Chad walked down the street. He saw decorations of all sorts, and happy little families singing carols. Christmas he sneered. Worst time of year. He entered Condor Studios with a big frown on his face. He was deep in thought when he bumped into someone. "Chad?" the brunette asked, with a little edge to her voice.

"Hey..." he trailed off and stuck out a hand to help her up. The brunette, who was known as Sonny looked skeptical, and confused. She took it and stood up.

"Merry Christmas!" she squealed but stopped when she saw the blonde actor's face. She immediately saw the hurt look in his eyes, and she saw that he was ready to explode with anger. She cringed and unconsciously took a step back. Instead of exploding, she saw him take a deep breath and frown.

"Bah hum bug." He whispered and left. Sonny was hurt that he didn't return her wishes, but felt more concerned than anything. She made it her mission to find out what was wrong. She decided to start at "The Falls". There, she met Portlyn, the girl who really didn't say much, but said a lot.

"Portlyn?" Sonny asked. The girl looked up.

"Oh, hey Sonny!" she exclaimed; only talking since it was Christmas. "Did you get any presents?" she asked.

Sonny smiled. "Tons...but, um, what's with Chad? Is he always like this?" she asked, extremely concerned. Portlyn smiled a compassionate smile and nodded.

"I'm his best friend on the set, and off the set; even if he doesn't treat me like one, so I definitely know. When Chad was really young, he had a sister named Carolyn. His family was just like any other ordinary family on Christmas; singing, hanging out together, drinking eggnog- that kind of stuff. Then one day, Carolyn mysteriously died-on Christmas. Of course Chad cried for days, but he came to hate Christmas. He thinks it's an unlucky day. But it gets worse. For months, Chad's parents fought over, and over, blaming each other for Carolyn's death. Chad was 10 then, and he decided to stand up for his, and Carolyn's, sake. He went downstairs, and told his parents that it was none of their faults. His parents surprisingly agreed and told him to go back upstairs. After about 15 minutes, they told him to come back downstairs. He told me he literally skipped down the stairs to the kitchen where his parents were. He had a huge smile on his face but if faltered when he saw his parents glare at him. 'We talked about what you said, and we decided who to blame for your sister's death.' His mother began.

'Who Mommy?' said a clueless Chad.

'You.' His father simply stated.

'M-me?' he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. 'B-but what did I-I do?'

'You were a horrible brother, so God decided to punish you and made her die. That's why you are no longer part of the family. We will no longer call you our son. We bought you a house, so you can live there in shame. Now go pack your stuff, and a limo will be there in the front to pick you up' his mother yelled.

Poor Chad was in tears, and had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that he no longer had a family, he was all alone, without his sister, and apparently he was a horrible brother, so God made his sister die. So now, he thinks that Christmas is the worst time of year. He always seems down, and nicer to every girl he meets. My guess? He still believes his parents and is trying to make up for being a horrible brother." Portlyn concluded. By this time, Sonny had tears in her eyes. God's punishment for being a horrible brother? What kind of crap was that? Poor Chad! No wonder he has no Christmas spirit! Always feeling guilty of being the cause of his sister's death. She thought.

"Thanks Portlyn!" the brunette ball of happiness said, and hugged her. Suddenly she had an idea. "Do you happen to have a picture of Carolyn?" the girl asked. Portlyn nodded, went into her dressing room, got the picture, and gave it to Sonny. Sonny rushed out of Stage 2, and ran to the store.

A FEW HOURS LATER

Sonny made her way back to Stage 2, and looked for Chad's dressing room. She knocked and heard a voice croak "Come in..." Sonny opened the door more, and saw the Chad Dylan Cooper crying while holding a picture of a girl who had long blonde hair, with natural dirty blonde highlights. She was grinning and held up a little boy with short blonde hair up, and both were facing the camera. Behind them, were a man and a woman; the woman's hands were on the little boy, and the man's hands were on the little girl. Chad looked up to see Sonny, and quickly wiped his tears away, and smiled a small smile. "What are you doing here Sonny?" the blonde actor asked her. Sonny made her way to where he was sitting.

"You don't have to enjoy Christmas just for me Chad. I know what happened. You can cry." She said softly, sitting down next to him. Chad slowly looked up and Sonny saw the longing and determination in his eyes.

"No, no! I promised! I vowed! I'm never letting anyone down ever again!"he muttered. Sonny wasn't even sure if he was talking to her; it was more like he was trying to convince himself.

"Well, anyway...merry Christmas Chad." She whispered softly handing him a present with little candy cane wrapping paper. Chad took it and stared at it. "Well...open it!" she squealed. He slowly opened the gift and immediately got tears in his eyes. It was an engraved photo frame and the picture in it was one of Carolyn. The engraving read: You are probably one of the sweetest, kindest, and maybe even the best brother in the whole wide world. Any sister would be lucky to have you as a brother "Oh! And turn it around!" she said, remembering one detail she had asked the store clerk. It read:

Dear Chad,

I don't think that you were the cause of your sister's death. Your parents were stupid (no offense) to disinherit you, and to kick you out of the family. I always knew that there was a nice, sweet, loving guy in you, and I guess I found him. Merry Christmas Chad. Just know that even though your parents don't love you...I do. And I'm sure Carolyn does too.

Love,

Sonny

Chad was literally in tears. He looked up, and gave Sonny a huge hug. It wasn't even an awkward hug- it was a nice hug that showed how much the gift meant to him. He let go, and finally, for the first time in 8 years, he smiled a genuine smile that touched his eyes. She grinned and kissed his cheek and left.

After lunch, she went back to her dressing room. On her dresser, she found a note.

Dear Sonny,

You really know how to make a person feel better. I wrote this note to thank you for everything you've shown me. I finally realized that it wasn't my fault that Carolyn died. Thank you for helping me realize that. Oh yea! Before I forget...I love you too. I guess all I needed was a little Sonshine to brighten up my day.

CDC

p.s: Carolyn says hi too