A/N- So I just wanted to thank you guys for the extraordinary response I've gotten on all my stories so far; especially Whispers (into an Empty Wind). That story was incredibly hard to write as it was a new type of story for me, and I'm so glad so many of you liked it.

Background: I've been trying to come up with a oneshot/story for Taylor Swift's Speak Now (the song) for a while now. I keep reading stories about/to it and I knew I wanted mine to seem different from the rest. So here we are, this story is loosely based on that song. It's not like all the other song-based songfics I've written, so I really hope you guys like it. I really hope it lives up to your expectations. (:

Random fact: I wrote this story while waiting to hear news on whether my house was going to flood or not. (The recent floods in QLD, Australia... you've probably heard of it. As of the last time I watched the news, 75% of Queensland was flooded -which is an area twice the size of Texas-, 10 people had lost their lives -Rest In Peace- and 68 people were still missing. I've never seen anything like this in my whole life of living where I do, and it's quite scary to be in the thick of it all.) This was meant to be a distraction, never to be posted, but I decided it was good enough. This is also my first post for 2011! (:

Disclaimer: *sigh* It's devastating admitting this, but... I do not, nor have I ever, owned Sonny with a Chance or the song Speak Now by Taylor Swift. No copyright infringement was intended by me or this story.

This is for you. Enjoy it.

I wasn't entirely sure how I'd managed to get here. A mere 72 hours ago I was in Wisconsin, giggling and skating on the frozen-over lake with my best friend, Lucy. Now I was hiding in the back row of a church in the picturesque and cold Los Angeles, desperately hoping no-one would notice me.

Yes, I, Sonny Munroe, was crashing a wedding. For someone who's never crashed anything in her entire life, this was a big deal.

Why, you ask, was I crashing a wedding?

Two years ago, 6 years into a relationship with Chad Dylan Cooper and going on 8 years in Hollywood, I ran away. No explanations, no goodbyes. I just up and ran.

I knew my reason then; I was afraid. I was nothing but a small town girl, one with simple values and beliefs, one that still believed in fairytales, who was suddenly thrown into a world of paparazzi, flashy dates, nice cars, fake girls, and drug and alcohol temptations that would ruin my career. I didn't want any of this. I just wanted to be funny; I could do that from my laptop back in Wisconsin. So that's where I went.

But looking back now, that was a mistake. I left the ones I loved, and now the boy I thought I was going to marry was marrying someone else.

Music started playing. Not the traditional wedding march, but soft background music, the kind Chad and I had discussed playing at our very own wedding, just so he wouldn't be bored waiting for me to arrive.

My eyes focused on him as he walked up the aisle, followed by a few groomsmen, one of which I recognised as Nico.

Nico?

People filed into the church at a steady pace. I recognised a few of them; Chad's cast mates from Mackenzie Falls, Selena Gomez, and surprisingly, Grady.

He walked in and took a seat beside me, and I flinched slightly.

Don't recognise me. Don't recognise me. Don't turn around!

"Don't you just love weddings? Two people making an eternal commitment..." he said, leaning over to talk to me.

I tried to disguise my voice as best I could when I answered.

"Yeah."

"Sonny?" he whispered.

He turned to face me, and I smiled cheesily.

"Hiya Grady."

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." He admitted, turning back to face the front.

"What?"

"Chad's getting married. That should be you walking down the aisle."

"B-but I left." I stuttered, my voice dropping as the music stopped playing. "Surely he's over me?"

"He never forgot about you. You'll see."

His fingers touched my chin gently, turning my head to face the front, where Chad stood.

The wedding march started playing.

I could barely breathe.

Chad never forgot about me? Does that mean he still loves me?

It wasn't until I saw his bride that I decided this wedding had to be stopped.

She was wearing a short, puffy dress, completely not traditional at all. In fact, it slightly resembled something you'd find in a pastry kitchen.

She was short, brunette, slightly tanned, and had piercing dark brown eyes.

The way she smiled at all her guests… she reminded me of a show I was watching the other day, about beauty pageants.

Her eyes connected with mine for a split second, and I could see the resemblance; she was as close to being me as you could get.

"See?" Grady whispered.

She finally got to the end of the aisle, and Chad took her hand. He was smiling.

Was interrupting this wedding the right thing to do?

I couldn't focus on the words, the other faces, the priest, the music.

All I could think about - and see - was Chad.

Grady seemed to notice this, and gently shook me from my thoughts when it was the final moment.

"Chad Dylan Cooper," the priest droned, not looking very pleased at the media circus outside the windows, "Do you take Alicia Mornsen to be your lawfully wedded wife?" (A/N- really Chad? She has a similar name and everything? You don't seem to be moving on at all... I'm jussss saaaayingg.)

He opened up his mouth, and I stood up.

My hands and knees were shaking so badly that I knocked a vase of flowers over in my attempt to get out into the aisle.

It shattered and splintered around my feet.

He turned to look at me, realisation crossing his face.

"Don't say yes." I whispered into the split-second silence.

The guests burst into chatter, and I could make out everything they were saying, from "She looks like the bride!" to "How did she get in here?" and even Tawni Hart's (funny, I didn't see her come in…) exclamation of "Sonny!"…

I couldn't take it. I took one last look at him, and ran from the room.

My hair whipped at my face and the cold air stung as I ran through the parking lot.

Before I could get to my car, I collapsed.

I didn't realise I was crying at first, but the tears made my face even more cold.

Then I realised why I was so cold; I'd forgotten my coat and scarf.

That didn't matter as I clutched at the muddy gravel on the ground, willing it to open up and swallow me whole.

I, Sonny Munroe, am not the kind of girl who should be barging in on a white veil occasion. I shouldn't have come at all.

"You forgot these." A whisper from behind me said, the softest voice I'd ever heard.

I expected to see Grady when I turned around, a look of sympathy on his face.

I didn't expect to see Chad.

[Expect the unexpected.]

Chad smiled as he held out his hand, offering to help me up.

Help you up so he can kick you out quicker. That little cynical voice in my head whispered.

I refused it.

Before I knew, his tux was (presumably) stained with mud and water, and he was on his knees beside me, pushing the unwanted fabric onto my lap.

"I didn't say yes, like you wanted." He said, casually, like we were talking about the weather.

I stared at him.

"I… I can't. I don't want to ruin your chance at happiness." My voice was uncontrolled, my mind blurting out the innermost thoughts I didn't want to say to him.

I got up to leave, my coat and scarf bundled up in my arms.

"Then stay."

I hesitated.

"I'm not the one you should marry."

He got up, proving my thoughts about his tux being stained.

"If you truly believed that, deep in your heart," he whispered, poking the middle of my chest meaningfully, "then you wouldn't be here."

We both stared at each other in silence.

All around us, people crowded, cameras clicking wildly.

He turned to them, quietly.

"Don't take the attention off of the bride on her big day." He said, gesturing for the church to be the place they returned to.

They all grumbled and turned back, expecting the wedding to continue.

He grabbed my shoulders lightly and guided me down a path that was overgrown with plants and flowers. It looked like it was barely used.

We stopped just out of sight of the church.

"I… I have to get back in there." He said, and my heart dropped.

For a second there, I'd actually fooled myself into believing he was going to choose me.

"Unless there's something you want to tell me."

My mouth opened slightly, but words wouldn't form.

He watched me carefully.

"It really hurt me when you left. I didn't know why. I thought I'd done something wrong. I was going to propose to you, Sonny. I loved you."

His use of tenses was enough to get me talking again.

"Do you think you could do it again?" I whispered.

"What?"

"Love me."

He took a deep breath, and I found myself dreading the answer.

"I don't want the answer if it's not one I want to hear." I said to the ground.

"What would you want to hear?" he asked, putting his fingers under my chin to lift it up.

"…yes." I whispered.

"I wouldn't even have to try." He admitted. "Loving you was so easy, so natural. I honestly thought I was born just to love you."

"I ruined that, didn't I?"

"I don't think you did."

It took five seconds for his lips to find mine, and another 4.3 for my brain to disconnect.

I kissed him back.

My bundled up coat fell to the path, and my hands wrapped around his neck. His hands held my waist, making the skin beneath them unusually warm.

We finally broke away, gasping for air.

"This is gonna look so bad to the public." He laughed breathlessly, "I mean, who kisses other girls outside the church on their wedding day?"

My answer came before his chuckle was finished.

"Oh, only people who were about to marry the wrong girl."

His hands wrapped around me, pulling me in for a hug.

People swarmed again; apparently they'd figured out there wasn't going to be a wedding and came to find us. Cameras clicked and the flash bulbs made the dreary day look bright.

"I'm glad you came." He whispered.

"You know me; I'm a sucker for that moment when the priest says 'speak now'."

Fin.