Memory
Me: Hi, it's me. I'm making a Channy fan fic, with amnesia. And before you say, "Aw, bujeebers, another one about Sonny losing her memory", no, it's not Sonny this time.
Sonny: No, we won't tell. It'll spoil things.
Me: All that anyone can say right now is that I don't own anything except for an OC (it's becoming a tradition) and that you'd better know what's going to happen.
Sonny slammed the door, huffing past her new pal Faye Briella Wilkerson, a new neutral cast-mate, which meant that Faye was on both So Random and Mackenzie Falls.
"Chad again?" Sonny's reply to Faye's question was to growl. "Hey, hey, don't growl at the interrogator."
Sonny almost replied when she and Faye heard a crash, coming from the Mackenzie Falls set.
"This is such a MOB!" screamed Sonny as she and Faye struggled to get past the crowd of people gathering near the set of Mackenzie Falls. They heard screams loud enough to break their eardrums and were jostled so much they probably felt like jelly.
"This is why I refused that crowd sketch of yours!" Faye responded, again having her stomach elbowed. "Hey, watch that elbow!"
"Sorry!"
"Ow! My girl-berries!" Faye was elbowed in the parts.
"Serves you right!" yelled Tawni.
That was when Faye realized that Sonny had gone out of sight.
Sonny had tried holding on to Faye's hand but the crowd had somehow carried her towards the reason as to why the mob had gathered in the first place.
Where are you, Faye?
Chad lay on the ground, barely breathing as the medics gathered around him. A smashed light was just a few meters away.
Oh God…
Sonny broke away from the crowd.
This can't be happening…
She ran towards him.
It's just a publicity stunt…
She fell to her knees as she helped pump his chest.
He'll probably say "Psyched!"…
The medics loaded his unconscious form onto a stretcher.
Don't take him away.
After the screaming, yelling, crying crowd dispersed, Faye caught up with Sonny in the most peculiar of places to find the So Random star: the hospital.
Honestly, Faye couldn't imagine the optimistic, perpetually cheerful, always skipping SONNY MUNROE in a dull, dowdy hospital. And she could barely imagine not seeing a grin on her face, too.
But that was what the impartial cast-mate (as everyone on Tween Weekly called her) found.
"Oh, SUNSHINE!" Faye called, dancing gracefully over to Sonny and using her special nickname.
"No" was Sonny's uncomplicated reply.
The next day, Faye returned, bearing cookies. Sonny wasn't in the lobby, but was inside Room 125, where Chad was.
"Cookies?"
Faye was answered by "No" and a middle finger.
She returned the next day too, bearing her best homespun fruit salad.
Again, she was answered with a "No", a middle finger, and this time, a kick in the shin.
The day after that, she, Zora, Tawni and Portlyn arrived, bearing fruits, vegetables, magazines, DVDs, the like.
Sonny had pushed them all out the door, gifts and all (though she did take Tawni's make-up kit and Portlyn's CSI DVD).
The next day, Faye came unaccompanied, with no gifts. Just simple old, dependable, calm, camera-and-paparazzi-hating Faye.
Somehow, Sonny invited her inside. And Faye's response was not what even Faye expected.
"He's not awake yet." Sonny scoffed as Faye covered her mouth, mortified by what she had blurted out.
"Way to point that out, Captain Obvious."
"I've watched enough soap operas to know that he's either going to the Pearly Gates, or he's gonna go 'who the h*ll are you' when he wakes up," Faye retorted.
"Chad will be fine. Trust me, he will." Sonny's blind belief worried Faye.
"Are you sure? He took quite a blow to the head. I know there's going to be SOME damage."
"Are YOU sure?"
"Yes I am."
"No you're not. Inside you're hoping as well, Faye."
"I am. But there's a VERY slim chance he'll wake up at all."
"You know what he reminds me of?" Sonny abruptly changed the topic.
"Don't you dare change it, Alison Munroe—"
Sonny rolled her eyes. Faye cussed under her breath. She only used Sonny's whole name when she wanted to be listened too.
"Whatever. Anyway, he reminds me of a boy I met once back in Wisconsin too. I was six. His name was Chad, and he was the nicest, most gorgeous guy I knew. Well, he was six too, and the son of two seasoned Broadway actors…"
Start flashback…
"Chad moved right next to me with his parents in 2000. When I first met him, he had freckles all over his body and a pretty crooked smile. He had the craziest ideas. Once, when a military family with a kid named Faye moved across the street, guess what he did?"
"What?"
"Chad sneaked inside and pulled a practical joke on the kid. She chased him around with water balloons the rest of the day."
"That's crazy. I once had the same thing happen to me."
"Probably a twist of fate. Anyway, Chad was the guy who first called me Sonny. When my mom took notice of it, she told my dad, who told his fishing buddy James, who notified my mom's friend Sierra, who told her Mexican husband Pepito, who told my teacher Ms. Lambert, who informed my classmates to call me Sonny from now on. In a way, I was lucky."
"He must be pretty influential."
"He wasn't. His parents weren't that well-known, but he told me he dreamt of being a superstar one day, like Michael Jackson. I asked, 'So you want to do that hard stuff?' He laughed at me and said, 'No, I want to be an actor on teewee'. Then we both laughed."
"Teewee?"
"TV. Sad to say, he moved away 2002. His uncle had come to take him away unless his parents decided to move. They had to move. But before they left, he and I pinkie-swore."
"How?"
"We met at our favorite park bench for the last time. We promised each other, linking our pinkies, that we'd meet again."
"Well, that's surprising. Did you meet him again?"
"Last I heard, he was on a TV show. That was when all connections to me were broken off. It was a requirement for his studio. But he promised me, before they broke it off, that we'd meet again, like we swore. Now I don't know where he is."
"That's sad."
"I never forgot, though, the day we pinkie-swore that we'd meet again. No matter what our circumstances may be, no matter how far we were living, no matter how much changes occurred to him, he and I promised each other to meet again."
End flashback…
"That's why I'm taking care of Chad," Sonny finished. Faye bowed her head.
"I didn't know…"
"Yeah. If you added the freckles, the buck teeth and a crooked smile, he would've looked like my Chad."
Sonny then fell asleep, burying her face into the sheets of the bed, with Faye watching over her and Chad.
FAYE'S POV
How innocent.
It seems crazy to me that Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny Munroe, underneath all that talent, are just ordinary people, innocent teenagers thrust into the spotlight.
Tween Weekly keeps writing about Sonny and Chad (I even have a tandem name: Channy). I've even gone on a fan fiction site once, and guess what? Yep, there was an abundance of Channy.
It was complete and total heaven before I got thrust into the spotlight too. Suddenly there were a few fics about me, but I'm getting off-topic. And also becoming a big egomaniac.
Sometimes, I'd write a fan fic or two about them and watch as the reviews skyrocket past the 100 mark. And sometimes, I'd try putting them together. But this is the first time I have heard Sonny say she cared. About Chad.
Even as an impartial cast-mate on both shows, I thought Chad was a dorky twit, an egomaniac who cared about no one but himself. I thought he was a spoiled brat who was spoiled sick by his parents. But in one of his rare moments, he told me something.
"I met a girl named Allison once in Wisconsin. I called her Sonny. I pranked the kid who moved across the street because Sonny was being tormented by the kid's older brother. But I moved away 2002, because of my Mafia uncle. He told us we needed to go, and he had this crazy look in his eyes. But before we went, Sonny and I pinkie-swore that we would meet again soon. I haven't seen her since."
That's weird. Hey, wait a minute…So that's why Sonny and Chad looked so familiar to me! Chad was the guy who pranked me when I was 5 and Sonny was the girl who dared him to come up and kick my brother! I never knew we were going to be in the same studio together.
Great. Now I'm acting like Stephenie Meyer, overanalyzing every single detail.
I should just call one of those people on Connect Universal. Maybe SuRvIvOr, hamburger_boy, bloodyBritish, PieMaker, EnsignofDoom, bling-bling, Tertiary, PrivateInvestigator, maybe even get a Solitary with hamburger_boy, ask him if Chad would be alright.
Just please, he has to be alright. Not for his fans, not for his show. But for Sonny.
Wake up, Chad. Sonny loves you.
ZORA'S POV
Who says I can't vent surf in the hospital? While my best friend Faye stayed inside the Pooper's room, I went vent surfing!
I brought along a fishing pole, equipped with the latest vent surfing technology, and fished up a book (Faye's, she always labels her stuff), chips (cheese-flavored), a book of lists (from Listverse, Sonny's) and a small diary. Huh?
I opened it. Hey…this is Sonny's diary! Yeah!
I started to read the most recent entry. It'll be so juicy!
Dear Diary,
Chad reminds me of another Chad from my childhood, in 2000-2002. Yes, Diary, the same Chad I used to tell you about when I was, what, six, seven, eight? Faye also reminds me of that military kid my childhood Chad pranked.
But I'm getting off-topic. My childhood Chad had some semblance of arrogance, but other than that, he was the nicest guy you'd know. While Chad…yeah…I guess Grady's nickname of "Pooper" suits him.
However…he looks so much like him. If you give Chad freckles, crooked teeth and a funny pair of buck teeth, he'd pass for the teenage version.
I miss him. I pinkie-swore with him that we'd meet again.
I wish he was here.
SONNY
Sonny had a childhood friend named Chad? And that was when the pieces fell together.
Chad and Sonny knew each other when they were kids! I am pure genius!
And that was when Faye climbed up the vent right next to the bed.
"Zora?!"
"Faye?!"
(No one's POV)
How much can you love someone?
To the point of loving him so much, you'd stand vigil by his bed side if he was in a coma.
To the point of loving him so much, you'd await his waking.
To the point of loving him so much, you care.
To the point of loving him so much, you'd take his place.
Sonny did all that, except taking his place. Her just-awakened chocolate brown eyes gazed silently at the limp body laid on the hospital bed.
Chad's eyes suddenly fluttered open. Sonny's eyes widened in anticipation.
Up in the vents, Faye and Zora, after a little adjusting (actually, Faye must've left a permanent dent), rubbed their eyes.
"Do you see what I see?" Faye asked.
"I sure do."
"Chad's waking up!"
"He beat the odds!"
Faye rolled her eyes and smacked Zora's head with her bare hand.
"Ow!"
Inside the hospital room, Sonny watched Chad awake as Tawni and Selena (nice girl) entered.
Selena sucked in a deep breath as soon as she heard an argument, probably in the vents. She figured it was Zora and that new friend of hers, Faith or something.
Then Zac Efron and his girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, entered. They both knew of Zora's vent surfing habit and new friend from Selena, so they weren't surprised when they heard voices in the vents either.
Then came Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment, who were startled when they heard voices from the vents.
"I sure hope he's alright," murmured a worried Vanessa.
"Don't worry, baby, he'll be fine," Zac replied. Faye, up in the vents, noted that, while Zac knew he was banned by Chad from the Mackenzie Falls set, he was gracious and just plain nice.
"He's so cute! Kawaii!" whispered Zora in the vents. Again, Faye smacked her with the back of her hand. "OW!"
Back in the hospital room, Selena stroked a worried Sonny like a mother would a child.
Finally, Chad sat up, his back a little arched. No flicker of recognition was in his eyes when he scanned the room. Until they landed on Sonny.
"Sonny, what are all this strangers doing in the room? Where am I?"
Sonny was taken aback. So were Faye and Zora in the vents. And so were Zac, Vanessa, Miley, Emily and Selena.
"What? Isn't it 2001?"
"No, Chad. It's 2009. You're 15 years old, not seven."
Me: Shocker! Yeah, the "Chad met Sonny once" is cliché, but a few days ago, when I started this fic, it was more or less uncommon. Anyway, the button is your friend!
REFERENCES
Yeah, even SWAC has a Connect Universal thing. Tertiary is Seven of Nine. PrivateInvestigator is Emerson Cod, who somehow got his own CU connection.
The kind of amnesia poor Chad got? I think it's called retrograde amnesia. It's when you lose a lot of memory. Some forget their own names (rare in real life, but as common as cliches in soaps), and others lose their memory from one incident in their life to another.