Chapter 15: Fracture

I just stood there, unsure of how to respond. The last thing I wanted was to give away any of the emotions swirling through my mind- anger, confusion, heartbreak. "Hi, Crystal," I managed to choke out. "Why exactly are you here at Condor Studios?"

"Didn't Marshall tell you?" She asked, giggling softly. "I'm your replacement."

"Oh, so you're the new girl from Florida," I said, trying to keep my voice leveled. This could not be happening.

"That's me," she said, a smile spreading across her pathetic face.

"Well, that's great," I replied, false cheeriness evident in every fake word. "I actually haven't talked to Marshall yet, so if you'll excuse me..."

I sped out of the room without looking back at Chad or his new girlfriend. When I reached Marshall's office, he was on the phone, but motioned me inside. I sat down in front of his desk, my thoughts a jumbled heap inside of my head. Did Chad really find it that easy to replace me? Was I ever worth anything to him?

"Sonny," Marshall said, hanging the phone up. "It's so good to see you. Some of us had doubts that you would return. I mean, not me, I always knew that you would come back, it's just some people. Well, you know how people can be..."

"Yeah, it's good to see you too, Marshall," I mumbled. No beating around the bush. "I'm here to talk to you about Crystal, my replacement."

"Oh, yes, of course," Marshall responded. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, was hiring a replacement really necessary?" I questioned, still trying to keep my resentment towards said replacement out of my voice.

"Well, as I said early, Sonny, some of us weren't sure if you would be coming back, and we couldn't exactly leave the show empty," Marshall replied.

"Well, yes, but So Random was up and running long before I came in," I started. "Why couldn't you just continue with the regular cast."

"We could have," Marshall said, considering the idea. "However, Mr. Condor advised against it since our rating went up so high once you joined."

"But did you really think my fans wouldn't know the difference?" I asked, the desperation spilling through the cracks in my defense.

"Of course the would, Sonny. You're one-of-a-kind," Marshall replied. If I was one of a kind, why didn't anyone find me worth keeping. "Still, we were desperate. It doesn't matter, either way. We'll be more than happy to add you back into the show as if you never left."

"So you'll fire Crystal?" I asked.

"Sonny, the poor girl came all the way from Florida. We can't just send her back when she's done absolutely nothing wrong. She hasn't even gotten a chance to be on the show at all. We at least owe her that," Marshall explained. "But don't worry, she'll be nothing more than another costar."

I was afraid that even that was one role too much.

When I returned to find Skylar, the dressing room was empty. I wasn't sure where Tawni had taken him, but I trusted her enough to know that he would be safe. On my way out, I nearly ran head first into Crystal. She looked me up and down with contempt before mumbling, "This job should be no problem."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, no longer fighting to hide my fury.

"They expect me to replace you. No one's even going to notice that you're gone," Crystal said, flipping her red hair back.

"For your information, Marshall isn't kicking me off of the show," I said.

"And for your information, it doesn't matter. By the next show, I'll have more fans than you," Crystal countered. "And P.S., Chad's a really good kisser."

"Do you really think he actually likes you?" I fought back, my body heated with rage. "He's just using you as a play thing."

"Jealous are we?" she asked. "He's so far out of your league."

"Ten seconds of you and he'll be crawling back to me," I challenged.

"People change, Sonny. And, then, there are the people who are changed," Crystal replied, her eyes looking like they held a secret that only she would ever know. "The old Chad may have liked you, but you broke him, and he never will again."

"Oh please, Chad can't be broken," I replied. "And Chad can't be loyal," I mumbled as an after thought.

"That's fine, sweetie, but in the end, you'll realize that you don't know people as well as you think. And your little screw up has given me one fantastic prize," Crystal said, an evil smirk taking over her strawberry pink lips. She licked her lips in a way that disgusted me beyond belief before turning her back to me and walking away.

When I finally found Skylar, he was sitting the cafeteria with Tawni, a large bowl of Fro-yo in front of him. "Hi, Sonny," he said, waving to me. I waved back and sat down with them.

I turned my attention to Tawni who was applying her favorite coco moco coco lipstick using her hand-held mirror. "Did you know that Crystal and Chad had hooked up?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why didn't you tell me before I made a huge fool of myself?" I nearly screamed. Tawni barely glanced at me although Skylar's gaze was now fixed on me.

"What good would it have done, Sonny?" Tawni asked, slipping her lipstick into her purse. "You still would have tried to see the good in Chad and wouldn't have believed that he had broken up with you. You would have gone to him to try to get an explanation, and everything would end exactly the same, except I would have wasted some of my valuable time."

"Who's Chad?" Skylar asked, stuffing his face with yogurt.

"Sonny's ex-bf," Tawni mumbled.

Skylar stuck his tongue out in disgust before returning to his frozen treat.

To be totally honest, I really didn't care what Skylar thought, or how dumb Tawni's selfish response was. All I wanted was to be able to talk to Chad, and for him to admit that he was sorry, that he had a mistake, that he felt nothing towards Crystal. Of course, I knew that if I went to find him, I would simply break out into tears and embarrass myself further. Why did Chad have to be such a jerk sometimes?

"If it helps any," Tawni began again, "I don't think they'll be together for very long. After all, they have absolutely nothing in common. Chad only cares about himself, and Crystal only cares about what she looks like in other people's eyes."

That did make me feel a little better, but I knew that nothing would be able to heal the gaping hole in my chest.

The next morning, Marshall handed out our scrips for our next episode. Only one sketch hastily scribbled in at the end included me. Clearly they had been planning this when they still thought I wouldn't be returning.

With nothing to do as the cast rehearsed sketches that I wasn't even considered to be in, I decided to take a walk around the studio. I knew where everything was, and nothing was really all that interesting, but walking allowed me to think. Of course, if I had been able to think about anything but Chad, the walk would have been much more peaceful. I didn't want to question why I wasn't good enough for him. I didn't want to question why Crystal was. I just wanted to close my eyes and forget about the whole ordeal.

Closing my eyes was nice, but it probably wasn't a smart thing to do when you're walking down a hallway. I collided headfirst with someone that clearly hadn't been paying attention either since the force was enough to knock the two of us off of our feet.

I opened my eyes to find Chad staring at me. I couldn't move; I couldn't speak, and, apparently, neither could he. "Sonny," he said, the same way he always used to say my name, before we had even considered getting together.

"Chad," I retorted. We pulled ourselves to our feet. He was about to walk away when I stopped him.

"Wait," I said, upset by how childish my voice sounded. "Why Chad?" I asked despite my better judgment. "Why trade me for her? Didn't I at least have the right to know before you got together with her?"

"Oh yeah," he replied sarcastically. "Just like I had the right to know that you were going to New York. Just like you were in a rush to tell me when you were coming back."

"That wasn't my fault," I fought back. "If I didn't go with Silvia, she would have dragged me away anyway."

"And you couldn't even tell me when you were coming back?" Chad challenged. "Or even if you were coming back? I had no way of knowing! You could have called."

"We chatted online all the time," I said.

"At first, and then you stopped logging on. I waited for you and you never logged on," Chad replied. "What was the point of me waiting for somebody who didn't even care."

I wanted to say something else. I wanted to fight and say that I had tried. I wanted to tell him that I loved him.

Instead, I watched as Chad just walked away; out of my life.

As much as I hated to admit it, Crystal was right. I had hurt Chad Dylan Cooper. So why was I the one in so much agony?

Okay, so this is one of my longest chapters and I wrote all of it today. Wow. Anyway, I'm proud of this chapter and I hope all of you are too. The next update won't be until at least Sunday since I'm going to the New Moon Premiere!!!!!!!!!!! and still have school to go to. Anyway, please review. I'm so close to my goal of 100 my hundredth reviewer will get a special reward. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!