"Hey," Ella said casually as she breezed into Nate's cabin. He instantly recognized the voice, even before looking up. Setting his guitar down carefully and arranging his papers, he looked up at her and smiled.
"Hey," he cleared his throat.
"Have you been discovered yet?" She joked, yet being serious at the same time. He shook his head and chuckled a little. "Gosh. This rock star thing is taking such a long time."
Nate nodded and then shrugged. He knew that pursuing a music career required patience. Now if only he could convince Ella to be patient. "Speaking of taking a long time, what happened?"
Ella looked up like a deer caught in someone's headlights. She shook her head. "What do you mean exactly?" She cautiously gazed over at him.
"Something is not right." Nate explained simply. She was silent. "What I mean," he continued, "is that you live down the street. Yet, I've been here for four hours, and you just arrived." He paused. "Maybe my mom could've given you a ride. If only I had thought of it sooner. Car pooling is good, and I wouldn't have to be alone with my mom the whole way here."
Ella laughed softly. "Nate, you're always so logical."
"And you're always so..spontaneous?" he said, his voice trailing off.
"I'm late because I wasn't going to come."
"But that makes no sense—" Nate argued. He looked at her with questioning eyes, and she tried her best not to meet his gaze. "I wasn't going to come." She said simply, then adding, "But I did. So here I am; four hours late." The two sat there as Nate still tried to shake the strange feeling he had. "There's clearly something wrong."
His suspicions proved to be true when she started silently sobbing. "I'm sorry Nate." she cried. "Four hours is a lot." she admitted. "But I make mistakes. And sometimes I don't even know..."
Nate quickly sat next to her, pulling her into a hug. "Don't cry," he said desperately. He frantically tried to apologize, "if only you didn't mention the stupid four hours. Good going, Nate."
She sniffled. "Nate. It's not your fault." He relaxed. Ella gently pulled away and pulled her hair back from her face. "It's just...I've been dumped," she said, her voice cracking at the last word.
"Dumped?" Nate asked with sympathy. "By who, exactly?" He covered her hands with his. "Who dumped—I mean, broke up with—you?"
She stared at him like he was crazy. Shaking her head a little, she let out a little laugh. "Who? My boyfriend. Who else, Nate?" Duh. Then she resumed to sulking. "Nate, I already imagined he and I getting married! And now, we're over! What a stupid waste of time."
Married? "Ella." Nate said softly, "Maybe you should wait until he proposes to get married. Guys our age are usually scared of that kind of stuff," he offered off the top of his head.
"I didn't tell him about getting married." Ella assured. She huffed. "Which makes me wonder what I did wrong. What could I have possibly done over this one week that we've been dating? What would make him want to break up with me?!" She shook Nate's arm. "Nate, tell me. What's wrong with me?" she pleaded.
"Nothings wrong with you!" Nate almost yelled. "Look, how about something to make you feel better." He spotted his guitar. "Let's write a song, huh? Songs are great. And you sing great." He looked at her for a reply. "Songs should take her mind off whoever he is." Plus, Nate loved it when she sang.
She smiled a little before wiping a tear from her eye. She took a deep breath before prodding Nate. "Go on, play a chord." He nodded, but then paused, "Which one?" Ella shrugged, "Who cares. You can choose. Use your artistic license or whatever."
Nate played a chord and then another, waiting for Ella to sing. Finally she began. "This song is for my ex-boyfriend," she says calmly before beginning to sing. "You're a jerk that sucks, and you're a pig who will never get married!"
"Whoa, stop, please." Nate begged. He abruptly stopped strumming his guitar. "Ella, that was screaming—not singing."
"Says you," she replied. She smiled again. "Now, keep playing."
Nate sighed, knowing that she would do the same for him if he were ever in that type of situation. "Okay, here goes." He picked up his guitar and began to play again.
"You'll never find another girlfriend," she shrieked. Nate winced. "At least her...shrieking is on key." He played a little louder. "And you always look stupid. You can kiss my a—"
"Ella," Nate interrupted. "Please, stop. This is just making you angrier. None of those things are true."
"You mean he'll find another girlfriend?" She asked with a shocked and hurt look on her face. "What was wrong with me?"
"Nothing is wrong with you. You're an amazing person who happens to be my best friend. You..and Jason and Shane." He explained. She stared at Nate for the longest time. He looked worried. The guitar sat next to him. He was staring back at her. Finally, her heart rate when back down to normal.
"My throat hurts," she confessed. Nate sighed exasperatedly, yet he smirked a little. "Serves you right," he teased.
"Get me a beverage," she cried. Nate laughed, "No way." Her eyes widened and she frowned.
"Please? Before I cry?" She batted her eyelashes. Nate saw as her eyes became glossy with tears that were threatened to fall. He quickly left and came back with some lemonade. She eagerly took the glass and took a long sip.
"Were you really going to cry?" He asked her. She was sitting and concentrated on sipping the drink through her straw. "Nope." She said, pleased with the lemonade. "But, if you didn't get me this straw, I might've."
"I never knew you could do that." Nate said, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's a skill that can come in handy. Real tears?"
"Real tears," she confirmed. She was barely listening. Staring into space she mumbled, "Nate. A heart is like a home, right?"
He nodded slowly.
"Well, I feel like he ripped me out of his heart; kicked me out of his house. Yet now, sitting next to you, I feel like I found a new home."
Nate shifted awkwardly. "What is she trying to say?"
"You're my best friend, Nate."
"You see, those type of words belong in a song." Nate replied. She giggled. "Wait, he didn't seriously kick you out of his house did he?" He felt overprotective all of a sudden.
"No," she said pathetically. "He called me." She picked her phone out of her purse, pulled her hand back, and chucked it.
Nate scrambled to get it and tripped over his own feet. The phone landed like a rock on the back of his. It slowly slipped from there and safely dropped to the floor. She smiled. He picked it up and put it back into her purse, zipping the bag so that Ella would, hopefully, not try to throw it again.
"Ella, you're like thirteen. You're taking this break up too seriously."
She rolled her eyes. "Natie, you're the same age as me. Gosh, you sound old."
"Don't call me that." She smiled, "What? Natie?" He nodded with a grave look on his face.
"Fine, I'll find someone else to call Natie"
"No!" he said without thinking. She raised one eyebrow, but then went back to consuming her beverage. "What was that reaction?" Nate thought to himself. He sat by his guitar, realizing that he was actually jealous of the non existent guy Ella was referring to. "Gosh Nate, she didn't even find someone else to call Natie yet, what are you so worked up about?" The cabin was silent.
"So, best friends forever and ever, right?"
"Forever and ever." Ella assured. Her face lit up. "Yo," she said smiling to herself. "Let's get friendship bracelet. Or rings? Since you probably don't want a bracelet."
"Sure," he stammered, uneasy with the idea. Ella looked smug as she finished off her lemonade.
"Great," she said, giving Nate's hand a squeeze. "When you become a rock star, we can upgrade to better ones," she promised.
Nate smirked.
AN: Not sure whether or not to continue with this one. Please review! I know that Nate and Ella are an odd couple, but I couldn't resist writing about them. (: