I'm so sorry I haven't written in a while, but you wouldn't believe how busy I've been. I don't think I've sat down and relaxed once this week for more than a few minutes (except for the one day where I had time to write chapter six). Thank you to all of those who reviewed! =)

Chapter Seven

Previously on WOC:

Flipping to the most recent entry, my eyes skipped over the date and the entire paragraph. Because the first thing that caught my eye was the last sentence on the page. And it had my mouth hanging open, unable to be closed:

"But even with everything that's happened with that three named doofus…

…I think I love him."

*****

I can't tell you how long I stared at the page. I don't even know if I fell asleep at any point. I just stayed there, frozen on my purple carpeted floor, unable to comprehend the words I'd been rereading for the past goodness knows how many hours.

Chad Dylan Cooper—the Chad Dylan Cooper!—the supposed greatest actor of our generation, teen heartthrob to millions, winner of several acting awards, and probably most popular teen alive at the moment…

…that Chad Dylan Cooper…loved me?

Me, the innocent country girl from Wisconsin? The annoying 'Random'? The bubbly nobody from the rival show? Me?

This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. This was all just a crazy dream, created from the trauma of losing my friends, my show, and being held prisoner in that drama house for more than 6 hours. I knew this was a dream. It wouldn't be the first time I'd had dreams like this.

Pinching myself with enough force to pop a baseball, I held back a scream from the pain that followed. Come on. Come on! I shouldn't be feeling anything! This isn't reality, Sonny, this is just a dream!

But the sharp throbbing of blood once again pulsing through my waiting veins confirmed that this was, in fact, the truth. This wasn't a dream, and I wasn't being 'Punked'. Chad Dylan Cooper—no, scratch that. Chad, the gentle, warm, kind Chad that only I knew, the Chad that was no longer as selfish, as frustrating, the Chad that was just Chad—loved me!

I knew I should be rejoicing. I knew my heart should be singing, bursting with such glee that I should be having a mini heart attack right here on the floor.

But all I could feel was shock. I was nearly paralyzed. But not in fear, or in anger, or even as the result of being upset. This was a good kind of shock, if there was such a thing. Chad was right; Sonny wasn't sunny anymore. She was ecstatic, elated, beyond happy, a thousand times more than joyful, and so many other emotions that were nearly impossible to name.

Sonny Monroe was no longer sunny; Sonny Monroe felt complete.

*****

Sonny Monroe.

Those two words that not too long ago would have meant nothing to me, would have made me cringe in annoyance, were now the only words I could think.

Sonny Monroe. That optimistic, happy brunette with the chocolate brown eyes and amazing smile, loved me. If any other girl had said that—and lots have, believe me—I would have shrugged and not cared in the least. "Just another celebrity crush", I'd probably mutter when the amateur date was over with. Sure, I'd pretend to return the favor. But when the week was over, the girl I'd gone out with was not a girlfriend, not even a friend, but just a forgotten person, lost among millions of others vying for my attention.

I'm not even going to try denial this time, because I know it's pointless. I know I love her, and so does everyone else, with the exception of Sonny. There was something compelling about that simple farm girl that nobody else—not in my cast, anyway—saw in her. It's like she had a gravitational pull to her, sucking everyone into her world of sunshine and rainbows whenever they were around or near her. I fell victim to that pull so many times. I'll never admit, though, that I didn't mind it. Not at all. In fact, most of the time I wished I could never leave. I guess that's why I always kept coming back; taking the long way to work by walking through her studio, purposely running into her in the halls, though I pretended it was completely on accident.

I glanced at my clock. 12:49 a.m. Well, it's already Friday, and I've only got a few more hours of sleep. But staying up this late was completely, utterly worth it, to have all my dreams come true.

*****

I woke up to a heavily clouded sky—I still have no idea when I fell asleep. The TV was buzzing softly somewhere in the background, but I was still floating on cloud nine, in my own personal world of happiness.

"Hey, Mom," I said lightly, pecking her on the cheek and tossing an arm around her shoulders. "How ya doin'?" I happily sighed.

She laughed, but seemed slightly confused by my being perkier than normal. "I'm okay, hunny." Looking me over, she added tentatively, "You?"

Not sure how to describe how I was feeling, I listed every adjective I could think of off the top of my head. "Amazing, wonderful, ecstatic, elated, joyful—"

"—eating breakfast?" She finished with a grin. I smiled, realizing I was rambling, and stuffed my mouth with warm, buttery pancakes so I couldn't speak for a while.

She noticed my odd but pleasant behavior. "Someone seems happy this morning…what's the occasion?"

She caught me a little off guard there. Should I tell her why? She's my mother, for goodness sakes, I can tell her anything.

But I couldn't. Not only would she be disappointed that I sifted through someone's personal belongings, acted like a thief, and made discoveries like a criminal would do, but my secret would be blown and she'd start her motherly-duty interrogation in the embarrassing way only moms have. "What did he say?", "Is he cuter in person?", "Ask him out, hunny!", "You should invite him over for dinner!"

Thinking up something quickly, I replied, "Oh, it's just such a nice d…" I trailed off, looking out the window at the clouds. Okay, so that wouldn't work.

Wondering if a distraction would get me out of it, I commented, "Oh, mom, these are the best pancakes ever! Did you use Grandma's recipe again?"

She smiled slyly, going along with my act. "Yes," she responded slowly, "I did. I thought since you'd been through so much this week, a little dash of home would make you feel better. But I can see you already are feeling much better, aren't you?"

Shoving a forkful of pancakes into my mouth again, I nodded innocently.

"And why would that be, again?" she hinted.

Looking at the cat clock hanging next to the kitchen window, I said in a rush, "Oh, gosh, look at the time! I've gotta get to work!" I pecked her on the cheek again. "Love ya mom!"

"Mmhmm, you too," she said, obviously not buying anything I'd said this morning.

I raced into my bedroom, throwing on my finally clean Mackenzie Falls uniform and the jacket I wore yesterday, stuffing Chad's diary in my pocket again for leverage.

Rushing out the door, I didn't pay any attention to the slushy snow mushing under my feet as I sprinted to my truck. Somehow Chad got it fixed and returned back to my apartment after dropping me off yesterday. I'm still not sure how he managed to do that, but then again, he is Chad Dylan Cooper.

I sighed as I sped down the highway, verging on late. My heart fluttered like butterfly wings at his name, something foreign to me. But I liked it, and I never thought I would in my life.

*****

Of course. It just had to be today.

It just had to be today that the biggest snowstorm in Los Angeles hit, snowing me out of any exits in the studio.

It also happened to be the day that everyone neglected to mention there was going to be no work today anyway because on the news yesterday they threatened snow. Yeah, right. Like Chad Dylan Cooper watches the news.

Well at least I was alone. I can't imagine being stuck in here with someone like Portlyn, or Marshall, the ex-Random, or even Chloe, that annoyingly bubbly new girl.

Well, I guess there's one person I wouldn't mind being stuck in here with. My fingers stroked the velvet book in my pocket tenderly.

The hollow echoing of a door opening woke me from my dreamy state. I've got to get over this and become the Chad everyone expects. What would they think if I suddenly got all gushy and looked like I was in a trance? They'd think I'd have a girl crush, that's what. And I couldn't let that be known publicly yet, not even to Sonny.

Realizing there was a door unlocked in the studio I didn't notice, I ran towards the sound eagerly. Unfortunately, it was dark in the studio since the storm knocked most of the lights out. I didn't even notice the shadow walking in, and right towards me.

My body and the shadow's slammed towards the ground hard. It nearly knocked me out, but I recovered quickly. Grabbing a flashlight that fell off the shelf above me, I shined it down on the person I'd just slammed into to find a head of lovely brown hair and chocolate brown eyes staring at me dubiously.

"Sonny?" I said, confused, "Is that you?" I was glad it was dark so she couldn't see my heart leap out of my chest.

"Of course it's me, Chad. Who'd you think it was? Portlyn?" I cringed at the name, and she laughed, knowing it got me.

Then I heard the bottom of the door scraping the floor, and noticed Sonny was the closest thing to getting us both out of being trapped for hours.

"Sonny! The door!" I explained frantically. "Sonny, you've got to stop it from closing, since—"

I heard the click of it close in the darkness and knew it was already too late.

"…since it locks from the outside." I shook my head. At least I was trapped with company I knew I'd enjoy.

In the light of the flashlight, I saw Sonny turn her head in the direction she came and back to me, realizing we weren't getting out of here any time soon. "Sorry, Chad, I didn't know."

"Ah, it's a'ight." I felt the weight of our legs awkwardly tangled together on the carpet, and shined the flashlight down so we could correct ourselves. When I was upright again, I offered her my hand.

Suddenly I wished I could have seen her face in the darkness, so dimly lit I wasn't able to without straining my eyes quite a bit. But when she took my hand, something new went through me that I wasn't familiar with.

Sure, Sonny had taken my hand before. When she tricked me during Musical Chairs, when I was her fake date, and the many other times we'd bumped into each other and fallen. Back then there were just sparks flowing between our palms; now there were fireworks, sending my body into shudders of rippling bliss with the reassurance I had that she shared my same feelings.

Still holding her hand, I led her to the brightest room in the studio, knowing she wasn't familiar enough with this place to find her way in the blackness.

When the flickering light finally hit her and I saw her fully, I was elated inside. She was wearing our uniform. Right now, I felt like she really did, finally, belong to me. Well, my cast anyway, but it was still a start.

*****

I saw Chad looking me over, a puzzled expression crossing his features. Did I really look that bad? I wasn't in the storm that long.

The storm that I didn't even notice until I noticed how dark it was inside the studio and outside, I might add. I was so enveloped in my own rejoicing thoughts that I barely paid any attention to the outside world. Now I felt how cold and wet I really was, momentarily back in reality, and shivered violently.

I sank to the floor, realizing I was nearly freezing. I should have worn something more than a flimsy uniform and a thin jacket. I knew this storm was coming; I just didn't bother to remember. How stupid could I have been to have walked out this unprepared?

"Hey, Sonny, are you alright?" Chad's voice was filled with concern, something I never knew he was capable of. He was hovering over me, not sure what to do. I must have looked terrible. Great.

"F-f-f-f-fine," I stuttered, unable to form words coherently through my chattering teeth. "J-j-just a l-l-little c-cold, t-that's a-a-all."

Before I knew it, Chad's arms were around me, leading me to one of the couches set against the wall. His warm hands were rubbing up and down my shoulders soothingly, trying to transfer as much heat as he could to me.

Then I realized something: Chad was caring. Chad was genuinely caring for somebody other than himself for once.

His crystal blue eyes were darting around the dim room frantically, trying to find something that might help warm me up. He got up with the speed of a cheetah, racing around the room, looking for anything even slightly warm.

I heard a quiet "Aha!" echo from a far away room, and then his heavy footsteps were approaching, coming towards me faster than I expected.

"Here you go, Sonny," he said softly, draping a course blanket around me. I clutched it closer gratefully.

"T-thanks, C-Chad," I replied as best I could.

Chad was looking at me funny. Not like he was confused or speculative, but there was something in those sapphire eyes that I couldn't name. His body approached mine slowly, inspecting my face for any sign of distrust, when soon his arms were around me, warming me in a better way than the blanket ever could. I sighed, comfortable in his embrace.

I rested my head on Chad's shoulder, feeling drowsy and content. I subconsciously took notice of how my head fit perfectly there, as if it were made for only me to rest on. As I started drifting off, sleepy from the lack of rest I got last night, I felt Chad's head rest against mine, his breathing becoming slower and more even as mine did. My ears detected his heart beating, and I listened to the sound, entranced.

"Sonny?" I heard Chad whisper.

"Mm?" I replied with a happy sigh.

"You can sleep now, if you want."

I shifted contently, his heartbeat, breathing, and last sentence ringing in my memory as my mind became black with dreams.

Awww =) Complete fluff. But I just couldn't help myself. I hope I at least made you say "aww" once. ;)