Thank you all so much for the awesome feedback that you have given on all of my stories. It really means a lot to me that I have so many devoted and enthusiastic readers. I am sorry for the delay in updating, but I've had a busy weekend. Demi Lovato came to my area this weekend and my friend and I went to her concert. Let me just say – AMAZING! She seems like the nicest person, too. In short, I had fun rocking out and belting her songs!

BUT I hope you all are ready for a new chapter of "7 Things" because you are getting it! And you all know the drill, I am sure: read, review, and repeat!

Author's Note: Spoilers for "Sonny in the Kitchen With Dinner" lie ahead!

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned, Miley Cyrus or "Sonny With a Chance." Everything else is purely my creative license.

7 Things

"…but nothing's ever gonna change until you hear, my dear, the seven things I hate about you. The seven things I hate about you, oh, you…"

Chapter 2: Your Games

Tawni Hart tilted her head to the side, mirroring the action that her roommate was already practicing. The pair was studying, quite intently, a vase of beautifully arranged flowers that had been set on the table that the two shared. Roses, birds of paradise, sweet peas, lilacs, and daisies dotted the bouquet. A card had been tucked into a tiny ivory envelope and jutted out from the side of the arrangement.

"You wanna read the card, or should I?" the blonde asked, finally breaking the silence. Sonny stirred from her thoughts and appeared to be debating with herself inwardly.

"No, I'll read it," she answered, plucking the card from its home. The last time she had received flowers had been when James Conroy had tried to charm her. But the flowers that sat before her on the table now were ten times as beautiful as those. Sonny knew that they had to be for Tawni.

The blonde actress flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder and craned her neck to read over Sonny's. Her fingers pulled a small card from the envelope onto which a message was scrawled.

"Dear Sonny," the brunette began to read aloud. Tawni jabbed her co-star accidentally as she bounced up and down in excitement. Sonny's shoulders were shaking slightly as Tawni continued to express her excitement through jumping. "I'm sorry for being rude to you yesterday. You don't deserve that – you never do. Forgive me? Signed, TV's Chad Dylan Cooper."

Tawni immediately stopped bouncing.

"Chad?" she cried incredulously. Sonny had to read the card over and over before her eyes would believe what they saw. Chad Dylan Cooper had apologized to her. Not only that, but he had also sent her flowers, gorgeous, perfect flowers. That was it – she officially hated that boy.

Tawni was still in shock. "Chad?" she echoed, nearly screeching. Her eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "Chad?"

"I think we've established the fact that it was Chad who sent these," Sonny replied. Her chocolate eyes passed over the flowers and then settled on her co-star, whose expression of confusion had evolved into a countenance of understanding.

"He's totally smitten," Tawni said matter-of-factly.

Sonny's eyebrows arched in puzzlement. "Smitten?"

Tawni maneuvered her way into her make-up chair and glanced in the mirror admiringly before turning her attention back to Sonny. "You know, infatuated, crazy about, fallen for…"

"I know what it means," the brunette responded, "I'm just surprised that you know what it means."

Tawni glared at Sonny's smirking reflection in her mirror before whirling around in her seat. "I'll have you know that I can be very intelligent when I choose to be."

"I'm not denying that fact."

"Good," Tawni concluded, "because you're about to get some boy advice from a very intelligent, beautiful, funny, talented –"

"Tawni!"

"– girl," the blonde concluded. Sonny rolled her eyes and settled into the couch, arms folded protectively over her chest. The last person she wanted to be getting relationship advice from was Tawni. Actually, the last thing she wanted to hear from Tawni was relationship advice. She didn't even need relationship advice because she had no relationship.

Sighing, the perky blonde rose from her seat and flopped next to Sonny on the couch. "It's so obvious why he sent you those flowers," she explained.

Sonny shook her head. "It's because he loves games, Tawni. He thrives on the fact that one moment we hate each other, and the next he just does something super sweet to make up for the fact that he was such a jerk. If there's one thing I can't stand about Chad Dylan Cooper it's that I never know when he's being genuine. See, I think that he is a jerk-throb half of the time, and then the other half…"

"…you actually enjoy being around him?" Tawni offered.

A nod was Sonny's response. The actress sighed before continuing. "He's just so unbelievably frustrating."

In return, the blonde shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe he's not just playing games with you. Maybe he really does like you."

Sonny scoffed and laughed nervously. "Come on, Tawni, you're making it sound like I like Chad and I do not like Chad." The brunette paused for a moment. "And there's no way he likes me."

"Why did he send you flowers?"

"Because he wants me to crawl over to Studio 2 and melt at his feet like all of the other girls."

"Why did he get jealous when he saw you kissing Hayden on the cover of Tween Weekly?"

"Because for once, the cover wasn't about him or his stupid show."

"Why did he get you an audition for a movie role he knew you loved?"

"So he could rub his so-called generosity in my face forever."

"Why did he dress up like Eric for you?"

Sonny's eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Yes," Tawni responded with a roll of her eyes, "I found out about that. Duh."

"Well," Sonny countered, "he wanted to try on the beard."

"Why did he save you a dance at prom?"

"Because he always does what he's told not to do."

"Why did he admit that you have pretty hair?"

Sonny faltered. "Because he…because he was trying to throw me off from yelling at him."

Tawni, once more, rolled her eyes at her companion and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Sonny, you are so clueless."

Sonny Monroe was a bright young woman. She never made less than straight A's, could think on her feet, and would never back away from a challenge. She had enough self-confidence to encourage her, and enough modesty to allow her to shine, even amongst the Hollywood celebrities. Because of her acuteness, Sonny knew that there was a possibility – she chose to believe it was miniscule – that Chad liked her as someone more than just a yelling partner.

When she had arrived in Hollywood, Sonny had yearned for a friend who would stick by her throughout the difficult roads that would lie ahead. In the midst of homesickness, her cast was there to welcome her. But Tawni was right – Chad had also been there, always silently supporting her, even if he claimed to abhor her show and demean her acting skills.

Chad was never there for anyone. Chad Dylan Cooper was a three-named solo act. He didn't need to care about the feelings of others. And yet, he seemed to care a whole lot about what happened to a girl from Wisconsin.

Sonny's mass of brunette locks shook as her head swung from side to side. "No, Tawni, there is no way he likes me."

Tawni sighed and mimicked Sonny through shaking her head. "Look, I tried to give you boy advice…"

"…which I never asked for."

"…but you clearly need."

"I'm not buying the fact that he isn't playing games with me. He's totally just trying to mess with my head. I'll bet that he's just sitting in his little make-up chair right now, waiting for me to burst through the door and fawn all over him."

"He might be waiting for you to burst through the door," Tawni remarked, "but maybe he wants you to finally admit that you like him."

With her voice rising, Sonny had begun to grow more impatient with her co-star. "That's what he wants!" she exclaimed. "He just wants me to adore and worship him because then he wins!"

"What if it's not a game? What if Chad really just wants to know deep down how you feel about him so he can say it back to you?"

"But it is a game – everything is a game to him!"

"But what if it's not?"

"But it is!"

"But what if it's not?"

"But it is!"

"But –"

Sonny leapt up from the couch and swiveled her figure to face Tawni. "You don't know him like I do, Tawni. He's full of games, and this is just one more game," she explained.

Tawni, though clearly startled by Sonny's sudden movement, appeared unfazed by her words. Instead of arguing further, the blonde threw up her hands in defeat. "You win, Sonny."

Sonny crossed her arms in front of her and arched her back to appear a bit taller. "Well, good then," she said with pride. "I just know how Chad works, and those," she pointed to the flowers, "are just another ploy of his."

"Whatever you say," Tawni concluded. Upon glancing at the clock, she added: "We should get to rehearsal before Marshall has a cow."

Sonny exhaled all of her stress and negative emotions before genuinely smiling and exiting the dressing room. Before leaving, Tawni glanced at the bouquet of flowers from every angle and read the card over once more. She smirked and shook her head.

"He is so not playing games this time."

So what did you all think? Love this chapter? Hate it? Whatever you thought of it, just type it out in a comment and be sure to review the chapter. Look for chapter 3 sometime by mid to the end of this week!