Risky Business

"I just want you to know
I'm losing my patience
For the time that you've wasted"

-4-

September1 6, 2014

Yes. He's my best friend. He's amazing.

I sighed as I read over the words scribbled across the sheet of paper in front of me. Technically, there was a list on the sheet of paper, but that was the particular thing that caught my eye.

It was my own quote, one that happened to escape my lips as Chad and I left my birthday party to face the paparazzi hand in hand.

And, of course, my quote had ended up in every magazine, every gossip website, and every jealous-for-Chad girl's head. (Side note: millions of girls are plotting my death…so…yeah.)

One of the paps had shouted, asking us if we were a couple. Chad elbowed me in the ribs, and I let her rip.

Now I was sitting across from Ryan Seacrest, and next to Chad, looking at the list of questions Seacrest was going to fire at me.

I didn't even want to look at what was on Chad's paper.

Sighing again, I ignored the feeling of Chad's eyes on me to look at my interviewer; my sworn enemy.

Actually, I love Ryan. When I was little, especially during the first few seasons of American Idol, I thought that I was going to marry Seacrest.

Now, here I am, (Kelly Clarkson going grey and without kids later), sitting across from him, fixing to explain to the world that Chad Dylan Cooper is not only my best friend, but the love of my…

I can't even say it.

"You're on the air in twenty." The little guy with a notepad and glasses waved at us madly, and then slid back into the shadows.

Let's call little guy with glasses Everett. That's a fitting name.

…Plus, he really can't be that insulted with me for it. I mean, all smokin' hot vamp's names start with 'E'. Emmett, Edward, Esme…

And no, I do not have a girl-crush on the Twilight vampire mama. That's just…ew.

Seriously.

So, anyway, Everett (dude with a notepad) told us we'd be on in twenty.

If it was years, I'd be ready. But it was seconds. And before I could blink, Ryan started his show's welcoming spiel, then introduced Chad and me.

I blocked out his words, fixed in a complete daze. I started thinking of Aubree. The day after my birthday, Chad and I met Jamie and her daughter for lunch. Aubree was so excited that her Uncle Chad and Aunt Sonny were finally dating.

And I couldn't have felt guiltier.

The sweet little girl didn't deserve our lies. Neither did the rest of the world.

I looked over at Chad, and bit my lip. I needed to stop it. I needed to stop all of the lies.

There was absolutely no way that I could go through with it anymore.

"So, Chad, when did you realize that you had fallen for Sonny?" Ryan was looking at Chad now, and I was panicking. I felt the urge to stand up, and wave my arms around. I wanted to at least make an attempt to stop them.

Maybe if Everett could help me by tackling Chad in a vampire…tackle, we'd be good.

Instead of acting out dramatically though, I felt paralyzed. My whole mouth had gone dry, my feet seemed to be broken, and my arms were glued at my sides (symptom of vampire bite? I think so.). All I could do, unfortunately, was let Chad talk.

Maybe he'd make the right decision.

"Well, Ryan," Chad started in his sarcastic-fake voice. I closed my eyes, hoping and praying that he would, indeed, stop it. "It's hard to say when I realized that I had first fallen for Sonny." I opened my eyes long enough to see Chad looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. "I think that the feelings were always there…it just took a while for me to realize it."

I squeezed my eyes shut, yet again, and moved around in my seat. My butt was sweating.

That's what happens when I lie or do something that's not right. My butt sweats. Don't judge me.

In fact, after Shae Jonas had confronted me on the night of my birthday, every inch of my body was covered in sweat. Especially my booty. Moving on, though.

"And Sonny," It took me a second to realize that Ryan was talking to me. At the moment, I didn't feel very Sonny-like. In fact, I felt more Rainy. Or Cloudy. (Stormy's reserved for weathergirls with magical boobs. Watch Reba.)"When do you think that you started having feelings for Chad?"

I gulped, unable to look Ryan in the eye. Then, ever so slowly, I opened my mouth, praying for the truth to come out. The world needed to know.

"Like Chad said, I think that the feelings were always there. It just took me a while to realize it." My eyes widened at the words that had escaped my mouth.

I had just lied to the whole world…or everyone who listens to Seacrest. I did the wrong thing. And I had freaking prayed about it before!

Was God getting back at me for something?

…No. That's not His style.

Are the two of you in love with each other, now? Yes.

Do you think it was better that the two of you were friends first, and then started dating? Well, Ryan, they say that two people of the opposite sex can't be best friends without falling for each other. And being friends means that we know everything about each other already, so, in that case, yes.

So Chad, when are you thinking about popping the question? Someday…Near or far, but someday.

Sonny, do you want your ring to have a gold band, or a silver band? White gold is the preference.

What do your families think? My sister was speechless when I told her, as well as my niece. As far as Sonny's mom and dad? The same.

Are there children in your future? A hundred./Maybe one.

Are you happy? Happier than I've ever been my whole life.

Ooo000ooO

Shae Jonas was standing five feet away from me, staring at me with a slightly disappointed look on her face. Catching her eyes, I shrugged my shoulders, and looked at Natti Jonas, standing next to her husband.

Joe, with one of his arms wrapped around Natti's shoulders, waved at me with the other hand, and then winked when he saw Chad's arm around me.

It was Nick Jonas's birthday party, and, unlike Chad's and mine, it wasn't held at a club. It was being held at his mother's house, where all of his close friends and family gathered.

And Chad and I being called close friends? Not so much. In truth, I didn't have any idea as to how old Nick was turning. He was either twenty-two, or my age. Either way, probably more accumulated to Victoria's Secret than I am, due to Shae.

Shae was the one who invited us; probably because she wanted to confront me in a bathroom again. Just in case, I was sure to wear underwear that were…extra absorbent.

Giving up staring at the younger Jonases and their wives, I shrugged away from Chad's arm, walked out of the living room, and into the kitchen.

Denise (aka Momma J), and Danielle looked up from icing Nick's cake, smiling and waving at me. Charlotte, on the other hand, ran over to me and threw her tiny arms around my legs. I smiled, picking Kevin and Dani's daughter up into my arms.

"It's so good to see you and Chad together, Sonny," Danielle left her icing tube on the table, leaving Denise to do the job by herself.

Sure, I wasn't that close with Nick or Joe, but, over the years, I've hung out with Kevin and Dani quite a bit. They're such genuine, fun people, and, besides, they co-produce adorable little girls.

With that thought, I kissed Charlie on her curl-covered head.

"Yeah," I frowned, that all-too-familiar guilty feeling coming back to haunt me. I might be closer to Dani, but she's not quite as observant as her sister-in-law.

"Are you hiding out from the rest of the crowd?" Dani straightened her yellow top that showed off her tan perfectly, and then placed her hands on her belly. With that little action, I bit my lip, staring at her flat stomach. I'd have to pay close attention to see if she drank any alcohol later.

"Kind of." Yes, I was. Because, in truth, I couldn't take any more of Shae's glowering at me. But I wouldn't tell Dani that. Instead, I just smiled, and commented on her clothes, and Charlie's dress (pink and purple, covered in ruffles and ribbons. She's four, so we shouldn't expect anything less.).

"Want to help ice Nick's cake?" Denise finally spoke up, a toothpick hanging out of the side of her mouth as she carefully constructed the outline of a guitar.

Before I could bail out, Charlie told her grandmother yes for me, so I was stuck. But, at least, I was away from Shae.

After the cake was served (a marble cake, nonetheless), Shae still hadn't confronted me, and for that, I was extremely glad. I think that Chad had picked up on the fact that I was a little scared of Shae, so he wouldn't leave my side around her.

However, Chad did find it appropriate at one point to pull me off into a corner, within hearing distance of Dani and Natti.

Then, he asked me out, telling me that it would be some place 'fancy'.

I really didn't understand why he couldn't have waited until later. And I didn't understand why we had to go anywhere formal. We're best friends. We eat burgers together and having burping contests.

However, I knew that Dani and Natti were staring at us, trying to hide their grins. I knew that Chad had deliberately asked me to make an impression on them and to let them know that we weren't 'faking' anything'. So I agreed, with a sigh, and attempted to make my way past the Jonas-wives without getting caught.

But, of course, for all bad things, you get punished. Therefore, Chad escaped, but Dani and Natti grabbed me by the shoulders, grinning all over themselves, and dragged me in the direction of the kitchen once again.

I soon found myself seated on one of the cushioned kitchen table chairs, with the girls hovering over me, speaking in their own, wife-happy language.

"He asked you out on a fancy date, Sonny!" Natti grinned, fingering a lock of her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair.

"We're going to have to take you shopping, Sonny. You need something nice to wear." Dani started, forcing me to look down at my jeans and paisley-printed shirt. I frowned, looking back up at the both of them.

"Dani's right," Natti chimed in, giving my outfit a once over. "The get-up that you wore to your birthday party was extremely cute. Do you have any more clothes like that?" I nodded, too dumfounded to speak. So this was how girls/wives acted when their friends got asked out in front of them. I was mystified.

All too soon though, I caught Dani frowning at me. She'd called my bluff.

"You're meeting us at Macy's tomorrow, okay, Sonny? And we'll find you a really great dress to wear."

"One that's fetch."

Dani and I looked at each other, then looked at Natti, who was grinning all over herself.

And that was when I learned that, even though you're married or tied down in a serious relationship, you can always, always quote Mean Girls…or use a term that was made popular by the movie.

Lie one: I'm with Chad.

Lie two: I'm in love with Chad.

Lie three: Chad and I always had feelings for each other.

Lie four: I want to get married to and have babies with Chad.

Lie five: I have nice things to wear. (Side note: lie broken. Dani found out).

Before Chad dropped me off at my place, I suggested that we get a notebook and write down everything that was going on with us…You know, all of our lies.

He agreed that it was a good idea. After all, he was taking this thing seriously. Utterly, terrifyingly, completely seriously.

Lyrics: Allan, M; Dioguardi, K; Hodges, D; James, J – Wanted by Jessie James

A/N: Long time no update! And I'm so sorry. I know I said that I was going to be at the CMA Fest (which was great – as always), but that still leaves no excuse. So Sonny's finally guilt-tripping…Oh, wait, she's been doing that since the beginning. Anyway, I hope that you like the story so far. Please let me know if you love or hate it.

And, what did you think of Falling For the Falls? How awesome was the second part of the episode?