Wheatley wasn't sure what he wanted to do for the day as he walked around outside. Doug was off visiting his father and he had promised not to bother him at the diner during this time. Wheatley understood that Doug wanted to visit with his father alone, but he so wanted to meet the man who had raised Doug. What kind of strange people had brought up Doug to become such an uptight man?
I bet it turns out his father was extremely strict with homework and chores and such, Wheatley thought. I bet he wouldn't let Doug date or anything. I wouldn't stand for that if I had parents. I would be whoever I want.
Someone suddenly ran up to him and a fist met with his gut. He doubled over and gasped as the air was knocked out of him. He looked up at a broad young man who stood with his arms crossed. He was pale with short black hair and a smirk on his face.
"W…W-What's wrong with you?!" Wheatley wheezed angrily.
"Nothing's wrong with me, string bean," the young man said. "You were spacing off while you were walking so I thought I'd keep you on your toes."
"What are you talking about?!" Wheatley demanded, starting to get his breath back. "Are you crazy?!"
The young didn't answer at first. The smirk disappeared off his face as he stared blankly at Wheatley. Then he suddenly looked concerned as he saw Wheatley holding his stomach with his arms.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "What happened? Oh god, I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Of course you did!" Wheatley yelled at him. "You hit me right in the stomach, you git!"
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the young man said sincerely. "I deserve any names you call me. Here, hit me back." He put his arms behind his back, leaving his chest and stomach open for abuse. He squeezed his eyes shut as he anticipated pain.
"I'm not going to hit you!" Wheatley said. "I'm not some kind of brute like you!"
"Okay, umm….My name is Taylor Wilson, okay? I think I live in the same apartment complex as you. Ask Valentine or Spencer where I live. If you need anything at all, please come over and ask."
"What are you going on about?" Wheatley asked with confusion. "I don't need you for anything!"
"Just keep it in mind, okay? I have to go help my brother with something. I'll see you around. And again, I'm really sorry about hurting you." He turned and ran off in the direction of the apartments.
"What the bloody hell was that about?!" Wheatley asked aloud as he continued on his walk. "Humans are too mad! I'm not sure if I want to be one anymore! What if I start running about and assaulting people like that kid? I don't want that!"
He shoved his hands into his jean pockets angrily and looked down as he walked. He couldn't believe the nerve of that kid. Who does something like that?
Maybe Doug isn't so crazy after all, Wheatley thought. I mean, compared to some of the humans I've encountered, he's perfectly normal. There was that man earlier at the diner. Marie's uncle or something. He was acting odd today. His eyes were glazed and he looked like he kept forgetting where he was. Valentine seems a bit peculiar, too. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a nut job like Doug.
The breeze that was blowing around him suddenly started to pick up. He shivered from the chill that went through his body. He didn't like this chill. There were quite a few things that he didn't like about having a body. One of them was the pressure in his lower torso when he needed to urinate. If he didn't get to a toilet soon enough, he would feel as if he was going to explode from the pressure. Or when his nose itched a lot just before he was about to sneeze. He'd heard about human headaches and he wasn't looking forward to experiencing one.
This will all be worth it, though, he thought. Once I get Nora back and….Well, I'm actually not sure what will happen. Hopefully that woman Li will make her human, as well. I mean, I could live with Nora being a core but it would be rather disappointing. There'd be no warmth from her. No kissing. No….No….What else is there?
As he thought about this, he looked across the street and noticed that he was near the diner. He could see Doug sitting at a table with an old man and old woman. Wait, old woman? Wheatley was sure that Doug had said he didn't want to meet with his mother. In fact, he did look a bit angry as he sat across from the woman. Wheatley wondered if he should try to aid Doug in this uncomfortable situation.
"You should probably leave him alone," a young woman's voice said behind him.
Wheatley turned and saw Chell standing just behind him. It took him a moment to realize it was her since she'd cut her hair. He also wasn't quite used to seeing her in street clothes. She was wearing a white jacket over a blue shirt that had a cute cartoon cat on it.
"Chell?"
"I was in there visiting with my friend Ben," Chell said. "Doug seems angry with that woman. I think that's his mom."
"Yeah, it is," Wheatley said. "I don't know why but he doesn't like his mum."
Chell shrugged. "It's not really any of our business," she said. "Come on. Do you want to see my apartment?"
"Yes, I would," Wheatley said, smiling. "I bet you've got a bunch of girly stuff like pony posters and pink bed sheets and…and…butterflies."
Chell laughed. "Yeah, I have butterflies in my room," she said sarcastically. "Just follow me."
She started to lead him down the street. He shivered again in the wind and noticed that the sky was beginning to darken.
"Why is it so cold today?" Wheatley asked. "Where's the sun?"
"I think it's going to rain today," Chell said. "Do you feel that in the air?"
Wheatley stopped and became aware of a sort of energy in the wind that brought a foreboding feeling with it. It was strange and primal. He wasn't sure if he liked it.
"Yeah, I do," he said. "That's strange. Why is that? It makes me slightly uncomfortable. What's giving me this feeling?"
"It's just what humans feel when it's going to rain," Chell said, picking up on her lead to her apartment. "Sorry, but I'm not very good at explaining things. My communication skills are rather lacking."
"I understand," Wheatley said. "Before recently, I didn't even know you could communicate. Aside from facial expressions, that is. And defying my orders." He smiled a little.
"Are you able to joke about it now?" Chell asked, smiling with him.
"I'm trying to," Wheatley said. "I suppose it's a step towards moving on from it."
"I'm glad that you're trying to move on."
It didn't take them long to get to Chell's apartment. It was a four-story brick building with green frames around the windows and a metal door in the front. They went through this door and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Chell got her key out of her jacket pocket to unlock the door. Wheatley looked up and down the hallway as she did this. It seemed so quiet here. Oddly quiet.
"Ah! Here we go!" Chell said. "Stupid lock likes to be sticky."
She pushed open the door and lead Wheatley into a small living room. Her apartment was simple and quaint. Wooden floorboards made up the floor and the walls were plaster. The furniture was threadbare with faded colors. In general, everything was pretty plain. The one thing that adorned any of the walls was a painting that showed a tower where a staircase appeared to be ascending but only connected with itself in a never-ending loop. Wheatley walked up to it and tilted his head slightly as he studied it.
"That's an, er…interesting piece of art," he said. "Very, uh, very artistic. And complicated."
"It's an M.C. Escher picture," Chell explained. "It reminds me of Aperture."
Wheatley squinted his eyes at the picture, then shook his head. "I don't get it."
"You don't need to," Chell said. "Let me show you my room. You might find it interesting."
She brought him to a door off in the back right corner of the living room. She turned the knob and opened the door, and Wheatley immediately noticed what adorned the walls. There were scribbles and doodles that seemed to be made from a pencil all over. Some of the writing didn't seem to make any sense while other bits were too small to read. The doodles were of personality constructs and the Aperture Handheld Portal Device. There was a little drawing of a slice of cake on fire just next to the light switch.
"This reminds me of Doug's rooms in Aperture," Wheatley murmured. "Except, you know….without all the color. And madness."
"Madness?" Chell asked.
"I mean, this just looks like you got bored and decided to draw on your walls."
Chell was silent. Wheatley turned and saw her looking down at the floor. Her face was flushed red.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Her shoulder rose a little in what appeared to be a shrug. "I was overjoyed to get out of Aperture," she said. "At first, that is. I walked through a wheat field for such a long time. The Combine found me near a road and brought me back to this town. Ben was undercover as a soldier at the time so he protected me from the others. He helped me use my voice again and taught me everything about the invasion. But I soon couldn't stand being here. I…I just wanted to be back in Aperture. I didn't like what the world had become, you know? I wasn't used to grass and open sky and people. Humans, I mean. I was only used to constructs and turrets. So for a while, I just locked myself in my room and tried to pretend that I was in a relaxation chamber." She smiled meekly. "I bet I sound crazy to you now, huh?"
"Uh, well, yes," Wheatley said. "I'm not going to lie. You are sounding a bit crazy right now. Why would you ever want to be back in Aperture? After everything that happened to you, why would you want to go back to turrets and lasers and…her?"
Chell ran a hand through her hair in agitation. "I can't really remember anything before Aperture. I don't remember my family or my friends or even my last name. It's like my memory was deleted or something. So Aperture has kind of been my whole life."
Wheatley grimaced a little. "Ugh. I actually understand what you're talking about. I only remember ever being in Aperture, too. Are we crazy?"
Chell laughed lightly and Wheatley felt a fluttering in his stomach.
"I don't think we're crazy," she said. "But if we are, we could start a club."
"Yeah, and invite Doug," Wheatley joked. "Oh! Do you know about our plan to go back into Aperture?"
Chell's smile dropped into a frown. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Why would you want to go back?"
"For Nora," Wheatley said. "Remember? That friend I told you about?"
"Right," Chell said. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's just so dangerous. You know what GLaDOS will do to you if she finds you back in the facility, right? And you being human now would just be icing on the cake for her."
"I don't need reminding of how much she hates me," Wheatley said. "But I need to rescue Nora. She's in trouble right now and I owe her so much for everything that I did to her. You wouldn't want to join us, would you? I mean, of course you don't want to. But Nora really looked up to you back in Aperture."
"You're not exactly subtle with guilt-tripping, are you?" Chell asked, crossing her arms and trying not to smile. Wheatley could be so typical at times. She'd missed him so much.
"It's just…If anyone can be of any use in there—well, aside from Doug—it's you," Wheatley stammered.
"Very encouraging," Chell said. "Well, I can't let you and Doug have all the fun, can I? I'll need some time to really think about it—"
"We hope to go back within a week," Wheatley interrupted. "Or at least, that's what I'm hoping."
"I'll give you my answer by then."
Wheatley stepped toward her and wrapped his gangly arms around her in a tight hug. "Thank you," he said. "You're a great friend."
They stood like this until it became awkward. Wheatley stepped back from her and Chell had to fight against the urge to rush forward and kiss him.
