Just wondering, but...Are there any ice skaters reading this who actually know what a Twizzle is?

Review if you know!

Disclaimer: I own Kimberly and Bryson. Ohh, and the plot. But that's it.

Twizzle Tuesday

I was tardy.

After staying over at Sonny's house until such a late hour, I didn't get to bed until later than I was used to. The alarm clock went off, I hit snooze, and the next thing I knew, it was 7:55 and I had five minutes to make it to the studio. Even with only taking time to brush my teeth and change clothes, it was still 8:02 when I pulled into the parking lot. I rushed inside, wondering what my cast was going to think. I yelled at them when they showed up two minutes late; would they give me the same treatment?

As I sprinted down the hallway, I could hear voices coming from the Meeting House. I could feel anger start to flow through me. Why were they talking to each other? Just because I was late didn't mean they couldn't get started. I'd led them through enough days that they should know by now what to do. Well, they certainly had no right to yell at me if all they were doing was having a social hour.

When I finally reached the room, my mouth already forming the words I wanted to accuse my cast with, I was forced to clamp my jaw shut. The voices I heard weren't just morning conversations; everyone was warming up. They stood in groups of two or three, each member facing the others, and each group seemed to be doing the exact movements at the same time. It was a warm-up I didn't usually lead, but one I knew of called the Mirroring Exercise. To be honest, they were all doing a pretty good job of it, too. I couldn't tell who was leading the movements in any of the groups, which was the goal of the exercise.

"You guys are doing great! Keep up the good work!"

My eyes fell on the one person walking around the room, making sure everyone was participating. Once in awhile, she would join one of the groups and play along before continuing with her walk, always smiling as she yelled out encouragements.

It wasn't hard to figure out where my cast had learned their new warm-up.

Sonny didn't see me at first, and I didn't call out her name, either. She was actually doing a pretty good job with the cast and I didn't see a reason to stop her. I stood there in the doorway until she finally made her way toward me, her back in my direction. Finally, I stepped into the room.

"I don't remember warming up this way since you've joined the cast."

I must've scared her half to death by speaking up. She jumped, turned to face me with widened eyes, and placed both her hands over her heart.

"Good morning to you, too," she said sarcastically. "I know this isn't one of the typical warm-ups you do, but you were late and everyone seemed to pick up the rules fast enough. I'll stop them so you can take over."

My way for ending an exercise was to clap my hands and then, once I had everyone's attention, shout out what I wanted them to do next. Sonny was raising her hands, getting ready to copy my method, when I stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"I didn't say I didn't like the warm-up," I explained when she stared at me, the question in her eyes. "Thank you for covering for me."

She smiled, the first real smile I'd seen since she'd joined the cast. I returned it, and for a few seconds, there was awkwardness between us. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I say something else? Should I stop smiling? Was the moment lasting too long?

Sonny was the one who turned away first, yelling another line to the cast as she began pacing the room again. This time, I walked at her side, helping her shout out. Once again, she smiled at me, but only for a second before returning to the job at hand.

I had no idea what she was thinking about, but there was one thing on my mind: we made a pretty good team.

Since I arrived late, I didn't have time to fill out my book about last night until I dismissed the cast for lunch. They all took off for the lunch room while I went to my dressing room long enough to write a short description. I wrote as fast as I could, not wanting to leave Sonny alone for very long. Without me there to guard her, she might try to sit with the So Random! cast.

To my surprise, she was sitting at the Mackenzie Falls table when I finally arrived, her lunch pushed aside as she talked and laughed along with the rest of the cast. Maybe she was starting to figure out working with them wasn't a bad thing. She actually looked like she belonged there, like she was acted on the show all the time.

Then again, that was just the special power she seemed to have. Sonny could fit in anywhere, and whatever group she picked would become closer because of her. I'd known the kids at So Random! when Mandy had been there instead of Sonny and sometimes, it was hard to believe I was looking at the same cast today. They seemed to get along better than they used to and laughed a lot more often, too.

And now, I was seeing the same thing happen with my cast. We'd always been close, but I found myself heading over to Sonny's set not only because I wanted to see her again but also because I grew bored. Most of the time, my cast was quiet; they were great when it came to acting, but off the set, it was like they had no lives.

Now, with Sonny sitting at the lunch table with them, all of them were talking and laughing. I hated to think what they would be like after Sonny left at the end of the week. I hated to think what I would be like not having her on the set, always there to talk to and pick on, at the end of the week.

There was only one empty chair at my table by the time I finally arrived, and that was the seat always left open for me, the one at the head. Sonny was a few seats down and didn't say a word to me until the chairs between us cleared, those who had been sitting in them wanting to spend their last minutes of lunch doing something else. That was when she slid down to the chair beside me.

"So, since you got my life story last night," she asked eagerly, "Does that mean I get to hear yours tonight?"

I scoffed as I shook my head.

"If you want to know my life story, wait for the movie," I told her, and the smile she'd had on her face disappeared. "Actually, I want to repay your mom for letting me eat dinner with the two of you last night. I thought I might take the two of you ice skating."

Her forehead wrinkled at my words.

"Ice skating?" she repeated. "Really, Chad?"

"Yes, really. That new rink just opened a few blocks away from here and I thought it would be a fun idea to go break it in."

Sonny still didn't look too sure about my suggestion, but I couldn't tell her my real reason behind picking ice skating. It would be the perfect place to try to win her over because, hopefully, she would be horrible at skating and would need my help. I could hold her hand all night long as I led her around the ice, maybe even let her fall a few times just so I could catch her in my arms. I could be her hero for the night.

"Well, if we're going skating, I should give my mom a little warning," Sonny finally said. She extended her hand toward me like she was waiting for me to put something in it. "Can I borrow your cell phone?"

"Why do you need to use mine?" I asked. "Don't you have your own?"

"Yes, but I left mine in the dressing room and I don't feel like walking all the way there to get it," she replied. "Can I please just use yours? I promise it'll be a quick call."

I handed over my phone, she smiled her thanks, and then her head was down so she could see what she was doing.

"You know, Sonny, I really am enjoying working with you this week," I said, not wanting to sit there in silence. "I can't wait until we get to start practicing the scenes where we're boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Uh huh."

'Uh huh'? She wasn't going to fight me about it, saying something about how she didn't want to do the scenes? Something must've been wrong with her.

Her head was still craned over my phone and she was hitting buttons every few seconds. It shouldn't have been that hard just to figure out how to dial her number and hit call.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously, leaning over so I could see the screen, too. "It doesn't take that long just to put in a number."

Sonny climbed to her feet quickly, moving the phone closer to her body, trying to keep me from seeing it. She was too late. During my quick glance, I saw she was in my address book.

"You're not really calling your mom," I stated the obvious, climbing to my feet as well. "Give me back my phone, Munroe!"

I reached for it, but Sonny must've found the number she was looking for because she held it up to her opposite ear, using her free hand to shush me. I tried to get to the side the phone was on, but she turned quickly, not giving me a chance.

Staying where I was instead of trying to jump around her, I grabbed Sonny's free arm and pulled her closer to me, using my other one to try to reach the phone. She stepped on my foot, stomping hard enough to make my eyes water.

"Behave yourself," she ordered me softly as my hands went back to my side. "I'll tell your mom about your rude behavior if you don't stop!"

"My mom?"

When I tried to take the phone for a third time, Sonny ducked down, trying to disappear under the table. Wrapping both my arms around her waist, I was able to pull her back up. It would've been so easy to move one hand and take the phone from her too close ear-

"Hey, Mrs. Cooper!" I was too late; she'd really called my mother. "It's Sonny Munroe, one of Chad's friends from Condor Studios? It's great to meet you, too! I was just wondering…Do you have any plans tonight?"

I kept my arms around Sonny's waist as she continued her conversation, pulling her as close as I could, trying to hear what my mom was saying to her. I knew we were standing in the middle of a semi-full lunch room, and almost every person still there was staring at the two of us, but I didn't care. Sonny wasn't even trying to push my hands away, and just like last night, I could feel that charge shoot through my body.

All too soon, Sonny said goodbye, and I had to drop my hands as she pulled away from me. A triumphant smile was on her face when she turned to face me, slipping my phone into my waiting hand.

"You met my mom, now I get to meet yours," she said proudly. "Ice skating's going to be fun, don't you think?"

She skipped out of the lunch room, leaving me to stare at my phone, dumbfounded.

How come she always got her way?

'Oh, that's right,' I thought to myself, slipping the phone back into my pocket. 'She always gets her way because she's Sonny and not even I, the great Chad Dylan Cooper, can't stop her when she gets an idea.'

Portlyn and Tawni were both waiting for me outside the lunch room. No one else was around, so they didn't have to worry about being seen together, and when I tried to walk past them, they each grabbed an arm.

"What did I do wrong this time?" I sighed.

"Wrong?" Portlyn repeated. "Sonny…That was perfect! You just had Chad holding onto you for five minutes straight!"

Normally when the two of them wanted to talk to me, I was in trouble, like yesterday when they gave me a make-over just because I wore my Chad shirt. Hearing them say they weren't mad took me by surprise.

"How did last night go?" Tawni demanded. "You hung up right after you said Chad was there! What did you mean by 'there'?"

The last few people left in the lunch room started to file out then to get back to their sets, and I knew Chad could turn the corner at any minute.

"I'll tell you all about it later," I said, walking around the two of them to join the crowd. "Tell everyone hi for me, Tawni!"

I could've stayed and talked to them. We could've found a private place to talk and shown up to the set a few minutes late. I could've told them all about Chad coming over for dinner last night, our goodbye in the hallway, and the kiss he'd given me before walking away. I could've told them how we were going ice skating tonight and that I had invited his family to come along with us.

The truth was, I didn't want to tell Portlyn and Tawni everything. Sure, this was their plan to begin with and they deserved to know how things were going so they could make sure I stayed on the right track.

There was something I liked about having my own Chad secrets though. I liked being the only one who knew he had come over to my apartment, and I really liked being the only one who knew about the kiss. Not because I was embarrassed by any of it (what girl in her right mind would be?) but because both had been special to me. Chad showing up at my house showed me that, even if he was only trying to win me over, he had to really care for me at least a little to make the effort to spend time with me. His kiss, just on the top of my head, not even on the lips, was enough to keep me dreaming all night long.

In the lunch room, it would've been easy for me to pull out of Chad's grasp, but something made me not do it. The whole time his arms were around me, I could feel the butterflies flying around my stomach. I could barely concentrate on my phone conversation, and I missed bits of information every time I inhaled and Chad's fingers repositioned slightly.

I'd never felt that way before at someone's touch, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of my feelings. I would talk to Tawni and Portlyn after I had some time to think.

Besides, I didn't have time to talk now. There was an afternoon of listening to Chad's every command, and then ice skating while I met his family. It was going to be a long day.

I just hoped I could make it without collapsing, which was exactly what I did last night after saying goodnight. Why did he have that kind of effect over me? Was I becoming as weak as the girls he dated every week? Was I falling under his spell?

'Get a grip, Sonny,' I ordered myself. 'It's only been two days. All of the talk about falling in love, with the added on Chad time, is just making you nervous. You're too smart to fall for his trick. You're just really getting into your acting.'

I hoped I was right.

My parents couldn't believe I had finally invited them along for one of my activities. Mom was always trying to get me to take part in Family Days, and when I walked through the front door, she couldn't stop hugging me.

"Thank you so much for inviting us to come along tonight, honey!" she exclaimed, kissing my cheek.

"I didn't invite you, mom," I tried to explain, pulling out of her grasp. "Sonny lied to me, stole my phone, and then-,"

"Oh, that Sonny just sounds like the sweetest little thing! I can't wait to finally meet her, Chad; you've told me so much about her!"

The last time mom had met one of my co-stars who was female, she had gone on and on about it for the next month. 'She's so pretty!' she'd say, or 'Chad, I think the two of you would make the cutest couple!' I wasn't going to be the only one she wouldn't leave alone about it, either. Sonny had no idea what she'd set herself up for by inviting my family along.

I tried my best to convince my parents they didn't need to come skating with me. I tried telling them I was a big boy and could handle it myself, that they had too much work to do, that I was a celebrity who didn't want the magazines getting shots of me with my parents. No matter what I said, they shrugged it off. At 7:30, everyone packed into the family car and we were off.

My head didn't stop hitting the window the entire ride.

It wasn't hard to find Sonny and her mom after picking up a pair of rental skates. Sonny was standing in front of one of the benches people could sit on to take on and off their skates, waving to me happily. I rushed to her side.

"Look, there's something I should warn you about before you meet my family," I tried to explain. "You see, it's not just my parents here tonight. My mom wanted to make it into a family night, so-,"

That was all I had time to say before Sonny jumped in surprise. My younger sister was hugging her leg.

"I can't believe it's really you!" Her voice was too loud for the seating area, and every head turned to find the owner of the voice. "Chad and I watch So Random! every week, and I'm always begging him to introduce me to you, but he never listened to me before! I'm so excited to meet you, Sonny!"

Laughing nervously, I tugged on the back of my sister's shirt, forcing her to let go of Sonny and stand back up.

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "Mrs. Munroe, Sonny…I'd like you to meet Kimberly."

Kimberly tried to rush forward and hug Sonny again when she received a welcoming smile, but I held her back. Why did little sisters have to be annoying to everyone, not just their older siblings? Couldn't she behave for one night?

Just as I began to wonder where the rest of my family was, they came up behind me, my mom rushing forward to shake Mrs. Munroe's hand, pulling Sonny in for a hug as soon as she was done. As dad took his turn introducing himself, mom stood behind Sonny and her mom, giving me a thumbs-up. I was glad neither of them picked that moment to turn around.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you!" Mrs. Munroe said happily.

"There should be one more of us to meet," dad explained, looking over my head. "Chad, Kimberly, where's your brother?"

"You mean that guy over there?" Sonny asked, pointing toward the ice.

Sure enough, my older brother, Bryson, already had his skates on and was on the ice, passing the other skaters as he tried to show off. He was older than me by three years, less than a foot taller, had the same great hair and blue eyes as me, and was always jealous of my acting career. Since I got mom and dad's attention through Mackenzie Falls, he had to show me up in everything else we did.

"Well, it looks like someone's already having fun!" mom said with a laugh. "Come here, Kimberly, I'll help you put your skates on. By the way, Sonny, you really do look beautiful tonight!"

I saw Sonny blushing as she finally sat down and started taking off her shoes, trying her best to keep her eyes on the floor. Only once did she look at me, and when I mouthed to her 'This is your fault, you know,' all she did was grin back.

I'd gone ice skating before, but it had been awhile. When Sonny and I tried to get onto the ice, the adults taking Kimberly out since she didn't know how to skate on her own, I would've fallen right away if Sonny hadn't grabbed me.

"Are you ok?" she asked, trying to sound concerned, but I could hear the laughter in her voice.

"I'm fine," I said quickly, letting go of her and grabbing the wall instead. "It's just been awhile since I've done this."

"I know exactly what you mean; I'm feeling a little rusty myself."

She skated ahead of me slowly, trying to get the feel of the skates beneath her feet, then turned around sharper than I could ever hope to do before coming back to my side.

"We have all night to improve," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Are you ready to start?"

When I first suggested going ice skating at lunch time, I thought it would be the perfect idea. I thought I would get the hang of it quickly enough and Sonny would be grabbing at me to keep from falling. I guess it must've been longer than I thought since the last time I'd gone.

I let go of the wall, tried to move forward, and nearly fell over again. Man, were these skates hard to work! I thought about going up to the counter and asking for a new pair. Of course it wasn't my lack of skating that was making me do badly. Chad Dylan Cooper wasn't bad at anything. The skates were the cause of my falling.

Sonny stopped me when I turned around, ready to leave the ice and get a new pair of skates.

"You aren't really thinking about leaving me out here all alone, are you?" she asked me, raising her eyebrows.

"I'll be right back," I promised her. "I'm just going to switch my skates. This pair is defective."

"If you're worried about falling, you could just take my hand instead."

She held her hand out where I could easily reach it. I laughed loudly, hoping it didn't sound as fake to her as it did to me.

"I'm Chad Dylan Cooper. I'm not afraid of falling."

"For the sake of this argument, let's just say I am."

Before I could stop her or protest, she slipped her hand into mine, letting our fingers interlock. It was our first time holding hands.

Going out toward the middle of the ice, Sonny looked back at me when her arm was stretched as far as it could go. One of my hands was still on the wall, but she nodded at me, encouraging me to let go. Slowly, I let my hand fall back to my side as she led me into the stream of skaters.

As long as she was the one leading, I'd follow her anywhere.

For the first time, I was the one in charge. Chad was the helpless one. He could barely stand up on his skates, much less skate with them. I held his hand tightly as we went slowly around in circles, trying to help coach him as we went. He was starting to do better, but still wasn't anywhere close to the word 'good'. I wondered why he'd chosen ice skating in the first place.

We were trying something new (me skating backwards, dragging Chad along with me so we could go a little bit faster) when Chad finally fell. He was laughing, a sign he wasn't hurt, but as I bent down to help him up, someone braking beside me made me stop.

Someone who looked a lot like Chad was standing beside me, smirking down at the jerk-throb lying on the ice.

"I've been watching you for awhile and I couldn't help but notice how much my brother was slowing you down," he said, turning his attention to me. "You could take a break and skate with a pro for awhile. I'm Bryson, by the way."

"I'm Sonny," I introduced, noticing how close his eyes were to the color of Chad's. "I wouldn't mind skating with you, Bryson, but Chad-,"

"Oh, he can take care of himself," Bryson cut me off, taking me by my elbow. He started pulling me forward. "Don't worry, bro, I'll have your date back to you eventually!"

I took one last look at Chad, still stuck on his stomach, only now his elbow was propped up and he was resting his chin on his hand, glaring. I wasn't sure if the glare was meant for me or his brother, but I felt bad either way. There was nothing I could do about it; with Bryson's hand clutching my elbow, I was forced to stay with him.

By the time Bryson and I circled around the ice, Chad was gone from the place we'd left him. I scanned the floor for him, trying to find him with the hopes of asking him to join us, but he seemed to have disappeared. I was forced to stop paying attention to everyone else and concentrate on myself before long. Bryson was a much better skater than Chad, and I was getting breathless just trying to keep up with him.

One major difference I picked up right away between Chad and his older brother was that just because Bryson was good at something, he didn't think he was the best. He didn't say a cocky word at all as I followed him around the ice, instead taking the time to have actual conversations with me. We talked about life at Condor Studios compared to what he did, which was being a football player at his college. We talked about his family life compared to mine. Once, he brought up the fact that Chad hadn't stopped talking about me around the house since I'd arrived in Hollywood.

When I tried asking what kind of things Chad said about me (I only wanted to know because of the C.O.W. thing. Maybe he would know something that would somehow help me take down Chad), Bryson changed the topic.

"So, do you know how to do any tricks on your skates?" he asked, slowing down so he could skate a circle around me.

"I used to know how to do a few spins," I answered thoughtfully, trying to remember back to the days when I used to skate almost every weekend. "I couldn't do very many jumps though. I always fell on my landings."

"What about a Twizzle?"

I wasn't sure if I'd heard him right.

"Twizzle?" I repeated, and Bryson nodded. "What's a Twizzle?"

"It's a trick involving spinning," he explained. When I stared at him, looking as confused as I felt, he went on. "While you're on one foot, you do quick multi-rotational turns as you go forwards or backwards. Like this."

He did the trick he described, spinning too fast for me to watch his feet. There was no way I would be able to repeat the trick. When he came to a stop, throwing his arms into the air in a grand finale, I started clapping.

"That was great, Bryson!" I said as I skated to him. "Thanks for showing me, but I think I'll stick to simple forward and backwards skating."

The two of us didn't have time to pick our speed back up before a voice cut through the loud music that was playing through the rink.

"Alright, everyone, it's time to slow things down. Go find that special partner because it's time for the couples skate!"

I started to make my way to the nearest exit, but Bryson grabbed my hand before I could leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, pulling me closer to him.

"It's a couples skate," I told him, nodding toward all the couples who were making their way onto the ice. "I figured I would go find Chad."

"Chad's not going to care if we share one song together," Bryson argued. "Skate with me, Sonny. Please?"

He had Chad's eyes, and like I said before, the eyes were the thing I liked the most about Chad. When I made the mistake of looking into Bryson's, I saw Chad's, begging me to stay.

Sighing, I let Bryson drag me back into the sea of people. One couples skate wasn't going to kill me, right?

Bryson and I held hands as the slow music played, slowing our pace to match the beat of the song. All around us were other couples, one of which included Mr. Cooper and mom, Mrs. Cooper holding Kimberly's hand a few skaters back. I smiled as I watched the scene before me. Even as a little girl, the couples skate was always my favorite one. I'd always found it romantic and couldn't wait until someone other than my parents would hold my hand during it.

"This song is cute, don't you think?" I asked, turning my attention back to Bryson.

"It's nothing compared to you."

I smiled up at him. Sure, he was Chad's older brother, but in a way, I was enjoying my time with him. He was actually nice to me when Chad wasn't, and was cute on top of that. Being with him reminded me how much I liked fighting with Chad; holding his hand made me miss the feeling I had when I had taken Chad's earlier that night. I wasn't in love with either Cooper boy, but the one who wasn't with me was the one I couldn't stop thinking about through the song.

Bryson seemed to know I wasn't really listening to the music. He leaned down close to my ear.

"Do you want to stop skating now?" he whispered.

I nodded, happy he'd said it instead of me, and together we made our way off the ice. We sat down on one of the benches connected to the wall and it was then that I noticed how tired my legs really were. I sighed in pain and was about to say something when Bryson moved closer to me.

"I've had a lot of fun with you tonight, Sonny," he said. "We should do something like this again sometime."

"It has been fun," I agreed, but said nothing about doing it again.

He was making me uneasy with his closeness. Was it just me, or was he leaning closer and closer to me? And his eyes…Why were they shutting?

When it was almost too late, I realized what he was doing. I sprang to my feet quickly, letting his lips meet up with the wall my shoulder had been against. When he realized what was going on, his eyes flew open.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"I thought we both agreed we were having fun?"

No way. No way did he actually look confused!

"Just because a girl tells you she's having fun doesn't mean she wants to kiss you!" I exclaimed, not believing the words were leaving my mouth. "Don't you know anything about girls?"

"I know you're the first one to ever turn down a kiss." Now he was beginning to sound like Chad. "Come on, Sonny. I really like you and I can tell you like me, too. What does one little kiss hurt?"

I opened my mouth to retort back, but no words came out. I couldn't think of anything bad enough to say, and I was too nice to say the words that came to my mind. Instead of saying anything, I turned my back on him and walked away.

Chad was the one I looked for as I made my way around the non-skating part of the building, studying both the ice and the tables around the food area for his blonde head. I had to apologize to him for leaving him lying on the ice, going off with his brother, and inviting his family along in the first place.

Before I could say any of that, I had to kill him for letting me go off with his brother all night without any warning about the kind of guy he was. He was going to pay for that move.

One good thing about little sisters, the only good thing I could think of actually, was that sometimes, you could train them to do whatever you said. Kimberly was one of the trainable ones. As mom, dad, and Mrs. Munroe sat in the food area with us, one table over from the booth I'd dragged Kimberly over to, I leaned across the table so I could talk to her without the adults overhearing.

"I want you to go find Sonny," I started to say.

"Ok!"

I grabbed her arm as she tried to run off, pulling her back to me.

"I want you to find Sonny," I said again, "And bring her back to me. I don't care if she's with Bryson or not. Come up with some sort of excuse to bring her back to this booth, got it?"

"What kind of excuse?"

I rolled my eyes as I replied. "It doesn't matter what kind of excuse; just go find Sonny!"

"You don't have to have a cow," she informed me before sticking her nose into the air and walking away.

With all three adults staring at me, I knew I couldn't just sit there and wait for Kimberly to return. I joined the line at the food counter, trying to ignore all the shouts of, "It's Chad Dylan Cooper!" All I wanted was a simple ice cream cone. When I told that to the man behind the counter, he made me the cone as fast as he could and wouldn't let me pay for it, saying it was on the house. Half of it was already gone by the time I made it back to the table.

I hated the fact I'd let Bryson steal Sonny away from me all night. It killed me to watch the two of them skate away, leaving me on the ice for some random people to help up and escort me to the wall. I'd stayed there for a long time, watching the two of them skate. Oh sure, they were cute together and seemed to be getting along great.

What would happen when Sonny found out the truth about Bryson, which was, to put it simply, that he liked what he saw and went for it?

Sonny's happy time was almost over, I was sure of it. When I saw her and Bryson skating together during the couples skate, she wasn't even looking at him as she skated, watching the other happy couples instead. She had no idea about the look he was giving her. I knew my brother though, and I knew that look in his eyes.

Hopefully she'd come running back to me after leaving Bryson. Maybe I was reading her all wrong; maybe she was dumb enough to fall for his game.

I shook that thought out of my head within seconds. Sonny wasn't dumb and even if she did like Bryson, which I doubted she did (he was just a football player; I was the actor. If either of us were going to get picked, it would be me), she would figure it out that he didn't really like her back and was just trying to get lucky for a night.

If I waited long enough, Sonny would come find me. But Kimberly came back after the couples skate sooner and I was sick of waiting.

Before I could finish all my ice cream (which is saying a lot, considering how fast I was eating it), Kimberly was running toward the booth, pulling Sonny along by her hand.

"That's strange," Sonny said as she sat down across from me, pulling Kimberly onto her lap. "It doesn't look like he's getting eaten by a t-rex to me."

I glared at my sister, but she shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"You told me to use any excuse!"

Sonny laughed, hugged Kimberly closer to her, and turned her eyes to meet mine above Kimberly's head. "I knew she was lying about the excuse, but I thought if you wanted to talk to me badly enough to make this sweet little girl lie, it must be important."

"It is important," I agreed. "I was wondering if you regretted inviting my family tonight or if you've actually enjoyed the evening."

"I don't regret inviting them," Sonny replied, nodding to Kimberly. "Your sister's really good at coming up with excuses. We could probably use her on So Random! And your parents are both really nice, too. I don't know why you got so mad when I called your mom today."

I noticed she left out one name.

"What about Bryson?" I insisted, wanting her to jump at the bait. "Do you regret him coming tonight?"

Sonny pretended to think about her answer. When she finally replied, she surprised me.

"I don't regret Bryson coming along, but I do wish you wouldn't have let him take me away all night. I would've liked to have spent more time with you," she said. Before I could say a word back, she smiled. "But you're forgiven, Chad. Anyone who tunes in to So Random! every week is someone I can't stay mad at!"

I could feel my cheeks starting to turn red as Sonny and Kimberly both laughed. Who cared if Sonny knew I watched So Random! I knew she watched Mackenzie Falls every week, too. At least both of our secrets were out in the open.

Sonny stopped laughing after a few moments and instead studied me, squinting her eyes.

"What?" I asked quickly, wondering if there was something in my teeth.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she said, shaking her head. "I'm sure it's just the lighting in here, that's all."

"What's the lighting?"

"It's nothing," she reassured me. "From here, it just looks like you have something on your nose."

My hands instantly flew to my face as I demanded, "Where?"

"Right about…" Sonny paused as she leaned both hers and Kimberly's bodies forward, extending a hand toward my face. Thinking she was going to help me, I closed my eyes. I knew something was wrong when I felt her hand cover mine and push upward. "There!"

Kimberly laughed loudly and I had a feeling I knew why. Sonny had just pushed what was left of my ice cream into my face.

The adults started laughing along with Kimberly, Sonny hid her head behind the girl in her lap, and despite myself, I was laughing, too. It wasn't the typical end to most of my Tuesdays, but it was good nevertheless.

Any night with Sonny was a good one.