Hello there :D LAST CHAPTER ): well, there is going to be an epilogue after this, but still…. I'm so sad to leave this story behind! This ending is completely improvised, just to give you a heads up… I never really thought about it :P it won't be toooo long… the last chapter had all the drama, this is just tying up loose ends… This chapter is dedicated to SparklyPinkKitty, s3r3ndipity (I LOVE YOU), KayDee-DesignerExtraordinare and XxSmashingPandasxX for reading my ramblings and answering my question! Well, S3r3ndipity didn't, but she wrote four long reviews at once, and mentioned things FROM my ramblings… I'll give her that :D

ENJOOOYYY THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER OF ROAD TRIP!

SPOV

After a seemingly infinite amount of time, I rose jerkily from the sofa, my leg sticky from the spilt ice cream and my eyes sore from staring at the TV screen unblinkingly since Chad's interview. I wasn't watching though… I could barely make out the figures that moved vacantly across the huge screen. I didn't want to.

Chad loves me.

In my long moment of paralysed thought, my mind had slowly come together again, from the scattered map it was before. Everything seemed so… clear. The smile on Chad's face at the beginning of the interview was not there out of joy for my suffering… it was there out of joy for my happiness, and initially my SHOCK. It wouldn't be unlike him to have put a video camera up in front of the TV just so he could playback my reaction. He was probably sad he couldn't see it up close.

I robotically walked to my suitcase and began to stiffly throw an outfit onto the bed. I was going to see Chad soon.

I was going to see Chad soon.

My rusty movements were suddenly elasticized, and I hurriedly dashed into the bathroom to wash the ick of my leg. I then multitasked like no woman ever had, managing to blow-dry and curl my hair (moderately well. Not well enough to prevent Tawni from fainting, however), dress relatively nicely (again, a Tawni collapse was likely) and apply make-up, making sure to cover the ugly red flush on my face and neck that seemingly made me look even less Tawni-appropriate. I didn't want her to fall into a coma in horror.

Surprisingly, I wasn't tired after my strenuous preparation. I felt energised, pumped. I would have been worrying about the adrenaline hangover, but all I could picture in my mind was Chad. His big fat grin. His cheeky dimples. His glittering blue eyes…

I literally had to shake my entire body to bring me back to reality. I was spinning. I needed air.

Grabbing my purse, I skipped out the room, practically floating on the air beneath my feet. I was smiling so much it hurt, my teeth reflecting every light I passed. Huh. Shiny teeth. Who knew?

I ended up outside, the smile still thick on my face. I glanced down at my watch. There was only a half hour left till the opening. I might as well arrive early so to calm myself before inevitably bumping into a blonde-haired blue-eyed someone…

I spotted a tram across the road from me. It was something I had never really done before, and yet I wanted to try it. I felt light headed, breezy, and desperate to do something different. I jogged over and practically leaped onto the tram, briefly checking with the woman driving that it was heading in the right direction (the look she gave me proved that I looked as insane as I felt). Hanging my head out of the sloping vehicle, I couldn't help but feel like the most wonderful person alive.

I was getting my San Francisco on.

As I clumsily exited the tram, smoothing down my skirt and carefully arranging the way my hair fell over my shoulders, I felt anticipation building in my stomach. I had to do this right. This could become much more awkward than it had to be. In my rush to get here, I hadn't properly put on my shoes. As I was bending down to adjust the strap, I saw a figure walk out of the doors in front of me, wearing grey converse and black sk- oh crap.

So much for doing this right.

I slowly raised my head, straightening up at the same time. I could feel my cheeks burning like a furnace, and again I cursed my inability to control my emotional blood flow.

Lastly, I steadily raised my eyes to look at him, taking in his crooked grin as my vision rose to eye level.

What a stupid plan.

His eyes were shimmering like the ocean on a summer's day, deep and swirling like whirlpools. To be fair, I was probably over-imagining due to my supposed love for the owner of these mythical orbs of blue, but I let myself off. A girl is obligated to envision such crazy over-exaggerations, right?

I decided to start the conversation before this moment became prescribed as stony silence. I cleared my throat.

"Hey," I briefly mumbled, the corner of my lip turning upwards at the edge. I bit my lip. This was going to be disastrous.

He laughed, as if he could read my mind. "Hey," he replied, the awkwardness practically flooding the space between us.

After a while, I spoke up, starting the subject that was bound to come up. "I gotta give you props."

He cocked his head slightly, puzzled. "For what?"

I chuckled. "For freaking me out like that. I've never had a surprise like that before. You got me good, Coop." He laughed, his eyes glittering more and more as his grin widened.

"I gotta give you props too." My eyebrow creased in confusion. He brought up a finger to smooth the line on my forehead. I had a very mini heart attack at our contact. I hid it cleverly by biting my tongue. The pain of that kept the rest controlled, I figured. Ish… "You didn't throw anything at me when I said you couldn't come. I didn't know you had so much self-control."

I tutted. "Chad, Chad, Chad. When will you ever figure out that I don't have any self-control? I just have luck. You were fortunate to not have the entire content of the mini fridge glued to your head." He feigned a horrified gasp, and I giggled, quickly cutting it off with a sharp cough.

After a short but painful silence, I decided now would be the time to ask. The opening started soon. I needed to thank him, in some shape or form.

"I can't believe you'd do that for me," I whispered quickly, staring at the gravel beneath his feet.

"Do what?" He questioned. I didn't have the guts to look him in the eye. Gah, I'm such a freaking pussy.

"Err… You know… Admit everything in front of a majority of the American population. Practically scream your adoration for me in front of that live audience. Y'know. Stuff…" That was appalling. I needed to get training for emotional speeches.

"Yeah. Stuff," he chuckled nervously. I smiled to the floor, still not brave enough to look upwards. As if on cue, I felt Chad's finger coaxing my chin up. I eventually let him, mentally sighing at myself. Weak, Sonny. WEAK.

"Is it true?" I questioned bluntly in a meek voice. He smiled at me wryly.

"Every word," he said quietly, subtly. I sighed into his hand, which was now resting on my cheek, his thumb lightly moving across my jaw.

"Well, just for the record, I feel the same. So yeah. Wanted to paint that picture loud and clear." Man, did I just say that?

He chuckled, amused by my awkward phrasing. "I know," he stated as he leaned in towards me. I copied his action and rested my forehead against his, breathing slightly more loudly than is recognised as normal.

"Jerk," I muttered, and he smirked.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," he said before pressing his warm lips to mine, his arms wrapping around my waist. I stood on my tippy-toes, and moved my hands to his hair. This was my perfect moment. After everything, it came to this. A simple, beautiful kiss, standing outside an unknown building in an unknown city, waiting to face the unknown… Together.

I say…

…Bring it.

As we walked out towards the crowd, hand in hand, I decided my best shot at finding entertainment in this situation would be to look at my castmates' faces.

I was so right.

First to spot us was a surprisingly well-cleaned-up Zora, whose hair was plaited and laying down her back. Her eyes simply widened at the sight of me and Chad, then her pupils rolled and she stuck her tongue out at me, mouthing, "I see everything," while drawing a loop round us with her finger. Huh. I suppose she does like vents. Figures.

Next were Nico and Grady, whose eyes immediately narrowed, focused on our intertwined fingers. We were closer now, only a metre or so away.

After a moment, I raised my eyebrows at them questioningly, and Nico let out a sigh. "It's not that we didn't see it coming. Because trust me, we really did." I frowned. Was my infatuation with Chad really that obvious before?

Nico continued. "But, Cooper, you better bring it."

Grady agreed. "Yeah, man. You lay a finger on Sonny in the wrong way and you're gunna get burnt," he threatened, his eyes serious despite the humour of the circumstance.

"Anndd, that's not creepy at all," Chad confirmed sarcastically. I smiled up at him. Such a typical Chad line. And his first one in this whole conversation too.

I was still concerned by the lack of a screaming Tawni, and so turned around to try and spot her. I finally saw her walking towards us, concentrating on a small pocket mirror in her hand. Typical.

She walked into me and Chad, and looked up briefly. "Sorry. Oh, hey Sonny! Urgh, what are you wearing?" I widened my eyes in surprise at her lack of reaction, as did the rest of the cast, and Chad.

"Um, Tawni?" Questioned Grady.

"Yup?" She turned to face him.

"I was just wondering how you failed to notice the linked hands of these two… whatevers. Kinda freaked the rest of us a little." He pointed at us with an anxious finger.

"Don't be silly!" Tawni rolled her perfectly framed eyes. "Of course I noticed. But it was kind of inevitable that they'd hook up. C'mon, they took a private road trip. In bad weather, too. Oooh, I bet you kissed in the rain!"

Chad glared, while I chuckled and turned to kiss his cheek. This had turned out easier than expected. I saw a slightly less peeved Chad throw a wink in the direction of his cast, seated a few feet away. They all seemed completely unmoved by our coupling, except for a fuming Penelope, her face turning purple in rage. Chad and myself chose to ignore this. We'd save that massacre for a different day.

"Who do you think will be asked to cut the ribbon?" Asked Nico, cleverly changing the subject. At this point, we turned to observe the opening podium. The ribbon in front of it was lilac and velvety, and it softly shined in the late afternoon sunset. I heard Chad sigh.

"It's weird. I would usually presume it to be myself, but I'm really not in the mood." My castmates looked weirded out by this. I just grinned. I was sort of proud to know the new and improved Chad first. I took a hand in reinventing him.

"Neither. You know what?" I said, leaning in to whisper into his ear. "Let's get out of here."

He grinned down at me, his hands pressed against mine. "You got it."

I took a sharp intake of breath in surprise as he suddenly started to run, his hand still clinging to mine. A breathless laugh left my lips as we ran into the streets of San Francisco.

I know it's fun to go crazy alone.

But it's so much better when you can do it with the person you love.

Ahhhh! It's over! Wow. I'm sad ): No fear, though. There will be an epilogue, IF I reach 180 reviews. So get typing! You silent readers, get in there! It's your time to shine! I will do shout outs with the epilogue, but right now I need to sleep. It's 3AM! I hope you enjoyed this story, and PLEASE add me to author's alert list, or even favourites… hem :P I have so many ideas I need to share with you brilliant people! I'm away in Italy this week, but when I'm back I'll get to work :D Thank you for your incredible support. Please don't miss out this chapter… it's important! Remember, 180!

PEACE OUT SUCKKKASSS :D