A/N: Ok, I actually wrote this like ages ago and didn't put it up yet…I have no idea why but I didn't…It's completely AU cuz Gabe's alive, he's alive, he is sooo alive…
OMG! Just saw In the Heights today! Awesome show! I have realized that Sonny and the Piragua Guy are the Henrys of that show….lol…our Nina was amazing…
OMG! TWO WEEKS UNTIL N2N!!!!! Lol…just cuz you guys are the only ones who understand my drabbles, I was watching a video of the N2N cast recording the album and it's funny how everyone has their own personalities while recording. Like Alice just sits there and Aaron and Bobby were rocking out…haha…I CAN'T WAIT!
REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I don't own N2N or any stores mentioned…AHHH! Can't wait!
It was a normal June afternoon. Gabe, Natalie, and Henry were sitting around, doing nothing with their lives like every other teenager.
"Ok, I'm bored…" Gabe said, falling over onto the floor.
"What do you wanna do?" Natalie asked.
"I dunno. What do you wanna do?" Henry said back.
Gabe rolled his eyes. Usually when they got into conversations like this it never ended.
"I dunno. What do you wanna do?"
"I know." Gabe chimed in. "Why don't we all just SHUT UP!"
Natalie rolled her eyes at him now. If there was one thing she hated about her brother, it was that he had an attitude. And the fact that last week he stole her underwear from her gym bag and hung them on the flagpole outside of the school.
And Henry…..Henry was just happy to be alive.
Who entered then but our favorite suburban bipolar woman of the year, Diana.
"Ok, I'm sick and tired of you all just sitting here around my house. And you don't even live here!" She said, angrily pointing at Henry. "Why don't you go do something productive with your youthful lives?"
"You see," Gabe said, trying to be sassy. "We're already doing that. If I was set loose out on the world, I think it would fall apart…"
"Trust me, he's not lying…" Natalie vouched.
"I feel like such a mooch right now, it's not even funny…" Henry stated, as the room got quiet.
"Well, I think you should try to get a job." Happily getting her point across, Diana turned around to walk away, only to walk into a wall.
"Mom, there's no door there…" Gabe said, monotonously.
"I KNOW THAT!"
The three of them sighed. "Where the hell are we supposed to get a job? I mean who's gonna hire a supposedly dead guy, an emotionally unstable girl, and a stoner?"
They all racked their brains for possibilities.
"The mall." Henry blurted out.
Natalie laughed. "The mall? You mean the one down the street with all those weird old men who stare at you whenever you walk past them?"
They both stared at her. "What mall do you go to?"
Angrily, she slouched back onto the floor next to Gabe.
"I meant the other mall. Not the one filled with creepy old men."
"Oh." she said, somewhat embarrassed. "Ok. That works."
So they piled into Henry's car.
"Why are we all in my car?"
"Hey, you mooch off us."
"Touché."
And they drove off to the normal mall.
"Next…" the monotonous voice called again. They were now sitting in a little waiting room, waiting to get interviewed.
"Gabriel Goodman?"
Gabe walked into the room with and aura of confidence. It didn't last too long. There was an old, irritable looking old man but next to him was a beautiful young woman with silky blonde hair and blue eyes that met with his. He had to look away so he wouldn't drool.
"And you are…?" The annoyed man asked.
"Oh. I'm Gabe. Gabe Goodman. I'm applying for a job."
"Why else would you be here?" the man turned around to tie his shoe, while Gabe mocked him, causing the woman to laugh.
"Now, it says here you've never had a job before?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
He sighed and thought of a good explanation. "Between you and me, some people might say that I'm dead a lot, but I'm actually a very lively person."
"Uh-huh. Now, have you ever been arrested? Expelled? Put on probation?"
He shook his head. "Nope. I've been grounded, but I don't think you really care…"
"No. No I don't. Now, if you were to get this job, would you mind where you worked?"
Again, he shook his head. "No. As long as it's not with creepy old men who stare at you when you walk past them, I'm good!"
The woman giggled again. The man dismissed him. As he was leaving, he mouthed the words Call me to her. She nodded and slipped him her number.
"Next! Natalie Goodman?" With more confidence than her brother had, Natalie darted into the room. The irritated man asked her around the same questions. She looked over at the blonde woman and gave her a glare.
"Oh!" Natalie said, as the man looked over her résumé. "I would also like to add that last year I completed the school year with high honors and a 4.0 GPA. Just a little background information…."
The blonde rolled her eyes.
"Bet you never did that." Natalie whispered to her.
"That is such a stereotype. Not all blondes are stupid…"
"Yeah, but you spelled 'bitch' wrong in that text message you just sent my brother."
"How did you-?"
Natalie took Gabe's phone from her pocket and rubbed it in the blonde's face. "And thank you. I am a bitch!"
She walked out, feeling slightly more confident about the job.
"Next…Henry….? What does that last name say?"
"That's me…" Henry said, somewhat enthusiastically.
About thirty seconds later he emerged from the room again.
"It's all good…" he assured the others as the went home to await the results.
"Hey! It's here!" Natalie said, rushing to get the mail. "Henry, why do they send your mail here?"
He shrugged as each grabbed a letter. Gabe soon threw it down.
"They have me working…in…Justice…the store for girls…"
Natalie couldn't contain her laughter as she rubbed it in his face.
"What'd you get?"
She skimmed over her letter. "I'm in the food court."
He laughed at her.
"It can be as bad as Justice…"
He stopped laughing immediately.
"What about you, Henry?"
He began sniggering. "Oh my God, they have me in Vitamin World…BIGGEST MISTAKE OF THEIR LIVES!" Natalie and Gabe both exchanged looks of confusion.
"That was a stupid choice of a job."
"I know!"
They all looked at the bottom of their letters and read. "You start Monday."
Monday came too soon. They were all off working their pathetic jobs. Gabe cautiously walked into Justice, praying that no one he knew would be there.
"Gabe?! What are you doing here?"
He turned around sheepishly to find Vanessa, his crush from school.
"Um…..I….work here…?"
She smiled and walked over to him. "Me too!"
"Really?" He suddenly liked this job….
"Yeah! My sister helps to find employees. Oh, maybe that's why she put us together!"
He froze. That was her sister? Uh-oh.
"Yeah. How….coincidental…"
"Hey, you wanna help me unload some of these boxes? They're a bit heavy."
He figured that this would be a good time to show off to her, so he unloaded boxes…..for 8 hours…..
Natalie's food court career seemed to be going well. She had everything under control…Until a creepy looking old man walked up to the counter and stared.
"Oh my God…it's a creepy old man…" she whispered to herself.
"Yes, I'd like to order a-" But she never heard his order. She completely zoned out.
Holy shit….why am I staring? I shouldn't be staring…but he's staring…oh God, I think I'm gonna throw up…No, that's just from the fumes…Ok, Natalie, calm down, you can handle this…Oh my God, he's handing me money! What does he think I am, a hooker? Oh wait. He's paying for his food. God, Natalie, you're so stupid!
"Miss?"
She snapped back into sanity and took the money from him, returning with his food.
"Thank you. Have a nice day now." He said, giving her a glare like she had five heads.
She just continued to stare. "Yeah……you too…."
She watched the old man sit down and eat his food.
Eeew…this crap is disgusting…How do people consume it on a regular basis? OH MY GOD! SOMETHING'S MOVING IN THE FRY GREASE! Holy fucking crap! It's a mouse!!
In self-defense, she grabbed a broom and started hitting it repeatedly.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!"
All commotion in the food court stopped as everyone watched her. She had it cornered. It was on the handle of one of the fryers. She quickly hit it, causing the boiling oil to fly into the face of the old man, who had come back up to the counter.
"MY FACE!"
She just froze up. "Oops. Sorry."
The old man writhed in pain as he was carried away by an ambulance. She looked up to find her boss angrily staring at her.
Nice going, self…
Meanwhile, Henry stood aghast at the millions of vitamins that surrounded him.
"Ooooh…colorful…"
He happily walked in to meet his boss.
"Hey, aren't you Henry?"
Henry turned around only to find who else but the infamous Dr. Madden staring back at him.
"Hey, you're the therapist person! What the hell are you doing in Vitamin World?"
He glared at Henry and began to take inventory. "This is what I do in the summer. I'm also an undercover secret agent, a children's book writer, and an international rock star."
Henry shrugged and continued following him around. "Why?"
"I dunno. Cuz being around the insane gets old after a while."
"Why?"
Dr. Madden stopped and once again glared at Henry. "You ask too many questions."
"Why?"
He looked as though he was gonna kick Henry in the you-all-know-where.
"Ok, sorry, that one was a joke…"
He rolled his eyes and kept on taking inventory. Henry, on the other hand, took his phone out and starting texting Natalie.
Henry: Hey.
Natalie:……….
Henry: Wuz up with u?
Natalie: Shut up.
Henry: Y?
Natalie: I got fired.
Henry: Ouch. What happened?
Natalie: Burnt a creepy old man's face off.
Henry: Fun.
Natalie: Oh yeah…now I'm in-
Henry: Jail?
Gabe: No. Aveda.
Henry: WTF? How do you know my number?
Gabe: It's Natalie, dumbass. My phone died.
Henry: Oh. Well, at least ur not a JD!
Gabe: Not for long…
Henry: lol…That sounds funny coming from ur brother's phone…
Gabe: You're such an idiot, Henry.
Henry: Thnx. Shit. Gotta go.
Gabe: Why?
Henry: U know who'll kick me in the you-know-where. ttyl. I luv u.
Gabe: WTF?
Henry: What?
Gabe: I got my phone back, asshole. It's Gabe.
Henry: Oops. How long have u been listening?
Gabe: Too long…
Henry blushed as he put his phone back into the pocket of his jeans.
Oh, God, that was embarrassing…he thought, following Dr. Madden around, trying to pick up a few tips. Oh my God, I was talking to her fucking brother about my fucking balls?! How stupid can I get?
"Um, Henry? You do realize that you need a college degree to work here?"
Henry stopped pitying himself and gave Dr. Madden a stupid blank stare. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Nope. So I suggest you leave before you get arrested."
This stupid, he thought, quickly walking out of the store to try to find Natalie and explain.
Justice had been bustling about with girls all day. Of course, Gabe could care less about the kids. He tried to take every chance he got to talk to Vanessa. But it wasn't often.
"Excuse me, mister." A little girl said, tugging on his t-shirt.
"What?" he replied, causing the girl to back up a little.
"Do you have any more Hannah Montana shirts?"
Gabe glanced over at the stack of pink shirts. "No. Now go away."
"But they're right there!"
He took a handful of shirts and threw them at the girl. "Here! Take your damn shirts!"
The little girl ran off crying.
"That's what I thought!"
He bent down to pick up the shirts when the little girl ran and kicked him from behind, causing him to fall over onto the table full of Webkinz. The girl skipped away, laughing.
"Need a hand?"
He looked over to find Vanessa standing next to him, holding her hand out.
"Thanks." She helped him up and cleared the shirts from the ground.
"You just got your ass kicked by a ten-year-old girl."
"Don't rub it in…"
She giggled, returning to the front desk. He watched her walk back. Her golden-brown hair bounced with every step she took, her slender hips swaying from side to side, entrancing him immediately. He wanted to just kiss her. No. More than kiss her. He wanted to show her how much he-
"Gabe?"
The trance broke. He snapped back into reality. "What?"
"I said, it's our lunch break. Wanna come with me?"
He rubbed his head saying, "Yeah. Sure."
They began to walk out of the store. "Your sister works in the food court, right?"
"Technically, no. She got fired."
Vanessa curiously replied. "Why?"
"Oh, she almost killed a creepy old man with boiling grease."
She couldn't help but laugh. "Really? That's terrible. I always liked your sister. She's a nice kid."
Gabe rolled his eyes, begging to differ.
Meanwhile, Henry and Natalie sat at a little table at the food court.
"So, wait." Natalie said, laughing like a maniac. "What did he say when I gave him his phone back?"
He shot her an angry glare.
"Hey, look. Here he comes." In fact, Gabe and Vanessa were on their way over to Natalie and Henry's table.
Upon seeing him, Henry let out a girly squeal, threw the hood of his jacket up, put on a pair of sunglasses, and quickly opened an issue of Cosmopolitan up to conceal his face.
"Oh, hey, Natalie!" Vanessa said, very cheerfully.
Natalie gave her a death stare. "Hello Vanessa."
"Who's your friend?" Natalie grabbed the magazine from Henry and grabbed his sunglasses.
"GIVE IT BACK! I HAVE TO HIDE MYSELF!"
Gabe glared at Henry with an angry fiery look.
"Hey, aren't you that Henry guy?" Vanessa asked, trying to break the tension. He nodded. He was that Henry guy.
"What are you doing here? In public? With an innocent girl?"
Gabe, Henry, and Natalie all scoffed at her comment.
"Yeah. Natalie. Innocent." Henry said, practically laughing, making Gabe glare more.
"That comment did not make my impression of you any better."
"Well, sorry…"
The girls both watched as they continued to bicker. "So what is he doing here with you?" Vanessa asked, trying to get clued in.
"He's my boyfriend." Natalie replied.
Vanessa's eyes widened. "You're with him?"
"Yeah, you wanna make something of it?"
She shook her head, trying to avoid being beaten to a pulp by Gabe's sister.
"Come on, Henry. Let's go before they start making out." Natalie got up and pulled him aside.
Both Gabe and Vanessa stared awkwardly at the couple as they slowly walked away.
"Um, what did she mean by-?"
"NOTHING! She meant nothing!"
Vanessa smirked and kissed him. "I like you too…"
She skipped off, leaving him frozen and wide-eyed on the outside, and completely exploding with excitement on the inside. He felt like a human volcano of love, no matter how corny it sounded.
Natalie cautiously walked into Aveda, her newest workplace.
"Um…hello?"
The place was completely empty except for a long line of customers waiting to be taken care of. A little note on the desk said Dear New Employee, out to lunch. Be back soon! She stared at it curiously before calling up customers to the front desk.
"Beatrice Stephens?"
An old lady with a little plastic bonnet came walking up to the desk. "That's me. I'm here for my monthly perm."
Natalie tried not to giggle, but then realized that she wasn't certified to cut hair. Oh shit, here we go again…Well, they did put me in charge…
She shrugged and took Beatrice back to get her perm. Hold on. How the hell do you give someone a perm? Ugh…I'll just throw something on it and wrap it in tinfoil…they always wrap it with tinfoil…
Before getting started, Natalie went to the radio. The normal comforting jazz music was now turned on to some random channel, blasting Green Day throughout the salon.
"Miss, this isn't how Michelle usually does it…"
"Well…I'm not Michelle. This is how I do it."
She found some sort of crème and threw it on Beatrice's hair before wrapping it in tinfoil. Beatrice was letting it soak into her hair. About twenty minutes later, she was ready to take it off. Gently, Natalie peeled away the thin sheets of metal.
"Uh-oh."
"What? What's wrong?"
Natalie stared wide-eyed at Beatrice's hair. It wasn't a curling serum…it was hair dye.
Pink hair dye.
Beatrice turned around to look in the mirror before letting out a shriek. The others in the lobby were confused.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that it was- Oh, God, I'm sorry…"
"Sorry? Why are you sorry? I love it!"
A blank, expressionless stare fell upon Natalie's face. "What?"
Beatrice was smiling, admiring her new, very pink, hair. "It's the youngest I've felt in years. Thank you, dearie."
Natalie still stood there, frozen, completely shocked. She shrugged yet again and walked Beatrice back up to the front desk. "That'll be…twenty seven dollars…" Beatrice winked and handed a fifty dollar bill.
"Keep the change." She slowly walked out of the salon with everyone staring at her. Maybe this job wasn't so bad…
The work day was ending. Natalie met up with Gabe, who was followed by Vanessa, outside of the food court.
"Hey." he said, acknowledging her.
"Hey. Have you seen Henry anywhere?"
He shook his head and stared lovingly at Vanessa.
"Hello? I'm still here."
His head snapped back to Natalie with a death stare, causing her to turn away.
"So how's your new job, Natalie?" Vanessa asked, trying to break the tension.
"I got tipped about $20 for dying some lady's hair pink. That's more than I make minimum wage!"
"Sounds like fun…"
"Yeah, I also got a few requests for me to dye some lady's poodles. I'm like an Aveda celebrity. How was Justice, Gabriel?"
He glared at her. "Don't ask."
Vanessa giggled. "The girl that beat him up this morning came back with a group of girls and they tied him to a Jonas Brothers cardboard cutout and burned Webkinz around him to see if he survived."
Natalie had to look away from him to keep from laughing.
"And he's still got a burn scar to prove it."
"Eeew. Where is it?"
Again, he shot her a death stare. "Um, let's not go there…"
Natalie's laughs only increased. He pushed her aside as they walked out the automatic glass doors of the mall. There was some guy standing outside the door with a sign that said, Please Make a Donation to the Give Henry Money Foundation.
"Henry?" Natalie asked, noticing him right away. "What the hell are you doing?"
He ran up to her and hid behind her back. "They're after me."
"Who?"
"The cops…." He said, in a small voice.
"What did you do this time?"
He threw on his sunglasses again and continued walking with them.
"You know how I got fired cuz I'm not certified to work with medication since I have a long history of substance abuse?"
"Yeah. So?"
"So, I've been standing out here with that sign trying to get some money when this really creepy old guy comes up to me and tells me he's seen me before. Little do I know that it was your like great uncle whatever-the-fuck his name is. You know, the one who thinks that they have a spot reserved for me in prison?"
Vanessa was puzzled as she tried to ask Gabe what he was talking about.
"Oh, yeah! That uncle whatever-the-fuck his name is!"
"Yeah, so he comes up to me and starts giving me a lecture on how I'm gonna fail in everything that I do in life and how pot isn't the answer, which most of the time it is, and so I kicked him in the you-know-where and ran. Once again, little did I know that he was a retired cop, so he pulled out a gun and called for back up. I figured it was safer outside so…here I am."
Gabe and Vanessa were still confused.
"Do I even want to ask?" she asked, as Gabe walked her to her car.
"No. No you don't."
They quickly kissed before she hopped into her car and drove away. He rejoined Natalie and Henry, who were already piled into his car.
"C'mon, Romeo. We don't have all day."
He smiled and got into the backseat of the car.
"So, we have to do this all over again tomorrow?" He said, turning on his iPod.
"And the next day...and the next day…" Natalie stated, glaring at him.
He shrugged. "It's worth it."
The three of the scoffed as they drove off into the distance. Hey, what else would you do with your summer?
A/N: Hahahaha…I just had to have a story with all three of the teens in it…and the only way I could do that was:
A.) Make Natalie somewhat insane
B.) Make it all a dream
Or C.) Make Gabe alive
So…Gabe is living and he is popular…yepp….REVIEW PLEASE!