"Sonny and Clarke" Part One

Sonny's eyes roved around the office, looking everywhere but at the woman in front of him. It was the only thing about him that really indicated his unease. He was seated comfortably in the cushioned chair, slouched slightly, his hands clasped confidently in his lap, his shoulders back, and chin up. Even his face was approachable. His eyes sparkled, and his mouth was quirked into a slight smile, one corner of his lips up tilted, so that at any second, he might share his joke with you.

"Sonny? Am I saying that right?" the woman asked. Not even her sudden question made him react in surprise. Heather, that was her name, he remembered.

"Yeah, my parents had a thing for Sonny and Cher. Before they broke up, I'm guessing," he replied in a wry tone. He caught a quick glance of Heather's lips curving in response, before she pursed them and schooled her features back into a more sympathetic, friendly one.

"So what would you like to talk about today, Sonny?" Heather asked, smoothing her fingers over her notepad. It was a calming gesture, Sonny remembered, from when he had read up on body language. It was back when he had been really worried about asking girls out, and had overcompensated by getting his hands on everything he could think of that would help.

Clarke laughing, coughing, Sonny pulling him by the shirt across the cement. Clarke's eyes open wide in shock -

"Sonny?" Heather's voice brought him back to the office with a jerk, and he shoved his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Yeah, sorry. Look, I just have a lot on my mind right now. I'm having trouble focusing on one thing." he finally replied, dropping his hands back into his lap.

Heather looked down at her notepad. "Well, how about we start with when you first met Clarke?"

Sonny's chin jerked up quickly, defensively, then he settled himself. "We were in school together. Just turned around one day and started shooting the shit." He belatedly realized the woman across from him might not like swearing. "Sorry." He added quickly.

She was definitely smiling now. She scribbled something down. "So you just talked in class, or..?"

"We hung out a few times outside of class. Nothing too big. I dunno. I'm not sure how we ended up friends. But there was a point we spent pretty much every day together." Heather continued scribbling, then looked up at him., nodding to him encouragingly. "I'm not sure who suggested it first, but we decided to be roommates. So we started looking around together for places that were affordable. He had another friend who needed a place, and asked if it was cool to include them too, and I agreed. I mean why not? Cheaper rent."

"So it didn't bother you that Clarke just included someone else in your plans?" Heather interrupted. Sonny shrugged. "It could have, but at least he asked first, you know?" She nodded in response, and continued scribbling away in her book. Sonny took that as a sign to continue.

"Well at first, Clarke would never drink. Never party, nothing. He just flat out avoided it. I mean, I know why he avoided it. Same reason I did at first, my first year in school." Heather looked up at this, and before she could even open her mouth, he answered her unspoken question.

"Neither of us wanted to be our parents."

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