Bells jingle as a tall, dark haired lady walks into the small store, her heels clicking against the tiled floors.
The elderly man looks up from the counter at her warily, and his eyes widen. In front of him is a beautiful woman with determined brown eyes.
"H-How may I help you, miss?" he stutters, ready to help her with whatever she needs.
She doesn't need anything. Or, at least, anything she needs is gone by now.
"I wish to see Samuel."
It was a sunny afternoon, and nineteen-year-old Natalie had just gotten into a fight with her parents. They threatened to disown her; she threatened to ruin them.
He found her grumbling to herself. He was mesmerized, just like anyone else who saw the dark haired goddess. But he thought himself to plain for her, with his blonde hair and gray eyes. He would never have spoken to her if fate hadn't given them a push.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" he apologized, running into her on his rush towards his work place.
She glared at him, making him feel inferior. "Watch yourself next time."
He stammered, trying to keep his cool. But the beauty in front of him glaring down at him in disgust made it hard. "I-I can make it up to you."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "So you think?"
He nodded, his eyes connected with hers. "Y-Yeah."
"With what?" she asked, crossing her arms. She knew him to be wrong, but she needed a source of amusement at the moment.
"Do you like coffee?"
She laughed, which made him flinch. "Only Brazilian coffee and only a certain kind of that. A kind you can't afford."
He felt himself flush. This girl was making a laughingstock of him, and they had not even known each other for more than five minutes.
"But you amuse me," she said, her dark eyes soaking him up. "So I shall treat you to coffee."
He had to keep his jaw from dropping.
She started walking off, leaving him to hurry behind her to catch up.
"I'm sorry, miss, but Samuel doesn't work here anymore," he says, shaking his head. Worry lines fill his forehead. "He's long gone now."
She expects this, and taps one heel against the tile impatiently.
"You're not telling me everything."
Twenty-year-old Natalie found herself waiting inside of a French restaurant, playing with her cup of fizzing water. She found herself staring at the door, then out of the window, then back at the door, continuing the cycle over and over before she saw familiar blonde hair make its way towards her.
She stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
"I got caught up at work," he said sheepishly, looking down at the red tablecloth.
She pursed her lips at him impatiently. "Your shift ends at seven. It's eight-thirty."
He shrugs, still not looking at her. "Let's eat, okay? I'll tell you everything later."
She didn't like that answer, and what Natalie doesn't like, Natalie gets rid of. "Tell me now, or I walk."
He let out a sigh, then picked up his glass and put it to his lips. The water touched them momentarily, but he didn't drink. He just needed a second to recollect himself.
She glared at him, and crossed her arms.
He finally put the glass down and looked at her.
"I was out with my girlfriend."
She raised an eyebrow. "You finally got one."
He nodded, fumbling to place his napkin on his lap. "Yeah."
"You seem nervous," she noted, staring at his hands. "You're not telling me everything."
He looked up at her, met her intimidating eyes, then looked back down. "We've been dating for five months."
"Five months, and you never told me?" she asked. She still had her tone of nonchalance.
"I didn't know how to," he admitted.
She rolled her eyes and stared at her sole companion who was nervously playing with his
"Fine," she finally said. He looked up, shocked. "Let's eat."
"W-What do you mean?" he stutters, refusing to meet the lady's eyes.
"There's more to the story," she snaps, glaring at the man.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he insists.
"But don't you?"
A year later, Natalie met him for a walk on the boulevard in L.A. She sees him jogging towards her, his breath short and quick. She rolls her eyes as she watches him.
"Sorry, but I was with – "
"I know," she interrupted, stopping him. "Let's go. I have some shopping to do."
He followed behind her obediently.
She waited impatiently for him to say something, but when he failed to, she finally spoke.
"Are you going to propose to her?" she asked as they passed by an array of small stores.
He stared at her, confused.
"Your girlfriend," she stated, her look annoyed.
He flushed, looking away. She had gotten used to his flustering, but it still annoyed her. "I don't know," he mumbled.
She shook her head. "Well, if you are, you better do it before she leaves you."
He didn't respond after that, and she didn't care to listen either way.
"I really don't know what you're talking about," the man insists, suddenly afraid.
"Samuel had blonde hair, and gray eyes. Samuel had a wife with brown hair and brown eyes. Samuel held –"
"I know what Samuel looks like," the man interrupts.
"Then where is he?" she demands.
"I don't know."
She ignores him, and finishes her sentence. "Samuel held the heart of someone very important."
An older Natalie watched as her friend came running towards her, his eyes full of excitement.
"What has caused such excitement?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She said yes," he breathed, smiling at her. "I proposed and she said yes."
Natalie didn't say anything – she didn't know what to say. Instead, she smiled at him – or what she thought was a smile – and walked away.
Neither understood what happened.
The old man stared at her, tired. "Samuel is not here," he says one last time.
She stares at him, long and hard. He thinks she'll never give up.
"Fine."
She gives up.
Natalie didn't know why it bothered her so much, that he proposed. They'd been dating for so long, it was about time. And yet, she felt as if she didn't want it to happen. As if she thought that her story wasn't supposed to go this way.
And maybe it wasn't. Maybe the Fates were out to get her back for all her sins. Or maybe she was never meant to find true love.
She didn't cry though. She didn't mourn. Instead, she went to visit him one last time at his home, before the wedding.
"Natalie?" he asked, surprised as he opened the door. The last time he saw her was when he told her, two months ago.
"Samuel," she greeted. "Are you going to invite me in?"
"Well, sure," he said, stepping aside, unsure. He watched as she stepped in confidently, and he closed the door behind her.
"I see she's moving in with you," she noted, taking in the cardboard boxes.
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Hmm," she murmured, walking over to sit on the couch. "Join me," she demanded as he watched her.
He did; he did everything she said for him to do.
"I will not be going to your wedding," she announced, staring at him without a trace of anxiety.
He frowned. "But –"
"I apologize for this, because I always told you I'd be there. But I can't be there, and that's that," she said, continuing to stare at him.
Part of her wanted him to argue and make her go, because they're friends and that's what friends do. Part of her wanted him to go down on his knees and say it was all pretend and that he actually wanted her. And part of her wanted him to let her go so she could let go. That part was the smallest part.
"Natalie," he said softly, his gray eyes staring at her sadly.
"I must go, Samuel. I wish you and Veronica a happy life without me," she said curtly, standing up.
"You're not coming back?"
She looked at him, then shook her head. "I'm leaving this town. Again, I apologize Samuel. We've known each other for so long – the longest I've ever kept someone like you around – but it's time for us to part."
He nodded. He always listened to her.
"I guess this is goodbye then," he said slowly, staring at her.
She looked away. "Goodbye Samuel."
She was walking out the door when she heard him faintly say, "Goodbye Natalie."
She showed up to their wedding, despite what she told them, and left early so he could never see her. She dressed down to make herself less noticeable, and she sat in the back. She made sure he would never see her again.
Samuel never saw her again. He wished she would stay – she had been there many times, telling him what to do the right way – and he always did love her. But not the right way.
"What do you mean? You're giving up?" he asks, surprised.
She nods. "Fine. If Samuel is not here, then Samuel is not here. But if he comes back, leave him this." She places the package onto the desk, and makes her way to leave.
Slowly, when he is sure that she is gone, he moves to take a look at the package. He peels open the sealing, and finds a photo in it.
In the photo is a breathtakingly, proud beautiful girl – much like the girl he just saw but older – and a blonde boy beside her, an awkward being beside her. Behind them was a park scenery, like the one where they met at.
He feels his breath being taken away, and he stands up to go towards the back of his small shop. He takes out a box full of photos he's kept, and finds one identical to it.
Samuel stares out at the door, but the girl is gone.
Just like her mother.
A/N: Does anyone besides me understand this? xD It's kind of like 'Four Shattered Pieces', switching tenses, but more bittersweet. Natalie always needed someone she could boss around. I don't mind Natalie's character, and I thought I'd finally write a story dedicated to her. Of course, it ends on a bitter note, but oh well. I like it that way. It was going to be happy, but nah ;)
So, anyway, if you don't get it, the girl in the beginning, walking into the shop, was Natalie's daughter who's grown up. And the old man is Samuel, older. Natalie did get married, but not with Samuel. Why didn't he want her to know who he was? I don't know… haha, it was going to be because he wasn't Samuel, but I change things. I guess it's because he's already lost everything (not stated in story) and he wants to be left alone now.
Unbetaed, blah, blah, blah :) haha, but I reread it. Anyway, if there are any problems, you guys know what to do ;)
And… what do you think?