Chapter 11
Simba's point of view

When I woke up, I thought everyone else was still asleep so I went to creek to get a drink of water but on my way there I bumped into Nala, she was dragging a large warthog, the sun wasn't even up but it looked like she's been up for hours "do you need help with that?" I asked and she shook her head as she walked pass me, I followed after her completely forgetting about my initial thirst "early hunt, huh?"

"yeah" she answered after setting her prey down by her family's cave, for a while now I've been wanting to ask her to go stargazing with me, I even found a perfect spot, a clearing on the heart of the jungle where you can see the open sky, I was nervous about asking her and afraid she might reject me but yesterday she did say she enjoyed my company, so maybe I have a chance...

"Nala… I was wondering-" I began nervously and she yawned loudly

"Sorry" she apologized "what were you saying?" she asked with tired eyes

"I was just-" I began again

"Nala got us food!" Asha announced running out of the den

"Yay!" Ava cheered as she hurried towards the food as their mother and Nia came out of the cave

"What do we say girls?" Sarafina hinted and the cubs gave their sister a big grin

"Thanks Nala!" the twins said

"you're welcome" she replied with a small tired smile before yawning again, this time covering her mouth with her paw "you were saying?" but I already lost all the courage I had gathered to ask her so I just smile and shook my head

"Nothing important" I said and she nods before turning towards her family

"I'm going to go back to sleep now" she announces

"Go ahead sweetheart, I'll make sure to save you your favorite part" her mother answered with a smile

"Thanks mom" she said and I watched her walking inside the cave and yawning yet again

"Simba, aren't you going to join us?" Sarafina asked and the twins looked at me expectantly, they just wanted me to join them so they could start eating but I had lost my appetite

"I'm going to get some water first, please start without me" I said before heading back to the creek, I sat down before it and stared at my reflexion, I was frustrated with and confused, I thought I had made some progress with Nala yesterday but this morning she wasn't acting like herself; she seem apathetic and distant…Maybe I did something to upset her or maybe she's just tired and I'm just reading too much into it, either way I thought asking her out would be the natural next step but maybe it's still too soon, all I know is that I don't even know what I'm doing, maybe I should've brought Tojo with me, he definitely has experience with girls, I could use some advice right now…
"Hey Simba, you better hurry if you want to eat, Asha and Ava will not hesitate to eat your part" Nia said appearing behind me

"Let them have it" I shrugged

"Are you sure?" she asked and nodded

"I'm not really that hungry" I told her and she raised an eyebrow at me

"I just broke up with the lion I thought was the love of my life and you don't see me sulking" she said walking to my side and examining my face"are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm just thinking-" I began

"About Nala?" she asked with a smirk and I sighed

"Is it that obvious that I like her?" I asked and she chuckled

"To everyone but her" she told me "she's completely oblivious when it comes to that type of things, but I've been picking up a subtle vibe that she likes you, too"
"She does?" I asked with a smile stretching across my face
"Oh yeah, if she didn't you wouldn't be here right now" she confirmed, I guess she's right, Nala didn't even tried to conceal her dislike for Ndume, if she hated me I would definitely know

"You think I have a chance with her?" I asked her

"Of course you do, all you have to do for now is not mess it up" Nia said and I raised an eyebrow at her
"and how do I do that?" I asked and she placed her paw under her chin and thought for a moment

"You're a nice guy Simba but Nala is used to guys fawning over her all the time" she said "if you want her to notice you need to stop being too nice"
"too nice?" I frowned and she nodded, am I supposed to act like a complete jerk to get her to like me? That doesn't make any sense although that strategy seemed to work pretty well for my cousin and for Ndume obviously, if he almost got Nia to marry her but that also made her call of the engagement...

"Yep, you want to keep her interested so you have to act aloof, like you don't really care one way or the other" the lioness explained
"but I do care, a lot" I told her frustrated, all this is unnecessarily confusing and complicated, why can't I just walk up to her and say 'I like you very much and I would like to spend more time with you"?

"You want my sister to like you or not?" Niani asked raising an eyebrow at me and I nodded my head in response "then you should listen to me, I know what I'm talking about because I know my sister" well she is right about that, who knows her better than her own family

"Alright, I'll try it your way"

Later that morning Nala came out of the cave and stretched her limbs, I stood up from my spot and mindlessly walked towards her before remembering I was supposed to be following Nia's advice, so I tried to play it cool, leaning against a tree and checking my claws

"Oh, hey, Nala, I didn't see you there" I said breezily

"Hey, Simba" she said half-heartedly as she walked away

"So ...you're going to get your mother's medicine?" I asked trying to catch her attention

"Uh huh, would you like to come?" she asked turning to look at me "you could help me with patrol on the way back"

"You know, I don't really feel like patrolling right now" I told her

"Okay then. See you later" she says and begins walking away

"Yeah, whatever, I guess…" I shrugged causally; she halted and turned around to face me again

"Why are you acting weird?" she asked scrunching her eyebrows together

"Why are you acting weird?" I said echoing her question and raising an eyebrow at her

"I don't like how you're talking to me" she said with a serious face, I opened my mouth to reply but before I could say anything she turned back around and left, well that went horribly and it didn't feel right because this is not who I am and the whole point of doing all this is to find a girl that likes me for who I am really am, I need to fix this, I know exactly how to but I'm going to need some help.

"Hey Simba!" Ava greeted me with a smile

"Wanna play with us?" Asha asked the two cubs were playing in the shallow end of the creek, while their mother and sister lounged on a nearby boulder

"Maybe later, okay?" I said patting their heads

"Okay" the two beamed before starting a game of tag

"Nia, can I talk to you?" I asked approaching her

"Yeah, what's up?" she replied without opening her eyes

"I was hoping I could talk to you alone…" I said and she sighed

"Fine…" She groaned standing up "I was just getting confortable in my spot"

"I tried it your way and it didn't work" I said when we were at a decent distance from her family

"You have to give it time" she said rolling her green eyes "why are you in such a hurry?" if she only knew…

"This just isn't my style" I told her "look, I have an idea but I'm going to need your help"

"And what do I get in return? How do I benefit from helping you?" she asked raising an eyebrow

"You'll have the chance to have an amazing future brother-in-law" I said and she giggled but I wasn't kidding at all, I intend to take good care of the whole family but I might name her a dame or lady if she helps me

"Yeah, I was actually thinking about a more immediate benefit" she said checking her claws, at the moment and from what she knows, it's not an appealing offer I'm making but I know what is

"I'll go hunting instead of you everyday from now on" I offered

"Deal" she grinned

Nala's point of view

I don't know how long I've been staring into the distance, I came to get my mother's medicine and I already had them but I didn't feel like going back, I've been in a foul mood all day and I thought spending some time alone would help me snap out of it but I was wrong, it only made me get frustrated with myself, maybe Nia was right and I'm just a bitter loner…Anyways the day is almost over, I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning. The sun began setting so I decided to head home before it got too dark, on my way there I heard my sister urgently calling my name before she came crashing into me "oh there you are!" she said still on top of me

"Okay Nia… you need to off me, now" I said pushing her of

"Sorry about that Nal" she said standing up

"Its fine, whatever" I said dusting myself off "what is up with you?" I asked and then she suddenly grabbed my paw and began pulling me

"You need to come with me right now, you have to see this!" She said before dashing off

"Come back here Nia! What's going on?" I called before groaning

"Come on, hurry!" she told me and I groaned rolling my eyes, I chased after her and after a while I was able to catch up with her

"Just tell me what is going on!" I demanded

"You'll see, we're almost there!" she told me taking one last turn before abruptly stopping

"Nia, if this is another one of your silly pranks, I swear I'll-" I began and she shushed me

"Look around" she instructed, we were at beautiful clearing in the middle of the jungle, the ground was covered with tiny pink flowers and the lack of trees allowed us appreciate a magnificent sky above us, I smiled before turning back to my sister but I couldn't find her anywhere

"Nia?" I called but instead of her Simba emerged from behind a tree, holding some zebra meat in his jaws "what's going on here? What's all this?" I asked, he sat down the meat before me and shrugged

"This is all for us" he said with a small smile

"Us?" I asked him

"Well… for you, your mother said you like stargazing, I also got you your favorite food and flowers" he clarified with a smile "Look, I'm sorry about earlier… I was just trying to impress you but I get really nervous around you and end up embarrassing myself" he told me, I simply stared at him, not knowing what to say "and I'm probably doing it again…" he sighed looking away

"Oh no! Not at all, this is all great, I just… I though you-I'm confused" I said snapping out of my trance "why are you doing this?"

"Because… I like you" he said and inhaled sharply "and I wanted to do something special for you to cheer you up, I feel like you're hiding a profound sadness under your apathy" he said, how did he knew? I don't think my family was the one to tell him, because they themselves don't realize what is going on, my eyes began to fill with tears as I nodded, finally coming to terms with my sadness

"Today is my father's birthday …it's been three months and I still can't believe he's gone" I said breaking down, Simba immediately came to my side and pulled me in for a hug

"I can't imagine how hard this all has been for you" he said patting my back "I'm sorry you have to go through this"

"It's not your fault…" I said shaking my head

"I know, but I still feel bad" he said pulling away from the hug "I just want you to know, that you're not alone Nala, I'm here for you"

"I think you're the first to ever see me cry" I said whipping my tears away "I feel stupid"

"You have to allow yourself to feel these emotions" he told me "You don't always have to be so strong"

"Oh, but l do, actually" I sighed "for the sake of my family"

"I know…" he said gently cupping my face in his paw "but let me be your shoulder to cry on, at least for tonight" I slowly nodded my head before leaning in and nuzzling his cheek and he held me for a little longer and we just talked, about my father, about life, death, love and the stars. And while I was lying there, by his side, feeling his warm body pressed against mine, resting my head on his soft mane and staring into his kind scarlet eyes, I felt at peace, I felt safe and protected, that is until my whole world came crashing down…

"Nala, come quickly!" Nia cried out "there's something wrong with mamma!"