A/N: Thank you for your reviews! Shoutouts to Hiilani, Joker236, channylover101, iTwilightLover98, and Love at First Fight. I absolutely love this episode, so I had a great time writing this chapter! I hope you like it too. :)

Stormy with Patches of Sky

"The possibility that you could ever feel the same way about me is just too much, just too much." -David Archuleta

As I walked back from rehearsal for "So You Think You Can PP Dance?", I met Josh with his mail cart. "Oh, hi, Josh," I greeted him.

"Hey, Sonny, what's up?" he responded. As he went past me, the person following him became visible. Unfortunately.

"Hey," he said casually, as though he strolled around So Random! everyday.

"Chad?" I asked in disbelief. "What are you doing and why are you doing it over here at So Random!?" I wondered if, since I hadn't decided to join him at the Falls, he had decided to join me on my set. But I should have realized that was a stupid idea. He had only wanted me on his set to cause problems for me and my cast, it didn't have anything to do with my company.

"Well, I'm not just the star of Mackenzie Falls, America's number one tween drama." Chad paused to let his boasting sink in. "I also got a part in a movie."

"Hm. I still don't know why you're here," I retorted. I wanted him gone, movie or no movie. The set of So Random! was supposed to be my safe haven, where Chad would never turn up.

"I play a mail delivery guy. He works at a high-powered law firm. It's a small but crucial role. That's why I'm following my good buddy Jeff around." Jeff? He seriously didn't even know the name of the person he was following? Now that's what I call rude.

"It's Josh," I informed him.

"Who's Josh?" Wow. He couldn't figure that out? Who else was with us that could be Josh?

"That would be me," Josh pointed at himself, somewhat embarrassed. Poor guy.

"Well, good luck!" I said. He was gonna need it.

"Thank you," replied Chad, automatically assuming I was talking to him, of course.

"I was talking to Josh," I smirked and walked away, leaving Chad with an adorably confused expression on his face.

It turned out later on that I was the one who needed luck. Having my confidence lowered by a lack of fan letters, I wrote one to myself. The plan totally backfired, and I ended up having to dash around set disguised as "Eric," my supposed fan. As I rushed to my dressing room, I crashed into Chad, who was apparently being instructed by Josh how to stamp mail.

"Sorry!" I apologized, forgetting to deepen my voice. Chad stared at me, and I froze. He couldn't recognize me. No one had recognized me - not Tawni, not Nico, not Grady, not Marshall. Why would Chad?

"Do I know you?" he asked quizzically, still trying to identify me. Shoot. He DID know me.

"...Nobody knows me. No one will ever know me!" I responded in panic before running away.

"Weird beard," I heard Josh comment as I fled. And yet Chad had noticed that I looked familiar, even through the beard. How could Chad, of all people, recognize me? Especially when no one else had. Was he the only one who had really looked at Eric? No, Tawni had gotten really close - a bit too close, actually. So that wasn't it. But maybe he looked at me - really looked at me - when I was just Sonny, and so he recognized my features. No, no, that was a stupid idea. There was no way that Chad Dylan Cooper would actually look at me, Sonny Munroe. There was no way he looked at me the way I looked at him, the way I studied him when no one was watching, the way I had memorized every detail of his face. There must be some other explanation.

After Tawni discovered that Eric didn't exist, she tried to ensure that the rest of the world would know too. Soon, I was faced with the prospect of having Eric on So Random!, on live television, with Sonny standing next to him. Which would be impossible considering that I was both Sonny and Eric. When the sketch was over and we were given two more minutes before the close of the show, when Eric was supposed to appear, I went backstage and pulled out the box containing my disguise. Chad appeared, much to my surprise, and I tried to hide the disguise discreetly.

"I knew I recognized you," Chad smirked. "You're Weird Beard." Evidently my attempts were in vain. But that brought up my question from before - how could Chad recognize me when everyone else failed to? "...Why are you Weird Beard?" he asked me.

"Why do you care?" I shot back, wondering what his answer would be.

"...I don't know, let's give it a shot," was his reply. Did that mean he did care? I took a deep breath, knowing that what I said next would sound stupid to him.

"Well, I sent myself a fan letter, pretended to be my own fan, and now I get to go out on stage and meet the fan I'm pretending to be!" I said with fake enthusiasm, waiting for a witty insult to be hurled at me.

"Why would you write yourself a fan letter?" That certainly wasn't the response I was expecting. He sounded…almost like he cared.

"Because I lost faith in myself," I sighed. So very, very stupid. I should have known that it would turn out to be a disaster.

"Oh. Classic case of actor insecurity. You start doubting your abilities, wondering whether you were good enough and whether you deserve to be on TV," Chad elaborated. I nodded as he spoke, identifying with his words. I couldn't believe that Chad was actually being nice and understanding about the whole thing.

"So you've been through this?" I knew that if Chad Dylan Cooper had gone through the low self-esteem period, everyone must have, which would make me feel a whole lot better.

"No," was his immediate answer. He chuckled, adding insult to injury. "No, no, but I made you think I had, which is why I'll never go through it." As the words came out of his mouth, I fought the desire to hit him. He was so...insensitive!

"You are unbelievable!" I exploded. "I knew it. You don't care," I said bitterly. I should have known that the idea of Chad sympathizing with me was too good to be true. "I thought we were having a real moment here," I added quietly, almost to myself. Chad's eyes softened, and he seemed almost apologetic. Almost.

"Now, please welcome back to the stage the cast of So Random!" Marshall announced onstage. I let out a huge breath that I didn't even know I had been holding.

"Well, that's my cue."

"So what are you gonna do?" Chad asked, a hint of concern in his tone. But that didn't make up for his sympathetic pretense a few moments ago.

"You don't care, remember? But I do. Now excuse me while I go out there and embarrass myself," I gave him a small, fake smile before facing the audience.

I took the microphone from Marshall to explain about Eric, mentally preparing myself for humiliation. "Eric...is..."

"Your number one fan!" Someone dressed up as Eric stepped out from behind the curtain. I knew immediately that it was Chad - perhaps in the same way that he had known that it was me earlier? Tawni stuttered in disbelief, and I couldn't help but stand there and grin.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked Chad out of the corner of my mouth.

"I'm not helping you," he denied quickly. "I just - wanted to try on the weird...beard." He was hesitant as he spoke, and I knew that he was lying, if only to save face.

"Sounds like somebody cares," I told him, feeling a thrill run through me as I said it. The CDC fangirl still exists, buried deep inside of me.

"Somebody...wanted to try on the weird beard," Chad repeated, but his voice shook slightly.

"Cares," I taunted, hoping to get him to admit it, just so I could hear it aloud.

"Beards." He was determined too.

"Cares."

"Beards."

"Cares."

"Beards."

"Beards," I switched, trying to catch him.

"Cares," he said automatically before realizing what he had said.

"Gotcha!" I clapped my hands excitedly and grinned widely in response as Chad hung his head in defeat. Chad Dylan Cooper cares. Chad Dylan Cooper cares. Chad Dylan Cooper cares, I chanted over and over in my head. He cared. And he cared about me. There was no better feeling in the world.

A/N: Awwww! :D Please review. You're obligated if you have favorited and/or alerted! :P