Hey everyone! Emily and I are really excited about this story, so please read, enjoy, and hopefully review! :)
Emily (carebearfrost) says that you readers are:
the bees knees. the bomb . com. beaster than easter.
So there ya have it ;)
Chad was anxious.
And this anxiety had nothing to do with the fact that he was soon to be filming a scene of the biggest explosion with live actors in history. No, it wasn't about that. It wasn't raining, either. Chad shifted his weight from one foot to another, desperately trying to figure out why he was so on edge. He wondered about talking to Emiline; surely she would have answers.
Chad leaned back in his chair, knowing that he should have been reviewing his lines for the next shoot. He was currently on the set of his new movie, Dark Shadows, CDC's first horror film.
The lines on the script blurred together, and Chad sighed, starting to think that maybe calling Emiline would be a good thing. She would help him.
But then again, she probably wouldn't. Emiline knew nothing of Chad's troubles; at least, not the one's in his heart. Chad sighed for probably the tenth time in the past minute and ground his teeth together angrily, trying to calm himself down. He was an actor, he should be able to control these annoying emotions.
"Chad!" He looked up and found himself looking straight into a pair of bright green eyes.
Chad blinked, startled, "Emiline?" He questioned, "Why are you . . . here?"
Emiline smiled and sat down on the couch next to him. "I brought you lunch," she said simply, her light voice floating up and disintegrating into the air. She opened a small bag that Chad didn't realize she was holding, and opened it. "Turkey, cheese, vinegar, and tomato, just how you like it," she added. Emiline pulled out a wrapped sandwich and handed it to Chad, who took it and smiled distractedly.
Chad munched on his sandwich half-heartedly, occasionally shooting Emiline a small smile to avoid any suspicion she might have. It didn't work.
"Chad?" Emiline prodded his arm gently, "Are you okay? You've seemed kind of . . . distracted the past couple of days."
Chad winced slightly. Shit. She noticed.
Chad swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and smiled reassuringly at the brown-haired girl next to him. "I've just been feeling very-" he paused to think of the word, "-edgy, lately." Chad spoke slowly, and cautiously.
Emiline's eyes flashed with alarm. "Are you in pain? Do you need some advil? Here, I have advil." Emiline began to search in her purse frantically, as if Chad would drop dead at any second.
Chad laughed briefly and grabbed Emiline's hands, "No, no, I'm fine; just kind of irritated."
Emiline squeezed his hand comfortingly, "Oh," she said softly. "I'm sorry."
Chad shrugged, "Yeah, well, what can you do, you know?"
Emiline nodded and stood up. "I have to go, can't miss my meeting with People," she said apologetically. Chad stood up to walk her out, and together they walked out of his dressing room hand in hand.
"Chad!" She shrieked, "Stop!"
Chad laughed and just tickled her harder, "Make me!"
Sonny laughed and swatted away his hands. "P-Please, I can't, breathe!" She wheezed, laughing.
Chad chuckled and reluctantly pulled away. "Fine," he grumbled, crossing his arms.
Sonny smiled, "Fine."
"Good."
"Good." Chad stood up and offered Sonny a hand, "Come on, let's get lunch." Sonny took his hand and they walked out of her dressing room to the cafeteria, with her head resting on his shoulder, and their hands intertwined.
Chad gasped, freezing. The memory had hit him like an eighteen wheeler. Chad stood still, eyes closed, unable to move. Suddenly everything was Sonny. It was like she was here, with him- taunting him, torturing him. He could smell the achingly familiar smell of her hair,
"Your hair smells good," Chad commented, running his fingers through Sonny's hair.
She laughed and stared up at him. "Um, thanks?" Sonny said, still laughing as she reached up and kissed him lightly.
He felt her petite fingers dance lightly across his skin, making him crave for her touch,
"Are you serious?" Sonny asked incredulously, walking over to him. "You can't tie your own tie?"
Chad looked down sheepishly, "U-Um, no."
Sonny rolled her eyes and reached up, beginning to tie it for him. "There," she said, her hands lingering on the skin on his neck. "Pretty good, if I do say so myself," Sonny said, trying to ignore the electricity than ran through her fingers when she touched him.
"Chad," Sonny's heart-broken voice whispered, echoed, in his ear, making Chad shiver, and blasting him to the most horrific memory of his life.
"SONNY!" Chad screamed, watching in horror as Sonny's blue truck drove out of the parking lot. Chad fell to his knees and sobbed, ignoring the hard rain that pelted him like bullets. All he could feel was an agonizing pain in his chest, the twisting and screaming of his heart as it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, each threatening to crawl their way out of his chest in little stabs.
Chad went rigid, a new pain slamming into him, taking his breath away. His lungs seemed to be constricting, smaller, smaller. He needed air, air, air. . .
"CHAD!" A hysteric voice sling-shot Chad back into reality. His eyes shot open, and he gasped, panting in air like a near-drowned man would. Looking around, Chad saw that there was no Sonny, just a frantic looking Emiline.
"Are you okay? Can you hear me? Chad?" Emiline's voice was steadily rising, and she looked like she was about to cry.
"I-I. . . ," Chad uttered, unable to speak. Emiline burst into tears, "Someone, help!" She shrieked, shaking Chad's arm, "Can you hear me? Please, oh, god, Chad!"
Her voice was just a dull place in Chad's mind as he stumbled over to a couch and flopped down on top of it, shaking. "Chad?" Emiline's voice came again, "Please, Chad, say something, you're scaring me."
Chad blinked several times, slowly starting to seep back into the present. His eyes focused on Emiline, who was crying and sitting in front of him.
"Chad?" Emiline said again, this time softer. "Nod if you can here me."
Chad nodded slowly, "I'm sorry," Chad apologized, making Emiline gasp. "I really have no idea what just happened . . ." Emiline's eyes widened the size of saucers, and in a split second she had her arms around Chad in a crushing hug.
"I was so scared," Emiline gasped. "You were just standing there, unresponsive, and I thought-," Emiline broke off, shaking her head.
Chad offered a small smile, "I'm okay, really." Emiline didn't' look convinced, but Chad didn't necessarily care. Chad suddenly noticed that she was holding his hand, and a pang shot through him when he realized that it didn't fit right, unlike hers. "Listen, filming is about to start up again, so, you know." Chad motioned towards the door.
Emiline nodded understandingly, "Oh, right, yeah, I have a meeting anyway. Are you sure you're alright?"
Chad nodded. "Yep," he said. "Peachy."
Emiline rolled her eyes and kissed Chad's forehead lightly. "Well, you're using humour, so you have to be okay."
Chad smirked. "Bye Emiline."
Emiline smiled at Chad as she got up. "Bye, Chad. Don't work yourself too hard today. I love you!" Emiline called as she turned the corner and was out of sight.
Chad frowned once she was out of ear-shot. "Love you too. . ." He mumbled half-heartedly, his mind wandering off to the weird flashbacks he just experienced. What had caused those? It wasn't as if he doesn't think about Sonny, because he does. But that. . . that was just weird.
"Cooper!" Chad snapped his head up and saw his director, Frank, walk up to him. "Hey, kid, come on, we got an explosion to film, chop chop!"
Chad blinked, dazed and stood up. "Right. . . I'm coming."
And with that, Chad trailed behind his director, his mind more worried on what caused those flashbacks then the fact that he was off to go film a life-risking explosion.
He really needed to fix his priorities.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Chad shivered, groaning when he realized that he left his jacket inside the studio. Rushing out of his car, Chad bounded up the steps to his mansion and quickly burst into the door, feeling his cheeks beginning to thaw at the warm air that swirled around him.
"Sometimes you shock me with at how un-sensitive you are," Sonny snarled, shaking her head.
Chad groaned, "Sonny, you know that I didn't mean it that way, I really don't get why you think that I would-"
"Just forget it, Chad," Sonny snapped, shooting him a glare. "You've already done enough. Just get out."
"Sonny-"
"OUT."
Chad gasped and quickly shut the door to his house. Another one.
Shaking his head, Chad walked into the kitchen and began to pour himself a cup of coffee. "I'm going crazy," the troubled actor muttered. "I'm really going crazy." Chad grabbed his steaming coffee and sat down at the table, beginning to idly flip through the newspaper. It was his normal routine after a hard days work; come home, relax, go to bed, and the cycle starts over.
On the second page, there was an article about Emiline. Chad smiled warmly, staring at the article. It still amazed him at how lucky he was to be with Emiline. They first met two years ago. She was an intern at the studio that he was filming the Mackenzie Falls first movie at, and they instantly clicked. Now, two years later, they were inseparable. But, slowly and surely, Chad was realizing that as amazing as Emiline was, his heart would never be satisfied.
And unfortunately, it was all too clear that only one person would be fully and truly hold Chad's affections.
And that girl left, four years ago.
Chad sighed and sipped his coffee, not even bothering to wince as the steaming liquid scorched his throat.
Chad paced nervously outside her dressing room, freezing when he saw a flower petal flutter to the ground. "Damn," Chad muttered, bending down to pick it up. Right as he did so, the door opened and a startled brunette stepped out.
"Chad?" She asked, staring at the young actor in confusion. Chad yelped and jumped up, gulping when he saw Sonny staring at him.
"Um, what are you doing? And why are you holding flowers?" She asked, amused.
The whole plan seemed to disappear from his mind. "Um, uh. . ." Chad racked his brain for an excuse, but none came.
Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Chad. Spit it out."
"Sonny will you go out with me?" Chad burst out in a rush.
Chad choked on his coffee, startled at yet another flashback. "What is going on?" He groaned angrily, running a finger through his hair. This was getting out of hand. It's been four years; it's time for him to move on.
And getting all these darned flashbacks wasn't helping him at all.
"You don't love me at all, do you?" Sonny exclaimed, tears running through her cheeks.
Chad sighed angrily. "No, Sonny, I do. I just need some time-,"
"You always need time, Chad!" Sonny cried, hurt written plainly on her face, "It's always more freaking time!"
"Sonny," Chad started, walking towards her.
"No," Sonny yelled, backing away, "Just, leave me alone!" With a sob that made Chad's heart clench, Sonny fled from Chad's house, leaving Chad standing in the doorframe, knowing he screwed up.
"Oh, my god!" Chad held his head in his hands and groaned. Something was seriously messed up. Chad looked up with weary eyes and found he staring straight at the calendar. For the first time, Chad realized what day it was.
August 22nd.
He dropped his coffee cup. The shatter of the glass mug didn't register to his ears; neither did he feel the scalding liquid seep into his toes. All he could focus on was the date.
August 22. August 22. August 22. August 22. August 22. August 22.
The date echoed in Chad's brain. "August 22." Chad's whisper filled the air and bounced off the walls.
It's been exactly four years to the day since Sonny left.
Chad stumbled backwards and fell on the floor in an attempt to sit down.
Of course. That explained everything. The flashbacks were his brain's subconscious way of telling him this. Chad shook his head in disbelief, suddenly realizing that he had to see her. It's been four years. They could just, meet up in a professional business situation, right?
Feeling certain, Chad reached for his phone and dialled the one person who is was sure would help.
"Hello?"
"Tawni, it's me. Chad."
x.x.x.x.x..x.x.x.x.x..x.x.x.x
Sonny bounced into her Aunt and Uncle's kitchen with a beaming smile on her face and headed straight for the cupboard. Her university friends were over for the night and it was the first time in two months she could sit down and have a fun time with her friends and some old movies.
"You seem excited," her aging Aunt said with a cheery grin that caused the wrinkles on her face to bunch up near her eyes. "Having fun with the girls?"
Sonny nodded enthusiastically and grabbed the chips from the shelf.
"Don't get too carried away, now," her Uncle said, constantly changing the channel on the retro TV they owned. It was obnoxiously big, brown and the programs were always fuzzy; her Aunt and Uncle never cared much for updated technology.
"We won't, Uncle," Sonny said, shaking her head. "I'll see you two later!"
She bounded off towards her room. As she approached the door, she heard an all-too-familiar sound.
"Chloe, you know that the Falls is important to me…"
Sonny almost dropped her chips.
"Oh, he is so dreamy," the muffled voice of her friend Erica cooed.
"I can't believe how well he's done since—Sonny!" Jessica said with a nervous laugh as Sonny barged in. Her face was lit with anger and her eyes began to water. Mackenzie's voice still spoke in the background even though all three girls were silent.
"Please," Sonny forced out, throwing the bag of chips on her bed and collapsing onto it in despair and sadness. "Shut that off."
Her voice was so chillingly quiet that Erica and Jessica just looked at each other, each sharing the shiver that travelled down their spines. Erica slowly reached for the remote and as the TV blinked off and Chad's voice faded, Sonny's silent sobs filled the room.
"Sonny, we didn't mean to…" Jessica began.
"I mean, you suggested watching old movies..." Erica continued
"And this was pretty old…four years is a long time…" Jessica tried to explain, but Sonny's head sunk deeper into her arms.
"Four years is not a long time," Sonny mumbled, and even though the statement was almost inaudible, the two girls could sense the viciousness in her voice.
Erica and Jessica looked at each other; they knew what had happened between Sonny and Chad. Not only was it all over the media when it occurred, but when they first met Sonny in university a year ago, she wasn't what the media first portrayed her to be- the innocent, cheerful girl from a small town. In fact, when she first walked into the classroom, no one recognized her. It was when she subtly sat next to Erica that the two began to chat, and Erica soon realized that even though the Sonny the world once knew had been destroyed by the handsome heartthrob, there was still a jovial young girl inside, waiting to live her life.
Jessica came into the picture a few months later when Erica and Sonny were out for coffee, and Jessica was sitting by herself at a table off to the side. Sonny, being the friendly and approachable person she was, called over Jessica, and the three girls talked about teaching, their friends and family, and their pasts. They became best friends, having frequent coffee dates, study sessions, and the occasional slumber party.
Jessica stood up and put her arm around Sonny.
"Honey, it's okay, you don't need to worry," she said soothingly. Sonny choked back more sobs, trying to regain control, and then losing it again when bright images began to flood her mind…
"And then Tawni just tore my dress, just because it was better than hers!" Sonny cried into her boyfriend's shoulder. He gently stroked her hair and held her tight.
"Honey, it's okay," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "You don't need to worry. Tawni is just jealous of you because you're so perfect."
She looked up with teary eyes and smiled as he kissed her.
Sonny stood up and threw herself against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as if holding herself together. She shook violently and sunk to the floor in a sad heap. Jessica and Erica stared wide-eyed. They had never seen their friend like this.
"Sonny, we really didn't mean to," Erica said, trying her best to make it all better. "We just found these old DVDs in your closet. It seemed innocent enough at the time. We weren't thinking."
"Yeah, here, have some chocolate, it'll make it all better, I swear," Jessica suggested, holding out a bar of the sweet treat in her outstretched hand.
Sonny twitched.
"I hate Valentine's Day," Tawni muttered as her and Sonny walked down the So Random! hallway towards their dressing room.
"Why?" Sonny asked. "It's so romantic!"
"Yeah, for you," Tawni mumbled, opening the door and stepping inside the room. "It's different for you because you have a boyfr—whoa…"
"Oh. My. Gosh." Sonny gasped. Inside the dressing room, every flat surface was covered with miniature heart-shaped chocolate. In the midst of the sea of shiny red wrappers, there were three bouquets of white roses and a small card. Sonny top-toed around the candies and snatched the small piece of paper.
Sonny, it read. You're the light of my world, and I figured just giving you my heart wasn't enough. So I gave you thousands. Happy Valentine's Day. ~Chad.
Sonny fell into her friend's arms and wept. Why, of all times, did today have to be the day of horrible memories and flashbacks that she couldn't control? Her heart ached a little more than usual; her head spun faster than normal. It was never this bad- usually she would hold back the hurtful thoughts and cry to herself at night so she wouldn't waken her Aunt and Uncle. But this time, it was different.
Sonny suddenly looked up, her dark eyes turning a shade of eerie black.
"What's the date?" she asked, her voice cracking from crying.
Jessica and Erica looked puzzled, but Erica checked her Blackberry.
"August twenty-second, why?" she replied.
Sonny sighed before another image, the most painful memory of all, jumped into her mind.
Sonny ran to her car, distressed and destroyed from the day's emotional earthquake. Tears poured down her face as she threw her duffel bag in the trunk. As she was about to climb in to drive far away from this awful place, the sound of an approaching engine and a familiar voice filled the air.
"W-wait," Chad said slowly as he jumped out of his car and faced her. "You're… leaving?"
More tears streamed down her face, ruining her makeup. "Go. Away. Please, just go away!"
"Sonny," he said, his voice slicing through the rain like a knife. "Please, don't leave me."
Sonny's eyes blurred with tears as she tried to look at the pained faces of her concerned friends. She needed to get the memory out of her head, but it wouldn't—
"You have no right to speak to me!" she shouted, ignoring how her heart melted at his soaked hair and glimmering eyes. "After all you did to me, Chad! After what you put me through!"
He just stood there.
"How could he have just stood there?" Sonny mumbled to herself. Erica and Jessica looked at each other, having no idea how to handle this.
"Please," he choked out. "We can fix this, Sonny. I-I…"
Sonny waited as the rain poured down on her face. She didn't care that her shoes were ruined or her mascara was clumping.
"I love you," he whispered, and she could hear it through the downpour, and it pierced her heart like an arrow.
"No, you don't," she replied harshly.
"I do," Sonny said. "I do. I always did, I always will…"
"Always will what?" Erica asked, placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.
Sonny didn't answer as the memories continued to attack her mind.
Sonny shook her head and said, "If you did, then you wouldn't have been with someone else, Chad!"
The statement crushed her to think about, and she used all her energy to focus on what his reply was, but she couldn't. All she could think about was how fast her pathetic vehicle could take her away from here.
Heated words were exchanged, tears were shed, and the next damn thing she knew was the dark, blurry highway ahead of her and the distant cry of a heartbroken boy.
Sonny gasped and collapsed against the wall, her breath was shaky and uncontrolled and bright lights blinded her vision.
"Sonny? SONNY!" She could hear her friend's distant cries as Sonny's eyes blanked out and she felt her head hit the floor. Everything went black.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Sonny's eyes fluttered open slowly and focused on four worried faces; her two friends and her Aunt and Uncle. Her head was pounding, but she tried to sit up anyway.
"W-what happened?" she muttered, holding a hand to her forehead. She glanced around at her surroundings and realized she was in the living room. A bucket of cold water was placed next to her, and it was the first time she realized that she was soaked head to toe, and freezing.
Erica wrapped a quilt around her. "You blacked out," she answered, rubbing Sonny's shoulders. "You really scared us, Sonshine."
"Hey Sonshine, looking beautiful as always."
"Oh, calm down, Sonshine, everything will be okay."
"Sonshine, those cookies are delicious."
"Oh, I was just teasing, Sonshine. You know I love you…"
Sonny shrieked and fell back onto the sofa, clutching her head like she could destroy the awful memories if she squeezed hard enough. Her hair was tangled and her eyes were wild. What was happening to her?
"Sonny, Sonny!" Jessica cried, draping the quilt over Sonny's quivering body. "Calm down, shhhh."
As Sonny breathed deeply, exhaling and inhaling as if it took all her concentration, the doorbell rang.
"Could you get that, Jessica?" Sonny's Aunt asked, waving Jessica away and she tended to her hurt niece.
"Sure," she said. Jessica strode over to the door and swung it open.
"Is Sonny home?"
Sonny let out an astonished gasp when she heard the familiar voice. The figure walked into the living room, making Sonny whimper and her head spin more when she saw that familiar blonde hair and blue eyes, ones that she hadn't seen in four years. . .
Review!
~Em&Em.