Sonny's POV
"Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight to celebrate the release of my very first album!" I exclaim with a wide smile into the microphone. The crowd cheers, and I have to squint beneath the bright lights of the stage at The Patio to see them.
Mel and I decided to close The Patio for one night and have my release party here. She offered, and since The Patio is such an important place to both of us, I couldn't say no.
"But most of all, I want to thank my co-writer, co-producer, support system, and one of my best friends, Mel Mitchell!" I motion to Mel with my free hand, and everyone gives a round of applause for her. She's trying not to smile too widely, and it shows. I offered to release the single she recorded a while back soon, but she told me that she didn't want any attention taken away from her album. Truthfully, I think she's scared that it'll do well, and she knows what happens once a single does well. The album does well, and then all of a sudden, you're on tour - without your husband. I used to worry about going on tour, but with how my relationship with Chad is going, I doubt that will be an issue.
"She's the reason this album was made, and I couldn't have done it without her! But enough of me talking, everyone...enjoy the food and the music and have a great time tonight!" I tell them. After my speech, I turn off the mic and a song from my album plays overhead.
I step off the stage, and I'm greeted by a grinning Tawni with her arms outstretched.
"Sonny, I'm so proud of you," she says, and I can tell she wholeheartedly means it. When I was a newbie to Hollywood, Tawni definitely helped show me the ropes, even though she tried to sabotage me at first. It was just a defensive mechanism stemming from insecurity, and soon after I arrived, I could tell she really wanted to look out for me. She's always been like a big sister to me.
I give her a warm hug. "Thanks, Tawni," I say with a grin.
"And you look amazing in my dress," she tells me as she pulls away and gives me a once over.
It's the same lavender dress she gave me the night of Nico and Grady's premiere party, the dress she gave me with the intent of me wearing it when my album premiered.
I smile at her before letting out a sigh, looking around the room. "This is insane, huh?" I say with an incredulous laugh. "I mean, you're a fashion designer, running your own store. I'm releasing my first album."
"I remember when I found your songs in that song pillow," she says with a small laugh. "Girl plus boy equals soy. You definitely have improved in your song writing."
"Don't forget girl plus boy equals bok choy," I laugh, making her laugh along with me.
Behind Tawni's shoulder, James is approaching us with two tall glasses of what appears to be wine in his hands.
"For the most amazing singer I've ever heard," he says, handing one of the glasses to me. I smile at him, taking the glass from his hands, but not without rolling my eyes. "And for the most amazing woman I've ever met," he says, handing the other glass to Tawni.
She raises her eyebrows at him, looking at him as if he did something was wrong and she's waiting for him to correct himself.
"Oh, right, the most amazing woman anybody's ever met," he says, which makes her smile.
"Much better," she says as she accepts the drink.
I take a sip of the wine when I feel a tap on the shoulder. I turn around to see Blake Lee with another glass of wine.
"Aw, some guy beat me to it, huh?" he says with a playfully defeated look on his face.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be rude, now would I?" I smile at him before downing the glass in my hand and swapping out the empty glass with the new one.
He watches me with a small, surprised smirk on his lips. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Miss Monroe?"
I kink up an eyebrow with a small smirk on my lips as well.
"Well, listen, I know you want to get back to your friends, but I just wanted to tell you that I know I'm only here to talk about the music, but if you ever want to talk about anything, off the record of course, I'm available. Even if you just want to grab a bite to eat at two AM...I'm available," he says.
I smile softly at him, and he gives me a nod before walking off.
"He seems interested," Tawni says behind me in a sing-song voice.
"Oh, please do not stir the pot," I say, turning around to meet her.
"Sonny, I don't want you to be with him. I want you to be happy. Do you still love Chad?" she asks me.
"Of course," I say, my expression turning hurt at the mention of his name. I haven't seen him all night.
"Well, he came to see me today, and I told him to fight for you. But he has been fighting for you, hasn't he?" she asks. I try to respond, but I can't.
"Look," she says, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Don't let this whole taking space thing be a long way to say goodbye. You guys are too good together not to make it. Stop being afraid. He loves you. You deserve to be happy, Sonny."
I give her a soft smile before telling her that I'm going to go make the rounds and mingle with everybody who came out to show their support. I talk to Mel, Nico, Grady, and many other friends from years past, but I cannot help but notice that I haven't seen one person in particular. Granted, there are a lot of people here, but surely I would have bumped into him by now if he were here. I know we aren't on the best terms, but this is still my first album. Why wouldn't he come out and support me? What makes me feel worse is that since he's not here, I have a pretty good idea of where he is...and who he's with.
After a while of mingling, I decide to step outside and get some fresh air. I want to take in the night in peace, looking up at the stars as I hear people enjoying my music in the background. That is what it's all about.
Chad's POV
I walk around The Patio with a red solo cup in my hand. I haven't seen Sonny all night, save for when she got on stage. She looked absolutely gorgeous in that lavender dress of hers, and all I want to do is be with her right now. I wish I could go up to her and kiss her and everything be better, but I know life isn't just that easy. Especially when it comes to me and Sonny. I feel my phone vibrate in my pant pocket so I head outside to take the call, the noise too loud in here for me to be able to understand.
I look at the caller ID to find that it's John, our director. "Hello?" I ask as I answer the phone, the door closing behind me.
"Hey, Chad, when are you going to get that song to me?" he asks, his tone sounding urgent.
The movie is in need of a love ballad, and at the time I promised him I'd find one for him, Sonny and I were happily in love. I haven't even brought up the idea to her. I was going to after she was finished with her album, but then Blake happened. Now, I don't know if I'll ever get her to write and record it.
"Look, I'll try and get it soon," I tell him, annoyed. It's not like we need the song right now.
"Well, I want it soon," he says matter-of-factly. "Or else I'll have to find someone myself."
I know that no one in the world can write a better song for this movie than Sonny. I just need her to agree to it. I know she loves writing songs, but I also know that she'd have to read the script, visit the set, and talk with Blake and me about our characters before she does so. I don't think she'll be too fond of that, especially with our love scene coming up soon.
"Look, I'll talk to her. She's just been busy," I explain. That's partly the reason why I haven't mentioned it. If you count .000001% as a part.
"I want a definite answer from her by next week," he tells me. "You got it?"
"Yes, sir," I tell him in a dull tone.
And without saying goodbye, he hangs up. It's Friday night so I'll need an answer from her by at least Monday. I don't want to ask her tonight since I want her to enjoy this night for what it is, but I also want to be on good terms with her before I ask, instead of it seeming like I'm only interacting with her because of work.
I start to turn to go back into the building when I see Blake walking up the street and towards The Patio.
"What are you doing here?" I ask her as I approach her, taking a sip of the drink in my hand.
"Rehab for my rep," she says before motioning to the building. "This is the hottest ticket in town. Not showing up is more cause for gossip."
"Ah," I say with a nod. "Well, it's your first day back. You hanging in there?"
"I'm good," she says with a genuine smile. "I just gotta experience life again, ya know? I've learned everything I could in rehab. Now I've just got to apply it. I can Dr. Phil myself until I'm blue in the face, but...I've gotta get back out there...be around everything that tempts me and...be okay without all the things I want but..." She stares right at me, "can't have. And learn to be okay with everybody staring at these scars."
She rolls up her sleeves and showcases her slit wrists to me. The scares are huge, and they are difficult not to stare at.
"Well, you can get used to that one tomorrow," I tell her, taking off my wrist watch and handing it to her. "Put it on."
She looks between me and the watch before a grin breaks out on her face. "You don't have to do that."
"Hey, it's research for the movie," I say, danging the watch in front of her. "Your character loves to wear men's watches at album release parties.""
She giggles, shaking her head. "No, she doesn't."
"Tonight she does."
Sonny's POV
I walk outside, letting the cool air awaken my skin. The night is peaceful, and the streetlights shine brightly against the pale pavement. I cross my arms as I stare out into the street when out of the corner of my eye, I see two people walking up the sidewalk towards the entrance. It looks like a happy couple, and the sight of them makes me smile. It's only when they get closer that I realize that it's Chad and Blake. The sight of them smiling and laughing makes my stomach turn, and my smile turn into a frown. Their smiles and laughter immediately cease when they see me.
"Sonny," he says breathlessly, his eyes wide.
"Chad," I tell him, struggling to get the words out without sounding too angry. "Blake."
She looks between the two of us and immediately sense the tension. "You guys should talk. I'll be inside."
She points to the building before walking inside of it.
I stare at him, shaking my head, my arms crossed. "All day long, I've been trying to figure out how to get past the you and Blake thing. And here you are," I say with a shrug and a bitter laugh. "Together. You are always together."
"I just bumped into her tonight," he says, which makes me roll my eyes.
"Of course," I say in a low, sarcastic voice.
He shakes his head, his jaw clenched, before he throws his drink down on the street. "Gah, it's always about Blake! Just stop it, Sonny!"
"I will the second you stop pretending like it's in my head; it's not!" I exclaim back.
"Yes, it is!" he shouts.
"I saw you," I tell him in a stern, hurt voice, "with her, in the hospital, by her bed, holding her hand. That was not in my head!"
"She tried to kill herself," he says, leaning down towards me as he stresses his words. "I'm her friend."
"It was more than that. I was there!" I tell him, my voice breaking.
"How dare you," he says, shaking his head. "I've proposed to you...twice. I tell you all the time how much I love you, and it's still not good enough. You just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for this not to work!" He motions between us with his hands.
I let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't want to fight. I just wanted to talk."
"And yet here we are, fighting. And I'm getting really tired of fighting," he tells me. "And ya know what, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm the guy that wants to save Blake Blackwell. That's my issue. But I'm also the guy who loves you. I'm the guy you pushed away when you found out that you couldn't have kids. I'm the guy you can't trust no matter how much I tell you to, and that's...that's your issue, Sonny! I'm never going to be able to change that for you!"
His words scare me, and my voice breaks as I ask, "So what are you saying?"
He lets out a sigh, shaking his head as he looks me up and down. "I'm saying that maybe right now you need to work on you, and I need to work on me." I gulp at his words. "You've got your new album, and I'm making a movie...with Blake." I can tell that he's trying to keep his voice steady. "I should concentrate on that."
I stare at him, my mouth agape before he utters the words I've never wanted to hear from him again. "Goodbye, Sonny."
I left the release party after my breakup with Chad. I wasn't able to go back inside and pretend like nothing was wrong when my entire world was falling apart. Instead, I went back home to try and get some sleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. I looked at my phone to discover that it was one AM. Then, I decided to do something that shocked even myself.
I'm currently standing outside a hotel room, knocking on the white door of room 101. It takes a few seconds before he answers.
"Sonny," greets Blake, his voice sounding surprised. I can't say I blame him.
My face is tear stained, and I'm trying my best to smile so I let out a sad laugh. "You still want to grab that bite to eat?"
What do you guys think? Sorry I didn't get to anything with the movie, but next chapter, there definitely will be scenes with Chad and Blake's movie. So what do you guys think about either Blake? And Sonny and Chad's relationship with them? Also, what do you think about Sonny prospectively writing the song for the movie? Leave your thoughts in the reviews, and I'll try to update soon!