A/N- I finally got the motivation to continue this. I hope the Christmas theme in February doesn't deter people from reading this. Enjoy. =)

(The Dreaded) Christmas Shopping and (a Lack of) Holiday Cheer

Part 2

This was stupid. I was making a big mistake. I should have turned around and went back to my dressing room before I made a fool of myself, but for some reason my feet just kept marching forward towards my demise. Oh no, this was going to be bad.

I reached Sonny's dressing room and stood staring at the closed door. I was frozen. I knew what I was supposed to to, but my limp arm, the one that wasn't carrying a heavy package, couldn't muster up the strength to reach up and knock.

Ugh. Dumb arm. This was so frustrating! Usually I'm the cool, calm, collected Chad Dylan Cooper, but not when it came to her. Not when it came to Sonny. I don't know what crazy kind of power this girl had over me, but Sonny Monroe turned me into a nervous loser.

Pull yourself together, Cooper, I thought. I clenched my fist, taking a deep breath, raising my free hand to the door, and knocked.

"Just a minute!" She called. I heard a few loud knocking sounds and a soft thump, and then, the door opened, revealing a slightly disheveled, but smiling Sonny. "Oh, hey Chad! What's up?"

"Can I, uh, come in?" I asked, pointing over her shoulder to the chair behind her.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" She stood aside, allowing me to enter the room. I came in slowly and sort of awkwardly, looking around for any signs of the other Randoms. "I was just hanging some decorations." She pointed to the wall, which was covered in tinsel. "I wanted some holiday spirit in here, with Friday being Christmas and all."

I nodded in approval, and went to Tawni's vanity and picked up a perfume bottle. "Where's Blondie?" I questioned, sniffing the strong scent.

"Rehearsal for our Christmas special. She just left, actually. I'm not in that sketch." She watched me for a moment as I nervously toyed with the cosmetics lining Tawni's desk. "So. . . What's up?" She repeated.

"Right!" I had completely forgotten why I was there in the first place and the box I was holding in my hand. "I, uh, got you this." I handed her the package. "It's a Christmas present," I told her as if she couldn't already tell by the festive wrapping paper. It was pretty mediocrely wrapped; the paper was wrinkled and I had tried to cover up the mess by sticking a few bows here and there. I saw her stifle a giggle when she first saw my pathetic attempt at making it look decent. I cleared my throat as a distraction. "It's a thank you for going gift shopping with me. I couldn't have done it without you. So, merry Christmas, Sonny."

"You didn't have to do that!" She said, but the look on her face told me that she was ecstatic that I had given thought to her. She sat down on the chair behind her and unwrapped the box, pulling off a bow and sticking it to her chest, and then taking another and sticking it to my own. She smiled up at me, before ripping off the paper. When she saw what was inside, she starting laughing. "Oh, Chad!" She chuckled, "It's great! Thank you!" It was a DVD box set of those cheesy Christmas specials she loved so much, complete with the one she forced me to watch when we went shopping.

"I didn't know what to get you, but I remembered how excited you got when that movie was on in the store, so I thought you might like this." I moved to sit on the edge of the chair next to her. "You do like it, right?"

"Of course, I love it." She set aside the movies and pulled me into a hug. I got caught in the moment, surrounded by the sweet smell of her hair, and the soft touch of her skin. It reminded me of when she held my hand while watching that movie, and how I thought I was going to have a heart attack. This feeling was one hundred times worse; I could literally feel my heart pounding through my chest.

And then, all too soon, she released me.

"I got you something too," She said, standing up and crossing the room towards her own vanity. She opened one of her drawers, pulling out a large, beautifully decorated, flawless gift. I was embarrassed of how terrible mine looked compared to hers. "I hope you like it." She smiled shyly and she handed me the present. I felt bad ruining the wrappings, which she must have worked so hard on to perfect, so I took a painstakingly long time to open it.

Finally, I pulled of a large, black book. The front cover read Memories in an elegant gold font. I opened it up to find countless photographs, magazine clippings, and drawings of myself. Page after page, it was me either by myself, with my family, with my cast, or with my best friends. "Wow, Sonny. This is amazing." It was clear that she had been working on this scrapbook for quite some time; it was beautiful.

"I can't believe you did all this for-" I cut myself off mid sentence. I had just turned the page to find someone unexpected staring back at me. This page was filled with pictures of myself and Sonny. I had no idea where she found them, but there was not a spot on the page not taken up by a photo of Sonny and me. I smiled and glanced up at her. She was nervously biting her lip and intertwining her fingers, which she was looking down at.

"Merry Christmas." She whispered.

I closed the book, placing it to the side with her movies, and took her hands in my own. She raised her head to look at me, and our eyes met. "Sonny, I love it. This is the best gift I've ever gotten."

"Really?" She asked, half smiling.

"Yes, it's perfect. It makes my gift look awful by comparison," I laughed.

"It does not!" She objected, "You're gift was great!"

"Come on, Sonny, even I know my gift sucked. Which is why I also got you this." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box. Sonny's eyes widened in surprise.

"Chad?" She whispered, slightly confused.

"I was sort of nervous to give this to you. I wasn't going to at first; I kind of bought it on a whim. But now, well, I guess I just got the nerve to give it to you. It reminded me of you right when I saw it."

I gave her the unwrapped box, and looked dumbfounded. "You really didn't have to," she started, but I cut her off by pressing a finger to her lips, then motioning for her to open it. Her hand was slightly shaking as she lifted the lid, and when she saw what was inside, she let out a reassuring gasp. "Wow, Chad, it's beautiful." It was a necklace; the pendant hanging from the silver chain was heart shaped and ruby-encrusted with black accents. Connecting the heart to the chain was a large diamond, and another was hanging in the center of the heart. "You. . . You really didn't have to do that for me." She whispered.

"Sonny, you deserve this. You're the most extraordinary person I have ever met. You deserve so much more." I couldn't even express in words how special she was.

She smiled that shy smile at me again, and I felt my heart pound once more. "Thank you." She whispered, and suddenly I realized that she was leaning in closer to me. She moved her head up, and our lips met. I swear my heart stopped, but somehow I was more alive than I had ever been. We kissed and kissed, strongly and passionately, and I never wanted it to end, but then I felt her pulling back. She rested her forehead against mine.

"Chad, I have a confession." She breathed, eyes closed. "I think. . . I think I'm in love with you."

I felt a huge grin spreading across my face as I captured her lips again, this time into an enthusiastic embrace. "You think? Sonny, I have a confession too. I am in love with you." She sighed excitedly, throwing her arms around me, and kissing me once more.

"You have no idea what a relief that is to hear," she laughed. I didn't tell her that it was me who felt the relief, and instead placed kisses everywhere- her forehead, her cheeks, her neck, and I finally found her lips.

"Merry Christmas." I whispered, capturing her lips into a dance of fervency. I could no longer remember why I hated the holidays so much in the first place. It was my new favorite time of the year thanks to Sonny Monroe.