Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own SWAC. But I am currently enlisting partners to help me kidnap Sterling Knight.

As always with my stories, ignore Season 2.

Whose idea was this? Because, in all honesty, that person should be shot. Or tarred and feathered. Or some unpleasant combination of both. His back was hurting and he was being deprived of any form of restful sleep. And someone was snoring in a way so obnoxiously loud it had to be fake. No one snores like that. Not even his brother. And the sound of his sleeping brother could be heard miles away.

Okay, okay, you can stop scowling now. I'll give you some content for Chad's unhappiness here.

Somebody (i.e. future tarring, feathering, and shooting victim) thought Sonny was right. The rival shows of Condor Studios needed to reach some sort of "mutual understanding." This person, whoever they were, was obviously an idiot. Anyone with eyes could see the shows already had a mutual understanding: they understood that they mutually hated each other's guts. Apparently, this wasn't satisfactory to some sadist who held some sort of power in the studio.

Thus, they had to have a "bonding night". They had been given fun "activities" to do which Chad was sure had been designed for unruly kindergarteners. I'll spare you the more gruesome details. Then they had been corralled into the So Random! stage to watch a movie. This would have been the best (or least painful) part of the evening if it weren't for the fact that they watched a Disney movie. But not just any Disney movie - Tangled.

Tangled.

And all the girls (and Grady) decided it was a sing-along. And they all somehow knew every word to every song. Once this unique form of torture ended, Chad had the the worst was over. Alas. The girls then had a 30 minute discussion over why Flynn Rider was the perfect man. As if they didn't have the perfect man in the room with them!

Sonny was singing to herself the rest of the night. And he swears, if he ever hears the words "And at last I see the light" come out of her pretty little mouth again, he will duct tape it shut.

And then, and then, they were told they had to sleep on the floor. Together. In one room.

Tarred. Feathered. Hanged by their thumbs. And shot. Sing to me, Muse, of the rage of Chad Dylan Cooper.

He's thirsty now, too. And who is that snoring? They should be shot, too. Chad pulls back the zipper of his navy blue sleeping bag and climbs to his feet, careful not to step on Devon's head. Devon has anger management issues, and Chad doesn't fell like getting punched, thank you very much.

Once he's out of the large metal doors of the stage and into the bright yellow hallway, he breathes a sigh of relief. Freedom. He begins to wander the familiar hallways, making his way to where he knows there's a water fountain. He stops short when he realizes he's humming. Which would be fine, if he weren't humming that stupid lantern song. He groans at the fact that Sonny's childish antics have infiltrated his brain.

He finally makes it to the water fountain and takes a long drink, letting the cool liquid soothe his dry throat. He begins to make his way back to the stage and stops short when he sees a figure round the corner. Sonny looks half-asleep as she sees him. Her pretty chestnut hair is pulled into a messy ponytail, fringe dangling precariously over her eyebrows, her oversized t-shirt swallows her tiny frame, and her froggie pajama shorts provide Chad with a very nice view of her very nice, long, toned, smooth legs.

Chad decides he likes froggies. Especially when they're associated with Sonny's legs.

"Oh. Hey Chad. I thought I heard the door open, so I came to check it out. Oh! Water fountain!" She walks briskly past him towards the water fountain through the narrow space between him and the wall, het arm brushing his as she passed. Why would she go that way? There was a completely empty hallway on the other side of him...

He caught a strong whiff of her hair as she slid past. She smelled like vanilla, and prettiness, and... and... gah. He can't even think anymore!

He watches as she bends over to drink out of the water fountain, and he takes advantage of the moment to truly look at her. The soft curls he longed to free of their elastic band, to run his fingers through . The gentle curve of her back, her gently poking out through her shirt. Down. Down to her fantastic, creamy legs. The beautiful legs he longed to run his hands up and down. To wrap around his waist in a heated kiss. To...

He swallows the lump in his throat that has formed as she stands back up to look at him.

"Ahem... Sorry if I woke you by getting up. I couldn't sleep."

A soft smile graces her beautiful face. "That's alright, I'm a really light sleeper anyway. I'm used to waking up during the night. Why couldn't you sleep?"

But as Chad opens his mouth to complain about the floor, and the snoring, and the stupid songs stuck in his head, he's cut short by the sound of giggling down the hallway.

He knows that giggling. He's known that giggling since he was 6. Blondie.

But she's not alone. For now Chad hears a different voice. A male voice, in a whisper, that shouldn't really be counted as a whisper because of how loud it is.

"Shhhh! You're gonna get us caught!"

Wait. That's... Skylar.

Apparently Sonny recognizes this too, as she casts a suspicious glance at Chad, which clearly reads What are they doing?

... Or at least, that's what Chad thinks it says.

Blondie's giggling is getting closer, and so is the sound of Skylar shushing her (is "shushing" a word? Because Chad thinks it is.) Acting on impulse, Chad takes two long strides towards the girl, grabs her by the waist, and pulls her into a random niche in the wall, the purpose of which Chad has always questioned. It's large enough that they can both hide in there, but small enough that Sonny's back is pressed full against Chad's chest, and his hands are still securely placed on her waist. He should probably remove them, but he doesn't really want to, and she's not complaining, so screw it.

They see the other two people pass them and head towards the storage closet at the end of the hall. Skylar opens the door, and Tawni quickly pulls him in for a heated kiss, dragging him into the room and shutting the door behind him.

Well... that secret's out.

Sonny doesn't move for a little while and Chad soon understands that Sonny's best friend hadn't told her about her secret relationship with the Mack Falls star, like Skylar had. Woops.

The girl finally relaxes, her shoulders drop, and she turns around to look at Chad with a hurt expression on her face. Chad doesn't like that look. Sonny's face was meant for joy, not sadness. Her voice is small and child-like as she asks, "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

Chad tries to think of what words would make her less upset at this point. He chooses the wrong ones. "Well, I don't know. I mean, Skylar took forever to tell me and he only did because-"

"You KNEW?"

"Ummmm... no?" He decides that cover-up isn't going to do him a lot of good, as one suspicious eyebrow disappears beneath her bangs. He sighs and acquiesces. "Yes."

That memory is not one he likes to bring to the surface often.

Chad burst into his best friend's dressing room to vent about his latest argument with Sonny.

"She's so frus-" Chad stopped mid-sentence as he took in the scene in front of him. Tawni Hart was straddling Skylar, who was sitting on his couch, arms about her waist, kissing her deeply. Skylar groaned in annoyance at the interruption.

"Bad timing, Coop."

Chad's attention turned to Tawni. "Is this where you go every time you walk out on Sonny and me arguing?"

The blonde realized he obviously wasn't going to leave so they could resume their activities. She stood from Skylar's lap and faced Chad, hands placed defiantly on her hips.

"Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back before anyone realizes I'm gone."

She walks briskly past him, out of the dressing room, slamming the door on her way out.

"Care to explain yourself?"

Skylar's smirk was just... annoying. There's no other word for it. "Well, that's Tawni. I'm Skylar. We're dating. And what we were doing was - "

"NOT what I meant." Chad felt out of the loop right now, which automatically put him in a bad mood. "What I mean is - why didn't you tell me? Even better, why are you two being secretive about it? Why not just date normally? The rivalry's not that serious."

Skylar sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "We don't want to take away from you and Sonny."

"What does that even mean?"

Skylar glared at Chad in exasperation. "If anyone is going to end the rivalry with a relationship, it's going to be you and Sonny. Until you two get together, Tawni and I stay a secret. You're like... Romeo and Juliet. It's going to take you two being together to make everyone else see how stupid this rivalry is. Just try not to die on us... we kind of need you for the show."

However, he didn't want to relate Skylar's ultimatum (or freakishly accurate analogy) to Sonny. That would just be... awkward. But Sonny wasn't even paying attention to Chad anymore. She was staring at the storage closet door with something inscrutable etched on her face.

"So, are they not telling anyone... because of the rivalry between our shows?"

"Well... yeah." Partly.

"That's... sad." Disappointment crossed her features, marring her pretty face.

"Sad? How's that sad?"

"Because this stupid rivalry forces them to keep their relationship a secret. It's keeping two people who want to be together apart. It makes people hide their feelings. I hate this rivalry."

The conversation has turned more serious than anticipated. Chad wishes it had gone more along the lines of "Tawni and Skylar are making out... To hell with it all! Make out with me, Chad!"... He would've liked that topic much better than this one. They were treading on dangerous waters now, and he had the sneaking suspicion his feelings were going to be exposed. He's not sure he's comfortable with that. But, she had brought the subject up. There was no going around it now. But something in her words seemed... off.

"But... Sonny, the rivalry doesn't keep them apart. They looked pretty "together" to me."

She looks at him with so much meaning, trying to convey so many words in one single glance. She sighs before leaning against the wall. "I wasn't just talking about them, Chad."

Hehe... Yes I DID just end it there.

This rating WILL change, if Chapter 2 doesn't merit M, chapter 3 certainly will, for pure smutty goodness. :)

My next update completely hinges on when I have time to TYPE it up. But Part 2 is already written. But guess what? More reviews will make my fingers type a LOT faster!

In case you all have read my pathetic author's notes before this, you know they usually have something relating to my sad sad love life. Well I have GOOD news this time. The girlfriend of the guy I like broke up with him. Shoulder to cry on? I think so!

Review please!

Peace and Love,
Sweet Caroline