I WANT EVERYTHING

"Getting Through"

Sonny awoke the next morning with an excruciating headache from having cried herself to sleep the night before. The five hours she spent sleeping and not thinking about Chad Dylan Cooper and the fact that he had broken her heart had been the most peaceful she'd had over the past couple of days. Knowing she still would not be able face her cast mates or return to the studio just yet, Sonny gave Marshall a quick call explaining that she still wasn't feeling well.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kiddo. I just hope you're feeling better by tomorrow. We're rehearsing for the season finale and I'd hate to not have you there."

"I know. I'm so sorry, Marshall," she replied weakly.

"Just rest and feel better, Sonny. We'll work it out if we have to," he assured her.

Two hours later, her phone rang. Checking the caller ID, she could see it was Tawni.

"Sonny, I know you're dealing with your problems with Pooper right now, but it's starting to affect the show!" her blonde co-star exclaimed into the phone. "We've had these sketches written for weeks now. If we have to do a rewrite to take you out of them, it's going to change the entire show."

"I can't Tawni…I just can't," she said softly into the phone. "I thought I could trust him," she went on, finding herself incapable of saying Chad's name, "and to find out that from the beginning that it was all just a publicity stunt... I just went through one of the darkest times of my life because of him. I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"Do what?" Tawni asked, becoming slightly annoyed.

Sonny sighed. "This whole scene. Hollywood. Everyone puts on a fake act to make themselves look like the person everyone wants them to be, even if it means stepping over someone else in the process. Besides, everyone hates me for dating Chad anyway."

"Not everyone, Sonny. Just Mackenzie Falls fans. Who needs them anyway? Besides, you'll be in their good graces again now that you've dumped that loser."

"I've been talking to my Mom about this," Sonny went on, suddenly becoming very emotional as she choked back a sob. "I asked her about moving back to Wisconsin. She told me that I need to think about it, but right now she's in a position to transfer back to her old job. I think I'm going to go, Tawni."

There was a short silence over the phone.

"Sonny, I know you're upset, but you're not thinking this through," Tawni said, calmly. "I know I should've told this to you months ago, but you were made for this show and we can't do it without you. Please tell me you'll reconsider this."

"I don't know," Sonny stated, uncertainly. "It just doesn't feel right anymore. Everything has changed."

"Please Sonny, can you just come to rehearsals tomorrow? Give the show one last chance before you say good-bye forever. Do it for us," Tawni pleaded.

Sonny did love all of her cast mates, and she certainly would be letting them down if she didn't show up to do the season finale. After all, what was one more show?

She sighed. "Okay."

Tawni smiled. "Great. See you tomorrow!"

X x

He'd called her.

He'd texted her.

He'd tried to visit her at home.

But after countless tries, Chad's attempt at trying to reach Sonny over the past two days had been in vain. She'd blocked his number (both of them) and had him blacklisted at her apartment building. So that's how he'd ended up at the studio over his summer break, trying to track the girl down. After discovering the Randoms we're going over some sketches on the soundstage, he considered interrupting them to talk to her, but thought better of it. Disrupting their silly little show probably wouldn't have put him on better terms with Sonny.

So he'd retreated to the empty and dark soundstage of Mackenzie Falls, draped over the same vanity where his makeup was applied before tapings. He sighed as he rested his chin on the palms of his hands, his elbows propped up on the table as he looked at the reflection of his sorry self. He had talent no doubt - a talent for screwing things up.

Soon the obnoxious clickity-clack sound of a someone quickly approaching him in a pair of heels brought him out of his pity party: Tawni Hart. She looked pissed, and he could only assume she'd noticed his car in the lot that morning and decided to seek her revenge.

"You have a lot of nerve, Cooper!" Tawni said as she approached him in a rage and grabbed his chair, spinning him around to face her. "Sonny is a nice girl. Even though you've been a complete ass to her since she got here, she has always liked you. Matter of fact, she's the only person in this studio who can even stand you."

He stared at her, open mouthed and shocked, wondering when the hitting was going to begin and whether or not he'd be able to even defend himself from a fuming Tawni.

"Do you have any idea what you've done to her?" she asked him, stabbing at his chest with her index finger. "You've made her feel like she's less than nothing - something for you to use and then throw away. And to think while you were using her for your precious publicity stunt, that you actually had the audacity to sleep with her? You. Are. Disgusting," she told him, shoving him back into his chair to prove her point.

Tawni then spun on her heel to leave.

"W-wait," Chad called after her, his voice breaking and his body shrunk down in his chair.

She quickly turned to glare at him. "What? I still haven't gotten through to you, Cooper?"

"No, I need to explain something to you, Tawni. Something Sonny wouldn't even give me a chance to explain the other day," he said, his voice unusually soft.

Tawni scowled at him, waiting for him to speak. "Well?" she asked him, impatiently.

"Okay," he began. "I asked Sonny out three months ago to the Tridark premiere when my agent told me I needed a steady girlfriend to help fix my player image. I used Flitter so I knew the paparazzi would follow us." Chad hung his head at this confession. "It wasn't supposed to go as far as it did. Being with Sonny, I just realized how much I actually enjoyed her company. I stopped posting on Flitter two months ago. Our relationship started out as a fake one, but after the first couple of weeks, it wasn't fake to me anymore. When I told her I loved her, I wasn't lying. Despite what you think, I didn't use her for sex. I admit it probably shouldn't have happened the way it did, but it meant something to me too."

Tawni, silenced by his words, slowly began to process the information. "Sonny's planning on moving back to Wisconsin."

"What?" he asked in disbelief, rising from his chair.

"The paparazzi, the fake dating - it has convinced her that Hollywood is evil and that she doesn't belong here. I could care less whether or not she actually takes you back, but you need to talk her out of the biggest mistake of her life, Chad."

He sighed. "I've tried, Tawni. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Okay," Tawni said thoughtfully. "I can help get her to talk to you, but if I find out that you're lying about anything you just told me-"

"I'm not, Tawni," he said, sincerely and a bit irritated. "I've already been cast for the stupid movie, why would I need to keep lying to her? I just want her to know that what happened was real…and that…I love her," he said, looking up sadly.

Tawni's frown faded, her expression softening. "Okay, she promised she'd be at work tomorrow," she began. "While we're at lunch, make sure you're waiting in our dressing room. And make it good, Cooper. If she quits the show, I'm personally blaming you."

X x

Sonny walked the halls of Condor Studios for the first time in two days, feeling a bit weird about how empty the entire place was. Many of the shows were already on summer hiatus, leaving most of the rooms and hallways dark and undisturbed.

She gave a sigh of relief when she found that Stage 3 was just a bright and cheery as it'd always been, save the usual hustle and bustle of the crew from the neighboring shows walking the hallways.

"Oh, hey Sonny," Nico said when she entered the prop house. He greeted her with a warm smile before pulling the girl into a hug. "Feeling better, I hope?"

She nodded. "Thanks Nico," she said before hugging Grady and Zora as well.

Marshall quickly joined his cast in the prop house, clapping his hands together. "Well kids, this is going to be an amazing show. I can feel it already!" he said excitedly. "Now let's get those lines memorized for tomorrow night's live taping!"

After a long morning of rehearsing lines for the new sketches, the group broke for lunch.

"You were awesome, Sonny," Grady said, encouragingly, as Nico nodded in agreement.

"You really brought your A game," Zora assured her, giving Sonny a light, playful punch in the arm.

Tawni, remembering her deal with Chad, quickly pulled Sonny aside. "Hey guys, we're gonna go talk in our dressing room really quick," she told the boys and Zora as she pulled Sonny along with her. "We'll catch up with you in a few." They nodded before walking towards the commissary.

"What is it, Tawni?" Sonny asked her as they walked towards their dressing room. "If it's about Wisconsin, I-"

Tawni shook her head. "Okay, I don't want you to hate me for this," she said to Sonny as they stood outside the door of their dressing room, "but I told Chad you would hear him out today."

Sonny's eyes widened. "He's in there now?"

"Yes, Sonny. And I think you just need to give him a chance."

"No," Sonny said as she pulled away. "Sometimes there are no second chances."

Tawni quickly grabbed her co-stars arm before she could get away. "Please, Sonny. I honestly wouldn't make you talk to him if I didn't think he had something worthy of hearing."

Sonny stood her ground, shaking her head in disapproval.

"I think once you talk to him, you might have second thoughts about leaving," Tawni attempted to convince her.

"I can't."

"Please, Sonny. For the Randoms," Tawni begged her with a sad pout.

Sonny took a deep breath. "I really wish you'd stop doing that."

Tawni smiled as she opened the door, practically shoving the girl inside. "I'll be out here when you're done," she called.

Sonny stumbled through the doorway, suddenly finding herself standing directly in front of Chad, who was sitting on the gold couch in the middle of the room. There was an awkward silence as they stared at each other momentarily. He looked up at her, offering her a small smile.

"Hey," he began.

"Hey."

"Do you wanna?" he asked, motioning to the empty spot beside him.

She frowned at him, shaking her head. "No, I'm good."

"I've really missed you-"

Sonny sighed, looking angry. "Can we just get on with this, Chad?"

"Okay, here it goes," he took a deep breath. "Three months ago Andrew Holloway - he's my agent - I mean was my agent-" Chad began nervously.

Sonny sighed.

"Okay, anyways. Three months ago I was turned down for a really awesome part in a movie I'd tried out for. Andy went on and on about how I had this bad image because I "use girls" and that's why I didn't get the part," he said, using air quotations.

"You?" Sonny asked sarcastically, placing her hand on her chest while trying to appear surprised.

Chad looked down. "He told me that I needed to find a girl to date. He specifically mentioned you. So that's when I asked you to go to the premiere with me. I used Flitter to drop hints to the press. I had a bad feeling about it, but he had me convinced that if I didn't get the movie part, I'd be this washed-up child actor. I was scared. Acting is all I've ever known." Chad shuffled his feet, finding it impossible to look at Sonny as he spoke. "But then after the night at the restaurant, when you were hurt, I told him I wouldn't do it anymore. That was the last time I ever posted on Flitter or tried to get the press to follow us. I fired Andy when he told me I should dump you."

"So after that you just kept me around for, what? Making out? Sleeping together?" she asked bitterly.

"No, Sonny. I stayed with you because I liked you. I didn't tell you the truth because I was afraid of losing you. I took you away from Hollywood for the weekend because I love you." He stood up, stepping forward and cupping her chin in his palm, causing Sonny to flinch at his touch. "I love you," he told her, emphasizing every word as he stared into her eyes. "I'm so sorry, and I never meant to hurt you, Sonny."

She gazed back at him, mesmerized for a few seconds before finally swatting his hand away.

"So," she said, the corners of her mouth turning down in a scowl. "You claim you fell in love with me during all of this? You say that you never meant to hurt me, but apparently playing with my feelings to benefit yourself isn't supposed to be hurtful?" she asked him, her eyes burning with anger.

Chad stared back, tongue tied.

"Maybe you had that feeling of guilt for a good reason, Chad. You may have "fell in love" while you were with me," Sonny said awkwardly, "but that doesn't change the fact that you used me in the first place, that you still lied to me along the way. Our relationship was a lie."

Chad's face fell at the past tense reference to their relationship. "Give me a chance, Sonny. You know everything now, we can start over," he pleaded.

Sonny took a deep breath in an effort to keep her composure as she started to become upset. "Some things can't be forgiven. The worst part is that I-I don't think I can trust you." Her voice wavered as she spoke, her eyes beginning to tear. Sonny quickly swept away a teardrop that had fallen to her cheek, desperately willing herself not to cry. "Everything has always been about you, Chad. Your ego. Your public image. Your career."

"God, Sonny," He said, becoming frustrated as he ran his hands through his hair. "I'm standing here, pouring my heart out to you. I love you so much that it's physically painful to be without you. What more can I do other than tell you the truth and beg you to forgive me?"

Sonny shook her head at him, unable to contain her tears any longer "Nothing," she replied with a quiet sob. "There's nothing you can do," she answered him, pointing to the door, directing him to leave.

Chad swallowed hard, trying to force back his own tears, which threatened to fall. "Just one thing before I go, Sonny. Don't let this one stupid thing I did destroy your life. Despite what you think, you belong here. Being sweet and thoughtful and kind may be a rarity in Hollywood, but it's no reason to give up your entire career. Your fans love you for all of those reasons. I love you for those reasons."

Sonny looked away, unable to decipher whatever she was feeling at the moment.

Chad's shoulders slumped, before giving her one last look. Very apprehensively, he turned and left.

X x

A/N: Just so you know, this fic hasn't ended. Someone had posted on the last chapter that they didn't like the ending; but unfortunately, they were an anonymous reviewer so I couldn't PM them to let them know that it hadn't. Anyways, I hope they realize there's more to it.