WOW! How long's it been? Long enough, I'd say...
Well, as some of you may have noticed, I changed the story's rating to a T rather than a K+. I don't think that will bother anyone but if it does... sorry! But I had an idea for this chapter and a few more chapters that shows a more... grown up(?) side to Channy... kinda. Well, you'll see when you read.
Uh, warning. Some of this is random waffle, some is coz I was totally unsure of how to link point A (where we left off) to point B (you'll see soon enough). So, forgive, like, half of this chapter for it's lack in stuff-ness (my new word :P)
I don't own SWAC. I also don't own Avril Lavigne, as her songs mentioned a couple of times in this chapter. Oh, and Taylor Swift :)
Have fun a'readin'! :D
Chapter 37-Rumours Are Spread
Previously…
She then laughs, her sad look breaking completely.
"I did it!" She laughs, "I got the part!"
Chad's POV
"What?"
Sonny and I pretty much scream the same thing. Probably from amazement, or just pure shock of the coincidence. I then break out into a smile while Sonny's mouth drops.
"I'm so proud of you!" I grin, high-fiving my cousin (yes, she is now officially family in more than one way – real family and acting family) and she grins. Sonny still remains motionless, almost in shock.
"Thanks for the support, Sonny!" Sara says sarcastically, and I laugh.
"Don't worry, Sara," I say, "She'd just peed that she now has to join us for a week at the Falls."
"Nuh-uh!" Sonny yells, finally waking up from her trance. "I won, actually."
"What do you mean?" Sara asks, and I sigh, realising she, Josh and Zora didn't know of our little bet…
"Oh, it was just a little bet between us," I say, "That… I won."
"Actually, I won." Sonny counters.
"Actually," Zora interrupts, "You drew. Duh."
"How do you know?" I ask, hoping my tone isn't too harsh. I just want to win! Sonny does always look hot in the Mackenzie Falls academy outfits…
"Cause your stakes are obvious." She says. "Chad was meant to help Sara get the part in Mackenzie Falls, and Sonny had to get me and Josh together. And considering those two things happened at pretty much at same time, you drew."
I roll my eyes, "You know you're way too smart, right, Zora?"
"I've been told." She winks.
I sigh, turning to Sonny, "Well, I'm guessing I'm gonna be on So Random next week."
"And I'll be on Mackenzie Falls…" She adds, "Well, this turned out totally unexpectedly…"
"Yeah…" I say. This is totally awkward… "So… what now?"
"Well, we're gonna need to ask Marshall if you can come on So Random…" Sonny points out. "And then if we go to Kate and ask her if I can be on Mackenzie Falls."
"Good point," I say, "Maybe we should've asked them before we made the bet… if they say no it'll kind of have been a waste of time…"
"Well, we'll see…" Sonny says, linking her arm in mine and grinning in an over-the-top but cute way, "Anyone wanna come with us?"
"We were kind of in the middle of something…" Zora says, motioning towards Josh. Ah, I get what she's saying. Ew. Young love is kinda creepy. Sonny doesn't seem to agree though.
"Ah… I get ya!" She laughs, winking, "You two have fun now!"
"What about you, Sara?" I ask, trying to take my thoughts off of the possibility that Zora and Josh may be kissing after we've left…
"I'm gonna go practice my lines," She says, "Good luck with that though!"
"Thanks!" Sonny chirps before dragging me out of the room by the arm. I forgot how strong that girl is… ouch.
"Okay," She says cheerily as we approach Marshall Pike's office, "This is gonna be easy. All we gotta do is tell him that it might help calm the rivalry."
"Yeah, there's a problem there," I say, after thinking of the obvious, "The rivalry isn't that big a deal anymore."
Sonny shrugs, "We can still tell him that! And if not, I'm sure my puppy-dog eyes will seal the deal…"
"Aw…" I laugh, "Yes, they will…" I then wrap my arms around her (which makes her squeal because I reach for under her pits), laughing. I then get the idea of a silly little nickname that will make her swoon, "…Wifey."
I then wink and Sonny laughs like a nut-job (a cute nut-job, that is). Haha, she still digs me and my silly little nicknames after all this time… and I dig her back.
Everything works out just fine. Mr Pike accepts our offer with open arms, pretty much begging me to be a guest star, because he was in desperate need of one. So, I'll be on So Random next Friday… I hate to say it, but I can't wait!
My show was less welcoming to the idea – Kate said since Sara was making her début on next week's show, it would be awkward to add in another new character. I just convinced her to make Sonny's character Sara's character's sister or something, which is pretty believable because they're quite alike. Although they have different eye color and hair color, their faces look the same (only Sonny's is prettier) and they have totally similar mannerisms. For example, they're both extremely kind, funny, and both of their voices go high when they're lying.
And just because Kate still wouldn't agree when I pointed that out, I threatened to quit and she jumped to the idea like it was the greatest idea ever. Something tells me it'll still be some boring plotline about whether Mackenzie chooses the new girl or Chloe. Boring…
"I still can't believe you threatened to quit the Falls!" Sonny moans on the way home, "You love the Falls!"
"Yeah," I shrug, "But I love you more. Plus, I stick to my promises, and that bet of ours was a promise." I give her serious eyes at the stick to promises bit, glaring a little at her ring, and she smiles, obviously taking the hint.
"Yeah, but…" She continues, and I laugh.
"Chill, Sonny." I say, "I wouldn't have really done it."
She laughs, "Suuure… I believe you."
We end up heading to Sonny's house; Sonny has some girly movie she wants me to watch with her. Ah… one of the upsides for a guy of having a girlfriend – you can watch girly movies with an excuse (that excuse being that your girlfriend 'begged' you to watch it… yeah, okay, I have a liking… cough, addiction, cough… to those kinda movies, thanks to the future Mrs Cooper). And the best part of this up-side is – you get to pretend that you hate the movie just to bug her!
…Yeah, that part's getting harder and harder for me considering I am probably now hooked on those movies. Sonny seems to notice when we're watching the movie whenever I'm hinting that I'm getting into it. When I lean forward at the intense moment where the guy has to choose between his ex and the girl of his dreams, she giggles like crazy.
"Why, Chad Dylan Cooper…" She says, "Are you… enjoying this movie?"
I gulp, before laying back into the comfy couch in a relaxed, slightly bored manner, "Why would I?" I moan, "I mean, it's obvious what's gonna happen – the guy will mess up and pick the wrong girl, the other girl is broken hearted, said guy does some stupid romantic gesture to win said dream girl back, they make up and dance in the rain. Then they kiss and the movie fades to the credits."
Sonny smirks, "Only an expert would know that much detail."
I roll my eyes and hit her lightly with a pillow. "Okay, I'm enjoying it, meh, a little. Problem?"
"Yes, actually." She says, "I don't want our little kids growing up to be romantic softies!"
I gasp dramatically, "I am not a romantic softie!"
"Oh, yeah?" She asks, and I sigh. Okay, so we've had our share of romantic moments… but that doesn't mean I'm soft! …Right?
"I'm only romantic when I need to be." I shrug, "I wanna keep my wife happy and loved-up."
She smirks, "You're really going overboard with this whole marriage thing, you know that?"
I snigger, "Ah, Mrs Munroe-Cooper… you know me too well."
After the movie, Sonny drags me up to her room, where we flick through her music books, taking it in turns to play the guitar and sing. At one point, we're heaving so much fun, we almost don't hear a thud outside, and Sonny opens the door to see her Mom stood by the door. I roll my eyes secretly. She seems to have been listening in on our little (shall we say band meeting?) the whole time.
"Hey, Ms Munroe!" I smirk as she tries to look natural, "Enjoying the concert?"
She sniggers, "Don't get funny with me, Cooper." She jokes, "I can get you kicked out of here in a millisecond, you know?"
After that threat, and much to both mine and Sonny's disappointment (we like our alone time, okay? And not in that way – don't be gross), Sonny's Mom stays to listen. We sing a whole load of romantic songs and she smiles and sighs and claps over-excitedly like we are one of those sappy movies, only twice as cute. When I finally work up the courage to ask why she's staying (I don't wanna be defied from seeing m'lady by her Mom, okay?), she says she's planning what songs would be best to use in our wedding. I try to stay polite and fight the urge to tell her that we're not even properly engaged, and we probably won't be for years. Whatever floats her boat, I'm good, so long as she doesn't kick me out (yeah… I'm a wimp).
Later on, we go outside and ride Sonshine and Capriccio (only because we want to get away from Ms Munroe – Sonny's words, not mine). Sonny forces me to race her, and makes another bet – if she wins, I let her paint my car, and if I win, she writes a song for me and performs it on So Random before saying "I'm madly in love with Chad Dylan Cooper!" (she's never said those exact words to anyone).
She wins the bet… as always. Yeah, I seem to have lost every bet against Sonny apart from the meddling one, where we drew. Ugh… what I'm gonna say to my cast when I drive into work tomorrow with purple flowers on a pink-sprayed car, I really don't know.
"It's only coz you have the better horse!" I protest after she wins, and she smirks.
"Whatever you say, honey!" She says.
"It's true!" I moan as she strokes Sonshine softly, "Capriccio was too distracted by his soon-to-be wife's radiant beauty and she road along… he didn't stand a chance!"
"Whatever you say, honey!" She repeats, winking, before dragging Sonshine on her lead back into the stable, and I follow with Capriccio.
"Dude…" I whisper to the horse, who I'm sure is gazing at Sonshine's butt, "How did we both get so lucky?"
He flicks his head and tail contently in a sign of agreement, and I smile. Yep… you've officially gone a little crazy when you start talking to a horse like it can understand you, and like it will reply back. But, to be honest, when you're this smitten, you really don't care.
We arrive back at the stables, putting away the saddles and reins and the other stuff, (A/N: I don't ride horses, okay? I don't know the names!) before Sonny heads for the supply closet and grabs out the hay to top up the trough, and all the cleaning apparatus. We have quite a routine here when cleaning out the horses, whenever I'm around. Sonny says is boring without me, but only because we end up in some fake fight which ends up in a sweet moment that she probably writes about in her diary. Yeah, we always misbehave when cleaning out the horses. It's fun. Haha, all this time, and we're still such an innocent couple…
Sonny turns on the radio. Avril Lavigne's "Smile" blares out of the speakers, and we get to work.
"Do you wanna take the, uh, dung round this time?" Sonny asks, and I smirk. Sonny is always the one to take care of the horse's crap. It's not a pretty sight, especially not for me…
"I'll pass." I wink, "Isn't it meant to be good for the skin or something?"
She stares at me like I'm some idiot. "Okay, first of all," She says, "I thought it was good for gardens. And second… what is that supposed to mean?"
I blink, "What?"
"The thing about manure being good for your skin…" She then up the sleeves on her jacket, hiding her arms and hands, "…Is my skin that bad?"
I frown at her sudden insecurity, before hugging her softly, "Don't worry, sweetie…" I say, swaying back and forth with her in the comfort my arms, "I didn't mean that… I just don't want to get it on me…" I cringe at the thought, "Something tells me it wouldn't be good for my skin…"
Sonny then stops sulking, and turns to face me in that sort of evil puppet way, now smiling. More like… grinning… but in a really scary way. She cackles evilly before reaching down to the ground and throwing a handful of God-knows-what at me. I put my hands up to shield my face, but it kind of fails, and the hay, horse treats, and mashed in dung arcs over my arms and onto the top of my head. Well, so much for the hours of extra care on my hair this morning… something tells me Sonny planned this, the whole time… that evil little rascal…
I look up at her to see her laughing, "Okay then…" She says, between laughs, "You… enjoying your… mud bath, Chaddy…?"
What did I tell ya? Some random fight that will probably end in a romantic moment. Now, I could just let this go and move on, but that's not how this is done… we need to get that romantic moment somehow… and that somehow will be carried out in the form of revenge.
"It's lovely…" I nod, "You want some?"
"No…" She shakes her head, "You have fun on your own."
She turns away from me, grabbing a bunch of hay to put in the trough. I grin. Time for my revenge to begin…
I creep over to the corner of the room, where a pile of mud sits, coz, apparently, Capriccio enjoys bathing in mud… strange horse. I wonder what a mud bath's actually like… hmm… only one way to find out…
I pretty much cannonball into the mud (lucky I'm not wearing designer label), trying to be as quiet as I can. I get myself half covered in mud, before sneaking quietly behind Sonny. I then grab her around the waist while she fills the trough, and she jumps back in shock.
"Gimme a hug?" I ask in a babyish voice as Sonny prises herself from out of my grip.
"No! Get away from me, you mucky pup!" She runs away from me, a whole load of mud splattered down her back, and around her waist too. But that's not good enough. Not for Chad Dylan Cooper's revenge, of course…
I chase after her once again, yelling, in a weird deep voice, "MUD MONSTER WANTS TO GET YOU!" and she screams, before laughing.
"Get away from me, you creep!" She yells, but I don't listen. I wrap my arms around her once more, as she struggles in my grasp. She whacks my chest repeatedly, screaming, "Let go! Let go!"
"Not gonna happen." I smirk, "Now will you stop hitting my chest? I have a shirtless Mackenzie Falls photo shoot tomorrow!"
Nonetheless, Sonny continues to try and prise free, so much so that she trips over my foot, dragging us both to the ground. Awkwardly, we end up in a weird position… me on-top of her. Damn… I hope Ms Munroe isn't looking…
Ah, I don't care right now. Besides, me and Sonny know it's totally innocent.
"Chad?" Sonny says softly.
"Yes, my Little Mud Monster?"
She laughs, looking down at her mud-splattered clothes (my revenge was a success…), before looking back up at me, smiling gently, "I love you more than anything in the world; you know that?"
I grin. No-one's ever said that to me before – not even my own parents. Not even my Mom, when she was alive. No-one… except Sonny Munroe.
"I love you more than anything as well." I say softly, before leaning in to kiss her. But Sonny stops me, putting her finger on my lips.
"Chad?" She asks.
"Yes, Sonshine?" I smile, and she sneers.
"Can you get off me before we kiss?"
"Oh, right…" I say, getting up, embarrassed, "Sorry."
I get up off Sonny, before helping her up and calling her "m'lady" and bowing in an old-timey way, and she swoons.
"There…" I say, wrapping my arms around her, with the faint sound of Taylor Swift's "Love Story" playing softly on the radio, "…Better now?"
"Much." She nods, before leaning in for the kiss once more.
We don't get far though.
As our lips are about to touch, as I can smell the small amount of perfume you have to be really close to her to smell, as I can faintly taste her cherry lip balm… a sudden cry of Sonny's name come from the direction of the house. Uh-oh…
"Allison Munroe!" The furious tone of Connie yells from behind my back, and I turn to see the mother heading our way, face like a storm. "Stop right there! I've seen enough!"
Sonny prises herself from my grip again, before fluffing her hair shyly and giving her Mom a weak smile. "Mom, what are you talking about?" She asks innocently. Ms Munroe doesn't fall for it though.
"You know fully well what I'm talking about!" She yells, "Your little mud fight there, then when Mr Cooper there ended up on top of you…"
I shudder, especially when she glares at me furiously while calling me Mr Cooper. She's never called me Mr Cooper. Gulp… this is serious…
"Mom!" Sonny rolls her eyes in annoyance, "We weren't… you know!"
"Yeah, Ms Munroe, ma'am." I smile innocently, "It was totally innocent."
"Entirely platonic." Sonny adds, nodding.
"Nothing goin' on here." I continue.
"Promise." Sonny grins, but Ms Munroe sure doesn't seem impressed, especially with what comes next.
"Sonny! Chad!"
At the sudden mention of our names, Sonny and I turn to face a collection of flashes and microphones. Great… just what we need right now… the little scumbags we all know as the paparazzi…
"What was going on there?"
"Is this an attempt of anything?"
"Has dating the bad boy finally got to you, Sonny?"
"What?" Sonny yells at these awful questions, "I don't get any of this… what happened back there was totally platonic… and besides, we're dating anyway! It's not that unexpected!"
"So, something was going on?" A tall, blonde lady asks, and Sonny's eyes open wide with shock.
"What?" She screams, her voice squeaking a bit, "No!"
As I notice the tears of anger well up in Sonny's eyes, I wrap my arms around her, shielding her from the cameras like the good, protective boyfriend I am, but that doesn't help in our case any. The questions just keep on coming, and coming, and coming… until finally, the worse of them hits us all like a ton of bricks. Hard.
"Care to comment about the marriage?" A shady-looking guy with a beard asks, and at that moment, I'm sure I see Ms Munroe's expression change from unimpressed to shocked to down-right furious.
"Marriage?" I ask, shading my eyes from the flashes, and the whole crowd of people nod eagerly. "What marriage?"
"Sources saw you propose to Sonny in Colorado, a few weeks ago." The blonde woman explains.
"I didn't propose…" I say, "It was a promise ring. We're way too young to get married, so we're saving it for later."
"Oh, really? Because then it was rumoured you drove to Vegas and got married in one of the chapels."
"Vegas!" I yell, "Which one of your dumb-ass sources told you that? Why the hell would I marry Sonny in Vegas?" (A/N: My apologies… but it is a T-rated story now, right?)
No-one answers my questions though – they want answers, and they intend to get them. It seems they just want their stupid story… even if it's all lies. I try to remember that day, after Sonny accepted my promise ring. We got in my car, journeyed through the rest of Colorado, through Utah, then into Nevada to get back to California. Sure, our journey took us through Las Vegas, and we did drive through it (Sonny had always wanted to just see the sights there, so I granted her wishes), but we did not stop. Not once. Not even for a bathroom break (we didn't need one, okay?). So where did this rumour come up, saying that we got married in Vegas? Besides, Sonny's always mused of what she'd want her (our) wedding to be like – big, traditional, a lot of family, Wisconsin-based, and no paparazzi. That sounds a million miles from the whole "last-minute chapel" ideal of Vegas, so why would we do that?
Ms Munroe doesn't seem to need an answer though – she's fuming as it is. She grabs Sonny by the arm, ripping her from my grasp, before walking off with her.
"Come on, Sonny." She says sternly, "We're going back in the house."
"But Mom…"
"And you, young man!" She says, interrupting her daughter and turning to face me, face cold as stone. "Get out of here. Now."
"But Mom…"
"Sonny," Connie scowls, "Get in the house. I need to talk to you right now."
Sonny gives up finally, shooting me a confused, upset, and worried look, but over all the cameras I can barely see it… the flashes are too blinding. I swallow anxiously, before turning and walking down the driveway to my car, trying to ignore the cameras.
"Chad?" One of the paparazzi say as I place my jacket on the seat of my car (I don't wanna get mud all over the seat), and I turn, glaring at them. It's mostly their fault, this. If they hadn't interrupted, maybe Sonny's Mom would've listened to us. "Care to make a comment?"
"Yeah, I'd love to." I say sternly, not looking at any of the cameras but speaking loud and clear, "Sonny and I are innocent of whatever stupid accusations you make. So why don't you shove off and leave me and my girlfriend alone?"
And with that, I drive off, leaving them behind in a puff of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. I text Sonny when I get the chance, hoping she'll answer…
Hey, Sonny. What's up with your Mom? Is everything OK? Please call me! Chad xxx
Thing is, I don't get a reply. Not at all.
I arrive home and spend the rest of the evening in my room, searching Facebook, Skype, Flitter… anything to get a little news of what's going on with her Mom. I even send her a voice message.
"Uh, hey, Sonshine." I say softly into the phone, "Is everything okay? I mean, with your Mom and stuff? I'm really sorry about what happened… it's kinda my fault… sorta… uh, anyway, please call me back! Just to tell me what's going on… please? Uh, okay, see ya."
I don't get anything. For the whole evening – no text, no call, no message on Facebook… no nothing. I panic about what's going on – so much so that I can't sleep. I'm just sat in my bed, tossing and turning… worrying about my Sonshine. And then, I get it. A text. I pretty much race for my phone, scanning the text message slowly…
Hey, Chad. Can you meet me at the studio, please? I'll be there. Sorry if I woke you up but I really need to talk to you. OK, see you later. Sonny x
Finally… news from Sonny! I grab a clean shirt and jeans (after the ones I was wearing today had to go in the wash) before heading down to my car, leaving a note just in case Josh got up for some reason.
I arrive at the studio at about 12:39am, lucky that I have my own key for the Mackenzie Falls stage, or I wouldn't have got in, unless I'd asked Sonny to let me in, who, I think, has her own So Random key. I then go searching for Sonny – first to her dressing room, then to the Prop House, but I can't find her.
About half an hour later, I've made my way through the whole of the So Random stage, and other random areas Sonny hangs out in, like the cafeteria. I then do a facepalm as I realize where I haven't searched – Mackenzie Falls!
I run straight for my dressing room, my footsteps echoing in the empty halls. I just hope a security guard isn't hanging round or I could be in trouble…
I open the door to my dressing room slowly, sighing in relief when I see the light's already on, and better yet, Sonny's here – sat on my couch, a concerned look on her face.
"Sonny?" I say softly, and she jumps, before turning to see me. A small smile creeps on her face, before it turns upside down and she starts to whimper. I frown. "Sonny, what's wrong?"
She ignores my question, getting up from the couch and running straight into my arms, hugging me tight whilst quietly weeping onto my shirt.
"Sonny?" I ask, a little more of a worried tone ringing in my voice, "Tell me, what's wrong?"
"My Mom…" She starts, finding it hard to talk between sobs (her weeping had suddenly got harsher, and she sounded even more upset), "She was so angry… we had a fight… she grounded me, and I snuck out! I'm so mad, but… I don't know what to do!"
"There, there, shush…" I whisper into her brunette hair, and she immediately calms down, "It's gonna be okay…"
"I told her I hated her." She whispers. "She was so mad at me… I've never told my Mom I hated her! Never!"
"It's okay." I murmur, "You'll be fine, don't worry… everything's gonna be okay…"
Sonny's sobbing subsides, now just a little weep like before, and I start to hum a random Avril Lavigne song to her, which seems to calm her down. We stand that way for about 5 minutes, before I sit her on the couch, holding her head gently in my hands.
"Sonny, tell me what happened. You need to tell me the whole story…"
Yeah, so, "the whole story" will have to wait till to next time. This chapter is long enough as it is :P
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See you guys! :D