"Oh, come on, Sonny! It'll be fun!" Grady insisted eagerly as he and Sonny sat comfortably on the couch in the prop house.

Sonny crossed her arms in frustration. "I said no, Grady."

Grady pouted and stood up. "Fine, but you're going to miss out."

Sonny shrugged carelessly and Grady sighed, finally giving up. He made is way to the door and almost bumped into Chad Dylan Cooper rounding the corner.

Grady was about to huff past the drama queen when Chad spoke up. "What's got you all flustered?"

Grady's eyes narrowed as he scanned the Mackenzie Falls star. He was wearing the usual uniform and his hair was perfectly quaffed, as always. Chad's icy blue eyes bore into the blonde Random's and they realized they were in a completely pointless silent stand-off.

Chad rolled his eyes after about a minute of glaring and asked, "What are you doing?"

Grady huffed and pursed his lips. "My laser eyes were scanning you for bad vibes."

"Oh sweet Jesus, you're so lame. Move." He shoved the chubby, annoying boy out of his way and entered the prop house to see Miss Munroe sprawled across the couch, burying her face in a pillow.

Chad snickered and tip-toed across the floor, and when he was sure Sonny didn't hear him, he sat on her.

"Get off, Chad," she mumbled into the fabric; but it sounded more like "Gurt omff, Shaaa."

"Sorry, what?" Chad teased, wiggling to get more comfortable.

She raised her head and her chocolate eyes met his blue ones. He felt like she was staring into his soul and he didn't like that ugly sensation. Feeling more uncomfortable by the second, he shifted back and forth. Her eyes were like sharpened daggers.

"Okay, okay, sheesh, I'll move."

He stood up and Sonny immediately straightened her self up and sat next to him nicely.

She fixed her hair and mumbled a, "Thank you."

"What's your deal?" Chad asked cautiously, not wanting her to rip his throat out, because that was the mood he sensed she was in.

Sonny sighed. "Everyone wants me to go to these stupid fireworks tonight. I don't want to."

Chad was taken aback. "Why the hell don't you want to go to the fireworks?!"

Sonny frowned. "I just don't want to."

Chad chuckled darkly. "Is little miss Sonny Munroe afraid of the loud noises?"

Sonny fiddled with her fingers, not making eye-contact with Chad. "No," she protested, even though he had it spot on. Ever since she was a little girl, the loud noises the fireworks made when they popped had always scared her. The large masses of people made her nervous and uncomfortable. Everything about going to fireworks made her itch with unease.

Chad, in a moment of sensitivity and sympathy, gently placed his hand on her knee. Sonny's looked into his eyes and for some reason felt….safe.

"Listen," he said softly. "I'm going tonight too. How about I pick you up around eight and we'll go down there. If you want to leave then we will, but give them a shot." He looked sincere and Sonny smiled weakly. "Don't worry; I'll protect you."

He winked and Sonny let out a small laugh. "Okay, Chad," she conceded. "Thanks."

Chad flashed a smile and then realized his hand was on her knee. He took it off and coughed tensely.

"Well, uh, I'd better get going. I'll see you tonight."

Sonny nodded and with a smirk and a wink, he was gone.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Chad held tightly onto Sonny's hand as they weaved and manoeuvred their way through the bustling crowds at the waterfront. Sonny, too preoccupied with the bumping and the pushing around of people, didn't notice that Chad was rubbing circles on her hand with his thumb in an effort to calm her. He knew exactly where they were going, but unfortunately the only way there was through the intense swarm of people.

Finally they came to a stop, outside of the crowd, and Sonny breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's right over here," Chad said, loosening his grip on her as they trudged around the corner.

They came to a stop in front of a hill; not a small one, nor a big one. It was just right for watching the fireworks on a perfect night such as that one.

"Wow, Chad, that's like, the perfect view!" Sonny exclaimed, staring up at the tip of it. She couldn't wait to climb up and sit on top, looking out at the barges on the water and watching them shoot out colourful streams of light and sound. The night was looking up already.

Chad smiled, secretly dancing around in his head when he saw the genuine excitement on his girl's…I mean, on Sonny's face.

As they climbed the hill, Sonny said, "You'd think this place would be teeming with people."

"Maybe if it was open to the public," he replied, finally reaching the top.

Sonny looked at him. "It's a private hill?"

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds stupid!" Chad laughed. "It's for us tonight. I heard from someone that you didn't like big crowds, so I made sure there weren't any."

Sonny smiled, not worrying about which someone had told Chad that tidbit of information. "Wow. That was oddly nice of you. Then again, so was this whole thing. I really appreciate it."

Chad shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

Sonny smiled thankfully as the two sat down on the soft grass. The night sky was hovering above them and the sparkling water lying before them seemed to be rippling with excitement for the night's events.

The first pop went off, and Sonny cringed. She wanted to plug her ears and hide; all previous happy thoughts vanishing with each boom. Chad glanced at her and silently slid closer to the cowering brunette.

More explosions fired into the air, setting off bright and colourful lights. When Sonny felt warmth on her arm, she looked to see Chad leaning against her in an attempt to comfort her. Sonny smiled and Chad looked at her, and soon she was lost in his glittery blue eyes. The loud explosions were a low hum in the back of her head when he smiled back.

The two looked up at the lights again, Sonny feeling her heart pound in her chest as she felt a soft hand cover hers.

*R*e*v*i*e*w*

Twitter: EmilyAdele27