AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much for the reviews! I appreciate them so much :) This chapter will involve more sensory details; as opposed to the background information the other one gave. So it'll seem more realistic, and more Channy. Again, I own nothing of RENT (except the DVD and the OBC Soundtrack). And, if SWAC were mine, you'd know it because of the constant Channy writing in the script. Alas, I have possession of neither of the rights, so here's chapter two:

How'd I let you slip away when I'm longing so to hold you?

Sonny got to her dressing room long before Chad had walked back in his studio's door. He had stood there, his jaw gaping open behind closed lips, watching Sonny walk away. Though he'd willed his legs to move, his arms to grab her shoulders, his mouth to form her name – anything to get her to stop – he was frozen. The door was still ajar behind him, but through it, his co-stars could barely see Chad, let alone Sonny – or rather, where Sonny was five seconds ago. His lips parted too late, and his voice let out an almost silent, "Sonny."

Chad was out of character for himself. He had a witty comeback to almost anything, and nothing ever caught him by surprise. Even in interviews, he knew exactly what the questions would be, and had prepared his answers. On his TV show, he knew exactly what he was supposed to say, even right after a cliffhanger episode. He knew because, well, that's how TV worked: everything down to supposedly candid interviews on the red carpet were scripted or prepared somehow. But real life wasn't. Real life was a script waiting to be written.

His legs finally started moving and Chad found himself in almost a jog after Sonny before he realized what he was doing. I'm Chad Dylan Cooper, he reminded himself, the ladies run for me, not the other way around. So, stopping himself, he walked the rest of the way down the corridor until he got to her and Tawni's dressing room. He stood in front of Tawni's door (Sonny's was on the other side of the room), and thought for a few seconds of what he could possibly say. Sometimes, when real life woes became too much of an issue for even Chad to handle, he consulted a Mackenzie Falls script from a past season, or an episode that had yet to be aired; however, Mackenzie, though he'd been through a lot these past couple seasons, had never actually experienced a close friend of his clan leaving. Maybe it was because that would mean a main character would be kicked off (which would not only violate contracts, but it would also result in a decrease in viewers watching). The point is Chad had experienced little more than Mackenzie had; if Mackenzie hadn't experienced it, chances were that Chad hadn't either.

Think, think, think. Chad slapped himself in the forehead and let out a groan. He had no idea what to do in this situation. Even in his Mac-Falls uniform, his Mackenzie smoothness wasn't washing over him. After a few more seconds of pacing back and forth, Chad ran his right hand through his hair, set his shoulders back, and made a risky move – he was going to wing it.

It took three knocks and a "is Sonny there" before Tawni answered the door, her Cocoa-Mocoa-Cocoa lip-gloss attached – as it always was – to her right hand. She smiled and opened the door a little wider. "Oh, Chad!" She faked a giggle, not happy to see the Mac-Falls star, but not willing to show she wasn't. "What are you doing here?" He didn't answer, but pushed passed her with one hand and began to search the room. It was clean of clothes on the ground, but there were a few scripts lying around. It was also clean of Sonny.

Chad let out yet another groan and began to exit the room. "Do you have the time?" He asked, before going to the cafeteria to hopefully find Sonny. Before she could answer, Chad checked his own watch – which he'd clean forgot he'd had on – and read the time aloud. "Eleven sixteen," he said, then more quietly and to himself, "if I were Sonny, and it was eleven sixteen, where would I be?"

"The cafeteria?" Tawni offered, and began applying her gloss. "Sonny's nuts about Meatball Monday, although, I don't really understand why. I mean, who wants to get messy over a couple of meatballs in a b-" She cut herself off, realizing Chad had already taken off. With a huff, she closed led her door to close slightly, and then let it slam the rest of the way.

Chad had made his way over to the cafeteria and saw Sonny, along with the other Randoms, eating a meatball sandwich. Still unsure of what words to say – and feeling that tug in his stomach that he'd felt when Sonny had left him standing alone no more than fifteen minutes ago – Chad strode past her, said a quick hello to the lunch lady (adding a "long time no see"), and got his own Meatball Monday special. He added a bib, of course, not wanting his uniform to get the least bit sauced-up. He strolled over to their table, not daring to sit down, and tapped Sonny on the shoulder. She looked up expectedly, and then wiped her mouth with a napkin when she saw whom it was.

"Chad?" The name came out a little bit slurred, and sounded more like "Ca?" because of Sonny's meatball-filled mouth. His eyebrows furrowed, not sure of what she said. She gave herself time to swallow, and repeated (in a slightly altered word choice), "What are you doing here?" Lately, the cast of The Falls had been having their food delivered, and the velvet ropes that used to be on their reserved table in the cafeteria were removed by request and given back to the cast.

Chad didn't exactly know what to say next, but from the glares the actors of So Random were giving him; he wasn't welcome to sit at their table. So he picked an alternative, "Can we talk?" He added a smile for a charmed affect. Sonny looked around at her co-stars, unsure if she should go. She'd told them all about her encounter with Chad – it was more of a rant than a four-way conversation – in the time that it had taken Chad to find her. Their opinions of Chad were already sour (even after the camping trip), but him hurting one of their own was more than they needed to hate him even more. Grady had offered to use his ninja skills, Nico had basically said he'd kick his ass the next time he saw the three-first-named star, and Zora offered her infamous hatchet idea. In the end, Sonny sighed, and got up to follow Chad. Her cast mates watched as she left their table to go to one with Chad across the room.

"What is this about, Chad?" Sonny asked, not curious, but actually annoyed. She'd brought her food with her, but didn't plan on taking a bite until she knew what Chad had to say.

"I feel… kind of bad about this morning," Chad said, thinking carefully about his words. From his experience – read: Mackenzie's experience – Chad knew that in order to win someone over in a potential argument, you had to start out with a confession. That way, you had nothing to hide while the argument went on, and the opponent could believe they had the upper hand for a while.

Sonny furrowed her brows, "That's very unlike you, Chad." And it was. Chad seldom admitted when he was wrong about something and would often cover up any ounce of reveal.

"I know," he said, turning his charm back on, "but I feel we didn't have a good goodbye. And I don't want you to remember me as a bad person."

"Oh, so that's what this is about." Sonny was sketchy about his ulterior motive. Chad almost always had one, and when he did, it usually had to do with keeping So Random off of number one. "Well, to be honest, Chad," she started, ready to get up and leave, "there's very little you could say to change my mind about you." And with that, she was standing up, tray in hand, pushing her chair aside.

She was slipping away again. Chad could see it. His automatic reflex was to start in on a Good/Fine argument, but instead he stood up with her, and followed the impulse that had failed him a quarter of an hour ago. "Sonny." Chad grabbed her shoulder, careful to not make her spill her tray over. She turned to see his eyes were serious, and opened her mouth to say something. "J-just listen to me, please." She shut her mouth and listened for him to say something. There was silence for a little while, and in it, Chad had let go of her shoulder and they'd sat back down.

Sonny could feel her co-stars' eyes on her back, but she didn't turn. She didn't look into Chad's eyes either. She was too busy trying to figure out what he was going to say. Chad was serious very few times, and when he was, he was acting. But something she'd seen in his eyes said he was serious. But about what?