I stepped aside to let Kitty pass me, noiselessly boiling with fury. She was moving in on my man! Oh-ho, Barty is angry now. She practically skipped outside, and closed the door behind herself. I grabbed her arm and dragged her far enough down the hall so that Nathaniel couldn't hear us. I turned to glare at her. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!"
She winced. "Okay, before you kill me, just hear me out, alright? I know about you and Nathaniel's love-hate thing going on, and—"
"Wait, you knew?" I interrupted. She obviously saw that that was the wrong thing to say. "I saw you hugging him! So you are trying to ruin my chances, aren't you, you dirty little meddler?!"
"Now hold on, I only see Nathaniel as a retarded little brother, that's all. As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, I—"
My eyes narrowed in anger, and I lifted a hand towards her, debating over whether or not I should blast a detonation through her head. She still had resistance, so it wouldn't hurt her too bad. Besides, we were in a hospital. "Listen here, Missy. Nathaniel is mine. If you even dare try to—"
She was shaking her head frantically now. "No! I only wanted to help get you two together, honest! I don't want Nathaniel. You can have him!" She paused in doubt while I was trying to calm myself down so I wouldn't kill her on the spot. She seemed to gain a bit of confidence in my self-control. She stepped forward and grabbed my hand, standing on her toes to look me in the eye. I was still preoccupied, so at first, her words didn't register in my head.
"Nathaniel is in love with you. Or, at the very least, he has a crush on you."
Stupid Kitty, being her stupid flirty self, and trying to trick me by telling me Natty-Boy loved m—
"WHAT?!" I choked on air and staggered back, coughing violently. She giggled and patted me on the back.
"I know. That's what he said. Now if you still want to decapitate me, go ahead. It won't help your chances with Nathaniel, though."
I spent many seconds, slouched against the hospital wall, thinking. By God, if Kitty is telling the truth… Wow. Just… wow. That's all I can think. Except for the obvious 'yay I get to make out with Natty' thought, of course. I don't know how long I stood there, but a nurse that happened to pass us stopped to ask if I was okay. I vaguely heard Kitty tell her that I was just in shock, and a glass of water would be nice so she could pour it on my head. I snapped out of it at that. No water on Barty's head! 'Tis a no-no!
"Just try it and I'll shove you out a window. Now give me girly love advice, quick!" I grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her away again, eagerly. She seemed absolutely delighted.
"I thought you'd never ask!" We spend a few minutes hanging around the lobby. She told me about a bunch of unrelated happy ending stories, which I didn't pay any attention to. I had more important things to think about, like Nathaniel in his underwear. Wow. Heh… mine… "So did you get that, Bartimaeus?"
Oh crap. She said my name. "Uh… yeah. But how am I gonna get Natty-Boy to fess up about his feelings?" Nice. She'll never know I wasn't listening now!
She gave me a look that clearly stated that she had just explained that. "Alright, new plan, then. Just walk up and say, 'Hey, I'm in love with you. Let's go out!'"
I stared at her. "You've got to be kidding me."
"If you don't, I will. Your choice." We glared at each other for a bit.
"You aren't serious, are you?"
"Completely."
"Oh." I stared at her some more. She really was evil. I sighed. "Alright, I'll do it, happy? I'm just a bit nervous about declaring my eternal love to the one being I want to kill most right now, thank you very much." I decided I was going to be pouty about it until she agreed on a different plan.
"Ooh, eternal love? Cute! I'll go tell him now, then, shall I?" She skipped off in the direction of Natty's room, and I paled. Frankly, I was scared that she really was trying to trick me or something. I guess I'm just naturally paranoid. I ran after her and clung to her arm, probably cutting off blood circulation.
"Try anything smart and I won't hesitate to kill you, alright?" She pouted and nodded reluctantly. I let go of her, and it seemed to take forever to get to Nathaniel's room.
"Just remember; he loves you too, alright? Try to be happy." I couldn't help it. I smiled and took a deep breath before opening the door. Nathaniel was where I left him, looking like he wanted to run away. I couldn't blame him. I went and stood by the chair, which Kitty sat in. We shifted around awkwardly for a while, looking at anything but each other. After a few minutes, I felt an elbow jab into my side, and looked down at Kitty. She was eyeing me intently. I gulped quietly and looked away. No, I was not scared. Shut up. Kitty stood suddenly, and made her way toward the door. "I think I'll just go… uh… get something to drink. You two have fun." With that, she was out of the room.
Oh no. Oh crap. Darn you Kitty! Darn you to the deepest pits of Heck! I most certainly am not mentally stable at the moment, stupid girl. Once again, crap. I slowly turned to look at Nathaniel, who was blushing like mad. I cleared my throat and sat down, fiddling with my fingers. I was just trying to stall now.
"Uh… Nathaniel…"
"Let me guess. You and Kitty are newlyweds or something, and you're running off to have a happy demon-human hybrid family, am I right?" I blinked in surprise, but didn't look up at him. He sounded rather bitter, and I flinched when he said 'demon' instead of 'djinni'.
"Um. No. Not really." I got no answer. I glanced up at him, and he was looking the other way. I took a deep breath, getting ready.
"I think I love you!" we both shouted at the same time, and I flinched in surprise. We stared at each other for a long time in silence, both of us going into a mini shock.
"Well then. Glad we could settle this!" I said brightly, after a while. And then I pounced, crossing the room in one bound and attacking his mouth with mine.
I can't honestly say he was complaining.
FINALLY. The moment of truth! Thank you, thank you! -bows- No applause please, just throw money! :D Once again, REVIEWNESSPLZ. At least tell me how much my writing stinks. D: And personally, I think the whole story was going a bit fast. SO COMPLAIN, DANGIT. And also, just a few more chapters if no one gives me an idea. -hinthint-