Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.
The words that left Chad's mouth seemed to leave a magical trail in the air in their wake.
"You do?", whispered Sonny softly, conspicuous of their lingering effect.
Chad looked into her brown eyes, finding them deeper and warmer than ever before. In fact, they were alight with happiness.
And vowing to himself to never be the one to extinguish that sparkle in them, he said, "Yes Sonny, I do"
Sonny smiled at his words and from his gaze, she could tell that he sensed their implication too.
"Then why did you agree to go out with me?"
Sonny and Chad jumped upon hearing the voice.
"Uh…Leslie?", squirmed Chad.
"Yes, Chad. Me", she said, coming fully into their view.
Chad seemed to be at a loss for words, so Sonny decided to take matters into her own hands.
"Leslie", she said, drawing the irate girl's attention to herself. Leslie now turned to glare at her.
"Yes?", she spat.
"Um…first of all…sorry, from both of us, we both really owe you an apology"
Leslie didn't say anything. So, Sonny continued, sighing, "Sorry from me because I deliberately misled you…", she gave a guilty smile which Leslie did not return.
So she sighed again.
"I got carried away by jealousy, Leslie. I hope you understand. Yes, I know what I did was wrong. But…all I can say is that I'm sorry"
Leslie's expression softened slightly. Feeling a little relieved, Sonny nudged Chad, as he showed no signs of wanting to apologize. He simply shook his head.
"Excuse us a second, Leslie", she said and dragged him out of her earshot.
"Chad, you need to apologize for leading her on!"
"Sonny, Chad Dylan Cooper does not apologize"
"For me, Chad? Please?", pouted Sonny.
Chad sighed, knowing that his immunity to Sonny-pout was nil.
"Fine"
"Fine"
They both walked back to Leslie, realizing that they were holding hands only when her glare intensified at the sight.
"See Leslie, I don't usually apologize. But…I guess I shouldn't have agreed to date you when I liked Sonny. So, sorry"
Leslie closed her eyes and nodded. When she opened them, they were brimmed with tears. It looked like she had been trying very hard to keep them in and channel her emotions through anger. But she seemed to have failed.
Sonny felt very bad and immediately withdrew her hand from Chad's. When he looked at her questioningly, she just gestured to Leslie, who had been overtaken by quiet sobs.
He grew very uncomfortable with the sight. How many girls were going to cry in one night because of him?
"Leslie", he said tentatively and placed an arm over her shoulder.
Much to his dismay, however, her sobs only intensified at the contact. He looked at Sonny helplessly.
She came to his rescue. She put an arm around the upset girl.
"Leslie? Are you alright?", she asked, knowing full well that she wasn't.
"Sonny, I liked Chad a lot. I really did. I almost begged him to go out with me…", she cried.
Chad had never thought that somebody admitting to liking him would feel so bad. But after Leslie's admission, he felt sick. And when he thought about how many girls he had dated and dumped without a second thought, guilt almost drowned him.
"Leslie, I'm sorry", he said, very sincerely this time.
Calming down a little, Leslie replied, "You don't know how much I appreciate your apology. Sonny's a lucky girl"
Sonny gave her a kind smile.
"Come on, let's get you home…wait a second. What about the hotel bill?", asked Chad.
"I paid it", Leslie said, sniffing.
"I'll pay back tomorrow, okay? Just tell me the amount", he said.
She didn't reply. Instead she got into his car's backseat with Sonny.
And they set off on the journey back home. Chad decided to drop Leslie off first, even though Sonny's house was nearer, because he and Sonny had a lot of sorting out to do. Nobody spoke until they arrived at Leslie's house. She got down after another round of apologies from Sonny and Chad.
After Leslie disappeared into her house, Sonny got into the front seat.
"Wow! That was a lot of apologies", said Chad. Sonny laughed. It was true. Chad had probably apologized more in one night than he had in the rest of his life put together.
"You've done a lot of growing up today, Chad"
"That I can't deny", he said, smiling.
"At least now you've learnt the difference between girls and toys"
"An unforgettable lesson! Never another Leslie-like episode", he exclaimed.
"Hopefully", said Sonny.
"So…Sonny… will you go out with me?", he asked, bringing the car to a side and turning off the engine.
She looked at him.
"And be the girlfriend number 10 only to be ditched for number 11? No, thank you"
Chad's eyes widened in shock. He had been so sure that she would say yes.
Sonny laughed loudly. Now Chad looked at her confused.
"Haha, Chad. You actually believed that? Of course I would like to go out with you. Why else did I go through all this trouble?", she said, indicating her costume.
He exhaled in relief.
Her eyes were dancing with mischief.
"Sonny Munroe, you are so going to pay for this someday"
"We'll see about that", she challenged.
"Oh yes, we will", he shot back.
"Fine"
"Fine"
"Good"
"Good. So…you keep count of my girlfriends? Sounds like somebody is obsessed with me"
"I'm not obsessed with you. I just 'accidentally' happen to know how many girlfriends you've had"
At this, Chad made disbelieving noises. And she just ignored him.
Then, after sometime-
"But seriously, will I be in Leslie's position someday?", she asked, not meeting his eyes.
"Sonny, I really care about you. Actually, here goes…I'm in love with you"
Sonny was astounded by his revelation, "Really?", she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
"Yes, sunshine. I love you"
"I love you too, Chad"
This time her eyes were brimming with happy tears.
Chad gave her one of his best smiles ever.
"Now, your eyes are sparkling, Sonny"
Attention! Just because I posted two chapters at the same time doesn't mean that you can get away by reviewing just one. Review this before clicking the next button.
*stands with magic powder in hand to throw it upon those who don't review to send them to a far away planet*