A/N: Thank you for your comments! Ten reviews this time…love you all! Short chapter, lots of drama again. Tell me what you think. I rushed this one, so probably lots of errors. Sorry! I felt that I had to update, though.

Guess Who's NOT Coming to Guest Star!

Sonny's POV

I watched, frozen, as Jackson strolled into the room and continued speaking.

"I came to get you both for rehearsal today. And instead, I get a juicy bit of girls' gossip. So, you've been kissing Chad Dylan Cooper? 'Fess up, Munroe." His voice was falsely pleasant and curious, supposedly due to Tawni's presence.

"I – well, I – I didn't kiss him," I lied weakly. It was possibly my worst attempt ever at lying, and that's saying something. And Jackson knew it.

"Uh huh. Tawni, Marshall wanted to ask you about something before rehearsal. Why don't you go right now? Sonny and I will catch up with you in a bit," he smiled sickly at her before kissing her on the cheek and sending her out the door. She cast a confused look back at Jackson and me before leaving.

"Well. Now that it's the two of us," Jackson continued with the mildly interested façade. "Why haven't you broken up with him? Wasn't that the plan? Or was the plan something different? Something along the lines of destroying your image, career, and show?"

"I – I thought it would be better if I led him on for a bit. Let him think that he and I are really, truly serious before letting him down." The words came through a little easier this time.

"Uh huh," Jackson pulled out the sound, making it sound incredibly skeptical. "Well, in that case, I guess I'll have to drop a few hints about So Random! and its cast. Nothing obvious or serious, but little glimpses here and there. Just to warn you. You're not going to have forever." And he strode out of the room, leaving me dizzy.

Chad's POV

I knew something was wrong. It had to be. Once it was six that night, the time that Sonny had usually already left the studio, I called her. Again and again. And no one ever picked up. I contemplated going over to her apartment, but I decided not to be rash. The last time I tried that, I ended up vomiting. Ugh.

So when I went to the studio the following morning and picked up my mail, I saw what had been the issue. Jackson had found out somehow. Clearly, there had been some kind of deal set up, because it wasn't half as bad as he had said it was going to be. But on the cover of Tween Weekly, there was a picture of the So Random! cast all making weird faces with the headline "Funny or Freaks? Jackson Tyler's take on the 'odd' cast of So Random!"

Smaller pictures off to the sides showed slightly embarrassing pictures of each of them. Tawni had clearly just woken up, and hadn't been "prettified" yet, which definitely wasn't pretty. Nico had his mouth filled with fro-yo and it was spilling out all over his clothes. Grady was stuffing his face with meatballs and wearing a bib (Hey. Mine doesn't count as embarrassing.). Zora had a maniacal expression on her face as she bent down and talked to what seemed to be a rat. And Sonny's face was scrunched up in anger as she exploded at someone – someone being me, I was pretty sure. I had seen that face before. Of course Jackson had to bring up that incident again. How kind of him. A smaller headline in a corner was the worst. "Chad Dylan Cooper: Has Sonny Munroe stolen his heart? And does he hold hers? Jackson's insider info on the relationship."

With the magazine in my hands, I rushed over to Sonny's dressing room to find the door locked.

"Sonny? Sonny, please open the door," I pleaded. Yes, I know. CDC never pleads. But this was a special circumstance. And it worked, too. The door swung open, and Sonny stood behind it with an awful expression on her face. It was a combination of sadness and embarrassment. Without a word, I hugged her.

"Chad, don't," was the surprising response. I immediately pulled away and looked at her with a question written on my face. "Just – have you seen it? The magazine? Have you read the articles? He said it would be hardly anything. Little hints. But look! It wasn't just directed at me – it was the whole cast. And you. We can't be together. It's causing so many problems, and that's after only one date! I just…I don't think I can take it." That cut. It cut me deep, and I didn't even bother trying to disguise the look of shock and pain on my face.

"Sonny, you can't be serious. Because of Jackson? Is that really a valid reason? This stuff they're saying isn't that bad! The press is something you'll always have to deal with."

"Well…maybe it isn't worth it. Not just Jackson. The press. Our shows. Our casts too. Maybe it's for the best." I instantly recoiled, stepping away from her. The words came like a slap across my face. After all that I had worked for. All that progress I had made. And for what? Nothing.

"Fine. Obviously I'm wasting your precious time," I lashed out.

"Fine," she said softly. "Just go. Please."

"Fine." I turned my back on her, and everything I thought we had.

"Good," she whispered. I could tell she was crying, but I was past caring. My own tears were falling down my face, and I couldn't let her see those.

"Good," I said harshly, still facing the opposite direction, before walking out of the door. Once I couldn't hear her sobs anymore, I ran to my car and started it. I couldn't stay there any longer. I had to get away.

A/N: Okay, I have a story idea. A new story. I'm thinking about doing each chapter of it based on a song from Taylor Swift's album "Fearless", and I have all these ideas for it swirling around in my head, so I know it should be good. Problem, though – that would mean updates for this story would be slower. Tell me your opinion on that, as well as your opinion on this chapter in general! Sad, I know…I'm feeling upset now. :'(