Chad's house is amazing, to say the very least. She expected it, she prepared herself for the modern LA townhouse with marble bathrooms and sleek modern furniture and high ceilings that she'd gawked at in magazines back in Wisconsin, but she still hadn't quite been able to imagine it. The second she walked in to the coat room, which is bigger than her bedroom in her apartment downtown, it took her breath away with its glowing black brick walls and bright white carpet that looks so soft she had to resist the urge to lie down and rub her face against it. And this, she soon finds out, is the least impressive room of the house.
He has the biggest living room she's ever seen. It's the size of a ballroom at a four-star hotel and about a hundred times nicer. When she walks in, even though she's early, it's got more people than the time she went to Disneyland for Christmas. There are two black spiral staircases at either end where people are leaning, sipping drinks and flirting with whomever else has found a spot there. She spots James Conroy up there, looking bitterly down at Tawni who's shaking her groove thing on the dark wooden floor to 'Harder to Breathe' by Maroon 5. She's dressed in a pink, like usual. Her dress is tight at the top and puffs out at the bottom. Chris Pine from Star Trek is dancing beside her, obviously he thinks he's dancing with her but the truth is Tawni likes being with herself more than anyone else.
She lets her eyes wander away from them, to Portlyn who is clearly drunk and coming on to the boy who plays Serena's gay younger brother on Gossip Girl. To the corner where Trace Cyrus is standing with someone she assumes to be his girlfriend, shirtless and displaying all his tattoos while wearing the tightest black skinny jeans she's ever seen. To Nico and Grady who have found a few scared looking girls from Nick's iCarly and have taken advantage of their vulnerability and are trying to grind them.
Then she stops at another familiar face. This one wears a pained expression as he listens to Robert Pattinson who has a small, mysterious smile on his face and is gesturing with his hands. She laughs lightly to herself as she can practically hear his thoughts, "Stupid Brit, thinks he's so great. He never would have gotten that part in that Moonlight movie if I hadn't turned it down. And what the hell is wrong with his hair? Does he not own a blow-dryer?" She watches him like that for a while, smiling when he gets that really annoyed crease in his forehead. And frowning when he gets that cocky smile as he undoubtedly shoves some insult in Robert's face and walks away. She doesn't just loathe it when he wins against her, she hates it when he wins against anyone.
Her eyes follow him as he mingles around the room, stopping at Nico and Grady and attempting to throw them out since he didn't invite them. Smiling in stony politeness at Selena Gomez who she can tell he's still mad at for barging out of his movie set and leaving Sonny to play herself. Filling up a cup of something that looks like juice but is probably something else for an unsuspecting Miley Cyrus who sips it daintily and laughs harder than she was before at his jokes to the disapproving stares of Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso who are standing with her. She stands there being mad at him, as the brunette flings her arm around his shoulders and clearly leans in to kiss him. The sudden she does though, he seems to loose interest. He flashes a smile at Emily and mumbles something that makes her laugh and Mitchel grimace before continuing his rounds of the room.
He's made his way through the crowd and over to Tawni, who is still dancing like a mad woman. He shakes his head and mumbles something that is not doubt sarcastic at her. She just laughs like she usually does when Sonny tells her she spends too much time in front of the mirror though, and turns towards the DJ again. That's when his eyes finally flicker across to her side of the room, and meet hers dead on. She watches his blue eyes brighten, and go downward, he licks his lips as he takes in her delicately curled hair, her strapless blue dress, her sexy strappy silver stilettos. She ignores the fact that he spends a little too long looking at what's holding the dress up because, damn it, it feels good to have him looking at her like this. And he tracks back upwards to her face, his sparkly orbs brighten as he watches her lips for a minute, and she wills him to come to here. To come do it, just get the stupid games over with. Blue meets brown though, and suddenly he's gone. He's leaning in to another, blonder, bluer, bitchier girl. One she knows all to well. And his lips are on hers instead.
She feels her stomach starting to be sick and she turns on her heel and runs toward what she assumes to be the bathroom but is actually the kitchen. She hears footsteps behind her but between the nausea and holding back the tears she doesn't even think about stopping to see who they belong to. Instead, she leans over Chad's sterling silver sink and throws up into it.
- - -
An hour later, she's sitting on the floor in front of it, and the tears are flowing freely. Selena is on one side of her, her arm draped around her shoulders as she tries to console her. Portlyn is on the other, staring down at her from her standing position. She seems torn between feeling sorry for the brunette girl who just got burned by her co-star and wanting to slap her back into reality.
"It's not your fault, Sonny," Selena coos. "He's a jerk, he'll always be a jerk. And worse than that, he actually like you. I mean, if this is how we tries to get girls the boy needs serious therapy."
"He's had serious therapy," Portlyn interrupts, sipping her cocktail and looking bored. "And every time he comes out of it more messed up than before."
"God, would you shut up?" She rolls her eyes, before turning them back to Sonny. "She's right though, people like this don't get better. You can't change them Sonny, no matter how good a person you are."
"Maybe I won't be a good person then," She sniffles, looking up at them. "Maybe I'll be bad." The other two brunettes share a look.
"Sonny," Portlyn looks at her skeptically. "I don't think you could be bad if you tried you're too…"
"Nice?" She mutters, her brown eyes big with hurt.
"No…" She mumbles, looking into the liquid in her hands.
"Sweet?" She suggests, genuinely interested now.
"Naïve," Portlyn says finally. "You're too sheltered. And it's not a bad thing, here in Hollywood everyone is all bitter and cynical…like me, or Chad, or Tawni. Especially those two, they probably deserve each other. You, you're different. More…"
"Innocent?" She squeaks. "Seriously?" Her eyes narrow in anger. "I am not naïve. I've done plenty of stuff that's not PG."
Portlyn snorts, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yeah right, like what? You bubble to your top and you call people jerk faces and mean. Have you ever sworn? Have you ever even thought it in your head?" Sonny frowns, looking at the ground. "Have you ever gone on a real date Sonny? Have you ever even kissed a boy?" She bites her lip to keep from crying. "That's what I thought, naïve."
Her eyes flash up to the leggy girl in the slutty red dress in front of her, "I am not naïve."
"Prove it," Portlyn challenges, with a little laugh. Selena, leaned against the counter, sighs and gives Sonny a 'Don't Bother' look. Sonny is really considering this but then four words come out of Portlyn's mouth that she was never able to refuse, "What are you? Chicken?"
And Sonny finds herself grabbing a bottle of vodka off the counter and storming back into the enormous living room. She can here the click clack of Selena's Christian Louboutin sandals as she races after her, trying to change her mind. She's already got her mind set on it though. She pushes her way over to the DJ stand, grabbing the mic from it's resting place and tapping it on. "Sonny Monroe in the house!" She announces, and about half the people in the room make some kind of positive response. Apparently the others still have no idea who she is.
Suddenly Chad is standing next to her, a pained smile on his face, "What do you think you're doing?" He hisses, without breaking his perfect facial charade.
"Playing a game," She whispers in the same curt tone before turning back to the crowd with a dazzling smile. "Who here knows how to play I Never?" Most of the crowd cheers, but she still sees a few blank faces. "The basic idea is I say something ambiguous like, "I never had a crush on Johnny Depp" and whoever has, drinks."
"I've never seen Titanic," Most of the girls in the room drink, along with some of the guys.
Chad grabs the microphone from her, "I've never liked this game." A lot of people, including Sonny, tag big swigs.
He tosses it to Portlyn, who has never worn white after labor day. And pretty soon it's flying across the room. Chad drinks when someone says they've never had sex, and again when someone else says they haven't done it in an elevator. Sonny drinks when Miley says she's never lost her faith, when a short redhead claims she's never been in love, and when James claims he hasn't been dumped. Liar.
Nico says he's never had a serious girlfriend. Grady claims he never liked Harry Potter. Selena says she never dated Nick Jonas. David that he has never considered himself a whore. And it keeps going until it lands on Tawni.
The blonde girl stares into her drink for a long time, before her eyes cut up and to Chad. "I've never had a thing for Chad Dylan Cooper," She grins, and most of the girls in the room down their entire glasses, and some of the boys.
The thing is though, when Sonny goes to drink, she finds him staring at her intently. Like he's waiting for her to polish off the rest of the bottle. Honestly, Sonny knows this is what she should do because it's honest and she's never been a cheater but she also doesn't want to prove him right.
Then Miranda Cosgrove begins, "I've never-"
"Wait!" Chad shouts, waving his arm at her to put down the microphone. "We aren't done with the last one yet. Sonny didn't drink."
"Ever thought maybe she doesn't like you?" Tawni scoffs, and half the room erupts into laughter. And Sonny can see that it's coming from the female half, the half that have already been heartbroken by him. He's still looking at her though, desperately now, holding out his own cup to her, and she meets his eyes. His big, sparkly, pleading blue eyes.
And she finds herself reaching for it, taking a tiny sip before returning it, "Happy now?" She mumbles, pushing out of the room. She can hear the laughter behind her.
AN: I hate this chapter. I hate it I hate it I hate it. The reality is though, I'm not going to like it any better no matter how many times I write it so there it is. It's there, so I can write the next one whenever I so feel. If you want to check out the dresses, they're on my LJ (link's in my profile).
