(A/N) Thank you to zoezora, and plutodeadlyscream (I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way!) for the reviews. More virtual hugs for you guys (: Anyway, Tawni's second big secret before getting to present day events. AND you get to find out flashback dialogue from Chad and Tawni's past. Yee.

On to the chapter! (:

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"Okay, okay! So he's not that fat."

Chad Dylan Cooper's confused voice cut through Tawni's thoughts like a razor.

Tawni jolted back to reality. "Sorry, what?"

"I don't know!" Chad said impatiently, throwing up his arms. "You got weirdly quiet after I said Grady was fat. Kid seriously needs to lay off the donuts though, just saying." Then, a flash of recognition. "Wait. Or did you get weirdly quiet after I asked you why you didn't think you were a star?"

"Oh!" Tawni let out a fake, high-pitched giggle. "That. No, I was just being dramatic again. I'm a star. I just don't want anyone to share my spotlight."

Chad chuckled, looking slightly relieved that Tawni was back to normal. "Girl, I feel you on that. I don't even like it when Portlyn's has to share a scene with me. And she's hot. I can't even imagine what it must be like for you to share scenes with such unattractive people."

Tawni couldn't help herself. She felt powerless to stop the next words that tumbling of her mouth, "But what if Sonny Munroe is attractive?"

At these words, Chad Dylan Cooper paused and went momentarily silent. For the smallest fraction of a second, something in his perfected hardened veneer softened. His angular jaw went slightly slack, and the usually intense blue of his iridescent eyes became softer, almost compassionate. But as quickly as the expression appeared, it was gone. He sighed and sat forward on the couch. "Oh. Ok, Tawni. I get it."

"Get what?" Deny everything.

There was a long moment of comfortable silence. Chad looked down at his sneakers. Just when Tawni thought he had dropped the subject, he said unexpectedly, "Remember our days on The Goody Gang?" His smirk revealed boyish dimples. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

Interesting approach… Tawni reluctantly let her guard down. She smiled. "Yeah."

Before she could say more, Chad went on, "Back when life was so much easier. When the only lines we had to memorize were about rounding up puppies, everyone would coo over us regardless of how well or horribly we acted, we had nap time every hour…"

"And no competition from Sonny Munroe," Tawni couldn't help muttering spitefully.

"Just you and I," Chad replied, without missing a beat.

Tawni looked up from her dresser table at the same moment Chad looked up from his spot on the couch. Their eyes met in the mirror.

Once again, Tawni felt her breath catch in her throat. The ensuing silence that hung between them was thick and heavy with unspoken words. As the same memories crossed both minds, the only noise came from the rustling of Chad's blazer and the slow tapping of Tawni's makeup brush on the table.

Chad spoke. Tentatively. "You're afraid I'll like Sonny better than you. Don't you?"

At this point, Tawni was no longer surprised at Chad's acute observations, and frankly, too emotionally spent to bother arguing with him.

When there was no answer, Chad ran a hand through his disheveled dirty blond hair and scooted over a bit on the couch. With a smirk and a raised eyebrow, he patted the cushion next to him, motioning Tawni to join him.

Tawni rolled her eyes and pouted, but dragged herself out of her chair and onto the couch. Her body fell into easily into his, as Chad put an arm around her and pulled her closer. Her head rested in the crook of his neck so comfortably, it was as if the two had been molded together that way before. Again, Tawni allowed the pine-forest scent of Chad's cologne to fill her nose. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes in contentment. The room had been on the cold side, but at the moment, Tawni was warm from head to toe.

As undoubtedly many girls had learned over the years, Tawni Hart realized that being wrapped in Chad Dylan Cooper's arms really was a dream.

"Mm..."

"Yep…" Chad sighed cockily. "I know." Tawni could practically feel him smirking into the top of her golden head.

"Shut up, Goldfarm."

"Ouch, playing the lame last name card. I see how it is."

Tawni smiled faintly but didn't respond, only wanting to stay in the comfort of the moment a little longer.

Indeed, after another silence, Chad became serious again. "Do you remember what I told you on the Goody set that one day?" he murmured, muffled, into Tawni's hair, his breath hot on her forehead. "During that one nap time after we filmed the episode with the talking donkey?"

Tawni's heart raced. Of course she did. How could I not? She still thought about it all the time. But she only lied and murmured, "No." I want to hear him tell me again.

Chad stretched his neck, as if seeing if anyone was around, then muttered, "You know that if you repeat this to anyone, I'll steal your hair products." He added in afterthought, "And use them. Especially that melon conditioner on your dresser."

"Okay, okay, geez." Tawni held up her hands in mock defeat. "Thank you, Ryan Seacrest. I won't tell."

Chad huffed, but ignored the jab. He smiled and slowly brought his face to Tawni's, so that they were nose-to-nose. Tawni giggled.

"We'll always be together, just you and I," he quoted from his childhood. "I'm Chad Dylan Cooper; I can pick anyone I want to be my best friend! But out of everyone, I'd just pick you, Tawni. Like a game duck-duck goose. I'd skip over everyone else, tapping over their heads. But I'll always stop at you. You'll always be my goose, Tawni."

You'll always be my goose, Tawni.

The words seemed to take form and reverberate in the air in front of Tawni's clear blue eyes. The room around her seemed to fade away, the silk gold curtains replaced by a wall plastered with trains and sailboats. The handsome, dimpled teenager currently pressed against her morphed into a wise-eyed young blond child, complete with a missing front tooth. For a wonderful, fleeting moment, Tawni felt as if she were transported back to when she was six.

"Thanks, duck-duck," she whispered and smiled, her voice heavy with emotion.

"My pleasure. So don't worry about me liking this Sonny Munroe, okay? Even if she looked like Jessica Alba... okay, well, she'll be hot. But she'll never be my goose. You will. And nobody will ever change that."

"Really?" Tawni raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Even if she looked like Jessica Alba?"

Chad thought a while. "Ok, but would you really deny me Jessica Alba? Honestly, Tawni. What kind of a friend are you?"

Tawni laughed, a rare genuine chime, causing Chad Dylan Cooper to let out a low chuckle too.

The two sat there, in each other's arms, for a long time, not sure if the time that passed was in minutes or hours. If you had happened to stumble upon the two at that moment and hadn't known anything about their stories; known that she was a fragile young girl in need of a prince to save her before her cynicism drowned her alive, or known that he was a young actor playboy who rarely felt the need to be loyal to anyone, you probably would've assumed that they were simply two normal teenagers blissfully in love.

But as we know now, Tawni's story was anything but simple.

Because along with the secret past she was so intent on masking, she had another secret she would never share with anyone in Studio 2.

In fact, Tawni wasn't even too sure of it herself. The idea had been born a long time ago, but had since lingered around in her head, making an appearance every once in a while (much to her annoyance). She had considered it in the past, but wrote it off as a ridiculous and embarrassing phase.

But now, as she sat entangled in this boy's arms and pressed against his warm frame, she began to realize what she had secretly known all along.

Tawni Hart loved Chad Dylan Cooper.

With the strength of a ball of fire, with as much love as she knew, with almost childlike desire.

And with all the heart that she still had to offer.

Of course, Tawni knew that nothing would ever happen. She understood herself well enough to know that her life was just like that – she just wasn't the type to have things go her way. The extra never gets the guy in the end. That kind of stuff is reserved for the main character.

To prevent herself from getting hurt, Tawni knew she couldn't follow her heart. As much as it hurt to force herself to detach from Chad, she knew it would hurt even more to keep falling in love with him and then end up seeing him fall in love with someone else.

Which explained why Tawni always tried so hard to put on either an apathetic or even hostile front when interacting with Chad.

After all – for as long as she could remember, Tawni Hart had been an actress.

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(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Please feel free to leave me some inspiration with a review/question/comment/anything. It really does make me write better and faster, believe it or not! Thanks for reading, and I'll update soon. (: