Tonight marks my last night of summer, as I start classes again tomorrow. And thus, tonight marks another last – the last chapter of this story! Ending my first multi-chap for this fandom is bittersweet. School is going to take up a lot of my time (as is work, I am afraid) BUT I will definitely be back with some one-shots and maybe a multi-chap or two in the near future, never fear! A final thank you to ALL of my wonderful reviewers: you have made this story and have really made me smile with each kind review. You all deserve a pat on the back! Now, without further ado, I give you the last thing that Sonny Monroe hates about Chad Dylan Cooper.

Final Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Don't sue.

Spoilers: None!

7 Things

"And now we're standing in the rain, but nothing's ever gonna change until you hear, my dear, the seven things I hate about you. The seven things I hate about you, oh, you…"

Chapter 7: You Make Me Love You

There were seven things that Sonny Monroe really hated about Chad Dylan Cooper.

Of those seven things, six of them she would admit aloud. They were, of course, blatantly obvious flaws in Chad Dylan Cooper's character.

The seventh, however, was another story.

As the brunette teenager sat in her dressing room, she surveyed the crumpled wads of paper that had littered the floor. Scrawled on the papers were lists, and more specifically, lists of why she should not be with Chad Dylan Cooper. The papers contained every reason she could think of.

Tawni's unexpected entrance startled the brunette and she hastily attempted to kick the papers out of sight. Tawni's eyes scanned the floor and, quicker than Sonny thought possible for anyone wearing three-inch heels, the blonde scooped up an armful of the notebook paper.

"What's all of this?" she asked curiously. Opening a piece of paper, she read aloud: "He's vain. Who's vain?" Before Sonny could respond, the blonde uncrumpled another sheet. "His games." Wheels appeared to be turning in Tawni's head before she smirked. "Oh, I get it."

Deciding to play dumb, Sonny innocently asked: "What do you mean?"

Tawni mulled over a few more pieces of paper in her arms as she sunk onto the couch, still smirking. "You totally like him."

Sonny gulped and her voice automatically rose a few octaves. "What do you mean?" she repeated. "I don't like…"

Tawni held up a finger to silence her roommate. "I am so tired of your denial. We all are, to be honest."

The brunette's eyebrows knit in confusion. "What do you mean by 'we'?"

"You know," Tawni replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "me, Zora, Nico, and Grady."

"Wait," Sonny said after a moment of hesitation, "so you all knew that I liked –"

"A-ha!" Tawni triumphantly replied, whipping around in her seat and pointing her index finger at Sonny. "I knew you liked him!"

Sonny's palm connected with her forehead. Dang it. There was no way that she could deny or worm her way out of this conversation. "I…it's…he's…and we're…complicated," she stammered before slumping her shoulders, rising from her chair, and walking a few paces toward the couch. Once there, the brunette sunk next to Tawni and buried her head in a pillow out of frustration.

"There, there," Tawni remarked while awkwardly patting Sonny's shoulder, "it's going to be okay. Aunt Tawni is here for some advice."

Sonny groaned.

"Hey!" the blonde replied with a huff, "I happen to know a lot about guys, and let me tell you that you have made this whole thing with Chad –" Sonny interrupted her friend with another groan upon hearing the actor's name mentioned. "– much more complicated than it needs to be."

The brunette poked her head out from the pillow. "You just don't know," she assured Tawni. "You have know idea how many things I really hate about him."

Appearing thoughtful for a moment, the blonde counted the papers in her arms and the remaining ones on the floor before responding. "I'm counting seven."

"That's seven too many," Sonny remarked. "If I date someone, I shouldn't hate anything about them. I should enjoy seeing them. They shouldn't be the bane of my existence."

"I think you're searching for the perfect guy, and trust me, he doesn't exist. No guy is perfect, Sonny. They all have their flaws."

Sonny rolled her eyes. "You know that Chad is the only person I can honestly say that I hate? Tawni, I have never hated anyone in my entire life."

Tawni smiled a bit. "I don't think you hate him."

"I tend to disagree."

Unfolding the paper that sat next to her on the couch, Tawni read. "He makes me laugh and cry. What's to hate about someone making you laugh? We do it all the time – it's pretty much our job to make people laugh when they watch our show."

Sonny couldn't argue with her logic, and that surprised her. Tawni actually had a logically valid argument? Instead, the brunette chose to half-answer her friend's question. "Well," she replied "he makes me cry. I can't date someone who makes me cry."

"Look," Tawni sighed, "no guy can ever guarantee you that he isn't going to make you cry at some point in the relationship," she explained. After she was sure that Sonny was listening, the actress continued. "But you should be with a guy who would be worth that chance."

"That makes sense," Sonny mumbled into her pillow. The brunette took a breather and cradled the pillow in her arms. "Tawni, how do you make so much sense when you talk about relationships, and yet be so self-centered and ditzy when it comes to other things?"

The blonde lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug and examined her nails. "I think it's because when I take an interest in something I stick with it. Like me, for instance." Tawni snuck a peek over Sonny's shoulder at her own reflection in the mirror. "I mean, who wouldn't take an interest in me? I'm fabulous!"

"Yes, Tawni, you are the greatest thing to ever happen to this world."

Tawni mistakenly interpreted Sonny's sarcasm as a compliment and beamed, then flipped her hair over her shoulder in a signature fashion. She turned to face her roommate and friend, changing her expression to one of calm reassurance. "Sonny, all I'm saying is that life is too short to have any regrets. If you even think in your mind that there is a possibility you want to date Chad, don't let the feud between the shows or your pride stop you."

"Really?" Sonny asked, her stomach doing a hopeful flip. "You guys wouldn't think of me as a traitor, would you?"

The vent above the pair slid open and Zora poked her head out. "We've known about you and Chad for so long that we don't even care anymore. You're kind of old news."

Sonny raised her eyebrows and Tawni hurriedly finished: "Not that we're not excited for you, because we totally are. Right, Zora?"

The little girl nodded. "Yeah, it took you long enough to admit it though."

"She has denial issues," Tawni loudly whispered.

"I do not have denial issues!"

Tawni and Zora shared a look while Sonny clamped her mouth shut, realizing her previous statement. As she opened her mouth to respond again, she shook her head. "Never mind." The brunette took a deep breath, seeming to steady herself as she rose from the couch. Tawni rose with her.

"Are you going to do it now?" the blonde asked excitedly.

Sonny wrung her hands together nervously. "I…I don't know if I can, guys. I don't even know what to say. I haven't ever told a guy I've liked him before."

Tawni placed a hand on Sonny's shoulder. "Just speak from your heart."

"And if you get rejected, we can always ship him to Scandinavia," Zora finished. Tawni and Sonny stared at each other, both confused and slightly afraid. "What?" Zora asked with a shrug. "A guy owes me a favor."

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There were seven things that Sonny Monroe really hated about Chad Dylan Cooper.

But there were also a handful of things – not that she had ever admitted them aloud – that she really did like about him.

He did have nice hair. It was the kind of hair that fell ever so slightly over his forehead. It made her want to brush it away sometimes. And then there were, of course, his eyes. Tween Weekly hadn't exaggerated when they had nominated him for "Best Eyes" at the awards show a few months ago. He had the kind of gentle blue eyes that drew a person in, almost like the sea did on a calm summer day. They were inviting, captivating, and she absolutely hated how much she absolutely loved them.

Surprisingly, Sonny enjoyed seeing Chad wear "normal" clothes. He was usually dressed in his Mackenzie Falls suit, but every once in a while she would catch him wearing everyday jeans and T-shirts. It was hard to explain, but to her he felt more like a person and less like a celebrity when he wore average clothing. There was another thing she enjoyed about Chad – he made her laugh. It was a very rare thing for Sonny to be able to come across someone with the gift of comedic timing and also a quick mind. Chad was bright, no doubt about it. And, as much as she loathed admitting it, he was a good actor. Calling him the "best actor of their generation" was taking it a bit too far, but she couldn't deny that he had talent. He could also make her crack a smile or chuckle. To Sonny, the gift of laughter was something to be treasured, and she had found someone who she could laugh with. That was important.

As the brunette trotted through the hallways of Condor Studios, asking fellow actors if they had seen the blonde star, butterflies tugged at her stomach as she recalled something else she liked about Chad – the way his hand felt when it held hers. The first time she had ever held hands with Chad was during their fake date. It was odd to her that she recalled the tingly feeling that danced along her palms clearly, as if it had just occurred. The second time had been at Lookout Mountain when "Bigfoot" had scared them. She was surprised how eagerly Chad had grabbed for her hands. She taunted him the rest of the week for it.

"Hey, I think Chad's on his way home," a lunch box girl from Meal or No Meal informed Sonny, startling the teenager from her thoughts.

"Thanks!"

The girl from Wisconsin pushed open the studio exit only to be met by sheets of rain. She gathered herself together and her heart stopped as she noticed quite clearly a blonde head about to duck into a car.

And before she could think about the consequences, Sonny Monroe yelled. Loudly.

"Chad!"

For a moment, she didn't think he had heard her over the rain. But he had, and he must have said something to the guy who had been holding the umbrella for him, because at that moment, Chad Dylan Cooper began walking across the pouring rain in the parking lot to meet her.

As he drew closer, Sonny contemplated running back inside and forgetting about everything. She and Chad had managed to secure a decent relationship ever since she had moved to L.A. They could keep it that way, and never know what might have been. Or they could take a risk and potentially get hurt in the process. Sonny had approached the point of no return, and a puzzled Chad now stood face-to-face with her, blonde hair sticking to his head as beads of rain dripped down.

His confusion evident, Sonny took a deep breath and began. "You know that there are a bunch of things I really hate about you Chad?"

"Yeah," Chad replied slowly. "I think we have established the fact that you hate me."

Sonny shook her wet brunette mass of hair and some strands accidentally flung into her face, sticking to her cheeks. As she brushed them away, she continued. "I realized something today. I don't hate you, I just hate things about you."

"Okay…" Chad responded. He didn't know where Sonny was going with her conversation. In fact, he didn't know why he was currently standing in the rain with his perfect hair soaked. Then again, he didn't know why he did a lot of things when he was around Sonny.

Sonny took a step closer to Chad, which seemed to surprise both of them. "But there are a lot of things I have realized I hate about you. I hate how vain and insecure you are. I hate it when you hit on other girls and then flirt constantly with me. I hate how you can make me laugh and then say something to make me cry. I hate how you are friends with a bunch of jerks and it hurts me to see you act like them sometimes."

Pausing her rant, Sonny squinted and looked up at the sky. The raindrops were now falling slower and she could almost see the sun beginning to peek out from behind slate-gray clouds. Chad followed her gaze, still attempting to absorb the information she just presented him with.

Sighing, the brunette seemed to struggle to find the right words. "And then, I realized that there's a lot that I actually do like about you."

Chad's signature smirk played on his face. "Oh, really? And what, pray tell, would that include?"

Sonny glared at her companion and shook her head. "I may think you have nice eyes and hair, okay?"

"I won't tell anyone your secret," Chad promised with a wink. Secretly, his mind was a football stadium full of cheering and screaming. So he really wasn't imagining things – she actually did like him.

"There's one more thing that I really do hate about you though Chad," Sonny began honestly. Chad's eyes urged her to continue and the brunette sighed before mumbling something and looking at her shoes with interest.

"What?"

Sonny, again, mumbled.

"Sonny, there's still a little bit of rain and it's hard to hear you."

"You make me fall in love with you," the brunette blurted out.

Chad's eyes widened. "Woah, definitely wasn't expecting that."

Sonny's heart fell and she nodded. "I completely understand. I kind of took you off-guard and we should really talk before I say things like that, but you know me, sometimes my mind and mouth don't think at the same time and I ramble and –"

He kissed her.

He really didn't know what else to do to shut her up, so he opted to kiss her, just like Matthew McConaughey or Hugh Grant would have done in one of their chick flicks. He simply yanked her arms and pressed his lips to hers. But suddenly, Sonny began to relax and let her arms slide up to his neck. Chad wrapped his arms around her back and both sighed happily in unison.

After breaking apart, the two were silent for a moment. The rain had stopped during their kiss and now the sun was beginning to heat up the pavement around them. Steam radiated from puddles of rainwater at their feet and Sonny licked her lips, beaming.

"So, uh, what just happened?"

Chad ran a hand through his damp bangs and smiled. "I guess I can say that I feel the same way as you do," he concluded.

"Is this going to be weird?" the brunette asked honestly.

Chad didn't even have to think before he responded. "No." Noticing that Sonny was still smiling, he smirked and popped his collar. "I always knew that you'd fall for me."

Sonny laughed. "Oh, come on. We all know that it was you who fell for me."

"Was not," he insisted. "You just admitted it to me."

"Uh, if I remember correctly, someone was more than a little bit jealous of James and Hayden. Who might that person be?" Sonny pretended to think for a moment and then remarked: "Yes, Chad Dylan Cooper, that was you."

Chad narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well…" He paused for a moment. "…no comment."

Sonny let out a chuckle. "You are such a dork."

"It takes one to know one."

"That is the lamest comeback in the history of lame comebacks."

"Yeah, well…"

"Don't even try to say 'no comment' again."

"I wasn't going to," Chad huffed. "I was just going to say 'fine.'"

"Well then, fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good!"

"…we're going to have to work on this arguing versus dating thing, aren't we?"

Sonny nodded her head. "I'm thinking yes."

"Good," Chad replied, still smirking as Sonny smacked his arm playfully. He caught her hand and watched as she blushed. Intertwining her fingers with his, the two walked back toward Condor Studios, smiles plastered across both of their faces.

"Good!" Sonny whispered as she nudged Chad. The blonde merely shook his head and just continued to smile. He didn't care if she won their arguments. He had won her heart. And at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

Aw, well that was a very fluffy ending to this very fun story to write. It really came out much cheesier than I intended, but it's Chad and Sonny, so I love it anyway. Thank you again for reading this story, and if you all want to hear more from me, just put me on Author Alerts! Thanks again, everyone!