Sorry for the delay, folks...it was too short, and then I got carried away and now I fear it's too long...

I thank you all for your comments! I smile every time I get an email from this site. :)

Sonny

I'd pretty much given up on shopping blind, so now I was in the car on my way to Tawni's, my iPod on shuffle plugged into the speakers.

The chorus was on and I was already thinking about Chad again. On my way down I had seen a beaming Vivi practically skipping to his room. I had wondered what she was so happy about, and now I was wondering what they were doing.

And my stomach is sick

And it's all in my head

But she's touching his

Chest, now

He takes off her dress, now

Letting me go…

Ah. I hadn't listened to that song in awhile. However I didn't tune out for long. The image of Vivi in Chad's apartment faded into her on his couch, on hands and knees beside him, babbling cheerily and him smiling back.

I just can't look

It's killing me…

Then I could see her on his lap…quit it, Sonny! Tune out.

Jealousy

Turning saints into the sea…

I turned it off. Stupid Killers, I wasn't jealous! I sighed. Now every time I heard that song I was going to picture Chad with Vivi. Don't you just love that?

---

My face still hurt from where Tawni had slapped me. How was I supposed to know her boyfriend was over? "How dare you just barge in without warning while I'm here trying to enjoy my man!" Such a drama queen! It's a wonder she's not on Mackenzie Falls.

Why did my mind always go there? I mean, Chad and I were friends, but if anyone could read my thoughts they'd probably think I was in love with him or something!

Well, now I was headed back to Chad's. I hoped Vivi wasn't still there. But why would she be, right? I mean, Chad knew I was coming back over…then again he did have a habit of losing track of time…

I knocked on his door and he answered almost immediately, then engulfed me in a hug the moment he saw me. "Well…hello to you, too, Chad!"

"Sorry! I was just thinking about this crazy thing Vivi told me…" He practically dragged me to the sofa but finally let me go and his warmth left me. "And I think…I think she likes me."

That song flashed back into my head. I looked at his face, and he looked more worried than flattered or haughty. "Why is that so bad?"

"Well…I don't like her back. And she's kind of my friend now…I don't want to hurt her." He sighed. "But there's not much I can do now. I won't see her for a long time." His same old CDC smile crept onto his lips. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about that anymore."

At first I wondered why he wasn't going to see her, and then I realized I really didn't care. It didn't matter to him, so now it wasn't going to matter to me. But I still wanted to know…

"So how…how close are you?"

"Me and Vivi? Oh…" Chad thought a moment, as if hesitant to tell me too much. "I guess we're…were…I dunno…close enough for her to break down on my couch."

I stared at him a minute. "Normally you'd be annoyed by that."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. So…you thinking about getting her something for Christmas?" I asked in attempt to brighten the atmosphere.

He gave me a look as if I were crazy. "Do you know me at all?" He rolled his eyes at me and then reverted to staring at the wall, the knuckle of his index finger pressed to his lips and his other fingers curled loosely. His eyes looked wonderful from that angle. Stupid lighting…

"Well…what about your other friends?"

"What, you mean Crystal Corpse and all them?"

"Well, not just them…you've made other friends, right?" He nodded with a smile, and then grimaced.

"Sort of. Naw, no. Janna is NOT my friend." A jealous expression crossed his face. I wanted to hear more. "NOT my friend…" he kept muttering.

I sat on the sofa beside him, on my hands and knees like I had pictured Vivi.

Stupid song!

"Okay, you have to tell me who she is and why you look like she's dating Zac Efron."

He shot me a look filled with hatred. "Go put a dollar in the swear jar now!"

"You have a swear jar?"

He hesitated, making some weird gesture with his hands. "Well, no…but that name remains a curse word in my presence." Chad's cheeks were so red. It took all I could muster not to laugh at him. "Right….Janna. Well…she's my neighbor, sort of. She lives in the room just above mine."

I waited for him to say more, leaning in closer, still on my hands and knees. "And?"

He looked at me a moment and his mind went blank. Then he looked away. "Oh, uh, yeah. Completely obsessed with Johnny Depp." I burst out laughing. "No, like unhealthily obsessed! You should see her wall!"

"You don't like Johnny Depp, huh?" I…could have some fun with this.

He saw the mischief in my expression and his eyes got wide. "Don't you dare, Sonny Munroe!"

"Could it be because he's been voted 'Sexiest Man Alive' several times now?"

"I mean it, stop!"

I crawled towards him. He backed up to the armrest, hands balancing him behind his back. "Or maybe it's because he's such a fabulous actor." I couldn't help grinning as he glared at me. "Or maybe it's the way he can still look attractive as the Mad Hatter."

His eyes relaxed. "Okay, that's pushing it."

"Yeah," I admitted, kind of sorry about my lost victory. I looked down and realized I was straddling him. Blushing, I pushed myself back up and just sat, looking awkwardly away from him. When I glanced at Chad he seemed equally awkward. "I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah." There never used to be this many awkward silences between us. "Well, you're probably about to run off with some lame excuse now."

I gave him a sideways look but I knew how he had come to that conclusion. "Well, you know, Chad…it is pretty late. And…I'll probably fall asleep driving."

He looked away but I could tell he was smiling.