A/N: Hey guys! :) Thanks for the reviews on my last Sonny fic, the response has been overwhelming! I had a request or two to do more, and since my multi-chapter muse came for another visit, I thought I'd do a long story, so here's chappy one of who knows how many.

Yes, Sonny and Chad are together from the get-go in this, as it's a sort-of sequel to my first fic, The Art of Subtle Flirting. No prior knowledge from that fic is needed to read this, however.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny With a Chance. Or People Magazine for that matter.

"It's sickening. Absolutely nothing short of sickening."

Tawni paced the floor of the prop room, her hands balled into fists, muttering to herself.

"I think you're blowing this way out of proportion..." Nico answered, staring at the tabloid in his hands. "I'll bet you anything that jerk knew the camera was around and grabbed her hand to make it look like they were dating."

Tawni scoffed, and stormed over, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Look at that, right there!", she screeched, pointing her finger accusingly at the picture. "She's smiling. She's not just smiling, she's... she's--"

She stopped herself there, wrinkling her nose in anger. No, 'in love' was not the right choice of words. Not in a million years.

"Easily photoshopped," Grady responded, waving off the comment.

Tawni stomped her foot and angrily snatched the magazine from Nico's hands. "This is unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable!"

"If it's true, yea it is," Nico said. "She can't date someone from Mackenzie Falls--"

"Not that!" Tawni interrupted. "She's not allowed to date hot guys! That's my job!"

"Which would explain why you've got the boys falling all over you," Zora added sarcastically, just barely looking up from the book in her hands.

"Awh!" Tawni held her hand to her chest incredulously. "Fine, then. If you guys don't want to take this seriously, I'll find out for myself."

"Don't even," Zora answered, making a face. "You'll get us cancelled in a matter of minutes."

"No!" Tawni snapped. "Marshall won't stand for this! He'll agree with me! Maybe he'll even kick Sonny off the show and I can have the spotlight again!" She finished her sentence dramatically, sporting an award-winning smile.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Would you really want that Tawni?"

Tawni made a face of disgust and shook her head. "That's not the point."

Grady rolled his eyes before speaking up. "Guys, we don't even know if it's true or not yet. Let's at least talk to them first."

"She'll lie!" Tawni shrieked, her face turning red. "They'll both lie! This is Chad Dylan Jerkface we're talking about! He won't tell the truth and Sonny certainly won't!"

Grady smirked, placing a hand on Tawni's shoulder. "Leave it all to us."

"Don't touch me."

"Right..." he answered, quickly withdrawing his hand.

---

"I can't see!"

"That's because there's only one pair of binoculars."

"Is she there? Is that Sonny he's sitting with?"

"Quiet! You're going to get us all caught!"

The cast of So Random, minus Sonny, huddled around a single pair of binoculars, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of Chad and the girl he was currently sitting with.

"So? Is it her or not?" Tawni tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hold on, I can't see. If only she'd turn her head just a little bit more..." Nico answered.

Tawni threw her hands in the air and groaned in annoyance. A brief pause later, a dramatic gasp made her snap her head back in his direction. "What, what is it?!"

"That is Sonny..." A second later, he thrust the binoculars into Grady's hands. "Oh my god, and she's sitting on his lap!"

"WHAT? SHUT UP!!" Tawni yelled in disbelief, yanking the binoculars away.

She hurriedly adjusted the eyepieces and squinted to get a better look. "Oh my god, she is!" She stuck her tongue out in disgust. "What is wrong with her?"

Zora rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Maybe, crazy I know, but maybe she's in love."

"Well then I hope she loves getting a piece of my mind!" Tawni snapped before storming off. Nico and Grady glanced at each other nervously before following her.

---

Chad smiled as Sonny rested her forehead against his, staring into his eyes and biting her lower lip to hold in a giggle.

Chad smirked and rested his hands on her hips. "What's so funny?"

"Noooothing..." Sonny responded in a sing-song tone. "I was just thinking about how I don't see you smile all that often. You smirk all the time, but I never see you smile." Chad raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why is that funny?"

It was Sonny's turn to smirk. "Because you're a big softy. It's cute."

Chad stuck his tongue out in mock disgust. "And you're gross. Most girls our age opt for being 'sexy', but no. You just had to go for the 'disgustingly sweet' angle, didn't you?"

Sonny laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well since a 'sexy' girl would never go for a jerk like you, I guess you'll have to settle for me."

Chad chuckled a bit at this and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Sonny let out a contented sigh as he pulled her closer to him with his other arm. She placed a hand on his shoulder for balance, swinging her legs back and forth, closing her eyes, and reveling in the rare moment of privacy between the two.

That is, until, a scream echoed off the walls.

"SONNY MUNROE, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Sonny hung her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. She immediately recognized the source of the voice as Tawni. Chad looked surprised for a brief moment as the cast of his rival show approached, but he quickly replaced his shocked expression with an annoyed one.

"Uh, excuse me, Mackenzie Falls is a closed set. Back to Chuckle City with you."

Tawni ignored him, walking straight up to Sonny. She whacked her shoulder with all the strength she could muster.

"Get off his lap before you disgrace us even more than you already have. NOW!"

Sonny glared at her before standing up.

"What are you doing here? I told you I'd be back when lunch was over."

Tawni threw her hands up, clearly flustered. "You didn't tell us you were going to have lunch at Mackenzie Falls!"

"Exactly," Sonny replied, folding her arms over her chest. "So why are you here?"

"It wasn't hard to find you, Sonny. Everyone knows you're seeing Chad; look!" Tawni thrusted a copy of People into her hands.

"What?!" The couple yelled in unison, looking down at the cover.

And there stood the bold headline: "Chad Dylan Cooper seen with So Random's Sonny Munroe; Is love in the air?", accompanied by a picture of two holding hands that took up the entire cover. Sonny's cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"This -- is not good..." Chad mumbled. "Now everyone's gonna think I would actually date someone like you."

Sonny narrowed her eyes and looked up at him. "That's because you are."

Chad held his hands up defensively. "I'm just saying."

"Oh, would you two like to be alone?" Tawni smiled, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Sonny turned to face her fellow cast members.

"And you... I thought you guys cared about me. This is a huge breach in trust..."

Tawni sighed impatiently, clearly unmoved. "We're trying to help you, Sonny. We can't let you fall into this... this airhead's trap."

"Ouch," came the monotone response from Chad. "That hurt, kind of."

Tawni scoffed at him, turning back to Sonny.

"You can't date a guy from Mackenzie Falls. It's not happening."

Sonny's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Oh really? And you have the authority to make that decision?"

Tawni smiled perhaps the most evil smile Sonny had seen in her life. "No, I don't. I know who does though."

And with that, Tawni turned on her heel, striding out of the room.

Sonny stared after her, soon turning to her cast mates in pure disbelief.

"... Guys?"

Nico, Grady, and Zora looked nervously around the room... Anywhere but directly at Sonny.

"S-See, the thing is, Sonny..." Grady began, "W-We kind of agree with her."

Sonny's eyes widened, her mouth screwing up as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. As she watched her friends turn around to go follow Tawni, she felt tears well up in her eyes.

Chad, in a rare instance of concern, rushed over, pulling her into a hug. He held her tighter when she began letting her tears flow freely.

"Hey, hey... It's okay... Listen Sonny, it's gonna be fine." Chad rocked her gently back and forth in an effort to calm her down. Sonny clung tight to the lapels of his blazer and caught a few deep breaths. His words didn't make her feel any better though. Because Sonny knew Tawni.

And Tawni always got what she wanted.