A/N: Well, what do ya know? A decent-timed update! You're very welcome :P And, to any QTO readers, I apologise. I'm finding it difficult to plan the next chapter, but I'm going to try and start posting updates about my updates (whoa) on my profile (if I remember), so when I do start writing it, you guys'll be the first to know so long as you check my profile :)

Someone asked me last chapter if I was going to write Chad's POV. It wasn't my plan to - my plan was to keep the story fully Sonny. However, if you want me to, I can write a one-shot about any part of the story you want from Chad's point of view, or at least give it a go!.

I don't own Sonny with a Chance


Lost Soul

Chapter 9 - The Lead

"Chad? I have something to show you."

Chad shot up from his seat on one of the kitchen stools, slamming the book he was reading and wearing a lost-puppy-caught-in-the-act look that made me giggle. I'd stopped Mom from showing Chad the leaflet the night before, and then warned Chad about my Mom's plan to get him back to his 'parents' house, or in a house of his own. As a result, he'd been pretty cautious this morning around my mother, and he clearly still was now. He nodded respectfully towards her.

"Ms Munroe." He said monotonously, before glancing over her shoulder at me for help. I gave him an encouraging nod that told him to just go with it. He looked back at Mom, more confident this time. "You need to show me something?"

"Yes," Mom said, smiling kindly at him. "Sonny and I were thinking about what would be best for you," I silently groaned at the fact Mom had brought me into this decision, "and we think that, perhaps, what's best for you isn't living here."

Chad nodded, my encouraging gesture clearly stuck in his mind.

"I agree... ma'am." He said. My Mom chuckled, clearly amused by the use of such a respectful title.

"Just call me Connie." She insisted. Chad nodded again, his face the picture of obedience. I didn't understand why he was looking at my mother like she was some kind of sergeant, but it was pretty funny, if anything.

"Connie." He confirmed, and Mom's smile grew. She passed him the paper, and he unfolded and studied it carefully. He looked up, with wide eyes, at me, and I gave him a thumbs up.

"What do you think?" Mom was saying, "It'll be good for you to move out of your parents' house. That is, unless you want to go home. But if not, Sonny and I can help you get a job, and you can pay for it with the money you get there. Maybe if you ask your parents, they can support you; maybe send you some money to get yourself going. I'm sure Sonny will be around to keep you sane, too." She chuckled, before smiling, waiting for Chad's reply. He seemed kind of overwhelmed by the sudden burst of information from my Mom. Looking over her shoulder again for my confirmation, he gave my Mom an unsure thumbs up, probably copying me. His eyes darted back to me for a second, and, because I was smiling encouragingly, he smiled too, if a little too widely. I held back a giggle, or maybe a face-palm.

Mom raised an eyebrow at Chad, before smiling kindly at him, and then turning and leaving the room.

"Nicely done, Chad." I muttered, "Way to freak out my mother."

"You really think it'd be a good idea for me to go live in a different home?" Chad asked, wonder and a little bit of offence decorating his tone.

"Heck, no." I shook my head, "But I couldn't disagree or my Mom would be suspicious."

"Oh." Chad said. "So, what are we supposed to do now your Mom thinks I'm going to go live somewhere else?"

"I'll think of that later." I promised. "Right now, we need to find some way to find Monica. You should focus your efforts on that – I'll figure out your cover story later."

"Sonnaaaay!"

"Crud." I mumbled, "It's Tawni."

Chad's brow creased at the familiar name, "Your friend?"

"Yeah." I said as I heard the clicking of Tawni's heels, her voice chattering with my Mom, before her footfalls changed direction towards the kitchen. "Crap. Okay, uh… what are you doing?"

Chad was on his hands and knees, and he glance up at me disbelievingly, like it was obvious. "I'm hiding. Duh."

"Why?" I hissed.

"Don't you think it'd be kind of weird for a guy you met in the forest the other day to be at your apartment for no explainable reason?"

"Good point," I shrugged as he crawled underneath the breakfast table. "Wow." I stifled a laugh as he tugged the chairs further in so that he was better disguised. "No one can see you down there." I mocked sarcastically, "Well done, Chad – bravo!"

"Sonny?" The door swung open and Tawni was smirking at me, "Are you talking to yourself again?" She asked sweetly. I shrugged.

"A little."

Tawni chuckled, "You're insane, Son. What's going on this time?"

"I just did something stupid and was applauding myself for it." I explained, smiling too sweetly. Tawni raised an eyebrow at me, her expression incredulous.

"Right." She then glance over at the breakfast table and pointed to the pile of books. "Studying?"

"Something like that." I agreed. She picked up a book and leafed through it. After a few seconds, she dropped the book unceremoniously back on the table.

"Bor-ing." She moaned, "It's all fake, anyway. Mythical cities? Hidden caves? I'm not buying it."

"It's pretty interesting, though."

Tawni snorted, "Right. Wanna go to the mall?"

"Um…" I supposed that I could do with some time away from all the madness Chad had brought about. Plus, me leaving would give Chad a chance to figure everything out. "Yeah. Yeah, sure."

Tawni grinned. "Awesome. Grab anything you need and…"

She trailed off as movement in the corner of her eyeshot. Her blue eyes then widened in horror and I ran over to cover her mouth before she screamed.

"Shh!" I whispered comfortingly, "Shush, Tawni, it's okay. He's not some crazy guy – he's a guest."

"A guest?" She squeaked hysterically, "So why the hell's he hiding?"

Chad climbed out from under his hiding place - like I'd assumed, not a very successful one - and I stood beside him. "Well, we didn't know how you'd react."

"So you thought I'd react better to some random guy hiding under your table? Ever heard of introductions?"

Chad was by her side in a second. He held one of her hands up to his face and kissed it softly. "I'm truly sorry." He murmured kindly. Tawni quietened immediately and I exhaled at yet another girl falling for the charms of Chad Dylan Cooper.

"Tawni, you remember Chad, right?" I asked, unsure whether my statement would be true or not considering that for a large fraction of the time Tawni had spent around Chad, she had been unconscious. The other fraction, we were in the dark. But then again, Chad was pretty memorable.

Tawni squinted a little, "Chad…" She mused. "Remind me?"

I didn't know if I wanted to. If we pointed out that Chad was present at the scene when we were both nearly murdered, I wasn't sure whether Tawni would scream and run away or hug onto Chad like metal to a magnet and never let go. Neither were desired outcomes on my part. I didn't know if Chad would be too fond of them either.

"It doesn't matter." I interjected before Chad tried to explain who he was. "He's just here for a little while, while he tries to find a new apartment."

Tawni nodded slowly, "Okay…" Her eyes were still squinted though. Chad and I shuffled a little, awkward under her gaze.

"So… the mall?" I reminded her. Of course, the mall is the scapegoat for if you ever want to distract Tawni, and it worked like a charm. She dragged me out of the kitchen, waving a small goodbye to Chad. I gave him a thumbs up as I left, and he smiled at me a little, seeming to get the message.


"So…"

Tawni seemed to be deliberating for a long time while we were at the mall. See, the thing is, my best friend's one of those girls who just can't stay away from gossip. Annoyingly. And, though my miniscule explanation of Chad's presence in my kitchen had pacified her while we left the block and drove some of the way to the mall, I had spent the last hour with Tawni giving me suspicious glances, sticking out her tongue in thought.

Okay, so subtlety isn't really her strong point. Another thing about Tawni.

"Tawni, you've had a face like someone who's been sucking lemons for the last hour." I told her before she could continue, "You've gotta stop doing that before someone thinks there's actually something wrong with your face and calls an ambulance."

Tawni smirked, "Mock me all you want, but I'll be the one laughing when I figure out what's going on with you and that Chad guy."

Of course. "And you'll do that, how? Are you just staring into my soul? Is that how this thing works? Are you a mind reader? Do you have Sherlock Holmes's powers of deduction?"

She wasn't going to argue with that anymore. "Geez, you're defensive today." She laughed, "What's the matter – mysterious boy in your kitchen rubbing you up the wrong way?"

"Nah," I shot back, "You're doing that all on your own."

"Well, whether he is or not, you should be careful." She said, her voice now a little more serious, a little more level. I sighed.

"I am being careful – he's not dangerous. He's just a guy."

"You don't know that." She replied, "But that wasn't what I was worried about." She then begins smiling, "He's kinda cute."

"Tawni, don't do this…" I moan. "Don't make me give you the whole we're just friends speech."

"Because it's baloney?" She prompted.

"Because it's a waste of time." I correct, "And besides, he's hardly gonna be around for much longer. Soon he'll be off in a whole different world to mine." I was glad that Tawni didn't seem to take that as literally as I meant it. "There's no reason to get involved with him. And he has someone already."

Tawni seemed to give up on the matter at that, but I could still tell the cogs were turning in her mind.

This was ridiculous. I felt like I'd told pretty much everyone I knew the same thing; that Chad and I were friends, if that; that Chad would be leaving again soon so there was no point getting involved; that he already had someone anyway. I was getting fed up of the same pointless questions and accusations being thrown my way – from Tawni, Gemma… maybe even from myself, towards the beginning. It was irritating. It was unneeded.

Tawni definitely picked up on my impatience on the subject. Of course, while Tawni's a lovely girl in some cases and my best friend, she's still very persistent and also doesn't really know when to shut up. Tawni's constant chatter? Another thing that was, really, unneeded.

"Aww, Sonny, you need to lighten up."

"You need to shut up."

"Ooh, who put a bee in your bonnet this morning?" She cooed mockingly. I just snorted.

"You, probably." I added. Tawni laughed.

"Son-ayyy…"

"No, I was wrong." I decided jokingly, "It was you, definitely."

Tawni scoffed, and she took a large breath in to retort something, when suddenly we were shoved apart by two men colliding into us. Tawni yelled out some sort of profanity while I tried to regain my balance. She huffed at me.

"Rude." She muttered, before calling after the men, "Watch where you're going, jerkwads! And some manners would do you well, too!"

I might have said something myself – whether to Tawni or to the men, I wasn't really sure – had I have not felt sick at the very sight of those two men. Their faces weren't familiar, and there was nothing wrong with them really – they were carrying bags from the grocery store and hardware store. They were in a pretty hefty rush, but hey; I usually saw people around in a rush around the mall. Maybe they were late to work after picking up some supplies, their lunch?

No. Because, while there shouldn't have been anything to really strike fear into my heart because of these men, there was something. Something very clear – something I saw the second I got a proper glance at the men.

They were wearing suits. Sure; again, that shouldn't be too bad. Loads of people wore suits to work. These guys didn't have to be an exception, right?

One of them then turned back and I swallowed when I took in the dark sunglasses rested on his nose, over his eyes. Inside. It wasn't even that much of a sunny day.

I tried to locate some kind of excuse for this mildly odd behaviour. We lived in LA – loads of people wore sunglasses around here all the time.

But there was no excuse for what I saw next. Despite Tawni having being the one to scream at them, the man who turned around was clearly glaring at me. He gave me some kind of dark, knowing gaze. I shuffled awkwardly in place as he glared at me for a good few seconds before turning back to his companion. Tawni snorted next to me.

"What a weirdo." She muttered, before turning to me and adding, "Do you know that guy?"

My mouth felt dry, "Uh, no." I managed. It was convincing enough. I just hoped Tawni wasn't as suspicious as I was worried.

S.O.U.L. The men were S.O.U.L.

I didn't know how I'd known it. Maybe I'd been hanging around Chad for too long; become as paranoid about that group as he was. Or maybe, I was right. Maybe that little instinct I'd received during my dream about Monica the other night was finally paying off, for real. Maybe, Monica was pointing me in the right direction – how, I don't know why. But there was no reason not to follow my instincts.

I told Tawni that we should split up for a while. It was a birthday soon, after all, and while I'd already bought her present, she didn't need to know that.

I followed the two men out of the mall, keeping as inconspicuous as a girl carrying her friend's half-a-dozen shopping bags could. I seemed to get the non-genius idea that hiding behind those bags would make me near invisible, and so I kept myself close to the wall, watching them. I just hoped that these weren't the men who had attacked me a few nights ago – I couldn't really tell, because it had been so dark and I hadn't really taken in their faces. That give me a small glimmer of hope that maybe they wouldn't recognise me either, but I wasn't completely sure. If they recognised me, then perhaps they would get suspicious with my involvement in everything that was going on, and being a known enemy of S.O.U.L. really wasn't on my wish list.

I tried to focus my hearing as well as I could so I could pick up what they were saying as they made their way further into the parking lot. I made my way, inconspicuously, towards Tawni's car, so that I could hear them better. But, unfortunately, when I got within hearing distance, there was no conversation to listen in to.

They were in their large black van, like the one Tawni and I had seen on that first night, within seconds. They took off at a speed that was fairly unnecessary. My shoulders slumped helplessly as I watched them, before something ignited in my chest. Suddenly overwhelmed, I knew immediately what I needed to do.

I was in Tawni's car before I could register it, and tugged my phone out of my pocket, sending my best friend a quick text about how I needed to borrow her car and would bring it back soon. It wasn't a lie – I did need it. A girl's life depended on it. And, so long as I stayed out of trouble, I would be back soon. I wasn't planning on infiltrating the S.O.U.L. hideout, wherever it was. Not without Chad, or a death wish, perhaps. I just wanted to get an inkling of where Chad and I should start our search for Monica. If I found the exact spot of their hideout, well, that would be a bonus. Maybe locating Monica would be easier than either of us had anticipated.

Maybe Chad would be leaving faster that I was, secretly, ready for.


I started to regret following the men when the drive took me further out of my way than was necessary. I followed them along a lengthy highway for half an hour – maybe nearly an hour, by the time it was fully over. I spent the whole time trying to avoid giving them the sense that I was following them; otherwise my investigation would be over before it had even begun. I blended in around the other cars, whilst still keeping an eye on their dark, shiny, mysterious van. I even overtook them a few times, just to make sure that I didn't appear to be following their every move.

It was on one of my overtaking spells when they turned off. A small road led off of the highway and into a vast forest, which was equally as dark as the van. Something chilled inside of me, and while that instinct in my chest thrummed eagerly, I swallowed, not daring to turn back and follow them. I couldn't, anyway – not on the highway, not without potentially killing a couple of people, including myself.

At least I had a vague idea of where they were heading – maybe that was the S.O.U.L. hideout. Maybe Monica was there – that could've been why something was tugging at my chest, like it was dragging me in that very direction.

I turned around as soon as I was able. Driving past that little road made me shudder, but I didn't dare enter it. I made a mental note any time I saw a road sign, so that I knew where to lead Chad, and I was shocked when I began recognising my surroundings. I'd been away from here for so long that everything seemed warm, friendly, homely and welcoming. I wished I could hide in my apartment and never leave.

But I had a job to do.

I'd almost forgotten that I'd left Tawni on her own here. There was no denying it, though, when I found her stood at the parking lot entrance, her arms folded and her stare cold, but mocking. I winced as I pulled to a stop, scrambling over into the passenger's seat. Tawni sighed as she got in, sending a pointed look my way.

"Sorry," I apologised pitifully.

"Uh huh." Tawni replied shortly. She stuffed the three or four bags she was holding into the back with the other ones she had left with me earlier, and then she drove off, to take me back to my apartment.

Though I'd been an awful conversationalist earlier, now the tables had turned. I tried to keep conversation up as an apology to my best friend. She stayed quieter than was usual for a chatterbox like her, but that didn't mean that she was silent for the whole ride. She kept shooting me knowing looks though – what she knew (or thought she knew) I wasn't completely sure, but she was keeping something from me, and it certainly had an impact on the atmosphere in the car. It felt awkward; tense in comparison to the relaxed feeling I'd first felt upon entering the familiar streets. Now, I wished I was alone again.

I ran straight up to my apartment, giving Tawni a simple, "see you!" as I left. She just replied with a half-hearted, "later," and for that I was grateful. No difficult questions, no complicated labyrinths to trawl through – just the unspoken promise that some kind of conversation would be coming soon.

Chad was pretty much exactly where I'd left him, and something inside me screamed that surely that was unhealthy. I didn't really care though – not when I had the heavier weight of my latest discovery on my shoulders.

"Chad, I have news!" I informed him, slightly jitterier than was necessary. Chad jumped at my voice – obviously he hadn't been disturbed all day – and he threw up some kind of karate stance in defence before he realised it was me and snapped back into stoicism.

"News on what?" He asked, in a deeper voice than he would usually use. It almost made me want to giggle – he was probably trying to defend his pride, his dignity. Clearly a heroic and strong guy like Chad thought that he shouldn't be so weak and so was balancing it out. It didn't really work in my eyes – I don't know about Chad's.

"Something to help our search for Monica." I replied, taking a seat next to Chad, who still didn't turn from the computer screen.

"Mmm?" He said, "And is it another one of those books of yours?" His tone was almost patronising. I didn't get it. The guy seemed to change personalities like the change of the seasons.

"No," I shot back, equally as snide, "actually, I managed to find real S.O.U.L. men." Chad turned from the screen for the first time, "I may have even located their hideout, or where Monica is."

His eyes softened at the mention of Monica. Of course.

"You think so?"

"Fairly certain." I nodded, emphasising the action of folding my arms. "Thank you, Sonny."

Chad bowed his head a little, sighing, "Sonny, how did you get this information, exactly?"

"I followed one of their vans." I shrugged.

Chad sighed, almost impatient, but he clearly knew it was futile to argue when he replied with a weak, "Sonny…"

"If I hadn't, we wouldn't have this lead." I moaned, well aware I was starting to act like an impatient child, "Chad, just trust me on this. We could be one step closer to finding Monica, but if we don't investigate, we'll never know."

"It could be a trap." He argued quietly.

"And if it isn't?" I retorted.

His mind seemed fairly made up at that suggestion. "Right." He said, standing from his seat.

"Where are you going?" I asked him. He turned to face me and gave me, for the first time since the beginning of our conversation, a smile. It was daring and cheeky, and it filled me with excitement. This was the Chad I had been desperate to see in action. He seemed to have, finally, ignored any worry about me getting in his way or getting in trouble, and now just seemed ready for an adventure. I hadn't read far enough into the book to have reached scenes where Chad acted like this, but this was the Chad who people that had finished ready the book already would probably name the "epic" Chad. The thought made me laugh and for once I wasn't craving the scene in the book, because I was experiencing this energy first-hand.

"Let's go find out," He replied simply. His energy reverberated onto me and, grinning, I shot up from my seat and followed Chad straight out of the front door.


A/N: Thanks for reading :) Don't forget to review!

See you next time :) I'm hoping that'll be very close, because I have a vague plan for the next chapter, and it should be exciting! I'm sure eager to get it written!

~Amy x