Hey, y'all! This chapter's update is all thanks to mrpuppy, who told me LWMS missed me dearly. So, I decided to give her a visit and update! Wow... this 'missing you' talk is just weird... ignore me.
I just wanted to thank y'all (again with the y'all!) for the reviews last time, I have a lot of people to reply to...
Frayahh, you are forgiven ;) Don't worry about it. Thanks for telling me though :D
StayStrong112, thanks for your extremely long review :D
la de da, yes, Lovey Horse was based on Happy Horse from Good Luck Charlie. You will see another hint of that in this chapter :)
channylove, no it wasn't the last chapter, as you can see :D
And mrpuppy, I will make a Zosh chapter especially for you, okay? Just... next chapter. This chapter is Abby's birthday!
And now for the disclaimer - I don't own SWAC :P
So... reading time! :D
Chapter 41-Happy Birthday, Abby!
Chad's POV
I wake up to Abby jumping on my bed, squealing happily.
"Chaddy! Chaddy!" She yells, "Wake up! Wake up!"
I groan, looking towards the clock and growling even harder when I see that it reads 7:35am. After my late night last night, but I was hoping for a lie-in… guess not.
"Can it wait?" I ask Abby, finally realising the pain parents go through on Christmas morning.
"No!" Abby screams, more persistent this time. "Now! It's my birthday! Nooooow!"
At this, I can't do anything but laugh (and groan a little, coz she's now jumping on my chest). "Alright, fine." I say, lifting her off of my stomach and onto the side of the bed, gazing into her bright blue eyes, before saying, "Morning, baby girl."
Abby shakes her head, folding her arms and pouting, "Me four now." She says, "Not baby girl."
"Sorry," I smirk, "Big girl. Speaking of…" I then get up, my arms still around her waist, and she squeals in delight as I swing her round and round before sitting her on my lap and smiling. "Happy birthday, darlin'. You're gonna have an awesome day today."
"Is Sonny gonna be there?" She asks, and I laugh, nodding. She really does love Sonny like a mother…
"Yup." I say, "Sonny's coming with us."
"Can I have my presents?" She asks, the pout returning to her face. Ha! She sure is a Cooper, using her cuteness to her own benefit.
"Not yet, dear." I say, "Wait till later."
She moans, folding her arms again, "No fair!"
I start to feel a little bad, but then shake my head and stick to my original plan. I think Sonny will want to see her reaction to the presents – after all, she did help me pick them out.
"Just wait till when Sonny's with us." I say, "You can wait that long, right?"
"No." She says, sticking her tongue out, and I laugh.
"Don't worry, darlin'," I wink, "Not long. C'mon, let's go get you breakfast…"
For breakfast, I get Abby a shortstack for her special birthday treat, thinking of Sonny while she eats it. Sonny is the one who introduced Abby to shortstacks… and me, to be honest. I never liked sweet things, that is, until my very own sweet thing came along…
Speaking of my sweet thing…
I'm eating breakfast when Sonny's ringtone – her song Me, Myself and Time – comes from my phone. I check the phone to see a text from Sonny, asking me what's going on today and wishing Abby a happy birthday. She also asks me not to let Abby see the presents, coz she wants to see the reaction, and I smirk. I can read this girl like a book. Bless her…
"Sonny said happy birthday, Abby." I say, and she smiles.
"Thank you." She babbles, and so I write back a reply to Sonny, telling her that we're going to the beach so she should go casual, also saying that I won't show Abby the presents and that Abby thanks her for the birthday wish. When I press 'send', Josh comes down the stairs, smiling. I'm still getting used to that…
"Hey, sport." I say as he sits in the chair by the table.
"Hey," He smiles, "How's life?"
"Uh…" I blink, "Great. You?"
"Awesome." He says, before turning to his little sister and saying, "Happy birthday, Abby!"
I tilt my head in confusion. "Who the heck are you?" I ask, and Josh glares at me.
"Very funny." He glowers, "Can I spend the day with Zora today?"
Ah, so Zora's the one who's got him all love-struck. I go to complain – it would be cool for all of us to spend the day together – but then I change my mind. When you're in love, you want to spend as long as you can get with that person. I know the Randoms have the day off today and it's a weekend so Josh has no school, so this might be the last time Zora and Josh get to properly spend time with each other in days (it would be the same for me and Sonny, but she is guest-starring on The Falls next week, and then I will be guest-starring on So Random the week after – remember the bet? – so we'll be spending ages with each other). I guess it'll be fine for Josh to spend some time with Zora.
"Sure." I say, before adding with a wink, "You spend time with the love of your life."
Josh rolls his eyes, swatting me with a dishcloth, before tucking into some shortstacks that are left over.
A little time goes by, and we're all ready for the day ahead. I put Abby in her car seat in the back, and Josh sits in the passenger's seat. I get in the driver's seat and then we head straight to Sonny's.
Sonny's POV
I wake up the next morning, rubbing my eyes tiredly and stretching. I look over to the alarm clock next to me and groan. 8 in the morning? Ugh…
I then look to the corner of my room, where a calendar is hung on the wall. I then realise… Abby's birthday! I must of woke early coz I'm so excited!
I fling the cover off my bed, running downstairs to get breakfast, texting Chad to ask him about the details for today.
Hey Chad! Tell baby girl happy birthday for me! ;) Just wondering, what's going on today? I don't wanna wear a dress if we're not going anywhere fancy or anything! xD Plz text back, and don't let her see the presents yet! I wanna see her reaction. Thanks :) Sonshine xxx
A few minutes later, I get a reply.
Mornin' Sonshine ;) Abby says thanks, she's really hyper about the birthday thing. It's kinda crazy… lol :P I'll come pick you up later, I think Abby wants to go to the beach, so just dress casual, that'll be fine. You'll look pretty whatever you wear though. OK, I'll save the presents till later ;) ttyl. Chad x
I smile at the text, especially the 'pretty whatever you wear' bit, taking the last bite of my shortstack, before heading up to get ready for later. I brush my teeth and take a shower, and then go to get changed. I put on a pale pink T-shirt that reads 'Friends 4Eva!' in loopy purple writing, and denim shorts, along with big sunglasses and a floppy straw sunhat, since the weather is meant to be super sunny today.
At ten in the morning, the doorbell goes, and I open the door, to which Abby bursts through the door, a tornado of blonde hair and hot pink and denim. She notices me and grins.
"Sonny!" She babbles, and I pick her up, grinning.
"Hey, sweetie!" I say, "Happy birthday, baby girl!"
"Sonny!" She moans, "I'm four now – not a baby girl."
I laugh, "Okay… happy birthday, big girl."
She grins at her new nickname, hugging me softly, and at that moment, Chad walks in, wearing a plain blue T-shirt and camouflage ¾ shorts, and dark shades. He smirks when he sees us, removing the shades and hanging them on the neck of his T-shirt.
"Is it my go now, Abby?" He asks, prising his little sister from my grasp and taking me into a big bear hug. "Hey there, beautiful," He whispers into my hair, "Missed me?"
"It's only been a few hours." I laugh, and he grins.
"So what's your point?" He asks.
"I love your song." I say after a few seconds of silence, referring to the song he wrote me that I played last night, and he smiles.
"I'm glad you do." He says, before kissing me lightly on the cheek.
"Can we go now, Chaddy?" Abby asks, jumping up and down in excitement, and I have to laugh. She's so adorable…
"Of course we can, sweetheart." He says, "I just need to talk to Sonny about something… go wait with Josh in the car."
Abby beams, running out of the house and heading towards the car. Chad turns to face me, smiling, and he takes my hands in his.
"I was a little worried about the whole paparazzi situation, so I've asked a friend if we could borrow a little private section of the beach for the day."
"Cool," I say, "That'll be great… is Josh joining us?"
"Na," Chad shrugs, "He wants to spend some time with Zora, so I'm gonna drop him off at the studio, and then collect him later so he can be there when we give Abby her presents."
"Okay." I grin. Zora and Josh… hanging out? They're like a mini us, only more mischievous.
Chad nods, before his smile darkens a little. "I'm glad you liked the song." He says, "I just… was fed up of all the paparazzi. I meant every word I was singing, you know."
I smile. Aw… "I know." I say, "I'm tired of them as well… but we'll sort it out, okay?"
Chad grins, "Sure. Um, we'd better get going before Abby notices Sonshine and Capriccio."
I laugh, taking Chad's hand and swinging it playfully, and we head out to where Chad's car waits outside. After dropping Josh off at Condor Studios, we head towards the coast.
We arrive at a small car park, where Chad gets out, picking up Abby and handing her over to me, before getting the beach bag out of the back of the car, leaving the bag with her presents in there. I put Abby down before clenching her hand, and we follow Chad, who walks off towards what looks like a small forest of palm trees, somewhat like a pathway.
"Chad?" I say, after a few minutes of walking through this forest, "Where are we going?"
"You'll see." He says, "It's kinda hidden away – I thought we'd want a little privacy – but we're almost there."
Pretty much as he finishes those words, I see a little light at the end of the tunnel of trees, and after a little more walking, we make it out. And I have to catch my breath straight away, coz this place is amazing!
Abby goes running down to the shore, giggling, but Chad stops her, grabbing her by the back of the shirt.
"It's okay, sweetie, slow down," He says, "You can swim later. Wait till Sonny puts you in your gear. He then turns to me, a bright smile on his face, "That okay with you, Sonshine? She's a big girl now – I can't be changing her!"
He ruffles his little sister's hair, to which she coos and squeals excitedly, and I just stand there, shocked.
"Wh- wh… how did you find this place?" I finally say, looking round once more. It really is beautiful – a tiny, enclosed area, surrounded by palm trees, but the water at the bottom looks shining and wild and free, the waves crashing into the shore before sweeping back out to sea. The sand is glistening in the sunlight, like little pieces of crystal, and two little deckchairs are set up in the middle, along with a few towels, and one of those little crocodile floats, which Abby adores.
Chad grins, "Awesome, ain't it? Like I told you – one of my old friends, Jamie, is a lifeguard. I knew Abby wanted to go to the beach for her birthday, and I knew you and me needed a little time away from the public eye, so I asked Jamie if he knew of any secret hideouts. He was happy to show me this place and help me set it up last night."
"Last night?" I repeat, and he nods.
"After I dropped you off."
"Really?" I ask, "Wasn't it really late when we got back? I didn't see the clock but it was dark."
"Uh…" He pauses to think, "I dropped you off at ten, and Jamie and I were there for a couple of hours."
"You didn't sleep till twelve?" I gasp, and he winces.
"Three." He corrects, "I was having a bit of an insomniac night."
"THREE?" I yell, "Chad, you must be exhausted!"
He chuckles, "Sonny, relax! It's not that big a deal – I'll be fine."
"Well, if you insist…" I say, and he smiles.
"I do insist."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Good."
"Good." He smirks, before chucking his T-shirt off and running for the water, yelling, "Splash time!"
Abby jiggles next to me, before prising herself free and running to the water to follow her brother. Oops… probably should've changed her first… oh well…
"Hey, Sonshine!" Chad yells from the water, where he and Abby are side-by-side, him clutching her in his left arm and waving at me with his right. "Come on in – the water's great!"
"Not yet!" I reply, "I need to change!"
I walk up to the deckchairs, where I hide myself from Chad so he doesn't watch me change. I pull off my T-shirt and shorts, placing the hat and sunglasses on the side, before suddenly feeling a splash on my back, and, seconds later, a pair of arms, wrapping around me and picking me up.
"That'll do!" Chad yells, carrying me to the water as I scream and yelp.
"Chad!" I yell, "I'm not in my swimsuit yet!"
"And you look beautiful!" He replies, before I feel his hands let go of me, and a millisecond later, I plunge into the salt water below. I come up from under the water a few seconds later, coughing and spluttering.
"Chad! No!" I yell, "I have salt in my eyes!"
He smirks, handing me a towel that he carried with us, and I dry my face delicately, as to not damage my make-up anymore than it already must've been, thank you, Chad.
I remove the towel from my face, handing it back to Chad, before smirking evilly at him.
"I will so get you later for that…"
Chad laughs, "Can't wait to see that." He winks, before turning to Abby and picking her up and spinning her around. Things suddenly feel so peaceful, so fun, so… family-like.
A few hours later, we've had lunch, I've done a little sunbathing while Chad and Abby played with a beach ball, we've made a sandcastle, and we're just on our way back to the water when a girl's voice squeals from behind us.
"Hey, hey, Coopers!" She grins, flipping her blonde hair and taking her big, pink, heart-shaped sunglasses from her eyes.
"Hi, Tawni!" I laugh, getting out of the water, with Abby in tow, who hugs Tawni's legs tightly, grinning.
"Auntie Tawni!" She yells, and Tawni smiles.
"Aw, hey, beautiful!" Tawni grins, picking her up and swinging her around, before putting her back down and fishing around in her purse.
"I gotcha something…" She says, before taking out a small velvet box. Abby opens it to reveal a small gold necklace, with the words 'Little Star' written in gold inside a red heart. It looks gorgeous, and expensive. But hey, I guess Tawni would get something fabulous for her Mini Me.
Abby takes the necklace out of its case, grinning. "Does it look good?" She asks, making us all laugh at her cuteness.
"It looks beautiful, darlin'." Chad grins at his newly adopted nickname for Abby considering she's now too old to be called 'baby girl', "Let's put it somewhere safe so we don't lose it in the sand…"
Chad takes the box and the necklace, placing the necklace in the box and the box in the beach bag to keep it safe.
I turn to Tawni, happy to see my best friend but annoyed because I was enjoying out time as a 'family'. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?"
"Oh, Chad told me about it." She says, "I wanted to spend some time with my little fabulous Mini Me and her family, so I asked what you guys were doing for the day. Chad told me about it and so here I am!" She the drops her voice to a whisper and adds, "Don't worry though – I haven't told anyone about it."
I smile, glad our privacy isn't totally invaded. "Thanks, Tawn."
"You're welcome." She says, before properly scanning us all for the first time, tilting her head slightly when she does so. She seems to have just noticed that I'm wearing my underwear, both Chad and Abby are pretty much still fully-clothed (minus the shirt for Chad). "Uh, you guys know there's such thing as swimsuits, right?"
I roll my eyes. "Yeah… Chad forced me."
"Right…" Tawni blinks, "Well, you guys hit the water, and I'll be right in…"
A few minutes go past of messing about in the water, when I remember my vow of revenge to Chad earlier. I tell Tawni to take Abby out of the water; just because I don't want them to be part of my little revenge… things may get crazy…
So, Tawni takes Abby to go build a neighbouring sandcastle for our first one, and I plan my attack. I creep up behind an un-expecting Chad, stealthy like a shark, before jumping onto his back.
"What the heck?"
"Piggyback!"
I smirk, climbing onto Chad's back, grabbing his head and dunking it under the water. He comes back up after a few seconds, coughing, and I laugh, climbing off his back.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" He asks, turning to face me, his face dripping wet, and I giggle.
"Uh-huh," I say, "It's payback for earlier."
"Right…" He says, before grinning an evil grin.
"What?" I ask, nervous, and he smirks.
"It's my turn for a piggyback." He winks. My eyes widen.
"No… you wouldn't!"
Chad evil grin grows wider, and he strides across the water towards me. I dodge his splashes and him jumping on me, and he continues chasing me, before finally succeeded, wrapping his arms and legs around my waist, his chin resting delicately on my shoulder. I swear, if we weren't in water right now, I'd have dropped him. Am I the only one who's noticed people are way lighter in water?
"Can I call this victory?" He whispers, and I smirk.
"Call it whatever you want… just kiss me first."
I feel his lips twist into a smile. "Whatever you say, Sonshine."
He jumps off of my back and picks me up bridal style, cuddling his arms around me, his lips inches from mine. We kiss softly, then getting perfectly passionate, before pulling away to notice Abby and Tawni staring our way. Abby looks confused, but Tawni is just smiling smugly, like she knows something we don't.
"You guys back in the real world now?" She asks.
"Huh?" I about all I can muster, since the kiss has left me speechless yet again.
"You've been in ChannyLand for, like, 5 minutes." She smirks, "You're lucky this isn't a public beach."
I feel my cheeks turn an embarrassing shade of crimson, and Chad's mouth drops open, before he smiles sheepishly at me.
"Was that enough for you, m'lady?" He asks, winking.
"Just about." I laugh. He kisses me once more on the cheek, before dropping me into the water, running to the shore. Ugh, he is such a moment-killer…
"Come back here, you!" I yell, running out of the water and chasing him around. I'm so busy chasing him, I almost don't hear Tawni snort, before saying;
"Disgustingly cute."
Chad smirks on hearing this, and stops running, wrapping his arms around me and turning to face Tawni. With a wink, he says, "Actually, Tawni, it's adorably cute." (AN: Sarah :P)
Tawni just glares at him, an annoyed glare, and I decide to move on from this before Chad and Tawni begin a heated debate on our relationship.
"Speaking of adorably cute…" I say, turning to Abby, picking her up and grinning. "Want your presents now, beautiful?"
Abby's eyes light up and she nods excitedly, and so Chad heads back up to the car where the presents are still in the back of it.
About five minutes later, Chad arrives with the presents in two bags, one with Lovey Horse in it, the other with the guitar. Abby disintegrates the wrapping paper, falling in love with each of the presents straight away. She tests out Lovey Horse's 'play' button, which, when pressed, sings an adorable (and annoyingly-catchy) song. I see a devilish smile on Chad's face when he sees that, and realise he's plotting to annoy Josh. Ha, my boyfriend and his crazy little brother… something tells me Lovey Horse is gonna cause some mischief…
Then Chad teaches Abby her first chord, an A, with my help. She perfects it within a few minutes, and Chad grins at me.
"Told ya," He says, "She'll be a superstar some day, I can guarantee."
I take his word for it, considering she is a Cooper – the family who can accomplish anything.
So, at the end of the day, we walk back to the car, Chad carrying the presents (apart from Tawni's necklace, which is sitting delicately around Abby's neck).
"Believe me, sweetie," Tawni whispers to Abby, "Next year's present will be even more spectacular… I can guarantee it."
Even I get excited at that. When Tawni says 'spectacular', it means 'absolutely, fantastically amazing'. I honestly can't wait to see what she has in mind.
So, we arrive back home, where Josh and Zora are already there. We ask Zora to stay for a while, and she agrees, considering she thinks Abby is awesome too. So, we all stay to watch her open more presents from more family members and from Zora (who gets her a mini So Random sarcophagus), and for the cake. Her cake is awesome – straight from the Condor Studios' cafeteria – a half So Random, half Mackenzie Falls cake… and it looks delicious.
Abby sure agrees, guzzling the whole thing in one go, just about. Chad smirks.
"Am I that delicious?" He asks, and I laugh, swatting him with my arm jokingly.
"You are to me." I say, which makes him almost blush.
A few hours later, we all leave. Tawni offers to take me and Zora home, so Chad doesn't need to, which is a disappointment to him, I can tell. I think he just wants us to have a little… alone time. Oh well, that means more for tomorrow!
"Thanks for coming today, guys." Chad says to us all at the door, Abby stood next to him. "What do you say to the girls, Abby?" He asks her, and a smile creeps onto her face.
"Thank you." She grins, which makes us all swoon.
"No, problem, beautiful." I say, "We had a lot of fun! Glad you like the presents too."
"See you guys tomorrow then?" Chad asks, and we all nod, more me than anyone else.
We all exchange 'goodbye's', before getting in Tawni's car and driving down the road into the darkness, talking about the fun we had that day.
Well, there we have it. The little cutie's birthday ;) Hope you guys like it. Please review! :D