Hey, anyone wanna check out my poem? (take out the asteriks*, there are four of them)
http*://www.*fictionpress.*com/s/2767164/1/Sweet_Weekend

Shut up, I know I haven't posted in two days. My social life + Harry Potter are to blame. Well, okay, mainly Harry Potter.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I have a strong feeling that that's where my next fanfiction is going to be catagorized after I finish this one.

And speaking of THAT: the end of this story is drawing near. But if you like this story, you might like A Whole New Year, which you can find on my profile.

I don't want you to feel like I'm soliciting viewers, but if you enjoy my work the easiest way to read more would be to subscribe to me.

Thanks so much for your reviews, sorry I'm not replying to them; this author's note is already long enough. ;)


Sonny

"Hey, Sonny?" Tawni said timidly as we gathered our stuff to leave. I looked up. She had hardly talked to me today.

"Yeah?" I replied, looking up at her, my purse halfway up my arm.

Her eyebrows were scrunched and she was avoiding eye contact. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. Her expression relaxed a bit and she said, "I'm sorry for being such a hypocrite. You know…about the whole Skyler thing…"

"Oh," I said unsteadily, walking toward the door. "Well…I forgive you, I guess, but…it really wouldn't be fair of me to disapprove of you dating him. I mean, your heart wants what it wants, right?" I smiled to myself, knowing I was speaking from personal experience.

"Right…and I'm sorry about being such a jerk about Chad. And I'm sorry—" Her breathing hitched here, and she seemed to be second-guessing herself, but she continued. "I'm sorry…that…that I didn't let you stay with me. I mean, you obviously needed a place and your staying with Chad just sort of snowballed and…I know what it's like to hit rough patches with my parents."

Well, that was unexpected; way out of Tawni's range of emotions. "Oh. Oh, uh…no, it's fine. I mean, you couldn't have foreseen this. And it's not like you did anything sleazy like Vivi did with that picture."

Her eyes flickered up to me and then she turned and walked out the door. "Yeah. Well…see you tomorrow, Sonny."

---

The wind hadn't necessarily subsided. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I noticed on my way to the Falls, all the while being pelted with stinging droplets of water. California rain is so wimpy.

I slunk in through the back door, nodding to security on my way in, and ducked behind a few prop pillars, watching the scene play out before me, seeing Portlyn from the back holding hands with Chad.

"I don't think I could ever love you like you love me, Mackenzie," Portlyn said, as her character.

Chad gasped, looking both hurt and shocked. Then he released Portlyn's hands and looked frantically around him. "Someone, anyone! Get help; Portlyn is suffering from delusions."

He took Portlyn into his arms and I felt a pang of jealousy, even though I knew it was just for the show. In a minute, flashing lights and sirens could be seen and heard just offstage and two men came over to Chad, taking Portlyn out of his arms.

"Take care of her. I know she won't be able to live without me much longer, without being here at…" He turned his head dramatically toward a camera. "the Falls."

A bell rang and the actors relaxed their poses. Someone said something through a microphone, but I wasn't paying attention; I was watching Chad come ever closer to my hiding spot, glancing around briefly to be sure we were all alone. He reached an arm through the pillars, grabbed the front of my shirt and tugged me toward him for a quick kiss.

Then he smiled and said, "Wait for me by the car," and winked. I didn't care how often he and I had done this; it wasn't getting old and I hoped it never would.

---

"She actually apologized?" Chad gasped, gaping at me. "But she wouldn't do that…unless it was something really serious."

"Chad, watch OUT!" I screamed in panic, clutching the steering wheel and turning it straight. "Yes, she did. And I know…but maybe Tawni's changed, you know? Maybe she's listening to her conscience more."

"Tawni. Conscience," he scoffed, smirking. "The day Tawni listens to her conscience is the day Zac Efron is hotter than me. And please, refrain from stating any falsities just to spite me."

Stifling a giggle, I shuffled in my seat and looked out the window to the dark sky. Rain was slinking down the window and pounding against the cover of Chad's convertible. My eyes fell on him again; his blue jeans, the small bit of navy blue peeking out from his half-zipped Volcom sweatshirt…I had to agree with him. At least, right now, he was way more attractive than Zac Efron had ever seemed to me.

"Chad?"

"Hmm?"

"What's your opinion on rain?" I asked, thinking over my words and wondering why I had even brought it up.

He seemed to wonder why, too. "Well…right now, it's annoying."

"Annoying?"

"Yeah. I mean, we're trying to get somewhere, it's dark, and the rain serves no purpose but to blur the taillights of the cars ahead of us."

"Oh," I said. "Well, what about rain just in general? Like, any other time?"

"It's cold and gross," he said, prepared. "You can't really escape it. You get drenched from point A to point B, and the best of sweatshirts don't exactly provide excellent protection. The water just beads up and gets your hands all wet when you take it off."

"Well, yeah, that may be a little uncomfortable, but…"

"And it's dangerous. I mean, you can slip and fall in puddles or mud and crack your head on the pavement or something," he continued, on a roll now. "And it blocks out the sun."

I considered this a moment. "Well, I think rain is beautiful."

"Please explain your reasoning, 'cause I don't get it at all."

I took a smiling breath and exhaled sharply. "Well, each raindrop is fluid, and clear as a diamond. It magnifies small details, too. Have you ever stopped to marvel at the beauty of raindrops on a flower petal?"

I watched him think awhile and went on. "And it makes the earth smell fresh and crisp when it's done. And it's not just the puddles that fill up; there are beautiful streams, ponds, rivers, lakes…like Lake Tahoe. If there was no precipitation at all, the whole twenty-two miles would be just a two-thousand-foot-deep hole. Not to mention Tahoe Tessie would be out of a home.

"And then there's the sound it makes." I reached for the dial to turn off Rainbow Veins, which had been playing softly, and listened intently to the soft, peaceful pattering of the rain, like fingers drumming on a window. "It's melodic. It's rhythmic. Peaceful. You can't deny that."

"But it blocks out the sun," Chad persisted, turning the music back on. He looked at me gravely. "I cannot live when it's not…sunny."

Maybe I read too much into this, because I blushed. "It doesn't always block it out, Chad. Sometimes, when there's just enough of a part in the clouds, and it's drizzling just lightly enough…you can see a rainbow."

We pulled in to his place and both unbuckled, though we didn't step out. Then Chad looked at me and leaned over to me, whispering in my ear before he kissed me, "How do you always make everything seem so beautiful?"

And tell me when it rains And I'll blend up that rainbow above you And shoot it through your veins