A/N Hello, readers! You have, again, amazed me with your reviews! I love you all! I am currently sitting on 491 reviews! Thank you sooo much! It would be amazing, if after this next chapter, I could hit 500 reviews... *hint, hint* ;D

Anyhoodle, this chapters shoutout goes to... *drum roll* ChAnNyObSeSsEd! Your review was so nice... and it's really cool when people sit and make predictions in reviews! And to reply to past decembers, because I'm a trend breaker, and I like to be mysterious ;)

Oh, and I have a word to say... I think there's someone out there who will get this... ;) and with that, I'll say... LOLLAGE!

Chapter 30 (OMW!)

Mr Condor's Announcement

Side note: was originally just to be called 'Announcements' but it sounded too author's note-eqsue ;)

CPOV

The day started off completely average. Shaking off nightmares in the morning, putting on my (stupid) suit for work, did some (idiotic) drama acting, the after lunch, Kat realized that the new script was actually the biggest load of crap we at Mackenzie Falls had heard... and we were experienced with the writer's crap. This was the first time we'd acknowledged it though...

Flashback:

Kat tapped her foot impatiently, her arms folded across her chest as she read through the new script.

"What do you think guys?" She asked us, her poker face on.

"Well..."

"Um..."

"Kat..."

We all just mumbled a bit, not really answering.

"Yeah, you think it's a load of bull crap don't you?" She asked us evenly. We glanced at each other.

"Yeah." We said in unison.

"That decides it then." She announced, smiling mischievously. We watched her warily. I burst out laughing as she ripped the script up the middle and threw the piece in the air.

"DAVE!" She yelled. The flustered-looking script writer rushed in.

"Write a new script." He opened his mouth, but Kat cut him off. "It's for tomorrow morning." She said, smiling winningly. He stared at her in horror, and then at the strips of paper on the floor.

"What are you waiting for, Dave? GO!" Portlyn said, giving him a helpful shove.

Kat turned back to us.

"You can have the afternoon off." She announced bluntly, then turned and clicked out of the room. We cheered, and then dispersed our different ways.

Flashback ends.

I chuckled at the memory. I ended up at my (and Sonny's) secret room. I was tired from the nightmares from the previous night, and Charles' reaction to my sneaking out. I soon fell asleep.

Now, I stared down at the small, slim brunette who was hiding her face in my chest.

"I had a nightmare," She mumbled. She looked up to meet my gaze, and I was struck by the tears quietly making their way down her face. She looked like heck. She looked like she'd got about five minutes of sleep. I wondered why she'd come to me now about a nightmare, rather than first thing this morning.

"About...?" I asked, shifting my weight, accidentaly jostling the girl sitting on my lap, who currently looked more fragile than glass.

"About... about you." She said, so quiet her words were almost imperceptible. Would have been imperceptible, if we hadn't been sitting so close, or if I wasn't so attuned to her voice.

The impact of her words hit me, and my mouth fell open and I stared at her idiotically for a few seconds.

Finally, I choked out a response.

"Me?" My voice sounded like my throat was filled with broken glass.

She stared down at her lap, her eyes filling with tears to join the ones not yet dried on her cheeks.

"I... I dreamed that you... that you left... that you left my again." She said, and her soft, insecure voice broke my heart. Tears pooled in my eyes but I blinked them away, determined to be strong for the girl who so obviously needed me right now. I tucked my hand under her chin and pulled her face up so she'd meet my eyes. Hey dark hair was stuck to her forehead, and the circles under her eyes were scaring me, yet I'd never seen anyone so beautiful. I pushed her hair away from her forehead, my heart aching as I took in the sadness in her eyes. I wanted to heal her. I wanted to remove the deep pain and worry from her face. I held her eyes with mine.

"Sonny. I promised you... I'll never, ever do that again. Not ever." I said, with conviction. She tried to look away, but I held on, with both my eyes and my hand. Tears poured down her face and whether they were from pain or not, I really couldn't tell.

I smiled playfully. "I couldn't do that to you," I started, then continued, a little more seriously. "Never mind what it would do it to me!" I managed to hold on to my happy smile for a bit, then it slid from my face as I thought about it. Losing her again... I knew I wouldn't be able to bear it. I wouldn't survive. And from the haunted look in her eyes, I could almost believe that she'd be lost without me as well. Of course, it could never affect me as deeply as it'd affected me. She'd been able to struggle through the past few years; she'd held onto herself. I had lost so much of what I'd used to be... only her presence near me was pulling it back.

Her eyes met mine, her expression brutally fragile.

"You promise?" She begged. My eyes widened. As much as she trusted me, Sonny was usually just... so strong. It's wasn't like her to be insecure. I shuddered at the thought of the pain that losing her again would cause. It had always been my unspoken assumption that she didn't need me even a fraction of the amount I needed her. I had the sudden certainty that she wasn't telling me the whole truth about her dream...

I pushed the small, nagging doubts to the back of my mind and focused on my best friend. I needed to help her. To remove that haunted, hurt look from her eyes...

"I promise." I said softly, my voice full of all the reassurance and conviction I could manage. I intertwined my fingers with her soft, cold fingers.

Our eyes met, and as always I felt the connection flow between us, reassuring each other of all the things we couldn't say.

Finally, her lips turned up at the corners.

"That's the Munroe smile!" I said jubilantly. It was true though. Sonny's mom, female cousin, and possibly her brother's, all smiled that way- a huge, infections smile. The smile that I loved.

"Now, why in the name of Henry VIII aren't you at rehearsal?" I asked, suddenly feeling like an eleven year old. It felt good. In a weird way...

She giggled at that, and my heart soared at the sound. It was amazing to hear her happy again. (Yeah, that's why your heart's all over the place, Chad. *snort*)

"Well, I'm supposed to be at rehearsal." She said.

"I gathered that," I said sarcastically, snorting. She whacked me, but really, she's a softie... It didn't hurt.

In typical Sonny-fashion she explained all about Marshall and her nightmare. I couldn't help but notice the gaping hole in the story- where did her cast think she was? She fell silent, thinking.

"Oh, holy crap!" She blurted suddenly. Evidently, she'd noticed the same problem I had.

"Your cast?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded, swallowing.

"Um, yeah, I kinda freaked out and ran." I raised my eyebrows, the grin sliding from my face. Freaked out...?

"Why?" I asked, worried about what I might hear.

"I was scared." She said, in that quiet voice she uses when she's afraid of the reaction her words may cause. "Scared that you'd left..." She clarified. I frowned. Never, ever, ever leaving again... look what a mess I'd made! I tightened my grip on her cold hand.

"Well, I'm right here." I reassured again. "I think you should head back to your rehearsal before your cast sends out a search party, my dear." I added, smirking. She laughed; the best sound in my world.

"I guess. See you later?" The laughter drained out of her words for that last part, and pain crackled down my spine as I realized that she was still truly scared I'd leave... As if I could do that. She seemed to think I was a whole lot stronger than I was. I grinned up at her.

"Definitely," I said, securing her fingers once again. She smiled at me, before untangling our hands and walking away.

I continued to stare at the door even after she'd left. I was truly worried for her. There was something she wasn't telling me... whether she was secretly emo, or just completely devoid of faith in my word, I couldn't tell. I didn't care so much about what she was hiding; I just wanted her to trust me. To talk to me. To let me fix things for her...

I was pained by the fact that she thought I could leave her again. I shuddered away from the memories of the emptiness of the last few years; the years without my Sonny. My bestest friend. I was worried about her... Heck, it wasn't even rational. So she'd had a nightmare. I had nightmares most nights! I was much more protective of her than I needed to be. It wasn't like she needed me to step in front of her; she was a strong person. Someone to look up to. On the other hand, I'd known her since she was seven years old... I'd seen her fall apart before. I'd seen her worry over stupid things. I'd helped her through whatever I could. Not worrying over her wasn't an option for me; it was just something I did. Like... breathing. Me not worrying about Sonny was impossible. No matter how much she didn't need it. No matter how much she didn't like me to worry. When you've seen someone cry just because they accidentally ripped a daisy, it sort of ruins your ability to think of them as strong.

Not that I thought of Sonny as weak... Just in need of protecting. From me. Other people probably didn't understand the fact that no, Sonny shouldn't watch a gory movie, because she'd probably spend roughly four hours throwing up.

Flashback;

*ten years old*

I glanced over to see if Sonny was scared of the movie. Not that I was scared... Guys don't get scared...

Her face was scarily pale. The sight of her looking as pale as a corpse was a lot scarier than the movie.

"You okay?" I asked. She shook her head, her lips firmly pressed together. I felt the nausea rolling off her in waves. I gauged her expression for a moment, and then scooped her up in my arms quickly. I ran to the bathroom with her in my arms, not caring how much noise we made, even though my mother didn't strictly know we were up. She was, as usual, ridiculously light. I set her down on the floor as gently as I could, just in time for her to lean forward and throw up violently into the toilet. My nose wrinkled in disgust, but instead of running for my mom, I sat down as close to her as the size of the room would provide. I grabbed one of her hands, and held her pretty hair out of the way while she continued to be sick. Eventually, the vomiting died out, and she slumped against me, absolutely exhausted. I ignored the smell and just tried to take her of her, copying what my mom did whenever I was sick. She leaned up to throw up occasionally, but mostly just leaned against me and whimpered.

That's how Vanessa found us a few hours later, curled up on the bathroom floor. She came in just in time to witness Sonny moaning loudly, then getting up on her knees and throwing up while I patted her back. She ran to get Mom, who, instead of yelling at us when she noticed the DVD in the TV, gently tried to get me to go to bed while she took care of my best friend. I refused.

"It's me she needs to look after her, not you." I'd snapped. "I know her so much better!" Sonny chose that moment to throw up, and I turned to her instead of staring my mom down. After a few seconds of consideration, Mom left with nothing but a

"Get me if you need anything."

And so my already over-protective behaviour towards Sonny was sealed.

Flashback ends.

I grimaced, then smiled at the memory. That was the point when my mom had started going 'Chad, I'm taking Allison back to her house,' and going 'Chad, carry Sonny back home, she's fallen asleep on the couch.' (Or alternatively, the bed/floor/table/kitchen counters/in the garden/other...) My lips twitched. Good times. After a few hours of reminiscing and thoughts revolving my best friend, I realized it was time to go home. I stood up and groaned, stretching my arms. I wanted to go see Sonny, but I knew this was a seriously bad idea- both because of our casts, and because of the new rules Charles had installed after my sneaking out. I had to get home.

I drove the way home, listening to 'Don't You Fake It'- the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus CD Sonny had bought for me. I smiled a little bitterly as I thought of that- when Sonny was younger, she had a much girlier taste in music. And in clothes. And in... actually, having a male best friend had sadly ruined most of the girlieness for her. Why force your best friend play with dollies when he can teach you to skateboard?

But it made me sad in a weird way to think of Sonny when she was little(er), dancing around to music like Hilary Duff, and Raven Symone... (Lizzie MaGuire and That's So Raven! Lol. Please tell me I spelt MaGuire and Symone right?) And wearing her brightest dresses. The knee length dress she'd been wearing was the first dress I'd seen her in since she came to Hollywood. She suited it, the colour going perfectly against her skin... Stop right there, I told myself firmly. Thinking of my best friend as a... as a girl was weird for me. I couldn't help it though, I wished she'd wear dresses more often...

Ahhhh. I fought the desire to hit my head off the steering wheel. Being overprotective was one thing, I couldn't start drooling over her as well... Ugh. When did having a female best friend get so hard? I shook my head, then turned the CD up ridiculously loud to block out my (disturbing) thoughts.

Soon, I arrived home. My breath caught as I saw Mom's car backing out of the driveway, and I saw all of my sisters in the car. I also saw that Charles' car was quite clearly still there. I swallowed, wondering how the heck Charles managed to get rid of them most nights. Wondering how they didn't suspect that something was going on.

I walked up to my front door, fighting the desire to run. Run far away and then never come back... Wait, no, taboo thought... I couldn't leave Sonny...

I opened the door. "I'm ho-ome!" I called half-heartedly. Charles descended down the stairs slowly. He smiled at me.

"I'm glad you're home, son." He said. The usual knot of terror formed in my stomach at the sight of him. I wanted to act normally, but I was rooted to the spot. He walked towards me, still smiling.

"How was your day?" That's what he always did. Opened with polite talk. He was always so polite... I swallowed again.

"Fine." I said, hoping a short response would stop fear from shaking my voice. No such luck.

"Did you see your little girlfriend?" Darn him. Charles knew the only way to get me angry was by mentioning Sonny. It got me riled up. He used that as an opening... The way he talked about her made my skin crawl.

It sickened me that this was all a game to him.

But despite myself, I could feel the anger swell up in my chest, clouding rational thought.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's my best friend." I said, fighting to keep my voice quiet. He enjoys it when I scream at him. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Come with me, Chad." Charles said, gesturing to me and starting to walk up the stairs. No. I thought, but my feet moved after him of their own accord.

I followed him into the empty room, the one my mom was remodelling. She'd decided we needed a guest room. My mind babbled, trying to avoid the panic and the danger ahead. My breath stopped as Charles locked the door behind us. He turned back to me, and his 'fatherly' smile grew, 'til he was basically baring his teeth at me. Why? Why had my mother married this repulsive, creepy man? He steeped towards me, his teeth glittering against the light. He kept coming. Closing in. I whimpered, unable to hide my fear any longer. Suddenly, he hit the wall, just a few inches away from my head. As soon as he raised his hand I had flinched to the side. I trembled in fear.

"Why, Charles? Why are you doing this?" I moaned.

"Because you're an ungrateful brat." He said, like it was a compliment. The only times he sounded insulting was when he was drunk... and angry.

"I can stop you. I'll tell them. The authorities... Heck, I'll even just tell the paparazzi! They'll get the story around plenty, and you'll be spending the rest of your life in prison. Where all the other criminals will be smart enough to see through your 'perfect man' act, and give you all the crap you deserve!" I found that I was yelling in his face. I expected him to yell, scream, hit me, react somehow. But he just kept smiling.

"You won't do that," He promised, his voice full of confidence.

"And why not?" I yelled, beyond controlling myself now.

"Because, my dear little Chad, if you do... I know people. I'll get them to get Vanessa... Esme... little Hayley," I flinched. "That's right, Hayley is the favourite sister isn't she?" He laughed. I gritted my teeth. "And your mother... just because she is my wife, does not mean I won't hurt her if I have to." He flashed a wide grin. "And of course, most of all, I'll get them to go after Sonny... dear, sweet little Sonny. Your little girlfriend. Oh, yes, do not doubt me, Chad. I'd do it," He finished, grinning. He looked pleased with himself, his expression satisfied as he took in the horror on my face. I couldn't save myself- not at that cost. I thought of Nessa, Hayles, Ez, Mom... Sonny... at the hands of this... this... thing. I couldn't do it. I'd take whatever pain thrown at me, as long as they were safe... out of harm's way.

I slumped back against the wall, my eyes closing in defeat.

"Fine. Do whatever you want to me. But leave my family alone." I choked out. The thought of him near them...

I opened my eyes, just in time to see Charles' grin of victory, before he started the usual torture.

S/W/A/C/~/D/I/K/Y/?

I woke up stiff the next morning. I groaned at the sight of my face in the mirror, and started applying the make up to cover the marks from last night- I mean, from the fight I'd gotten into, over my little sister. And James. That seemed so long ago now...

I was late into the work the next morning. I forced a grin at Sonny when we passed each other in the hall, but I wasn't sure if she bought it.

"Hey, Chad, my man!" Skylar had greeted me, then punched my arm. It took all my strength not to wince, or better, scream.

Near the end of rehearsal, an announcement was made over the inter-com.

Could the casts of Mackenzie Falls and So Random! report to Mr Condor's office as soon as lunch starts, I repeat, could casts of Mackenzie Falls and So Random! report to Mr Condor's office as soon as lunch starts... Thank you.

My mind whirled as I thought of what Condor wanted now. Knowing him, nothing good.

S/W/A/C/~/D/I/K/Y/?

*Lunch*

My cast and I headed to Mr Condor's office slowly. I sank down in the comfiest chair I could see. Mr Condor glared unnecessarily at us as we waited for the Randoms and Sonny to arrive. Just as Sonny entered my mind, my phone went off, singing the intro to Taylor Swift's Haunted. I got some weird looks for that, which I ignored as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to read the message. I was already suspicious; only one person had that ringtone.

From: Charlie the Idiot

To: My ignorant step-son

Remember- breathe a single word, especially to your little girlfriend, and I'll destroy them all.

I gulped, fear and panic forcing their way into my throat. I was sincerely hoping the blood hadn't left my face.

"Chad? You alright? You've gone pale." Portlyn said, looking worried. Looks like my hopes were ignored.

"I'm... I'm fine." I said, but my voice was rough. Concern entered my face, and I felt Skylar lean over my shoulder to see what was on my phone that had freaked me so thoroughly, but I slid it into my pocket before he could see. That would ruin everything and my family and... Sonny, my light in this stupid, messed up world, would be hunted down. I felt sick at the thought.

Thankfully, the Randoms came in that moment, before my annoying cast could question me any further. Honestly, I knew they were just concerned for me, but I was afraid and paranoid at that particular moment in time. Could you blame me?

I tried to keep my eyes on the floor as they entered, but I couldn't help glancing up as I heard the familiar pad of her footsteps, and the familiar smell of her perfume washed through the room. I met Sonny's eyes for just a second, before determinedly looking back at my feet.

Her eyes had been suspicious, I'd realized, groaning internally. I suddenly realized the seat layout was the exact same as last time, which meant one of the Randoms wasn't getting a seat.

"Sit! There! Same place as last time, Munroe!" Yay, Sonny had to sit on me again! Note my sarcasm. When you're keeping a whopping big secret from your best friend so they won't get destroyed, and they're already suspicious after they've seen you for about thirty seconds. Honestly, I wouldn't have cared if not for the secret thing, and the fact that my leg was in a really bad condition after last night. I looked up warily to see her approach me, her expression unsure.

"Oh, whatever... She can sit here, I'll stand." I announced tiredly, standing up.

All eyes in the room stared at me in shock.

"Chad Dylan Pooper are you being a... gentleman?" Tawni exclaimed, looking like her eyes were about to fall out of her head.

I sent a very quick, very apologetic glance at Sonny before answering her.

"'Course not. I just don't want her to sit on me." I snapped. Everyone still looked a little doubtful, including Sonny, but she quickly rearranged her features into a scowl.

"Trust me, Pooper, I'm not insulted. Now I don't have to sit on you... I might be affected by your stupidity!" She snapped. "And it's probably better this way guys, at least I won't rip his head off." She added, sneering and turning to her cast. They all shrugged and nodded. Doubt sorta left people's faces, and they turned to face Mr Condor again. Sonny sent me a look that said 'You better have a really good explanation for this', then sat down. I glanced around myself, then folded to the floor, crossing my legs in front of me. There wasn't really much room, so I ended up half leaning against Sonny's leg. I was pretty sure no one noticed, especially as her fingers brushed lightly over the top of my head.

"Do I have everyone's attention?" Mr Condor half yelled at us. We nodded boredly, used to his behaviour.

"Well, I have an important announcement to make. As the feud is still going on," Here he stopped to glower at Sonny and I, as did at least half of the other actors in the room. Happily, they didn't seem to notice the fact that I was now pretty much using Sonny's leg as a pillow.

"We, as in, I have decided that you are all going to go on a little bonding trip." Everyone went very still at the words 'bonding trip'.

"That's right." Mr Condor nodded, noticing our shocked faces. "Bonding trip. Across the country. You'll be visiting other states- with the other cast- and you will learn to get along. I'm making too much money off of you all for you to kill each other." He glowered at us again. We were still staring at him.

"You will be partnered up with someone from the other cast, and you will spend most of your time with that person. Some people's hometowns will be visited, others not. Clear?" Everyone nodded, knowing better than to argue. "You will be paired with the person you fight with the most. So the couples are," Everyone glowered at the word couple, "Nico and Chasity, Grady and Marta, Skylar and Tawni, Zora and Devon and..." He paused, but everyone knew what was coming. "And Sonny and Chad." Everyone turned to stare at us, and we changed our expressions to horror at the exact same time. Obviously, we didn't mind. There was a dead silence in the room.

"The trip will be beginning in a few weeks, spanning across a few weeks." No one said anything.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? GO!" He roared.

We left.

Well, a bonding trip? With the Randoms?

This was going to be interesting...

A/N Crappy ending, I know. I'm sorry there's not more Channy moments, but I did make Chad hopelessly confused xD I know the 'bonding trip' idea is over-used, but bear with me, okay? The events that actually happen will be original. So tell me whether you loved it, hated it, wanted more Channy... you know what to do... Review!

'Cos of course, REVIEWS ARE LOVE!

Nangelgirl x