A/N: Alright....I haven't posted anything in...forever. I went on vacation with my family - out of the country, then I just chilled for my last week of the summer, and then came my first week of classes as a senior. And what do you know! My laptop decided to no longer function properly. Most programs don't work, my Wi-Fi is completely non-functioning and it won't turn off on its own. Luckily though, WordPad still works. And if you're reading this, then it decided to let me move things onto a flash drive or the Wi-Fi is suddenly working.

Well, here's hoping! And now for chapter three of James With a Second Chance.

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"Sonny....you have got to be kidding me here!" Tawni shouted at her cast mate.

"Oh come on Tawni! I know he's a jerk, but James is still a person. And I'm not making any sort of promise or committment. I'm just saying that if he proves he's changed, then I'll give him another chance."

~~Flashback1~~

Sonny had agreed to do a stage production of a mix of different pieces of classic literature - a Reader's Theatre. A bunch of actors got together and were each assigned various monologues and scenes from various plays. She had been sitting in a classy, high-ceilinged auditorium as she waited for all the other actors to shuffle in so that their first rehearsal could begin.

Miscellaneous unknown actors, as well as a few she recognized from their guest spots on various shows, all filed in and the director, who instructed them to call her Madame Greylund, sauntered onto the stage, looking down upon all of the young adults seated in the dark red-velvet upholstered theatre seats.

As the middle-aged woman blathered on about all of the stuff that she, and basically all the other thespians knew prior to the meeting, Sonny looked around to all of her cast mates and her face fell a bit as she realized that she was the only one that didn't actually know anyone there already.

And then she heard the door in the back of the theatre swing shut, going unnoticed by the director, seemingly too occupied by the sound of her own voice.

Sonny ignored it, and decided to turn her attention back to the woman on stage, confident in the fact that she'd make friends later on in the production. Then she felt a nudge on her shoulder. A very slight nudge. Nearly unnoticeable.

But it cam again. She felt like ignoring it, but, in case it would decide to persist, she turned. She gaped at what she saw.

In a hushed whisper, "James?!"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

"I overslept, got here a bit late."

"Not what I meant," she growled.

He smirked, "I know."

She stared him down till he finally broke.

He sighed before he finally gave in and gave her an honest answer. "My agent called me, saying that he had a wonderful oportunity. When he told me what it actually was, I was a little hesitant, but he made a good point - all the great actors of modern years have had some experience doing theatre, so I figured, 'why not?'"

Sonny let out a frustrated sigh. "Great," she mumbled under her breath.

"Look, I know you're not exactly ecstatic to be working with me, but hey, maybe we won't have any scenes together." She hoped he was right, but caught something in his eye that worried her.

"Alright my lovely thespians! That is the conclusion of our informative meeting. I'll see you in two days, Thursday, 10:30AM on the dot for your role assignments and our first official rehearsal! Good day! Now get out." She ended with a flat tone, a wide contrast to her previously perky attitude."

~~End Flashback1~~

~~Flashback2~~

Sonny had the rest of the day, after the informitive meeting, as well as Wednesday and Thursday off from So Random! She spent her Wednesday doing househole chores - meaningless stuff that, while no fun and not too crucial, needed doing. On Thursday she got up at nine - two and a half hours later than she'd normally get up for Random rehearsals.

She awoke with a smile and stretched her arms out wide as she felt the warm sun, seeping through her curtains, on her smooth, pale skin. She threw her covers aside and strode towards her bathroom, her apartment perfectly silent as it lacked the prescence of her mother.

She turned on the shower, letting it heat up as she grabbed clothes from her room to wear to rehearsal, and laying them on her bathroom counter, along with a big, warm, fluffy towel.

She climbed into her steaming shower and a grin spread across her lips as the warm water pounded onto her tense muscles. She had lost count of time while showering, so when she got out, it was already ten.

She stepped out and toweled off before glancing at the clock on the bathroom counter.

"Shoot!" She noticed that she was running later than expected and changed quickly, brushing her teeth simultaneously.

Still flossing, she prepared something to eat on the way to the theatre. As she toasted herself a cinammon waffle, she ran across to her room and pulled on a pair of socks and a pair of boots. She checked her watch as she pulled it on her wrist along with various other pieces of jewelry.

She barely had time to apply her quick layer of lip gloss, blush and eyeliner.

It took her fifteen minutes to bike to the theatre and the director preferred that they get there with time to spare.

It was eight past ten.

"Gah!" She screeched as she pulled the waffle from her toaster and ran out the door.

She was tense and worried the whole way to the studio.

"Hey Sonny. You look out of breath," James came up, walking behind her as she rushed from the door of the building, into the theatre, down towards the stage.

"Yeah. I was running late."

"Late? Sonny, it's twenty past. You're actually early..."

Her mouth fell open in frustrated shock. Since she was afraid she'd be late, she was biking faster than usual, eventing in her being early to rehearsal.

They reached a row of seats a comfortable distance from the stage.

"I guess I can rest easy then," she said, propping her feet up on the seat in front of her and slowly catching her breath again.

James started listening to his iPod and Sonny chose to read a book, as they waited for rehearsal to start.

They occassionally exchanged casual words until the director rampaged through the door.

Sonny quickly shot up, flung her feet off of the seat in front of her and slammed her book shut. James though, didn't notice her at all.

As the director came closer and closer, James was still sitting there, completely encompassed in his music.

"James! James!" Sonny kept trying to tell him she was coming, but he couldn't hear. Finally she just resorted to pulling out his headphones and wacking him in the chest.

"Hey!" he shouted at her. "What was that for?!"

She motioned past him to the director who was standing direcctly behind him now, looking at him with an unpleased look on her face.

He glanced up, then quickly turned back to Sonny, mouthing 'oh' to her, then turning back. "Good morning Ms Baron. How are you on this lovely day."

"Just fine Mr Conrad," she answered in a smug tone and proceeded, straight onto the stage, clip board in hand.

She started spewing nonsense, causing Sonny to drift off and zone out.

She finally came to the role assignments. "Let's see...where to start..." Then she noticed Sonny not paying attention. "Ah...Ms Monroe. You will be reading Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, Puck's monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and you will be Newt in A Long Walk to Forever. Now come get your scripts."

"Right. Awesome. Thanks," she said meekly as she snatched her scripts from Madame Greylund, then turned and walked dejectedly back to her seat next to James.

Greylund listed off all the others names, handing them their scripts as they reached the stage. The whole while, Sonny looked over her lines, wondering who would be the narrators and the love interest, Caraline, in the dialogue for which she'd been cast. She was so involved in her thoughts that she had payed no mind to anyone else's role assignments. She was only brought out of her stupor when James said her name.

"Hey Sonny," he grinned in a casual greeting, his voice causing her to jump. "Did you hear what I got?"

"Uh...no," she said, sounding somewhat embarrased. "I...wasn't really paying attention."

She could see a slight grin slip across his face, despite his trying to hide it. "I'm playing Caraline in A Long Walk to Forever."

"Oh, okay. So...we're in a scene together?"

James could barely contain his amusement. "You haven't read it through, have you?"

"No...why?"

"I play your love interest." He paused, examining every millimeter of her clueless face before continuing on. "There's a kiss."

The realization was obvious on her face. Her eyes widened, her mouth fell agape, and her breath hitched in her lungs.

Noticing that she wasn't likely to say anything anytime soon out of pure shock, James let out a soft chuckle. "Don't worry Sonny. It's just acting. I realize that you have no romatic interest in me at all." He maintained his sunny exposure, but Sonny could tell from his eyes that that last part probably sent a pang of heartbreak through him.

"James," Sonny started, a hint of sympathy in her level voice. "I'm sorry but...you hurt me. And more importantly, you hurt Tawni. I think you can see why I'm hesitant when it comes to trusting you."

James turned his whole body to her and gently layed his hands on hers. Sonny felt a rush of...something she couldn't identify go through her body. She looked down to their hands in pure confusion.

James tilted her chin up with a light touch and looked her dead in the eyes. "Sonny, I've changed. And I know you probably don't believe me, but please...Let me show you."

Her lips parted ever so slightly - as if she wanted to say something but changed her mind immediately. She softly chewed her lower lip, feeling somewhat akward and not as hesitant as she'd like.

"Please Sonny - give me a second chance. If I can't show you by the last night of the production then...so be it, I'll walk away and you'll never have to speak to me again. But if I can..."

"Okay." She cut him off, accepting his challenge.

"Alright my thespians!" Their conversation was cut short by Madame Greylund's booming, cheery voice. "This concludes this meeting. Learn your lines!! Next time you will all be doing cold readings!"

With that, they all stood and grabbed their belongings, idle chatter emminating through the auditorium as they shuffled towards the exits.

James turned back to Sonny, with a small, honest smile as he said, in almost a whisper, "Thank you Sonny. You won't regret it."

He turned and walked out, leaving Sonny standing on her own, shocked with him, and herself.

"Move along Ms Monroe. I can't lock up until all of you leave." Greylund called Sonny out of her daze.

"Yes Madame Greylund," she responded politely as she speedily headed out, her bag slung hurriedly over her shoulder.

~~End Flashback2~~

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So yeah, my computer's alive again. Including internet. Still not at his best, but better than he was. Ah, the wonder of a system restore. :) It also didn't help that I got completely stuck, like, halfway through. Then today I spontaneously got inspired. (Quite possibly due to the fact that the deadline is midnight and it's a weekend so school isn't looming over my head as much...)

So yeah, deadline for this contest is steadily approaching. Wish me luck!!