CHAPTER TWO

"Rise and shine!"

The bedroom door was thrown open, and sitting up groggily, I opened my eyes to see Bam opening the curtains. Ville threw himself up beside me, and I yawned in a slight moment of dizziness. Ville shook his hand in the direction of Bam, motioning for the curtains to be closed, and I could feel the bile in my stomach rising up my throat. Holding my hand over my mouth, I stood and dashed out the room.

"Is she okay?" Bam asked Ville, who nodded.

"Yes, she's fine. She has the stomach flu."

I could hear their conversation from the bathroom, which was right next door. I wished for weeks that it was only the stomach flu. As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I stood up and began to walk back to my room. There was more silence as I entered. Bam was giving me a curious look and Ville was now standing, stifling a yawn. I looked away from Bam, and moved toward the bed to sit.

"Are you okay?" Bam asked me.

I nodded, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm positive. Just give me a few minutes."

Bam nodded, although he didn't seem entirely convinced, and left the room. Ville walked from the window to my side of the bed. He looked down at me, and I could tell he was trying to look through me; into m soul to see my feelings. I kept my head down and yawned, then threw myself down onto the bed. Ville crossed his arms and smiled at me, so I tossed a smile back toward him.

"Don't worry, I will be fine," I told him.

Sitting up again, I shot him a bigger smile, and he leaned down to me. I moved in closer, and closing the space between our faces, I kissed him. Ville deepened the kiss, and leaned me back onto the bed, whilst climbing on top of me. I could feel him growing hard, and I was immediately turned on. I quickened the kiss, but held back when I heard the door suddenly squeak open.

"Woah, keep it in your pants, please!"

Ville and I both turned toward the door, to see Ryan holding a hand before his face. "Get out," I told him.

On the other side of the door, Ryan ran straight into Bam. "What was going on?"

"You really do not want to know," Ryan replied to his friend.

For the past weeks, Bam had put on a smile and got back to his original carefree self, but when Ryan spoke those words in that tone, a look of hurt flashed over his face. Ryan had almost not noticed, and said nothing, but he had many thoughts deep down. It was the first sign of hurt that Bam had shown toward the relationship of Ville and me, and although quick and over with, that feeling was still buried inside.

Twenty minutes later, I emerged from the room wearing jeans and a black baby -doll top instead of the tank-top and pyjama pants I slept in, with my hair brushed through. I was not feeling particularly well, but I certainly gave off the vibe that I was. By the time it reached ten in the morning, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. Ryan and Glomb were already sitting at the table.

After spending a moment in the kitchen, picking up my food, I took a seat across from the two men. They seemed deep into conversation, so I just began to eat. All I could really do was pick at my food. I was starving, but I had no appetite at the time, so I ate a plate filled with pancakes, toast and bacon very slowly.

"Are you okay?"

The question had been asked to me too much lately, so I ignored it, but when Glomb snapped his fingers, I spit out a, "What?"

"Are you okay? You don't look too good."

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "I'm fine."

"You better be fine," I heard from behind me in a thick accent.

Ville took a seat beside me, and only moments later, Jess and Kelly came and sat as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ryan giving a look toward Ville and me, but I made no mention of it. I continued to eat my food, even as Bam sat himself down between Ryan and Jess. He made a point of not looking my way, something which bothered me slightly.

"Nathalie, Nathalie…it hasn't even been a day and you're already making use of your private room?"

I glared at Ryan, "Leave me alone."

"Go Ville!" exclaimed Glomb.

"Calm down, Nat. We all know what kind of wild man Valo is, and we've heard what kind of wild woman you can be!" Ryan said while bursting out laughing, nudging Bam at the same time.

I immediately stood up, grabbed my plate, and left the room. I could hear Ryan protesting after me, yelling that it had only been a joke, but that didn't change the way I felt. I brought my plate into the kitchen, and emptied the remainder of my breakfast out into the garbage. As I placed the plate in the sink, April entered the room, and poured herself a cup of coffee before turning to face me.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

I wanted to strangle the next person to ask, but it was April, who was always good to me, so I didn't. Instead I nodded.

"Are you sure? You don't look your best."

"I'm sure. I just need a little more sleep," I assured her.

Following that sentence, I slugged out of the room, and decided to go back to my room for a little more sleep. There was so little to do, and fatigue had a tough hold over me. Throwing myself down on the bed, I almost instantly passed out. During my sleep, Bam went around looking for me so that he could apologize for Ryan, but when he found me asleep, he left me there in peace.

Upon waking up, I checked the nearest clock. It was half past noon, and I could hear commotion outside. I stood up and glided over to the window, where outside, the sun was blazing on the people out there. Everyone except April and Phil, who were probably busy with something more important, were outside, but I decided not to join them. It was the only time I got for myself.