***Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny With a Chance***

Sonny dragged herself into her dressing room, her eyes red and tired from a long, painful night. She eyed herself in the mirror; she was a mess. Her hair was crazy and untamed, since she had not even borrowed to comb it. Mascara streaked across her heartbroken face. She attempted to pull herself together, but every five minutes a new wave of hurt would hit, and she would burst into tears once more. Exhausted from her lack of sleep, Sonny slumped into her chair and stared at her reflection.

Soon after Sonny arrived, Tawni strolled into the room, smiling her brilliant smile. She noticed Sonny sitting in the corner, and, after a quick makeup check in her mirror, walked over to her. "How was your date?" she asked, trying to sound concerned.

Sonny responded with a fit of tears and she covered her face with a throw pillow. She scrunched her body into a fetal position and tried to concentrate on breathing.

"Oh. Sounds like a blast." She put her hand on Sonny's shoulder, but felt extremely awkward, and pulled it away. Tawni Hart did not comfort others. Not well, anyway. She figured James had broken Sonny's heart once again, and to be honest she wasn't surprised. However, she was working on trying to be more sensitive, and she figured that Sonny would want some time alone. "I already look perfect, so why don't I just head over to the prop house now. You can just chill here for a while. Have some quiet."

Sonny nodded and sniffled into her pillow. She waited until she heard the door close before raising her head. Her face was bright red, and her pillow was almost soaked through with tears. She was happy that Tawni had left her alone; she didn't want anyone to see her like this.

Her mind kept flashing back to those few moments at the arcade, where James's arms reached for someone other than her. Then, when she was finally able to get herself out the door, he had not even cared enough to follow her.

"Knock, knock! Who's ready to talk about me?" Sonny turned to the door and saw Chad waltzing into the room. She quickly flung her head back into her pillow, ashamed of her appearance.

"Go away, Chad."

"What's going on?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"Why do you care?"

"I never said I did."

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"What? Did your lover boy forget a date again?" Chad sat on the armrest of Sonny's chair, trying to get her to show her face. "Come on, Sonny. What's up?"

Sonny pried her head from the pillow at looked at Chad. "I w-went to Arcadia to m-meet James, a-and I s-saw him with s-someone else." More tears came, and she went back to the pillow.

Chad sighed. He knew this day would come, and he had prepared himself for weeks in front of the mirror. However, now that he sat alone with Sonny, and he watched her cry her beautiful eyes out, all of the things he had practiced seemed cold and insensitive. Unsure of what to do, he sat without a word and folded his hands in his lap.

Time ticked by, and Chad still had no idea what to do. Determined to do something, Chad reached over to Sonny's lap and cradled her hand in his. "Sonny, I know things are rough, but they will get better. I promise."

For the first time in almost thirty minutes, Sonny lifted her head from her pillow and showed her face to Chad. "Why are you being so nice to me? It's not like you should care. This has nothing to do with Chad Dylan Cooper."

Chad saw tears begin to well up in her chocolate brown eyes, and he quickly bowed his head, afraid his eyes would betray him again. He couldn't take seeing Sonny in so much pain. He hated James for hurting her, and he hated himself for allowing it to happen. No matter what Chad did, he knew nothing could make her painful memory go away. But he had to try.

He composed himself slowly, and lifted his head to face the girl he adored. "We're not filming today. So, I'm at your service. Do you want some water? Food? Do you need another tissue?" he grabbed the box off of Sonny's desk and offered it to her.

"My mouth is a little dry," Sonny replied sheepishly.

"I'll be right back."

Chad returned with a tall glass of water, and Sonny drank it down in one huge gulp. She returned the glass to Chad, and moved over to her big, fluffy purple couch. She patted the empty seat next to her and looked up at Chad. "Could you stay a bit longer?" she asked, her face still filled with pain.

"Sure," Chad replied hesitantly, unsure whether or not he could take anymore of her tears. "Hey, do you wanna watch some TV? It might help take your mind off of…things…"

"Ok," Sonny sniffled.

"Let me see," Chad said, flipping through the channels. "We could watch So Random! Or," he stopped short as they watched a familiar bad boy walk onto the screen. Chad switched the screen back to So Random! as quiet tears began to fall down Sonny's face. Chad knew he'd reacted too late.

Without even thinking, he put his arm around her and laid his head on top of hers. Her hair smelled of honey and vanilla.

"Don't worry," he whispered softy into her ear, "we'll get through this together. I promise, we'll get through this together."