I've been having more time to write, so I've been going all-out these past few nights, cranking out chapters as much as possible. I'm eager to finish this one, but in a way that will satisfy both me and my amazing readers (*virtually hugs you all*), because I've got a new SWAC story ticking away in my mind that will just explode if I don't get writing on it soon. ;) Here's chapter eight. Enjoy =)

Chapter Eight

Previously on WOC:

"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.

*****

I woke up, a little stiff, to hear soft snoring next to me. Startled, I froze, not wanting to wake up the stranger with his arms held around me limply. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I turned my head as slowly as I could to face my company.

The first thing I saw was the uniform, still firm and crisp despite the hail raining down outside. Then, as my eyes slid up, I caught sight of perfect blonde sweeps of hair, ever so slightly frayed from his awkward position on the couch, head leaning on the wall. It wasn't long before my eyes found the almost angelic face of the one and only Chad Dylan Cooper.

Except Chad Dylan Cooper wasn't here. Here, holding me now, was Chad. Chad, the somewhat selfless one. Chad, the caring, considerate one. Chad, the guy who's presence didn't make me want to rip his throat out half the time with yelling and arguments. And here we both were, trapped together, our lips only centimeters apart from our closeness. My heart was galloping.

He stirred a little, as if my steady, thoughtful gaze made him uncomfortable. I turned away, thinking that was exactly the case, and tried to move. But even in Chad's peaceful sleep, he was gripping me protectively, not allowing me to do so.

I smiled at the thought of Chad actually protecting me. It was so amazing the transformation Chad had gone through since I'd arrived at Condor Studios, and the entries in his diary were just further proof that I just may have been the cause. My smile grew wider as I stared down at him.

I felt my phone gently buzzing in my other pocket. Oh so carefully, I peeled Chad's left arm off of the top of me, keeping a pinched hold on his jacket sleeve as I slipped out of his embrace. I placed the arm down gently on top of the other, and draped the blanket he'd used on me the day before over the rest of him.

I took out my cow print covered iPhone and looked at the screen. 12 new text messages, the screen flashed. I opened up the first one and scrolled to the top. All of them were from Chloe, demanding where I was so we could go shopping.

To: Sonny M.

From: Chloe

Sonny where r u gurl?!?! ive been txting u all day yesterday nd today nd u nvr answered!!! We need 2 go shoppin 4 da awards 2moro!!!! txt back asap!!!!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait—tomorrow? The awards were tomorrow? That's not right. Marshall said the awards were in three days on Thursday, so if today's Friday, what—

I scrambled through all my meaningless apps to get to the calendar app. It declared today to be Saturday, not Friday. Did Chad and I really sleep through all of Friday?

I looked back at Chad quickly and then immediately back to my phone, fiercely tapping the virtual keyboard that was forming a message.

To: Chloe

From: Sonny M.

Sry I wuznt able 2 txt u back, just woke up. Chad nd I got stuck in the MF studio overnight during da storm. we're fine, no worries. can u come pick us up by any chance? we're still stuck nd our cars r snowed out while we're snowed in. HELP!!!!!

I sent the message as soon as I was finished, knowing it was the truth. Chad and I weren't getting out of here any time soon unless we got help. Deciding it was up to fate to bring Chloe to us, I walked through the somewhat lighted studio to find some food for breakfast. Good thing 'Mackenzie Falls' was stocked with treats, because we'd need them for a while.

I found some powdered donuts and cold coffee, figuring it would be a suitable breakfast for me. I brought some back for Chad, for whenever he woke up. In the meantime I sat on the opposite couch, messing with my phone.

It wasn't long before Chad's arms were stretching upward, announcing his wake.

*****

I stretched, uncomfortable on the hard, rough couch I was resting on. We really needed to get someone to buy new furniture for this room. Sure, they looked nice and all, but they were a pain to relax on for more than a few minutes.

Fuzzily remembering why I was on this couch and in this room in the first place, my crusty eyes snapped open, searching for Sonny. Where'd she go? Is she alright?

It didn't take too much to find her, seeing as she was perched right in front of me, the face of her phone lighting hers in a hazy blue glow.

She started chuckling, though I wasn't sure why. Then I remembered something. This wasn't my normal home, with all the necessary accessories needed to make Chad Dylan Cooper presentable to the outside world. I must have looked horrible. And Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't do horrible with a face and hair like mine.

But her laugh was so enchanting, so mesmerizing I decided I didn't care what I looked like for once, so entranced by the sweet sound I had to hear it to its full extent.

"Well, good morning to you too, Sonshine," I replied, smirking as I continued to stretch. "Too bad your name doesn't fit the weather, though."

We both looked out the window in disgust. When would this stupid storm be over? At least it was better than it was before. Before was just pure chaos. Now the hail I could hear pounding the roof and my throbbing head was at least reduced to wet sleet.

She chucked a fluffy white pastry at me, the powder dusting my nice uniform. "Eat up," she instructed, "We may be here for a while."

Taking a small bite, I looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? Didn't you call for help or something?" I asked, nodding to the device she was caressing in her hands.

"Of course," she said, looking a bit insulted, "You didn't think I'd stay trapped in here forever with you, did you?"

Though I didn't show a glimpse of it on the outside, inside my heart fell a little.

"But," she continued, "We don't know what the streets are like out there. For all we know, Chloe could be—"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute. You called Chloe?" I nearly shouted.

"Yeah." She shrugged innocently, her curled locks bouncing in a cute way. Stupid cute. "Why?"

I stared at her as if it was obvious. "Since you're new, Sonny, you may not have gotten enough time to notice, but Chloe is absolutely the worst driver on 'Mackenzie Falls'! I can't even begin to list how many accidents she's been in, and she's only just gotten her license! Do you want to kill us both?"

I could see the sparkle in her eyes start to flicker towards the spark of a flame. "Hey, it's a ride out of here or nothing. So if you like having no heat, limited food, and being alone until someone else decides to shovel you out of here, be my guest," she said sharply with a toss of her head. I heard her heels click away angrily.

*****

I strode away from Chad, needing to recollect myself before I sat in a car with him for goodness knows how many hours. How I managed to get through the night with his drama I'll never know.

A muted pound on the back door had my stride break into a sprint, racing down the halls. I was so eager to get out of here.

"Sonny? Chad? Are you in there?" I heard from the outside. It was hard to hear clearly through the thick padded door.

"Yes, Chloe, we're both in here, and we're both trapped. Can you unlock the door for us please?" I begged, my toe tapping the floor anxiously. Finally—freedom from the drama palace!

I heard the metal clinking of a lock being turned and pulled off of a metal door, and then finally felt the satisfaction of seeing the outside for myself, not through a window, since becoming stuck in here.

"Sonny!" she shrieked happily, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. "How did you get like this?" She added, gesturing to my less-than-presentable appearance and chilly skin.

"Let's just say neither Chad nor I knew there was going to be a snowstorm and no work."

She looked at me, obviously confused. "Sonny, the storm was all over the news and nearly every station on TV. How could you have either missed or forgotten something that big?"

I shrugged, not sure what to say. And the real reason could lead to two possible scenarios: either she'd A. think I'm crazy, or B. she'd become the all-too-obsessive friend, trying to get all the details about 'us'. And I really didn't feel like suffering through either right now.

Luckily Chloe let it go, and told me she brought extra clothes, figuring I'd need them. I thanked her gratefully and changed quickly in the car before running back inside for Chad.

"Chad?" I called to the nearly empty studio. My voice echoed slightly. "Chad?" I tried again. No detectable response.

I walked inside, searching all the rooms, with no evident trace of him anywhere. Not until I looked hard enough that I found him, crouched in the corner next to the couch we'd both slept on, huddled over nothing but that familiar red velvet book.

I snuck up on him before deciding to alert him of my presence, reading over his shoulder. He was looking at the most recent entry in it, the one that was barely a page long and contained probably my biggest secret ever. I sucked in a scream as I could only hope he hadn't read the last sentence yet.

"Chad?" I said quietly, touching his shoulder gently. He got up with a start, shoving my diary into his pocket within a two second flash of his hands. He stood up briskly, fixing himself briefly before starting to nervously chuckle.

"Um, yeah, Sonny?" he said hesitantly. His voice was a few octaves higher than usual, making his actions obvious that he was hiding something. He just didn't know I knew what that something was.

"Our ride is here, Chad," I said sweetly, pretending to be oblivious. He nodded three quick nods before hurrying away in long strides.

I followed after a few minutes of quiet thinking to myself. Chloe ushered me into the car, saying matter-of-factly that the streets were perfectly fine to drive in and everything that was closed yesterday is now reopened. She looked at me and winked.

I understood. Oh, yeah, right. She wanted to shop for a dress for the awards tomorrow.

After a long, awkwardly silent drive to drop Chad off at his TV best friend Trevor's house—he insisted on staying there until he could find someone to get his car—Chloe sped straight to the mall. Chad was right on one thing, though; Chloe really was not the best driver in the world, I can tell you that.

Not being very familiar with the mall—I'd only been here once, when Tawni dragged Lucy and I here when she visited from Wisconsin—I let Chloe drag me around from store to store. She blabbered on and on about what she wants to wear tomorrow, what stores are the best, what she did on her 'snow day', etcetera, etcetera, but my frenzied thoughts all came to a halt when we passed a glittery pink store who's name caught my eye the second it came into view:

TawniToes.