Author's Notes:
So this is my first SWAC fic, and my first fanfiction in six years :o Just a few notes for my readers: I am very particular with trying not to make my characters not too one-dimensional, and I tend to give minor characters thicker parts to flesh them out a bit. So if this fic isn't all Channy-centric as some of you guys would prefer, please don't kill me x_x. There'll be a lot of Channy to go around a bit later, so don't worry.
Also, when I write, I try to make it seem as into the series as possible. I try to write people's conversations as they would say them, so if some of the dialogue seems shallow, that's because they talk that way in the series. This is what fanfiction is for, building around an already established character. Don't fret though, I'm adding my own little touch to their characters.
Rated T just in case.
Disclaimer: I don't own SWAC or any of the characters in SWAC. Nor do I own their real-life celebrity counterparts. Although I do admit that owning Sterling Knight would be a blast.
Things weren't going the way they used to down at Condor Studios. Chad and the rest of the Mackenzie Falls cast, having been driven into a wall by So Random's new found popularity were getting a whole lot of trash talk from their director, not to mention Mr. Condor. How could last night's ratings have gone down so low?
Blame it on So Random's Garlic Festival Special - they were targeting specials on holidays nobody even knew existed, and to their advantage, and The Falls' great annoyance, it was working. As long as So Random kept coming up with new gimmicks and sketches together, and as long as they kept up with their buddy-buddy atmosphere, they were sure to catch the eyes of even more viewers.
Slowly, but surely, Mackenzie Falls' ratings had gone down quite a bit after the second reappearance of Chad's evil twin and Portlyn's mother who had just come out of a comatose. Frankly, the viewers were getting tired of all the meaningless drama and unnecessary flamboyant throwing around of money and social status. They were in the midst of a recession for heaven's sake, and So Random provided the viewers with a more down to earth alternative. Right about now, their ratings were right about, dare I say it, on the same level as that of So Random, and the repercussions of which were duly felt by both sides of the studio.
"I told you making Mackenzie's Yacht sink in episode 512 was a bad idea." Portlyn said, exasperated with the food in front of her. Since the Falls' recent drop in ratings, their 5 star food had been downgraded to nothing more than 4-and-a-half star food, and the cast was not liking it. "Now the viewers think we're a bunch of snooty rich kids with nothing better to do with our lives than to party. People aren't biting the drama-bait anymore you guys."
"Actually Portlyn, we are a bunch of snooty rich kids. Or at least we play snooty rich kids." Chad said with a tinge of confidence that shouldn't have been there given their current predicament. "And there's nothing wrong with a party or two. The problem, my dear friends, lies with the Randoms."
"Stupid Randoms and their Garlic Festival." Portlyn threw here cocktail shrimp at the nearest target, which just so happened to be the back of Grady's head.
"Oww! What was that for!?" Grady turned around to find shrimp clinging to the back of his shirt, "Hey! Shrimp! Thanks mysterious food thrower!"
"Ugh, this is hopeless. No matter what we throw at them, they still come back with a vengeance." Portlyn leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, dejected, "So ring leader, what're you gonna do about it? You've been awfully tolerant these past few days."
"I don't really know. Master plans don't just grow on trees you know." Chad picked up a spoon and reexamined his reflection, just to see a reflection of Nico and Sonny walking into the cafeteria. A tinge of jealousy hit him right then and there.
Nico and Sonny had been getting unusually close these past few days. Starting with the revelation of their mutual love for monster truck rallies, they had gone on more than one occasion for purely platonic dates, which surprisingly did not include either Tawni, Grady or Zora.
The So Random cast didn't really complain much, Grady had taken interest in a new hobby – Ant farming, and with Zora's help, had plans to create an Ant army that would take over the world! Not that anybody knew about that.
As far as everybody was concerned, the So Random cast was expanding their boundaries and horizons, and it was doing them a whole lot of good.
"Did you guys ever notice how close Nico and Sonny were getting?" Chad asked as nonchalantly as he could, still pretending to examine his reflection on the spoon "I-I mean, weren't Nico and that Grady guy tied by the hip or something?"
Portlyn and the rest of the cast turned around to see what Chad was going on about. "Oh, that? Tawni says they're just friends with a lot of common interests, and from what I hear, Nico's got a huge crush on Tawni. And apparently, Tawni has a crush on him too. So much juice for such a boring show." She turned back to Chad, "Since when do you care? And since when did you start remembering Random's names?"
"Since when did you start cavorting with Tawni?" Chad snapped back defensively, which to his contentment, made Portlyn withdraw into her seat, "I'm just saying. It's unusual."
In an instant, Chad's jealousy turned into scheming intentions, outweighed by the predicament of their recent drop in ratings. Chad eyed the odd couple as they got in line for food. The casual brushing of shoulders, Nico carrying Sonny's tray around – to the untrained eye, they could were signs of nothing more than them being good friends, and Nico being nothing more than a proper gentleman.
But for Chad, master of drama and greatest actor of his generation, he saw more than that – Drama just waiting to happen, and what could be their ticket to get rid of So Random once and for all.
Putting down the spoon, Chad turned back to his cast mates in obvious excitement with his newest scheme. "You guys remember the episode where Portlyn told Mackenzie that his childhood friend Taylor was in love with him, even though it was far from the truth?"
"Duh." Portlyn answered blandly, "That totally ruined their relationship. I mean, Mackenzie just avoided her. Not to mention my character totally started getting jealous of Taylor and well, you know gist of it. Drama, drama, drama. By the end of the episode, Taylor was done for." Rolling her eyes, Portlyn popped a piece of shrimp into her perfectly glossed lips.
"Well, I'm thinking So Random needs a touch of drama in their lives as well." Chad had an evil glint in his eye, "Anyone with me?"
"Chad Dylan Cooper, you are a GENIUS." Portlyn said, suddenly taking a great interest her cocktail shrimp, "Let's give So Random a taste of our own medicine, shall we?"
That day, The Falls Cast got straight to work. They had tried to break up the Randoms once and had committed the biggest mistake by undermining the power of their friendship. This time, they were going to use their friendship and sensitivity against them and with any luck, The Randoms' little bubble would burst by the end of the week.
Portlyn approached Tawni in the middle of a sketch for their daily compliment and gossip exchange. Tawni and Portlyn were on pretty good terms. Unbeknownst to everybody, Portlyn was Tawni's stunt double back in the day when she was in the Goody Gang, and when Portlyn was still a blonde. They secretly hung out together, and despite all the friction got a pretty good acquaintanceship going between them. But that's all it was – an acquaintanceship – and it was far from being beneath Portlyn to use that acquaintanceship and take advantage of Tawni, and that was exactly what she was planning to do. Anything to get their ratings and 5-star food back.
"Hey Tawns, how's my favorite blonde doing?" She said, giving Tawni her usual backrub.
"Oh hey, Port! Oh God that feels great. Did you hear? So Random's going to be in a commercial!"
"Really, now?" Portlyn said, hiding her jealousy perfectly. She was an actress after all, "Good for you! And you'll never guess what gossip I just dug up from my closet."
Tawni sat up from her seat in excitement, "Ooh, I love your gossip. It's always so… juicy. Hit me!"
"Well, I heard that a certain random has a crush on Nico." Portlyn said in an implying tone, whilst continuing to massage Tawni's shoulders with fervent pressure.
"Oh Port, you know I have a crush on Nico, that is such old news."
"Oh no, I didn't mean you, Tawni. Word's going around that Sonny's starting to see Nico as more than just a friend, and apparently she's planning to make a move on him quite soon." Portlyn topped her sentence off with a knuckle rub that sent shivers down Tawni's spine.
"You can't be serious. Sonny would have told me. Right?" Tawni's face was blank, "A-are you positively sure about this?"
"Tawni, when has my gossip ever been wrong? I happen to get my gossip from very reliable sources." Portlyn walked away, leaving Tawni in a state of shock.
Tawni wrung the towel in her hands nervously. "Sonny can't have – she wouldn't." Inside her head, her inner voice taunted her. You know Munroe. She's all gung ho and ambitious. I wouldn't put it past her to go for Nico. I mean, he's dreamy, and smart, and witty too. "That… bitch!"
By the end of her break, she was convinced that Sonny had a crush on Nico, and even more convinced that she was going to stop her, no matter what it took.
On the other side of the set, Chad made quick work of Nico.
"Hey! Nico, my man!" He said, giving Nico an awkward high five, "How's it doing, have you seen Sonny around anywhere?"
"Uh, hey Chad." Nico reluctantly returned the high five, "What're you doing here? And no, I haven't seen Sonny. She took a different schedule seeing as she isn't in the sketch."
"Really? I thought you guys would be together, I mean, since you guys seem to be joined by the hip recently. I must say, I'm impressed. Sonny is one great catch." Chad punched Nico's arm in mock-playfulness. He'd been wanting to punch Nico since he heard he'd be taking Sonny out for another truck-rally date.
"Ow! Woah, w-wait, what?" Nico rubbing the spot where Chad had hit him, "Dude, Sonny and I are just friends. I mean, she's cute and all, actually, way more than cute, she's hot, but she really isn't my type."
Chad was glad to hear that, he couldn't take a moment more of another guy calling Sonny hot. Erasing the thoughts of anybody thinking Sonny Munroe to be hot, Chad proceeded with the task at hand.
"Really? She's been telling everybody you guys were together." He had his puzzled look down so well he could have convinced himself, "She told me you were going out and everything. Dude, I think she's smitten, she's so totally in love with you it's scary. I just assumed since you guys were going out on dates together that-"
"We are not going out together!" Nico stood up from his chair, face was stained with a troubled look, "Sonny likes me? B-but we're just friends. I thought- Wow, his is awkward. What do I tell her?"
"I dunno man, the way you put it, it'd be seriously bad if you broke her heart, I mean, you'd never be able to be friends again." Chad started playing with the ends of his fringe, "Looks like you are in some deep shit."
"Tell me about it." Nico sat back down, rubbing his forehead, looking for any possible way to avoid any conflict. He and Sonny were friends – that was it, he couldn't see her as anything more than a sister and he couldn't bear to break her heart either. "I knew taking her to those rallies was a bad idea. The romantic setting must've been too much."
Chad inwardly laughed at Nico thinking a Monster Truck Rally was in any way romantic. No wonder this guy didn't have a girlfriend. "Well, tell me how dumping Sonny goes. I hope you don't shatter her heart into a million tiny pieces too bad. You know girls and first love. Not to mention, you guys have to see each other every day." Giving Nico a small pat on the back Chad walked away, confident in what might just be his best plan yet.
With that, Chad had planted the seed. All he needed to do now was to watch the drama unravel perfectly in front of him. He walked away confidently to meet up with Portlyn and the rest of his cast for a celebratory meditation session, only to bump into the future cause of the downfall of So Random.
"Chad."
"Sonny."
"Cooper."
"Munroe. God you're annoying."
Sonny pushed her way through the towering figure which stood a head taller than she. "If you don't mind, I have a sketch to get to, seeing as So Random's been on a roll lately and The Falls has been in such a slump." Sonny said with a mock-condescending tone. She could never really get the condescending thing down – it wasn't really her style. But for Chad Dylan Cooper, she had to try.
"I wouldn't be so proud just yet. Looks like you're just about to hit the iceberg to your SS So Random." Chad said, ruffling her hair and making as much of a mess of it as he could.
Sonny slapped his hand off her head and salvaged what was left of her perfectly combed hair. "Whatever Chad, I have no idea what you're talking about, and even if I did, I wouldn't care, because nothing in this world can possibly ruin my day. Especially since the current ratings say our show just ate your show for dinner."
"Sure Munroe. Laugh it up while you can. Just don't come crying back to me when it all topples down." Chad walked away with a wave, secretly hoping that somewhere in the midst of all the drama he was planning to cause, she did come back crying to him. That, however, would just be an added bonus.
Sonny shrugged the ominous feeling which greeted her off and made her way onto the set where she saw Tawni and Grady deep in thought.
"Hey guys what's up? Everybody ready for an awesome day of filming?" Sonny was filled with so much enthusiasm that it almost hurt. Tawni got up from her chair and walked away, furious.
"What's wrong with her?" Sonny asked Nico, confused.
"Uh, I dunno. Sorry Sonny, I uh gotta go water my goldfish. Uhm, later." Nico ran away from the set as if his dear life depended on it.
"Water his goldfish? I thought he did that yesterday." Sonny plopped down onto the seat Tawni had previously been sitting on. "What the heck is wrong with everybody today?"
Okay, so unlike a lot of fanfics out there, I am not totally eradicating the roles that sketches play in So Random's everyday life. It's fun thinking about sketches that So Random might do, and a Garlic Festival Sketch just seemed so tempting.
If you'd like a particular random sketch included in passing (as I'll need a lot of sketches to fill in little gaps in my story) comment and review with some suggestions.
Next chapter's already done. I will post it when I have the time to actually proofread -yawn-
-AnotherDarnApple
