Chapter 3

"Hey, Chad." Millicent Bennett was running her hand along his arm. Millicent Bennett.

She was very likely the hottest girl of her age in existence, the kind of girl you couldn't refer to without using her full name. It made no sense that she was from such a small town. Her body was the height of perfection, and every guy in school – underclassman, upperclassman, teachers – every guy wanted her. And she was running her hand up and down his arm, staring into his eyes, leaning forward so that he could see straight down to her bra and he… he just wasn't interested. He really was indifferent to her perfect body, her perfect hair, all of it.

Because just down the hall, opposite the entrance to the auditorium, Erik Sullivan was talking to Sonny.

Ever since they'd started high school, Chad and Sonny had spent less and less time together, and now, at the start of junior year, they were officially out of each other's lives. They hadn't so much as met up once over the summer. She'd been totally off his radar.

Not in a mean way; if they made eye contact or something they might wave or nod or smile, if they were having a good day, but they wouldn't stop and talk. Not like before, when they'd been practically inseparable from birth. Even through middle school, there'd been no strain. It was just high school, and Chad's foray into football.

He'd never really spent time with any of the other guys on the team, but, once he joined, he just naturally transitioned into that clique, leaving Sonny behind with all of his old friends. And he'd never really looked back before. It wasn't a sudden or dramatic change, so he couldn't really have done anything about it, so why feel bad? Sure he missed her sometimes, but why force it?

And yet, seeing Erik fucking Sullivan lean into her ear and make her smile prickled his biscuit more than he cared to say. Which was why he had completely ignored whatever Millicent Bennett had just said to him.

He looked up blankly at her. "Say again?"

Millicent took in a sharp breath and held it for a long time, her nostrils flaring. She was clearly not used to being ignored.

Eventually she repeated herself, this time in a somewhat more clipped tone. "I was just pointing out how we both were lacking dates to homecoming in a couple weeks, and how it may be prudent for you to ask me now, while that is still the case."

Chad's brows lifted. It was inconceivable for Millicent Bennett to make the first move. She'd never had to. A week – hell – an hour ago, Chad would have sold his soul, kidney, anything they'd take for an opportunity to be the guy Millicent Bennett made the first move on, but at this moment, Sonny was being flirted with down the hall, and Chad's mind could not get away from the fact that it should absolutely be him doing the flirting.

Chad prepared himself to tell Millicent something she no doubt had yet to hear. "I'm sorry, Millicent, I just don't think we're a good fit."

He quickly got the hell out of Dodge and made a beeline down the hall for Sonny. However, with the whole Millicent Bennett distraction, Sonny had managed to evade him. He stared at where she had been leaning against the lockers, confused by how quickly everything had changed.

"Chad?" He span to the sound of his name, coming from the mouth of the exact person his whole mind was centred around.

She looked at him expectantly, but it was all he could do to stop himself from gaping open-mouthed at her. How did she look this different so suddenly? When had her curves filled out, when did her hair get that shine, when was it that her face had lost its youthful roundness, when has she gotten so… sexy? She was positively divine, and not just because Erik was currently standing behind her staring at her ass.

And so Chad's attention moved from perfection to the devil incarnate. "Hey, buddy, what are you looking at?"

Erik looked up, distracted. "What?"

Chad gently pushed Sonny aside so that he was face to face with Erik (and, conveniently, he had placed himself between Sonny and Erik, so that there would be no more ogling).

"You heard me, dude." He glared down at the shorter and significantly less toned boy menacingly, reminding him which one of the two was a football player. "Less of the creepy staring at her ass."

Erik looked between Chad and Sonny, confusion drawing his eyebrows together. "I thought you guys weren't even friends anymore… I thought you'd lost interest…"

Chad stared him down.

Erik backpedalled quickly. "Sorry, man, I didn't know." He scurried away, leaving Chad stood in a hallway that should have been emptying as people headed to class, but was oddly crowded as he turned to face a befuddled Sonny.

She continued staring at him, waiting for him to do something, anything.

But suddenly Chad had forgotten how to speak, because up close – all of the things he'd just noticed when standing down the hall – all of them were that much more intense up close. She was stunning! How had he not seen that before? How had he spent all of this time overlooking all of that beauty? How… had he spent this much time silent? Sonny was starting to give him a funny look.

"I think…" Chad began, but almost immediately upon opening his mouth his chest clenched with fear and breathing became near impossible, let alone speaking.

Sonny moved towards him, spurred by his words. "You think…?"

Chad was encouraged by the almost playful familiarity in her voice. "I think I may like you."

Sonny looked into his eyes, a small smile spreading across her perfect lips. "Chad…"

"No," Chad stopped her, breaking the eye contact and focusing on his hands. "I mean, I think I really like you. Like you like more than friends, like–"

"Chad." It was Sonny's turn to stop him.

He looked up slowly, noticing the same knowing look gracing her features.

She moved closer to him, the small smile growing to a dazzling one. "Well it's about damn time."

And with that she rolled up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. His eyes widened in shock momentarily, but he quickly leaned in and closed his eyes, making the most of the opportunity.

It was a brief kiss, but it epitomised perfection. It's brevity stemmed from the cheer that rose up just seconds after their lips met, and the pair looked up to see the hallway filled with students applauding them. Shouts of "Way to go!" and "Finally!" came from every direction, and he realised he shouldn't be surprised. After all, it had been a long time coming, even if he'd only appreciated this himself in the past ten minutes. He saw all of his friends' faces beaming at him and wondered how they'd had the patience; if he'd known there was no way he'd have let it go on this long.

Looking around, Chad also Millicent Bennett pouting by the bathroom and laughed, turning back to his girl. "Well, m'lady. What do we do now?"

Sonny chuckled at her new nickname before once again leaning in. "This."


Chad stared through the window at the girl he used to know. Gone was any trace of the playfulness he'd once loved, replaced by fear and bitterness and God only knows what else. What had happened to her that she'd changed this much?

When he'd first come back, he'd intended to settle in, to make a life for himself here irrespective of how Sonny reacted to his return. Hell, he'd half expected her to be long gone by now! But now that he saw her, in this state, his mind couldn't focus on anything but her. Who cared if he had a house or a job if her life wasn't what she wanted it to be?

And it seemed that the town had turned on him in his absence. He'd once been a beloved local hero: the star quarterback. That had basically guaranteed him a life of great service, friendly faces and answers to questions that plagued him, but apparently the town was now on Sonny's side. Nobody would tell him what was going on, and nobody would put a good word in with Sonny for him.

It was driving him crazy. Ever since their interaction in the hardware store, it was all Chad could do to not run up to her and shake her until she told him what was wrong so that he could make everything better. And he refused to believe that he couldn't fix it, despite the town's urgings otherwise. Whatever it was, he would fix it. He'd find a way.

With a deep brave to stave off the nerves, Chad pulled open the door to the town's diner: Wimberley Western Way Diner. It wasn't the best place in town, but it still had plenty of regular customers because everything was inexplicably cheap and had always been so, as if untouched by inflation.

He walked straight over to her table, but she didn't notice him until he spoke. "Mind if I join you?"

She glanced around, seeing that there were plenty of empty tables he could sit at if she chose to say no, before her eyes settled on him. For an unbearable amount of time, they analysed him. So long, in fact, that he was certain she would say no, and was about to excuse himself to save the rejection.

But she was still managing to surprise him. "Okay."

It took him a moment to get his feet to work, but once they did he sat quickly down before she could change her mind and have him kicked out on his ass.

They said nothing to each other for a long time. Not when she accidentally kicked his shin, not when the waitress – an old friend from high school who purposefully avoided small talk to get away from the table as quickly as possible – came over to take their order, not when the food arrived.

It took every ounce of Chad's self-control to pull it off.

If he was going to get anywhere with her, he had to let her take the lead. She may not be the Sonny he'd known his entire life anymore, the one who'd love him, but this Sonny still had some of that Sonny in her, and it was her need to control any and all situations that he was counting on working for him here. By some miracle, it paid off when she made first contact.

She coughed, and shuffled in her seat, drawing attention to herself so she could speak. "The fire station burned down."

Chad smiled, overjoyed that she'd spoken – willingly – to him, but he softened his reaction so not to spook her. "We always said it would."

Sonny nodded, playing with her food rather than looking directly at him. "Janice got carried away with the accelerants at the Halloween bonfire and Ken-o set it up too close to the trucks. There was a huge explosion. The Chief broke a rib."

Chad laughed, unable to stop himself from filling the quiet diner with the sudden burst of sound. He admonished himself when Sonny looked up, startled, but didn't dwell on it, too into her story to contain his glee. "That's what happens when you hire incompetent arsonists-wannabes. It was gonna happen eventually. The Chief recovered?"

Sonny nodded slowly, and Chad worried that he'd been too enthusiastic. "He did, but after that they finally sent out a trained professional. Town's a whole lot safer now."

"I'm glad."

"We all are."

The silence didn't return. Throughout their meals, and a little while after, Sonny filled Chad in on mundane things that had happened around town during his absence, and Chad reacted accordingly. He gently pushed for further details when appropriate and laughed when he could. It was all going very well.

"Erik and Millicent?!"Chad slapped his hand down on the table, laughing loudly. "No way! What the hell happened to him that put him anywhere near her league?"

Sonny didn't find it quite as amusing, which became immediately clear as her whole body shifted out of its semi-relaxed state. "Love," she stated plainly.

Chad stopped laughing, his smile slowly fading.

After a moment of awkward silence, Chad went for it, ignoring the sensible-sounding voice in his head telling him to take it slow with this Sonny. "It's funny as well, do you remember the day of our first kiss?" Sonny's eyes flashed a warning and the voice in his head got louder, but he stupidly talked over it. "Millicent was talking to me and Erik was talking to you and we managed to find each other."

Sonny pushed her plate away, her face once again closed off. "I should be going. Early start."

Chad sighed, the voice in his head whispering a belligerent 'I told you so'.

He got up and threw down enough money to cover them both without thinking. She shook her head, picking up some of the bills and handing them back to him.

"You don't have to pay for me." She refused him eye contact as she tried to stuff the notes back into his hand.

Chad took the money, but put it right back down on the table. "No, I insist. It's the least I can do after you let me sit with you."

Sonny started nibbling on the corner of her lip, contemplating. "Okay. Thank you."

He nodded and made for the door, holding it for her as she followed.

He opened his mouth to say his goodnight, but she spoke before he had a chance. "You can walk me home?"

Chad froze, checking her face to see if she was being serious.

Sonny took his shock as hesitation and quickly withdrew. "I mean, if you want to, I don't–"

Chad stopped her before she could get too far away from him. "I'd love to."

Sonny nodded and turned on her heel. She looked like she regretted her offer, speeding away in the direction of the main road through town. Chad had to run to catch up and walk beside her.

The familiar silence that seemed all too common between them of late came back, but this time it felt less awkward, nearing a comfortable silence. Before he'd left, Chad and Sonny had always had something to say to the other. Awkward silences had never been a problem because neither of them were ever silent. This was a new experience for the pair, and Chad could feel his Sonny drifting away from him, this Sonny – the distant Sonny – replacing her.

He was about to say something, anything, to get back to their comfortable chatting, when Sonny made a hard left at the hardware store and started down the alley at the back. Chad was about to laugh and ask her where she was going, when he realised she must be living in the apartment there and quickly stopped himself.

Before he could even think about what to say, Sonny froze and came to a complete stop, staring at the top of the stairs to her apartment. Chad followed her gaze and saw a young woman standing there, holding the hand of a little boy; he was maybe five years old.

The boy smiled upon seeing Sonny, and called out to her while running down the steps (as best he could, given his height). "Mommy!"

Chad's body turned to ice.

Sonny rushed forward, leaving Chad gaping in her wake. She picked up the boy and carried him over to the woman stood awkwardly on the steps. "What are you doing here, Marie, I thought I had another week paid?"

Marie shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Sonny, your cheque bounced… I tried to get them to give you time to fix it, but they said that this had happened before…?"

Sonny was shaking her head before Marie had finished. "That shouldn't have happened, I should have that money… I'll check with my bank in the morning…"

Marie came down the steps, worry pulling at her features. "Will you be okay tonight? I can stay with you guys, I don't mind."

Sonny smiled kindly, but even from where Chad stood he could see her anxiety. "Thank you, but that's alright. I can manage for one night, I'm sure I can sort it all out after that."

Marie nodded, but didn't look like she completely believed Sonny. "Okay…"

Sonny shifted the boy on her hip and started toward the stairs. "Alright, well, I'll see you soon, Marie."

Marie nodded, relief evident on her face. "Yes, Miss Munroe. Goodnight."

With that she hurried away, brushing past Chad on her way, finally awaking him from his shock. He ran forward in time to stop Sonny near the bottom of the stairs.

"Sonny, I…" He was breathing so fast, his heart racing. Sonny turned, her face hard. "Who is this?"

Sonny's face softened momentarily, but the hard mask quickly replaced it. "You should go, Chad. I can't… explain this right now."

She quickly climbed the stairs, Chad watching as she went. Over her shoulder, the little boy scrutinised Chad, his mouth forming a tiny 'o'. Chad stared at him, at his bright blue eyes, blonde hair…

"Sonny…" He called out one last time, desperate.

But she was gone.