Chad and I were sitting in a field with my family. The guys were making teams for football and the girls were goofing around, staring at other guys. My aunts and uncles were scattered around doing a variety of things.
Nonna-ma and nonno (grandpa) sat next to us, setting out some food since the entire family was having a picnic.
"Sonny," Chad poked my arm. I looked at him. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
I nodded and we walked a little a ways from everyone else. "what is it?"
"You told me you come out here once a year to visit your father's grave. I'm just curious; when is that going to happen?"
I licked my lips. "My family doesn't know that's the reason we come. They think it's a reunion. We visit his grave on the last day we're here, before we leave for the airport."
Chad nodded.
"Why? Do you want to leave so badly?"
"No, you're family's…cool. A lot better than my family but I just- was confused."
Aunt Victoria ran past us with the football in her arms, Uncle Jerry chasing her. The bumped into us pretty hard, knocking Chad and I to the ground. They instantly shot up and ran once again. I had landed sprawled diagonally across Chad, head near head, feet by feet. He sat up, knocking me over again in the process.
"You couldn't wait two seconds for me to sit up myself?" I asked, standing up and rubbing the back of my neck.
He stood as well. "No." He was blushing.
I laughed.
"What?"
"You're- you're blushing."
"nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Chad and I broke off, laughing like crazy and raced back to the family. As soon as we sat down, Stacey, Kathy, Aunt Penny, and Aunt Jackie pulled me away. Terence, Joe, Jason, Chris, and Frankie ran up to us.
"Allison, he's a gem!" Aunt Penny smiled.
"He's so cute!" Stacey added.
"Amazing!"
"Gentlemanly."
"Funny."
"You did a great job picking a boyfriend." Jason bumped my shoulder with his.
I stared at him. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah, Chad is perfect for you!" Joe grinned at me.
I paused. "Excuse me?"
"Ally…isn't he-"
"Aren't you two-"
"No." I shook my head. "We're working on a movie here and he's just going to stay with us. Co-stars…that's all we are." Okay, so I lied- but only a little bit. Honestly, I had no idea what Chad and I were.
"But- Natalie said he was your boyfriend." Terence informed me.
"Natalie is a lying jerk, a backstabber. She slept with Todd while he and I were still together.
"That may be true but I noticed it too. You guys don't act like just co-stars, you act like a couple." Frankie told me.
"Kathy and I noticed something about guys." Aunt Jackie said, both girls smiling. "Whenever you sing, if they like you, they get a glint in their eye. Always the left, never the right. Sing a song and we'll see if he has The Glint."
"You guys just want me to date someone." I accused lightly, knowing that was the case.
"Allison, we just want-"
"Don't…call me Allison." I told them. "Only my father can call me Allison."
"Al, he's-"
"I know. That's why I don't want to hear that name." I looked at my feet. "It just reminds me too much of him, okay?"
Terence put an arm around my shoulders and gave me a comforting squeeze. "Sonny, we just want you to be happy. Whenever you visit, you're not as cheerful as you are now- with Chad. You even smile at his name."
"I do not." My smiling diminished the sentence.
"Nonna-ma wanted to tell you something by the way." Chris pointed to her, her on her cell.
I nodded and ran over. "Nonna-ma? You wanted me?"
She nodded, closing her phone and standing up. "Yes, about that dance competition-"
"Nonna-ma! Nonna, do something!" I whined. Chad snorted and I glared at him, holding back a blush from the previous conversation.
Nonno stood and put a hand on Nonna-ma's back. "Please, enter the contest; you are an amazing dancer."
"Yeah, Sonny," Chad stood and smirked at me, my grandparent's thinking it was a smile. "Enter the dance contest- I'm sure you'll win."
I narrowed my eyes.
Natalie popped up beside us with Todd on his cell. "Yeah, Sonny, you'll be facing me and Todd. A friendly competition! Of course, Todd went to dance class so it's obvious we'll win." She sounded smug.
"Since we didn't know Chad was coming, you already have a dance partner. Ah, and here he is." She held her hand out, pointing politely as to whom I'd dance with: Mitchell Musso.
My eyes widened and I smiled. "Sure, Nonna-ma. I'll be in the competition." I walked toward him with a smile.
"Hey, Sonny." He greeted.
I smiled and bumped his fist. "I have some ideas about the dances." I shared a secret look with him.
"You mean-"
"Yepp."
He smirked. "You want to beat Natalie?"
"How'd you guess?" I motioned to my family with my head. "Join us."
____
I don't know why, but seeing Mitchell with Sonny- I didn't like it. They act like they've known each other for years when, in reality, they JUST met an hour ago.
I think Sonny can tell that I don't like him or that I feel left out and forgotten because she keeps trying to include me in their conversations or games.
Her cousins pulled me aside- her guy cousins. And her uncles- I have a feeling that this is going to be awkward.
"Hey, Chad…Dylan…Cooper." Her Uncle Jerry enunciated my full name.
I gulped silently. "Hello?" Confused? Yes, I am…
"Chaddy, Chad," Joe put his arm around my shoulders casually. "We've noticed something about you."
"You're jealous." Terence said, crossing his arms, acting smug.
I laughed. "Please! Jealous of what?" The beginning of this conversation reminded me of something Sonny said to me.
****************************
I scoffed. "Please, how can any girl be immune to Awesome Chadness?"
"If they know you long enough, it's really easy."
"Portlyn still gets under my spell."
"Because she doesn't really know the real you. She's never seen you care, seen you apologize, or see you get jealous." Sonny smirked. "but I have!" she sang out.
I scrunched my nose up in protest. "Yeah, right. When have I ever been jealous?"
"Well, a couple times. I know you don't actually hate Zac Efron, you just want to be more popular and famous than him. And with the James situation. Tawni told me you were jealous that I was going to date him and not you."
"I wasn't jealous, I was just…" I couldn't think of a word and I had a little tinge of pink on my cheeks.
"Concerned for me." She provided. I nodded.
"Yeah." I agreed. "I was concerned."
"But most of all, you were jealous!" She laughed as I rolled my eyes.
I rolled over and grabbed her arms- all this happening quickly- and flipped her over, pinning her down. "What if I was? What are you going to do about it?"
***************************
Okay, so I HAD been jealous back then but not now! What would I be jealous about?
"Sonny doesn't get to dance with you- she gets to with Mitchell- her way long ago ex." Frankie informed.
"Did Natalie split them that time too?" I crossed my arms.
They shook their heads. "No," Chris answered. "They thought they'd be better off as friends."
Her Uncle Steve scratched his head. "You guys dating?"
"Me? Sonny? Dating?" I laughed. "Please, she won't give me the time of day- and we're just friends." I lied casually. All honesty, I had NO IDEA what we were.
There was music playing behind us and we saw Sonny and Mitchell standing close, Sonny behind him.
She had her hands on his shoulder and he had his hands on hers. They were moving to the beat- Yeah by Usher.
Their feet moved in that weird hip-hop circle way. Sonny moved closer, sliding. I raised an eyebrow.
"They're practicing." Terence explained.
Sonny moved her leg around Mitchell's and he spun her around, dipping her. He lifted her up quickly and they danced side-by-side.
The music said, "She's all up on me screaming yeah, yeah, yeah." and Sonny moved to stand against his front, putting her hand on his neck behind her. It looked like they were grinding but they were doing a dance like the tango, mambo, salsa, all kinds put together.
They twirled and by the time Ludacris started singing the third verse, they were doing a hip-hop styled dance against one another.
At the ending, when there was the Bridge of the song, every time it went (clap) at the end of the sentence/lyric, they'd freeze against each other in that stance. They ended in a dip. It was like Dirty Dancing to the Xtreme.
The entire family clapped and Sonny and Mitchell smirked at Natalie and Todd. They turned off the boom box.
Uncle Jerry clapped a hand on my back. "Angry?"
I shrugged, eyebrow raised, jaw set. "Why would I be?"
"Because that's not you over there." Chris interjected.
I rolled my eyes and went to sit next to Sonny's grandmother, whom she calls Nonna-ma. I have no idea what that means. (A/N: Duh! It means Grandma-ma in Italian! Lol)
_________________________
I sat next to Mitchell, breathing heavy from the dance we just did. We were showing off to Todd and Natalie to show they stood no chance.
"Sonny," he addressed. I looked to him. "Here, listen to my new single." He pulled out his iPod.
I put the bud in my ear as he put the other in his.
After a while, I could tell what the lyrics were so I started to sing them with him, laughing all the while.
He turned it off at the end. "Have you written any more songs?"
I nodded and grabbed the guitar I brought- was forced to bring by Nonna-ma.
"No one sits with him, he doesn't fit in
But we feel like we do when we make fun of him
'Cause you want to belong,do you go along?
'Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong.
It's not like you hate him or want him to die,
But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide
Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side
Any kindness from you might have saved his life. Heroes are made when you make a choice You could be a hero - heroes do what's right
You could be a hero - you might save a life
You could be a hero - you could join the fight
For what's right, for what's right, for what's right No one talks to her, she feels so alone.
She's in too much pain to survive on her own.
The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife
She writes on her arm wants to give up her life.
Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave
Fighting the lie that giving up is the way
Each moment of courage her own life she saves
When she throws the pills out, a hero is made. Heroes are made when you make a choice You could be a hero - heroes do what's right
You could be a hero - you might save a life
You could be a hero - you could join the fight
For what's right, for what's right, for what's right No one talks to him about how he lives
He thinks that the choices he makes are just his
Doesn't know he's a leader with the way he behaves
And others will follow the choices he's made.
He lives on the edge, he's old enough to decide.
His brother who wants to be him is just nine.
He can do what he wants because it's his right,
The choices he makes change a nine-year-old's life. Heroes are made when you make a choice You could be a hero - heroes do what's right
You could be a hero - you might save a life
You could be a hero - you could join the fight
For what's right, for what's right, for what's right [Rap]
Little Mikey D. was the one in class
who every day got brutally harassed.
This went on for years until he decided
That ever again would he shed another tear
So he walked through the door,
Grabbed a forty four out of his father's dresser drawer,
And said I can't take life no more.
And like that, life can be lost
But this ain't even about that
All of us just sat back
And watched it happen
Thinking it's not our responsibility
To solve a problem that isn't about me
This IS our problem
This is just one of the daily scenarios
In which we chose to close our eyes,
Instead of doing the right thing.
If we make a choice
Be the voice
For those who won't speak up for themselves,
How many lives would be saved
Changed, rearranged?
Now it's our time
To pick a side.
Now don't keep walking by,
Not wanting to intervene,
'Cause you just want to exist;
And never be seen
So let's wake up
Change the world-
Our time is now! You could be a hero - (our time is now)
heroes do what's right
You could be a hero - (our time is now)
you might save a life
You could be a hero - (our time is now)
you could join the fight
For what's right, for what's right." (Hero by Superchick; Red Pill Mix)
Everyone applauded me. My girl cousins and aunts gave me a thumbs up and pointed to their eye and then subtly motioned to Chad- he had The Glint.
I smiled at Mitchell, trying to stay calm and not be nervous but the feeling was stuck in my gut.
I couldn't hide from the truth: I wanted to dance with Chad- not Mitchell.