Wheatley woke up bright and early with Chell snuggled against him on the couch. His chest felt like it was swelling as he looked down at her and smiled. He was quickly distracted, though, by his stomach growling at him for breakfast. He lightly shook Chell awake who seemed very embarrassed to have fallen asleep on him.
"Let's get some breakfast," he suggested. "I'm starving."
"Uh, yeah, okay," Chell said, standing up quickly and causing her to get a head rush. "Let me just brush my hair and teeth really quick."
Wheatley stood up and stretched his arms above his head. "Hey, do you have an extra toothbrush here that I could use?" he asked.
"Um, no, I don't think so," Chell called back from the bathroom. "Why don't you try checking some of the boxes in the kitchen, though?"
"The kitchen?" he mumbled as he headed for the room.
Sure enough, there were boxes sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Wheatley hadn't noticed these boxes last night, but he had been pretty preoccupied with other things. He opened some of them and rummaged through them quickly, not looking through them too thoroughly. He did manage to find a box containing bathroom necessities like shampoo, soap bars, hairbrushes, and toothbrushes.
After Chell finished in the bathroom, Wheatley went in to brush his teeth. There was a weird tension between them as they passed each other. Wheatley couldn't pinpoint what this was exactly, but he knew he didn't like it.
The diner was buzzing this morning with the newcomers. They were impressed with the establishment, and Phil couldn't stop beaming proudly as he made conversation with the diners. His eyes looked so tired but he was still able to match the energy around him.
"I really should volunteer here sometime," Chell said as she watched Phil hurry from the counter to the kitchen and back. "Phil needs more help here."
"Maybe I ought to help, as well," Wheatley said. "It could be fun."
Chell didn't respond as she moved her scrambled eggs around on her plate. Wheatley could still sense the tension and it made him squirm as he finished his pancakes. He looked out the window, then around at the other diners. He drummed his fingers on the table uncomfortably.
"Wheatley?"
He jumped a little and looked at her, happy for once that he didn't have to be the one to start a conversation. Chell was still looking down at her plate which still had egg on it.
"What is this between us?" she asked, not looking up. "What are we now? Are we still friends? Are we something more?"
"Well…." Wheatley thought for a moment, looking up at the sky outside. "I don't know. I mean, what do you want?"
"I don't know," Chell said. "This is so weird for me. I've never been, um….romantic with anyone before."
"Do you perhaps want to—what do you humans call it? 'Going out'?"
Chell looked at Wheatley, her cheeks growing hot and her stomach knotting. "But I thought you were with Nora. You said all of that stuff about how you two—"
"I do love her," Wheatley said. Now he was the one avoiding eye-contact. "And she did love me. But I don't think she loves me anymore. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I said some pretty horrid things to her. She probably hates me now."
Chell felt guilty as a sliver of hope and relief spiked in her. "Wheatley, you don't know that," she said. "She might have forgiven you—"
"Well, I don't think she should, to be perfectly honest," Wheatley said. "I was an absolute prat. She deserves much better. And honestly, so do you."
"Don't say stuff like that." Chell placed her hand over his. "You're great."
Wheatley gave her a smile but he didn't feel any better.
After breakfast, they decided to part ways. Chell went back to her apartment while Wheatley returned to where he was staying. When he opened the patio door, he could hear grumbling and cursing coming from the kitchen. He went to investigate and was met with Spencer sitting on the floor. He was holding his nose and his hands were covered with blood.
"What happened?!" Wheatley asked, cringing at the sight of blood. It reminded him too much of Aperture.
"My stupid sister punched me in the fucking face!" Spencer growled. "I told her that Doug went back to Aperture, and when I tried to stop her from chasing after him, she hit me!"
"Wait, Doug went back to Aperture?!" Wheatley asked, becoming angry. "He said that he would take me with him! I can't believe the nerve of him! I'm going after him right now! But I have to get Chell first. Ugh! I just—I can't believe him!"
He started to make his way back to the door, but Spencer stopped him.
"If you see my sister," he said, "tell her to get her dumb ass back home before she gets herself killed!"
"Yeah, I will," Wheatley said. "I promise I will."
He ran back outside and toward Chell's apartment. He had to stop several times to catch his breath, but he eventually made it back. He knocked on her door and panted heavily, leaning against the wall. Chell opened the door and gave him a confused look.
"So what's up?" she asked after a few seconds of him just panting.
"D….Doug….went back…..He went back to Aperture!" he finally managed to say. "We have to go! Right now!"
"What? Why would he leave without you?" she asked.
"I don't know!" he said. "He's bloody mad! But we need to go!"
Chell looked back into her apartment for a moment, thinking about if there was anything that she should bring with her. She remembered some crucial tools in her room and she hurried to dig them out of her closet.
"Um, Chell?" Wheatley called from the hallway, confused. "Are you not coming now?"
When Chell came back, she was wearing a pair of Long Fall Boots and holding an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.
"I kept these as souvenirs," she explained. "It looks like it was a good thing I did, too. Let's get going. We don't want Doug to start the fun without us."