Thank you to all the amazing people who reviewed. ^^ You make my time really worthwhile. This is Chad's POV for the most part. And yes, the Chad/OC character is introduced. I didn't want to make her another spiteful Portlyn-esque clone, so I made her over-enthusiastic and generally annoying. Hope you - er - like it ^^

Chapter 2

Moira's babbling voice soon faded into the background. God, did the girl ever talk about anything apart from herself? He had been with her for – what – two weeks? And already he knew practically her life story – her hundred and one friends, numerous pet hamsters, even what her favourite brand of underwear was! Why the heck would he need to know that? But it was a welcome way to relieve the pain, stop the guilt. With every kiss, every touch, the memories faded that little bit more, never enough to vanish completely. It was a temporary release, a wall that shielded him from the torment of his thoughts, a wall that protected him from her, from everything she had touched in his life. However unreliable it was, it was welcomed. Anything that could ease his anguish was welcomed. The first few days after she had left had been pure torture. Always wondering, always regretting. He had never meant to fall in love with her. It had just happened. And it had had to stop. For her sake, he had left her. However much she had cried, begged him to turn around, to walk back, he had to keep on walking. However much it tore at his heart, broken him to hear her voice so pitiful and small, he couldn't turn round. Keep on walking, keep on running, keep on going, just get away. As usual, it was her voice that broke through his jumbled memories.

"Oh, look who's back"
He glanced up at Moira disinterestedly. She wasn't that bad of a looker really – ebony hair waved gently down her back, bright green eyes – the eyes that had caught his attention – shone out of a heart-shaped face, lips glossy and teeth pearly. She matched his height almost perfectly, a touch smaller than him, just how he liked. It was when she spoke that you realised she really wasn't a great find. Her chatter was endless, a permanent high-pitched mixture of giggles and smiles. She never seemed to care that no one ever listened to her; her prattle would continue whether or not she had a particularly attentive audience. She wasn't that bad really, it had to be said – after all, he had chosen her himself. To anyone else, maybe, she would have been cute, but to him, just ridiculously annoying.

"Chad!" She elbowed him hard, digging into his ribs as she motioned to the girl walking into the cafeteria.
"Isn't that Sonny Munroe?"

He looked up with a start. Sonny? What was she doing here? He hadn't seen her since – well, since that day. He studied her in shock, remembering only too clearly the Sonny six weeks ago. Surely that bony, dull-eyed, girl couldn't be her? Could it? Surely Moira had got it wrong? That girl wasn't the Sonny he knew. It couldn't be.

"Wow, what happened to her?"

Moira's speculating tone cut through his thoughts.

"What is she, Goth?"

A sudden wave of anger shot through him.

"Why should it matter, Moira? Why should you care?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, infuriating him further.

"Jeesh, I was just asking. Calm it, Chad"

He took a deep breath, forcing the red haze out of his mind.

"You're right. Sorry"

She gave him a forgiving smile.

"Hey, it's ok."

Now he remembered what he liked about her – she was so ready to forget, to forgive. No matter what he did, in her eyes he could do no wrong. She wouldn't care.

Sonny glanced over at his table. He was sitting with some stunningly pretty girl. Of course, how could she have expected any different? She should have guessed this would happen. He would move on to the next girl, find someone else, while she would be the one left behind. No self-respecting guy would ask her out anymore. She was dangerous. Looking around at the cafeteria, she was surprised to see familiar faces. So everyone had coped without her. That was just as well. Even after leaving the show, she still wished it to do well. Leaving was a personal matter, nothing more. Everyone had been glad to see her go, really. Even Tawni had been acting strangely around her, like she was walking on eggshells, never saying anything for fear of setting her off. It was enough to make a perfectly sane person go mad, never mind her. Looking at him as he talked to the girl, she was amazed to see that he really hadn't changed a bit. The honey blonde hair was still perfectly arranged, the smile was as wide as ever, the white teeth still shone. He suddenly seemed to realise that someone was watching him, his gaze flickering up to meet her eyes. For a brief second he held her stare, his ice blue eyes burning with some hidden emotion. She looked down almost immediately, shaking her head to clear the memories, dark brown hair falling limply around her face. Chad was part of the past now.

He dropped her gaze quickly, realising he had been caught off guard. He threw himself into the conversation with such enthusiasm that even Moira was surprised.

"So, what do you think of Sonny?"

Chad blinked, confused.

"What do you mean, what do I think?"

She glanced at him with an odd expression on her face.

"I mean, what do you think? About all that stuff"

She gestured towards Sonny, where she sat, shoulders slumped, hunched over in her chair.

"What am I supposed to think?"

Moira rolled her eyes.

"Jeesh, don't you wonder what happened to her? I mean, she used to be so happy and all that..."

"No. No, I really don't. Do you know what I think? I think we should just leave the past alone."

Sonny looked up at his words.

"Leave it well alone. What's done is done, ok, Moira? Just forget it. Nothing good - "

He seemed to emphasise every single word, his voice growing louder with every word until the whole of the cafeteria was staring at him.

"Ever comes of bringing up the past! Just leave it!"

Moira stood up, bringing her chair clattering to the floor. Her mouth was set in a stubborn line, eyes flashing.

"I've tried being nice, Chad! I've really tried! I told myself 'Oh, he's such a nice guy really, he's just having trouble'. More fool me, huh? Every time I forgive you, all you end up doing is shouting at me again and again! What is so wrong with you that you can't answer one decent question about Sonny Munroe?"

They seemed oblivious to the entranced gaze of the audience, caught up in their own little world. His thoughts clouded with the familiar blood-red cloud. Even though he knew she was right, he couldn't help shouting straight back at her.

"Why is everything such a mystery with you? Why can't you just accept that I don't want to talk about it and leave it?! Simply because you pour out your life story to anyone who'll listen doesn't mean that I want to tell you mine!"

Her eyes seemed to turn black with anger, rage literally emanating out of every single cell in her body.

"For crying out loud, Chad, please don't tell me you're in love with her?!"

He opened his mouth, the words literally hanging off his tongue, then turned and strode out, slamming the door behind him. Striding furiously along the corridor, he headed in the vague direction of the car park. Opening the sleek black door of his pride and joy, he slipped into the leather interior, turning on the radio, inserting a CD and sliding the volume up to maximum. The blasting tune washed over him, flooding his head, clearing his thoughts, letting him relax for a moment. He ran a hand through his hair. He would have to go and apologise to Moira later, see if there was anything he could salvage from their argument. Couldn't anyone just accept that he didn't want to talk about her, didn't ever want to bring it up again? That one memory that he could never get rid of, the one that haunted his every living moment, that defeated every sleeping hope.

The rain beat heavily down upon their backs, drenching them both, the rain running off their soaked clothes.

"Chad?"

He watched her through ice blue eyes as she struggled with his words, his heart shattering as a million different emotions played across her face. He had to end it, now. If this continued, he wasn't sure he would have the willpower to carry through what he had started. They would end up back where they always were. And he couldn't let that happen.

"It has to stop, Sonny. You. Me"

He struggled to keep his voice flat, tapping into his acting skills to do so. Hope fully he could fool her, like he had fooled everyone else.

"Why are you doing this, Chad? Why?"

Every word was a jagged knife in his heart, every syllable cutting him to the core. He had to do it, he couldn't stop now. It was for her own good, even if not for his.

"Goodbye, Sonny"

He turned away, clearing his head of all thought of her, his only drive to get as far away as possible, to run and never look back, never see her tears, never see her pain. One step, then another, then another, focusing on nothing but the rhythmic thudding of his footsteps and the pattering of rain as it fell.

"Chad?"

The overpowering urge to run back to her, to tell her that he loved her, filled his heart, drowning out all the resistance in his head. He couldn't, he couldn't. Keep on walking, keep on running, running away from the one person that he ever loved, from the one person that he couldn't live without, that he would have to live without. He wouldn't turn round, wouldn't look, wouldn't see her fall to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. He wouldn't stop, wouldn't go back. And she would never see the final barrier break down, would never see him collapse onto the cold, wet, tarmac, would never see the glistening tear that fell, mingling with the rain, then another, and another, until he could no longer tell what was rain and what was tears. She would never see.

So, here you have Chad's side of the story. His reasons for leaving her will be better explained in further chapters. He does love her, he just wants to do what's best for her. And he thinks that leaving her is best for her (again, the reasons are explained later ^^)

Okay, lets say... 8-10 reviews and I will update. ^^ Constructive criticism welcomed - and for anyone who has read Starless Nights, please check out the poll on my profile about writing a sequel. Thank you! :p