Pen Pals
Chapter One
Nathanael stared down at his phone frozen in his spot. He'd been standing there for what felt like hours… After all this time, all these years, she was here. He brought one hand up to push his fingers through his hair only to have it fall back into the same place. He kept re-reading the message repeatedly to make sure he didn't miss understand or wasn't hallucinating: I'm at the park you told me about. Wearing a floral dress and black boots. Can't wait to finally meet you!
He was only around the corner but he couldn't get his body to move any further; his nerves took over him and paralyzed him. What if she didn't like him? What if she wasn't who she said she was? Was this all just an elaborate joke on him? All their conversations, letters, and emails passed through his mind. All the things he's told her, the things she told him. He felt as he'd known her all his life, not just a few years, but he never thought they'd actually meet in person and he couldn't help but feel torn at the situation. She'd always joke about coming to his rescue one day—but never did he think she was serious.
Yet, there she was. Supposedly.
He let out a groan, "What do I do?"
His phone buzzed in his hand while letting out a small chime. It was her… Well, a messaged from her: You're still coming, right? He re-read the message twice before looking at the time—he had been stalling for almost 30 minutes.
He hesitated to reply: Just around the corner.
Almost instantly he got a response back: Yay! Can't wait to see you!
He took a deep breath and forced his body to move. He'd made her wait too long. He started a reply back to her: Where are you exactly?
Again, almost instantly she responded to him: I'm just outside the entrance.
He couldn't help but smile at his phone as he walked. She always responded to him quickly, no matter the time, almost as if she was waiting for him to contact her.
He looked down at himself as he arrived at park entrance. He had attempted to dress nice in hopes of impressing her. A blue button up shirt under his usual grey blazer matched with dark pants. Blue was her favorite color after all. His eyes then went to scan the area ahead of him, searching the surroundings near the fountain. He hesitated again.
"Hey! Nathanael!" Came from behind him, causing him to jump and spin around. There stood Alya and Marinette. "Fancy meeting you here," Alya said as they stopped in front of him, "We are headed to the movies, want to come?"
Nathanael shifted in his place, "I.., uhh.. can't." He stammered out as he looked back down at his phone before looking back over his shoulder toward the park again. "I have… p-plans."
Alya rounded him to look in the direction he was, "Oh, some sort of date?" she looked back at him with a slight smirk, "Who is she?" Alya asked. Marinette followed Alya's lead and looked around the corner as well.
It caused him to stiffen quickly, "She's my Pen Pal."
"Oh! You mean the same Pan Pal we were assigned for our English classes a few years ago?" Marinette asked, "You're so lucky you've kept in contact!" She peeked around the corner, leaning against Alya, "She's actually here?"
Nathanael nodded, "Yeah…"
"So… what are you doing standing here then?" Alya asked as she turned to look back at him, "Isn't she waiting on you?"
"Yes…"
Marinette turned to offer him a kind smile, "You're nervous, aren't you?"
Nathanael shifted in his spot again. Nervous was an understatement. He was terrified. What if she didn't like him? What if she came all this way for nothing?
Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder causing him to look up at her, "No need to be nervous. You two have been friends for so long! And she's here to meet you."
Alya rested her elbow on the other girl's shoulder, "If you want, we can walk over with you."
"No, no. You don't need to do that."
"Too bad. We are. We have some time to spare before the movie anyways." She said as she mock punched his shoulder, "Now come on. You've kept her waiting long enough."
Alya pulled on his arm to force him around the corner, "Let's go, Romeo."
He froze again, his breath catching in his throat. Sure enough, right at the entrance of the park, stood a girl in short floral dress and black boots. Even from a distance he could see she was pretty and he was petrified. Naturally he began to walk behind his two friends in an automatic reaction to try and hide himself.
Alya looked back at him, "That her?"
All he could manage to do was nod.
Marinette offered him another kind smile, "She's pretty."
She then looked up, glancing at them as they approached. Her eyes then fell on him, her face lighting up upon recognition of him. He instantly froze in his spot. Alya then pulled on his arm to get him to keep moving. The girl pushed herself away from the fence she was leaning against, tilting herself slightly to the side to look at him better.
She took a few steps closer to them, "Nathanael?" Her voice sounded like a melody.
Alya then pushed him forward, "Y-yes. Hey.. uhh.. Sarah. It's nice to f-finally meet you." He stammered out.
The girl's smile brightened as she lunged forward and hugged him. It was slightly on the awkward side being as she was a decent bit taller than him. Before he could comprehend what had happened, to return the embrace she'd given him, she pulled and kept her hands on his shoulders, "It is so good to finally meet you. I was worried you were not going to show." Her French slightly broken and rough but it still clear enough for him to understand her.
Seeing her happiness caused a portion of his own anxiety to fade, "Sorry I'm late. I ran into a few friends along the way here."
She then glance up at the two extra bodies that were in their company and her expression changed to worry, "Oh, are you busy today? I am sorry, I do not mean to interrupt."
"Oh, no!" Marinette then said quickly, "Us two were just on our way to the movies. We ran into Nathanael and offered to walk him here."
"Yeah. We are both welcome to come if you want, though. More the merrier." Alya chimed in.
Nathanael couldn't take his eyes off the girl just before him. She was about as tall as his friend Juleka with long curly auburn hair. Her eyes were a forest green color lined heavily in black. She had a lovely smile.
He watched as she studied the two other girls; observing how clear it was for her to try and understand what they were saying before offering them a nervous smile. "Not a good idea. My French is still bad. I would not be able to fully understand."
"That's okay," Alya said with a smile, "We will catch you two later then! Have fun!"
With that his two friends left them alone.
Sarah looked down at him with a worried expression, "If you want time with your friends, you can."
Nathanael tried to give her a comforting smile, "I'm here to see you, you came all this way after all."
She took a moment to understand what he said before brightening up again, "Thank you."
Before Nathanael knew it: the sun had already set. He had taken her on a tour of Paris, just like she always wanted—as she had said in her letters to him. He had memorized all the places she wished to see from her letters to him, all the things she wished to do, so he had attempted to fill them all in one day. He was captivated by how everything caused her to smile; how expressive she was. At times, she'd even grab onto him in her excitement. He continuously found himself staring at her as she walked and talked with him through the city. He watched how she always paused when speaking or listening to him to make sure she fully understood. He had walked her back to the hotel she was staying at and promised her he'd meet her at the museum when he got out of class the next day. She gave him another hug before sending him on his way and disappearing into the building.
He was only half way home when the sky opened into a downpour. "Really?" Nathanael said under his breath as he quickly pulled his coat up over his head and ran to the awning near him. He took a deep breath as he rested against the wall. "At least it started raining now."
He pulled out his phone to check the time. He had a text from Sarah. His heart lept into his throat and he hesitated to open it: I had a great time today! Thank you so much! I can't wait to see you tomorrow!
He smiled and held his phone close before responding: I'm happy you had a good time!
Within moments she responded back: Let me know when you get home, ok? Just want to make sure you made it safe.
He let out a soft chuckle and typed out a reply: I will.
"What is a young man like you doing out so late in the rain? Are you lost?"
Nathanael jumped and looked around quickly for the voice that startled him. A rather short old man was standing next to him taking refuge from the rain, just like him. The man looked up at him and offered a gentle smile.
"Oh... uhh..." he started out, "No. Just waiting until the rain lightens up is all."
The man nodded as he turned to look back out at the pouring rain. He crossed his arms the best he could while holding onto his cane. With his free hand, he rubbed his arm.
Nathanael watched him for a moment before looking down at himself, at his jacket, then out into the rain. It didn't appear to be letting up any time soon. He contemplated a long second before he slipped himself out of his jacket and offered it over to the man, "Here. I don't live too far from here."
The man looked at him, then to the jacket he was holding out, "Are you sure?" he asked before giving a warm smile and taking it from his hands, "Thank you, son. These old bones get cold very easily."
Nathanael smiled at him while giving a slight wave, "Have a good night, Sir," he said before he took off into a sprint in the direction of his house. He slipped inside the house and instantly went up to his room to change into dry cloths, grabbing a towel from the bathroom along the way. He slipped out of his soaking cloth, leaving on the floor, before pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie. He pulled the towel on top of his head before rubbing vigorously to get as much of the water out as he could.
As soon as he sat down at his desk his computer lit up with a Skype call. He spun around in his chair to face his computer to answer.
"About time you answered." It a three-way call with Juleka and Rose. "We've been trying you for hours."
"How'd it go!?" Rose asked quickly, "Was she nice?"
"Yeah, must have went well seeing as you've been gone all day," Juleka said as she rested her head in her hand, "Well, spill. Tell us what happened."
Nathanael fixed his earbuds before looking at his two friend's faces on the screen, "It went… really, really well." He leaned over to reach his sketch book and pencils, "She was really nice. I didn't even realize we were out so long. Sorry guys."
Rose beamed, "Oh, yay! Are you going to see her again?"
Nathanael nodded, "Yeah, tomorrow after class actually, at the museum."
"So, what all did you do?" Juleka asked as music sounded in her background, "Anything exciting?"
"Took her to the Eiffel Tower," he started, "And just wondered around after that. She really just wanted to 'Experience Paris'." He said as he used air quotes. "Took her to the river for a while too. We just talked mostly."
"You kiss her yet?"
Nathanael nearly jumped out of his skin, "What!? No."
Both girls giggled at him. "Too bad." "That would have been so romantic! A kiss under the Eiffel Tower."
He could feel his face burning which caused both girls to giggle more. "She did hug me a couple times… In fact, she was rather… touchy?" he couldn't think of the correct term to use as he referred to how many times she would grab onto him when she got excited.
"Touchy?" Juleka asked, "That's not necessarily a bad thing."
"No, it's not." He agreed. He could remember how warm she was when she held onto him. Every place where she touched him still tingled.
Rose's face instantly lit up, "Maybe you can take her on a date!"
"What?!" he jumped again, nearly losing his pencil.
Juleka nodded, "That's not a bad idea… Seeing as Marinette kind of did shoot you down and all."
Nathanael groaned at the painful memory. He didn't remember much about being Evillustrator, only small pieces and parts that played in slow motion. Though, after all it was said and done, it wasn't as painful to look at Marinette as he had thought it would be. He let out a sigh, "I doubt she would want to date someone from a different country."
"Has she talked to you since you split?" Juleka asked as she looked down at her nails, most likely painting them black again.
"Oh… yeah…" He then sat up straight, "Oh yeah!" he said as he spun around quickly to search for his phone, "She asked me to let her know when I got home."
"How sweet!" Rose said brightly, "She's making sure you're safe. How sweet."
He leaned over to sort through his cloths, getting caught in his earbuds for a moment, and pulled his phone from the pocket of the pants he was wearing and sat back up. He fixed his earbuds once again before unlocking his phone. I'm home. He sent. He stared down at his phone expectantly.
Oh, Good! I was getting worried.
He smiled and quickly answered back: Sorry for making you worry. I really did have a good time today.
I'm really like you. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
His face reddened. "Uhh…"
"What?" the girls asked at once.
"What's it mean when she said 'I really like you.'?" He asked as looked up at the computer screen.
Rose and Juleka thought for a moment, "What'd she say?"
"I really like you. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." He read off as he watched his two friends.
Juleka chuckled a bit, "What she says. She likes your person. Don't read too much into it."
"Or! She means it literally! That's be so awesome." Rose chimed in with a dream like smile.
Nathanael chuckled himself, "Right." He looked back down at his phone, Me too. Have a good night, Sarah.
Good night, Nathanael.
"I'm heading to bed guys. I'll see you at school tomorrow." He said as he waved at the girls before disconnecting his end of the call. The girls both waved at him before his screen went black. He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his arms and back. He let out a loud sigh of contentment before he got up from his desk. He threw his towel into the hamper before making his way to his bed. He sat down at the edge of his bed and stared at his phone—contemplating if he should text Sarah again or if he should leave her alone for the night and not get annoying. He ran his fingers through his damp hair and laid back, letting his legs hang off the edge still. His phone vibrated in his hand.
A picture message from Sarah. It was if she knew he was thinking about her. He unlocked his phone to look at what she sent: A picture she had taken of them in front of the Eiffel Tower. He held the phone close to his face to look at it closely. He had almost forgotten she had taken it. He smiled and saved the picture to his phone. The message beneath it was just a heart emoji.
Thank you! he sent back to her.
He sat up while setting the alarm on his phone, leaned over to get the cord to his charger off the floor, plugged his phone in and tucked it under his pillow. He stood up and pulled back his covers.
"What the…"
In the center of his bed was a small, black and red, hexagonal box.
It had been a SUPER long time since I had written anything. Let alone any sort of Fanfiction. I had recently watched Miraculous and I had fallen in love with it, especially the Tomato son. He need love and to be protected. I hope you all enjoy and I will try my hardest to get out regular updates. Also, I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes. Writing is not my major. Much love!
