This story is for MusicChannySkyscraper's challenge for the theme "One Year Exactly". Have fun ;D ...Also, flashbacks are in italics. However, they're only at the beginning of the story, as the rest is set in the past (and dated accordingly)

It was almost over and I would finally be free.

It had been one year. One whole year. A whole year in which I had been ridiculed, embarrassed and completely humiliated by absolutely everyone in my whole life that matters to me.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating - the only person that was embarrassing me was Chad. Chad Dylan Cooper.

...not that Chad matters to me or anything.

Well, he didn't used to, anyway.

It all started when I lost a bet. A bet I never should never have made under any circumstances.

Ever.

Would you like to hear of said bet and why it has made exactly one whole year of my life utterly mortifying? Well, it all started when I bumped (literally) into Chad Dylan Cooper on the way to the cafeteria. I was in a hurry, so I didn't notice him standing there.

"Ouch, Sonny! What was that for? You just ran into me!" he complained bitterly.

I didn't bother to respond to the accusation with a comeback, although a quip about his hair had been simmering right on my tongue. Instead I decided to take the moral direction and instead muttered "Sorry, Chad. I didn't see you there."

"Well!" he exclaimed "My hair is far- wait, what? Did you just say sorry?" He gave me an inquisitive look.

"Chad" I sighed. "I am tired, hungry and I really need to ask Grady about his sketch idea."

He seemed to think about my statement for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "However, I don't think Grady's in the cafeteria." he smiled.

"What? Of course he's in the cafeteria," I snorted, "It's Grady. He and Nico practically live for food. In fact, He's probably at the fro-yo machine right now."

"Okay then," Chad remarked eagerly. "I bet you twenty dollars that Grady isn't in the cafeteria at all."

I knew it was rather stupid of me to bet on Grady's whereabouts, especially since Chad was walking away from the cafeteria (which indicated that he just left it), but my dignity was on the line, so instead of saying 'I guess you're right', I replied with "Okay, I bet you twenty dollars that Grady is in the cafeteria."

Chad smiled vindictively. "Okay then, but instead of twenty dollars, how about the loser makes the winner a sandwich every day for one year exactly."

'No!' I wanted to yell. 'All logic points to the fact that you were just inside the cafeteria, which means you'll know if Grady is in there or not!'

However, at that moment, I felt I had been challenged; that a gauntlet had been thrown, and even though my brain was fully aware that he was right and I was wrong, my mouth said "Good."

"Good" he replied.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

I lost the bet. Obviously.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing I have ever done in my life, but hey, what's done is done.

Anyway, I bet you can imagine the chaos that ensued once word got out about my unfortunate situation.

"Sonny!" Tawni yelled at me as I paced around our dressing room. "How could you do this to me? I'm your best friend!" she took a side glance in the mirror, "not to mention, I'm also quite pretty."

I immediately stopped my pacing.

"What do you mean 'how could I do this to you?'. How could I do this to me?" I slumped down onto the chair. "My life is literally over," I sulked.

We heard the sound of a vent opening and both immediately looked up at the roof to see Zora leaning into our dressing room.

"I couldn't help overhearing-"

"I bet you could." I muttered.

Zora seemed to have heard me because she smirked at my comment and replied with "I don't think you should go around making any more bets, Sonny."

Tawni let out a very over-exaggerated guffaw. "I see what you did there, Zora!" she laughed.

I just scowled and asked, "Well, Zora? Is there anything I can do?"

"Well," she said, her eyes gleaming. "I do have one idea..."

I suddenly jumped out of my chair. "Really? You do? Tell me, I'll do absolutely anything!"

"You could spit in his sandwiches." she suggested impishly, whilst crawling out of the vent and landing in my dressing room. I sighed again and rested my head in my hands, which seemed to strike some sympathy in the two other girls, as they both made their way over to me and rested their hands on my shoulders.

"I'm doomed! My life is over." I wailed miserably.

Zora only shrugged before turning away, obviously amused at the sight of my self pity. I just glowered at her, aggravated by her troublesome attitude.

"Sonny," Tawni said aloud, "calm down. Or else you will have to be exiled from our dressing room whilst I finish brushing my hair." I glowered at Tawni, and then at Zora, until I finally jerked myself free from the two girls' grasp and took my seat, all the while still muttering under my breath. Zora and Tawni scrambled back to their original positions.

"So, when does this shenanigan start?" inquired Zora.

I groaned, wishing for a change of subject. "By 'this shenanigan', do you mean 'this absolutely-horrifying-torture-that-I-stupidly-subjected-myself-to?"

Zora gave me a pitying look and Tawni just stared at me with a blank expression on her face.

"Yes, Sonny. Yes, I do." she finally responded.

"Tomorrow." I mumbled. "It begins tomorrow."

If you thought that the girls' reaction was bad, you should have seen the way Nico and Grady acted. I don't even want to go through the pain of writing it down for you. (insert involuntary shudder here)

Alas, you do deserve some kind of explanation, so I will give you a step-by-step description of what happened.

1. I entered the boys' dressing rooms.

2. I calmly explained what I was to do for the following consecutive 365 days.

3. Nico said "What?"

4. Grady said "What?"

5. I waited about forty seconds for the information to sink in.

6. All hell broke loose.

I know, you're probably thinking 'Nico and Grady have a right to be mad! You agreed to make sandwiches for your worst enemy!'

That was my original thought, too, however, it wasn't the case. Nico and Grady were angry for a totally different reason.

"Sonny!" Grady whined. "You never make me sandwiches!"

"Yeah, Sonny!" Nico chorused, "You've never made me a sandwich in my whole life!"

I stood rooted to the spot as Nico and Grady continued to expostulate over the situation.

"Come on, Sonny! We create sketch ideas, annoy Tawni, play practical jokes on security guards, laugh at Chad... how is it that we're unworthy?"

Grady gasped dramatically. "That's it, isn't it? You don't think we're good enough for a sandwich, do you?" he accused. "Well, it's not my fault that my hair doesn't lay properly! I have a cow-lick. A cow-lick, I tell you!"

Nico then proceeded to drag a sobbing Grady out of the room.

Although they had had very strange reactions, I felt suddenly relieved after I had spoken to my friends. I felt that a weight had been lifted off my shoulders – only to have said weight come crashing down over my head once I remembered the reason why it had been lifted off me in the first place.

The fact remained that for the following year I would have to make a sandwich a day for Chad Dylan Cooper.

However, the 'absolutely-horrifying-torture-that-I-stupidly-subjected-myself-to' turned out to be the best year of my life and if I were able to go back in time, I wouldn't change a thing.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 01 - December 14

I watched eagerly as Chad took a large bite out of the turkey and avocado sandwich I had just made him.

"Well?" I asked, "What do you think?"

Unlike Zora's unsportsmanlike suggestion of spitting in Chad's sandwiches, I had taken a different approach. Being the optimistic person I was, I decided that this bet would be a good time for me to brush up on my cooking skills. And hey, if comedy didn't work out, maybe I could start up my own cafe or something?

He paused for a moment and stroked an imaginary beard.

"It's..." he started.

"It's what? Good? Fantastic? Amazing?" I inquired, my forehead creasing with anticipation.

His eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "It's..."

"Delicious? The best sandwich you've ever tasted?" I continued.

Chad sighed, stopped stroking his imaginary beard and allowed a smirk to grace his face. "It was absolutely dreadful."

My jaw dropped.

"No avocado, please." he requested as he turned to leave the cafeteria.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 05 - December 20

"Okay," I placed a plate in front of an excited Chad. "There are no pickles, cucumber, celery, avocado or onion. Also, it's on wholemeal bread. Is that good?"

He looked like he was oozing avidity as he vehemently stared at the Cheesesteak sandwich sitting before him. He eagerly took a mouthful and nodded his approval. He took a few more bites before answering.

"It was good." he finally admitted.

"Just good?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well..." he sighed. "It was fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 15 - December 24

I was walking along the corridors of Condor Studios quickly as to not be late for the So Random! annual Christmas Eve party. I was walking the long way in the hopes that I wouldn't run into Chad on the way there, considering the Mackenzie Falls cast and crew had a similar festivity. I had been avoiding him recently because he had been incessantly annoying me about the fact that I still had three hundred and fifty days left in debt to him.

...Not that I was counting or anything.

Anyway, it seemed that I was out of luck, because I met Chad in one of the corridors near the prop house. To make the encounter as quick as possible, I decided to mumble a quick greeting as I walked past.

"Hey, Chad, how are yo-"

I immediately stopped in my tracks and started laughing.

"What on Earth are you wearing?" I managed to say through my laughter.

Chad seemed to be donning a large cricket hat with a particularly big rim covered in what looked like a half of a bushy shrub. He just scoffed at me.

"It's my mistletoe hat. Duh." he said, as if it were the most reasonable thing ever thought of. "It's Christmas soon, and no pretty girl can deny the mistletoe hat." he winked.

"You have got to be kidding me." I giggled, "I can guarantee that absolutely no girl would actually fall for something as stupid as a mistletoe hat."

Chad looked a bit perturbed at my acknowledgement, but chose to brush it off. He quirked an eyebrow and plastered an expression of confident nonchalantness onto his face.

"Ah, Sonny," he breathed, resting his arm on my shoulder. "You would be quite surprised how brilliant this hat is. It works on every single female you can think of. Even Brenda found it intriguing." He paused for a moment and looked at me. I shuddered for a moment, trying to imagine the grouchy lunch lady swooning over Chad. "It is, by far, one of the greatest inventions of mankind. Nay - the greatest, even." he smiled.

I looked up at his face (which was quite close, now that I thought about it) and struggled to keep a blank expression marring my features. Suddenly, I was overcome with a burst of confident energy and slyly asked, "Every female, you say?"

Chad's lips twitched up into a quaint smile and he let out a small bout of laughter. He looked a bit abashed and struggled to think of what to say. His nose wrinkled in an adorable manner and-

'Did I just call Chad's nose adorable?' I asked myself. 'I must be going mental. Although, it does quite compliment the rest of his features and crea- No. Chad is not adorable. Even when he pouts. Or smirks. Or laughs. Just... No. Not adorable at all.

Not even when he checks hishair in the reflection of the studio windo-'

"What are you implying, Sonny?" he asked mischievously. "Do you not find the mistletoe hat intriguing, even in the least sense? After all, it did take your breath away." he stated, whilst raising an eyebrow.

I scoffed. If he were to think that I found his peculiar hat even the slightest bit interesting, there was definitely something going on in that pretty little head of his.

I mean, 'regular' head of his. Yes. That's what I meant.

"Chad," I said seriously, "The reason that your hat 'took my breath away' as you so bluntly put it, was because I was laughing so hard at how abominably horrific it looks!"

Chad suddenly removed his arm from my shoulder and took two steps away from me, whilst emitting an exaggerated and dramatic gasp.

"Sonny," he articulated in an offended tone, "I let it slip the first time, but you should not have insulted CDC's mistletoe hat! You will regret it!" he yelled.

And, as if he had just made a very important and dignified point, he strutted out of the room quickly.

'Well,' I thought to myself; in a state of rightful indignation, 'That was certainly not what I was expecting.'

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 67 - February 14

The new year had come and passed without any drama at all.

In fact, nothing interesting had transpired at Condor Studios in the past month at all, which was quite strange considering that it was host to the most popular tween drama, and equally as popular tween comedy. Just as I was thinking of the lack of dramaturgy of Condor Studios, Tawni burst into our dressing room (which I was currently standing in) and gave me an unexpected hug.

"Sonny!" she shrieked, releasing me, only to grab on to my shoulders and shake them vehemently, "Guess what just happened!"

"Uh..." I mumbled.

"Guess, guess, guess!" she continued.

I did some quick calculations in my head and suddenly realised the only reason why Tawni would be this excited at ten in the morning.

It was Valentine's Day.

Surely, as I looked at my left shoulder (which was a resting place for Tawni's right hand), I could see the unmistakable outline of a small crumpled note held tightly in her fist.

Before she could protest, I grabbed her wrist and snatched the piece of paper out of her hand. It was cut in the shape of a heart and was decorated with way too much red glitter.

"Tawni," I read out loud.

"From the first time you saw me,

To the last time you scorned me

You captured my heart;

put my life to a start.

And now I can see

You are for me." I finished.

"Well?" Tawni asked, "Isn't it fabulous?"

It was absolutely dreadful.

"It's very..." I paused for a moment, "simple." I finished. "Who do you think it's from?"

Tawni sighed and looked dreamily into space, seemingly not hearing me.

"Well," I laughed, "What type of person would be stupid enough to write poetry as lame as that?" I cachinnated.

Tawni opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted when the door crashing open and Grady came bounding through. Shortly after, a pie came flying inside, hitting Tawni directly in the face. However, before she could react, Grady began speaking in a rushed tone.

"Tawni, I'm so sorry!" he panted. "I was running from Nico; it's his fault that you got hit with the pie!" he defended.

Tawni was too furious to formulate a sentence, so she just stood, rooted to the spot, glaring icily at Grady.

"Why," she started slowly, "was Nico chasing you with a pie?" she questioned furiously whilst wiping the cream off her face and flinging it at Grady.

"I don't know!" he yelled dramatically. "I was teasing him because his hands were covered in red glitter, and-"

"WHAT?" Tawni yelled.

"Well," Grady repeated, "I was teasing him because-"

"Red glitter?" she interrupted shakily, though still glaring at Grady.

Grady nodded in confirmation shortly before slowly backing out the door for fear of being decapitated by Tawni.

Once the door was closed, I contemplated following Grady. An enraged Tawni was definitely not a fun Tawni. However, as I was edging towards the door, I noticed something. Something had arrived in our dressing room that had never been there before. Something unfathomable and totally, utterly surprising.

Silence.

As I looked at Tawni for any indication of anger, I was surprised to see her standing still with her head down and shoulders slumped.

"Tawni?" I asked hesitantly, "Are you okay?"

With a slight nod, Tawni sat down in front of her mirror, slowly searching for her Coco Moco Coco lipstick.

"I'm just tired," she finally responded.

I knew that Tawni wasn't the lease bit tired, as she was enthusiastically jumping up and down just ten minutes before. However, seeing my best friend upset, I decided not to voice my thoughts and to instead try to cheer her up with classic Sonny Monroe humour.

"Well then," I chuckled, pretending to restrain laughter, "I guess we should stop calling you Tawni," I paused for dramatic effect, "And start calling you Yawni!" I guffawed.

Tawni looked at me, cracking a small smile.

"Thank you, Sonny," she smiled.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 87 - March 05

It had been nearly a month since Tawni had had her mini-breakdown, and things at Condor Studios had been going swimmingly. In fact, at that very moment, Tawni and I were eating lunch when she broached the subject of my bet.

"Are you even still making him sandwiches?" she asked, chewing on her lumpy, brown and sticky cafeteria food. "I mean, I haven't seen you making Chad sandwiches for weeks, let alone him actually eating any."

She did have a point. Although I was still abiding by the bet, nothing interesting had happened at all that was related to it.

"Oh, I still make the sandwiches," I told her offhandedly. "I make them in the mornings and drop a bag off outside Chad's room every day."

"Well," Tawni began, "that's boring."

I sighed. "Sometimes I doubt he even eats them. I mean, look at him," I gestured to the other side of the cafeteria where Chad was eating lobster with his Mackenzie Falls co-stars. "He's eating lobster, so why does he need me to make sandwiches for him?" I muttered in a disgruntled manner.

Tawni looked at me shortly, then rapidly turned around in her chair and stared at Chad. Looking like she had just won the lottery, she span back to my with an excited look on her face.

"You know what you should do?" she asked excitedly.

"What?" I asked in anticipation.

"Do you remember that sketch we did once that was called 'Where's the Wasabi'?" she questioned, an evil glint in her eye.

My mouth grew into a large grin. It was moments like this which made me think of Tawni as my best friend.

"Tawni!" I squealed. "You are official awesome!"

"And pretty." she added.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 88 - March 06

"Hey, Chad." I said cheerily, holding out a paper plate containing a Vegemite (and wasabi) sandwich.

Chad looked shocked to see me. He eyed me sceptically and raised an eyebrow.

"Sonny," he nodded politely, "What brings you to The Falls?" he questioned.

I was tempted to throw my sandwich in his face and yell "You said 'falls'!", but I contained myself as it would ruin the plan. So I instead gestured to the sandwich and said, "Well, I wasn't sure if you were receiving them, so I came to personally deliver it."

Chad looked at me suspiciously before shrugging off his worries, grabbing the sandwich and taking a large bite out of it.

I watched him chew for five seconds before his face started to go red.

"Sonny..." he gasped, "Water!"

I took a couple of moments to admire my craftsmanship before passing Chad a water bottle that I had bought with me.

"Was there something wrong?" I asked innocently.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 108 - March 26

"Chad!" I whined, "I'm actually really sorry!" I panted, running up behind him.

Chad was swiftly leaving the set of Mackenzie Falls and pointedly ignoring me whilst doing so.

"Please, Chad," I tried, "Tawni made me do it. It's her fault, really." I mumbled.

Chad's stride faltered for a moment as he paused and said, "Was Tawni the one who put wasabi in my sandwich?" he questioned.

"No, but-"

"Was Tawni the one who watched as I was dying?" he asked.

"Well, I think that's a bit dramati-"

"Don't talk to me about dramatic, Sonny!" he yelled. "Do you see me walking around and casually poisoning people?"

"I didn't poison y-" I started to insist, but stopped when I saw his glare. Sighing, I said "I thought it would be funny." I finally admitted.

"Did you, Sonny? Did you really?" he questioned, looking stonily at me, "Because that's some sick sense of humour."

I guiltily looked at the floor.

"No wonder you're on So Random!." he mumbled quietly.

My head immediately snapped up.

"You can insult me, but you should never insult So Random!" I yelled.

Chad took a step forward and looked down at my face.

"Just like you never insult Mackenzie Falls?" he asked sarcastically. "Need I remind you of 'Chip-drama Pants', 'You said falls!', 'Mackenzie Stalls' and 'Mackenzie Fails'?" he questioned.

"Pfft," I dismissed. However, looking at Chad's expression made me say, "Okay. Starting now, I won't insult Mackenzie Falls and you won't insult So Random!, deal?"

"Fine." he agreed.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 100 - March 24

'I think I am going crazy. Very crazy.' I thought to myself as I walked along the corridors of Condor Studios. 'Either that or Chad has invented some kind of machine that forces me to think about him all the time.'

'I've never really thought about him much before, so I guess my insanity is slowly creeping up on me. Kind of similar to the way Chad creeps up on-'

My step faltered and I mentally slapped my forehead. I was doing it again.

And by 'it', I meant accidentally relating everything to Chad Dylan Cooper.

Instead of thinking about the reasons as to why I was thinking about Chad all the time (because I was very skilled in the area of denial), I opted to instead dispel all thoughts of him from my mind.

Or, well, pretend to dispel all thoughts of him, because hey, as I said before, I was skilled in denial.

Anyway, as I was thinking about not thinking about thinking about Chad, I failed to notice his presence right next to me.

I know, right? You're probably thinking 'You think about not thinking about thinking about him, but you don't notice when he walks right past you?'

"Sonny!" he called, interrupting my daydreams. He jogged over to me holding what seemed to be a large pile consisting of a loaf of bread, some cooking utensils, different varieties of spreads and an abundant assortment of fruit and vegetables.

"Chad, please tell me that you're not going to make a sandwich hat." I told him softly as I mocked him with my false sympathy. He was not as skilled in the hat-making business as he would like to think.

He scowled.

I smiled.

He cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to another, seemingly nervous about something.

"I... Uh..." He raised his hand to rub the back of his neck and stared blankly at the wall behind my head. I watched, confused at his change in stance, as he uncharacteristically stumbled over his words. "Well," he said finally, "I was wondering if you could teach me how to make a nice sandwich, because you're surprisingly quite good at it. Also, after this year's over, I'm going to have to make my own sandwiches."

I snorted as he said 'surprisingly', but he didn't seem to notice. Or, if he did, he just ignored it.

"So, here I have almost every single fruit or vegetable you can think of - even a 'chayote', whatever the hell that is - and I was wondering if you could, well, help me?" he stuttered.

I stood, gaping at Chad as he looked at me intently. Mistaking my expression for a negative answer, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair (which was shocking considering how much CDC cared for his hair) and suddenly turned to leave.

"Wait, Chad!" I called after him, "I'd love to teach you to make a sandwich," I grinned. "God knows, you probably need it."

ooooo

Chad and I decided to make our sandwiches in the most resolute and secluded place at Condor Studios: the car-park, which was - as usual - quite empty.

He sat with his legs out in front of him and was leaning back on his hands whilst he listened to me explain exactly why it wasn't smart to put lemon slices in a peanut butter sandwich.

"Honestly," I told him, "Do you know anything about food at all?" I questioned.

He sniffed, looking pointedly at me. There was a pregnant pause in which I could only assume that he was deciding how to answer my question.

"C.D.C has a personal maid to do his cooking for him." he finally conceded.

I held back a bout of laughter and looked towards his face to find any indication that he was joking. However, his expression remained blank and he asked me "Is there something wrong with that?"

I shook my head quickly, even though I did find it strange that a teenager had a personal maid. It was hard for me to comprehend, considering the fact that I lived in a small apartment with my mother and had originally grown up in Wisconsin. Having a maid was a luxury that hadn't ever crossed my mind before Chad had bought it up.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it at all, I was just surprised that you have your own personal maid," I admitted, "also, it's hard to take you seriously when you refer to yourself in the third person." I giggled.

Chad pondered this for a moment and finally said, "Chad Dylan Cooper is never going to refrain from referring to himself in the third person because he is awesome enough to do so, a'ight?"

"In that case, Sonny Monroe will also speak only in third person." I confirmed, allowing a small smile to grace my lips and looked down at the peanut butter jar in my lap.

"Good." he replied.

"Yes."

"Wait, what? Why did you say that?"

"What do you mean 'Why did you say that'?" I inquired.

"I said good..." he raised an eyebrow.

I stared blankly.

"I said yes."

"I know, but you're supposed to say 'good'," he directed.

I smiled, "Why?"

"So I can say fine, and then you say fine. It's our thing. You can't just say 'yes'," he grumbled.

"Oh?" I questioned, "We have a 'thing', now, do we?" I chuckled.

Chad looked a bit flustered by my comment, but simply dismissed it and eloquently raised an eyebrow, whilst giving me a piercing gaze. "People generally don't have 'things' with their greatest enemy's" he replied pointedly.

I didn't know what it was about that statement, but I felt like someone had punched me in the gut and my vision had suddenly become blurry. I knew that Chad was only hanging out with me because of the stupid sandwich bet, but when he declared us 'greatest enemy's', sadness ignited within me and I had to fight back tears.

I hastily stood and mumbled an excuse about rehearsal as I left the car-park. I had made it almost twenty meters before Chad's voice rang out loudly.

"Sonny, wait!" he called, jogging up to me. "I didn't mean that, I'm sorry," he muttered, fingering the tomato sauce bottle he held in his left hand. There was a tense silence for a while as he thought about what to say next.

"We're not exactly friends, but we're not enemy's either, really, are we?" he inquired.

I sighed, "What do you want, Chad? What do you really want?" I asked heatedly. "We're not friends. You just said so yourself only twenty seconds ago! Did you ask me here today so you could make fun of me? So you could beat down any optimistic ideals of friendship that I had?"

"No!" he yelled, frustrated.

"Then do it now, Chad!" I said, completely not hearing him. "Verbally abuse me in my tormented, vulnerable state – I dare you! I dare you!" More hot tears welled up in my eyes and began to trail down my face. "Because there is nothing in the world you can say or do to me now that could possibly make this situation even worse! Just do it, Chad. Just say it-"

And then, just like Pinocchio's strings had been cut, released from his controlling binds, Chad snapped. His strings had suddenly been cut loose.

"Monroe, get a clue!" he bellowed, before grabbing my face and smothering my lips with his.

ooooo

My burning eyes widened as I felt his lips on mine, his hands caressing the sides of my face forcefully.

At first, it had been shock. Just pure, utter shock. I hadn't expected it (who would've?), and I didn't think I would have ever expected it at all in my life. If someone had told me that Chad Dylan Cooper was going to kiss me in the near future, much less this way, under these circumstances, I wouldn't have believed it. I would've shaken my head and then thrown it back and laughed. Hysterically.

I just didn't know what he was doing kissing me. I was utterly mystified. But how could I ignore the passionate pressure he was putting against my lips? And the way it sent my heart into nearly fatal convulsions? It was like the greatest heart attack ever! However, due to my still-revolving shock, I was holding my breath. But as his warm, soft mouth moulded against mine, I felt the same passion and yearning that I had tightly bottled up slowly trickle out, and my mind was suddenly shrouded by a dreamy, thick mist.

Sadly, there was just no contest between his kiss and my rigid, chaste ways. After all, I knew it was wrong. The circumstances were completely, utterly wrong. I even played around with the idea of giving him a good slap. But my body remained frozen, receptive to his kisses though I myself was not responding due to my dizzying shock. I couldn't move. It was as if I had grown roots to the asphalt flooring.

This was Chad. Chad Dylan Cooper. Chad Dylan Cooper was kissing me…

My heart was going into overdrive, pounding and pounding, and there was a white noise roaring in my ears. Then, suddenly, as if all of the binds around my chest had loosened, I felt myself sigh into his mouth and begin to kiss him back. It was his entire damn fault. Why did he even have to kiss me? A snide remark would've been just fine — hell, a hug would have been much more necessary! But what was he doing here, kissing me, Sonny Monroe, Comedy Extraordinaire? What had I done to deserve such a terrible, terrible thing?

Only, it wasn't terrible at all. It was actually really, really amazing.

Suddenly I felt something slimy on my neck and pulled myself away from him quickly, my cheeks pink and my blood pounding hotly. Looking down, I noticed a trail of red sliding down my collar bone slowly.

'Blood.' I immediately thought, but looked up to see Chad's lightened expression as he chuckled softly. Lifting up the tomato sauce bottle (which was somehow still in his left hand), he shrugged his shoulders in an apologetic manner.

Suddenly, before he could react, I ripped the tomato sauce bottle from his hand and squirted the gooey red liquid all over his hair.

Chad looked shocked for a second, but then grinned and playfully glared at me before running back to our original sitting position where the food was.

I watched, confused, as Chad rummaged through a pile of spreads and I decided to head towards him. After about twenty seconds of searching, his hand emerged from the pile with a bright yellow squirty bottle. Mustard.

Chad squirted his mustard at me just as I threw the empty bottle of tomato sauce at his head. It wasn't long until a fully fledged food fight had broken out and we were throwing vegetables at each other. As I smeared some jam over Chad's nose, there was a moment where we both looked at each other and it seemed as if time had frozen. I stopped listening to the world around me and, by staring at Chad, I knew that he was thinking the same thing. Strange jolts of what felt like electricity prickled on my skin as I stared into his eyes. Then, as quickly as it had stopped, time restarted and the food fight continued.

About ten minutes later, we were lying down silently in the car-park, totally exhausted and covered in various kinds of mashed up food.

It was one of the best moments of my life and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 150 - June 13

It had been fifty days and Chad hadn't spoken to me.

Fifty.

As in the '1200' hours kind of fifty.

Tawni noticed me sulking around our dressing room and asked, "Sonny? Why so glum?"

In my broodiness, I failed to notice Tawni's particularly chipper mood and replied tonelessly.

"Chad hasn't spoken to me for fifty days, even though I have left a sandwich outside his dressing room every morning!" I complained. "I've only seen him once in the past month and he was in his car."

"Well," Tawni started, "Maybe he's-"

She paused and looked at me suspiciously.

"Wait a minute," she said, standing up and facing me. "Why do you want Chad to talk to you?"

"Uh..." I stuttered, letting out a bout of nervous laughter. "No particular reason." I replied. "No reason at all." I smiled impishly.

"Huh." was Tawni's response.

"Because, you know, nothing happened at all." I rambled desperately. "I mean, nothing that shouldn't have happened because...you know, nothing happened." I gibbered.

Silence descended upon the room for a few moments and I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I was safe.

"I'm starting to think something happened." Tawni said suddenly.

So I told Tawni everything that had happened on March 24, as reluctant as I was to do so. After I had finished, Tawni wore a shocked expression. "Wow."

"Yeah, wow."

"I can't believe he didn't know what a chayote was."

I unsystematically waved my hands around. "That's what you get out of my story?" I asked disbelievingly.

Tawni smiled softly. "Okay," she started, looking like she was about to give an important speech. "Chad kissed you."

"Yes." I confirmed.

"So, what's the big deal?" she asked haughtily. "It was just a kiss."

I looked at her, confused. "What?" I asked.

"I mean, kisses don't have to mean anything, do they? They just... happen."

I opened my mouth to respond, but was cut off by Tawni's rambling.

"Just because you kiss someone, it doesn't mean you like them. You can't possibly like them, because they're not a hotel heir or a prince, they wear lame hat's and they forget to brush their teeth! It's not your fault that you kissed them and it doesn't mean anything!" she finished dramatically.

There was a weighty pause before she spoke again.

"Hypothetically, of course."

"Yes." I smiled. "Hypothetically."

At least someone was on their way to a happy ending.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 160 -June 23

It had been ten days since my encounter with Tawni, and Chad still hadn't talked to me. Tawni and I had not spoken again of our conversation and things were incredibly dull at Condor Studios.

I sighed, chewing on my lip as I placed the bag containing Chad's sandwich outside his dressing room door. It was this time every day that I worried that Chad would open the door and laugh in my face for being so naive and thinking that we would at least be on speaking terms.

However, before I could turn to leave, a voice from behind me made me freeze.

"Sonny," he said softly. His tone was not rash or condescending like I thought it would be.

I winced visibly before turning around and looking into his eyes.

"Here," he said, pushing a large square-shaped box into my hands.

"You got me a pizza?" I asked tensely.

"It's not a pizza," he said quickly, covering my hands when I went to lift the lid. "Please don't open it now. Wait until you're alone."

I opened my mouth to answer and looked down at my hands, which were still enclosed in his. He seemed to notice and took a full step back before saying, "I want you to think about what I have written and tell me what you think." he said, before turning and quickly leaving the hallway.

'Written?' I asked myself, 'What is he talking about?'

I had half a mind to throw the box on the floor and leave without a second glance, but my curiosity got the better of me.

Sighing, I took the box with me to my dressing room - which, thankfully, Tawni was not in -, sat down on a comfortably chair and slowly lifted the lid.

Inside the box was what used to be some sandwiches that seemed to be cut into letters.

'I'm Sorry.' it read.

Just that small statement made me feel overcome with emotions and I had no idea what to feel. He was sorry.

Chad was sorry.

I had no idea how to react to that. What was he sorry for? Was he sorry that he kissed me? Sorry that he had ignored me? Sorry about forcing me to make sandwiches for him every day?

It was very vague.

Well, it wasn't that vague and I subconsciously knew what it actually meant, however, my skilful use of denial wouldn't help me in the situation and I really didn't want to think about it.

And, luckily, I didn't have to, because Nico came bounding through the door.

"Oh, hey, Sonny," he smiled. "Have you seen Tawni anywhere?"

I giggled silently at his bluntness.

"She's probably in the Prop House," I told him. "I'll meet you there soon."

As Nico left, I took a moment to stare at the sandwich apology before picking up the 'I' and eating it. It was actually quite nice.

I then noticed a folded up piece of paper which was like a tiny platform for the letters.

Soon after swiftly moving the impeccably shaped letters out of the box, I reached for the piece of paper and unfolded it.

Sonny,

Normally when I do something wrong, I don't say sorry. If I do, I never mean it. I will always say, "Sorry, dude," in non-committing way, because that's the how I am.

But, Sonny, you have to know that now, when I say that I'm sorry, I really mean it.

I'm sorry that I haven't spoken to you and I'm sorry that I have been obviously ignoring you.

But, most of all, I'm sorry for the fact that I've destroyed any chance I had of kissing you again.

Please meet me at the studio car-park next Tuesday after rehearsal if you are willing to forgive me.

Yours, Chad.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 163 - June 26

Tuesday.

It had finally arrived and I still had no idea what to do.

On one hand, meeting Chad may be one of the best things to ever happen to me. But, on the other, I could be making a huge mistake.

I inwardly sighed. I had absolutely no idea what to do.

Rehearsal had gone well and I was making my way to Tawni and I's dressing room to dispose of my clown costume and wash the bright red smile off my face.

What I didn't expect to see when I walked through the door was Tawni and Nico in what seemed to be a very heated lip-lock.

Deciding that fate had intervened, I thought it the right option to meet Chad at the Studio car-park...

...in the clown costume.

Because, hey, inner beauty, right?

When I reached the car park (without my clown shoes and wig, as I had chosen to take them off), my eyes immediately searched the area for Chad. I soon saw him leaning against his expensive car with his keys in his hand, looking down at the floor.

"Hey," I greeted softly.

Chad smiled brightly when he noticed my presence. "You came!" he exclaimed, his smile widening when he noticed my strange attire.

"I know I look absolutely amazing," I started, "There really is no need to compliment me." I smiled slyly.

Chad chuckled. "Yes, you do."

Silence descended upon us and it was clear that our playful banter was over.

"So..." Chad mumbled.

I inhaled a deep breath, preparing myself for my explanation.

"I read your letter," I began, suddenly finding my bare feet very interesting.

"And?" Chad prompted.

"I forgive you." I told him, raising my eyes to meet his.

He smiled, opening his mouth to respond. I, however, cut him off by raising my hand.

"But-"

"There's always a 'but'," Chad grumbled.

Silencing him with my glare, I continued. "But, I still don't know where it leaves us." I told him reluctantly.

Chad's face held a thoughtful expression for a moment, his eyes searching mine.

"Where do you want it to leave us?" he finally asked.

I suddenly realised how close he was standing and my heart started thumping louder in my chest.

"I-I don't know." I replied honestly, looking down at my shoes. "Could I have some time to think?" I questioned him.

Chad sighed softly in resignation before nodding.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 185 - July 19

It had been a few days since Chad and I had had our conversation in the car park, and I was still at a loss of what I wanted.

"Sonny?" Tawni asked, snapping me out of my reverie. "Are you okay?"

I nodded concomitantly. "Yeah, I'm f-" I paused.

Maybe Tawni would be able to help me?

I had seen her sneaking around the studio with Nico when she thought nobody was watching, so she had to know at least something about this relationship.

"Actually," I started, "I'm not fine."

Tawni looked at me quizzically, obviously having expected me not to elaborate.

"You see, I have this friend..." I began in an obviously false tone. However, Tawni didn't seem to notice, so I continued. "And this friend I have thinks she likes a guy, but she doesn't know whether she should do anything about it."

"Does this guy like the friend of yours?" she asked suspiciously.

I gulped, but continued nevertheless.

"Yes he does. Very much so," I confirmed.

"Well, what's the problem?" Tawni asked. "Tell your friend to go for it if she likes him."

"But-" I spluttered, "he's so..." I trailed off, waving my hands around in front of me. "He's arrogant and selfish, not to mention overly dramatic. There is absolutely no reason why I-" I coughed, "my friend should even notice him!" I ranted.

Tawni chuckled quietly, seeming to notice my slip.

"Sonny. I know you're talking about Chad."

My mouth dropped and I stood stock-still, looking like a gold fish as I opened and closed my mouth.

'Since when has Tawni become so perceptive?' I asked myself.

"You like Chad," she began slowly, as if she were talking to a child, "Chad likes you." she stated obviously.

I nodded in confirmation.

"Well, there's no reason why you shouldn't date him, then. I mean, you must know a lot about him, right?

Did I know about Chad?

True, I didn't know his favourite flavour of ice-cream or the name of his favourite season, but I knew that he ran his hands through his hair when he was nervous, even if it caused disarray. I didn't know his favourite colour or his favourite drink, but I knew that he used confidence to mask his insecurities. I knew that Chad loved arguing, paced when he was restless, liked watching action movies, dressed according to his moods, raised an eyebrow when being challenged and—my thoughts stopped immediately.

Did I really know all of that? And better yet, how did I know all of that?

Did I like him as a person? Yes. That was an easy question. When we weren't arguing about something petty, he could be caring, strong, obstinate, and easy to converse with. Sure, we'd gotten off to a horrible start, but that didn't seem to matter to him any longer.

As I thought even more about it, it was definitely more than probable that I liked Chad a lot more than I had originally thought I did.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 205 - August 07

I knew what I was going to do. I had made up my mind and there was no way that I was changing it.

It was with a purposeful stride that I walked determinedly to Chad's dressing room and knocked strongly on his door.

Chad opened it, looking puzzled. "Sonny?" he asked. "What are yo-"

I cut him off by grabbing his Mackenzie Falls tie and pulling his face down until it was level with my own.

And just then, without even the slightest hint of what was to happen, I grabbed his face, dragging him closer, and put my heated lips on his, kissing him furiously, sending his body into a complete and utter frozen state.

My thoughts were listless and my mind was sent spinning off to somewhere I knew very well that I wouldn't be able to reach any time soon. Electricity crackled through my fingers and veins, and the pounding of my heart hammered in my ears, causing my pulse to quicken and my body to warm against his.

And, uncannily, I stopped thinking. Just like that. I knew that if anyone else had heard about this (besides Tawni), how my single act of going about to kiss Chad – without forethought – had literally stopped my brain from functioning, they would bowl over in confusion. And it wasn't that he was such a knockout kisser that once I felt his lips crushed against mine and that drizzle of warmth on my tongue that oddly thrilled me in a way I knew nothing else would never ever do; it was just that it was him. The stranger, the bully – the highbrow jerk with the hauteur lined with diamonds and emeralds. And I knew that I was supposed to be disgusted and maybe even cut off his tongue for ambushing my mouth… but I was just so distracted. I couldn't think. And for the first time ever in my life, this sort of immobility and state of senselessness did not send me into frustration and franticness. For the first time, I was happy not thinking.

It was in that moment that I realised exactly how long I had liked Chad Dylan Cooper.

It amazed me that it actually took almost a year of knowing him to realise that.

Suddenly, he pulled away. He looked me straight in the eye as he dropped his hands from my face. I felt her heart shudder and my knees quiver as if they had just been bled dry of their strength.

"There," I finally said, in a dry voice. "That's my answer. That's where I want it to leave us."

And then I watched him earnestly as he took a step back and turned on his heel, walking back into his dressing room with a stoic last impression.

I watched after him, in a daze.

I shut my eyes tightly as I covered my face with my hands, his saccharine, distinctive taste still lingering on my stung lips and inside my mouth. I was having quite a hard time trying to decide if what had just happened was reality or just a reckless fantasy gone wild. I actually didn't want to believe either. Somewhere in between everything, the roller coaster of an events chart and the fits of passion all severely connected to vicious bouts of uncertainty, I'd lost track of all of the insane things that seemed perfectly intent on sadistically unravelling my entire being. I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. Everything. I was just confused. Totally and utterly confused.

I had given Chad what I had thought he wanted. What I wanted. But, somehow, it wasn't good enough.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 250 - September 22

I was miserable. Absolutely miserable.

I had been avoiding Chad like the black plague for fear of teasing or rejection and I hadn't had a decent conversation with Tawni in weeks because she spent all of her time with Nico.

Which is why, at that moment, I was eating Macaroni and Cheese in the prop house with Grady instead of spending my break in the cafeteria.

"Have you noticed anything different about Nico?" he suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, placing my half empty bowl of Macaroni on the table.

"Well, I beat him in Battlefield 3 yesterday because he was busy zoning out, and I never beat him in Battlefield 3."

"Has he done anything else that was strange?" I asked him.

As far as I knew, Nico had not informed Grady of his relationship with Tawni, so I didn't want to tell him directly, because there was probably a reason why he wasn't told.

"Well..." he trailed off. "I'm not exactly sure if I'm right or not. I mean, I could have been dreaming, but I swear that I saw him at the movies watching the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Secret Princess with Tawni!" he exclaimed dramatically, pausing for breath. "But... that couldn't have been Nico, right? Right?" he asked in a panic.

I winced, knowing that Tawni would probably murder me if I told him about her not-so-secret relationship.

"Sometimes you can't help who you have feelings for," I stated. "Even if they're an arrogant big-head."

Grady, not understanding my double meaning, nodded and said, "I suppose Tawni can be kind of big headed sometimes."

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 260 - October 02

I slowly paced the length of my dressing room, thinking about - guess who - Chad.

Even weeks later, I was still confused and upset.

'What have I done wrong?' I thought to myself, my shoulders shaking as I tried to contain my tears.

I had spent the last few weeks focussing on So Random!, and nothing else, but now all of my pent-up sadness had suddenly come rushing out.

I wasn't just upset, I was despondent.

"Sonny, will you please stop that pacing!" Tawni snapped loudly, "It's disrupting my beauty regime."

I didn't even have it in me to retaliate, so I mumbled a quiet apology.

Tawni sighed and put down her hairbrush before muttering something that sounded like 'You shouldn't have ever decided to be Nice, Tawni.' to herself.

"Come on, Sonny, what's wrong?" she asked sympathetically.

I looked away, refusing to answer her.

"Is it Chad? I haven't heard you talk about him recently. Did you end up telling him about your feelings?"

I opened my mouth to respond that, yes, it was about Chad, yes I had told him, and he had pretended that nothing had happened, but I paused when I realised something.

I had never actually told Chad anything about my feelings. I had said "This is what I think of us," and kissed him. For all I knew, he could think that I didn't give a hoot about his feelings, and I had decided that I would just kiss him to mess with his head or to mock him.

I had royally screwed up.

"Oh my God," I mumbled.

But, even though I hadn't been completely clear of my intentions, did it really give Chad the right to ignore me for almost two months? Surely he could have just came and asked me what I meant, which meant that I still had a right to be angry with him.

Which was good, because I was still very, very angry.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 280 - October 22

It was my least favourite part of the day. The part that I dreaded every night when I went to sleep.

Morning.

It was the time of the morning that I placed a sandwich outside Chad's dressing room door.

On this particular morning, I was hiding behind a pot-plant in the hallway whilst I waited for Chad to leave for rehearsal like he normally did.

However, after ten minutes of waiting, I assumed that he'd just left early and, after looking at my watch and realising that I would be late for rehearsal if I didn't hurry up, I stealthily ventured out from behind the pot-plant.

When I reached the door, however, it was immediately flung open and I found myself being dragged in by my arm.

Closing the door behind me, Chad let out a ragged breath.

"Sonny," he started seriously. "I-" he paused, looking at the sandwich in my hand. "Oh, Salami!" he grinned triumphantly.

I folded my arms whilst tapping my foot impatiently and gave Chad a disgruntled look, waiting for him to finish admiring the sandwich I had made him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, finally seeming to take notice of me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" I asked.

"Look, Sonny. I'm really sorry for what I did." he said. "I shouldn't have ignored you, but I was scared because I thought I was in-" he immediately broke off.

"In what?" I asked.

"Uh..." he stuttered. "In... a state of denial." he substituted, although I could tell that he wasn't telling the truth.

"Really?" I asked sceptically. "Well, I don't think that that's a good enough reason for me to listen to your reasoning!" I exclaimed angrily. "That's an excuse!" I yelled distastefully.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't walk out that door right now!" I commanded, gesturing to the door behind me. "Because I don't think that-"

"Because I'm in love with you!" he exploded, looking frustrated.

I stood stock-still, my eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"What?" I managed to ask in my shock.

Chad slapped a hand to his mouth, turning beat red. "Nothing!" he almost squeaked.

But I had heard him. Love.

Love.

I couldn't work it out in my mentality – in love, I had no mentality. It was all a vague, messy, formless blur and it made me feel agonizingly small and defenceless. Even common sense or denial couldn't help me from this. Not many things were meant to be random and solely made from spontaneity… like books. Books were neat, organized – divided into Prologues, Epilogues, and chapters or Forewords. But I couldn't live in books, nor could I live in a bubble from society and pain. I had to accept the chaos and disorder it would bring.

"I-" I broke off, refusing to look in Chad's direction. "I need to think about this." I finally stated.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 300 - November 11

After dropping Chad's sandwich off in the morning, I took my secret hiding spot behind the tall, plastic pot-plant.

Shortly after I had completely hidden myself, Chad emerged from his dressing room looking distressed and dishevelled, frowning down at his feet.

However, as he spotted the sandwich in front of the door, his face lit up and he beamed like the Cheshire cat.

As I saw his smile, a familiar wave of shivers and warmth spread through me – tugging, pulling, thriving. I felt my heart plummet to the pit of my stomach and then rise again at a rapid pace like a spastic tennis ball, trembling and violently throbbing with expectation, fear, and longing. The captivating depth of his eyes - which I saw looking down in glee - caused my breath to hitch in my throat, as the whole world seemed to stop before my eyes – a ridiculous cliché, but I couldn't really think of anything else particularly clever when all I felt like doing was grabbing a salad fork and stabbing it right into my chest, where my heart was, doing some freaky dance. Just to shut it up.

I had no idea what had came over me. After seeing Chad smile after I had indirectly made him miserable had affected me in a way that I had never expected it to.

As I watched, I saw the light in Chad's eyes suddenly disappear and his lips twitched before turning downwards into a small frown.

Guilt overcame me as I continued to watch Chad stand still, staring blankly ahead with a sad, wistful gaze in his eyes and I couldn't help but feel that I was intruding on a very private moment - one that I had inadvertently caused.

After Chad went back inside, I walked slowly back to my dressing room feeling heavier than I had in months.

XxXxXxXxXx

Day 356 – December 14

I had decided to do something totally rash that I hadn't through. My guilt was eating me up inside, which was the reason that I found myself knocking furiously on Chad's door in the morning.

"Look. If you want an autograph, yo-" he broke off as he saw me, his expression changing to accommodate his surprise. "Sonny?" he asked disbelievingly, as if he thought I was going to disappear in a puff of smoke. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"For what?" Chad asked, perplexed.

"I overreacted and I shouldn't have ignored you just because I was afraid." I finally mumbled.

Chad smiled, looking as if I had just made an ironic joke, before saying, "I guess we're even, now?" he chuckled.

My lips lifted into a relieved smile as I heard him laugh.

"Here." I said randomly.

"What?" Chad asked, totally surprised at my sudden change of subject, his left eyebrow lifting slightly.

"Well," I began. "A few months ago you asked me where I wanted our situation to leave us, and..." I blushed, looking down at my shoes, "And I want it to leave us here. Together." I stated quietly, slightly embarrassed about how corny I was being.

I slowly looked up to gage Chad's reaction, and I only got a small glimpse of his startled expression before he was kissing me.

It was in that moment that I realised that all of the drama was over. It didn't matter that we were supposed to be each others 'greatest enemy', because there was nothing in the world that could break my spirits as I stood in the doorway to Chad's dressing room, ready to step through into a fresh start and a new year with him by my side.

XxXxXxXxXx

So, guys, what do you think? :P And, I know, that ending was unbelievably corny. I swore to myself that it wouldn't get that fluffy, but you can't argue with Channy, no?

And yes, a chayote is a real vegetable, if you were wondering.

Please review! And tell MusicChannySkyscraper how awesome this story is :P