Disclaimer: I don't really own Sonny with a Chance or So Random!...not at all. What? That wasn't witty enough for you? You try getting up at 8:30 in the morning on a ridiculously hot day and dance for three hours…see how witty you are then…hehe, just kidding I love you huggables! I've just been watching too much Shane Dawson…don't own him either…but if he asked me out I wouldn't say no.

Hi guys! I'm working on updating Echoes of Thunder in My Mind, because I haven't updated in FOREVER and because I'm obsessed with it and it bothers me I don't know what to do with it. It's not great, but it's just REALLY fun to write. Okay, hmm…do I have anything to say? Um…well, I'm gonna dedicate this to all of you in general. Thank you so much for all of the support so far! I mean, 11 reviews? Y'all are nuts! Hehe, but I won't complain. Chapter 4 time! P.S. If you look at the chapter title, I used a play on words that cracks me up!

Brit wrinkled her nose – not very attractive for someone as fake as she was. "Sonny, this isn't a movie. You have to be in it to win it. And you know what, I'm going to help you. I'm going to give you a makeover." She smiled, as if she were doing me some huge favor. Maybe she was.

I found myself nodding. "Okay. And I'll teach you how to get Chad's attention with more than just your body." The plan was going well so far. However, I knew for a fact that this, in all of its complicated glory, was only the beginning of what I would be dealing with for the next few weeks.

…

I sighed, sitting down on my bed and wrapping a purple blanket around myself protectively. Skylar hadn't said a word to me after we had left the café the other day, and every time I had called since then he refused to pick up. His voice mail claimed he was on vacation, but I knew that was a lie. Just last week he had been complaining about having to turn his phone off for a movie – there was no way he would go on vacation without it.

If he was ignoring the world, fine. But to ignore your best friend, something really weird had to be happening to him. The last thing I had asked him was what he had meant about things changing between us, and that was around the time he had gone deathly quiet. I couldn't help but wonder if he had gotten sick and didn't want anyone to worry.

Shaking my head, I banished that explanation from my mind. If Skylar was sick, he would be whining and telling me to take care of him – the boy could be so lazy. Therefore, obviously being sick hadn't caused his invisibility trick, something else had. And if he didn't plan to come to me, well then, I would just have to go to him.

…..

"Skylar DeVane!" I banged my fist on his apartment door. If he didn't answer in the next thirty seconds, I would use the key on the top of his door frame. However, that could be considered burglary, so I decided calling out to him with a warning first would be safer. "I know you're in there, and if you don't open this door in the next thirty seconds, I'm breaking in!"

Threatening him seemed to work, because five seconds later the door to his apartment opened, and there my best friend stood, looking irritated (to be fair, I probably would be, too, if the last thing I wanted was to talk to anyone and I had been screamed at by a temperamental twenty year old girl). "Can I help you, Miss Munroe?"

He was really being cold, and I honestly could not find a reason why. However, I was determined to figure it out. "Yeah, you can tell me why the hell you're ignoring me!" Taking a deep breath, I tried to explain in a calmer way. "If you wanted to ignore the world, Skylar, that's fine, but couldn't you have at least given me a warning?"

The brunette boy sighed, shaking his head and pulling me into his apartment by the arm. "I'm not ignoring the world. You're overreacting." Didn't he know that was one of the worst things to tell a girl?

My jaw dropped, and every fiber of my being was suddenly and powerfully restraining my arms from reaching out and slapping my best friend. "I cannot believe you just said that. I'm not overreacting. You're just trying to get me out and you know the only way to do that is to satisfy me. Come on, Skylar, why are you doing this to me?"

His jaw clenched, and I knew there was something really bothering him. "I'm not doing any of those things, Sonny. You're just being a five year old. Why don't you take a few deeps breaths and then turn around and go home. I'm on a vacation."

I rolled my eyes. "You're right here, Skylar. I can plainly see you. Besides, why would you go on a vacation? What's your reasoning?" Lately I just really didn't understand this boy. Considering Skylar had always been easy to read, I was scared – more than that, I was confused. There was a change in him, but it seemed to be one that had been burning for a long time and was simmering, almost boiling but not quite ready to explode.

With startling clarity, I realized my best friend was officially a ticking time bomb. And he looked a little like he was about to blow. Before I could make up some excuse about having to go somewhere, Skylar blurted out, "I'm taking a vacation from you, Sonny."

It took me a split second to register his words, and then the room went deathly quiet – with the exception of Skylar's heavy breathing as he tried to calm himself. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I nodded slowly, already knowing my voice would crack. "Okay. In that case, I'll just…go. Bye, Skylar." I looked back at him, trying to hide the hurt in my eyes.

As I walked out the door, I heard the sound of Skylar's desperate protests of "Sonny…", but I didn't look back again. In fact, it was almost as if I hadn't heard him at all. I was too busy listening to the sound of my own heart breaking in a way only one person could break it: a best friend.

…

"But Sonny, that doesn't make any sense. I saw him, too; he seemed fine. You guys are best friends, this just doesn't add up." By the time I had gotten home after my talk with Skylar (if you could even call that a talk), I had decided I didn't want to cry anymore. So somehow I had found myself calling the least empathetic person in the world – Chad Dylan Cooper – to vent.

To be honest, I hadn't known Chad acquired a caring bone in his body, but he was honestly listening and letting me speak. For once it wasn't all about him; he even threw in his own input from time to time.

Sighing, I cradled the phone on my right side and took a deep breath, preparing myself to state the obvious. "I know it doesn't make any sense, Chad, that's why I'm so confused. I've known him for two years and he has never acted like that before. I just…don't get it. Did I do something wrong?"

Chad let a gust of air escape his lungs and spoke. "I don't think it's anything you did, Sonny. I've never seen him like that, either, and I considered him my best friend for five years." Then he chuckled. "Who knows, maybe he's been secretly in love with you for a long time and can't take it anymore."

I groaned at Chad, rolling my eyes. "Can we be serious here, Cooper? It's never been that way between Skylar and me, and to be honest, the thought sort of disgusts me. He's my best friend, but considering he's like a brother, I wouldn't ever go there. It's ridiculous."

The blonde boy laughed again on the other end, and I could hear a smile in his voice. "It makes sense, though, doesn't it? Everyone says a guy and a girl can't just be friends. Besides, Sonny, you're hot. He definitely wants to have sex with you, at the very least." He laughed again as I blushed (I was suddenly glad we weren't talking face to face). He thought I was hot? "But trust me, if he got you alone, you wouldn't be leaving for a considerably long amount of time. You'd be addictive to Skylar. He doesn't sleep with that many people."

I rolled my eyes yet again, sighing. "What happened to being serious?" I muttered. "Besides, like I said, that's ridiculous. We are just friends, and that's the way we both like it. I would never, ever even consider -."

Cutting me off with another laugh, Chad finished my sentence – sort of. "I know you'd never sleep with him, Sonny, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't take the opportunity if given the chance. He's a twenty year old guy, what do you expect?"

Groaning, I frowned at my reflection in the mirror. "You're grossing me out, Chad. Can we stop getting off track? I'm having a meltdown – my best friend hates me and I don't know why." I regretted my earlier thoughts. Chad wasn't fun to vent to. I made a mental note to myself not to discuss anything of importance with him.

The Mackenzie Falls star sighed. "Okay, okay, I'll behave. You're no fun, though." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I think…maybe he just wants some space. Maybe you accidentally said something – it doesn't have to be major. The good thing is that Skylar's bad at holding a grudge…unless it's against me, of course."

I sighed, too, searching my mind for what to say. Sometimes around Chad my thoughts got jumbled – I blamed it on my former crush on him. There was no way I still felt that way. I didn't have enough spare time to like somebody, anyway. "At least he's over that now." Suddenly I got an idea – it was so perfect. "Hey, Chad? Do you think you could -."

"No, Sonny," he cut me off, reading my thoughts. "I don't like helping, and even if I did I wouldn't help you right now. I just got on Skylar's good side again – please don't mess this up for me."

I frowned, but only because he was right. "Good point. Okay, you can stay out of this." Still bummed, I figured changing the subject would be best. "So…how are things with Brit?" I hadn't gotten chance to see Brit again…not that this fact bothered me. More time with Chad – for the sole purpose of reliving my past – was always good. Besides, Brit scared me a little. She did threaten me.

Chad laughed a little. "Good. She's still sleeping with me, so I'm taking that as a sign that we're okay right now. But I still really need your help, because she gets moody and then she's…not very attractive."

I raised my eyebrows at the irony, ignoring the sex comment. "So you want my help, but you won't help me? Oh, the irony. I never knew you were funny, Chad."

Chad scoffed. "Chad Dylan Cooper is hilarious. And we've been over this – I don't like helping people, especially when it might ruin something for me. You aren't going to guilt me into this, Sonny."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll still help you. But you know, I could get hurt, and I'm wasting a lot of time for you. If you ask me-."

"Oh my god, fine, I'll talk to him. But if you mess this up for me, Sonny…" Chad trailed off, but I got the hint. The next time he spoke, his voice was a lot more chipper and sure. "Seriously, you guys will work this out. Don't worry about it too much, okay? I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Thank you," I cooed, smiling happily. Guilting people into things was a game I was good at. "You won't regret it…I hope."

He laughed a little. "So do I, Sonny. I have to go, okay? But I'll call tomorrow to let you know how it went. In the meantime, get some sleep. You sound stressed." The phone clicked, and I knew he was gone.

Chad would talk to Skylar, and maybe, just maybe, everything would be straightened out. But I knew better than to hope too hard; I had never seen my best friend that sure of anything before. How was it that, when my past was reopened, the present became harder to control? I was beginning to remember the bitterness of why I became who I was today – and it wasn't a good feeling.

Okay, so…I'm terrible. But as long as you and I both realize this, we're still cool, right? And you'll forgive me? *puppy dog eyes* I mean…I'm going to do my best to finally update Echoes of Thunder in My Mind soon, and I DID write two new one shots…so…I'm sorry…but I'm back. And to make it up to you, I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Okay, well…lemme know what you think! SMILES!

LOL