A/N: Chapter 2 we continue to follow Chuck and Sarah. Thank you to those that are still with me. The reviews and feedback have been great. I will say that this is fiction and as such may not be completely accurate in space and time. If there are some things that are off, please feel free to PM me, but know that a certain amount of "willing suspension of disbelief" is expected. Thanks for following along. On with the show...
Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck. Also, I don't own lacy undergarments, in case it comes up. FYI
Chapter 2
Chuck walked into work as if on auto-pilot, his mind a million miles away. Stowing his backpack in the back room, he got started on the day's repairs. The back room at Ward's Electronics was Chuck's sanctuary. Here he was most at home where he performed small miracles, resurrecting computers, electronics and small appliances for a second chance at life. He loved the challenge and the sense of accomplishment when something thought to be destined for the dump was given a new home. One could say that he could empathize with the abandoned and discarded devices that came across his workbench. Thought to be worthless, he took great pride in proving the world wrong by restoring purpose to his "patients".
His workbench was as much a place of learning and exploration as his high school ever was. Taking things apart, learning how they functioned and putting them back together in working order (sometimes better) brought him great satisfaction. He was able to make his own computers from the bits and pieces acquired from the piles of spare parts littering the back room; Dr. Franken-towski.
Mr. Sato is the proud owner of Ward's Electronics store. It started out as small electronics store in a older storefront in Burbank. Over the years, as big box stores like the Buy More and Large Mart sprouted up, he found it difficult to stay competitive. That is when he started buying gently used items and reselling them for a profit. Over the years, he discovered that he made more money from the sale of his used items than he did from selling new equipment. Now, Mr. Sato deals solely in used electronics and appliances and has developed a good reputation in the community.
Hiroto Sato was born in Japan and served in the Japanese military for 8 years prior moving to the Burbank area in 1978. He and his wife Aiko came here to start a new life and seek new opportunities. After years of struggling with manual labor jobs they were able to amass enough to take over the existing Ward's Electronics as Ward Jacobs was looking to retire. Sato keep the name as it was already a fixture in the community and he assumed it would be more appealing that Hiroto's Electronics or some derivative thereof.
Chuck first met Mr. Sato in the Goodwill store in Burbank where they were both looking for cheap used electronics to re-purpose. They both visited the store quite often as there was a constant flow of new treasures donated to the store. Mr. Sato would buy what he thought he could fix up and re-sell in his store for a profit. Chuck on the other hand was just looking for anything that sparked his curiosity. Something that he could take apart and make into something else, or steal parts for another project.
After several meetings and sparking small conversations, Mr. Sato took great interest in Chuck. There was just something about Chuck that struck Mr. Sato. Much like a sculptor sees when selecting a piece marble. There was something under the surface just waiting to come out. Chuck seemed like a good kid with a knack for electronics. Believing that he could put this kids talents to use, he offered Chuck a job fixing up the used and broken items he found so that he could re-sell them at his store. Since Chuck did not have a steady job he decided to take Mr. Sato up on the offer and has been working there for the past 6 months.
Mr. and Mrs. Sato ran the store together and lived in the apartment above the store. Chuck was their first and only employee so their "human resources" knowledge was a little lacking. He was paid in cash to avoid any over-complications. As part of their arrangement, on top of his hourly wage, he was allowed to work on his own projects in the back room and could use whatever parts he needed. Just as long as his paid work was completed in a timely manner. This was never a problem for Chuck though. He almost worked himself out of a job. Chuck was so quick at cleaning up repairing or upgrading items that he found there was a significant amount of downtime while at work. Chuck had mentioned to Mr. Sato that he frequently performed repairs and upgrades to computers for people in his apartment complex. He suggested that perhaps Mr. Sato add that as one of his store's offerings to bring more in more revenue. Even though the BuyMore performed similar services, Chuck knew that he could do it faster and cheaper, although he did not have the certifications to do warranty work. Even so, there were plenty of computers that were out of warranty that needed repaired.
As Chuck donned the headphones for his iPod and got started on Mr. Sato's work orders for the day. As the afternoon wore on, he found his mind drifting frequently to thoughts of Sarah. He had never really thought that much about her before. OK...that was not entirely true. He thought about her but much in the same way that one thinks of unicorns or mermaids. It would be great to meet one but that was pure fantasy; a fairy tale. People like Sarah Walker were so far removed from Chuck's existence that they did not seem real to him. Yet today, fantasy and reality collided.
Chuck found himself singing along with Norah Jones' 'Come Away With Me' as he was working. As he turned in his chair he caught someone standing inside the door to the back room, causing Chuck's singing to screech to a halt as he fumbled for the buttons on his iPod. He threw the headphones on the workbench as he turned to face the person in the room. Realizing that it was just Mr. Sato his heart rate slowed and the redness in his neck began to subside.
"Uh...Mr. Sato! I'm...I'm sorry I didn't see you come in. Is uh….is everything OK?" Chuck stammered to get out while recovering from his embarrassment.
"You tell me Chuck. You were a little later than usual today." started Mr. Sato with a wide grin on his face. "And I usually only hear you singing songs that are how do you say….depressing? Sad even." He raised an eyebrow and continued "Everything OK, Chuck? Anything you want to talk about?"
The heat made a U-turn and shot back up his neck, heading straight toward his ears. "Um...uh… No. I mean, yea. I mean…." Chuck sighed trying to regain his composure. "Everything is fine, Mr. Sato. Thank you. I'm almost finished with today's work orders." changing the subject hoping to dodge any more questions. "Is there any other work you have for me tonight? Ellie will be home from classes in a while and I was hoping to get a headstart on dinner before she got home."
"No. I think that will be enough for this evening. You do great work Chuck. Give Ellie our best. See you tomorrow after school?" inquired Mr. Sato.
"Yes. Um...I've uh...I'm helping someone at them in math after school. So I may be a little later on some days if that is OK? I will be sure to make up the time. I can stay late or work more on the weekends if you want." spiraling as he often did when nervous.
"Chuck! It's fine! Slow down. I've told you that you can work whatever hours you wish as long as your work was completed. I was only curious about the later start. It is nice of you to offer to her after school. I'm sure she will appreciate it." Sato continued trying to prevent the smile from creeping onto his face.
Chuck nodded in agreement until a spark of realization hit him."Her? I never told you it was a her. How did you ...how did you know?"
Sato unable to keep the smirk from his face "Oh? Didn't you? I guess I just assumed.." he trailed off. "No matter. Have a good night Chuck." as he headed back to the front of the store leaving Chuck to finish his work. Chuck could hear Mr. Sato talking to his wife in Japanese and then they chuckled among themselves.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Sarah, her mother and sister were seated at the dinner table, sharing the events of their day as bowls of food were passed around. Molly talked at great length about a girl that got a busted lip from taking a soccer ball to the face during practice. In summary she believed the whole scenario to be "awesome". As a silence fell over the table as they ate. Sarah's mother, Emma, was the first to broke the silence, clearing her throat.
"So, Sarah. Tell me about this….Chuck? How is that going?" Emma inquired as she took a drink of water to obscure the small smile on her face.
Sarah rolled her eyes as she finished chewing. Before she could answer, Molly exclaimed "Ooo.. Chuuuuck? Who's that?" with a wink and a teasing tone.
"Ugg. He's just my tutor for math. That's all. Geez." Sarah retorted with a hint of color in her cheeks.
"I figured you would be studying in the library. Why come all the way to the house?" Emma continued.
"You guys were in the house! ALONE?!" Molly's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline as her chin hit her chest.
Sarah and Emma both gave Molly a flat look as Sarah tried to formulate a response. "Chuck ..err rather we … thought there would be too many... distractions at school, so I offered to study here. And that's what we did. Study! Molly…." as she gave Molly an admonishing look.
Emma fought to hold back a small chuckle at her daughter's protest "Oh I see. Doth the lady protest too much?"
"Mmooomm! It's not like that at all. He is a nice guy that agreed to help me with my Pre-Calc class, as YOU requested. Remember? It is purely a professional arrangement. Tutor and ...and ...tutee? Ewww." Sarah paused with a furrowed brow and scrunched nose at the word.
"So it was Chuck's idea to come to the house, huh? Afraid to be seen in public with you? Or did he have other subjects he wanted to study?" Molly teased as she scooted out of her sisters reach.
"Ha. You're hilarious!" Sarah retorted with a mock laugh and scrunched face. "I don't have to explain anything to you. Besides, it was my idea to come to the house. Chuck was just nervous about other kids from school seeing us ...together. That's all." she trailed off and started picking at her food.
A short silence fell over the table before Emma began, a rather stoic expression on her face. "And why is that Dear? Did something happen? Is he … ashamed to be seen with you or something? If this is going to be a problem…" she was interrupted by Sarah before she could continue.
"Neouw, Mom! He's a nice guy. He's just…." Sarah let out a sigh before continuing "He's picked on a lot at school and he...he was worried … Worried that if I were seen with him that ...that the other kids at school would pick on me too." Sarah finished with a softness in her voice as she stared at her food.
Emma's face softened as if knowing and sympathetic. "I see… I'm sorry. I…. I had no idea." she paused to find the words to continue. "Do you really think that's true? Would they cause trouble for you for just being seen with him?" she asked with skepticism in her voice.
"I dunno Mom… kids a cruel sometimes...especially to him. So maybe?" Sarah had a far off look on her face as if in thought. She shook it off and continued. " Look. I don't care. I'm not friends with most of those people anyway, so I couldn't care less what they think. What I DO care about is passing my Pre-calc class. If Chuck can help me with that, then great. I'm not going to sit around and worry about who I talk with or am seen with or ….whatever. If they don't like it, then they can...piss off!" Sarah spat with no small amount of venom in her tone.
"Well! Alrighty then." Emma exclaimed with a small look of shock on her face as she began collecting dishes to take to the kitchen. "Tell us how you really feel. No..don't hold back. It's OK!" Emma continued with a playful, teasing tone in hopes to lighten the mood.
"Look Sarah. If you think this is the best place for you two to study, then that's fine. You know I trust you and Chuck seems like a nice, polite young man. Mr. Burns spoke very highly of him. Besides….I've seen what you can do to the heavy bag hanging in the basement. I'm not worried." Emma winked followed by a chuckle as she gave Sarah a small shove on her shoulder.
The ladies finished cleaning up after supper and went to their respective rooms to work on homework or whatnot. Sarah sat on her bed going over the notes she had written out with Chuck earlier that day. It got her to thinking about him which was a little foreign. She didn't really dwell on thinking of guys. Most guys just served as a distraction. They were constantly hitting on her and asking her to go to parties or on dates. She didn't need that distraction. Especially not from those self-absorbed idiots. But Chuck….he was... was somehow different. There was a kindness about him. Something in his eyes. They were so expressive. She had seen a brightness when he allowed himself smile. She had also seen the dark void of sorrow or despair. That look had probably affected her the most. She couldn't recall ever seeing that look before in anyone's eyes. Was it just the crappy way he was treated at school that caused this sadness, or was there more to it? Why did he let them push him around like that? Why not stand up to them?
She tried to shake away her thoughts of Chuck and back on the task at hand. She continued going over notes, did some reading for other classes and then finally did some stretching to relax before heading to bed. She lay in bed listening to the radio and thinking of the tasks in store for tomorrow. She had cheerleading practice at 4:30, but she also had a pre-calc test on Friday. She could really use some more tutoring time before that test. Maybe Chuck would help her before cheer practice. That would give her at least an hour of tutoring in tomorrow. That would help. She broke from her thoughts as she realized she was humming along to the song on the radio. Kylie Minogue Can't Get You out of My Head. She shook her head and turned off the radio. For God sake Walker. Get your head in the game.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
When Chuck arrived home he started on supper so that they could eat as soon as Ellie got home from her evening classes. Chuck was no gourmet chef but he and Ellie knew the basics and could make a number of dishes. They had an arsenal of recipes they found online that were easy and quick to prepare. It was always cheaper than eating take-out and there were usually left overs to take to work or school the next day; getting several meals for the price of one.
On tonight's menu is Beef Stroganoff a la Bartowski. The "a la Bartowski" Chuck adds as a way of making light of the fact that he substitutes some of the more expensive ingredients for cost saving alternatives. In this instance, instead of sirloin steak, he is using browned, ground beef and in place of fresh mushrooms, he is using canned, sliced mushrooms. Not ideal, but it makes the budget go further and it doesn't taste too bad either.
Ellie arrived home at nearing 9:30PM where she shrugged off her back pack and her small duffle of her change of clothes from work earlier that day. She sighed and spluttered like a horse as she walked across to the kitchen with her shoulders down and her head bouncing side to side.
"I'm soooo tiiired.." she whined
"You're just in time. Supper is ready. You can eat, then grab a shower and get to bed." Chuck replied as he dished out two plates of Stroganoff at the small eat-in kitchen table.
"You haven't eaten yet? You didn't have to wait for me." Ellie admonished with a small smile on her face. "Thanks little brother. You'll make someone a great wife someday." she chuckled as she took a bite of food. "Ummm...that's good. You should cook every night."
Chuck replied with a flat look. "Ha Ha. Thanks, and I DO cook every night. Besides, I got home from work late, so it was no big deal."
"Home late? They giving you too much work to do?" Ellie inquired.
"No, not really. Pretty light actually. I just got to work a little late today. Mr. Burns, my Pre-calc teacher, got me a tutoring job after school. So I worked with them for a while, which went a little long, then I walked to work." Chuck shrugged it off as he continued to eat.
"Wow. They're paying you I assume? You're not letting people walk all over you like you tend to do are you?" she asked with an inquisitive glare on her face.
"Yes, El. They are paying me. Pretty well too. $20 an hour! So that will be nice to add to my savings." Chuck replied.
"So. Who are you tutoring? One of the football players or something?" she continued as she added a second helping to her plate.
"No. Not a football player. She is a cheerleader though, so close I guess." Chuck responded rather matter-of-factly.
"Oh! A cheerleader, huh? She cute?...of course she is, what am I saying? Tell me about her? Is she nice? What music does she like? Is she dating someone? How was the tutoring session?..." Ellie rambled on with question after question.
"Ellie! Holy cow! Calm down... It was a tutoring session, not a date. Man!" Chuck exclaimed as he was reeling from the barrage of questions. " Her name is Sarah and yes, she is nice. I have no idea what music she likes or if she is dating (which is none of my business). We just went to her house after school and worked on pre-calc together. That's it. Then her Mom came home and I had to leave for work at Ward's." he continued.
"So, is she one of those ditsy, airhead cheerleaders? And wait a minute...her Mom came home? You went to her house, without her parents being home?" Ellie's voice began to raise. "Chuck, that is a really bad idea! You know how much trouble you could get into? Look, I trust that you would not do anything inappropriate, but her parents may not know that. And what if she were to claim that something happened when it didn't? Chuck…"
Chuck interrupted to stop Ellie from spiraling further. "Look! Sis, slow down! OK? First of all, Sarah is not some stereotypical cheerleader. Sure she is very beautiful and all, but she is also very intelligent and kind. And yes. We went to her house to study, but that was her suggestion. I only suggested that we go someplace other than the school library. When she suggested her place, I voiced my concerns about being alone with her at her house as well and well…. Let's just say that I have no doubts that she could kick my ass, so my argument kind of fell through." Chuck chuckled at himself and took a breath before continuing. "I met her mother who was very nice. We ironed out the payment arrangements and then I left for work. So, that's it."
"I see. So she's pretty huh? And kind?" Ellie asked with a devilish grin on her face.
Chuck let out a deep sigh." Look El. Don't start please. Yes. Those things are true but….she's….she's in a whole other league from me. OK? Aside from help with math, there is nothing I have to offer her that she would be interested in. Alright? So can we please drop it?" Chuck pleaded with a dimness in his eyes.
Ellie stared at her brother with sadness in her heart. Oh Chuck. If only you could see it. She heaved a big sigh and resigned herself to ending the line of questioning. "Fine….but don't sell yourself short, little brother. You are an amazing guy. Someday, a great girl will come along and see that. You just have to let it out in the light once in a while for them to see. OK?" she pleaded.
Chuck just nodded quietly as he finished his food and began clean up. "So, How was work? And classes? Learn any gruesome nursing horror stories today?" Chuck inquired with a playful grin on his face. Ellie responded with a slap on the shoulder as they both worked to clear the table, put leftovers away and tackle the dishes. They continued with a lighthearted conversation about her days events, which were not largely different from any other day.
They finally bind each other good night, as it was getting late and they both had to get up in the morning.
"Night Chuck. Love you little brother." she professed as she gave him an Ellie bear hug.
""Night, El. I love you too." Chuck pulled away from the hug with a smile as they went to their respective rooms.
Chuck lay in bed reflecting on the days events, while listening to the radio. Thoughts of Sarah kept creeping into his mind. His meeting with her today had not been what he expected. He didn't know much about her personally, only superficial things really. She was smart, beautiful obviously, was a varsity cheerleader, she ran cross country. Those things were only surface deep. He had discovered to day that she was a kind person as well. Those seemed to be in short supply at school. He caught himself subconsciously humming along to the radio when he realized that he was humming along to Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You out of My Head . Oh brother. Chuck, you need help.
He promptly turned off the radio and rolled over to go to sleep.
A/N: So there we have it. Another chapter down. Let's see what tomorrow will bring.
I want to thank everyone again for reading and please PM me or leave a review to let me know what you think or if you have any comments to share. This is a learning experience for me so I appreciate your input.
A/N2: So I am a fan of music and will likely make mention of songs throughout. I think that music adds a depth of feeling to a text or movie that words and pictures just cannot. So I may choose to mention songs that I feel convey what I cannot in words. I'll likely not make public playlists of these songs like others have done, but they should all be available on Spotify for a listen to go along with the story.