Sonny had no idea how it happened. But it had always been that way with them. One moment, they'd be arguing about how he was such a self-centered drama snob or about how childish she was, and the next thing she knew, he had managed to smooth-talk his way out with his McKenzie charm and stupid perfect skin, fancy clothes, and windswept hair.
And now, she was slowly walking along Hollywood Boulevard, eating an ice cream cone as the sun was getting ready to set, wondering how she let him talk her into heading out with him this time.
Because if she didn't know any better, it would have seemed like it was a date.
He had asked the chauffeur to drop them off at the beginning of the Walk of Fame, under a silver metal canopy and they had spent the whole afternoon together since then.
Sonny looked around as they walked, soaking up the atmosphere. Everything was just so different from Wisconsin. She watched people as they snapped pictures and peered out of the windows of their cars, staring at the promises and dreams that Hollywood had to offer.
She licked some of her ice cream and then glanced at him for a while. For the past several weeks, she had noticed that he was a bit more cluttered than he used to be. His shirt might have been ironed to the core, his tie may he been straightened enough to choke him, and his pants had less creases than ever. But, every time she had come onto his set to confront him about how selfish he was being, he'd stumble over his lines before she had even said anything. And Chad Dylan Cooper never stumbled over his lines.
She knew that there had been extra pressure on his shoulders ever since the show ratings stared to go down. But, she rarely got a chance to talk to him alone and every time they did and he was close to letting her in, he'd get scared and cover it up with an act. She thought that for such a good actor, he could have done a better job. Because to her, he was so transparent.
The thing was, they were always on different planes, going in opposite directions. Sonny always hated that he knew exactly what it took to push her buttons, how he always got under her skin. But she'd meet him head-on in return, and he'd stiffen and look uncomfortably around to see if anyone was watching every time she did something embarrassing- which was often. Then he'd accept her challenge, just to get her to stop. If that wasn't enough, he always went out of his way to make sure everyone knew that he only cared about himself.
Yet, somehow, as she'd noticed over time, even under all of his arrogance, he always caved every time she needed him. He'd mess up and say something insensitive before he had a chance to think, but he'd come around to fix things, even when he didn't have to. He was never truly dramatic the way he was on his show or the way he pretended to be, at least when they were alone. And, it was always the small things that showed he actually had a heart, like the genuine glimmer in his eyes that appeared, during rare occasions that were becoming more frequent, or when he was talking to her about something serious. Otherwise, it'd be when he placed his hand on her arm or the small of her back to explain something.
It was true, there was always going to be a chance that he'd care too much about his reputation to be with her, but everything about her made him want to be a better person somehow. She was just so honest and sincere, that he found it hard to keep up his act around her all the time. She got to him, good. And she knew it. Because sure, she might have been nice, but she wasn't a pushover. And she was always much smarter than people gave her credit for.