Gregor and the Proposal Problem

Chapter 1 - Belonging

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It had been almost four years to the day that Gregor had left the Underland supposedly for good, and since he had last seen Luxa. And both of them were never far from his thoughts. He had begun to become distant from his friends and his family remembering a girl who was, for the moment, out of his reach. No one really knew who he was anymore, except for his now eight-year-old sister, Meg. She had outgrown her old nickname, Boots, and only tolerated Gregor calling her that, on occasion. Gregor's school friends, Larry and Angela, could never understand what had happened to him. He longed to tell them about the beautiful land and the amazing girl there that he loved. But he couldn't. They tried to understand what he was going through and stick by him, but as he unintentionally pulled away, they left him to himself. Meg too had problems making friends. She never seemed to fit in, and the fact she would begin speaking in crawler whenever she was angry didn't help.

The rest of his family couldn't understand how he felt either. They had all been in the Underland at least once, but they hadn't gone through what he and Boots had. By his sixteenth birthday, he was completely isolated, and he missed Luxa too much. And that was when he decided he had to go back.

He decided he would leave soon and without telling his parents. His only regret was that he wouldn't get to say goodbye. He stuck a note in the grate in the laundry room say he would need a ride and packed his backpack with a lot of flashlights and batteries. Then he wrote a letter to his family. That part was hard. After several cross-outs and drafts, he finally came up with:

Dear everyone,

I'm going back. Before you freak, I just want you guys to know I don't intend to hurt you. Mom, you especially. I just don't belong up here anymore. There's someone I need to find before I go insane. Dad, you know what I'm talking about. If you ever want to write, you know what to do. And if you ever want to see me, you know where I am. I love you all.

Love,

Gregor

He signed it just as Meg walked through the door.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as she hung up her coat. Gregor paused before answering.

"Leaving," he said finally.

"Back to the Underland." It wasn't a question.

"Boots…" he trailed off. Meg flinched, but she let it slide. She looked up at him.

"Take me with you." she said. That wasn't a question either.

Gregor stared at her. "You can't do that to Mom and Dad and Lizzie!" he exclaimed. "It would kill them." Meg looked at him with pain in her eyes.

"I belong here even less than you do," she said softly.

"Meg, do you even remember the Underland?" Gregor demanded. Her eyes flashed, suddenly defiant. For a second, she reminded him of Luxa.

"Do you think I could forget?" she asked sharply. "Sure I was two, but everything was… unforgettable. I will never forget."

Gregor sighed. She was his only soft spot. "Fine," he relented. "But write a note too." She nodded in agreement and pulled the piece of paper with Gregor's note toward her.

They walked down to the laundry room in less than an hour. Gregor's note lay on the kitchen table. Underneath his scrawled note lay Meg's neat addition:

Mom, Dad, and Lizzie:

I'm going with Gregor. I don't belong up here either. I'm sorry.

Meg


When they got to the entrance to the Underland, Gregor saw a scroll in the place of the note he had left. He rolled it open. It was not very long.

Look down.

I can't wait to see you. Hurry as fast as you can. I love you.

Luxa

His heart skipped a beat. Luxa was waiting. Now he really wanted to get down there.

"What are you smiling about?" Meg asked.

"Nothing," Gregor replied, letting the scroll snap shut.

"It's her, isn't it? Luxa." Meg teased him in a singsong voice.

"Shut up," he replied, blushing. "Let's get going." He stuck his head through the grate and looked down.

"Nike!" he exclaimed.

"Hello, Overlander," the zebra-striped bat princess purred.

"Are you here to give us a ride?" Gregor asked her.

"Yes, and I'm not alone." She swiveled her body so she could see who was on her back.

"Howard!" Gregor exclaimed. "Hey, man! Long time, no see!"

"Nice to see you too, Overlander," Howard remarked. He grinned. "Nike and I are bonds now."

"Really? That's awesome!" Gregor told them. "Congratulations!" He pulled his head out of the vent. "Boots! Come here!" she came over hesitantly. "Do you remember Howard and Nike?" he asked her. Meg stuck her head through the vent.

"Boots?" Howard asked in surprise. "Is that you? Wow, you have grown a lot. Temp will be excited that you came." For the first time, Meg smiled.

"It's Meg now, actually," she told him. "And I can't wait to see everyone again."

"Then we should go, said Howard. "Come on!" Meg stood up.

"How do we get on again?" she asked her brother uncertainly.

"We jump," Gregor told her, and that's exactly what he did. And after a small hesitation, Meg followed.


Regalia was more splendid than ever. The parts that had been destroyed were fixed and more had been added. But the city could never be as beautiful as the Underlander girl who waited for them, for him, in front of the palace. Once they landed, Luxa ran towards him.

"Gregor!" she cried as she fell into his arms. "Oh, I've missed you so much." Gregor buried his nose in her hair.

"I've missed you too, Luxa," he whispered to her, then he pressed his lips against hers. A loud fake cough broke their moment. Both Gregor and Luxa glared pointedly at Howard, who glared back with clear disapproval. Then Luxa was distracted by what she saw over Howard's shoulder.

"Boots?" she asked in disbelief. She left Gregor's side and ran to Meg. "My, how you have grown," she told her. "You're growing into a beautiful girl." Meg ducked her head and blushed.

"I go by Meg now, actually," she said shyly.

"Meg," Luxa said slowly, getting used to the name. "Well, Meg, Hazard and Temp are up in the palace, and I'm sure you want to get reacquainted with everyone." Meg nodded. "And I'm sure Howard could show you the way," Luxa said pointedly. "Howard?"

"Sure," Howard said grudgingly, glancing at Gregor and Luxa. "Come on Boo-- I mean Meg." He let her over to the front door, where they disappeared inside.

"Now," Luxa said, turning back to Gregor. "Where were we?" and she pulled him into another, more passionate kiss. Gregor felt dizzy when it ended.

"Come on,"Luxa suddenly laughed. "This place has changed so much, let me give you the grand tour!"

And laughing, they followed Howard and Meg into the palace together.