Portlyn James Maddison strutted through the Condor Studios hallway, catching the attention of every man who passed. Her red pumps and skinny jeans accentuated her short but fit legs. She wore a fancy white top and her hair floated behind her. Her long brown curls bounced up and down as she took each step.

At any normal time Portlyn would have given a few winks as she passed, or stopped to flirt. But now was not the time for the art of subtle flirting. She needed to see Sonny and get her story straight. In all truth, her and Sonny were the only two people Chad had really trusted. Now they were down to one.

Just as she was turning into the commissary, Tawni walked out looking tired and worn out. Everything about her looked perfect as usual, but her eyes gave everything away. And she didn't even have cocoa-mocoa-cocoa mip gloss on. That was something.

"Tawni! What's wrong?' Portlyn asked her, alarmed. Tawni smiled slightly at the sight of her friend, shrugging. "I'm fine. It's Sonny. She wouldn't stop crying."

"Chad too." Portlyn sighed. "He's so torn up." Tawni shook her head in disbelief. "It was all a misunderstanding. Nico told Sonny and I what Skylar told him. Did he tell you?" Tawni asked her. Portlyn nodded. "Yeah, he did." She put her hand on her forehead. "I just can't believe that out of everybody, Chad and Sonny broke up, ya know?" She looked up at Tawni hopefully. "Sonny is well enough to talk about it, right?"

"She wouldn't stop talking about it!" Tawni exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I mean, I love her, but I haven't looked in a for the whole day!" Portlyn's lips curved upwards slightly at this statement. Even in the worst of times, Tawni will be Tawni. "Okay, well I'm going to talk to her." She said to Tawni, hugging her tightly. "Get some rest."

"Good luck." Tawni whispered, pulling away. They parted, and Portlyn took a deep breath before going inside. She spotted Sonny instantly. She was sitting down on a two-person table next to the window, absentmindedly picking at her food. Portlyn walked over and sat down across from her. "Her, Sonny." She said quietly. Sonny looked up at her and smiled a bit, but her eyes were still sad. "Hey, Portlyn. How's Chad?"

"He's-well, better." She replied. "I came here to talk to you about everything that happened. I know it's none of my business-"

"No, no." Sonny interrupted her. "Don't worry about it. The whole world knows, anyways." She gestured towards a man sitting behind her reading a magazine. The cover had a large picture of Sonny and Chad on opposite sides of a broken heart. It read: Channy-Done For? Sonny shook her head. "They're all saying that he found a prettier, richer girl and dumped me. I would rather that happen that have him hate me, Portlyn!" She cried, rubbing her forehead with her hand.

Portlyn felt sympathy for her hurting friend. "Oh Sonny, I'm so sorry. I know it must be hard for you." She paused for a second. "Nico went and talked to Skylar. Did he tell you how bad he's hurting?" Sonny's gaze hardened at the mention of Skylar's name. "Yeah, he told me. But it doesn't excuse what he did."

"But Sonny-"

"No, Portlyn! How do you know he wasn't planning it? After all that he's done, it would only be expected!" Sonny cried. "I don't care what happened. He broke us up. That's all that matters." Portlyn placed her hand on top of Sonny's comfortingly. "He feels really bad, Sonny. If you could just talk to him-"

"No." Sonny interjected firmly. "Things are already bad between me and Chad. If he found out I went to Skylar's dressing room, he would never forgive me." Sonny sighed deeply. "I can't cry anymore. I'm out of tears. I can't go to Chad, because he hates me. I just don't know what to do."

Portlyn raised her eyebrows knowingly at her. "You can face Skylar, and tell him how you feel. Ask him if he did it on purpose. He's a wreck right now, he'll tell you anything."

"But-"

"No buts!" Portlyn said, standing up and grabbing Sonny's arm, forcing her up. "You can't just mope around here all day. You need to face this, head-on." She said sternly. Sonny glared at her and followed, knowing not to mess with Portlyn.

Nico took a deep breath and knocked on Chad's door, feeling a sense of deja-vu. Merely a few hours ago he was in this same position, knowing nothing about the situation. But now that he got all three sides of the story, he knew Chad was wrong. There was no way Sonny cheated on him. After years of friendship, Chad should know that. But he was too blind to notice.

In merely a few seconds Chad opened the door. He looked better than he had before, with his hair actually combed and his Mackenzie Falls jacket pressed. But his face read a thousand and one emotions- hurt, anger, sadness, loss, yearning, jealousy, the list could go on. Nico smiled slightly, walking into the room, Chad sighed and closed the door behind him.

CPOV

Nico walked in and I closed the door, regretting letting him in. I really wanted to be alone after crying into Portlyn's arms. I had never felt that weak before. Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't do weak.

"So." Nico began, leaning against the wall. "How are you feeling?" I sighed and sat on the couch facing him. "Like shit."

"Chad, are you sure you know the whole story?" He whispered. I looked up at him sternly. I didn't need another person telling me I was wrong. I was there, I saw how Skylar acted with Sonny. I heard what he said.

"We had a future! We were in love! And you just took her!"

Nico, Portlyn, Tawni, all three of them based their view of everything on what Sonny said. What about me? What about how I feel? I'm the one who got cheated on. But for some odd reason I'm the bad guy to everybody.

"Yes." I pronounced. "I was there. I saw how Skylar treated Sonny." Nico shook his head. He grabbed his brown hat and took it off, playing with a loose string on the edge of it. "I don't think you do." He whispered.

My jaw clenched as I tried to stay calm. No matter what I said to him, he would not change his mind. He works with Sonny. He sees her everyday, morning, studio, and night. There was no way he would side against her. But at the same time, me and Nico are pretty good friends. He shouldn't be against me. Everyone else is, and I can't have another person.

"You know what, Nico? If you're hear to give me a lecture, then leave. I want to be alone today."

Nico's eyes hardened as he glared at me. "You're so stubborn, you know that? Sonny tried explaining everything to you, and you just left her standing there like an idiot."

"No, I did what was right-"

"You ran away!" He shouted, pointing at me. "There she was, crying, ready to give up everything for you to know the truth. But you couldn't deal with it. Chad Dylan Cooper, Hollywood's bad boy, couldn't handle the truth!" He breathed heavily as he came towards me. "You're scared."

I jumped off the couch, throwing my hands up in the air. "You don't know anything! Do you even know how I feel? Not even 24 hours ago I watched some bastard tell my girlfriend that he's in love with her!"

"He's not-"

"No Nico, you weren't there! They went out. They went on a date. My girlfriend went on a date with someone else!"

"They didn't-"

"Stop defending them!" I screeched. "They both lied to me, cheated, and now they want the pity party? No, it doesn't work like that." I closed my eyes. "I can still see him kissing her." Nico remained silent, listening to my rant. "You don't know how it feels to watch the person you hate the most kiss the person you love the most. I just had my heart torn into a million little pieces; I'm not feeling sorry for them." Nico's eyes softened. He came over to me and patted me on the back. "Chad, I know you're hurting. But you got to be strong. You got to think about how it all played out. It just doesn't make sense."

"Did you know him before you moved here?"

"What? No! Chad, I moved here years ago! Even if i did know him, which I didn't, we weren't in love!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Did you forget me? Did you erase me from your memory?"

The words that Skylar spoke yesterday night would not cease to repeat over and over inside my head. I just couldn't picture Sonny and Skylar together. She was supposed to be with me. She was supposed to love me.

Everybody always says that they're jealous of me, my fortune, and my fame. But without love, all that's nothing. I had a burning desire to go next door and beat the crap out of Skylar. I secretly hoped that beating him up would erase all my jealousy. Yes, I, Chad Dylan Cooper, am jealous of Skylar.

I sighed and opened my eyes, my eyes landing on the dent in the wall I made not too long ago. I examined it closely, still able to hear the crack of the picture frame. It would be there forever, as a reminder for this horrible day. I would have to look at it everyday and think of Sonny, of her beautiful laugh, the way she would smile at my jokes, everything.

"Chad. You need to know something." Nico said hesitantly. My eyes flickered over to his face, and he looked nervous. "Don't get mad, but you're wrong about the whole situation. Sonny never cheated."

"Yes. But honestly Chad, I didn't cheat!"

"I don't believe that." I said, denying it. I walked over to my window. I looked at the people going by and wondered how anything about today could be normal. How everyone's lives could just go on while mine slowly plummeted.

"Chad, Skylar's a wreck right now-"

Anger flared up in me once again. "I don't give a damn about him!"

"He though Sonny was-"

"Nico, shut up! There's nothing that can change what happened. Just leave it be!" I exploded at him. I went over to my desk and grabbed a picture of me and Sonny, giving it to Nico. "Give her this. She gave it to me."

"You're making a big mistake." He replied. "Everything she did was for you. Everything."

"I told you to leave it."

"You know what?" Nico shot back at me. "If you want to be stubborn about it, then fine. Don't know the truth. But everybody else does, and you're wrong."

With that he walked out of the room, leaving me with distant memories and a sudden reeling of regret.

Flashbacks of yesterday came along with Nico's departure.

"A little present for your new-found relationship. Let's see if this lasts until tomorrow."

Right there, in the middle of the hallway, was Skylar, kissing Sonny. But the second his lips touched hers, she pushed him back angrily. Her eyes shone with tears as she yelled at him, asking him what the hell he was doing. She tried getting up, but fell back down.

"I didn't cheat! I did it for you!"

"After all these years, your opinion of me has changed from one conversation?"

I sighed and put my head in my hands. What if I was wrong? What if she didn't cheat? What if I was just creating drama that wasn't there? Sonny tried talking to me in the commissary. If I had listened to her, would I be moping here right now? Would I still be mad at her?

Would we still be broken up?

I suddenly had an urge to run after Nico and ask him what it was he wanted to say to me. But I couldn't, because the cause of all my pain stalked right on in.

Portlyn stopped right in front of Chad's dressing room, still holding Sonny by the arm. Sonny looked to the right and saw Chad's dressing room. She had a strong urge to go in and scream at him until her words were forever written in his brain. But she had a deep feeling that he would just kick her out.

"C'mon." Portlyn whispered, gently nudging her into Skylar's room. Sonny complied and stepped inside. Skylar was sitting next to the window, looking outside. "Didn't move an inch. Expects us to fix everything." She heard Portlyn mumble under her breath as she walked away. Sonny rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, clearing her throat. Skylar turned around. The second he saw Sonny, he leaped up. "Sonny, listen. I didn't-"

"No you listen. You got exactly what you wanted. Me and Chad broke up. I just came to know why you did it. I thought you said you didn't hate me."

"I don't hate you." He said softly. "Last night, I don't know what happened to me. One second I was staring at you, and the next second you were Angelica. You got to believe me." His eyes pleaded with her, begging for forgiveness.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if I should take back my acceptance to your apology." Sonny said. "I just don't feel like you deserve it." She shook her head. "Chad's a wreck right now-" Sonny was interrupted by yelling from Chad's dressing room. They both froze when they heard Chad's words.

"Not even 24 hours ago I watched some bastard tell my girlfriend that he's in love with her!"

Skylar looked up at Sonny. "You know that I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Angelica. Everybody knows that except Chad. Sonny, please. Don't be mad." He came closer to her. "I really need a friend right now."

Sonny shook her head, stepping back. "I' m sorry, did you not just hear what Chad said? If I want Chad to forgive me, I have to stay the hell away from you." She paused. "Out of all the people in this studio, you choose me to ask to be your friend? Skylar, do you even realize the pain you caused everyone?"

"It's not even my fault! Chad's just too hard-headed to listen to anyone!" Skylar cried. Sonny's nostrils flared.

"Don't talk about him like that! After all that you did, you really don't want me getting angrier!"

"You're defending him?"
"Well I'm definitely not defending you!" She said, poking him hard in the chest. They stared at each other in anger, each of them at a loss for words. "You know," Sonny began. "The whole time during our date I was regretting it. I kept on picturing Chad next to me. It didn't feel right." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It was a total mistake. I never should have agreed to it."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't!" She interrupted him, putting her hand up. "Don't say you're sorry."

"But I am."

"Sonny?"

They both turned around and saw Nico in the doorway looking sympathetic. Sonny walked over to him. "Nico? What are you-"

"I just talked to Chad. Well, tried talking to him. It didn't go over too well." He scratched his head awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Sonny asked him, glancing back at Skylar. "Just dealing with a problem." Skylar flinched at her harsh comment.

"Chad told me to give this to you." Nico said, handing Sonny the picture. Sonny looked down at it and gasped. It was the same picture she had been hugging hours ago.

Suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. After all these years, after millions of memories, Chad doesn't even have the decency to look her in the eye and tell them that they were over?

Sonny felt the adrenaline rush into her blood as she pushed Nico out of her way and barged into Chad's dressing room, not even stopping to knock.

It was just too much.

CPOV

Sonny barged into my room, her face angry. Her brown hair floated behind her. It was messy, she had no makeup on, her eyes were puffy, but still she looked beautiful. My heart raced as I watched her stop in front of me. Even after all of what happened, I could not control how I felt. I loved her to death. But I had to stay strong. I couldn't show her how much I was hurting.

"Am I not good enough for you? Do you not even want to look at me?" She exclaimed furiously, holding up the picture. "Sending Nico to give this to me? Really, Chad?"

"I just didn't see the point." I answered blankly. Her eyes hardened. "The point? What about finding out the truth? Did that ever occur to you?"

"I know the truth!" I yelled, turning my back to her. "You cheated on me. After everything, you cheated on me. I have nothing more to say to you."

I expected her to scream at me, to deny it, to tell me that I was stupid. Honestly, I was hoping she would. I didn't want to have to ask her to tell me. I didn't want to look like the weak one. But silence filled the air. I head her rapid breathing, and then it turned steady. I closed my eyes and wished none of this had happened. I just wanted to hold her in my arms and never let go.

"Chad." She whispered, putting a hand on my shoulder. Sparks radiated off her touch, but I didn't dare look at her. "Why are you doing this?" She asked me softly. "I love you."

Why did she have to say that? Why did she have to make me feel like the bad guy again? I wanted to say it back to her so badly. I felt like an alcoholic locked in a room with the finest wine in the world. But I wasn't giving in. I had to know the truth first.

"Sonny, tell me the truth. Did you know Skylar before you came here?"

"No. I never knew him." She answered pleadingly. "Chad, he's in love with this girl named Angelica. I remind him of her. Last night, he doesn't even understand what happened to him." I processed this. Angelica? I had never heard that name before. Skylar never mentioned her at all. Not that I ever really talked to him.

"He misses her. Last night he tried kissing me because he thought I was her. He couldn't take the pain anymore, and his mind made him think I was her."

I gulped. Could it really have happened? Was this all true? It seemed too weird, but nothing in the studio lately seemed normal. "I'm not asking you to forgive him." She said softly. "What he did was wrong. I'm just asking you to believe me."

I sighed and thought it over. Could I really forgive her? Was she even wrong in the first place?

Suddenly she took her hand off my shoulder and moved so she was standing in front of me. I looked down at her chocolate brown eyes, filled with sorrow and innocence. She smelled like strawberries. I breathed in her scent, involuntarily shivering.

"Chad." She mumbled, coming closer. I stepped back, shaking my incoherent thoughts away.

"Sonny, I-" I couldn't speak. All this information tied in with Sonny being so near to me drove me crazy. I was at a loss for words. She came closer again, standing on her tiptoes and placing her hand behind my neck. "You have to trust me. I'm not lying about this." She whispered, placing her lips against me. I stayed frozen, not knowing what to do. She pulled back when she realized that I wasn't kissing her back.

"I love you!" She pleaded with me. I was dying to say it back to her. But I just stood there, thinking it all over. Seeing her with Skylar, him yelling, her crying-

Seeing her with Skylar.

Suddenly another burst of anger rose through me as I looked down at her. "Why were you with Skylar, then? You're saying that he thought you were someone else. But why were you with him in the first place?" Her eyes grew wide as she pulled away and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'll tell you. But you have to stay calm." She insisted. I just continued on looking at her, waiting for an answer.

"Skylar made me a deal I couldn't refuse. He said that if I'd go out with him, he'd leave you alone."

Skylar targeted Sonny? I wanted to hurt him. But at the same time, Sonny agreed to the date. She said yes.

"You promised me." I whispered. "You promised me you'd stay away from him."

"Chad, I did it for you!"
"But you lied in doing it, Sonny!" I said, exasperated. "You went on a date with him. I don't care if it was for me, I can handle my own problems!" I couldn't believe that she didn't tell me.

"I love you, Chad. I did this so Skylar would finally leave us alone. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" She asked me sadly. I sighed. "Then tell me this. If I never saw you to, would you have told me?"
"Chad,-"
"Answer the question, Sonny. Would you have told me you went out with him?"

Sonny looked down at the floor, shuffling her feet. "No." She mumbled. I shook my head and paced around the room. I wasn't angry anymore. I understood where she was coming from, accepting Skylar's deal. But she should have told me.

"But." She began. "If I had told you, you would never have let me go. You would have confronted Skylar about it."

"I should have!"

"Chad, you have to understand that what I did was for you. I didn't enjoy it one bit. The whole time we were at lookout mountain I felt so guilty." I froze and turned to her, astonished. "You went to lookout mountain?" I whispered.

I remembered that night perfectly, as if I were watching it play right in front of me.

Wow, Chad. Lookout mountain is so beautiful, romantic. All the stars are so bright.

Yes i am. Oh, the stars up there. Yeah, they a-ight. They don't have their own show.

Normally I wouldn't laugh at that. I guess im just a little nervous.

Relax, I promised an unforgettable evening, didn't I?

Yeah, you did.

Well I'm a man of my words.

I closed my eyes, trying not to remember the day that I had finally gotten Sonny to go out with me. It wasn't a real date, but for me it was good enough.

"He took me there. I don't know why, he just drove out there." She walked up to me and put her hand on my face. "Do you forgive me, Chad? I need you to forgive me."

"I don't know." I whispered, looking at her. She was so beautiful. Everything I ever wanted in a girl was standing right in front of me. But I couldn't trust her fully.

"I need some time." I whispered, placing my hand on top of hers and bringing it down. "Just give me some time."

She nodded, her eyes watering slightly. "You trust me, right?"

I didn't answer her. She took a deep breath and pulled her hand from mine, walking towards the door.

"Sonny?" I asked her. She turned around as her hand touched the doorknob. "Yes?" She asked, hope in her eyes.

"What were you thinking of when Skylar kissed you?"

She sighed and looked me straight in the eye.

"I was thinking of you."

And with that she left, leaving me with the truth and nothing but a strained heart.

Nico Harris hurried into the janitor's closet and locked the door behind him. He opened the light and coughed from all the dust. Lining the walls were endless brooms, mops, cleaners, and towels. He shook his head and grabbed a towel, placing it on the floor. He sat on top of it and pulled out his phone, scanning his contacts.

After his talk with Skylar, Nico went online and googled Angelica Kingston. There were hundreds of them, but only three that had lived in Cleveland. He had saved them all onto his phone and came here so nobody could find him.

Some people say that Nico Harris is just a funny boy who got his big break on So Random and lives his life normally. They think that all there is to him are his jokes. But they were dead wrong about that, because if you were close to Nico you'd see that all he cares about are his friends. He would do anything to make someone happy. Even Skylar, whom he did not like.

If he fixed things for Skylar, then Chad and Sonny would work things out. Chad would finally know the truth and Sonny would be happy again. That was all he wanted.

He took a deep breath and dialed the first number. This Angelica was an actress, filming her first movie in California right now. The phone rang twice before somebody answered. "Hello?" A soft voice said.

Nico danced a little in his seat when she answered. He was so close.

"Hi. Is this Angelica Kingston?"

"Yes... Who might this be?"

"This is Nico Harris. I'm a-"He paused. "-friend of Skylar. Do you know anybody by that name?"

"Skylar?" She whispered. "Yes." Nico replied. "He's a little over six feet, brown hair, green eyes, on Mackenzie Falls?" He said.

He heard her gasp and something fell to the floor. Silence filled the air and Nico panicked.

"Angelica?"

I REALLY hope you guys are liking where this story is going. Thanks for all of your ideas!

Read and Review!

:)