A/N I am SO sorry at the ridiculously long delay guys! I got caught up in studying and life and lost my motivation for this until a few days ago. And I'm also sorry for those of you who got alerts and then found the chapter missing. I put up the chapter but then found several errors in it so I took it down to fix it. When I tried to put it back up, went all wonky on me and wouldn't let me upload. :-( But it's finally here! It's not very long, but I kinda like it. PLEASE let me know what you think. I really value your opinions, especially when I get constructive criticism because then I can try to fix it.
This chapter is dedicated to one of my best friends who came up with the idea for this chapter. Toni, I know you gave me the idea a couple of months ago at Panera, but I wasn't inspired till tonight. I hope you like it!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny with a Chance. Boo.
Chad hated working late.
Mr. Condor and Mitch wanted him to work on his lines for the next show, and he did his best acting when on set. He would have made Portlyn stay, but she claimed to have a family emergency and ran off before he could tell her that her dog's plastic surgery consultation did not count.
He locked up his dressing room and moved quickly toward the parking lot. There was something creepy about walking through the darkened hallways of the normally busy studio. Not that he was scared. Not at all, he reassured himself as he walked quickly through the empty building.
A voice made him pause. Someone was still here? At this hour? Even the janitorial staff wasn't here this late. Confused, he looked around for the source of the noise.
It seemed to be coming from the kitchen. His brow furrowed. Who was in the kitchen now? And why were they…singing?
He peeked in the door and rolled his eyes at the sight. He should have known.
Sonny was standing at the counter with an apron tied around her waist, singing softly as she stirred something. He leaned against the door frame, listening to her voice. There was something strangely intriguing about watching her move gracefully around the kitchen. She obviously had a knack for the domestic, something he hadn't picked up on. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't think to announce his presence until she turned around and spotted him in the door
She jumped, dropping her bowl. "Chad! What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that question."
Her eyes narrowed. "That's none of your business. Oh, look what you made me do. Now I've got to start all over again."
He shrugged. "Sorry. Nice apron."
Despite her irritation, Sonny couldn't help but grin as she glanced at the cow-patterned apron. "Thanks. It was a gift from my dad before I left. To remind me of home, you know. Ooh, and look." She pressed the pocket, and it mooed. "Isn't that cool?"
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." He straightened, looking around. "So what are you doing here? Decided you needed a back-up in case being funny doesn't work out?"
"No," she bit out. "I'm baking cookies, or at least I was. Thanks to your unwanted presence, I've got to start from scratch."
He couldn't help but be curious. "Why are you baking at the studios? Don't you have an apartment?"
She sighed, beginning to mop up the spilled batter. "Tawni slept over and used my oven for her shoes and her makeup. Only she forgot to tell me, and when I tried to pre-heat the oven, I ended up with melted lipstick and mascara all over the walls and her blue Christian Louboutin pumps."
The explanation was too confusing to bother with, so he ignored it. "If you wanted cookies that badly, why didn't you just buy them?"
"My grandma's birthday is the day after tomorrow. We always baked together, so I was going to send her some cookies I made from a new recipe. I wanted it to reach her on her actual birthday, but if I don't finish them tonight, they'll never make it to Wisconsin on time."
Her distress. He sighed. "Do you want some help?"
She laughed. "Chad, that was actually funny. Maybe you'er not so hopeless after all."
Seeing his offer dismissed so casually did not so well with the boy. "I was serious. With two hands it'll go faster, so let me help out."
"You." She raised her eyebrows. "Have you ever cooked anything in your whole life."
"I've been in the kitchen before." He had been five, and the cook chased him out after he tipped over a pot of soup. It still counted.
It was obvious she was hesitant, so he put on his most charming smile. "Come on. It was sort of my fault you spilled the first one. Let me make it up to you." He refused to think about why he was offering—no, begging—to cook just to help her out. Chad refused to think about why he did a lot of things when it came to Sonny. It was just easier that way.
A slow smile spread across her face. "Ok. That's surprisingly nice of you, Chad." She paused and glanced around suspiciously. "There are no cameras in here are there?"
He rolled his eyes and tossed off his jacket, rolling up his sleeves. "Don't be so paranoid. Just tell me what to do first."
Reluctantly she pointed to the counter. "Fine. Can you crack two eggs into that bowl over there? I need to get more flour."
He nodded, and she disappeared through a side door. For the first time in his life, Chad Dylan Cooper picked up an egg.
"How hard can it be?" he muttered, moving it around in his hands. Awkwardly he smacked the egg against the edge of the bowl.
"Sonny!!!"
The girl rushed into the room, a huge bag of flour in her hands. "What? What happened?"
"I got egg all over my hands!"
She hefted the bag onto the counter and turned to him, hands on her hips. "So? Wash it off."
He shuddered as he regarded the sticky mess on his hands. "It's so...."
"Honestly, Chad. Cooking can get messy. I thought you said you knew your way around a kitchen."
"I said I've BEEN in a kitchen before. Doesn't mean I touched anything. And now I'm all gross."
Sonny bit back a laugh at the forlorn look on his face. "You've never even cracked an egg before?"
"Stars of number one TV shows don't have to crack eggs. They hire people to do stuff like this for them."
She shook her head at his arrogance. "Ok, you drama queen, just watch me." She grabbed an egg from the bowl and tapped it gently against the edge of the bowl and smoothly cracked it open, allowing the yellow liquid to fall into the bowl with a splat. "It's not that hard. Just don't hit the egg too hard. Now you try."
Hesitantly he picked up another egg and copied her actions. He managed to get it all in the bowl, including half the shell. He considered the glop curiously.
"I didn't know that they cooked the shells with the egg."
"That's because they don't" Sonny replied with exasperation as she fished the pieces of shell out. "Chad, this is not difficult. Try one more time. Just tap it and then kinda pry it open. Here, I'll help you." She moved behind him and settled her hands over his, directing his movements. In a second the yolk landed smoothly in the bowl.
"I cracked an egg." There was a mix of awe and some disdain in his voice as he looked over his shoulder at her.
"I told you it wasn't hard." She grinned at him, the warmth in her eyes sweeping over him. Suddenly, he was very aware of how close he was to her, closer than ever before. He glanced down at her hands, still resting over his. She followed his gaze and snatched them away. "Sorry," she muttered.
He didn't say anything, just kept his eyes on her face. Without thought, he rested his hand on her face softly, brushing his thumb against her cheek. Her slight intake of breath did something to his stomach, and he quickly moved away, creating some distance between them. "You had some flour…" he trailed off, looking anywhere but her face.
"Oh, thanks," she said, wiping at her face. "So…um…"
He cut her off. "So what's next?"
"Oh." She grabbed onto the subject change, obviously relieved. "Now we need to mix together the flour and the other ingredients. Let me just grab a bowl."
While her back was turned, he reached over to the counter with a sly grin.
"Can you get the –" Sonny stared in horror at the flour all over her favorite apron and then narrowed her eyes at the smirk on his face.
"Oh, it's on."
A/N: The mooing thing is completely unoriginal, but the imagine of Sonny's grin and Chad's freaked out expression while her apron mood just cracked me up too much not to put it in. Oh, and I don't know anything about baking, so if any details are wrong, I'm sorry, lol.
There will probably be one more chapter. Any ideas on how to wrap this up guys? I know there are so many Channy fans out there, so I'd definitely love to hear your ideas.
