Sonny

On my way to the airport Lucy had accused me of being jealous of Vivi. Geez, I thought this girl was supposed to be my best friend, not my own personal life critic! Now I was on my way back to Chad's. The thought itself was welcoming. I caught myself smiling. Chad and I were really becoming great friends.

I mean, it was just friendship, right? Yeah, it totally was! Lucy was just getting to my head. Lucy. Now just thinking her name was unpleasant to me. But I found that the longer I tried to think through our situation and not be mad anymore, the more my mind drifted off to conversations Chad and I had had.

Determined to take my mind off of him, just as an experiment to prove at least to myself I wasn't crushing on him, I thought of Vivi Violence. She was really pretty. I liked her hair. Maybe I would do that? I'd have to ask Chad what he thought. I mean, he seemed to like it, or at least be okay with it. He let her come into his house, didn't he? Or maybe he was just nice like that…no, this was Chad. Though occasionally sweet, he was still pretty much a jerk.

I was thinking about him again. Well, hey, I was driving to his place, right? Of course I was thinking about him. That's perfectly normal. Stupid Lucy, trying to get into my head even after she was gone…

---

"Hey, Sonny! Good to see you again," Chad greeted, hugging my warmly. My hands were on his back as I returned the hug, and he pulled away sharply. "Whoa! Did you stick your fingers in snow before you got here? Come inside, warm up."

After ten minutes, the fire was roaring and I sat criss-crossed on the floor, my back to the sofa for support. I found myself thinking more than talking.

"You're thinking again," he said close to my ear. I shivered.

"Well, yeah, I'm being normal. Don't you ever stop to think?" I looked back at him on the couch from my place on the floor, and then back at the fire. "If you must know, I was thinking about…Vivi. She…seems nice…"

"Yeah, about that comment you made earlier, about her being a scenester or whatever?" I nodded, sort of nervous it had offended him. "Well, she may seem pretty hardcore sometimes, like…well, like when she escaped from her two-story window…" I looked back at him and he seemed to be rethinking something, but then shook his head. "But she's really just a girl. Albeit she has a crazy style, I mean, so do you, but she can be pretty responsible when called for."

I nodded. "You didn't need to defend her. I mean, she's your friend and you seem to like her. I can respect that."

I felt his hand on my shoulder and turned around. "But…I want you to be okay with her, too. I mean, she may be spending a bit more time around here and I want you both to feel comfortable around each other. You know?" I let out a singular laugh. "What?"

"Oh, it's just…you're really sweet, Chad."

"What? No I'm not!" he defended, withdrawing his hand and sitting up straighter.

"Don't be mad. It's a good thing! You play tough but you're a real softy." Okay, now I was just teasing him.

He huffed haughtily, putting on airs. "Chad Dylan Cooper is stone. Alright? Beautiful and tough as a statue."

"Yeah, a plaster one…" He glared at me and I just had to laugh. "Chill out, Chad. I'm just messing." I paused and decided to tease him again. "I mean, you'd have to be pretty hardcore to earn Chain status."

"Hey, Chain Choker is a perfectly respectable name!" I burst out laughing. Was he serious?

"Oh, is it, Chad? Is it really?" I asked in mimic of him. He was just setting himself up.

"Alright, you wanna like, go to the far other side of the room now?" He tried to act serious but joined me in jubilation. "I love you, Sonny. Really." I stopped and gave him an odd look. Did he really just say that? "Oh, don't read too much into that…it's something Vivi and the others just throw around…it basically means 'you're awesome'."

"Oh." We sat silently, but not bored, for what I think was five minutes. Finally I looked at the clock, and out of habit rose. "Well, it's nine…"

"What? But, Sonny…" He stood, hesitating when I turned to him, before saying, "It's…it's cold outside. Like…really cold. And all you've got's a thin sweater."

About to protest, I remembered how cold I had been upon entering his home.

"And your hands were like ice when you came in."

Well, it was true. And my mom wasn't home. I mean, I could stay as long as I wanted. "Alright…I guess I can stay."

He tried to hide the smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Cool." As I watched his face I saw him come to the realization that we really weren't doing much. "Um…you wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Sure!"

"Before you ask, I have nothing with Johnny Depp in it."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." He sighed, seemingly relieved.