Cure for the Common Man

"Finally"

-19-

Week 6: Monday

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel after everything went down.

You know, how the whole movie takes you up to that point where the two people confess their love for each other? I didn't know what was to come after it.

I knew the 'epilogue of our lives' so to speak, but I still hadn't figured out all of those nitpicky details of our in-between.

Such as, I knew that Sonny and I were going to get married. We were definitely going to have adorable babies (with original names, thank you very much!). And I knew that Sonny and I were going to be in love for forever.

But would we be 'that couple' who fights every other day? Or would we be the ones who have the hotter-than hot love sessions every night (not that I object)?

Or…Or would we just be us?

A few little spats here and there, with lots of flirting, and a sweetness between us that Nick Jonas back in his hey-day would die for?

Yeah, we would be that couple.

I grinned to myself, rubbed at my eyes profusely, and then stared at the three pints of empty ice cream cartons that decorated the coffee table in my hotel room.

Sonny had gone out to have her meeting with Brett a couple of hours before. I, in the meantime, made my way to the grocery store and decided to drown my momentary jealousy in Ben and Jerry's.

I wasn't jealous of Brett, per se. I was just jealous of the fact that Sonny wasn't with me. Does that make sense?

…No, it does not.

We held hands the whole plane ride over. We did stop off at her parents' house first, and had a light snack with them.

I did manage to corner her father in the kitchen and tell him that I planned on marrying Sonny one day. He gave me a sip of his beer. I had permission.

But then, Sonny went to see Brett, and I had nothing to do besides eat.

David called me, harassing me about his bachelor party. He also said that Selena had a nasty run in with Dree Jonas. (I try to stay out of it, I really do…but, during one of Nick's concerts, he'd seen Dree, and that was it for him. That's why he hired Sonny, dumped Sel, and, eventually, married Dree.)

That was fine with me.

David could handle Selena just fine. They were 'Hollywood' enough.

Nick J, however, is a little more down-to-earth than anyone in the industry. So he went with a non-famous girl.

…Resulting in his ex "accidentally" stepping on his wife's foot in a Target parking lot.

So why am I rambling?

Because, A) I still have yet to understand women, and, B) I'm trying to get my mind off of Sonny.

Seriously, how long does it take to forgive someone?

I mentally sent a message to Sonny, urging her to just go ahead and spill her coffee on Brett, and get the hell home to me.

I wanted her, I needed her, and I missed her. Besides those things, I was also scared of David, and his want of a stripper.

Not happening, man. Not. At. All.

Sonny and I are supposed to be in love. We're supposed to be in the beginning stages of our relationship. And these stages call for one thing in particular: Make out sessions.

But nope.

None of that.

We haven't stopped at a red light and put the car in park so we could kiss each other lovingly. We haven't officiated our flirt-wink yet (don't ask, just get it). We haven't even gone out on an official date since I held Sonny down and made her tell me how she felt.

Not fair, I say. Not fair at all.

My heart ached for Sonny. My heart drummed inside of my chest for Sonny.

If there was one thing indefinitely, permanently marked on my brain, it was Sonny.

I needed her.

I was determined to get her.

Grumbling, I finally managed to hoist myself off of the bed, slip my Crocs on (ugly, but comfortable as heaven), and then I made my way to the door.

Before I could turn the handle, though, there was a knock.

And I knew, I just knew, who was on the other side.

Ooo000ooO

I was giddy as I skipped past the lobby. I was delighted when I got into the elevator. I was chipper when I pressed the button.

But when I went up to knock on Chad's door, my nerves came at me like a tidal wave. In all honesty, I felt like I was going to die.

Brett was forgiven. That whole thing went down surprisingly well, and I was so utterly thankful for it.

That would be off of my shoulders, for the rest of my life, with no worries.

But here I was, walking to the rest of my life.

Chad was going to be the rest of my life.

Chad Dylan Cooper was the one who caught my eye my first year on the set of So Random!. He was the one who attempted to comfort me when it ended.

Cooper was the guy who met me years later, at a wedding, and, from there, broke me of all of my habits that I had become accustomed to. He tricked me in his own way, and opened my eyes to how life should really be.

He was the one. Of that, I was positive.

But still, there I stood, in front of his door, feeling like a freshmen girl meeting the most popular guy in school for the first time, and melting into a puddle of goo.

I had been had.

Biting my lip, I switched from foot to foot. Then, with a deep breath, I reached out, ever so slowly, and knocked three times on Chad's door.

Most nerve-racking thing I've ever done, strangely.

Moments passed, and I wondered if it was God telling me that I should turn around and bolt. I could ditch the Oprah cover-job, and the movie premier with Zac, and move to Timbuktu.

Suddenly though, the door swung open, and I knew that running away was not the answer.

Chad stood before me, in all of his glory, with a huge smile on his face and his bright blue eyes twinkling.

Relief, and a feeling of joy coursed throughout me as I took a step towards him, swung my arms around his neck. Instead of kissing me, Chad wrapped his arms around my waist, picked me up, and swung me in a little circle, causing me to laugh.

Finally, he placed me back down on the ground, arms still around me, and kissed me lightly on the lips.

It was completely cliché, but it worked for us.

"So," Chad tilted his head back a little bit, only to kiss my forehead. "Here we are." He smiled genuinely, pecking my lips yet again.

"Yep," I sighed in contentment. "Finally."

A/N: What a LAME chapter. I know, so there's no need to tell me. I just had major writer's block on it. Which, I suppose, is funny, because I had a major muse on the epilogue (be excited – VERY excited!).

So, sense I love you all (almost as much as I love Nick J), and wanted to make up for the lameness that is this, I'm going to give you my next chapter fic's extended summary:

-Risky Business-

There we were, best friends from day one. It seemed like everyone wanted us to be a couple. We were being pressured into it. So Chad and I conspired to fool them. We announced, to the world, that we were in love with one another. We began fake-dating to the extreme. In truth, I never thought that I could fall in love with Chad Dylan Cooper.

Throughout the course of our fake-dates though, I learned how very wrong I was. And there I stood, keeping up two charades. I felt like I was walking on a thin line, about to topple over any second, give up, and give in. I was involved in a business deal that was risky as hell, and I didn't know how it was going to end.

There you go. Another AU plot; but it does have its twists and turns, and I hope that you're excited!

Let me know what you think.

-Aly