Friday, August 18, 2006
GUESS WHAT! I'm finally updating! Wow, after how long? I really do apologize for the extremely long wait, but I hope you all enjoy the last and final chapter of "A Shoulder to Cry On."
Disclaimer: I do not own Hamtaro, any of the Hamtaro characters, or anything connected to the show. I also do not own the song "A Shoulder to Cry On," by Tommy Page, which is used in this chapter. I only own Jake, the character I made up. Anything in this story that is similar to something already in existence is purely coincidental and unintentional.
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Chapter 13: Time to Say Goodbye
Today was the day that Hillary had been dreading for two weeks; the day that Jake would be leaving for university. It was also the day that Sandy would put her plan into action.
The previous night, Sandy waited until Maxwell and Hillary were asleep, then slipped out of her cage to go to her brother's house. If there was anyone who could help her, it would be – well, it would be Maxwell, but in this particular situation, her brother was the next best choice. Plus, he wanted to get Noel and Hillary together even more than Sandy did. Yes, Sandy's plan was to play matchmaker, getting Hillary and Noel together at precisely the right time. Wait, "precisely?" Look's like someone's been spending a little too much time with Maxwell lately.
Anyways, back to the plan. The twins knew that Jake would be meeting Hillary outside her apartment building the next morning to say goodbye. All they needed to do was to get Noel there when Hillary was most vulnerable. The hard part was how? Sandy decided it would be best to forge a note from Hillary to Noel, telling him to come over. Of course, neither twin was exactly what you could call an expert at forging notes. Tue poor hamsters could barely even lift the human-size pen they were using. After hours of planning and struggling, they were finally done. The note read:
"Deer Noel,
Pleez come meet me owtside tomoro morning. I cant wate to cee u.
- Hillary"
Yes, many hours were spent on such a short, poorly spelled note. But both twins were proud of their effort, and as long as it was able to bring Hillary and Noel together, they would be happy.
Sandy left Noel's apartment in the early hours of the morning and made it back to her cage just in time to act like she was still asleep. Or so she thought. Unfortunately for Sandy, Maxwell's eyes shot open the moment she entered the cage. "Like, uh-oh."
"You're back," the bookworm stated simply.
"I… err… yeah…" Sandy's mind was racing to think of a good excuse. She was really caught off guard. "From the… um… kitchen! Yeah, that's it!"
"Sandy, you don't have to lie to me. I know you weren't here all night. Just tell me the truth."
Sandy couldn't resist Maxwell's genuine chocolate brown eyes and kind smile, but at the same time, she knew that she couldn't tell him about her plan. He would hate her if he found out that Sandy didn't like Jake.
"Ok, if you really want to know, I went to Stan's place. I just couldn't fall asleep." Sandy was a sneaky one. She didn't tell Maxwell the complete truth, but she didn't lie either. Technically she couldn't fall asleep, otherwise her plan wouldn't work! But it didn't really matter, Maxwell would never find out.
"Ah, alright, you could have just told me that in the first place," Maxwell said, getting up and munching on a sunflower seed.
"Hey, there's no time for that! Don't you like, want to see them say goodbye?" Sandy asked, glancing over at Hillary, who had just finished getting ready.
"Of course, we'd better hurry!" Maxwell replied. And with that, he grabbed Sandy's paw and led her out of the cage, where they quickly jumped into Hillary's handbag, right before she picked it up and walked out the door.
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Jake was all packed and ready to go to university. He was taking a taxi to the airport, but he agreed to stop by Hillary's place to say goodbye. As soon as she saw him get out of his cab, Hillary ran over to Jake and threw her arms around him.
"I never want to let go," she whispered into Jake's ear, tightening her grip. But to her surprise, Jake pulled away. "Wh-what are you doing?"
Jake looked at the floor. "Hillary, I thought you already knew."
Hillary stared back blankly. "Knew what?"
"That we're breaking up. I'm leaving the country Hillary, you know that there's no way we'd be able to stay together."
Hillary didn't understand. "But… why? I was willing to give this long distance relationship a try. We can make this work, I know it!"
"No, we can't. It just won't work." Jake suddenly got a strange twinkle in his eye. "Besides, I hear there are a lot of hotties in England, I don't want to be tied to one person and end up being unfaithful, you know what I'm saying?"
"I don't believe you!" Hillary shouted, slapping Jake with all her strength.
Jake rubbed his cheek, which was now turning red from the slap. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. But hey, if I don't meet any girls down in England, I'll definitely give you a call next summer, so we can hook up again," Jake said with a wink as he got into his cab.
Hillary's anger was bubbling up inside her; Jake's words tore her heart to shreds. She wasn't just some object for the boys to play with, then throw away. She couldn't take it anymore. "In your dreams, Jake! I'm not wasting any more time on you!" It wasn't exactly what some would call a vicious and insulting outburst, but since Hillary was usually so calm and collected, she surprised herself.
Jake's cab began to disappear down the street and Jake didn't even look back. Hillary wasn't even sure that he heard her. But now that he was gone, she didn't have to hide her tears.
Sandy and Maxwell had met up with Stan on the street and were watching the scene from behind a nearby trashcan.
"What a jerk!" Stan yelled, with his fists clenched. "If I wasn't so small I'd beat the crap outta him right now! No one treats my old owner this way and gets away with it!"
"Don't take any of this personally, Max, he's just upset," Sandy said, noticing that Maxwell looked pretty uncomfortable with Stan's outburst.
"Don't worry, I understand. Just when I think he's being nice, Jake always ends up being a jerk. That's why I never really mentioned him before to you guys," Maxwell explained.
Sandy simply nodded. She couldn't bear to see her owner this upset. But at the moment, there was something else on her mind. "Where's Noel? He should have been here by now!" She thought to herself.
Life is full of lots of up and downs
But the distance feels further
When it's headed for the ground
And there's nothing more painful
Then to let your feelings take you down
Sandy discovered the answer to her question when Hillary turned around to run back into her apartment, and bumped right into Noel.
It's so hard to know
The way you feel inside
When there's many thoughts
And feelings that you hide
But you might feel better
If you let me walk with you, by your side
"It's alright, Hillary; I'm here for you," Noel said gently, pulling Hillary into his arms.
And when you need a shoulder to cry on
When you need a friend to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you won't be alone
As Hillary cried into the soft material of Noel's jacket, the clouds above them grew darker.
'Cause I'll be there, I'll be your shoulder to cry on
I'll be there, I'll be your friend to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you won't be alone
'Cause I'll be there
When the raindrops began to fall, Noel removed his jacket and wraped it around Hillary's shoulders, protecting her from the storm.
Hillary looked up at her best friend. "Noel, tell me, in all honesty, what's wrong with me? Why can't I find a guy who will treat me right?"
All of the times when everything is wrong
And you're feeling like there's no use going on
You can't give it up, I'll help you work it out, and carry on
"Hillary, nothing is wrong with you. You're beautiful, you're smart, and you're funny. You're absolutely perfect, but Jake was a jerk. He didn't see you the way I do."
Side by side, with you till the end
I'll always be the one to firmly hold your hand
No matter what is said or done our love will always continue on
"You always know just what to say," Hillary whispered, her eyes glossy. "You're the best friend I could ask for, and…"
Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on
Everyone needs a friend to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you won't be alone
'Cause I'll be there, I'll be your shoulder to cry on
I'll be there, I'll be your friend to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you wont be alone
Noel put a finger to Hillary's mouth to get her to stop talking. Then he did what he had wanted to do for a long time. He closed his eyes, and kissed her softly on the lips.
As the hamsters watched from their hiding place, Stan and Sandy secretly gave each other a high five. Their plan was a success.
'Cause I'll be there, You'll have my shoulder to cry on
I'll be there, I'll be the one to rely on
When the whole world is gone, you wont be alone
'cause I'll be there
The rain continued to fall, but neither wanted the moment to end. Hillary wrapped her arms around Noel's neck, and pulled him closer.
And when the whole world's gone
You'll always have my shoulder to cry on
It was then that Hillary realized that the guy she was looking for had been right in front of her all along. Her best friend – her shoulder to cry on.
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The End
Well, there you have it, my very first story has come to a close. Yeah, I know I wrote another story kind of in the middle while I was writing this one, but this is still my first. I hope everyone liked the ending! Please review this final chapter, I can't wait to hear your comments! Much love goes out to my faithful readers and reviewers, you know who you are! Muah!
I'm working on my next story right now, hopefully it'll be up soon! And maybe, just maybe I'll write an epilogue to this one! Well, talk to you soon!
Sparkleshine101