Author's Note: I'm baaack... :) Vacation was so fun. Sorry about the wait. I hope this makes up for it, despite being sad and all... yeah. I'll try to update soon as another special treat. Sorry for not replying to the reviews yet, but I wanted to get this out for you guys. You know how I said that this stood well enough on its own? Well, it mostly does, but for this chapter, a little knowledge of What's Meant to Be is required to get all the gritty little details and actually understand it. So, to save you the boredom of reading it (looking back at it, I think it was actually pretty bad. Hee hee. Sorry) I'll just hit the key points here.

Nico and Sonny were going out, but Nico broke up with Sonny.

Sonny, in order to vent, wrote a sketch insulting Nico, but never meant for it to be read. The others accidentally saw it.

Chad kissed Sonny when she was vulnerable, to further push her away from her cast mates, so the sketches would be bad and ratings would fall.

In the meantime, Tawni and Nico began to like each other. Oooh. Romance. You'll see this pairing later, but it's mostly Chad and Sonny in this story.

Tawni, Nico, Grady, and Zora hated Sonny after the picture of Chad and her kissing hit magazines. Tawni and Sonny argued during a sketch. Tawni pushed Sonny, and Sonny shoved Tawni, but Tawni pretended to fall over and be hurt.

Marshall fired Sonny.

Sonny told Chad and he felt pretty guilty about it.

Chad texted Sonny after she forgave him, and received a text that you will read in a little bit.

That's What's Meant to Be in a nutshell, folks. :P Yeah, I didn't like it much either. This one's wayyyyy better. I can't believe I have 19 reviews already! Wow! Thanks SO much guys! Now I'm going to stop boring you with this lengthy author's note, so you can actually read the chapter. Ciao!

But as a P.S... (Yeah, I know, hate me if you will) I have a new poll on my profile. Check it out, people! I need ideas! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny With a Chance. I also don't own the song We Are Broken by Paramore.

We Are Broken
Chad


"And don't take the truth at any cost
'Cause we are broken"


Something's wrong with me today, I'll tell you that.

Chad Dylan Cooper does not have nerves. Never. Never. I am the picture of confidence (which, I'll admit, sometimes gets me into horrible situations, like this one). Butterflies shouldn't be attacking my stomach. I shouldn't be biting my lip. If the paparazzi got a picture of this… my rep would be ruined.

But here I am, monarchs flapping around, my teeth cutting into my bottom lip so hard I think it might bleed, staring at the doorway to the So Random! prop room. Before now, barging in was never a problem. The only difference is that Sonny's not here, and the others might blame me for her getting kicked off the show. With the way my self-assurance is melting around my shoulders, I'd probably get all flustered as they shot accusations at me.

I guess this is Sonny's favor, though, and I might as well do it. I glance at the text again, reading it to myself, and a bad, dizzy feeling comes over me. God, it sounds like a suicide note. I mentally smack myself for being stupid. Sonny would never do that. She's too… sunny, for lack of a better word. Well, there probably is a better word, but I can't think of one. Bubbly doesn't seem quite as accurate as sunny. Maybe that's because Sonny's name sounds like sunny. Wouldn't that make it not as descriptive, though, because a word's being repeated? Would optimistic work? Bouncy?

Now I'm rambling to myself. Something is seriously wrong with me. I take a deep breath, in, out, letting the dizziness fade. Sonny's okay. I'm okay.

I tentatively reach one fist up, scolding myself for being cautious at all, and rap it against the cold, hard wood.

Nico (yes, I know their names; what did you think, they were on my wall under 'unknown'? That would be unprofessional) opens the door almost instantly, his face grim with dark circles under his eyes. He doesn't look surprised or angry to see me, which is a first. Instead, his nose scrunches up in an expression of… pity? Guilt? Both seem evident.

"Hey, Chad. Come on in," he mutters, his voice raspy and pained. Confused, I follow him into the room, making sure I stand close to the doorway in case Tawni charges me or something. Nico sits down on the couch, squeezing his way between Tawni and Grady, who are staring at the screen, their faces every bit as solemn as Nico's. The little girl, Zora, is nowhere within eyesight, probably hiding in her sarcophagus or in the air vents.

I need to get out of here; the sad, baffling air is starting to make me uncomfortable. "Guys, I got a text from Sonny -" I start, but I can't continue because a blonde-haired tiger rushes at me, closely followed by her cast mates.

"What did it say?" Tawni begs ravenously. I look down at my phone and begin to read it, but then I stop and do a double-take. Tawni's looking ferocious, her teeth clenched and her eyes narrowed; beyond that is a layer of vulnerability. Black mascara marks decorate her cheeks, right beside still-damp trails of tears. Even now her eyes are watering, threatening to spill. I sharply inhale.

"Wait, Tawni, why are you crying?" I ask, and the hungry, tiger-like expression dies, replaced by a look of sadness and preparation. I go still.

She looks just like someone about to break the bad news.

"Chad… you haven't heard?" she whispers slowly, and I shake my head, gripping my phone so hard my knuckles have gone white. Nico and Grady stare at me incredulously.

"Rewind it, guys," Tawni murmurs, waving her hand. Grady and Nico both grab for the remote. Grady gains control and punches the rewind button so hard that I'm surprised the remote didn't break.

I sit on the arm of the couch, eyes glued to the screen. After an eternity, Grady stabs play, and a scene of a car being fished out of a river flashes on the television.

"At around three a.m. this morning on the border of Iowa and Nebraska, a car lost control and crashed through the bridge into the river below. Witnesses reported that one of the tires had burst. Two people have been removed from the car, unidentified as of yet. Luckily, no one else was injured. We will bring you all updates on this story as soon as they happen. Carey Valdez, Los Angeles."

I can't quite see what the problem is yet, but I do know that I'm carefully avoiding looking at the time of the text I received just last night… this morning. The dizziness is coming back.

"Fast forward," Tawni hisses, and Grady obliges. It's another eternity before he presses play.

"Police have identified the two victims in the bridge car accident earlier this morning. Connie Munroe -" - a picture comes up on screen, and I pray that the woman isn't who I think she is - "- and Alison "Sonny" Munroe, former star of So Random!. Connie was pronounced dead at Iowa River Hospital at 10:02 a.m. today, and Sonny was admitted to intensive care, where she still clings on, though doctors think she is likely to go at any time."

I'm half-expecting Grady to further fast-forward to a segment where that same reporter would announce that Sonny was dead - oh God no - but he strikes the live button with deadly force. His face is a mask of burden, much like Nico's and Tawni's, and maybe mine.

I stand up and back away from the television screen, horrified, but then something clicks in my mind, and I start cracking up.

Tawni screeches in anger, and Grady lunges at me, held back by Nico. I laugh for a while longer before shaking my head and sighing, a smile lingering on my face. "You guys actually thought you could get me with that? You can't pull anything on Chad Dylan Cooper!"

Grady fights against Nico's grip. "Let me at him… I'll punch that Chad Dylan POOPER till he bleeds…"

"No, dude!" Nico responds, struggling to hold the beefy actor back.

"I'll handle this," Tawni decides, with a trademark hair flip (seriously; she bought the rights to it a few weeks ago). This time, though, there's no smug smile to accompany it, just a tight frown.

She strides over and slaps me.

"Ow!" I shout, rubbing my cheek. "NO ONE slaps Chad Dylan Cooper!"

"Oh, shut up, you're worse than me," Tawni retorts. "Now get it through your thick little head that this is REAL!"

"No, it's not!" I deny, chuckling. "You guys actually faked a whole news thing to get me to feel guilty. You're pranking me!"

"No… we're… NOT!" Tawni roars.

"You are! And this text from Sonny…" I flip open my phone and read it aloud in a mocking, high-pitched voice. "Chad, tell everyone I love them and forgive them. And you, too. I love you and I forgive you. I'm glad we're friends now. And don't worry."

Tears brim at the corner of Tawni's eyes again, and I flinch back, in case she tries to slap me again to make this stupid prank more believable. Even if there's no way that I will ever believe that Sonny is close to death. They will never manage to convince me of that.

"She forgave us," Nico mutters. "I can't believe we did this to her."

I don't know what he's talking about, seeing as it's all my fault, but it's cleared up quickly as Tawni replies, "Yeah. I should have never pretended that she knocked me down, or pushed her to the point where she'd shove me in the first place."

"We should have believed her when she said she didn't mean anything by that stupid sketch, instead of plotting against her," Grady agrees.

"We should have listened when she told us that it wasn't her fault that Chad kissed her," Nico says, glaring at me.

I laugh again, earning myself angry glares from the Randoms. "So basically, it wasn't my fault -" I start, despite the guilt that I still feel. "It was yours. Nothing you say will prove to me that Sonny is almost dead."

"Fine. Nothing we say. But how about what Sonny doesn't say?" Tawni fires.

"Huh?"

"Text her, Chad. See if she texts back."

"You probably told her not to," I point out, but I text her anyway. Sonny, stop it. I know all about your stupid plan to make me feel guilty. Give it up!

I stand there for five minutes, staring blankly at my phone, and shrug.

"Guess she likes to play this part. I don't see why you all are trying to make me feel guilty, seeing as it's you three and Zora who are the culprits here."

"And you, Chad, unless what you said in that magazine was a lie?" Grady says.

"Well, yeah, but I don't see why you'd want me to feel guiltier."

"We don't!" Tawni exclaims, throwing her hands up. "Fine. Go around believing that Sonny's still alive, okay? But be prepared to be made an idiot in front of the camera." She tosses me a magazine with Sonny on the cover, talking about the car crash. "Convinced yet?"

"You faked a magazine, too? You Randoms have too much free time," I say with a smirk, and begin to stride smugly out of the room. Then my phone vibrates, and I open it up to find a text from… Verizon?

The number you have text messaged has been disconnected.

"You disconnected her phone number?" I try in disbelief, my voice embarrassingly weak. But I can see it on all their faces, that they can see what's on mine. The walls are crumbling around me, leaving the room a spinning mess.

The number you have text messaged has been disconnected.

This can't be real. This seriously can't be real. It's still a lie. It has to be a lie.

The number you have text messaged has been disconnected.

The truth.

"She fell off a bridge," I whisper numbly.

"Yeah. There was something wrong with the car," Grady says.

"She fell off a bridge." The world stops turning.

"Yes, Chad, she did," Nico puts in, not impatiently, just sorrowfully.

"She fell off a bridge."

"Damn it Chad, hasn't it sunk in yet?" Tawni demands.

I crumble, falling to my knees, my head hitting my hands as soon as I feel the water in the bottom of my eye. No one, not the Randoms, not anyone, can see Chad Dylan Cooper cry.

They can hear my muffled sobs.

They can take in my shaking shoulders, my trembling hands.

They can know that I am crying.

But not a single person, no one on the face of this Earth, can ever actually see me cry.

No one.

I can hear the shocked gasps around me, full of sadness and understanding, as well as sympathy.

Now I have to sit here, until they all leave, or until I can stop.

But I can't.

Sonny, Sonny, Sonny.

Everything's fading around me, leaving a black hole of oblivion. There's no pain, not like I'd expect, just a throbbing sensation that I took to mean grief. In fifteen minutes, my world has turned from near perfect to shambles, broken up into tiny little pieces and scattered around for a near-dead pretty haired girl to trample all over them.

Oh, God, Sonny...