A/N: ...We are just going to totally disregard the fact that most New York schools have not started holiday break yet. (Have they? Correct me if I'm wrong.) I totally did not even think of that when I was writing. Oh well. Mini plot holes = mini magical NaNo!rabbits.
December 21st
Bright and early the next morning as everyone consumed their breakfast, Sonny received a text message from Mr. Condor.
"Don't forget, I've scheduled a meet and greet for you all today in Central park at 3. –Mr. Condor" she read aloud.
"Ugh, it's freezing outside," Chad grumbled, sipping his cup coffee, still not quite fully awake.
"Well, you better wear a jacket then," she smirked, tousling his hair as she walked by.
He grimaced and smoothed down his hair as Cassie asked, "What should Caleigh and I do while you're all gone?"
"You girls, Connie, and I could all go to the Central Park zoo if you'd like," Hannah suggested. "I heard it's pretty fun."
"Ooh, yeah! I want to go to the zoo! Can we go Cassie? Pretty please?" Caleigh pleaded with wide eyes.
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and nodded, "Oh, alright."
"Okay, now, that's settled. What time do you suppose the meet and greet will be over?" Connie questioned.
Everyone shrugged and murmured amongst themselves.
"It really depends on how many people show up," Logan said as he took his plate to the sink to be washed.
"And considering it's New York City…" Skyler added.
Shayne sighed, "We're in for a long afternoon."
"Oh, come on, guys. It won't be that bad. Don't you want to meet them as much as I do?" Sonny said, trying to lighten the mood.
"It's not that we don't…" Grady began.
"It's just that we don't want to in the snow…" Nico finished.
"Do you want to tell that to Mr. Condor?" she asked in a threatening tone.
They all sighed and griped as they finished off the rest of their food before deciding what they would do before the meet & greet.
Not surprisingly, Tawni, Penelope, and Portlyn would go shopping again. Zora, Audrey, Matthew, Damien, and Shayne wanted to visit the American Museum of Natural History while Logan, Luke, Rider, Chase, Skyler, Chad, and Sonny would take a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Having to choose between the two so called "snooze-fests," Nico and Grady chose the natural history museum.
About a half hour later, Connie said, "Okay, everybody, get outta here," as she herded everyone out.
"Whoa!" Audrey gasped, taking in her surroundings. From every side, there was a hallway branching off to a different section. Placed near the entrances were small replicas of what the hallway led to.
"Look at this place!" Zora gasped in awe of all the incredible exhibits set up around them.
"This is so cool," Nico and Grady agreed happily.
"Says the guys who called it a snooze-fest," Zora said, raising an eyebrow to which they just shrugged.
"Where should we go first?" Shayne asked them. "Planetarium, dinosaurs, or—"
"Dinosaurs!" Nico, Grady, Damien, and Matthew shouted in unison, racing towards the stairs, the girls following closely behind him.
Meanwhile, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mackenzie Falls boys and Sonny wandered around, examining the works of art. Luke seemed the most interested out of the group, though Sonny and Chase did admire a few of the paintings.
"What's this supposed to be?" Rider asked, gesturing to a misshapen sculpture.
"It's an abstract sculpture that's supposed to express confusion," Luke said, reading the plaque beside it.
"Oh. Well it worked. I'm confused," Rider said, tossing his hacky sack up in the air.
"What the hell, Kingston? Are you insane?" Chase whispered sharply, snatching the toy out of the air. "You're going to break something!"
"Give it back, Alteau! I'm not going to hit anything," Rider hissed, reaching for it.
Chase struggled to keep it out of his reach when Sonny passed them, plucking it from Chase's hand and said, "Thank you."
The boys both stopped and looked at her, blinking.
"You'll get it back once we leave," she explained, rolling her eyes.
She flounced ahead with Skyler towards the Vincent Van Gogh section, leaving the boys half gaping after her.
"Oh, stop drooling," Logan remarked, laughing under his breath as he followed her, Skyler, and Luke.
As the boys drifted along behind her, she admired the paintings up close. In particular, she hung around the sunflower vase painting.
"Of course you'd like the sunflowers," Skyler chuckled.
"Yeah, well…" she replied with a sad smile.
He glanced over at her quizzically, "Is something the matter?"
"No… It's just…" she began, hesitating to take a breath.
"Take your time. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to—"
"They remind me of my dad…" she whispered, smiling faintly. "He would always buy my sunflowers on my birthday, before…" she stopped, choking on her words.
Skyler nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. "I understand. You don't have to say anything else."
She nodded, slowly moving onto the next painting.
Sighing loudly, Chad entered the small room last and said, "I don't understand what the big deal is with these paintings. I mean like these flowers." He gestured in the general direction of the sunflowers. "They're just flowers. You can buy them any time. Why paint a picture of them when you have the real thing?"
Without another word, Sonny exited the room, fearing that she would lose control of her emotions.
"…What's up with her?" he asked, jerking his thumb towards the direction she left.
"Dude, your timing is terrible," Rider answered, shaking his head.
The rest of the boys trailed after her, leaving a very confused blond standing alone in a room full of misunderstood paintings.
Moving on to the nest section, Sonny paused to take a look around the nest room. Hanging on the right-hand wall was a depiction of an autumn forest. She was drawn toward the brilliant shades of golden yellow painted on the canvas. To the left of the painting was a silver plaque.
"The Road Not Taken," she read aloud.
"Ah, yes," Chase's voice said from behind her.
"Two roads diverged in a wood," he began reciting.
Smiling, she continued, "And I―I took the one less traveled by."
Joining in with her, they chorused, "And that has made all the difference."
They grinned softly at each other as Chad approached them, saying, "What's got you two nerds so smiley all of a sudden?"
"Don't worry about it. Your intellectual capacity and attention span are too underdeveloped to comprehend it," the other boy replied. "Not to mention, you wouldn't appreciate it anyways."
"Try me," the blond said, raising an eyebrow and folding his arms across his chest.
"Not that it's even any of your business, but Chase and I were sharing our interest in poetry," the brunette countered.
"Wow, that is boring," he scoffed, rolling his eyes and turning on his heel to leave.
"C'mon guys, let's get out of here. It's almost time to go anyways," Chad said, leading the group out.
Looking back at Chase, she sighed, "I don't know why I even try anymore," before walking after the boys.
Following behind her, Chase pushed his glasses back into place and murmured, "Well, I do. Isn't it obvious?"
Around 2:30 in the afternoon, the actors and actresses arrived at Central Park in, more or less, a good mood.
Tween Weekly arranged the meet and greet, so naturally there were red banners with the words "Meet & Greet with the casts of Mackenzie Falls and So Random hosted by Tween Weekly News" all over the park.
When they arrived, several lines were already formed beginning near the entrance of the Central Park Summerstage.
"There sure are a lot of fans here today," Sonny remarked softly under her breath.
"No kidding," Chase murmured.
Just then, a girl about Logan's age approached the stars. "Hello! My name is Julia and I'm an intern for Tween Weekly. Big fan of both shows, by the way," she grinned. "Now, they said that Mackenzie Falls will be at those two tables," she said pointing to the left. "And So Random will be over there," she gestured to the other side of the stage area.
"Okay, thanks!" Audrey said, racing Zora over to the So Random area as the two groups split, heading to their respective tables.
"Hello everyone!" Julia said into a microphone, sending her voice through the PA system. "Who thinks I should start the meet and greet now?"
A loud roar erupted from the crowd of children and young teenagers.
"I can't hear you! I don't think you're ready."
This little game went on for about another minute or so before she finally said, "Alright, alright. I think you're all ready now. Here we go!"
She gave the security guards their cue and the lines began to flow.
Most of the younger children gravitated towards So Random while the older teens were in line to meet Mackenzie Falls.
"Hi!" a little brunet boy appeared to be a little younger than Caleigh chirped.
"Hey, kiddo!" Shayne smiled as he scribbled his signature on the picture, then handing it to one of his friends. "What's up?"
"I love So Random! I watch it every day as soon as I get home from kindergarten," he cried with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Awesome, man!" Damien chuckled, passing the picture to someone else. "What's your favorite sketch?"
"Um, I like Rufus because he always has funny excuses," he nodded seriously.
"Whoo!" Matthew beamed, holding out his fist. The little boy bumped fists with him and then happily ran back to his family.
Over at Mackenzie Falls' tables, it was a group of three preteen girls' turn to meet their idols.
"Oh my gosh, I cannot even believe we are here right now," the redheaded one said, beaming.
"Well, you better believe it, 'cause you are," Rider said with a smirk that nearly melted her into a puddle.
"This is just amazing. I never thought I'd ever be meeting any of you!" her strawberry-blonde friend grinned.
"Like I always say, dreams can come true," Chad said, winking at them.
"When have you ever said that?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He hasn't. Sonny has," Skyler answered, smirking.
"Sonny, as in Sonny Munroe?" the blonde questioned, tilting her head to the side, looking a bit like a puppy.
Logan smiled at her and nodded, signing her picture and handing it off to Luke.
"Oh! Speaking of Sonny Munroe, are you dating her?" the brunette girl asked, giggling softly.
"Nope, sorry," Chad replied, seeing the girls' faces fall. "Why do you ask?"
"Tween Weekly said you are," the redhead said with a bit of a frown on her face.
Rolling his eyes, Chase stated, "Don't always believe what you read in the tabloids. They're only correct about 80% of the time."
"Okay," the girls chorused, giggling uncontrollably as they moved down the line towards Luke, who looked rather uncomfortable with the whole meet and greet idea.
After about an hour or so, the intern made an announcement.
"May I have your attention please? We're going to take a short break before resuming the meet and greet. Thank you for your patience!" she said through the speakers.
Sighing, Chad took a swig of water from his bottle and remarked, "Why do all the tabloids insist on trying to force me and Sonny together?"
Little did he know, she was approaching their table as the words left his mouth.
"I mean like… It'll never happen. I just don't see how it could ever work," he shrugged. "Not that I would want it to," he said defensively, trying to keep his real emotions from showing.
From behind his back, Sonny had heard every last word Chad had said about her. Promptly turning on her heel, she briskly walked off and away from their tables, faking a smile as she passed the long lines of fans.
The boys facing him watched as she fled the Summerstage. Glancing at his friends, Chase set down his book on the table and got to his feet, sighing loudly.
"I'm just going to go get some fresh air," he lied, striding off after her.
"What? We're already outside," Chad stated confusedly as he turned around, watching.
"Clearly," Chase shouted, not bothering to pause and turn around.
When he was sure he was out of their view, he broke out into a power walk to catch up with Sonny.
"Sonny," he called, gaining on her.
At the sound of his voice, she slowed down and waited for him, still holding her head low.
Joining her, he caught his breath before saying, "He didn't mean it. Not really."
"How do you know?" she asked quietly. "Did he tell you?"
"No, but I just know. And so do the rest of the guys. Heck, I'm sure Portlyn even knows it," he replied with a faint smile.
Glancing up at the boy beside her with tears threatening to spill, she cried, "How can you be so sure?"
"I'm sure because I know him. Chad is a very… complex individual. He'll say he wants something, but he really wants the opposite."
"He does?"
Nodding, he straightened his glasses, "Doesn't everyone?"
Letting her hair fall over her eyes, she allowed her gaze to drop to the snow covered ground.
After a few minutes of complete and utter silence, she tucked her hair back behind her ears and whispered, "I don't know why I get so upset over him. I honestly don't care… Or at least I don't think I do…"
"Maybe that's just something you need to mull over for a while. I know he certainly needs to as well, but he never listens to my input," Chase shrugged.
A weak smile spread across her lips as she thought for a moment and then raised her head again.
She gasped softly, taking in her surroundings. All around the pair was a long pathway blanketed with white, fluffy snow that glistened in the sunlight. Above them was a canopy of trees, lightly dusted with snow. Wooden benches and fences lined the path, along with the lampposts. As more snow fell, giddy children scampered about, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues.
"Breathtaking, isn't it?" Chase smiled, sliding his hands into his pockets.
Unable to form a coherent sentence, the brunette comedienne simply nodded, gaping.
He laughed softly under his breath and said, "The view is just as beautiful from every other angle. We should head back to the stage."
She followed as he turned around to trek back to the meet and greet.
"Y'know, you're not as uncaring as you try to seem," she smiled.
"Oh?" he said in a surprised tone.
"You always act so… cold towards everyone. I'm not sure I understand why, but I know that's not who you really are."
This time, she let him ponder on her words. Just before they reached the stage, the pair paused.
"You are really an extraordinary girl, Allison Munroe. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise. And especially not someone as blind as Chad," advised the boy with the dark glasses, before he began to leave.
"Thank you, Chase," she called after him.
Hesitating, he glanced back over his shoulder and replied, "Anytime," before continuing on towards the entrance.
While the actors and actresses interacted with their fans, Chad's little sisters and the two chaperones spent their day at the Central Park Zoo. On their way to the zoo, they had stopped by the Summerstage to say hello to everyone and so Cassie could get some more footage for her special video project. As soon as they had reached the zoo, Caleigh led the way.
"Cassie! Look at the little baby!" Caleigh shouted, pointing at the tiger exhibit where a little tiger cub pounced on a toy.
"Aww, it's so cute!" Cassie gushed, taking several snapshots.
"Yeah, until gets bigger it tries to attack you," Hannah joked.
Smiling, Connie led them throughout the park.
"Can we go see the Heffalumps?" Caleigh asked, bouncing around her sister.
"Pardon?" Connie laughed.
"She means elephants," Cassie explained.
"That's what I said! Heffalumps!"
"Yes, but only if you calm down," her sister said, rolling her eyes.
Immediately, the little girl stopped hopping and walked with them.
When they reached the elephant house, Caleigh held her nose and said, "It smells funny in here."
"It's an elephant house, Caleigh. What do you expect?" Cassie asked, breathing through her mouth.
"Aww, look at the little baby Heffalump!" her sister said gleefully. "Hi, Lumpy!"
"What on Earth is the child talking about?" Hannah asked.
"It's from this Winnie the Pooh movie I got her a while back. There are these things called Heffalumps that look like elephants. The baby one is named Lumpy," Cassie elaborated.
"Oh, I remember that!" Connie smiled. "Sonny used to watch the original Winnie the Pooh show all the time!"
Cassie laughed and rolled her eyes, "Chad would love to hear something like that."
"Why would Chad want to know that?" the mother asked quizzically.
"I swear, he is totally in love with her. He's very defensive and denies it every time I bring it up."
"Oh… Do you think she feels the same way?"
"Aren't you two really close? She doesn't talk about it?" said the surprised blonde.
Connie sighed, "She never talks to me about these things anymore."
Cassie nodded, "Oh. Well, it's definitely a possibility that she does feel the same way. But they're both to blind or stubborn to admit it I guess."
"Chaddy loves Sonny!" Caleigh nodded seriously.
The group merely laughed at her enthusiasm and continued on their way.
Later that evening, after they'd all eaten dinner, everyone lounged around lazily, not really wanting to do anything.
Most of the guys decided to crash right after they finished eating, exhausted from the meet and greet.
The three oldest girls locked themselves in their room for the night, just gossiping about anything they could think of. The whole lot was surprised that they hadn't annoyed the living daylights out of each other yet.
When the three younger teenage girls congregated in their room for the whole evening, everyone began to worry about what they were scheming.
At ten, the only ones left in the living room watching Elf were Chad, Rider, Skyler, and Sonny.
As the movie neared the end, Skyler stood up and stretched, yawning, "I am beat. I think I'm gonna hit the hay. G'night guys."
A few minutes later, Rider got up from the couch nearly fell over as he rubbed his eyes.
Grinning slyly, he said, "I think I'm gonna go sleep now too. 'Night," and then rushed out of the room.
When the movie ended, Sonny stood up and headed towards the hallway wordlessly.
"Sonny, wait…" Chad said softly.
She hesitated, but turned to face him.
"Hmm?"
"Look," he began, getting to his feet. "I'm sorry if I said something that offended you or whatever. I just don't want this awkward vow of silence to continue. You've been ignoring me all day. I don't know why, but I can't enjoy this trip if you're mad at me the whole time," he rambled, trying to apologize.
"…Alright," she said with a faint smile, surprised by the sudden outburst.
"So… We're good?"
She nodded, "Yes."
"Oh… Good," he said with relief slightly evident in his voice.
"Good."
"Fine," he smirked.
Rolling her eyes and grinning, she replied, "Fine. Good night, Chad."
"Good night, Sonny," he nodded as they returned to their respective rooms.
As Sonny closed the door, she smiled faintly.
"Someone seems extra smiley tonight," Tawni commented as she brushed her sleek blonde hair.
"Who is?" Portlyn asked, propping herself up on her elbow, laying on the bed.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the brunette replied, trying to avoid the subject as she grabbed her pajamas and headed to the bathroom.
"Sure, Sonny," Tawni said sarcastically. "Did Chad finally ask you out?"
"What?" she scoffed. "Of course not. And why do you assume I would be happy if he would have?"
"Because you like him," her friend teased, setting the brush down.
"I do not!" she exclaimed defensively through the door.
While Tawni taunted Sonny and Portlyn watched, confused as ever, Penelope concocted a scheme. She had passed Rider on the way to get a glass of water when she accidentally overheard Chad's apology to Sonny from the kitchen where she lurked.
Arriving back at her room, she flopped down on the second bed and picked up her cell phone from the nightstand.
As she composed a quick text message, Tawni asked, "Ooh! Who are you texting?"
Closing her phone as the text sent, she smiled mischievously and replied, "Just an old friend," before turning off the lights.
Across the country in Los Angeles, California, a brunet actor sat at the dinner table as his phone buzzed in his pocket.
Pulling it out under the table, he had one new message reading, "You said you're going to be at Condor's gala, right? I've got the perfect plan for what we discussed earlier…"
"What is it?" he sent back.
"Now, you know the rule about phones at the dinner table," his father scolded.
Nodding, he apologized and shoved the phone back into his pocket, anxiously hoping dinner would end soon.
Receiving his text, Penelope spent a few minutes to laying out her whole plan and then sent it to him.
But before he replied, began drifting to sleep. When her phone lit up, she groggily opened the text message that read, "Perfect! I'll get right on it."
Smiling, she placed the phone back on the nightstand and closed her eyes.
Back in LA, the boy sat upright on his bed for a while, dialing and redialing his cell phone. Finally, his call was connected and wide grin spread across his face.
"Hello, Mr. Condor? I'm sorry to bother you this late, but someone suggested a brilliant idea to me that I thought you should hear about," the boy explained.
"And who exactly is this I am speaking to?" the man asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not sure if you remember me, but this is James Conroy."
A/N: Dun, dun, duuunnnn! Review?