Author's Note:

I'm not sure how good this is, but I got an idea and though I'd go for it. It may seem like it's mostly Chad in this part but the majority of the story will be from Sonny. Review? Thanks for reading! I do not own any of the SWAC characters, only the made up ones.

Until you're mine, I have to find

A way to fill this hole inside

I can't survive without you here

by my side

Until you're mine, not gonna be

Even close to complete

I won't rest until you're mine

Mine...

- Demi Lovato "Until You're Mine"

He was used to seeing her with other guys.

But just because he was used to it, didn't mean that it didn't hurt every time he saw her with another guy. When Tawni had first told him about James and Sonny dating he had, well he hadn't been able to even fathom the rage he felt inside. Of course he had been overjoyed to hear that the James and Sonny relationship quickly crumbled, and had been even happier to agree to be her fake boyfriend. He had though that their "fake" date would lead to a real one, or at least a kiss but he had been wrong. She hadn't even kissed him, it had been totally fake. He had no idea how to react in that kind of situation and had just bolted with a stupid comment.

She thought that he was just being a jerk, as usual but the real reason he had ran was because he hadn't wanted her to see his true feelings. He had a hard time trusting people, and there was no way he was going to let someone like her see his real feelings.

She was so…kind and nice. She was so kind to other people and practically never did anything bad. She was the nicest person he had ever met. Of course, she was also one of the most beautiful he had ever met. Her brown eyes always sparkled with happiness, and her gleaming smile was always completely genuine. He loved the way her silky chestnut hair rippled down her back in waves, and how it was always so glossy looking. All he wanted to do was hold her close and run his hands through her hair while he kissed her.

She was not afraid at all to totally be herself and didn't care what people thought of her. It was one of her best qualities, and was certainly his favorite trait. She didn't take crap from anybody, including him. He had thought he hated her, but he quickly realized that fake hate was just covering his love for her.

It didn't surprise him either when he noticed guys hanging around Sonny. It was kind of impossible not too, once they started coming they poured in. They were EVERYWHERE, her dressing room, and the cafeteria, the So Random! Set (not that he ever hung around there or anything), outside the building, and some even spilled onto the Mackenzie Falls set. It was impossible for him to ignore them, and the stabbing pain in his heart still hurt every time he saw a new guy.

Whenever he tried to talk to her, he was pushed out of the way. He began to miss their playful banter and witty flirting. He missed their lunchtime greetings and fro-yo visits. He even missed the minimal physical contact that they had together. The days passed, and now he barely saw her.

Then he head about Ben. Ben Britt was an older, college-bound star that had taken a break from his popular TV series and flourishing movie roles to attend Stanford. Everyone had heard for the Ben and his twin sister, Annabel. The two drop dead gorgeous twins had been starring left and right in the business since they were in elementary school. Everyone had been shocked when Ben had dropped out of his TV show and had rejected the role of popular Cesar Malone in Judd Apatow's new comedy. His sister, the dazzling beauty had opted not to go to college but to continue acting.

Ben was the object of most girls' affections, much to Chad's dismay. He had never really seen Ben hang around Sonny, but he got a text alert from Perez alerting the public of the new 'it' couple. He had wanted to tell Sonny how he really felt, but it was too late now. Suddenly Ben was everywhere on the set, always bring her flowers and candy, holding her for no reason, kissing her publicly, and taking her out all the time. Their picture was everywhere. It might have been possible for him to let go of Sonny, but every time she was with Ben in front of him she shot him a weird look. It was a mix of, 'look how happy I am!' look, 'aren't you jealous?' look, and weirdly enough the 'help me, I don't want to be with him' look. But he ignored her. It hurt too much.

He remembered the first day they had talked in three months. He was coming back from the shower to his dressing room late one night. He had only had a towel on, and was pretty proud of his body. He had a lot of timework out whilst ignoring Sonny. He had just finished reading for the season finale of Mackenize Falls and it had been so late, he had decided to just sleep in his dressing room. It had been a rough week for him. The producers had been pushing to film two more episodes before the finale, and he had to memorize two whole episodes plus the finale. He had stayed late almost every night this week, and it was taking his toll on him.

He was more than surprised to see Sonny, sitting on his desk giving him that charming yet sassy smirk of hers. He had only caught wayward glimpses of her the past few weeks, he had mostly been trying to not think about her and ignore her. He had gone out of his way to not see her. He skipped lunch hours and had his meals delivered to his dressing room. He hadn't gone to any premieres or celebrity appearances that she had RSVP'd too.

She looked a little different, but not much. Her hair was much longer now, and darker. Her bangs had grown into long, elegant side bangs and her brown eyes sparkled underneath long, doe-like lashes. She wore a slightly dressier outfit than Chad was used to seeing her in, and he idly wondered if it was for Ben. She wore black stiletto pumps that looked dangerously hard to walk in, and a flowing turquoise dress with flowing sleeves. The dress was so low that he could see the outline of her lacy red bra. He was surprised. He hadn't pegged Sonny for a lacy lingerie kind of girl. She wore a Tiffany heart necklace with the initials "BS" on the chain and a long, silver link chain. Her cheeks flushed at the sight of him, and he wondered if she was flustered by the fact he was one step away from being naked. Well good. He wished he could make her flustered.

She was perched at the end of Chad's white desk, her legs crossed daintily over one each other. She twisted the end of her long necklace with her polished red French manicure. "Well hey there!" She said cheerily. "I haven't seen you lately. Ignoring me?" She questioned playfully, but Chad thought there was a nervous edge to her tone. He didn't meet her quizzical gaze. He just stared at his feet and ran his hand through his wet hair. "Chad?" She questioned again.

"No." Chad said shortly after a few moments of silence. Sonny looked slightly hurt, as if he had hurt her feelings.

"Where than where have you been? I haven't seen you around the sets at all, or anywhere outside of the sets. I haven't seen you in the cafeteria either! Are you eating?" She persisted, sounding concerned. Chad still didn't meet her gaze as he grabbed a pile of clothes from his sofa. "CHAD!" She shouted when he still didn't answer her.

"I've been busy!" He defended himself. "I've been places, but you just haven't been where I've been." He said vaguely and Sonny gave him an odd look. "Are you aware that you have the initials of bullshit on your neck?" Chad smirked, and he realized he was a little ruder than he needed to be.

"Yeah….I know. But Ben likes it, and I really don't mind." Sonny admitted softly. Chad stared at her incredulously for a moment before responding.

"If you Ben told you to jump off a bridge, would you?" Chad asked snidely. Then it was Sonny's turn to stare at Chad. She stared at her feet now.

"No." She responded softly. She twisted a shiny lock of hair around her finger, and she looked like she was fighting back tears. "Why do you hate me?" She asked in a small voice. Chad gasped and stared at her. He walked over and touched her shoulder but she flinched away.

"I don't hate you!" Chad said passionately He felt sick at the thought of Sonny thinking that he hated her. "I really don't Sonny." He said quietly. Sonny shook her head.

"Yeah right." She smirked. She uncrossed her legs and jumped down. She was inches away from his face as if she was trying to intimidate her. "You've hated me since the day I came." She said evenly. Chad pursed his lips and shook his head at her.

" I DID not hate you. I am self-centered, egotistical jerk who thought that you were going to get in the way of my spotlight. But you were nice, and really sweet and I couldn't help but like you. You are my friend Sonny. I have been busy. " Chad emphasized. He grabbed Sonny's hands and encased them in his. "Okay?" There was so much more he wanted to say, three little words that were so impossible to say but it was hard enough to say that they were friends. He wanted her so much more than that, but Chad Dylan Cooper just didn't' admit his feelings like that.

Sonny nodded. "Okay, fine." She was quiet for a minute, and she stared into Chad's eyes with big, soulful puppy dog eyes. He was suddenly aware that he was still half naked. "But this has nothing to do with Ben, right?" She asked delicately. Chad sneered, but didn't look away from her gaze.

"No!" He scorned. "Of course not!" He wanted to move away, but he would not back down first. Apparently, neither would Sonny. They both stood there, staring at each other for minutes. Suddenly, they heard a deep voice calling Sonny's name.

"Sonny!" The voice rang out in the hallways. Sonny froze for a second and backed up a step when she recognized the voice. Unexpectedly, a tall lanky boy appeared in the doorway of Chad's dressing room. "Hey!" He said brightly. He surveyed the scene in front of him, and seemed a little disgruntled to see Chad shirtless and Sonny so close to him.

"Hey!" Sonny said happily as she rushed over to her boyfriend. She wrapped her arms around his waist and Ben chuckled.

"Wanna introduce us?" Ben asked, looking down at Sonny with adoring eyes. Sonny blushed and nodded.

"Ben, this Chad Dylan Cooper. Chad, this is Ben Britt. I'm surprised that you two have never met." Sonny said, although she didn't sound that shocked. Chad smiled fakely and shook hands with Ben.

"Nice to meet you brah." Ben said, a fake smile also plastered on his face. Chad nodded and cleared his throat.

"Yeah nice to meet you too. I guess we don't run in the same circles. "Chad said as nicely as he could manage. He glanced at Sonny, and he could tell that a plan was formulating in her head. Ben looked uncomfortable and like he wanted to go, but Sonny smiled evilly at Chad.

"So I'll see you at the gala?" Sonny asked Chad sweetly. Chad looked at her in confusion. Their production company was holding a big start-of-summer gala this weekend. All of the cast members of all of the shows were required to go, mainly because it was big publicity event. Chad hadn't planned on going by pretending his dog died or something. "And I can't wait to meet your date!" Sonny squealed happily. Chad groaned. Now he got it. Sonny was challenging him to admit that he was upset about her dating Ben, and didn't think he would have a date. Ha, like that would ever happen Chad thought with a smirk. He was going to enjoy this.

"Yes, of course!" Chad said enthusiastically. Sonny looked completely taken aback, like she had not expected Chad to say yes. Chad smirked and glanced at his custom-made watch. "Now if you two will excuse me, I have to get ready for my date with my girlfriend ." Chad said smugly, enjoying the shocked look on Sonny's face.

"Woah woah wait a second!" Sonny put her hands up. "If you have a girlfriend, then why doesn't the public know about it?" She asked curiously. She looked a little hurt, like she was upset that she hadn't known about it.

"Unlike some people, I like to keep my relationships private." Chad retorted snidely. Sonny stepped backwards, like she had been slapped.

"Since when does Chad Dylan Cooper stay private about anything?" Sonny asked skeptically. She turned around to Ben, and put her small hand on his bicep. "Come on babe." She murmured throatily. He nodded and put his hand up to Chad. As they walked out of his dressing room, Sonny turned her head around to give Chad a weird look that he couldn't decipher.

Then, Chad was all alone in his dressing room. He couldn't believe that he had agreed to come to the gala. It was hard enough for him to see Sonny with another guy when they were just by themselves, but when Sonny and Ben were in front of hundreds of people, being all couple-y and cute? Wow, that was going to suck. But he wasn't worried about finding another girl. Girls always swarmed to him.

"I mean, how could he not tell me! I thought we were friends!" Sonny ranted. She was so frustrated she felt like she was going to burst. She gazed out the window of the speeding car, at the flurry of people and lights that was LA. Ben sat next to her, one hand on the wheel of his cherry-red Porsche and another slung over Sonny's shoulders.

"Babe, just chill. He's not even worth it." Ben said. Sonny guessed he was trying to comfort her, but he just sounded bored and annoyed.

"I know." She said in a defeated tone. "It's just like, we were friends even though we fought all the time and then he just starts avoiding me. Like, completely ignoring me. It hurts, that's all." Sonny tried to explain. It hurt her just to think of him. What an ass.

"Do you like, have feelings for him or something?" Ben asked coldly. "Because you're kinda acting like a scorned girlfriend." He said, glancing over at Sonny.

"NO! I do not have feelings for him! I have feelings for you!" Sonny said, smiling at her boyfriend. She really did. Ben was cute and nice and funny. And boring. Sonny thought to herself, but she quickly brushed that thought away.

"Well than why do you care so much?" Ben questioned. Sonny shrugged.

"I- I'm not sure. He's my friend. I care about my friends." Sonny tried to defend herself, but she wasn't even sure why she did care. Chad had practically never been anything but an ass to her. Ben scowled and turned on to radio, and suddenly heavy rap blasted through the speakers. Sonny hated heavy rap. "Hey." Sonny touched Ben's shoulder. "You know I love you." She said, flashing him a huge smile. She felt Ben relax under her touch.

"I know." Ben smiled back at his girlfriend as he pulled into the restaurant they were eating at parking lot. He deftly maneuvered his prized car into a parking slot and got out of the car. He opened the door on the other side for Sonny, and grabbed her hand. A swarm of flashing cameras surrounded them, and Ben smiled broadly for the cameras, pulling Sonny close to him. Sonny smiled uncomfortable for the blinking lights. She hated being the public eye, but Ben seemed to love it.

As she stared listlessly into the intimidating eyes of the camera lenses, her mind wandered to Chad. She wondered what he was doing, or if he was with his girlfriend. She thought of his soft, caring blue eyes and his gorgeous locks of sandy colored mane. She wondered if he and his girlfriend were snuggling together, watching a movie and eating popcorn. Her heart ached. That's where she wanted to be right now, not in front of the paparazzi, wearing an uncomfortable dress and heels that killed.

Eventually, Ben ushered Sonny into the restaurant and onto a small, cozy patio. It wasn't private, but there were only three or four other high-profile couples were dining on the twinkly terrace. Sonny felt much more relaxed as she and Ben settled into the comfortable wicker chairs.

"So how was your day?" Sonny asked after taking a sip of cool, cucumber water. Ben shrugged his shoulders as he flipped through the dark green menu.

"It was fine." He said shortly. Sonny glanced up from her menu, surprised at his tone. She touched his hand gently with hers.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sonny asked, concerned about her boyfriend's behavior. He didn't answer, and Sonny fiddled with her hair nervously. "Ben?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine. I just can't shake that Chad guy off me." Ben said as he reached for his water. Sonny relaxed.

"Honestly, he's not that bad when you get to know him. But he still isn't worth being angry over." Sonny explained. Ben nodded, and flashed Sonny his breathtaking white smile and she giggled. She loved when he smiled. She loved how his floppy, dark walnut locks were always tousled and the devilish glint in his olive-colored eyes. His skin was a naturally dark toffee color thanks to his slight Barbadian background. It was undeniable that he was absolutely gorgeous, but Sonny found him extra alluring because of his personality and background.

Ben Britt (born as Johthan Britt) was the product of a Dutch business mogul and Barbadian supermodel. His mother was the world-renowned supermodel Delene Ronaldino who was famous for her curly black hair and almost-clear blue eyes. Delene was also known around the world for her skimpy jewelry ads for countless high-profile jewelers. His father was Andries Britt, who not was not only a respected business man but the inventor of lights that go on and off when you clap. They met when Andries was buying the diamond company that Delene was currently working at and had fallen in love instantly when he saw the beautiful woman. She too, had fallen for him and the two dated for two years before getting married. They had two houses, one in Barbados and one in Holland. Delene quit modeling shortly after their marriage and had Ben and his twin sister, Annabel. Ben and Annabel had spent the first two years of their life running naked on the white beaches of Barbados or wearing furry, thick jackets skiing down the creamy slopes of Holland. Then, their father moved his company to America and they settled in California.

Annabel and Ben modeled in designer clothing ads with their mother when she got back into modeling, and the twins were discovered by a talent agent who wanted to put them on Barney. They grew up in spotlight, and Annabel got the lead role on a Disney show, while Ben got no role requests. His agent thought if they made Ben more American, he would get more roles so he changed his name from Barbadian name Johthan to Ben. Annabel had been named after their father's grandmother and had tan skin and long, blond hair while Ben had the Barbados name and dark complexion and look. Ben got a huge role on a different Disney show, and then his career had sky-rocketed since.

Sonny had loved Ben's interesting life, and had drunken in every incredible detail of his life. "So were parents disappointed that you chose to college?" Sonny asked as she grabbed some warm bread from the wire bread basket arranged neatly on their table.

"Nah." Ben shook his head. "My parents could care less about the industry. They knew it was something Anna and I both wanted, so they let us do it. My dad probably even prefers me getting a good education." Ben explained, twirling the silver hook at the top of his left ear. Sonny loved his earrings, he had silver hoop in his left cartilage and a tiny turquoise ball in his left ear. She thought it was devilishly sexy and it completely turned her on.

"So did they care about the earrings?" Sonny asked with a giggle. The waitress than appeared, and they ordered their dinner. The waitress asked for both their autographs and a picture, and the couple happily obliged. Sonny beamed at the small digital camera, and happily scrawled a signature for the girl. She didn't mind meeting fans or taking pictures with them, it was paparazzi that she hated.

Once they sat back down, Ben grabbed Sonny's hand and clasped it in his. "No, they didn't care about my earrings." He answered her previous question. "Or my tattoo." Ben whispered, his eyes glinting.

"You have a tattoo?" Sonny exclaimed in surprise. "Let me see!' I can't believe that America's Good Guy Ben Britt has a tattoo!" Sonny gushed. Ben laughed and ran his hand through his messy hair.

"Uh, I have two ear piercings. Am I still viewed as a good guy?" Ben asked playfully.

"Of course you still are! Just because you're pierced doesn't mean you're bad, although it does kind of tarnish the perfect image. I'm just surprised you have a tattoo. Can I see it?" Sonny asked curiously. She herself had always toiled with the idea of getting a sun on her waist, or maybe her foot or on the nape of her neck.

Ben just smiled at her. "Maybe when we're in private. No one really knows about it yet, and I don't want everybody to see it." He said, leaning closer. Sonny giggled and nodded as she leaned closer to him as well.

"Well will you at least kiss me now?" Sonny asked, a flirty edge to her voice. He laughed and kissed her softly on the cheek. The kiss was nice, it started off soft and gentle but got more intense and engaging as it went on. Sonny was enjoying the taste of Ben's strawberry toothpaste when an image of Chad suddenly popped in her heard. What was that doing there? She tried to push the image of the golden-locked, beautiful boy from her mind but it wouldn't budge. She tried to throw herself into the kiss more, but there wasn't much more she could do without jumping over the table and sitting in his lap. Finally, Ben broke away and took a deep breath.

"Save some for later!" Ben said jokingly, but Sonny felt extremely disgruntled. Why was Chad popping into her brain when she was making out with her boyfriend. How weird.

The next morning, Chad swaggered confidently into the studio. He wasn't the least bit worried about finding a data for the gala, girls swarmed to him like was covered in honey and they were hungry bees. He just had to choose one that was cute enough to make Sonny jealous. Easy.

But just in case, he had taken extra measures to look good this morning. He had put just a tad of gel in his hair so it would be even more perfect than usual, and has used Axe spray which he knew girls loved. He wore casual clothes, dark jeans and a designer plaid shirt.

He sauntered into the studio cafeteria to grab some coffee and muffin, and wasn't surprised when he saw a cute girl giggling at him by the breakfast table. This is going to be easier than I thought. Chad thought smugly as he approached the girl. The girl giggled again and tucked a lock of hair behind her small ear.

Chad checked out the girl before approaching. The last thing he needed was to be stuck with some ugly girl with no personality when he was trying to make Sonny jealous. Wait- no he didn't care about Sonny. He shook his head and continued to look at the girl.

She was mid height, shorter than him but not midget height. She had strawberry blonde hair that fell right under her buxom breasts that was straight, thick, and luscious. She had creamy pale skin, and freckles dotted her cute ski-slope nose. Her eyes were green, but they didn't sparkle the same way Sonny's did. He mentally kicked himself for thinking about her again, and once more focused his attention on this girl. She wore tight white jeans that hugged her thin legs and a flowing blue shirt with green designs on it that was cut low and showed her ample cleavage.

She was definitely cute enough for Chad, at least for one event. He walked over to her, a huge grin on his face. "Hey." She greeted him first, biting her plump pink lip with her perfectly white teeth. He leaned against the food table and flashed her his famous grin.

"Well hey there." Chad said smoothly, running his hand through his golden mane. "I'm Chad Dylan Cooper." He grinned at her again, and she blushed.

"Well hello Chad Dylan Cooper. I'm Penny Holloway." Penny introduced herself. Chad startled when he recognized Penny's last name. Ellis Holloway was the legendary music producer and head of Double Below Records which had been the hottest company in Hollywood for the past ten years and currently. The record company boasted hundreds of legendary stars and a flawless track record for producing renowned artists.

"So why is a cute girl with an even cuter name hanging around Condor Studios for?" Chad asked, twirling a pink drinking straw in his hand.

"Do you use that line on everyone?" Penny asked, but the grin on her face told Chad she was purely joking.

"Nah, just the ones with cute names." Chad teased back. Penny tossed her long, red locks.

"For your information, I was named not only for my red hair but my parents named all of us after famous songs." Penny explained.

"All of us?" Chad asked curiously, he hadn't realized that Ellis had any children, let alone more than one.

"Yeah, my sisters are Caroline, Julia, Lola, and Roxanne. My parents were blessed with five beautiful girls." Penny explained. She looked at Chad through her sea foam-green eyes.

"I'll say." Chad remarked boldly. Chad had no issue getting girls because he simply had no boundaries.

"Actually, Roxy is the whole reason I'm here. She's filling in as an extra on one of the shows. Mr. Condor is one of daddy's best friends and he needed a favor. Julia, Lola, and I came with her for moral support – she gets so nervous. " Penny explained. Chad nodded, impressed.

"So don't you go to school?" Chad questioned curiously.

"Of course I do, I got to Beverly Prep. But we're done with everything but finals so we get a week off to study, then finals, and then summer!" Penny exclaimed. Suddenly, Chad heard a trio of girl's voices calling Penny's name.

Three girls appeared in the cafeteria, obviously Julia, Lola, and Roxy. Penny smiled. "Chad, meet my sisters. Julia, Lola, Roxy- meet Chad." Penny introduced. Chad smiled at the girls. They were all gorgeous, but completely different from each other except for their green eyes and plump lips. Julia was the tallest, and had the largest chest. She wore short jean skirt and lacy black tights on her pale legs that were tucked into black leather boots. She wore a gray sweatshirt-looking thing. She also had long, silky dark locks that swept by her waist. Lola was super skinny and had the grunge thing going on, and she wore miniscule shorts with a long flannel shirt and white tank top. Black converse with messages drawn them bedecked her feet, and starkly contrasted with her white blond, wavy hair that also hung down past her ribs. Chad could see a white daisy tattoo on her pale, skinny hip. Roxy was probably the most normal looking one, she had the same red-blond hair as Penny and it was cut into a voluminous bob that swept her collarbones. She wore gold bell-shaped earrings and a lacy white long sleeved shirt with orange shorts and gold gladiator sandals.

"Penny, we have to leave to meet Carom and mom." Julia said, slightly brusque but mostly just informative. Penny nodded, and smiled a remorseful smile at Chad and waved goodbye as she started walking away. Chad made an executive decision in his mind and grabbed her elbow.

"Hey I realize that I just met you, but do you maybe want to go out dinner tonight?" Chad asked, slightly hesitantly. Sure, he WAS Chad Dylan Cooper but he had just met her and Penny Holloway could get any guy she wanted just by saying her name. Penny's lips curled into a half-smile and she quickly looked at her sisters for silent advice. Each sister gave Penny a half-nod and Penny turned back to Chad.

"Sure! Here's my address and phone number." Penny quickly grabbed a pen from her purse and scribbled on Chad's hand.

"I'll pick you up at 7:30." Chad said. Penny nodded and then took off, giggling to her sisters. Chad smirked to himself. He always got his way.

Chad checked his iphone. 7:40. Perfectly late, and hadn't even tried. Of course, Chad was always perfect. Chad smoothed his dark red shirt and dark jeans before running a hand through his golden halo of hair. He felt totally confident, and he couldn't wait to take Penny out. He walked up the marble and granite steps and rang the doorbell. It chimed cheerily, and just lifted Sonny's spirits. And he hadn't even thought of Sonny once. Shit! No! He thought, he had been so close to forgetting about her.

His thoughts were interrupted by the huge wooden door opening to reveal a middle-aged woman whose eyes crinkled when she smiled. She had long, auburn hair that was braided neatly in one braid. "Hello, you must be Chad." The woman said in an accent that Chad couldn't quite place. It sounded like a Dutch Antilles accent mixed with a Boston accent. How odd. "I'm Yvette, the girl's nanny." She held out her hand and Chad shook it heartily.

Chad stepped into the massive house, and gazed around. The house was artfully decorated to the dime, and hundreds of photos and pieces of artwork covered the walls, armoires, and tables. "Nice to meet you." Chad said kindly. He may be really conceited but he always nice to adults. Yvette nodded and opened her mouth as if to say something but Penny came down the stairs, looking cute in a silver dress.

"Hey." Chad said smoothly. They chatted with Yvette for awhile, and shared some embarrassing family stories that made Penny blush. After guaranteeing that Penny would be home before 11:30, Chad led Penny out to his beamer. He opened the door for her like a gentleman and then went around and climbed in the buttery-smooth leather seat himself.

"Chad, thank you for being so charming to Yvette. She's like a mother to me, and it really meant something to me that you were so nice to her." Penny said earnestly, looking at Chad with shining eyes.

"Why wouldn't I have been charming?" Chad asked curiously. Penny shifted in her seat, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Well…you don't exactly have the best rep. " Penny said awkwardly. "But I was just pleasantly surprised that's all! Brains, beauty, and benevolent –who knew?" Penny said jokingly. Chad just smiled. He hadn't realized Penny knew of his "rep". He would have to be extra nice and sweet to her now –ugh.

"No worries." Chad said easily. They chatted until they got to the restaurant, a small restaurant that private enough that they would be able to talk and public enough that someone would see them. They were led to their table, cozy in the corner and started talking instantaneously.

"So tell me about yourself." Chad asked, trying to be a nice as possible. It was killing him.

"Well what do you want to know?" Penny asked, a little taken aback that Chad Dylan Cooper wanted to know about her.

"Everything. Family, school, pets, ex-boyfriends.." Chad said with a shrug. It would actually benefit him to know as much as possible about Penny, then it would seem more realistic to Sonny that Penny was his girlfriend.

"Well, you already know about my dad. I love my dad to death, but he's always busy so I rarely get to see him. And you probably know that my mom died when I was two. I'm not sad anymore, I was too young to remember, and I have a strong support system – Yvette and my sisters. All my sisters are super close, but we're really different from each other. I go to Beverly Prep, and I'm sixteen but I turn seventeen in July. I'm going to be a junior next year. I have two black-and-white border collies named Belle and Beast and a rabbit named Muffins." Penny said. Chad started to zone out after the bunny part. Geez, he hadn't asked for her life story! But he snapped back in when she mentioned ex-boyfriends.

"Yeah, well this is embarrassing but I dated Ben Britt for three years." Penny said, her face turning bright crimson. Chad gasped and opened his eyes wide.

"It's okay, tell me all about it." Chad said, a fake smile on his face and forced sweetness in his voice. Penny sighed, and fingered her hair, just like Sonny always did.