A/N: Thank you all for the reviews!


Chapter Four: Dry Those Tears

When Natalie got into her car, she realized that she was still holding onto Keith's jacket. At first, she wanted throw it on the ground, stomp on it, and forget about Keith all together, erase him from her memory. But she didn't; instead, she put it on, and the familiar scent of Keith was around her, lingering, never leaving. She was glad she had left with his jacket, because now, she would always have a part of him, no matter how much he didn't want her to. Ever since she had met him, he had always worn the jacket and to her, right now, it was more special than anything.

She drove home, her thoughts on Keith. If that's what he wanted, then she'd stop; she wouldn't see him anymore. However, a tiny bit of her hoped that he wouldn't be true to his word, he would call her, and everything would go back to normal.

But, then, deep down, she could feel the truth of the words that he had spat at her and her hopes faltered, becoming distant and too far out of her reach to grasp onto.

Arriving at her house sooner than she liked, she shakily unbuckled her seatbelt, making her way slowly up to her house. When she opened the door, she was not expecting the yelling that started.

"Where have you been, Natalie? It's been almost five hours. You leave this house, not telling us where you're going, and then you don't even answer your cell phone," yelled her mother.

Natalie shook her head, a look of shock showing on her face. She had totally forgotten about letting her parents know where she was. Her thoughts were always on Keith. Sadly, she couldn't bring herself to even care that she had worried them.

"I can't deal with this right now," Natalie whispered, looking up into her parents' eyes.

Caroline's eyes narrowed in anger, but then caught sight of what Natalie was wearing. "Whose jacket are you wearing? Have you been out with some boy? Really, Natalie we thought you had more sense than this," her mother admonished, trying to get a closer look at the jacket. Natalie hugged it closer to her, successfully allowing her mother not to touch it.

Her dad, Pete, spoke up, not caring about whose jacket it was. "Natalie, your mother and I are sick of this. You will sit down and tell us what's going on."

Tell them what was going on? Mom, Dad. I am in love with a guy who is going to end up dying from cancer. Hell, no. She was not going to say that. It seemed too heartbreaking. Oh, and to top it all off, he doesn't want to see me anymore. She would never tell them about Keith. Because if she did, once he was gone, they'd bring him up in conversation, make her talk about him, and that was something she didn't think she'd be able to handle.

Tears blurred her vision and she knew her parents noticed. "Natalie, if something bad is going on, we'll help you. But you haven't been yourself lately. What is going on with you?" her mom asked soothingly.

She pushed her way past her parents. "Nothing, just-just leave me alone. I can't do this right now," she cried, as she fled to her room.


Natalie stared the cup of coffee that was in her hands, watching the steam rise from the cup. It had been three days since she had last spoken to Keith, and as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about him. He hadn't called her, he was ignoring her, and it broke her heart.

Brooke was sitting in front of her, glancing over the menu trying to decide what kind of pie she wanted.

Finally making her decision, she placed the menu on the table and looked up. "Natalie," she started quietly, "what has gotten into you lately? I'm worried about you."

Glancing up at her friend, Natalie frowned. "I'm fine, really. Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true," emphasized Brooke. "You can tell me anything, you know," she added. The look on Brooke's face told Natalie that she truly wanted to know what was going on, but Natalie couldn't tell her, because she just wouldn't understand.

"Nothing's wrong," she stated, glancing down at her coffee cup again.

"Right," Brooke added, still glancing at Natalie strangely. Natalie wished she would stop; the constant nagging and concerned looks were really starting to bother her. Finally, the waitress came over; temporarily stopping Brooke's looks. They both ordered a slice of pie, and an awkward silence followed, until Brooke got the courage to speak up.

"Natalie—"

She cut her off. "Look, can we not talk about, well, about that anymore?"

Brooke nodded regretfully. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Anyways, how's the college planning going? Have you decided what classes you're going to be taking?"

Natalie shook her head. "Um, no, actually. I-I really don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe, the Community College by my house, or I may wait a semester to even go to college. I'm-I'm not sure," she finished weakly.

Brooke choked on her coffee at Natalie's shocking words; she cleared her throat before she spoke. "You're thinking of going to Community College, or not even going? Really, Natalie, you got into Duke. I mean, there's nothing wrong with going to Community College, but you got into Duke, that's not something people just pass up. I know you don't want me to mention it, but this isn't normal. What has gotten into you? Was there something happened that I completely missed?"

Yes, Natalie thought sarcastically. It's Keith, but I can't tell you, because you won't understand.

"You've changed, this is not the Natalie I used to know," Brooke added.

"Well, people change, don't they?" she replied venomously.

Nodding to herself, Brooke sighed and went back to her coffee. "I just don't understand," she whispered mostly to herself.

But, the thing was, neither did Natalie. She was changing everything about her life for Keith, and the little time they had left. Deep down she had known for a long time she wasn't going to go to Duke this upcoming semester. To her, being here with Keith was much more important. And, if Keith was gone before the fall semester, she didn't think she'd be able to handle Duke anyway. Duke could wait, and if they wouldn't take her when she was ready to go, then she'd attend another school. Even though she knew this, she didn't know why she was doing it. Keith had made it clear a few days ago that he wanted nothing to do with her, so why did she continue to think that he'd let her be with him? Why didn't she move on with her life, and forget him? It was simple enough, wasn't it?

The problem was, she just couldn't. It wasn't as simple as it seemed.

They lapsed into silence again, and then a few minutes later, Brooke spoke words that caused Natalie's heart to skip a beat. "Natalie, it's Keith."

Natalie looked ahead to where Brooke was pointing a few booths away. It was Keith. Natalie took in his appearance, he didn't look much better than he had a few days ago.

After gaining her composure, Natalie responded. "Yeah, what'd you know." Her voice was quiet and dry. As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

"You're not going to go say hi?" Brooke asked as she turned around. The waitress dropped off their pies, breaking Natalie's stare.

Natalie shook her head, as she grabbed her fork. "Um, no."

Brooke gave her a confused look, but didn't ask any questions, instead turned around once more, gave a glance at Keith before she added. "He doesn't look very good."

"No," Natalie answered, voice tight, "he doesn't."

"I wonder what's wrong with him. Do you know?" Brooke wondered.

"I have no idea," lied Natalie, "maybe he's getting over the flu or something."

Brooke cleared her throat. "Have you guys not been speaking?"

"No, not really," Natalie squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from coming.

"What happened?" asked Brooke. Natalie frowned at the happiness in Brooke's voice.

Natalie shrugged and picked at her pie. She didn't want to talk about him. She really just wanted to leave; even being in the same room with Keith was hard enough. "I think we got in a fight or something."

Natalie couldn't help herself and would glance out of the corner of her eye every few seconds to check on Keith. He was with his dad who was trying to prompt him eat some of the pie he had bought. Keith shook his head and placed it in his hands as if he was tired or had a headache. Mr. Zetterstrom said something to Keith who looked up and nodded and his dad signed the check. Natalie watched them get up, heart hammering. They were heading towards the direction of their table. Natalie knew they were going to notice her and she was right. As soon as Mr. Zetterstrom walked near enough, she saw the recognition cross his face and he grabbed Keith's arm gently to stop him.

"Natalie, hello," greeted Henry, "how've you been?"

Natalie caught Keith's gaze, and didn't take her eyes off of him. "I've been better," she replied sarcastically, her eyes boring into Keith who seemed incredibly uncomfortable under her sharp gaze. "Keith," she addressed, knowing it was a bad idea, but couldn't resist, "you seem to be doing better." Brooke gave Natalie a strange look.

Keith shrugged at her question, and glanced at his dad. "Well, I guess he is," replied Henry, confused. Henry was looking between Natalie and Keith, noticing their animosity between one another.

Mr. Zetterstrom spoke, clearly trying to keep the conversation going. "So, Natalie, we haven't seen you around in a while. Where've you been?" he asked.

Anger, and sadness flooded through her, making her shake. She stood up, not believing what she was doing. "I'm, sorry, but," she started, "I leave when I'm told I'm not wanted." She directed this towards Keith, her words full of venom and bitterness. She saw Keith flinch at the words.

"Natalie," Keith finally spoke. "I'm so sorry." She looked into his eyes and could see the pain and hurt in them, but she just shook her head. It was too late. He was too late.

"You know what, Keith? How about you save it for someone who cares." But you do care, thought Natalie, you care too much. She shook her head, getting rid of her thoughts, not wanting to cave, to give in.

Without waiting for a response, she turned around, fighting to keep the tears at bay—she wasn't going to let him see her cry, she didn't want him to know how much he was hurting her, because if he knew this, then he'd know how much she still cared for him.

Before she could get far, she felt his hand grab her forearm to hold her back. His touched caused memories of him and her to flash back—his gentle touch, his warm breath on her neck, his soft kisses. Turning slightly around to look at him, her eyes shining with pain and want, she whispered, tears building even closer to the surface. "Keith, let go."

She felt his arm loosen and fall to his side at her words, without glancing into his face she ran out of The Diner, a sob echoing from her throat. The last words she heard were Keith's voice yelling. "Natalie, please." But she didn't turn back, didn't go back to him.

Getting into her car she didn't even bother to try and drive home. The tears that she had held back sprang to the surface. She was so sick of crying. Today, for the first time, her thoughts were confirmed—she wouldn't be able to get over him, to forget about him. As soon as she saw Keith, she knew, had known it all along, even though she tried to fight it, but she couldn't fight it and it hurt. He was going to leave her and she was going to be all alone.

She finally knew that there was no way she'd ever forget about him, she was too much in love with him.

"Natalie," a voice spoke as her car door opened. It was Brooke. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Brooke spoke. "I don't understand what is going on with you, but it needs to stop. I think this whole drama with Keith needs to stop."

Natalie turned and looked at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"He's changed you," Brooke stated.

"And that's a bad thing?" she retorted, pissed off.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, I think it is. I'm sorry, I tried to like him, but he's changing you and I don't think it's for the best."

Then you're blind, thought Natalie. "I'm sorry," whispered Natalie. She wasn't going to argue, she didn't have it in her.

Brooke opened the passenger door, and got out. "Yeah, me too," she whispered before she closed the door, leaving Natalie alone.


The ringing of a cell phone woke Natalie up. She opened her eyes sleepily, glancing around her room, shocked to find it dark. After leaving The Diner she had come home and fallen asleep and must have slept through the rest of the day. Without checking who was calling her, she grabbed her phone, and answered sleepily. "Hello?"

At first there was just silence. But then, the voice on the other end spoke. "Hey, Partner." Natalie felt her heart skip a beat, out of all the people she expected to call; she definitely was not expecting him.

"Keith?" she said.

"The one and only," he whispered.

"What's up?" she asked, worried at his sad tone. Why was he calling her? "Is something wrong?" she added.

He was silent for a while, but then, suddenly, he spoke words that made Natalie's heart break. "Yes," his voice cracked, "everything's wrong."

Natalie sat up in bed, if Keith was acting this way something was horribly wrong. What had happened since she had last seen him, earlier today?

"What's wrong?" she asked, heart beating quickly in her chest. He was being extremely vague.

He didn't seem to want to discuss what he had just said. "Could you—do you think you could—" He seemed unable to ask her something.

"Yes?"

She heard him take a deep breath. "Do you think you could come over?"

Natalie was quiet for a while, shocked at his question. He actually wanted her to come over, even after he had kicked her out? At first, she thought to refuse, yell at him, make him feel the pain she had felt, but hearing how upset he sounded there was nothing else she could do but comply. "Of course, I'll be right there. See you soon." She was about to hang up when he spoke again.

"Natalie?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay." She hung up the phone, grabbed Keith's jacket, which seemed to be a habit now, put it on, and left her house quietly, careful not to wake her parents.


She made it to Keith's in less than twenty minutes. She pulled up next to his truck and got out of her car, her eyes on his house. Keith was standing outside, his back leaning against the front door. He was wearing his old, grey t-shirt, and her favorite blue pants that had a hole in the knee.

Walking up to him she glanced at his face for any signs of what was going on. He gave her a forced smile as she made her way up the steps to his porch. She stared at him for a while, waiting for him to say something. Then suddenly he averted his gaze to the ground and seemed more interested in his shoes than her arrival.

"Hey," she started, trying to break the silence, as she walked up the last step, "are you all right?" She didn't like this silence. It took Natalie a few minutes to realize that he wasn't looking at her because he was trying to compose himself. She stood there, having no idea how to act. Natalie felt a strong urge to hug him, but stopped herself, she had no idea how he would react, so instead, she placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"What's the matter?" she asked, concern radiating from her voice. She could tell he was trying to calm himself down, because suddenly, he glanced up at her, tears shinning his eyes. For the time being he seemed to have been successful and no tears had fallen.

"You know that night?" he began, his voice was so quiet that she had to strain to hear what he had just said.

"What night?" Natalie asked just as quietly. The look on Keith's face was causing tears to blur her vision. She had never seen him look so incredibly defeated, vulnerable, and heartbroken.

"The night that you asked me to go boating with you?" he wondered, blinking back tears.

Natalie nodded. How could she forget? "Of course I remember."

"You know how you said that you were in love with me?"

"Yes," she said sadly, "I remember that."

"And do you remember the other time when we were boating and you said you loved me, right when I woke up?"

Natalie nodded again, not sure where he was going with this. "Yeah, Keith, I remember."

"You know how I never said it back?" His voice broke.

Natalie glanced into his eyes and nodded slowly, a frown on her face. "Yeah, I know you didn't, but, hey, it's okay."

He blinked rapidly and swallowed thickly. "No, it's not. I didn't say it back because," he stopped, breathing deeply.

"Because why?" prompted Natalie.

He swallowed thickly again and licked his dry lips before answering. "Because I was scared, I couldn't face the truth. I thought if I said it, everything would seem more real," he whispered, eyes focused on the ground.

"The truth?" wondered Natalie.

He looked up and nodded, his green eyes shinning with more tears, it was obvious he was beginning to loose his battle with them. "I'm in love with you, too. I'm sorry if I ever made you doubt that."

Natalie blinked back tears. "You love me?" she asked. She was surprised she was so shocked at his declaration. Ever since she had confessed her love to him, and he didn't say it back, she had a terrible feeling that maybe he didn't say it back because he didn't love her back.

He nodded. "Yes, I'm so in love with you, and I'm sorry I never said it before, but I just had to; I couldn't keep it in anymore. I, just, I wanted you to know." He took in a shaky breath bent his head down to stare at the ground, his shoulder shook with what Natalie suspected were sobs.

"Oh, Partner," she whispered, trying to fight her own composure. She gently grabbed his face in between her hands. She lifted his face up so he was looking into her eyes. Tear marks were visible on his cheeks, and his eyes still shined with tears. "I love you." A tear slid down his cheek, even though he tried so hard to prevent it. She took her thumb and gently wiped it away. "I'm completely, hopelessly, in love with you," she declared, a sob echoing from her throat.

Keith made a restrained noise, as if he was trying not to breakdown even more before he moved the few inches they were apart together and smashed his lips against hers, in a needy, powerful kiss. Natalie melted into his familiar touch and the familiar taste of his lips. She could feel his wet eyelashes against her cheek, and she tasted his salty tears. "Don't cry," she whispered into his ear, as she broke the kiss, "not tonight. Tonight we don't think about anything but us." One last tear slipped down his cheek before he nodded, opened the door that was behind him, grabbed her arm, and led her into his room.


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