Disclaimer: No Sonny with a Chance or So Random! for me. Or Twilight, because that's Stephanie Meyer's. But, you know, I've got my whole life ahead of me.

Okay, I know this isn't Echoes of Thunder in My Mind like I promised, but I REALLY wanted to update this without getting behind again. So I'll try to update my other multichapter as SOON as possible. I'm sorry for letting you down, k.98'PeaceOutSuckas'!

Thank you guys so much for all of the lovely reviews. There was one in particular that was anonymous, but it was a death threat to Chad, and it made me laugh. I won't kill him, and there will be Channy, but…well, you'll see. I'm not even sure yet what I want to do. Thanks for everything, guys! And haha, thanks for dramatically reviewing and giving me your opinion. You guys are such closet Sonlar lovers. It's okay, me too.

*Flashback*

Skylar plopped down in a booth dramatically and I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the other side. "But Sonny, Chad was my best friend; if I hadn't stopped being friends with him, I wouldn't have met you. If we work things out…then what? Do I have to forget about you or something? Because I don't like that plan all too much. You're my best friend, now, and that's the way I want it."

Okay, so that wasn't what I wanted, either. But did it have to be that way? "Why do things have to change between us? I mean, Chad can be your friend, too; that doesn't mean we aren't still best friends. It just means you have other friends, too. What's wrong with that?"

Skylar let out a breath of air, glaring. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I was already walking on shaky grounds with him, and decided to bite my tongue. "Because, Sonny, it messes with the balance of where we stand. And if things change…well, there might be a few slip-ups I don't want to make."

*End Flashback*

It took me until now to understand what he had meant that day, and I didn't know what to make of it. How had I missed something so obvious? Had I just not wanted to believe it?

I stared at him, eyes wide, searching for words. A part of me really wanted to pretend he meant it in a familial sort of way, but I knew he didn't. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to feel.

Skylar bit his lip, and I knew he was trying hard not to look at the ground. I could see the fear in his eyes, and it killed me. I knew I needed to say something before either of us started crying; the tension was almost tangible. My voice cracked as I spoke. "Um…since when?"

He had given up and looked down, but his head shot up when I spoke. It took him a minute, but he finally broke the awkward silence that had rebuilt itself since I had spoken. "I don't really know…maybe about a year? I guess…I mean, it just sort of hit me when Chad showed up. I don't know why."

I nodded, still playing with my shirt, averting his soft gaze. "Oh." That was all I could come up with. My mind was blank; I couldn't wrap my head around what had just happened.

I looked up finally, and he let out a breath of air. His lips looked almost purple, and I realized he was forgetting to breathe. I guess his mind was blank, too. "Yeah." His voice was weak.

We sat there for a couple of minutes in complete and utter silence. I was wondering how much time had passed when Skylar suddenly jumped up. "Just…just forget I said anything. It's not important. Um…are you hungry? We never actually ate. I mean…" He trailed off, looking at me briefly before bolting into the kitchen.

I stayed seated, not comprehending his words. Food? When were we supposed to eat? Oh yeah, at the diner. Okay, we can work through this. Our friendship is so much stronger than the way it's been recently; we knew how to handle storms, no matter how bad they were.

I didn't want to lose my best friend to this. I didn't want to lose any part of him. I didn't want things to be awkward. I didn't want him to hurt. I didn't want him to find someone else to love, though. Why did I care so much?

Getting up, I followed him into the kitchen where he was grabbing something from a cabinet. It didn't bother me that he wanted our friendship to be more. It shocked me, but it didn't bother me. I felt…almost relieved by it.

I walked over to him and watched as he finished rummaging around. When he had found whatever it was he was looking for, he turned around, and we both froze, staring at each other. The silence was back.

I'm not sure why I did what I did next; it just sort of happened. I leaned up so I was on my tiptoes and kissed him softly. And you know what? I think I'd been waiting a long time to do that.

…..

An hour later, I was laying in Skylar's arms, listening to his heart beat in his chest. We hadn't talked since I had kissed him. He had just kissed me back, and somehow we ended up here, sitting in silence; this time, though, it wasn't awkward. It was like all of the tension that had been in our lives recently was gone, and then some more that I hadn't ever realized had been between my best friend and me. It was like everything was okay.

There was just one thing that was bothering me. Where did we stand, now that all of this had happened? I doubted we were just friends, but I didn't know what to call our situation. "Hey, Sky?"

He looked over at me, vulnerable in a new way. He wasn't guarding his emotions; he wasn't sad anymore. This was the good kind of vulnerability. "Yeah?"

I bit my lip. "Well…I mean…where does this leave us?"

He sat up, bringing me with him. I moved so I was sitting next to him, my legs crossed, on the couch. I watched as he thought for a second before responding, most likely trying to decide what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.

It was weird; we were so close, but somehow we were walking around each other on tiptoes right now, afraid something would go wrong. I guess that's what happens when you kiss your best friend.

Skylar spoke, breaking me away from my thoughts – not that I minded. I hadn't realized how nice his voice was before now. I had always found it soothing, but I had been completely missing out on how much more there was to it. "I don't really know. What do you want to do?"

I laughed. "Why do you always make me decide the hard, thought-provoking things?"

Skylar raised an eyebrow at me. "Thought-provoking? New word?" I nodded. "I'm impressed, Sonny."

I smiled at him and settled into the couch. "But seriously, I don't want to do this myself. What do you think we should do?"

He let out a breath and stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up, too. "Come on."

I looked at him, confusion evident in my eyes. "Where are we going?"

He smiled a little. "You'll see when we're there." I shrugged, figuring following him wouldn't hurt. Besides, I was curious.

….

"Okay. So, I didn't really have anything that special planned, I just figured we could think more clearly when we were both breathing clean…ish air."

That was Skylar's logic when we ended up at the same park we had been at an hour and a half ago, this time in our pajamas. It was late, I was tired, and thinking took more focus than I had right now. But what he was saying made sense, so I complied and sat down on a bench. It had stopped raining, but the water hadn't completely dried up and my butt was now wet. I made a face.

Skylar laughed. "Nice thinking, Sonny."

I sighed. "It's late…" Smiling, I pulled him down next to me. "If I'm going down, I'm dragging you with me. It was your idea to go outside in the 'clean-ish' air."

He sighed, but knew there was no point in standing up now and settled in, accepting the situation. "Fair enough. But doesn't this smoggy air just enlighten your mind? Doesn't it free your senses?" He sounded so sarcastically happy I just had to laugh.

"Of course it does. Why, do you not get the same effect from pollution?"

He snickered, wrapping an arm around me comfortingly. "I think it kills my brain cells more than anything."

I nodded. "It probably isn't too good for your lungs, either."

Skylar sighed again, nodding in agreement. "I don't know. I always think more clearly when I'm outside. And considering I grew up in New York, that's a huge statement. Go ahead, try to wrap your head around it; I dare you."

I laughed. "How could you hear your thoughts through all of the honking?"

He smiled. "Ear plugs."

We were silent for a minute, taking in the cool California air. Neither of us knew what to say next. The question of where we stood with each other lingered in our minds, but I didn't have an answer, and I was pretty sure Skylar would have spoken up if he had one.

I knew what he wanted, and I was pretty sure it was what I wanted, too – I just didn't want to mess up our friendship. I knew how cliché that sounded, but it was true. Skylar and I had worked too hard to let everything go to waste.

It felt so right when I kissed him. It felt like none of the crap with Chad mattered anymore. It felt like I could go up to the blonde egomaniac tomorrow morning and tell him he was a douche bag and that there was a reason Brit didn't like him. Mind you, I wasn't going to do that, but I felt as if I could if I so desired.

I guess it was a feeling of being whole again. I hadn't been whole since I was seventeen; I still wasn't perfect, but I was almost there. It felt like I could be there someday. It felt like Skylar wasn't going to hurt me, to leave me. And it was while I was thinking about all of this that I realized I wanted exactly what he did. I wanted to be able to call him my boyfriend.

…

Chad's Point of View

I was an idiot, that's what I was. It was midnight and I still hadn't gone after Sonny. Screw Brit; it had always been Sonny, hadn't it? She had always been the one to know who I was even when I didn't. She was the one who made me believe I wasn't just an egomaniac; I had given up on myself long before she came to California.

As soon as I met her, it was as if anything could happen. It was as if things could be different, as if I could be different. I was drowning, terrified because I didn't know what would happen next, but I hadn't ever really minded. I had never wanted her to go away. If I had ever told her to leave, it was because I was scared of change. I would probably always be scared of change.

If I hadn't ever pushed her away, I would have her now. I would've held onto her the night after we slept together, and I would have never let her go. Why was I such an idiot?

The thing is, I knew how Skylar felt about her, and I wasn't planning to mess with that. The reason I wanted to kick myself was because I felt that way a long time before he did, and if I had just been a little less scared after that night…if I had made a move. A real move. One that didn't involve sex. If I had just shown her how much I loved her. How much I honestly loved her.

I hated that moment when you realized things could've been so different, but that it was too late. That it was inevitable that I would lose her, and I had no one to blame but myself. That even if I tried to fight for her…it would be too late.

Okay, so I was terrible at writing this chapter. I kept trying to make it funny and failed miserably every time. Oh, well, hopefully you guys will find it funny that I can't be funny. SMILES!

LOL