Umm... Hi, guys... *dodges a flying brick* OKAY, I GET IT! I haven't updated in like months... and I'm just here to say... I'M BACK, BABY! Finally! I've been working on this on and off since I last updated, and it's FINALLY done! And trust me, next chapter, I will try to updated before the year is up ;)

Alrighty! I can't remember anything that happened review-wise in this story, so I'll just get right on with the story. After I say - thanks for your patience, I promise I will work a little harder to get this done next time!

I don't own Sonny with a Chance, or No Ordinary Family, which this story is kind-of based on. Okay?

Onwards! :D

Chapter 10 - A Dark Nightmare

Sonny's POV

I wake up the next day at 6:30am, tired and in a bad mood. I've had less than 3 hours sleep – Chad dropped me off late last night, and I was attacked by insomnia. And now my friends are shaking me, yelling my name as I rub my eyes and wish they'd leave me alone. Ugh. My friends are way too obsessed with knowing every little detail of my life.

"So…" Tawni mumbles as I rub the dust from my eyes, finding it to believe her shaking me wasn't part of a nightmare. In the midst of how exhausted I am though, it's hard to believe last night wasn't a nightmare; what with Mom being mad at me, and Chad's heartbreaking story; his scar, his 'Dad'… "Where were you last night? The minute Ellie and Zora cracked about you going out, we knew something was going on."

Just at the door of my room, Ellie and Zora are stood, looking guilty. I bite my lip and try for a smile, and they do so back.

"Sorry." Zora mouths, and I smile at them, trying to say that everything's okay. It's not though. Tawni can't know about my date with Chad… she'd kill me. I need to keep it a secret from her – problem is, like my mother, Tawni can read me like a book. Even though she doesn't read books… wait… off subject.

"It was nothing really." I shrug. "I wanted some alone time to think things through, and so Ellie told me about a library close to here. Zora heard us talking about it, so that's how she knew."

I smile, proud of my lie, but Tawni doesn't seem impressed.

"Then why were all the cars there?" She asks, "Surely you didn't go somewhere without a car!"

"I… walked." I stutter out, before smirking sarcastically, "It's this new thing… heard of it, Tawni? Now, while you ponder on that, I'm gonna get ready for school, so if you'll excuse me…"

She glowers at me, angry at my sarcasm, but I have bigger problems than her right now. I need to see Chad, talk to him, see if he's okay… and I also need to get used to this whole "super powers" thing. Ellie and her father still haven't found out much about how or why we got them, but they are determined. We just want to go home. Then maybe I can leave all the confusion England has brought me behind.

School is really quiet that day, and for the first little bit, I have no idea why. But, when it comes to registration, I realise what's – or who's – missing.

"Chad Dylan Cooper?" Ms Turner calls with a reluctant sigh. I can't help but smile. Ms Turner hates Chad in her lessons, it would seem. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. She hates every cynical remark, every sarcastic smirk, every attractive hair flip or wink… everything that makes Chad Chad.

"Mr Cooper?" She repeats, more annoyed this time. I turn around to face Chad's desk, along with most of the class, and that is when I notice why the school is so quiet. The biggest contributor to its noise is not in.

Chad Dylan Cooper's seat is empty.

"Does anyone know where Mr Cooper is?" Ms Turner asks the class. Chad's pals offer up random excuses – he's at the dentist, he's been offered a movie audition by a big-time talent scout, he's been suspended for setting fire to a pile of student's French books. My hunch tells me that Chad's still curled up, in bed, after the late night yesterday…

I can't help but smile at the thought. I wonder what he looks like sleeping. Huh. Cute, I expect.

"Miss Munroe?" A voice wakes me up from my daydreaming, "Are you awake, Miss Munroe?"

"Uh… yes, Miss." I say, smiling weakly as some kids around me snigger, "Sorry, Miss."

She glares at me from over the rim of her glasses. "Pay attention next time, Miss Munroe." She then gives me one last glare before continuing with the register. After she's finished, she gets on with some boring kind of lesson, and I go straight back to daydreaming.

I wonder if I'm right about Chad…

Chad's POV

I come around that morning with a crazy headache and a sore throat. Which is weird, considering I didn't drink much last night, so it can't be a hangover. I do remember having a crappy night though – I barely slept, and when I did, a pair of big brown eyes was haunting me.

I figured out last night what love really feels like. I don't want to be in love, because I can't get too close to this girl when I'm only dating her to find out more about her powers, but I just can't help thinking about that girl named Sonny Munroe. She's different – she's sweet, kind, funny… I've never met a girl like her. And she's beautiful. Oh so beautiful.

But… I'm scared of being in love. I know – crazy. Chad Dylan Cooper does not get scared. Well… apparently he does. Or maybe just Chad gets scared – Chad Dylan Goldfarb, the Chad I was before I was taken in by Mr Cooper. Chad Dylan Goldfarb is a long way into my past – just a memory. A bad memory that I don't want to go back to.

I change the subject in my mind almost instantly after my past comes up, and begins to remember last night. Not the date with Sonny, but when I got home. When I slept, when I dreamt. And I remember it with a shudder. I close my eyes, and can just about make out the memory of one of my dreams last night. I was on a balcony, talking to Sonny. We kissed… and then I pushed her away. I told her I didn't want to hurt her. I remember the look on her face afterwards with a wince. Regret, sadness, pain, worry, total confusion. She was in so much pain to see me so confused, so angry with myself… I mentally slap myself for making dream Sonny seem so upset.

I then remember the next dream. Sonny found out about my powers. It was a reverse on the first one – she pushed me away, telling me to get away from her. It was painful to hear her say that. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I want to keep Sonny safe, right? So why was I resisting her pleas for me to go away? Maybe because I loved her so much and couldn't let her go? No… I can't let that happen.

The last one was the worse. We were in a room. A white room. I was holding her in my arms, tears rolling down my cheeks as her friends stood behind us. I yelled at them a little – though I can't remember what I told them – before I turned back to a motionless Sonny and kissed her. Was she… dead? She couldn't have been… I wouldn't have let her die… sure, my mission isn't to protect her, but she is the first girl I've truly loved. I wouldn't have let her die like that. I wouldn't have…

I remember waking up after that one in a frenzy – scared, worried, hurt. I knew I couldn't let Sonny come to any harm. It was terrifying to see her like that, and whether I really do love her or not, I couldn't bare to see her like that. Motionless, in my arms. Maybe she was killed because of me. Maybe I killed her. It hurts too much to think about.

All I know is this – I love Sonny Munroe. I can't love her, because she's my target. My so-called father wants to learn more about her powers – whether they're permanent or not, how she does it, and so on. I know he wants me to get close to her so I can do his dirty work for him. I am also sure that, if I don't do what he asks of me, I'll be doing something very, very stupid. Either he'll kick me out, back onto the streets, or he'll kill me, or at least do me bodily harm. And I'm too much of a coward to let him do either of those, so instead, I have to continue with his little scheme and spy on the clueless for him.

I'm so pathetic – going along with this plan. I don't even want to help him on this. I hate this stupid plan – I hate him. I'm just a coward. If I was brave enough, I'd have walked out of here a long time ago to make my own living, away from him. But I can't, because I think I need him to survive. No, seriously.

I decide to leave Daydream Land – it's too painful – and check the clock. Oops. Eleven. I'm about 3 hours late for school. Meh, I honestly don't give a damn. (Sowweee!) I'll just not go in today. I instead just collapse back onto the bed, closing my eyes and re-entering Daydream Land. I close my eyes, and suddenly, everything goes black. And not because I've closed my eyes. It feels like I'm asleep.

"I'm sorry, kids." A voice rings on in my head. A voice I haven't heard since I was 9 years old… since I was Chad Dylan Goldfarb. The voice of my real father. I can't remember him that well – I just remember he, like the rest of my family, had the trademark Goldfarb blonde hair and blue eyes. What – did you think I got these looks by chance?

I suddenly see a scene come to life – I'm surrounded by large buildings, so many cars, so many people. A few metres away is a family; a family of a mother, father, three daughters, and one son. Me.

"You can't leave us." The eldest daughter says, hugging her younger sister, with the baby girl fast asleep in her arms. The brother grips onto his father's leg, not moving as his father tries to leave with his mother.

"We have to." The mother sighs, wiping her eyes with a rag, "We can barely afford to keep the family together. We've organized a home for you so you can all be together." I sigh as I watch the scene. The children don't know that the mother is lying. They don't know that there is only enough room in the orphanage for three of the four children. They enter the orphanage, only to be told that one of them has to be sent away.

"I'll go." The aged-nine boy sighs, causing his sisters to gasp. They beg for him not to leave – if they can't stay together, they won't stay here. But the boy doesn't care. He wants what is best for his sisters – he loves them so much – and so he leaves while they are arguing with the director of the orphanage, trying to stop himself from turning back because he knows this is what is best for his family. He only cares about his family…

So he keeps walking. And walking, and walking, and walking, until his young feet get sore. He collapses beside the road, thirsty, hungry – he can't remember the last time he had something to eat, to drink. He is sure he's dying.

And then, he hears a noise. A car… it slows up next to him. A man gets out, picks him up, and puts him in the car. If he was his normal self, he would fight back; scream, yell, but the boy is so tired, so ill, he can't object. So he is kidnapped by some stranger, with no idea what is going on. And he's scared – really scared. He's been through so much in his life… but this is surely the worse of them all, he thinks.

The scene changes, and now the boy is being carried into a science lab by a man whose name plate reads 'Mr J Cooper'. He feels weak as his life flashes before his eyes, and he thinks that this is it. He's dying… what he'd do to hug his sisters once more, tell them he loved them.

Vision starts fading for the boy. He feels weak, powerless, as the man sits him down on a bench. The last thing the boy feels is a needle being jabbed into his arm before everything goes black.

I wake up with a jump, as I feel a wet thing on my face. I reach up to feel it and chuckle. A tear.

I then notice the needle and the bottle of medicine on the side of my bed. I pick up the bottle, loading the needle with the concoction before stabbing it into my wrist, wincing in pain.

This liquid is to "save" me, apparently. I was dying when Mr Cooper first found me, and so he gave me this medicine to keep me alive. It's like my drug, but, like all drugs, it comes with a price. If I don't have the drug, I get "withdrawal" symptoms. Or, in my case, I get weaker. See, this drug was first given to me to keep me alive, but it had some… weird side effects. One of them being, if I don't have the injection every few days, I get weaker, like I was that day when Mr Cooper found me. If I don't have it for long enough, I'll die, like I should've done all those years ago.

The injection also causes my powers, or so I'm led to believe. Well, where else would I get them from? Another side effect – it makes me drowsy. I suddenly feel all weak, collapsing back into my bed and falling asleep again, as the dreaded memory of my past continues.

I open my eyes, and I have to squint. I'm in a bright white room – it's familiar. It's like a science lab. Correction – it is a science lab. The same science lab from my last dream.

I have a look around, and that proves it – stacks and stacks of bottles on shelves, tables with people on. I shudder – they don't seem like people – more like silhouettes. That's all my mind remembers them at. Besides, the memory of that day is hazy, I had no idea what was going on around me.

In the corner of the room, a familiar man is stood, in a lab coat, studying over a boy. The same boy from my previous dream. He shuffles around, moaning. He sounds ill – really ill. I wince.

The boy then groans, stirs, and I watch as his eyes flutter open, then shut, then open again, before fixing on the man watching over him and widening, like he's seen a ghost. He moans, but stays stationary. He's in so much shock, and so much pain, he can't do anything but open his mouth and whimper.

"Wh-who are you?" He says, his voice barely a whisper. "Wh-where am I?"

"Don't worry." The man assures the boy, "You're safe here. I'm here to take care of you."

"Where is my family?" The younger me insists, with all the strength he can muster, even though he's too weak to even keep his eyes fully open.

"Your family are safe." The older man says, "Just… stay still…"

I watch as he picks up a needle, a large needle, and the younger me groans, whimpers. "What's that?" He asks.

"You'll find out, soon enough." I watch in horror as the young boy is injected. He lets out a yell, before his body starts to tense. His hands ball into fists, and his blue veins stand out in his face. It's too much, too much to watch.

I wake up, sweating, my heart thumping against my chest. I remember the pain, how scared I was bacl then. I was only nine years old when my parents left me and my sisters alone to fend for ourselves, because we could not cope as a family anymore. This is the day when I was torn away from my sisters, my poor, poor sisters, who got placed in an orphanage. There's no guarantee they're still there. There's not guarantee that they were fostered by same family. There's no guarantee they were fostered at all. I was ill, dying, what if they were too? What if they're all… gone? That though is just unbearable…

Gosh, why am I being such a softie? I haven't thought about my family like this in ages! So I haven't seen them in years, what's the big deal?

Well… I suppose the "big deal" is that they're my family, regardless of anything. And I loved them. Huh, what I'd do to see them again… but that's not possible. How am I suppose to find them? S'pose I'm just gonna have to deal with the hell of a life I have, being a man-slave and snitch to my so-called "father", whilst crushing on a girl who's supposed to be my target.

Which brings me onto another thing. Since I felt like I was… um, falling for Sonny last night… well, I suppose I can't let this "relationship" go any further. I can't go down this route of dating her just to find out information. I couldn't hurt her like that – she's too innocent, too kind. So, I can't go along with good-old-daddy's plans of getting close to her for information. Basically, I can't date her.

Huh. Ain't life grant?

"Chad?" Oh, speaking of the wonders of the world (note sarcasm)…

"What do ya want," The word gets caught in my throat. It feels sharp, forbidden. "…Dad?"

Cooper shoves my bedroom door open (has he heard of knocking?), before sitting on the edge of my bed and smiling at me. It's actually kind of creepy. Ugh. Weird man.

"I was wondering how the "date" went yesterday." He asks with a positive tone to his voice. Grr… I hate how he can be so positive about something so… awful. Disgusting. And weird.

"It went great." I say, which causes his smile to widen. I let mine fall, "Which is exactly why I can't go on with the plan."

I kick the covers off the bed, kicking him in the process (Success, huh?), before leaving the room and heading downstairs. CDC is hungry. Of course, a persistent daddy wants to know more.

"What do you mean?" He growls as I fish the bread out of the bread bin thing and pop it in the toaster. I just shrug. "You're not… falling for the target, are you?"

I roll my eyes. Thank God I'm a good liar. I believe some people call it acting. (lol :P)

"Not at all, don't be ridiculous." I laugh, "I just don't want to do it."

I hear him mumble something under his breath, something like "stupid teenagers" before shooting me a glare, "I need you to discover more about these people though! They must've been on the plane with some sort of large dose of…" (some big science words that I honestly blanked out for) "…and if…" (more boring science crap) "…I need a blood sample from one of them… I need you to get close to one of them so that I can do that, and that nice girl is the easiest target!"

"Well, if it's so easy, you do it." I say, snatching the toast as it flies out of the machine (Yup, I got skills ;)) before heading to the front door. But I'm stopped by a big clunky boot tripping me up. I skilfully manage to stay on my feet, but Mr Cooper grabs me by the collar and pulls me in close. My breathing suddenly increases, and I try to slow it down. He'll think I'm scared if I continue like this, and I'm not scared of him, of all people.

"You're being weak and pathetic, Chad." He grumbles angrily, "Would you like me to dump you back at that alleyway in New York to fend for yourself? I don't think you'd get that far without your little medicine, would you?"

I gulp, shaking my head. Why does he have to be so darn right?

"Exactly." He continues, "So don't fail me. Now, go see that girl, and make sure I get what I want."

He gives me one last bitter-sweet smile, before throwing me out of the house. I take a few deep breaths to slow my heart-rate, before checking the clock on my phone. Three o'clock – school should be finishing. So maybe Sonny will be home soon? Dad's words still ringing in my brain, I sigh reluctantly and get in my car, my course set for the house where Sonny's staying.

When I arrive at the house, Sonny is just getting out of one of her friend's cars. Nico, I think his name is. (Hmm… let's just say it's Blake's car, but Chad don't know that. Dunno how Nico's car will have made it to England on a crashed plane o_O) I let her get in the house, wait a few minutes, before parking outside and knocking, trying to come up with a plan.

There is no way I can fall for her… if that happens, the plan will go awfully wrong… surely, if I was her friend, I'd be close enough to her, right? That's what I'll do…

"Chad?"

Sonny's POV

"Chad?"

My MIA class-mate is at my (Ellie's) door, which is weird, coz I thought he was ill. That, or tired from our date last night. Well… he doesn't look ill… he looks a little drowsy though… hmm…

"Hey, Sonny." He smiles sadly, "I just wanted to say, um, I've been thinking about last night."

"Me too." I smile, "I had a lot of fun."

Chad grins, but not very convincingly, "So did I…" He says, "Um, Sonny, I've been thinking… maybe we should um, just be friends."

I bite my lip. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, not at all!" He sighs, "I just don't trust myself."

"I trust you." I tell him, and he rolls his eyes and mumbles something.

"You don't know me right, then." It sounds like.

"What was that?"

Chad sighs, "Nothin'."

"Okay…" I say, "Well, I can do friends." I suppose that's what's best, since I only just met Chad. I should really get to know him first, I guess. Any relationship can wait.

"Awesome." Chad smiles. Once again, he doesn't look truly happy.

"So, wanna come in?" I ask him, ushering him inside, and his face falls.

"I-I can't." He says, "I have to go home… really sorry…" He back down the driveway, looking around carefully, before waving me a goodbye and getting back in his car, before speeding down the road. I watch him in shock.

Well… that was odd.

Sooo... was that good enough, considering the ABNORMALLY long wait? I sure hope so... better to come, I hope!

Ooh, and you got some little sneak-y peek-ys of Chaddy's past there... aww :'(

Now, I have to say something. THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST UPDATE UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND. This is because I have rehearsals for my school's production next week, which, on most days, go on until 8 at night. (The horror!) So, I will try to write something, but I can't promise anything... :(

Soooo, this is where I ask y'all for reviews! Please? Pretty please?

Thank y'all :P

~Amy x Who loves y'all so x