A/N: One more chapter to go after this, peeps :( I'm still open to ideas if anyone's been dying to see a Channy concept put into motion, please let me know.

I had a hard time with this chapter. For some reason my writing style felt a bit off on this one, and on top of that, I was concerned that this chapter got a little too mean. But keeping in mind the T rating of this story, my beta's opinions, and the horrible things Portlyn and her friends did to deserve it, I went ahead and gave it a shot. Next chapter I hope to have my writing vibe back, but... I dunno. Tell me what you think.

Please review, it'll get the last chapter out quicker, I promise ;) Enjoy.

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"Mmm, not good enough. Try and think of something really sad, maybe that'll help..."

"Sonny, I've been acting since I was two. I think I know how to look upset."

Sonny frowned and began running her hands through Chad's hair. "Your hair is too straight; maybe this'll help. It needs to look like you were up all night."

"Woah, woah, woah," Chad grabbed Sonny's wrist and yanked it away from his head. "No one, not even my Sonny, touches the hair."

Sonny folded her arms. "Chad, they are not going to go for this unless we make it completely believable. Now hold still."

Chad groaned in annoyance as Sonny continued ruffling his hair until she was satisfied. She looked him up and down for a moment before loosening his tie a bit.

"There... that should do it."

"You're gonna make someone a scary wife someday, you know that?"

Sonny only smiled and kissed his cheek. "Here, don't lose it," she instructed as she handed him a photoshopped copy of a magazine.

"Are you sure this thing looks real?" Chad asked skeptically as he turned it over in his hands.

"It does, trust me. Mom's been working with computers forever... I showed it to Tawni too, she said you can't even tell the difference."

"Okay, but... I haven't fake cried in a long time, Sonny; what if they find out what we're up to right away?"

Sonny rolled her eyes. "This was your idea! You spent all night talking me into it because I thought it was too mean, remember?"

"Yea well, now that we're about to do it, I'm realizing there's a million things that can go wrong."

Sonny shook her head and put her hands on his shoulders standing on her toes and planting a deep kiss on his lips.

Chad sighed and stroked her cheek. "I hate you."

Sonny just giggled as she watched him turn around and walk towards his set.

---

Portlyn looked up as she heard the door to the Mackenzie Falls break room open. She grinned and waved him over.

"Chaaaad!"

Chad ignored her, instead shuffling uncharacteristically slowly towards the couch. His demeanor resembled that of a zombie; lethargic and emotionless. Portlyn raised an eyebrow and got up from her spot, plopping herself down on the cushion next to him.

"Morning, Cutie!"

No response. Portlyn frowned and whacked him on the arm. "Um, helloooo? I'm talking to you!"

Chad shut his eyes and shook his head. "Portlyn, please...", he whispered. "I'm not in the mood..."

Portlyn tilted her head and scooted closer to him. "What's the matter?"

Chad inhaled deeply, clutching the rolled up magazine in his hands.

"It's... It's Sonny..." Chad made what he hoped was a convincing crack in his voice.

Portlyn sighed in relief. "Oh, her? She's fine."

"No..." Chad shook his head. "No she's not... I don't know what happened or who did this to her... I left her alone in here for a few minutes and came back to find her on the floor... God, I'm such an idiot; I should've taken her with me..."

Portlyn scoffed and patted his shoulder. "Trust me, she's fine. I was there. She heard us coming and tripped... Knocked her head on the end table and passed out. We were going to find help, but someone had already left with her by the time we got back," she assured him.

Chad bit his lip, hoping he didn't look angry at the fact that she was blatantly lying to his face.

"Gee Portlyn... That sounds like a pretty outlandish scenario."

If Portlyn was under any pressure by his accusation, she certainly didn't show it. She seemed to be just as good an actor as Chad was. "Well it's not. I saw it happen. I'm sure she woke up soon after."

Chad blinked a few times, desperately willing tears to form in his eyes. It was a lot harder than he remembered. "N-No, Portlyn..."

'Not convincing enough!!' he told himself. 'Think of something sad! Mom and Dad missing your last birthday, shooting the season finale, Sonny breaking up with you, SOMETHING!!'

Portlyn seemed confused as he stared forward. He hoped it looked like he was just trying to compose himself.

Finally, just in the nick of time, a stray tear managed to escape his eye. He disguised a sigh of relief by looking down and putting his face in his hands.

"Chad? Chaaad? Helloooo?" Portlyn poked his shoulder until he looked up at her. His eyes were red and puffy, mostly from his excessive blinking. "Chad... What's got you so upset, what's going on?"

Chad sniffled slightly. "Thing is... I-I'm not sure I can believe you, Porty. Because... Sonny's friends found her... And they said she was in such bad shape they had to rush her to the hospital."

Portlyn suddenly looked nervous. She glanced over at her fellow castmates, who looked equally as nervous. "...T-They did? W-Well I'm sure they were just being careful. A-After all, she was perfectly fine when we went to get help... I-It was just a little fainting spell... She's fine..."

"Portlyn... she's gone."

"WHAT?!", came the collective response from the cast.

Chad buried his face in his arms and made several sobbing and heaving noises as he spoke. "I was up all night with her. She just... Never woke up."

Portlyn bit her lower lip, looking completely horrified, before she shook her head.

"Not uh. No way. You're bluffing... She's fine! It was just a stupid punch-- er... blow to the head!! That's not possible!!"

Chad smirked as he kept his face buried in his arms, but let out another dramatic choke. "It's called 'blunt force trauma to the head', Porty. It musta been one heck of a fall, because she didn't survive it."

Portlyn's eyes widened dramatically, but she refused to buy it. "No... There's not a chance that's true."

Chad inhaled before handing her the magazine in his hands. "Read for yourself."

Portlyn snatched the magazine out of his hands, scanning until she reached the article Chad was referring to.

"So Random's Sonny Munroe, 15, was pronounced dead this morning after being rushed to the hospital by the show's cast."

Portlyn's eyes nearly popped out of her head, but Chad was certain they actually did pop when she reached the last line of the article.

"Investigation is pending on Mackenzie Falls' Portlyn James, who was found leaving the scene."

"What?!" Portlyn dropped the magazine out of her hands. "That's... this is ridiculous... This is insane!!"

"Insane?!" One of the boys snatched the magazine up. "Portlyn, you killed her!!"

"Me?! You were the ones that pounded her!!"

"We only did it because you told us to!!"

"Hold the phone, guys..." Chad interrupted, trying to look more surprised than accusatory. "What are you talking about? I thought you said she fell?"

Portlyn sat back down next to him, shaking all over. "Okay... Okay, we... We pounded her, alright? But... But we just wanted her to stay away from you! We weren't trying to kill her, I swear!"

Chad wiped his eyes and his expression softened. "Portlyn... I don't believe it..."

Portlyn tightened her grip on his arm. "Chad, we weren't trying to kill her, I swear!! It was just supposed to knock her out for a little bit!!"

Chad clenched his fists slightly, holding back an outburst. It was clear Sonny's life wasn't a priority here; it was the fact that she was going to get in trouble for inadvertently taking it. He took a deep breath, sticking to the plan he'd set out.

"Okay Portlyn... It's alright, I know it was an accident," he said, patting her back. "I'll help you so you don't get in trouble."

Portlyn looked up at him. "How?"

"Well I dunno... You're going to have to leave Hollywood for good. Maybe change your name... We'll probably have to shave your head so no one recognizes you." Chad bit his lower lip to hold back a laugh as Portlyn put a hand on her head in horror. "I think I know just the person to help you too."

Portlyn, clearly misunderstanding him, clung tightly to his arm. "Thank you Chad; thank you, thank you, thank you!! I'm sorry for what I did, I swear, just help."

Chad shook his head. "Oh, I'm not going to help you..."

A tap on Portlyn's shoulder nearly made her fall off the couch in fear, and she turned around to see who was trying to get her attention.

She went completely pale at the sight of Sonny. Momentarily thinking she'd gone insane, Portlyn jumped from her spot and clung tightly to Chad, letting out a quick shriek.

Sonny giggled and wiggled her fingers. "Pooooortlyn, I've come to haaaaunt you," she teased.

Portlyn took a moment and caught her breath before glaring at her, realizing she'd been tricked.

"You..."

Sonny shrugged. "A little bruised, but fine. And you?"

Portlyn stood up and approached her. "You..."

Chad held back the urge to get between them and protect Sonny, knowing she had things under control.

"You," Sonny responded, "Might want to take a few deep breaths before you do anything," She held up the camera in her hands for emphasis. "Or I'll make sure every tabloid from here to New York gets a load of this."

Portlyn balled her fists and shook with rage. "Name your price."

Sonny shrugged again. "Nothing to steep. You let me and Chad do what we want and keep to your own business and everything'll be fine."

Portlyn folded her arms and sneered. "Not a chance."

"I-I dunno Portlyn," one of her friends spoke up, "I-It was never supposed to go this far--"

"Shut up!", she snapped, stomping her foot. "Fine then. You sit around here and brag about how you won this round. I have more important things to do. There are plenty of other ways to get a guy, believe me. This isn't over, Munroe." With that, she turned on her heel and stormed for the exit.

She didn't get far when she opened the door, only to have the commissary's leftover mystery meat casserole pour down on her head.

Chad's jaw nearly dropped as he shifted his gaze from the bucket to the girl standing outside, facing Portlyn.

Tawni.

She smirked and waved as Portlyn stormed down the hall, several of her castmates following, not wanting to stick around for anything else Sonny and Chad could possibly have in store.

Sonny smiled a bit as Tawni walked in.

"T-Tawni... I thought I told you we had the revenge thing all taken care of?"

Tawni shrugged, dropping something on the table in front of them. "Maybe I didn't have a whole lot of faith in your plan."

Sonny grinned up at her friend. "Thanks Tawni..."

Tawni waved her hand as she left the room. "Yea, yea. Don't get used to it!", she called over her shoulder.

Sonny shook her head, looking down at the magazine on the table. "Look... Tawni left this here," she said. Chad sat down next to her and leaned over to read over her shoulder.

She grabbed it and opened it to the page marked by a sticky note. She searched the page, pausing at an article that was circled with red marker.

"Anonymous Source Speaks Out

So Random's Tawni Hart has come forward as the 'anonymous source' that claimed Sonny Munroe and Chad Dylan Cooper were allegedly found drinking and leaving a club, among other accusations. She told us the rumors were in poor taste and expressed her remorse for the situation.

'I did something really horrible,' she tells us. 'I hope that coming clean and honest with everyone will convince them to forgive me. Sonny and Chad are great people, no matter what anyone says, and they deserve the chance to be together again.' She smiles as she continues, 'Real love like they have doesn't come around too often. I'm not gonna be the one who causes them to miss that opportunity.'

-Tween Weekly, Hollywood, CA"

Sonny sniffed and leaned her head on Chad's shoulder as she picked up the note that marked the page, reading the hand written words on it.

"Read this article. I'm sorry. -Tawni"