Sonny
Chad and I just stood at the front of the museum and stared. I didn't want to take one more step towards this place. I knew that if I went in there, I would get the bad feeling of being alone. Worse than that, I would want to be with Chad. I already, did, I knew that, but I would admit me feelings to him and I knew he didn't think of me like that.
There was also the fact that I never knew when one of Chad's mood swings was gonna kick in and he would turn into that three-named jerk-face. I didn't like him when he was like that, and that's what has kept me from making a move sooner. Seeing that place made me drift off to the time Chad and I had gone on a fake date.
It wasn't just nice hypothetically or in theory when we were together. I almost didn't add the "in theory", but I thought quick. It saved me. Chad had acted sweet the entire time, even before we got to the arcade. What no one knew is that he bought me flowers just in case it would help James get jealous. He also had a card on it that said, "To my Sonshine. Love, Chad." What he didn't know was that I still had that card.
"Mom, we're gonna go back to the car really quick. We have to get something." I said.
"Okay, I'll get the tickets while your there. Hurry up." she replied.
I took Chad's hand and took off to the car. We had to run a long time because my mom parked the car on the other end of the parking lot. She said it would be a long walk but we would be happy when we're one of the first people out of the parking lot. I didn't care. When we got to the car we had to catch our breath before we could talk.
"Why did your mom want to come here?" Chad asked.
"Why are you asking me? It's not like I gave her the idea. This really isn't like my mom. Let me think." I replied.
Really, I just needed a little more time to breath before I could talk. Chad was obviously thinking, too. He had this blank stare on and was looking behind the car. No, as I examined more, I saw that he wasn't staring at nothing. He was so lost in thought that he couldn't see where he was anymore. Suddenly, his features became animated again and a look of realization came.
"What?" I asked.
"What if your mom brought us here because she thinks we're a…well, you know." he said.
"No, no. She wouldn't do that." I said. Wait, would she? I really wasn't sure. I thought of all the times she saw us. The time when Chad held me while I was sick, dancing in the parking lot, him saving me from being murdered, and me saving him from drowning. Yes, we definitely looked like we liked each other. "Okay…so how are we going to get through this?"
"Why don't we just tell her that we're not together?" Chad suggested.
"Because you don't know my mom. If she knows that we aren't together then she's going to do everything in her power to make us get together." I explained.
"Well, the way I see it, we can either act like we're together and endure this, or we can tell your mom that we aren't together and endure her trying to get us together."
"If we just get through this with her thinking we are together then we don't have to go endure her trying to hook us up after this. She'll think we're together and be satisfied." I said.
"Okay, can we stop saying 'endure'? It's really starting to get annoying." Chad replied. I laughed.
"Okay, take my hand, and we'll go. We just have to get through a couple of hours. No big deal." I said. He nodded, but I could tell that we were both nervous about this. I knew I was going to have to work my hardest in order to not fall for him. There'd been so many times where I'd almost lost my grip that I didn't know what would happen.
On our way back to the museum we ran into my mom.
"Mom? What are you doing?" I asked.
"Here. The first two hours of the park is for couples only. I'll be back in two hours to join you guys. Have fun!" She handed me two tickets and ran off. I stood there, not knowing what to do.
"We could always skip out." Chad said.
I thought about it. I looked at the tickets. Whoa. My mom paid a lot of money for these tickets. Money I knew she had to work hard for. There was no way I could skip out on something she worked so hard to get me. As much as I hated it, we had to go.
"No. We can't. Let's go." That was all I said, and I had no protests from Chad. I turned to look at him and he didn't look excited, but he didn't look like he was dreading it. I noticed my mom's car coming up and grabbed Chad's hand.
"Do you even know what this place is about?" Chad asked, not noticing our hands.
"Not really. The only museums I've been to are school trips to science museums and a cheese one back home in Wisconsin. I hope it's nothing too cheesy."
I really shouldn't have said that. These people were obviously very serious about doing a good job. We went in and spotted some tables in the middle of everything. It was basically like a renaissance fair. There were walls, but no roof. You could go to any exhibit you wanted, but there weren't many people walking around right then. I was looking at the signs everywhere. They had a tunnel of love, some rides that were meant for two, and apparently every drink came with no less than two straws. That's what the sign said, but I was hoping they didn't come with anymore than two straws. That would be weird.
There was a fake tattoo booth and a couple of food places. It was basically like a love amusement park. This would be the perfect place to have a date. I was hoping that we could just sit at one of the tables in the middle of the park until my mom came back, but that wasn't the case. My bad luck was really laying it on me today.
A woman with rainbow hair, by that I mean that she had red roots, black ends, and blue highlights, came up to us and sat down. At first, I just ignored her, but she kept staring at us.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Why are you two together?" she asked.
"Excuse me?" Chad said.
"It's just weird that you would be here with her when you're with me." she replied.
Okay, one thing I knew was that there was no way Chad would go out with this girl. It wasn't that she didn't look good or anything. She was…definitely not his type. She looked like she got angry quick, and Chad didn't go for that type. When he broke up with them they would probably punch him. Second, if he was going out with someone he would've told me. I think.
"Whoa. How could we be together when I've never seen you in my life?" Chad asked.
"You know. I met you on Facebook, and you told me that you would be with me. Everyone at school is so jealous. I thought you were going to meet me over by the cotton candy stand, though." she replied.
I was trying so hard not to laugh. Obviously, someone had tricked this girl into thinking that they were Chad and told her they were going to meet her here. It was my bad luck that made it a coincidence that we were there. That's what sobered me. If my bad luck did all this already today, then what else was it going to do? There was no telling.
"I think you might be mistaken. I don't really have a Facebook account because people act like me all the time and I try to avoid them. Maybe someone tricked you. I'm sorry." he said. That was really out of character for Chad. I mean, I knew he could be nice, but he was trying to let this girl down easy. Maybe because she'd been sucked into some fantasy.
"No. You…you came here. You told me that…that you would meet me over there." She pointed at the cotton candy stand. "My friends…they all told me that is wasn't you. But did I show them! I'm so glad you came." She then started to hug Chad. Chad was squirming to get out of her grip, but the way she was holding him looked like she was about to break some of his ribs.
"Okay, what is your name anyways?" I asked.
She released her death-grip on Chad and looked at me. "Paris. He knew that." She then proceeded to hug him again. I decided to just wait until she quit. I was looking at a sign that was above everything on a wall that just had the word "love" on it. It was big and made to distract you. I'd been looking at it a while when I looked back at Chad.
He'd been trying to get my attention for a while, but couldn't because he couldn't breathe. He was starting to turn colors. I jumped up and went to his side of the table. "Look, Paris. Let go of him! You're killing him!" I said. I tried to grab her, but she shook me off. I went to do it again, but this time Paris got up and glared at me.
"If you don't mind, I would like to spend some time with my boyfriend." she said.
Oh, this girl was starting to get on my nerves. In a minute, I was going to lose it. So, I stopped, took a breath, and said, "Why don't you just get it that he doesn't want to be with you? He doesn't even know you."
Her mouth dropped open. I started to think that even using the wrong words with this girl would be a bad thing. She looked like she wanted to smash me into the ground. If I didn't say it before, this girl was built. She wasn't ripped, but she looked like she could beat me up pretty easily. She straightened up and looked calmer.
"He does know me. He is my boyfriend. You're just saying all of that because you're jealous." she said.
That's when one of my brilliant ideas hatched. "Oh really? For your information, Chad is my boyfriend."
Did that just come out of my mouth!? What am I doing!? I thought. Saving Chad… I answered.
Chad was still coughing at the table but I swear he started coughing harder. Paris' face got all red. At this point, I was scared for my life. She started popping her knuckles. To me, every pop sounded more like a word.
You. Are. Going. To. Pay. For. What. You. Just. Said.
That's when I decided that I needed to run. I turned on my heel and put it in drive. I was fast, but I could hear the girl's footsteps right behind me. This was going to be close. I was trying to dodge people walking by, but it was kind of hard. Eventually, I got led to an exhibit. It was, ironically, the cotton candy stand.
I stopped and turned to go somewhere else, but there were too many people in the way. I looked behind me and saw her coming straight for me. I did the only logical thing I could think of; I ducked. If it were a cartoon, it would be really funny. As of now, every inch of my body was pumped with adrenaline and I wanted to run away again, but as soon as the thought appeared, Chad was at my side.
He took my hand, which was trembling from the adrenaline, and tried to comfort me. I'd never been in a fight before, and I didn't plan on being in one anytime soon. I didn't like this feeling. I couldn't shake it, no matter how many times I told myself it was over.
Paris had gone straight over me and into the cotton candy stand. There was a loud bang of metal clashing on the ground and a few moments later Paris popped up with cotton candy in her hair, making it an even more colorful rainbow. I could just replay the scene from someone else's point of view. A girl chasing another girl, who ducks in front of the cotton candy booth, and the other one goes flying into a land of sugar bliss.
I thought that I was safe, until she got up. At first she looked like she was too hurt to do anything, but then she spotted me and her face got all red again, this time turning almost scarlet. I was in for it. Not only had I taken her "man", but I'd embarrassed her. I started to turn my running engine on again, but Chad stepped in front of me.
"Paris, I have never met you in my entire life. I don't know who you are, and I think you need some serious help. I understand that I'm a celebrity and you like me, but you probably like Mackenzie, not me. You don't even know the real me." he said.
"But I do know you! I know everything about you! I know that your parents are always off on business or vacation, and I know that you're 5' 10". You have blue eyes, and blonde hair. Your favorite drink is orange juice-"
"Okay, so you know everything about me that I've answered in interviews. Anyone could know all that stuff? Yes. But if I asked you how I acted, would you know the answer?" he asked.
"Well, you act sweet. You're…well, you're…" She was at a loss for words.
"See? You don't know me. Sonny, here, could tell you how I am, right?" Everyone was looking at me now.
"Um…Chad is very…sarcastic, but funny. He's charming, and witty, but sometimes selfish. He sometimes hatches schemes that are ridiculous, but sometimes they work. He's…not like Mackenzie." I explained.
"You could've never told me that Paris. So, let it go." he said.
She pouted, but she couldn't refuse her idol. She climbed over the front of the booth and walked away with her head hung. I noticed that people were watching her, and then their eyes went to me and Chad. A man came over to us and said, "You guys are perfect together."
I felt my cheeks get warm. I couldn't look up at Chad, for fear of him seeing me blush. He didn't say anything, and he didn't try to look at me. He took my hand and led me back to the table. Maybe pretending to be with him while my mom was there wasn't going to be as bad as I thought. I sat down where I was before, and Chad sat next to me instead of across from me.
"I'm afraid that she's gonna come back and crush me. Maybe if I have you with me, she won't come over here." he said.
"I doubt it. She was going to hurt me if it weren't for you. Thanks." I said.
"Excuse me?" A woman with short brown curls came strolling up to us wearing a "love" t-shirt and some black pants. She was pretty. I couldn't tell what color her eyes were because she had her hand over her eyes, blocking the sun.
"Yes?" I asked.
"The tour is about to begin. Do you know where your group is?" she asked.
"What group? What tour, for that matter?" I asked.
"No one explained to you? Well, there's a tour that comes with these tickets. You can look at your ticket and find the number at the very bottom. It should tell you what group you're in." she said.
I took my ticket out from my back pocket and looked at it. I was in group 4. Logically, if I was in group 4 and this was a couple tour, then Chad should be in the same group as me, but we didn't think of that. I looked at him, thinking he was looking at his ticket, but he was looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"I thought you had my ticket." he replied. I looked around in my pockets and I didn't have it, so I asked him if he had it. "I don't think so, but I'll check." He did as he said, and came up empty. I did a search in my pockets again, but still found nothing. Maybe they were in my back pocket, I just couldn't see them or feel them.
"Would you look in my back pockets?" I asked Chad. At first, he looked as though he was going to fall over, and then he nodded. He checked and there they were! My bad luck was not only giving me bad luck with big things, but also little things. This was one of the things that I didn't like. If there were anymore of my little things ruined because of the bad luck, I was going to lose it!
"Group 4. Who is that with?" Chad asked.
"That would be over there with Macy. She's next to the soda booth." the woman said.
We walked over there, and I was hoping that nothing too romantic was going to happen. I noticed that Chad was looking at Macy. Macy had almost-white blonde hair, and sparkling blue eyes. She had thick, full eyelashes, and her makeup looked like it was put on by a true stylist. Even when I had my makeup put on by a stylist, I never looked that good.
She was tall, and tan. You could tell she was probably one of those tennis-playing girls. I didn't know why, but I had the urge to hit her with her own tennis racket. I tried to tell myself that I didn't want to do that, but on the inside I really did. I knew that she didn't deserve to be thought of like that, but I'd already thought it before it could be helped.
"Okay," she said in a squeaky voice. "We're going to go to the pond just a mile away from here, and then we're going to explore the woods for a little while. After that, it's time to come back here and go through the tunnel of love! Let's get to it. Follow me."
"I hope the pond is pretty. Do you think that there will be animals in the woods?" I asked Chad.
"Sonny, it's the woods. Of course there are going to be animals. Now, excuse me for just a second." he said, and walked over to Macy. My mouth dropped open. He was ditching me, his date, for that…bimbo! How could he do that to me?
Whatever. I thought. I shook it off. Macy had two guys with her carrying a big radio so we could listen to music while we were walking. It looked heavy, but they carried it like it weighed nothing. I wondered if maybe the radio was for some another purpose than just listening to music on the way there.
While Chad was still with Macy, "Fireflies" came on. It was the same remix that played when Chad and I danced in the parking lot earlier. This song was really popular. I found myself doing little dances while we were walking, and soon I forgot about Chad altogether.
The song ended and I looked at my surroundings again. There were couples all around me holding hands, or laughing. Some were goofing around and a few were holding on to each others' waists. It made me want Chad back here more than ever. Thinking of Chad made me look up to the front to see Macy slap Chad's arm playfully.
Suddenly, I didn't want to be here. All these couples just weren't doing it for me. I didn't want to turn back, though, because we were taking twists and turns, and if I turned back I wouldn't know where I was. I kept going with the rest of them until we got to the pond. I guess when she said we were stopping by the pond, she meant we were glancing at it.
She went right by the pond and announced that we would actually stop at it on the way back. We kept going until we reached a path in the woods. I didn't know where it was taking us, but I was going to be happy when we got there. These black boots were not comfortable for walking, and my feet were starting to hurt.
I actually got a break in my luck when we got there and there was a perfect stump for sitting. Unfortunately, my luck turned sour again and another couple got to it before me. There really weren't any other spots for sitting, so I decided to go just a little bit further to find something to sit on. I kept following the little trail we were on.
Soon, the path got wider and the place was full of little pine trees with flowers sprouting up around all of them. It was wonderful. The best part about it was the fact that it was all natural. No one made this on purpose, it was just there. I wondered what else could be out here, so I kept going. I didn't make it far before I got snatched up off the ground.
My first thought was a trap. Maybe I'd tripped a line and something was pulling me up. That's what I thought until I stopped going up. I didn't go far at all.
"Did you think you could get away from me that easily?" Chad said.
"You sure did seem to be having a fun time with Macy." I replied.
"You didn't seriously think I liked that girl, did you? She's…cute, but she's not what I'm looking for." he explained.
"Well, what do you want to do?" I asked.
"Let's keep walking. I don't feel like being around the rest of them anyways."
We kept walking and took my hand. I followed behind him at first, but soon found myself dancing in front of him. It was so pretty out here it made me feel like I didn't need anything else. It was okay for a little while longer, but it was actually getting pretty boring. We went back, but no one was there. We followed the trail, and came to the pond to find them all there.
We were apparently gone longer than we thought because they were getting ready to go back to the "museum". We followed, not saying a word. We were holding hands, and it wasn't weird like normal silence was. I could've stayed all day with Chad like that. I guess because we were so different, we felt okay not talking.
When we got to the tunnel of love, everyone but us was excited. I spotted my mom just before she spotted us and started grabbing his arm and hanging on him. "You are too cute!" I said, loud enough for her to hear.
"What are you-"
"My mom is here, silly." I said.
"Oh. Well, in that case…" Chad took my hand and we made ourselves look like a couple as best we could. That's when Macy addressed us.
"You two," she pointed at me and Chad. "You are going in the tunnel first. You two are so cute!"
"Oh boy. This is going to be fun." I said.
I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw Chad smile just a little bit.