A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm really sorry for making you all wait so long. I'd been very busy with academics.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.

"Wait a second, did Sonny Munroe tell you all this?"

Leslie nodded sheepishly, "She claimed to be a good friend of yours and told me that she wanted to help me"

"Of course she did", said Chad, more to himself than her.

A full-fledged beam took over his face as he realized that he had finally succeeded in gaining the one girl's affections he had been craving for (and vying for) since the day she had stepped into the studio.

He wanted to jump up and dance right then and there. He wanted to announce to the entire world how happy he was. And how lucky, unlike all the rest of the losers, because he had Sonny on his side and they didn't.

He wanted to seek her and ask her out that very instant, a feat that didn't look very feasible, because he still hadn't found her.

Impatiently, he took out his cell phone to beseech her to let him know where she was, only to be greeted by a 'battery critically low' message. He cursed under his breath. Hoping earnestly that the charge would last through the evening, he sent her his plea.

"Chad? You seem to be very distracted" Chad looked up to see an unhappy Leslie. She had evaporated into oblivion as Sonny had overtaken his mind. Her eyes told him that she'd sensed the direction the date was heading and was peeved by it. An infinitesimally small part of his heart (the part which wasn't taken up by Sonny) felt sorry for her. He smiled apologetically and attempted to strike a sensible conversation with her.

Just then, his phone buzzed- 3 tables 2 the fro-. But before he could read it fully, the phone gave a beep- Battery low-switching off and turned off.

"Shit!", Chad swore angrily, shoving the treacherous device into his pocket.


Sonny took a bite of her dish, relished it for a few seconds and then turned her attention towards her mobile phone. No reply. Yet. She took another bite, relished that as well and again looked at her phone. Still no reply. What was taking him so long? She tilted her head a little to the right, so she could catch sight of the boy.

He did not have his phone out and it looked like he was engrossed in a conversation with the Mallory girl. Sonny wanted to throw a bite of her dish at his oh-so-wonderful head, but refrained because the hotel authorities might not be too happy with it. And moreover, it was just too delicious.

Sonny wasn't sure if he had gotten her message or not. If he had wouldn't he have greeted her, at least subtly, without drawing Leslie's attention? There was only one way to check. She dialed his number.

Sorry, but the number you have dialed is switched off. If you wish to leave a voice message…

Sonny groaned and chucked the phone at the table.

Why had he switched off his phone, especially when they had taken flirting to a whole new level and things had been beginning to look up?

Slowly, her old insecurities and qualms began creeping in. What if she had totally misconstrued his gestures and cues? What if he actually liked Leslie Mallory? What if he thought of her antics as hindrances to his and Leslie's relationship rather than as a step forward in hers and his?

The food in front of her didn't look yummy anymore as she chanced a glance at the happy couple a few tables ahead of her. Chad was laughing and Leslie was nodding her head vigorously, with her long nailed fingers running through her lustrous hair swept in front of her.

Sonny almost felt like Leslie was taunting her, nonverbally telling, Hey, look at how wonderful my hair is and how dull yours is. No wonder Chad doesn't like you.

And it didn't help that Chad didn't seem to mind Leslie's company at all. Au contraire, he seemed to be having a great time with her.

Sonny's gaze turned to her own interlocked hands on her lap. Maybe it was best to go home. It looked like Chad didn't care about her anymore. Her heart was breaking and she needed time, to contemplate over what she wanted to do

She let the waiter know that she was done, paid the bill and walked out.


Chad had resigned to the fact that he couldn't ask Sonny out that night. At every turn, misfortune seemed to be with him, what with Sonny hiding and his cell phone switching off at the most inopportune moment. So he had given up trying to swim against the currents. Maybe, he was supposed to be giving Leslie a good time, for having agreed to go out with her.

So even though he could barely stop thinking about Sonny, he put on a good show for Leslie, slightly easing his guilty conscience for dating one girl and liking another at the same time.

Just then, a guy hurriedly walked by their table. When Chad caught his eye, his face flushed and he quickly turned away. Chad crinkled his nose in puzzlement. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, and the bounce in his steps seemed very familiar.

Chad mulled over the strange spectacle.

And then it struck him- it was Sonny in her Eric costume. And there was something wrong with the way she had refused to meet his eyes

"Leslie, excuse me for a minute…I'll be back"

Barely registering Leslie's reaction, he ran towards the door through which Sonny had exited. A gust of chill wind hit him when he stepped outside.

He found Sonny sitting on a bench, mutely taking in the rise and fall of water in the fountain in front of her.


Sonny visually traced the contour of the water jet issuing from the fountain. It had a soothing effect on her wrecked heart.

"Sonny"

Surprised, she turned around to see a smiling Chad. He jogged towards her and sat on the bench.

Not knowing what to say, she settled for a, "Chad"

"Soo… I heard that you enlightened Leslie about me. How sweet of you!", he said sarcastically.

Sonny had already been feeling so bad that she did not think that it was possible for her to feel worse, but she did.

Trying to hold back the tears she knew were welling up in her eyes, she said, "Chad, I'm really sorry for ruining your date with Leslie, okay?"

He looked at her in surprise. That was not the response he had been expecting.

He had been hoping for something on the lines of Yes, I did. How dare she make a move on my guy?. Now that would have fell in place with her current behavior and elevated his spirits.

But apparently, she didn't think so.

"So, why did you ruin my date with my pretty woman?", asked Chad, in an attempt to prod her to reveal her jealousy. Little did he know that what he was saying was shattering whatever remnants of Sonny's wreck of a heart were there.

She took a deep breath, momentarily calming down and allowing a tear drop to escape.

"See, Chad, I did a lot of stupid things tonight, one of them being admitting that I was jealous. I like you, okay? And I know that you don't like me in return. I'll never be as good or beautiful as Leslie" By this point tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was unable to speak.

Chad sat there stunned. His happily-ever-after climax was turning into a disastrous anti-climax.

"Sonny", he said, in a feeble attempt to calm her down. He took her hand in his.

She wrenched her hand away from his, deriving a surge of spiteful pleasure on seeing the hurt that flashed in his eyes.

She wanted him to hold her hand, yes. But she also wanted to feel wanted. She didn't want to be treated as his second fiddle. She wished with all her heart that he would try to hold her hand again.

Chad, however, had different plans.

He lowered her hood and unglued the various fringes of blonde hair from her face. He removed the clip that was holding up her real hair and allowed it to cascade down her shoulders, fleetingly mesmerized by how gracefully it did so.

He then ran his fingers through her silky locks, taming the few hairs that were sticking out. The feeling of pleasure upon the touch silenced both of them into amazement.

"There, now who's the beautiful girl?", asked Chad, after what felt like an eternity.

Sonny smiled, her tears having evaporated into non-existence upon Chad's exceedingly sweet gestures. It amazed her how he could make her feel like she was the ugliest girl in the universe and the most beautiful in such a short span of time.

"Sonny, Leslie's got nothing on you. I really, really like you…"

A/N: Okay, so this is NOT the last chapter. There is one more to go. I thank every one of you who took the time to review, favorite or put the story on alerts.

It's amazing how some person on some part of the globe can put a smile on the face of somebody else, someone probably thousands of miles away, all while being anonymous. Trust me, your feedback made this whole story writing a wonderful experience. *bows* So, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And oh yeah, review!

Would anybody like to write a long review? I'd appreciate it a lot. Short (even one word) reviews are totally welcome too. But still…

:)