A/N- Wow guys, thank you for such a huge response- I really didn't expect it. Ya'll are amazing. Yes, the filler characters don't have too many lines, but they're pretty much there to take up space lol. Oh, and I want to see if anyone can guess what tv show I got this story idea from... tell me in a review. Well, here's chapter two :)
Recommended Reading: COW Crush of the Week by lifeisveryshortsoami
Chapter Dedication: emaleelilac, for being such a great friend/writer- you hold the key to awesomeness!
Summary: In hopes of gaining publicity for his studio, Mr. Condor orders the biggest stars of Condor Studios (and a few others) to spend Halloween weekend at his brother-in-law's new murder mystery mansion to test it. Murder, Clues, and Romance- oh my! Sonny/Chad
~*Mystery Hallowee-kend*~
Chapter Two
"I can't wait- this is going to be so much fun!" Zora cheered ecstatically, as she plopped down her heavy lime green overnight bag. She was panting loudly from carrying something that was the size of two of herself.
The teen actors (and Josh) showed up at 2:00 pm on Saturday to be taken away to their weekend of 'fun' murder mystery games. Sonny thought the term 'fun' had been used loosely. And who uses it in the same sentence as murder? she thought.
"Yeah, and if any of you la-dies, get scared, I'm right here," Nico stated, swiftly swiping the brim of his purple fedora as he eyed Portlyn and Chastity. The two Mack Falls ladies scoffed at his bluntness.
"Are you excited Sonny?" Grady piped up, a look of sheer excitement in his wide, bright eyes.
"Yeah, um sure…" she trailed nervously, hoping to avoid this conversation.
"You don't seem too sure of yourself Monroe," Chad commented, sticking his big head (not literally) in to the conversation. "I think you're scared," he teased, edging his face closer to her own.
"Am not!" Sonny defended, but she didn't know that Chad could read her eyes, and her tone. A chuckle escaped his lips.
"Guys, settle down… the limo is here," Marshall interrupted. "Now everyone go load up."
~***~
The limo ride seemed to take an eternity to Sonny, (maybe because she was reluctantly sitting next to Chad), and she exhaled as they pulled up to the mansion. The teen stars grabbed their bags and entered the spooky residence.
Sonny glanced around the foyer of the entrance, taking in the atmosphere. The place was fancy, but pretty dark inside- almost medieval. There weren't many windows, she noticed, which made her feel slightly claustrophobic.
She saw the others were looking around too, touching random paintings and other items on the walls and table.
Sonny focused on a painting of a beautiful sunflower; well she figured at one time it had been, but in this particular painting it was dead. Her lips turned down in to a frown as she mused- I don't think I like this place.
"Hello!" Sonny jumped at the booming voice that greeted behind her, losing her current thought.
"Come in, Come in! Welcome to a weekend of mystery and murder!" Sonny turned around, as did the others, to greet the loud man.
"Welcome to Conroy Manor, I am your host, Malcolm Conroy," he continued talking. Conroy? Why did that name sound so familiar?
"Nice to meet you," Sonny greeted politely with a wide grin, shaking the man's hand.
"You must be Miss Monroe," he concluded. "I've heard much about your sunny disposition." Sonny blushed at the compliment, causing Chad to roll his eyes.
"I hope you will all enjoy our murder mystery weekend," Malcolm continued. "First off, we have a few more guests that will be staying with us."
As if on cue, entered Dakota Condor, James Conroy, and his little brother Holloway Conroy.
"She's staying here too?" Grady asked, dumbly, pointing a finger at the evil spawn that was reproduced from the Condors'.
"Duh, bro, remember Mr. Condor said his daughter and nephews would be here," Nico nudged, shaking his head at his friend's outburst.
"That means…" Sonny started as she finally realized why Conroy was so familiar, but was cut off by Zora.
"Holloway?! You're Mr. Condor's nephew?" Zora screeched, looking dubiously at the younger version of James.
"That's right baby," he winked, causing Zora to cringe.
"Is this… the Holloway you dated?" Nico whispered to Zora, hooking his thumb back in the direction of the youngster.
"Unfortunately," Zora glared, wishing at the moment that her eyes were a laser that could split her ex in two.
Tawni and Sonny both stood wide-eyed while Chad stared down James.
"James, you're Condor's nephew?" Tawni whined.
"Well of course," he smirked at her, then diverted his gaze to Sonny. "Sonny, you're looking smokin' hot," he commented, enunciating the 't' at the end of 'hot'.
Chad gritted his teeth and jabbed toward James as if he was about to slug him. He balled up his hand, raising his fist in the air.
"Chad, don't," Sonny pleaded softly, and grabbed his arms pulling him away. "He's not worth it."
"Well he shouldn't be so disrespectful to you," Chad retorted, seething at the other heartthrob.
"Chad, you're that way with me all the time," Sonny pointed out.
"So… I can," he responded as if it was an excuse.
"Well... I see that we have some interesting relationships here," Malcolm spoke up, looking around at his guests. "Now, let's get started. Someone here is going to die… and it could be you," he said, looking directly at Grady.
"But I'm too pretty to die!" Grady shrieked, hiding himself being Nico. "I mean, uh... I'm too manly to die," he corrected, lowering his voice to sound not-so-feminine.
"The first person to solve the mystery, will win the prize," Malcolm carried on, ignoring Grady's whining.
"Oooh, what's the prize?" Portlyn asked.
"The prize is a lead role in one of Condor Studios upcoming feature films," he answered. This emitted a gasp from the crowd. "And..." he went on, "a cash prize of ten thousand dollars."
"We're going to be rich!" Nico and Grady cheered in unison, performing a little jig as they did.
"But only one person can win," Malcolm informed.
"Aw, man," the two boys blubbered.
~***~
Sonny glanced around and noticed the skimpily dressed maid in the classic short French maid suit. She had announced herself as Brandy, and had flirtatiously taken a liking to some of the guys- particularly, Chad. This for some reason, really set Sonny off. She was tall, with legs that went on for miles and long dark hair. She definitely looked like someone who belonged in Hollywood.
Suddenly classical music began flowing through the parlor. Everyone walked over toward the debonair piano player, who effortlessly plucked at the keys. Sonny noticed that he was incredibly handsome. She felt her flirty face begin to emerge, only to be wiped off as soon as Chad noticed and nudged his way next to her. At that moment, Brandy pranced over to the gorgeous guy and took a seat next to him on the piano bench. She nuzzled and flirted with him as she sipped a drink brought in by a somewhat grotesque looking Butler.
The butler then passed around a tray of drinks that everyone had requested; which was mostly soda, except that Tawni wanted pink lemonade (to match her nails).
Malcolm acknowledged that Brandy was sitting on the job and retreated over to the couple. "This is not your break- get back to work," he ordered. She hissed and hesitantly got up from the piano bench. Tawni noticed the vacancy, and took a seat next to Justin (the piano guy).
"What would you like to hear miss? I'll play anything you want," he cooed, expertly playing a few notes to impress her.
Tawni giggled, but before she could reply, Brandy returned, and 'accidentally' poured her drink in Tawni's lap.
"How could you?" Tawni whined, jumping up from her seat. "This is an original Donna Cabana!"
The maid stepped forward as if challenging Tawni, until they were parted by Malcolm.
"Brandy, get me another drink," he demanded as he handed over his untouched drink to Justin. He was looking for any excuse to get her away from Tawni. Justin took it gratefully and sipped it.
Brandy flashed Tawni a dirty look and trotted off.
Justin continued playing the beautiful music, but a few seconds later, he began grasping his neck as if he were choking. Suddenly his head fell on to the piano keys making a loud clanking noise and he grew silent.
"Yes, someone's finally dead!" Chad stated excitedly, making his way over to the now 'deceased' piano man.
"You're so insensitive Chad!" Sonny rolled her eyes at his lack of compassion.
"How'd he die, how'd he die?" Chastity asked enthusiastically, finally uttering her first words since they'd arrived.
"Well he grabbed his throat before he croaked so…" Josh trailed.
"So he strangled himself to death," Portlyn answered dumbly. Everyone turned to give her weird looks, except for Grady who nodded along with her.
Just as the room eerily grew quiet, a roaring flash of lightening struck, causing the room to shake. Sonny didn't realize it, but as a jerk reaction, she had attached herself... to Chad.
~***~
After the first death of the game, Malcolm and the Butler showed everyone to their rooms so that they could wash up before dinner.
"Here are your room assignments," Malcolm started, as the Butler directed everyone where to go. "Room One: Grady, Nico, and Chad." All three boys let out a groan once they realized they'd be sharing with the enemy. Silently though, Chad was thankful not to be rooming with James... otherwise, he'd probably beat him to a pulp before the night was over.
"Room 2: Sonny, Tawni, and Zora. Room 3: Portlyn, Chastity, and Dakota, and Room 4: Josh, James, and Holloway." It was obvious by the look on Josh's face that he could really care less who he shared with.
"The rooms are adjoining; Room 1 and 2 adjoin, as do 3 and 4. I'm sure you'll enjoy playing detective as our murder mystery unfolds. But remember, if you are to survive, you must suspect everyone, and trust no one." Malcolm finished his spiel and retreated downstairs.
"Dinner will be served at 7 o'clock," the Butler announced before everyone split off to their rooms.
"Look at that Sonny," Chad teased, his eyes shining, "You and I are practically sharing a room."
"No, we have adjoining rooms- that's all," she snapped, shifting herself closer to him.
"But there's only a wall dividing us..." he said suggestively, pressing his face so close, Sonny could smell his sweet breath. She felt a rosy glow spread across her cheeks at his closeness. Sonny looked up in to those blue hues and yeah... she got lost. Her knees weakened and she lost her balance, but Chad wrapped his arms around her so that she didn't fall. He looked at her flushed face and smirked in amusement. "Gotcha Monroe," he said giving her his little finger gun gesture and sauntered off to his room.
Sonny backed against the wall for a moment, a cluster of emotions churning through her.
"Sonny, are you coming?" Tawni asked, peeking her head out the door of their room.
"Yeah," Sonny mumbled quietly, but a small smile played at her lips.
~***~
Everyone retreated to their rooms, and the maid entered Chad, Nico, and Grady's room.
"Can I fluff your pillows?" she directed toward Chad, placing her hand on his shoulder in an intoxicating way.
"Uh, no, I'm good," he said, shrugging her hand off his shoulder. She whined a little at the rejection and began to exit the room.
"You can fluff our pillows!" Nico blurted fleetingly.
"Yeah that'd be great! Catch!" Grady said jovially, picking up his pillow and tossing it at her. The pillow hit Brandy square in the face. She looked at him incredulously, then squeaked a "Hmph!" and strutted out with a hair flip.
"Dude, never throw things at a pretty girl," Nico explained, shaking his head downcast at his friend.
"Well she asked about fluffing pillows..." Grady sighed.
Chad hid the low chuckle he let out. As big of clowns those two were, he had to admit that they did belong on a comedy show.
Unbeknown to everyone, the Butler eavesdropped on the entire scene out in the hallway. And he wasn't too happy to see his girl Brandy, flirting with another guy.
~***~
Everyone entered the dining room, watching as a gurney was pushed out the front door with Justin on it.
"Wow they really went all out for this huh?" Chad asked Sonny, who had decided to ignore him for the rest of the night. She didn't need his charm washing over her again.
But Chad wasn't going to stand for that. Hating to be ignored, he poked her on the back, and continued to insistently until Sonny finally paid him attention.
"What?" she whipped, annoyance obvious in her tone.
"What's your problem?" he chopped back.
"You."
"Can't we just enjoy a nice peaceful dinner together?" he asked romantically.
"Maybe... if you'd keep your hands off of me," Sonny retorted.
"You like it Monroe, quit denying it," he smirked.
"No, I really don't," she seethed.
"Please be seated, dinner is about to be served!" Malcolm announced, sitting at the head of the table. After everyone was seated, they began chatting about who they though the killer might be.
"I think the maid murdered that piano player, she brought him the poisoned drink," Tawni speculated. Of course she would say that; the maid ruined her outfit.
"But she spilled that drink on you," Sonny pointed out, receiving an 'oh' look from Tawni.
"That's right, Mr. Conroy gave the piano player his drink," Chastity mentioned.
"So the poison was meant for Mr. Conroy," Zora stated.
"Then whoever poured Conroy's drink must be the killer," James said smugly.
"Yeah, but who poured the drink?" Portlyn asked.
"Water sir?" the Butler asked Chad, interrupting the conversation.
Everyone exchanged looks, and then it dawned on them. The Butler must have poisoned the drink, therefore he was the killer.
"Um, no thanks," Chad refused. "I'm too amazing to die," Sonny heard him mumble and she stifled a giggle.
Just then the telephone rang. "You may serve dinner now. I'll just be a moment," Malcolm informed as he left the table to answer it.
The stars continued their chat as they waited for food and Malcolm to return.
"So why did you break up with me Zora?" Holloway asked across the table.
"Because you're immature!" she scoffed.
"Am not!" he whined, crossing his arms over his chest in a very juvenile way.
"And I rest my case," Zora said.
"Pre-teen love drama," Sonny laughed.
"How about teen love drama?" James said, raising his brow and giving Sonny a flirtatious look. Embarrassed, she sunk in her chair, hoping that some other topic would start.
"Dude, back off," Chad snapped at James. Sonny shot him a grateful look, and he nodded in acceptance.
"Why don't you make me?" James challenged, standing up from his chair.
"Why don't we all make you?" Nico said, pulling Grady up with him. Grady looked next to him at Josh and yanked him up from his chair too.
"Yeah... I guess," Josh deadpanned.
James was speechless and quietly sat back in his chair. After a few moments, he had regained his confidence and turned to Chastity who was sitting next to him. "So... you're pretty cute," he slyly grinned.
"Ew, forget it!" Chastity said, picking up the pitcher of possibly poisoned water and dumping it over his head.
"I can't believe you just did that!" he hissed, heading upstairs- probably to find dry clothes.
"Way to go Chastity!" everyone cheered, except for the little brother across from her.
"Oh Ch-ad!" an evil little nine-year-old popped up, pushing Portlyn out of the chair next to him. "How about I sit next to you?"
"How about you sit way over there?" he asked, gesturing to an empty seat next to Zora.
"Evil..." was heard scowled across the room.
"Because I want to be next to you," she said sidling up to him.
Sonny tried to refrain from laughter, but she couldn't control herself.
"What are you laughing at?" Dakota snapped in Sonny's direction.
"Um, nothing... just a funny sketch," she played off, looking down at her empty plate. How sad to be scared of a nine-year-old, she thought.
Finally Malcolm returned and they waited for the food to be brought in.
Chad tapped his glass in order to silence the room and get everyone's attention. Once done, he rose from his chair. "Malcolm, I believe I know who the killer is," he stated. "The murderer was jealous because the piano player had a thing for the maid. The person who poisoned the drink was the person who served it. The Butler did it."
Right at that very moment, the Butler staggered in to the room with a tray full of food. "Dinner is seeerrrrved!" he yelled, then toppled over face down, with a knife protruding from his back.
"Care to take another stab at it?" Malcolm laughed evilly.
Chills ran up Sonny's spine. She knew it was all just a game, but there was something that just didn't seem right.
Chad (who noticed everything about Sonny) observed her nervousness, and gave her foot a light kick under the table. She knew he wasn't being annoying this time, he was trying to comfort her. She gently tapped his foot back. He looked up at her across the table and gave her a genuine smile.
