A/N: Alright folks, get ready for a super sad one. I don't usually do this, but those of you who know me pretty well, know that I really like the Sonny/Grady pairing (thanks to a a few dropped hints throughout the second season). Don't get me wrong, Channy is MILES ahead on the awesome scale, but it is my second choice. Realistically though, that pairing's just not going to happen, so this is gonna be pretty angst :P

I had a really rough time with the pacing on this one. Like, I feel like everything's happening too fast. I dunno, what do you guys think? I struggled with it a lot on this story.

Please review, it's extremely helpful in motivating me to write more stuff :) Enjoy!

...

Sonny's day was going absolutely horribly.

'Horrible' was a gross understatement actually.

Everyone has their off days. Today happened to be Sonny Munroe's. She fumbled around the stage all day, her clumsy side truly starting to reveal itself. As a result, Marshall spent most of the rehearsal losing his cool with her. It was normal for him to get easily flustered, but she'd never heard him yell before.

Only just barely containing her tears, Sonny trudged her way back to her dressing room, only to find that Tawni had locked her out for whatever reason. She made her way back to the prop house to wait for Chad to pick her up, choosing to catch up on some homework while she waited. He'd promised to drive her home, but he was late. Majorly late. Sonny's eyes were fixated on the clock, leaving her homework mostly neglected for the better part of the hour.

On top of everything else, Josh decided to show up with the mail at that moment. That usually meant good news; fan mail always cheered her up. Though today she'd received her first ever hate mail. A particularly strong-worded letter detailing everything he hated about her followed by a compiled list of reasons why she should be kicked off the show.

She wished a friend would show up. She'd even take Tawni. She was tired of being alone. She needed a shoulder to cry on, desperately. The more she repeated the day's unpleasantries in her head, the less severe it seemed, though she still couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to burst into tears just to get it all off her chest. It had been a long week in general; work was stressing her out more than usual and she was having trouble sleeping. Grogginess was serving to shorten her usually long fuse and she hadn't felt rested for weeks. If only someone would walk through that prop house door…

Almost as if on cue, the handle on the door turned. Sonny eagerly looked up, hoping Chad had finally arrived. She masked her disappointment and instead put on a smile when Grady walked through the door.

"Hey Grady."

Grady jumped slightly when he noticed her on the couch. A wide grin spread over his face as he walked over and plopped himself down next to her.

"Hey! What're you up to?"

Sonny sighed, absentmindedly flipping through her textbook to no page in particular.

"Homework," she muttered. "And lots of it. Nothing too exciting. How about you?"

"I'm alright. Bored mostly. Nico left a littler earlier and I've been working on this sketch idea ever since. I'm in major need of a break."

Sonny giggled. "I'm with you," she said, closing her text book with a satisfying slam. "Today has been so awful it's not even funny."

Grady grimaced a bit. "Yea, you don't look so good. Everything okay?"

Sonny shrugged. "It's been a long day. Marshall's been moody all afternoon, Tawni's locked me out, and Chad's late picking me up."

An awkward pause followed before Grady responded. "Is that really all it is? These are the sort of things you'd usually brush off your shoulders."

Sonny slumped her shoulders, debating if she should tell him about the hate letter. She was embarrassed about it more than anything, but she desperately wanted to get it off her chest.

"I dunno," she muttered shyly, scratching the back of her neck. "I got my first hate letter today." She pulled the envelope out from under her textbook, placing it in Grady's hands, and continued speaking as he read. "I dunno why, but it really got to me."

Grady took a moment to scan over the letter before sighing heavily and looking up at her. "First off Sonny, why did you even keep this?"

Sonny bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I'm mulling over it I guess."

He shook his head, standing up. "Well first thing's first: this belongs in the garbage." He plopped it down in the bin to emphasize his point. "There. Out of sight, out of mind."

"You got the 'out of sight' part right," she mumbled. "'Out of mind' is debatable."

"Why do you care?" Grady pressed, moving back to his spot on the couch. "You don't even know this person, and they obviously don't know you."

Sonny grimaced. "I don't know. I really don't. I wish I didn't care, but I really can't help it…" She sniffed slightly, prompting Grady to brush a few bangs out of her eyes in a comforting gesture. It surprised her a bit, but she smiled slightly.

"There's millions of people on this planet, Sonny. You can't please them all, it's just a fact. But this is a total stranger, and one who doesn't know how amazing you are. Forget him. The people who count, love you."

Sonny's smile grew a bit. "I suppose," she answered. "And you love me, don't you?" she asked with a giggle.

Grady laughed back nervously before nodding. "Yeah. Of course." Another pause followed. It was clear Sonny was attempting to keep tears back, refusing to cry in front of him.

"Oh Grady," she choked quietly, "I'm just sick of it. I know haters are a part of life, but why do people need to be so cruel?"

"Hey, hey, listen," he continued, reaching forward and placing his hand of top of hers. He hated seeing her like this… He had to fix it. "You're smart, beautiful, and kind. Don't even let anyone, stranger or otherwise, make you think any differently." Sonny choked back a few more tears at this, prompting Grady to bring her head to his chest. The sudden movement once again startled Sonny, but she eventually relaxed, enjoying the soothing motion of him rocking her back and forth.

Her heart stopped when she felt him lean down and kiss the top of her head.

She snapped her head up to look at him, a shocked expression on her face. Grady winced in response, instantly regretting this move.

"I'm sorry Sonny, I don't know what I was thinking, I-" he cut himself off to sigh in frustration as Sonny's shocked expression remained. "It's just that, um… Well you know I like you. It's hard to control myself sometimes I guess."

Quite the contrary, this was actually news to Sonny. "Er… I had no idea…" she muttered. Grady put on a shocked expression to match Sonny's.

"I thought for sure you knew. All those dropped hints, the way I always sit next to you, the pet names and all that…"

Sonny slowly shook her head.

Grady felt his mood increasing significantly. Of course… That was why she'd chosen Chad over him! She didn't even know that he liked her! It all made sense now. She chose jerky, self-centered Chad Dylan Cooper over kind and generous Grady Mitchell because she thought she had no other option. The prospect of having Sonny was once again open, and he was thrilled.

With this in mind, he smiled, gently taking her chin. Sonny offered a nervous smile in return. A smile which slid right off her face when he moved her chin towards him, placing a soft kiss on her lips. Her change in demeanor went unnoticed; he was completely immersed in the kiss. He felt dizzy and lightheaded from happiness. The feeling of Sonny's lips on his was possibly the most amazing thing he'd felt in his life. The sparks flew instantly, and he was reminded again why he was so in love with her.

It was an eternity before he finally pulled away, eager to gauge her reaction.

His heart sank when he got a good look at her.

Unshed tears were finally gathering in her eyes, falling one at a time down her cheeks. Her mouth hung open slightly, and the bewildered, yet somehow devastated look on her face said everything for her: 'I don't like you like that'.

How could he have been so stupid… She loved Chad, and no amount of hoping, wishing, or praying was going to change that, no matter how much of a jerk he was.

Still, Grady felt like a bigger jerk than Chad at the moment. If he'd only known, he would never have dreamed of kissing her…

"What the Hell's going on in here?"

The sound of Chad's voice finally brought Sonny to uncontrollable sobs. Grady was vaguely aware that his hand was still gently gripping Sonny's chin, but he couldn't bring himself to move it until Chad ran over, swatting his arm away from her. Only then did he realize what kind of situation he'd put himself in. Chad threw his arms around Sonny, squeezing her tightly and shushing her before turning to face him.

"What did you do to her?"

The accusatory tone only made Grady's guilt deepen. He wanted desperately to explain himself… To throw out an old excuse… But he couldn't find his voice. His heart was too broken up by the sight of Sonny clutching tightly to Chad's blazer, tears streaming down her face as she choked and hiccuped.

Chad finally looked away from him to face Sonny. He wiped a few of her tears with his thumb before carefully lifting her into his arms and standing up. She looked so small and helpless… Grady couldn't believe he was the cause of the state she was currently in.

Chad shot one more glare at Grady. "I'm going to find out what you did. And you're going to pay for it. BIG TIME."

He shook his head before walking out of the prop house with Sonny in his arms, whispering soothing words to her until they were outside the studio.

All the while, Grady remained on the prop house couch, heartbroken once again, wondering why it was always the nice guys that finished last.

…

Guh, it was psychically painful to write such a sad ending :X Review please.