A/N: Sorry for not updating in about two weeks... I haven't really been sure of how to write what I had planned. I'll probably be slow at updating for a while. I hope this extra-long chapter will make up for my lack of updates, and I will try to update again soon.

Can't Get Enough of That Drama

Chapter Ten – Confusing Feelings

Sonny's POV

"So," Michael said, as we walked down the beach together. "Do you live around here?"

I shook my head. "I'm from LA," I said.

"California?" he asked, looking excited.

"Yeah."

"Is it nice there?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I mean, it's no Wisconsin, but I get to do what I love there."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked.

"Well, I was born and raised in Wisconsin. It's beautiful there, so calm and peaceful. But California is pretty, too. It's just really busy and all anyone ever seems to think about it is what they can get. But I'm not complaining, because I get to work in LA, doing the thing I love most," I explained.

"And what's that?"

"Acting."

"You act?"

"Sure," I said. "I'm on a show called So Random!"

"That's great," Michael said. "I've never seen it, but I've heard of it..." He trailed off and looked down at the sand, then back at me. "So you're famous?"

I let out a laugh, despite myself. I couldn't help but feel a little better with Michael being so cheery. "A bit, I suppose." I looked out to the water, and then down at the wet sand. "Hey, look!" I bent down and picked up a shiny amber brown shell.

Michael shrugged. "We get a ton of those."

"Really? It's so pretty." I held it up to the sunlight to examine it. It was covered in sand, so I bent down again and held it under the water to wash the sand off. When it was all gone, I slipped it into my pocket.

Michael was looking over his shoulder to his friends, who had continued on with their football game without him. He then turned to me. "Do you want to go for a walk? I could show you around..."

"Sure," I said, pleased. "That would be nice."

Michael smiled. "Great. Come on, this way." He turned around and began to climb the sloping beach to the street. He stopped by a great pile of clothes and bags and grabbed a t-shirt and shoes and slipped them on. He then set off towards the street, and I followed him. When we reached the sidewalk, he turned right. "There are a lot of neat shops over here. Everyone comes to the beach, so these places usually get a lot of business. It's pretty smart."

He led the way down the sidewalk, pointing out all the shops as we went past, explaining to me what was in each of them. A few caught my eye, like the shop that specialized in sea glass jewelry. Michael grinned when I stopped to look in the window, and asked, "Do you want to go inside?"

"Yeah," I said. I pushed the door open and was immediately drawn over to the glass counter that held about a hundred pieces of sea glass jewelry. One piece in particular caught my eye and I examined it. It was a green flower made from four pieces of sea glass twined together. A thin strip of black leather connected at either end of the flower and hooked in the back with a silver clasp. "Wow."

"You like it?" he asked.

"It's so pretty." I scanned the counter some more, taking in all the different necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, and other pieces.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone quite this interested in our jewelry," an elderly man from behind the counter said, smiling. His grey eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "We do get women all the time, fawning over one piece or another, but none quite like you."

I blushed. "Sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Oh, no, don't apologize, dear," he said, his smile widening. "I enjoy your enthusiasm. My family and I work very hard on these pieces."

"You made these yourselves?" I gaped.

The old man nodded. "My wife and children, and myself. It's been a family hobby since I was a child. I decided to turn it into a business when I was old enough, and now I have this little shop here."

"It's wonderful," I said honestly.

"Well thank you, dear." He reached under the counter and pulled out the green flower necklace, then held it out to me. "Here. I want you to have this."

"Oh, no, I couldn't-" I began, but he cut me off.

"It's not every day someone offers you free jewelry," he reminded me, still smiling. I had to agree so I took the necklace from him.

"Thank you," I said, "very much."

"No, thank you. You've brightened my day considerably."

After that, we continued the tour of the neighborhood around the beach. We turned to a narrower street, where smaller shops were located. Michael halted in front of one, a beach ware shop. "I live here," he said. "My parents own the shop, and we live above it."

"Really?" I asked. "That sounds really cool."

"Thanks," he said, pushing his bangs out of his face. "Do you want to come inside?"

"Sure," I said, smiling. I had nothing better to do. We entered the shop and I began to wander through the store, examining whatever happened to catch my interested. Michael stood by the door, watching me nervously. I didn't really understand why he seemed so worried about what I thought. I shrugged it off and turned to face him.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"It's nice," I said with a smile.

"Great." He looked relieved. Then hesitant. "Would you like to stay for lunch?"

"That sounds nice."

"Cool. My mom is making her famous Clam Chowder," Michael informed me. "You don't mind, do you?"

"I've never had Clam Chowder before," I admitted. "It's a type of soup, right?"

He nodded. "You'll love it. My mom makes the best Clam Chowder on this side of town." He paused, then added, "She was a professional cook for a long time. Until my brother and I came along. She's a bit old."

I shrugged, then asked, "So you have a brother?"

"Yeah. His name is Joshua. He's a year older than me."

"Does he live here with you?"

Michael nodded again. "You'll probably meet him when we're eating." He glanced at the ceiling, and then over to the stairs in the far corner of the store. "Come on, let's go." He led the way across the store and up the stairs, into a cozy looking apartment. Sounds drifted out of a doorway to the left, and I could tell there was someone cooking in there, along with the sounds of the television. "I'm home!" Michael called through the doorway.

A older woman with rust-colored hair streaked with grey poked her head out. She smiled at Michael, then turned her grey eyes, the exact same as Michael's, on me. Her smile widened, and she stepped out into the hallway. She wore a mint green t-shirt, jeans, white sneakers, and an apron around her waist. "Who is this?" she asked.

"This is my friend Sonny. Is it okay if she stays for lunch?" Michael asked.

"Of course," his mother said, continuing to smile kindly at me. I smiled back, feeling a little nervous. Michael gave me a tour around their apartment, and we sat talking in the living room until lunch was ready. We sat down and ate, and I met his brother along with his father, and I began to feel comfortable. This was definitely turning out to be one of the better days of my vacation.

x.x.x.x

Later, when the sun was beginning to set, Michael walked me back to the hotel. He hesitated outside the door, and I said, "Do you want to come meet my friends?"

"Sure," he said, a smile crossing his face again. I led him inside and down the hall to my room. I slid the key into the lock and opened the door. Tawni was sitting on my bed, facing Zora, who was sprawled out on her own bed. Sitting in chairs behind Zora were Nico and Grady. They all looked up when I came in.

"Where have you been?" Tawni cried, jumping up. "We were worried about you!"

"You were worried about me, Tawni?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Tawni stumbled for words. "I mean, they missed you," she said lamely, pointing to Zora, Nico, and Grady.

"So where have you been?" Nico asked.

"I went to the beach. I met a friend there. He showed me around the neighborhood and then I had lunch with him." I glanced over my shoulder. Michael was still standing in the doorway, where no one could see him. I motioned for him to come in, and he did so tentatively. "This is Michael," I announced.

Everyone stared at each other for what felt like an excruciatingly long time. Finally, Tawni smiled and said, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Michael." Her blue eyes sparkled. I knew what she was thinking, and I sighed on the inside. All Tawni cared about was looks. Although I had to admit, Michael was a pretty nice person. However, I hadn't known him for long, so I couldn't exactly judge.

"Nice to meet you, too," Michael said.

"This is Tawni," I said. "That's Zora, and those two are Nico and Grady."

"Hey," Nico said.

"What's up?" Grady asked.

"Do you like snakes?" Zora asked.

Michael laughed nervously and we glanced at each other. He looked back at the others, and then down at his feet. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Sonny. I think I should go now."

"Wait," I said, dashing over to the bedside table. I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and scribbled down my number, then held it out to him. "Maybe we can hang out again tomorrow."

"That'd be great," Michael said, smiling more genuinely now. "I'll call you in the morning?"

"Sounds good."

"Bye, Sonny."

"Bye!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Chad's POV

After spending the day at Sea World with the girls and Daniel, I was more tired that I could ever remember being, even after a long day of filming. Walking around a giant park was hard work. We got back to the hotel around three o'clock, and still had plenty of time before dinner. Melany and Daniel disappeared, and Emily decided to go to the hotel's spa to relax after our long day. That left me with Portlyn. We lounged on couches in the lobby, trying to decide what to do with our time.

"We could go swimming?" Portlyn suggested dully, as bored and tired as I was.

I shook my head. "I'm too tired to swim. My legs are aching, anyways."

"Mine too," she admitted. "What else is there to do?"

I shrugged. She began to think again. Portlyn let out a sigh and checked her watch. "I'm hungry. Are you?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. It wasn't exactly late enough for dinner, but my exhaustion was making me hungry as well.

"Great." Portlyn stood up. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Where?" I asked.

"There's a cafe down the street," she said. "I wanted to try it out. What do you think?"

I groaned. "More walking?"

Portlyn flashed me a smile. "Not if you don't want to," she said. "Call the limo."

"Right," I said. I whipped out my phone and dialed the number quickly. When the driver answered, I told him to meet us in front of the hotel, then stood up. Portlyn had run off to her room to retrieve her purse, and I felt in my pocket to make sure my wallet was still there; It was. When she returned, we went outside to the limo, which took us down the street to the cafe that Portlyn had mentioned.

When we arrived, Portlyn and I climbed out of the limo, and I told the driver we would call when we were ready to be picked up. Portlyn grabbed my wrist and led the way into the cafe. When we entered I suddenly remember, with a rather guilty pang, the cafe that I had spent the day in with Sonny, while we were stuck in Nevada. Portlyn dragged me over to a small, square table and we sat down.

We both picked up menus and scanned through them. I ordered more food that usual, feeling ravenous as the smells from the kitchen drifted over to our table. When the waiter came over, we placed our orders, and he came back quickly with our drinks. Portlyn sipped her raspberry ice tea across the table from me, peeking at me from underneath her eyelashes. I sighed inwardly. This crush was getting to be a little too much.

Portlyn and I chatted while we were waiting for our food, but silence fell over us when our dinners arrived. The two of us were too hungry to do much talking. When we were finished eating, however, I leaned back in my chair and sighed, feeling warm and a little less exhausted. Portlyn took a last drink from her ice tea and shot her hand into the air to wave down the waiter. He gave us the check, we paid, and left.

"That was good," Portlyn said, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

I nodded in agreement and pulled out my phone. "I'll call the driver."

"Let's just walk," Portlyn urged. "It's just down the street. Besides, I feel better now that I've eaten."

"I do, too," I admitted. "All right, let's walk."

We left the cafe and stepped out onto the crowed sidewalk outside. The sun was beginning to set as Portlyn and I started walking down the street towards our hotel. It was a quiet affair, as it was too loud on the streets to do much talking, and we were both beginning to get tired again. When we reached the hotel, I started to open the door to the lobby, but Portlyn stopped me. She grabbed my arm and pulled back.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I want to talk to you about something," Portlyn said, biting her lip nervously.

"Okay. What is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you, Chad, that I really like you. And I have, since I joined the cast." Portlyn look down at the ground, her face turning red with embarrassment. She brushed a lock of hair out of her face, and then she turned her brown gaze back on me.

"Yeah," I said, "I sort of already knew."

"You did?" she asked. "How?"

"You're not very good at keeping secrets," I teased.

Portlyn scowled. "It's not funny, Chad."

"Right," I said. "Sorry."

There was a moment of silence, and then Portlyn spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you like me, Chad?"

"Portlyn, I-"

But I never got to finish my sentence, because suddenly Portlyn's lips were on mine, and she had wrapped her arms around me. For a moment, I was shocked. I had never known Portlyn to be quite so bold. But then, I supposed, she was already used to kissing me. We had to kiss all the time. Of course, none of them had ever meant anything, until now.

And what was more... Suddenly, I didn't mind. A rush of confusing thoughts and feelings flooded my mind, but I pushed them away. I cleared my mind and focused on kissing Portlyn.

A/N: Whew. That took a while to write. But I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think and leave me a review. I will love you forever if you do. Let me know that you haven't abandoned me in my absence!

Love,

This Author Person-Face