A/N: I would just like to say that the fish thing somewhere in this chapter is from my chemistry class. Man, I hated that thing. Mine like... died. You'll get what I'm talking about once you read it. (If not, Google it. It's pretty cool.)
December 22nd
Even though almost everyone went to bed early, no one was awake until after eleven the next morning. After breakfast was when they really began to wake up. Once they had all had their daily dose of caffeinated or sugary drinks, they started planning for the day.
"We haven't been to Rockefeller Center yet," the native New Yorker, Logan, pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I heard it's great!" Sonny commented, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
"Yuck, the name sounds educational," Tawni said, rolling her eyes as she filed her nails.
"Actually, there's a lot to do there. There's Radio City Music Hall, ice skating, shopping—"
"Shopping? We're there!" Portlyn interjected, grinning to her friends.
"Sounds like fun!" Audrey agreed. "I haven't gone ice skating in forever."
"Yeah, we should go!" Zora nodded. "But if we're all going together, we might have to wait a while. I think the guys are half dead over there," she said, gesturing to the So Random boys who were sprawled out all over the living room couches and beanbag chairs.
"You guys can just meet us there later. Chad and I told Caleigh that we'd take her to see Santa," Cassie suggested.
"Oh, that's right. I promised we'd go here in New York since we didn't have time to back in LA," Chad sighed.
"Which store are you going to take her to?" Skyler asked, finishing up the last bite of his breakfast.
"Macy's probably," Cassie replied.
"Oh, can I tag along with you guys? I need to do some last minute shopping," the perky brunette asked.
"Can I come too? I've got to finish up my shopping list as well," the tall, dark haired boy asked as he dropped finished his plate in the sink.
"I don't see why not," the blond shrugged, glancing at his sister who was nodding.
Within the next hour, the five rounded up what they needed before leaving the Windsor apartment complex and taking the limo to Macy's in downtown New York City.
Getting out of the limo, Caleigh looked up at the oversized red billboard with the Macy's logo.
"Chaddy? What does that say?" she pointed.
"Macy's," he replied, waiting for everyone else to exit the limo.
"Is Santa inside?"
"Yes, he is," Chad smiled, taking his little sister's hand as they crossed the street.
Cassie aimed her camcorder at her siblings, but looked above it as she looked both ways before following them.
Trailing behind the Coopers were Skyler and Sonny, looking around the block curiously.
Once they had entered the department store, the sounds of people talking, paper rustling, and Christmas music flooded their ears. As they approached the long line of children, the song transitioned to a new one.
"Oh, I love this song," Sonny murmured to herself, recognizing the song immediately.
"Ah, Glee's first Christmas album," Skyler grinned. "Have you gotten their new album yet?
"Only at midnight the first day it came out!" she nodded.
Smiling she began singing along, trying not to disturb the other customers.
"We're on the island of misfit toys…"
Joining in, Skyler sang, "Here we don't want to stay…"
Grinning at each other, they chorused, "We want to travel with Santa Claus in his magic sleigh…"
The pair ducked under the divider rope and out of line, dancing around in the open area next to the crowd. Cassie turned to face them, recording, as did many other people in line.
"A pack full of toys means a sack full of joys for millions of girls and for millions of boys," Skyler sang, picking up a prop sac of gifts and setting it down again before the security elves noticed.
"When Christmas day is here, the most wonderful day of the year!" a few of the children waiting sang along.
"A jack-in-the-box waits for children to shout," Sonny sang, pausing as someone continued by singing, "'Wake up! Don't you know that it's time to come out?'"
"When Christmas day is here, the most wonderful day of the year!" the kids repeated, this time with more voices.
"Toys galore scattered on the floor," she continued, gesturing to the prop toys spread out around the fenced off area.
"There's no room for more," her duet partner grinned, mock shrugging. "And it's all because of Santa Claus."
Near the edge of the line, she pretended to hand a box to a pair of fourth-grade-aged fraternal twins, "A scooter for Jimmy, a dolly for Sue! The kind that will even say―"
"'How do you do?'" Skyler finished, bowing to the twins before running off again.
By now, most of the people waiting in line had joined in with the refrain lines, "When Christmas day is here, the most wonderful day of the year!"
Approaching a little girl with jet black hair, Sonny asked her, "How'd you like to be a spotted elephant?"
To the boy behind her, Skyler suggested, "Or a choo-choo with square wheels on your caboose!"
"Or a water pistol that shoots... jelly?" she mimed.
"We are all misfits!" their audience shouted.
"If we're on the island of unwanted toys," the flamboyant boy began.
The comedienne continued, pretending to tickle a little baby, "We'll miss all the fun with the girls and the boys."
The pair stood next to each other with a handful of artificial confetti snow. "When Christmas day is here the most wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day of the year!" During the very last note, they tossed the snow up into the air and let it rain down.
The parents and children all applauded and laughed as Skyler and Sonny scampered back to the Coopers in line.
"I'm just going to saw this: you two are totally, officially insane," Chad scolded, trying to hold back his smile as Caleigh hugged both of them and giggled.
"Maybe we are, but at least we gave them a great story to tell someday," Sonny grinned, high-fiving her partner in crime.
"I'm surprised you guys didn't get thrown out," the blond scoffed.
"What can we say? The people love us," Skyler mock bragged, grinning.
Rolling his eyes, Chad suggested, "Don't you two have shopping to do?"
"Oh yeah," Sonny nodded.
"Shall we, Miss Berry?" the older boy asked, holding out his arm for her.
"But of course, Mr. Hummel," she grinned, linking arms with him.
As the dynamic duo strolled off, humming more Christmas tunes, their confused friend remarked, "…I will never understand those two or their obscure references."
Sighing, he turned back to his sisters.
"Cass, the sign behind you. What does it say?" he pointed.
"Uh… Two hour wait from this point."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he muttered, "This is going to be a long day," before moving them along with the other people in line.
While their friend waited in line with his sisters, Sonny and Skyler explored the various sections of Macy's, in search of suitable gifts to give.
"This scarf would look fabulous on you," the dark haired boy smiled, draping a sunshine colored scarf around the brunette's shoulders.
Grinning, she wrapped a dark green one around his neck and threw a black fedora on top of his head.
He laughed and set a light brown version of the same hat on her head.
They both turned to the mirror beside them and struck silly poses, taking pictures of each other to post for their fans on Twitter.
At the end of their search, they had tried on twenty different articles of clothing and ended up buying exactly what they were looking for.
"Oh, if the Van Kamp's could've seen us here, they'd be appalled," Skyler chuckled, referencing a fanfiction he and Sonny were reading.
Nodding in agreement, Sonny smiled, "I'm pretty sure Reed would have had a heart attack.
"And his mother probably would have had us kicked out of the store!" he laughed as they approached their friends in line.
"What are you lunatics going on about now?" the blond actor asked.
"Just that fanfiction 'Dalton' by CP Coulter," his best friend grinned.
"You are really obsessed with that story," Chad rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit.
"Only because it's one of the best spin-off story of all time!" Sonny defended him, grinning.
"Who's next?" the security elf asked.
After two hours of agonizing wait, finally, it was Caleigh's turn to meet Santa Claus. Immediately, she scampered over and jumped up on his lap.
"Hello, little girl! What's your name?" he asked in a jolly voice.
"Aren't you supposed to know?" she said with a confused look in her eyes.
"Well, yes, but Santa has a lot of names to remember."
"Oh. My name's Caleigh!" she grinned.
"That's a beautiful name. And what do you want for Christmas, Caleigh?"
"I want a unicorn!"
"A unicorn?"
"Yep! I unicorn named Harry… Or if you can't bring me a unicorn, maybe a princess tiara," she nodded seriously.
Smiling, he replied, "Alright. Now you be a good little girl, okay?"
"Okay!"
Hopping back to the ground, she rejoined her brother and sister, who were waiting with Sonny and Skyler.
"Ready to go?" Chad asked, picking her up.
"Mhm," she said, bobbing her head.
"To Rockefeller Center!" Cassie smiled, leading the others.
In less than an hour, the five met their group of friends by the Rockefeller Center rink bar. Upon arrival, they gaped at the gigantic Christmas tree behind the rink.
"That is one big tree," Cassie commented with a low whistle.
"I bet it looks even more beautiful at night," Sonny sighed in awe.
"Yeah…" Skyler nodded.
"Chaddy, can we go ice skating?" Caleigh asked, tugging on her brother's sleeve.
"Maybe a little later, kiddo. We're going to meet up with everyone else to have lunch and walk around first. Maybe we can skate when it's darker and you can see the tree better," he reassured her.
"Alrighty!" she grinned happily, skipping in circles around them.
"Oh, there they are," the flamboyant actor gestured to their friends, the Randoms and Drama-Snobs, who were headed towards them.
"Hey," Sonny greeted when they were altogether.
"Did you guys have fun at Santaland?" Logan asked, smiling at Caleigh, who nodded enthusiastically.
"Yep!" Sonny grinned at Skyler.
"What did you do there the whole time?" Shayne questioned curiously.
"Check Tween Weekly's website later," Cassie answered. "They'll probably get a hold of a video."
"I'm almost afraid to ask what happened," Chase remarked.
"They basically broke out into their own musical number the moment we got into line," Chad stated.
"You did not!" Matthew gasped, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.
"Oh, but we did," the brunette Random grinned innocently.
"I am super jealous that I didn't go now," Damien said, Matthew Zora, Audrey, and Rider nodding in agreement.
"You could've," she shrugged.
"So, where are we going to eat?" Chad asked, changing the subject.
"Shrugging, Grady answered, "We all ate before we left."
"Oh, well, we can find somewhere to get lunch while you guys go ahead and shop. We can all meet up somewhere later," Sonny suggested.
"Alright," everybody agreed, spreading out to their destinations.
"Hol―"
"―ey―"
"―cheese."
On 48th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, the lively Randoms had entered the worldwide famous Nintendo World store.
"This is so awesome!" Grady exclaimed excitedly.
"Where should we even begin―Oh! Legend of Zelda!" said Shayne as he ran off to watch a group of teenage boys play "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" on the Wii.
Looking around, Matthew spotted a station where no one stood. Two consoles of the Nintendo 3DS, hooked up to a flatscreen TV, showing a demo of "Pokémon Rumble Blast" loaded. He looked at Damien who was already one step ahead of him.
"Where should we―" Grady began, Nico interjecting, "Super Mario Galaxy!"
The pair rushed over to the Wii station where they waited for their turn to play.
The two girls, Audrey and Zora were left, examining the store with wide eyes. They browsed the souvenirs and candies before hopping around from station to station, just observing.
Returning to where each of their friends were, they watched carefully.
Shayne had drawn a huge crowd, amazed more by his Zelda skills than by the fact that a celebrity was in their presence.
Approaching Damien and Matthew at the Pokémon game, they heard Matthew say, "Ugh! I knew we should've used Solar Beam and Flamethrower!"
Where the unofficial twin boys were, the girls watched them cooperate in order to defeat the boss level.
"Yeah, man!" Nico shouted, high fiving his buddy.
Eventually, Zora and Audrey found that "Just Dance" for the Wii was unoccupied, so they gave it a try. After about five minutes, the two girl geniuses perfected their movements, drawing an audience who watched closely, trying to pick up tips from them.
By the time the Randoms decided it was time to leave, the children and teenagers began recognizing them. After about a half hour of signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, the seven bought small containers of candy and left to find the rest of their friends.
When the whole group met up again, they all roamed around Rockefeller Center for a few hours, snacking and window-shopping mostly since they'd spent so much money on Christmas gifts already.
Around 7:30, when the sun had already disappeared from the sky, Caleigh asked, "Can we go ice skating yet?"
Her brother looked around at his friends who all nodded or shrugged.
"Alright," he nodded. "Let's go."
"Yay!" she shrieked, grinning happily, skipping alongside her siblings as they led the way.
Before they reached the rink, Zora spotted an eccentric store that caught her attention.
"Hey, what's this?" she asked, gesturing to the darkened store.
"There's a note on the door! 'Gone ghost hunting. Be back after New Year's!'" Audrey read aloud.
"What's this?" Rider asked, picking up a flat packet from a bowl on a small table by the door.
"Don't touch anything, Kingston," Chase scolded.
"It says, 'Take one!'"
"What is it?" Matthew asked, craning his neck to read over Rider's shoulder.
"Fortune Teller Fish," Shayne stated as he picked one up. "Place fish in palm of the hand and its movement will indicate fortune," he read.
Sliding the thin, red, plastic fish out of its wrapper, Rider placed it in the palm of his hand. Immediately, it curled up, forming a ring.
"Curls up entirely… Passionate!" he exclaimed.
"Passionate about what exactly?" Chase pointed out.
Shrugging, he replied, "I dunno. Something. Fish don't lie."
"Fish don't speak either," Sonny laughed, taking one out of the bowl.
Each person took a fish and yelled out their fortunes. Most of them received the same fortune as Rider: passionate.
When Sonny put hers in her hand, she said, "Moving head and tail… In love. In love?"
"Ooh, Sonny's in love. Who's the guy?" Tawni teased.
"Uh, no one," she replied, rolling her eyes. "What about you?" she asked the Mackenzie Falls guys.
"Same as you," Logan said softly, shrugging.
"I did too," Chad rolled his eyes.
"Moving head… Jealousy. I am not jealous!" Chase said defensively with his brow furrowed.
"Whoa, calm it, Alteau. No one said you were. But your reaction says otherwise," Rider smirked.
"Shut up, Kingston," he muttered. "These fish probably have sodium polyacrylate in them. The molecules in the fish take the shape of the water molecules on the surface of your hand."
"Oh, c'mon guys. It's just a silly piece of plastic. Let's just go skate," Sonny smiled, gently squeezing between them to keep a fight from breaking out as Rider rolled his eyes.
When they arrived at the end of the line for skate rentals, the mass of stars gawked at the beautiful Christmas tree. Decorated with garlands and twinkling lights, the tree glistened and glowed, contrasting the darkness greatly.
Cassie pulled out her camera and snapped a few shots of the gorgeous evergreen and filmed the skaters currently on the ice.
After a half hour wait in line to use the rink, they finally made it onto the ice where they discovered that only about half of them knew how to skate. Luckily, not many other people were on the ice since it was late and cold. As soon as they had set their skates to the ice, snow flurries began to fall once more.
"Okay, who doesn't know how to skate?" Sonny asked her friends.
Shayne, Chase, Luke, Tawni, Grady, and Penelope raised their hands sheepishly as Caleigh waved her hand high in the air.
"Alright, the rest of you go ahead and skate―" she began, as everyone else except Logan, who stayed behind with Luke, dispersed.
"Oh, don't feel bad, Sonny," Chad smirked, cutting her off. "I'm sure you'll all learn quickly," he said, gliding away only to promptly fall over, nearly running into Cassie, causing Caleigh to giggle.
Sonny raised an eyebrow and held back a smile, rolling her eyes at Chad's failure to show off.
"I meant to do that," Chad muttered defensively as he watched Sonny skate over to an open space.
Gaining speed, she slid across the ice gracefully, pushed off, and performed a perfect triple axel.
"Ohh, burn!" Nico threw his hands up, passing swiftly by.
"Careful, Dylan. The steam escaping from your ears might melt the ice," Cassie teased, following Nico.
"Double burn!" Grady laughed, the other blond's face growing red with defiance.
Rejoining the group that had little to no knowledge of skating, Sonny smiled and said to Chad, "Thanks, I think I'll be fine."
"Wow, that was amazing, Sonny!" Audrey grinned. "Where'd you learn to skate like that?"
"When you're a Wisconsin girl, you learn to ice skate before you learn to read," she joked, lowering her head the slightest bit, letting her hair fall over her eyes.
"Can you teach us how to do fancy jumps that?" Caleigh asked with hopeful eyes.
"Hmm, maybe we should start with the basics first," she smiled.
Turning around, she called to Chad, "Do you want to learn too?"
Shaking he said, "No thanks, I got this."
Skating up to her brother, Cassie rolled her eyes disapprovingly and said, "Just go over there. You know you want to."
"No, I really don't," he said, glancing back at them, eyes fixated on Sonny's long, sleek, brunette hair.
"Uh huh. Whatever, loverboy," she shrugged, skating away to catch up with Zora.
Back with the unofficial skating class, Sonny aided her friends, giving them tips on their positions and techniques. Within ten minutes, they were all sliding smoothly across the rink. Each lost balance and fell a few times, but they were relatively good skaters. Caleigh, in particular, was a natural.
Skating swiftly over to her brother who was clinging to the wall, she said, "Look Chaddy, I'm skating! Sonny taught me!"
She spun around at a moderate speed, careful not to lose her balance.
"Good job, Princess," he nodded.
"Come skate with me!" she begged, taking his hand, causing him to fall over.
She looked at him with confusion, tilting her head a bit. "Can you ice skate, Chaddy?"
"Duh! Of course I can," he lied, getting back to his feet.
"You should ask Sonny to teach you. She's a great teacher!" Caleigh suggested seriously.
"Yeah, Dylan," Cassie said mockingly as she passed by them.
"Wait for me, Cassie!" the little girl yelled as her sister slowed down.
The tall blond was left by the side of the rink, holding onto the wall to stay upright. He watched as the brunette Random nodded to his friend with the black glasses before making her way towards him.
"Chad…" she said softly, standing next to him.
"I'm fine. I don't need your help," he mumbled, attempting to glide away, losing his balance instead.
Catching his arm, she helped him regain his balance.
"C'mon. If you let me help you, you'll enjoy this ice rink a whole lot more."
After a few moments of silence, he looked into her eyes and sighed, "…Fine."
On the other side of the rink, their friends skated together as they talked.
"Blech. Why is she being so nice to Cooper?" Grady grumbled.
"Isn't it obvious? She likes him," Zora stated.
The boys of So Random simultaneously group grumbled about how that couldn't be possible.
"I think it's kind of sweet," Audrey shrugged, the boys staring at her with disgust.
"Y'know, as much as I can't stand to be in the same room with either of them for too long, as Sonny's best friend, I feel obligated to find her a boyfriend. If that means she dates Cooper, that's just less work for me," Tawni commented.
The whole group slowed to a stop and looked at her disbelievingly. This was coming from the girl who always put herself first and never cared about anyone else.
"…What?"
"Number one, since when are you Sonny's best friend? You had a list of ways to get rid of her when she first joined So Random," Zora said, raising an eyebrow. "Number two, since when do you care?"
"Number one, I just am. And number 2, I do not care!"
Glancing around at one another, they all chorused, "You so do."
As the group began moving again, they began branching off into their smaller sections.
"Do you really think Sonny likes Chad?" Portlyn asked Tawni and Penelope.
Nodding, Penelope replied, "Yeah, it's kind of obvious."
"Oh… Do you think Chad might possibly like Sonny?"
"It's definitely possible," Tawni answered. "They do flirt-fight an awful lot."
"Not after the party they won't…" Penelope thought.
After about fifteen minutes, Sonny said, "Okay, you should be all set. Try now."
Releasing his hold on the wall, Chad pushed off on the ice and glided forward without tumbling down. Grinning, he managed to turn around and face his teacher. She applauded, skating over to him, but stumbled forward and into his arms. Catching her, he steadied them both as she looked up at him. For a moment, they stayed in each other's arms just gazing into the other's eyes.
"Sorry about that," she said softly, letting go of him and straightening out her jacket.
"It's fine. Wasn't your fault," he nodded.
As the Mackenzie Falls boys had neared the couple, they watched as Sonny had tripped, Chad catching her.
Looking at his friends, Rider said, "Whoa. That was intense."
"Wow. You can actually feel the infatuation emanating from them," Chase remarked.
"She literally fell for him," Skyler stated. "I saw her lose balance a little, but she could've easily passed him without falling."
Resting a hand on Luke's shoulder, Logan commented, "That's love for you, I suppose."
Late that night, Sonny tossed and turned in her bed until finally got up for a glass of water. As she walked towards the kitchen, she saw a soft glow coming from it. Peeking around the corner, she saw a blond figure sitting at the table, looking out at the city.
"Hey," she greeted softly so she didn't startle him.
"Hey," Chad replied, glancing over his shoulder.
"Couldn't sleep?"
"Nah. I'm kind of a night owl sometimes," he said, taking a sip from his mug on the table.
"Oh. I just came to get a glass of water," she nodded.
"There's extra hot chocolate on the counter if you want it," he offered, gesturing to the glass pot. "It's just going to get all cold."
Pouring herself a mug of hot chocolate, she pulled a chair out from the table and sat down next to him.
"Hey, uh… I never really apologized for that comment about the tickets a few weeks ago… I'm really sorry about that," she whispered, glancing at him through the dim light.
Shrugging, he replied, "It's alright. That's how most people see me anyways. Comes with the bad boy image I've got."
She simply nodded, sipping her warm beverage.
Sighing, he remarked, "The city's really beautiful, isn't it?"
"Definitely," she agreed.
"I remember always begging my mom to bring me to New York with her when she went…" he began. "She never did. Said it was too dangerous for a little kid…"
She nodded every once in a while, letting him know she was listening, but letting him ramble on as he pleased.
"She'd leave Cassie and me behind all the time… Hannah feels more like my mom than my mother ever did."
"What about your dad?" Sonny asked quietly.
Pausing, he replied, "He was a worldwide famous director. He was constantly traveling around the world to shoot on location."
"Ahh… So where are they now?"
"As far as I know, my mother is somewhere in Europe, shooting a movie with a new boyfriend or something. And my dad… He…" Chad trailed off, swallowing another gulp of hot chocolate.
"He died in a car accident just after Caleigh was born," he murmured softly.
"Oh, Chad. I'm so sorry…" Sonny said, resting her hand on his arm.
"It's alright… I was thinking about him even before you joined me. Whenever I couldn't sleep, he and I would have a hot chocolate and just talk… At least, whenever he was home," he explained, stirring his drink.
Silence followed his words as the pair sipped their beverages and watched the snow fall.
"I'm really sorry about showing off at the ice rink earlier," she confessed.
"It's fine," Chad smiled faintly. "I was kind of being a jerk."
Smiling back, she sighed softly.
"Does everyone in Wisconsin know how to skate like that?" he asked.
"No. Actually, a lot of the girls at my school considered it dorky just because my best friend and I loved it," she said, blushing furiously.
"Really? I can't imagine why," he said in a serious tone, looking at her curiously.
"Well, we were the stereotypical geeky, nerdy fangirls. People didn't like that we were different. We stood out too much. Too much for Wisconsin standards. Especially me…"
He nodded sympathetically, letting her have her turn at rambling.
"Lucy could've blended in if she wanted to. She could've left me alone to be the weird girl on my own, but she didn't. We were different, but we were different together," she smiled, reminiscing.
"We did everything together. We crushed on the same celebrities, went to concerts together, got bullied together…"
"Did your parents know about the bullying?" he asked in a concerned tone.
"My mom knew. She wanted to do something about it herself, but I begged her not to."
"What about your dad?"
"He left when I was twelve," she murmured softly, lowering her eyes to her empty mug.
"Oh, I'm sorry…"
Shrugging, she continued, "Every once in a while he calls or sends me a postcard. But it feels like he's a stranger now."
He coughed softly, clearing his throat before finishing off the rest of his drink.
"Whenever I got stressed, I would go to the skating rink and just let it all out. I kept hoping he would be there…" she sighed.
Again, silence filled the room as the pair thought about what they'd learned about each other.
Standing up, Chad picked up their empty mugs and rinsed them out at the sink. Once he was finished, he dried his hands and walked back towards the table, saying, "I think I'm going to head back to bed."
Nodding, Sonny replied, "Yeah, me too."
Silently, they walked through the living room until they reached the hallway. Just before they entered the hall, Chad paused.
She looked at him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Just… For the record, you're unlike any other girl I've ever met," he answered, faintly smiling.
"Is that a good thing?"
"It's a very good thing," he nodded.
"Good…" she smiled.
"Good."
"Fine."
"Fine."
Suddenly, something caught Sonny's eye. Just above Chad's head, there was a clump of green and red. Following her gaze, he tilted his head back and saw a clump of mistletoe hanging above them. Even in the darkness, he could tell she was blushing furiously. Before she could protest, he leaned towards her slowly and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. He smiled as she flushed deeply from head to toe.
"Good night, Sonny," he whispered, returning to his room, leaving her with her thoughts in the hall.
Even after hearing the door click shut, she stood there, frozen and staring into the empty space for a few moments. Slowly, she snapped out of the trance and slipped into her room.
In the Mackenzie falls boys' room, the blond lay awake in his bed, looking intently at the ceiling, just thinking.
Lonesome stranger with a crowd around you,
I see who you are.
Recounting the information Sonny had told him, Chad remembered what had happened at the ice rink.
You joke, they laugh, 'til the show is over,
Then you fall so hard.
"When you're a Wisconsin girl, you learn to skate before you learn to read," her voice echoed in his head. He recalled how she let her hair fall over her eyes just after she said it. She told him later that skating wasn't popular in Wisconsin. But she didn't want her friends to know that.
If you're needing a soul-to-soul connection,
I'll run to your side.
If she didn't want her friends to know, what did that make him? He didn't mind that she told him. In fact, he enjoyed their conversation together. He just wondered, why?
When you're lost in the dark, when you're out in the cold,
He imagined a small girl, about twelve years old, gliding all alone in the middle of an ice skating rink. She was waiting for someone who would never show up. A group of girls dressed in various shades of bright pink were mocking her discreetly from behind the bleachers.
When you're looking for something that resembles your soul,
At one point in her rehearsed program, she falls, wiping out on the ice. Hearing laughter, she glances in the direction of her tormentors, sending them scuttling from their hiding place.
When the wind blows your house of cards,
Sighing, she restarted her routine, only to fall once again, burying her face in her gloved hands.
I'll be a home to your homeless heart.
He felt as if he was really there, as if this was all really happening right before his eyes. He wished desperately that he could comfort her right there. Tell her how special she was and would be.
Not just because she was Sonny, but because she reminded him so much of his sister. She would do exactly the same. Maybe that was why he pictured this scenario: it was fabricated by his own subconscious.
Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he pulled the covers more snugly around himself, letting his eyes droop close.
Back in the older girls' room, Sonny also lay awake, analyzing what she had learned about Chad.
Open, close me, leave your secrets with me.
I can ease your pain.
She was glad she was there to relieve him of those thoughts weighing down on his mind, but she questioned why he spilled everything he felt to her. She would've thought she would be the last to know.
And my arms will be just like walls around you.
Come in from the rain.
Listening and comforting is what she did best for her friends and family. She took pride in helping others.
If you're running in the wrong direction,
I will lead you back.
When you're lost in the dark, when you're out in the cold,
He never let anyone in. He never spoke what was truly on his mind. Sonny was the only one to ever hear what he had to say.
When you're looking for something that resembles your soul,
Their polar opposite personalities didn't matter that night. All that mattered was they were together and that they were, in a sense, friends.
When the wind blows your house of cards,
Sonny could never just sit around when someone was hurting. She had to be the one to help them, no matter who they were.
I'll be a home to your homeless heart.
This time, it just happened to be Chad.
Broken, shattered like a mirror
In a million pieces.
Both of them had things about their pasts that they weren't proud of. Things that broke their hearts. Things that hadn't even been spoken about.
Sooner or later, you've got to find
Something, someone, to find you and save you.
But maybe in time, they would find that they were meant to be, at the very least, friends.
When you're lost in the dark, when you're out in the cold,
Though neither of them would admit to anyone else, they cared about each other. They could never let the other suffer alone.
When you're looking for something that resembles your soul,
That very reason would be able to unite the two stubborn teenagers.
When the wind blows your house of cards,
For a moment, they had both realized that as they stood under the mistletoe together.
I'll be a home to your homeless heart.
Neither knew what to do once they discovered the revelation. Their hesitation spoke louder than their words ever could. They weren't prepared for the possibility of such a sudden change.
I'll be a home to your homeless heart.
For now, they would have to accept their current situation. But the games had only just begun.
A/N: Foreshadowing like a boss. See if you can guess what I'm getting at. ... What?