear.
"I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified of it," he told me, and I was left speechless. "I know that is the crappiest excuse for being a jerk, but I'm not used to it. As we both know, I'm basically in love with myself, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I never expected to feel this way about anyone else for a long time. You are by far the sweetest person I know, and everything you do makes me yours everyday. And it kills me. So I thought that if I kept my distance I could calm down, because I didn't want to freak you out, and –"
"I love you too," I told him. Again, I wasn't even thinking, but it felt like I had been holding it in forever. "I hate it too, but I do."
"Isn't it the worst thing ever?" He asked me. "But here's the really weird thing. I like it. It makes me feel really weird all the time, and I think less of myself, but I like it."
"Me too," I replied. "Is that why you've been acting like this?"
"Yeah, but I'm finished now," he replied, placing his hand on top of mine. "You can put your head on my shoulder now, only if you want to of course."
"Okay," I smiled, and it felt very, very strange when I leaned on him. I was doing this as his girlfriend and the girl he loved. It felt strange, but I loved it. "I seriously hate you for this."
"You think I'm thrilled that I don't look half as good as I do when I'm with you?" He asked, smirking at me.
"I was always the pretty one," I smiled, and he was just about to reply, when I said; "I've practically broken my foot, so you will let me have this." Chad sighed and looked straight ahead, signalling defeat on his part.
And it was like that for the rest of the night. I loved every minute of it.