Alright, here you go. Enjoy :)
That week alone flew by. Tawni was gone everyday for work, and I was left home without anything that needed to be done, so I settled in. Monday and Tuesday I unpacked and organized myself. Wednesday I cleaned the large apartment, making it livable and also organized. Tawni came home after what was supposedly a rough day of work to a nice surprise. Thursday I spent the entire day catching up on pop culture. The TV was on all day, all of Tawni's magazines were pulled out, and I was checking twitter feeds routinely. I had missed a ton. It was like for an entire year and a half, I did not exist to the world and vice versa. Friday, I showed myself around the town, attempting to familiarize myself with it again. No one knew I was back, no one was expecting me to be back, and no one wanted me back.
Just kidding. Tawni assures me that everyone will be glad to see me, but I cannot be sure. Oh well, too late now. Saturday afternoon, Tawni and I are watching the Mackenzie Falls movie and eating ice cream while she fills me in on what is going on at So Random!
"He asked about you every day," she whines. "As if working with him isn't bad enough, I had to answer all of his questions, too. I had to converse with him," she says disgustedly.
"It couldn't have been that bad," I insist. I would have loved to have been in her position all week, talking to him and even just seeing him. Chad is my addiction. As corny as it may sound, I really cannot get enough of him. Once I start, I cannot stop. I need more.
"It was that bad," she assures me. "How's Sonny? Where's Sonny? When's Sonny coming again? Would Sonny like this? Would Sonny like that? Blah blah blah…" she mocks his excited tone. An unwanted smile spreads across my face and I can feel the heat in my face. He cares about me.
"You're exaggerating," I accuse. I hope that is not the case. I hope he really does care about me that much. I hope he still loves me as much as I love him. I love him. Why do I love him? I guess I just cannot help it. I fell for him two years ago, and even though he broke my heart, I am just as certain now as I was then that he is the one. It was a misunderstanding, right? We can talk it over, right? Every good relationship has a rough patch, right?
"Not even a little. It's sickening," she maintains. I purse my lips. Tawni is one to exaggerate the truth, albeit unwittingly, but she seems fairly passionate about this. I am sure that she is aware of how I am feeling about all of this; she is my best friend after all. She would be more cautious of what she is telling me in that case, right? No wonder I was so quick to leave, there is so much uncertainty here.
"Okay, whatever you say," I sing-song. She rolls her eyes.
"You don't have to believe me. I know that I'm telling the truth," she replies smugly. I giggle slightly.
"Really?" I ask. She nods adamantly. I smile again. She would have given up by now if she were even slightly exaggerating. He really, truly does care about me that much. What is the nature of it, though? Is it friendship, or is it still love?
"But, anyway, Marshall said we should do the bee sketch next week to open the show, paying homage to your first show," Tawni informs me. Oh yeah, I am going to have to work. At least I will be doing something that I love.
"That sounds good to me. Less sketches to come up with," I smirk. She nods again. We sit in silence for a moment, focusing on the climax of the movie. Penelope was just revealed to be the one sabotaging Mackenzie and Chloe's relationship. Go figure. They have overdone that plot several times.
"When Grady asked me how you were today, I actually had an answer for him," she grins with pride.
"Oh really?" I chuckle.
"Yeah. At lunch, we were all sitting there reminiscing about how glorious I was- and still am- when all of a sudden, completely randomly, Grady asks, 'How is Sonny anyway?' and I said, 'She's doing well,'… you are doing well, right?" she clarifies.
"Right," I answer truthfully. I am doing well; actually, I am doing pretty great. I have always loved the city. I loved everything about my old life, and now I have it back. Almost, anyway. I do not have him, not the way I want. That hurts. I never should have lost him. I screwed everything up between us, and I would give anything to go back and fix it. Other than that, everything is great.
"That's so great to hear," she squeals. "Anyway, then Nico asks, 'You talked to her? No way! I want to talk to Sonny!' and then they all started talking about how much they miss you. And the new guys started talking about how much they wanted to meet you and how funny you were and blah blah blah…"
"So they all really do miss me?" I ask hopefully. It sounded like they did. Tawni would not fabricate this just to make me feel better. She hates the possibility of anyone being better than her, so she avoids talking about it at all costs, hence the complacent attitude.
"That's right," she clarifies proudly. "I can't believe you ever doubted me," she pouts.
"I'm sorry," I chuckle. "Can you blame me?" I was pretty rotten towards the end, so I could not fault them if they did not want to see me, but this past week and a half has been more effective than rehab ever could have been. I turned myself around. I am on my way to complete recovery. I could not feel better than I do right now.
"Nah, I guess not," she smiles. "People are moving the exercise equipment out of our dressing room as we speak," she tells me.
"Really? That's awesome," I laugh. "You didn't have to do that. I'm a make do kind of girl," I remind her.
"I wanted to. And Marshall made me. He's so excited to see you again."
"I am, too." I am excited to see everyone again. Only a day and a half until I get to go back.
We sit in silence for a moment until there is a knock on the door. Tawni gets up to answer it as I hit pause for the movie. She peers out the peep hole to see who it is.
"It's Chad," she whispers.
"No!" I rasp, unbelieving. What is he doing here? He would not be here to see Tawni, they hate each other.
"Yes!" she assures me. No, no, no, he is not here to see me. He has to be, though. Either way, he is going to see me.
"How do I look?" I ask her, smoothing out my hair and clothes.
"You look great," she says. I stop, watching her nervously. She breathes in deeply and opens the door.
"Pooper," she scowls.
"Random," he retorts, entering the room.
"Why don't you come in?" she offers sarcastically.
"Oh, I already did, thank you," he smiles. She rolls her eyes and goes into the kitchen.
"Hey, Chad," I greet him casually. Uh oh, was that too casually? Should I be more eager? He needs to know that I am interested, right? Ugh, more uncertainty!
"Hi, Sonny," he beams. He sits down next to me on the couch, waking up the stupid butterflies in my stupid stomach. Those jerks.
"What are you doing here?" I ask him, trying to convey interest in my tone. I do not want to sound like I do not want him here, because I really do. At the same time, I do not want to sound too eager or I will scare him off. Finally, I do not want to sound uninterested. This is way harder than I remember.
"I came to see you," he answers. He did come to see me, just to see me. "How you are doing," he catches himself. I smile. He is having just as hard a time as I am.
"I'm doing well, moved in, ready to start at work on Monday," I tell him animatedly.
"That's great, Sonshine," he grins. There is that nickname again. The butterflies start flapping their wings even harder. I hate those guys. We sit in silence for a moment, but it is not awkward. It is just quiet, neither one of us knowing what to say, until he does, "Now that I'm on So Random!, it's finally number one. You're welcome." I roll my eyes.
"Sure, Chad, that's why," I chuckle. He never was the modest one, just the insecure one.
"You doubt me?" he scoffs. "There is one thing that could make it better, though," he begins.
"What's that?"
"You. Oh wait, we've got that. Boom, we're golden," he smiles that special crooked smile reserved for me and me alone. Go away, butterflies! Stop it!
"You think you're so clever, don't you?" I counter.
"I know I am," he smirks. It is true. He is good, and he knows it. He doubts it, sometimes, but he knows it.
"Good," I giggle.
"Good."
"Fine."
"Fine," he grins. I roll my eyes.
"So what are you watching?" he asks, his eyes turning towards the screen. I can feel myself blush. "Trying to find inspiration in the Mack Falls movie?"
"Nah, that would be too easy," I quip.
"Oh really, Munroe? That's how you want to play?"
"Not really a fair game, is it, Cooper?" I retort. He makes it too easy sometimes.
"That's Dylan Cooper, to you. As in Chad Dylan Cooper, greatest actor of our generation," he reminds me.
"How could I forget?" I sarcastically fawn over him.
"I have no idea, because I certainly didn't forget you, Miss Munroe," he laughs. He remembered me? No, he certainly remembered me? He is so sweet. Another knock on the door prompts Tawni to rush in from the kitchen. She peers through the peep hole again.
"It's the Randoms!" she rasps.
I jump up from the couch and hide in the hall closet, not knowing what else to do. Chad snickers at me as Tawni opens the door.
"Hey, guys," she smiles. Nico, Grady, and Zora file in hurriedly. Immediately, they notice Chad and stare him down disapprovingly.
"What's Pooper doing here?" Nico spits at Tawni.
"We were just going over some sketch ideas for this coming week," she answers coolly as she closes the door behind them. Leave it to Tawni to come up with a lie so quickly. They seem to accept that as true, though somewhat hesitantly. "The pizza's in the oven. I think it's ready," she informs them on her way to the kitchen. Zora yawns and stretches.
"I'm exhausted," she tells everyone. "I think I'm going to take a nap in here," she opens the door to the hall closet, revealing me. Great. Just great. Grady, Nico, and Zora stare at me, their mouths agape. Chad is trying so hard to stifle a laugh. Tawni bustles in from the kitchen in an attempt to stop her, but she is too late. I laugh nervously and wave slightly.
"Sonny!?"
So, little warning, I will probably be updating less often because school is starting back up and I have a show in less than three weeks. Updates will still be coming though, so don't worry. Anyways, please review! :)