Wow. It's literally been 3 years since I've written for this story haha. But I'm finally back! I graduated high school and just finished my first year of college (woo-hoo!) and I found an insane need to write again. I no longer have dance to escape from everything because when I tried out for my college dance team, I got a pretty serious injury in my hip flexer and about a month later I twisted me knee pretty bad so I couldn't even dance in my free time. It's really sad =( So now I'm rediscovering my love of writing! =D Which is good for you guys because that means that I'll actually be finishing this story sometime soon! I have no idea where I was going with this story so I'll basically just have to start over with wherever I left off. But I'm truly amazed at how much my writing has changed in the past few years! I look back on what I wrote and it's like…wow, I seriously wrote that?! I almost want to go back and edit the whole story! But I unfortunately don't have time for that =/ But I am terribly sorry for the wait! But no worries, I'm back! =D =D =D

Previously:

I looked over at the clock on my nightstand. 5:48. Great, I still have 12 minutes to do nothing. It was then that I started to think about Chad. I hadn't talked to him since this afternoon.

Was I too hard on him? He was just watching out for me. But how would he know those things about Caden?

Still, I should apologize. He was my best friend, and he didn't totally deserve that.

He's been so good to me the past several weeks…err this entire month really. I wonder what changed him?

A doorbell made me jump. I looked at my clock again. 5:54. A smile crept across my face as I descended down the stairs.

Sonny's POV:

I touched up my hair quickly as I went down the steps to the front door. I felt butterflies in my stomach and wondered what Caden would think of how I looked. I couldn't help but feel nervous at the thought of dating someone again. The last person I dated was James and he…well, you know how that turned out.

Chad's words suddenly rang in my head. Could what he said be true? Was Caden really a player? No, that wasn't possible. He was a perfect gentleman when I talked to him; Chad was just being overprotective for some reason.

Finally at the door, I took a deep breath and turned the knob and pulled it open. On the other side, however, was not my date.

"Chad? What in the world are you doing here?! I have a date! Caden is going to be here any minute!" I exclaimed. Chad didn't say anything, but opened his mouth as though he wanted to, but couldn't find the words.

I stared at him expectantly, but soon felt a little self-conscious when Chad only stared back at me with wide eyes. Was there something on my face?

"I…um…you…uh…you look beautiful Sonny." He finally stuttered out.

A blush spread across my cheeks and felt my lips curl into a cheesy grin. My heart did this weird fluttering thing and my stomach clenched slightly at his words. His baby blue eyes were filled with something I could only describe as wonder and awe.

"Well thank you, but really Chad, what are you doing here?" I asked again.

The awe in his eyes was replaced by determination and a hint of anger. He took several deep breaths before speaking to me confidently. "You can't go on this date Sonny. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be telling you what you can and can't do, but just please hear me out. This Caden guy is all wrong for you!"

My face contorted with anger, I scoffed and crossed my arms in defiance. "Who do you think you are Chad? I told you before, Caden has been nothing but nice to me," I spat back.

Chad rolls his eyes and says, "That's how it always starts. I've heard plenty of stories about him! He's all nice and sweet in the beginning but then it's like he flips a switch and he turns into this big jerk who just uses girls to get what he wants no matter the cost." His volume had grown significantly by the time he finished.

"When did you start caring about who I dated? I don't believe a word you're saying. You're just being way overprotective for who knows why! I don't know why you suddenly started caring about me for some reason," I say back, my voice growing louder too.

He pauses and seems taken aback by what I said and gives me a strange look. "I thought I made it pretty obvious for the past month that I care about you Sonny," he says softly. His eyes, which had gotten darker in his anger, were now back to their normal sparkly blue and while Chad tried to put on a good front, I saw hurt in the cool blue irises.

I refused to let his hurt feelings affect me. I couldn't; I had to stay strong and get my point across. Even so, I let a bit of sympathy enter my voice as it took on a gentler tone.

"Alright, I know you care about me, but that doesn't give you the right to try and control me. You're overstepping your boundaries as my friend and it's gotta stop Chad. I know you're just trying to watch out for me and I appreciate that, but it's going too far now. I don't need protecting. I can take care of myself."

As I finished, I watched fury make its way back into Chad's eyes. His hands clenched into fists and a muscle in his jaw twitched. I involuntarily tensed up and took a small step back. For the first time in my life, I was genuinely afraid of Chad. When I realized this, my lips parted and a soft gasp escaped.

Chad's breath became more labored as his chest heaved with each intake. I could see the struggle for control in his eyes. We stood like this for what seemed like hours, but really was more like seconds. Finally, he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Last time I checked, you do need protecting."

I tried to interject and tell him he was wrong but he wouldn't let me. "Who was your last boyfriend Sonny? Do I need to remind you that you ended up in the hospital because of what he did to you? Do I need to remind you that if I hadn't been there you could've been hurt even more than you already were? Or that you could've been…dead?" He struggled with the last word and through the rage I saw moisture in his eyes. Seeing this and hearing what he was saying made moisture come to my eyes too.

We stared at one another for the next minute. My mind was blank; I couldn't have spoken even if I wanted to.

Headlights coming up the driveway snapped us both out of our staring contest. I watched Caden's car approach us, though I could feel Chad's eyes return to my face, burning through me.

"Sonny," Chad pleaded softly, but I wouldn't look at him. I fixed my eyes on the ground as I heard Caden shut off his car and get out.

"Please Sonny, I'm begging you. Don't do this," Chad implored again. I continued to ignore him, but that became impossible when he lifted my chin so I had no choice but to look into his eyes as he begged once more, "please, for me?"

My mouth opened, but I couldn't find any words. I was more confused than I had ever been in my life. I couldn't figure out why Chad was so against me going out with Caden. Shouldn't he be happy that I'm moving on and forgetting about what happened in the past?

"Am I, uh, interrupting something here?" Chad and I jumped slightly when Caden spoke. He stood just behind Chad and looked at me with concern.

I couldn't meet Caden's eyes straight on. I felt like I betrayed him or got caught in the act of doing something wrong. My mouth took on a mind of it's own and began sputtering things.

"Caden! Hi. Um…we were just…we weren't…I mean I didn't…he didn't…"

"No. You weren't interrupting anything," Chad interjected in a deathly calm voice. I met his baby blue eyes and it was like seeing through to his soul. The hurt and sorrow in them broke my heart and my eyes again began to water.

I quickly blinked away the tears, refusing to let Caden know something was wrong.

Chad said just above a whisper, "I'll let you two get on with your date." He turned on his heel and walked to his car, got in, and drove away without looking back.

I felt numb. From my fingertips to my toes.

Nothing.

Emptiness.

The only thing I could feel was my heart being shattered into little tiny pieces. I wanted nothing more than to run to Chad and beg for his forgiveness.

But I couldn't. Caden stood directly in front of me now and I couldn't just abandon him. He took my hand in one of his, squeezed gently, and asked, "Are you alright Sonny?" I could only nod and force what I hoped to be a reassuring smile.

Caden flashed his brilliant teeth and I found his smile to be infectious and comforting. I squeezed his hand and, unable to help myself, smiled wider.

"You look gorgeous Sonny. Everyone at the restaurant will be so jealous of me," he said sweetly. I blushed as he brought my hand to his lips and then pulled me to his car.

He opened the door and waited for me to get situated before he closed it. I couldn't understand why Chad was so upset that I was going out with Caden. Based on just these past few minutes, he was incredibly sweet. He melted away some of my numbness and I had a feeling that by the end of the night, I wouldn't even be thinking about Chad.

At least I hoped so…

Caden got in the driver's seat, started the car, and gave me an enthusiastic grin before taking off.

Yes, I definitely would not be thinking about a certain blue-eyed boy during this date.

I hope you guys like it! I'm sorry for the really long wait haha. But I have my life under more control now so I'll be writing more! Please review! :)