Stop the World

One.

Setting: Chad's House, Beverly Hills, CA

The engagement photo that their publicist had sold to Vanity Fair for a whopping 1.5 million dollars was crooked and that's all that Sonny could think about every time she walked past it in the barren hall of Chad's bachelor pad. Sonny was a planner and she liked to live her life according to a routine. But ever since she started dating Chad it was like she had thrown caution to the wind and was just living off vibes. Chaotic vibes. Vibes that sent her spiraling and made her focus on the smallest detail that she could control. Like this crooked photo. Chad had it professionally installed but they clearly did a terrible job because she noticed that it slightly leaned to the left as soon as she moved in two weeks ago.

The plan was to buy a house together once they got married. Before they got engaged, they didn't officially live together, instead bouncing back and forth between each other's apartments. But her lease ended right before he decided to propose and since they were going to live together anyway, why not start now? And why enter into a contract only to break it in a few months? That was not how she liked to live her life.

"It's not crooked."

Chad's voice echoed from the kitchen and interrupted her thoughts. She narrowed her eyes at the crooked photo and sauntered into the kitchen where he was taking their breakfast out of brown paper bags that had no doubt just been hand delivered by his doorman. Chad ordered every single meal until Sonny moved in and insisted that they cooked at least one meal per day. And since their mornings were always hectic, it was much easier to order breakfast than fuss around in the kitchen to make something.

"It is and I can't believe you paid them to put that up there like that. If you would give me the name of the company, I could call and get a refund," Sonny hissed as she sat down at one of the barstools. Chad just chuckled and shook his head because Sonny was fighting a losing battle, and they both knew it. As much as she loved to fix everything and everyone, there were some things that Chad just wouldn't let her handle.

"It's fine. It's not crooked," Chad tried to calm her down.

Sonny combed her fingers through her midnight black hair as he slid her breakfast towards her: a cup of oatmeal with fruit and coconut flakes on top, and her favorite protein smoothie.

"And here, I ordered an extra short stack too," Chad offered, but Sonny ignored the towering pile of golden pancakes.

"Anyway, you have your first day of work and then we have those screeners for the show today. I was thinking we could head to Malibu for the weekend? Get out of the city?" Chad suggested, causing Sonny to eagerly nod.

Her old apartment had been on the outskirts of the city but Chad lived in the heart of it so it always felt crazy. The rush of it all made her feel dizzy and since their engagement, the paparazzi had been stalking her endlessly. A weekend away from the city was just what she needed.

"Are you sure you're gonna be able to get away from work this weekend? I don't want to mess with your schedule," Sonny said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Baby..." Chad cooed. "We need the weekend to ourselves. I wouldn't be suggesting it if I couldn't do it. So, I'll pack for us while you're at the studio, we'll get dinner at Nobu, then we'll spend the whole weekend on the beach, okay?" Chad planned, making Sonny almost melt at the thought. Los Angeles was chaotic, she hadn't been back home to Wisconsin in months, and with everything going on, a weekend away truly was what she needed the most.

"Okay..." she conceded, because when Chad planned to do something he usually followed through. He kissed the top of her head, letting his lips linger there for a few seconds as his fingers caressed her sides before he went to the back to get ready. Sonny pulled her carton of pancakes closer to her as she took a deep breath.