A New Beginning
Chapter Three
9:00 am, next morning...
"Otto, it's time to wake up."
Octavius looked up to find Rosie standing over top of him. She has woken him up because she knew that he was to go to Osborn Industries this morning.
He sat up and said, a smirk on his face, "Well, that's exponentially better than having someone pounding on my door early in the morning."
Rosie smiled at him and said, "I figured you'd think that." She walked over to the window to open the curtains, but Octavius stopped her.
"Could you please leave them shut until I leave?"
Rosie was confused. She asked, "Why?"
Octavius looked over at her.
"My eyes are extremely light-sensitive. I'm lucifugous. That's why I carry around a pair of sunglasses with me. Without them on in the sunlight, I'm all but blind."
Rosie nodded and said, "Alright, I'll leave them shut then." She walked into the kitchen and said, "Is there anything you'd like? Something to eat, perhaps?"
Octavius shook his head.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks anyways..." He got himself ready for the day and walked over to Rosie.
"Well, thanks for letting me stay here last night."
Rosie said, "Think nothing of it. You know..." here she looked at him with a coy grin, "...you can't stay at the motel forever, you know. If you wish, you could stay here until you get your own place."
Octavius said, "N-No, I couldn't possibly-"
Rosie cut him off. "Yes you can. I wouldn't mind. It's not like I have anyone to talk to and, quite frankly, I enjoy your company."
Octavius thought for a moment before saying, "Well, if it's really alright with you..."
Rosie smiled and said, "O.K, great! It'll be a nice change to have someone to talk to."
Octavius looked at his watch and said, "Well, I've got to go now. I'll have to go back to the motel to pick up my belongings after I get out at 6, then I'll be back." He headed towards the door, but turned back and said one last thing, "I really appreciate this, Rosie. Thanks." He then walked from the building, and Curt was already there with the horse cart.
"Hey, Otto!" Curt said as he saw Octavius leave the building. "How'd it go last night?"
Octavius got in beside Curt and said, in mock annoyance, "If you must know, I lost my nerve and blacked out, then came to on her couch. We got along fine from there, and now she's offering me a place to stay until I can find my own."
Curt whistled at that as he got the cart going. "Dang, you've known her less than a day, and already on the fast track to-"
Octavius whacked him in the back of the head. "No, we're not dating. She's a friend."
Curt said, in an impish voice, "Yeah, that's what everyone says, then next thing you know you're at the altar..."
Octavius cut him off.
"HahahahahaSHUTUP. It's not going to end that way."
Curt said, "If you say so..."
--
Octavius stepped from the cart 10 minutes later, after they had reached Osborn Industries. He looked back at Curt and walked towards the building. They had agreed that Curt would meet him here at 6 to pick him up.
He walked through the front door of the imposing facade he had entered yesterday, this time, heading for a different part of the building. Osborn's office had been on the top floor; the laboratory was actually one story underground, as the work there was secret.
After descending the 3 flights of stairs, Octavius got his first good look at the lab.
Wow... this has got my lab back home beat hands down...
"Well, Dr. Octavius," came a voice from behind. "You're here early."
Octavius looked back to see Osborn standing behind him.
"Yes... I wanted to see what I would be dealing with here..."
Osborn nodded and said, "Just what you're used to dealing with, I suppose... so... is there any questions?"
Octavius shook his head. He still didn't know what it was about Osborn, but Octavius just wanted him to go away.
Osborn said, "Well, I'll allow you to set up and get your bearings for a while, then I'll give you a project to work on."
With that, he left the room.
Octavius took a few minutes to look around the lab. It was a lot better equipped than the ones he was used to.
He was in the middle of setting up his area when he looked behind himself and saw a kid, looked about 18...
"Aren't you Peter Parker?" Octavius asked.
Parker looked at Octavius and said, "Yeah. I'm not really a messenger boy, you know. Actually, I'm kind of an apprentice here."
Octavius raised an eyebrow at this. "You take an interest in science?"
Parker nodded. "Of course! That's my favorite subject!! I've followed your work, you know."
Octavius was actually impressed at this.
Parker said, "Well, I've got to go see Mr. Osborn. I'll talk to you later." With that, he walked towards the door.
Octavius watched him leave, then looked around the lab once more. Having finished setting up his area, he decided to take a walk around the lab.
Slipping back into the room unnoticed, Osborn stood behind the somewhat bewildered Octavius. "Is everything to your liking?" he asked once he was sure Otto hadn't noticed him.
Octavius jumped slightly at that, turned around and glared at Osborn. "Don't DO that!!" he shouted.
"Do what?" Osborn asked, a forced innocent expression flashing across his face.
Octavius glared harder and took a step forward. "Don't play stupid with me!! You snuck up on me!! Don't do that!!"
"Oh? My most... humblest apologies, Doctor! I had not meant to startle you," a wry smile crossed Osborn's lips as he spewed out lies. "Now, you did not answer my precious question! Is everything about your workplace to your liking? Or is there anything you require? I will be sure to have the boy fetch anything for you."
No wonder I don't like this man... Octavius thought. He's nothing but a second-rate moron who thinks he's God.
"Yes, everything's fine." he replied. "At the moment, there is nothing I need..."
Except for you to get the hell out of my face...
"Good. Then I hope you enjoy working with us Doctor! ... You will surely be a ... valued asset to my company." And with that statement, Osborn left the room.
Octavius watched as Osborn left the room, then leaned against the table, shaking his head.
God, what did I get myself into? This man can't be on the level...
--
6:30 pm...
Octavius got back to Rosie's apartment a few minutes later than expected.
Not that it mattered to Rosie, who was sitting on her couch, reading a book.
Octavius put his suitcase in one of the table chairs and sat down beside her.
"Hi, Otto." She said cheerfully. "How was your day?"
Octavius looked over at the window, in which the curtains were open. There was no need for them to be open; it was winter. The sun had gone down an hour ago...
He looked over at the book Rosie was reading.
"What are you reading?" He asked her.
"Shakespeare," she responded back. "Have you ever read poetry, Otto?"
At this, Octavius shook his head.
"Not really... actually, not at all."
Rosie looked up at him.
"You've never read poetry? My God, you're missing out." she said with a sad smile.
Octavius shrugged. "I... honestly was never the poetic type."
Rosie sighed and said, "Well, to each their own, I suppose..."
They were silent for a moment more before Rosie put down the book and said, "Well, I'm going to make dinner. Is there anything in particular you'd like?"
Octavius shook his head.
"No, I think anything you make is fine..."
Rosie nodded once and walked into the kitchen.
Octavius sat there for a moment before looking over at Rosie's book on Shakespeare.
This is probably going to be a mistake, he thought, but what harm could it do?
He reached over and grabbed the book. Opening it up, he turned to the page Rosie had left off on. He read for about a minute before realizing he had no idea what Shakespeare was talking about.
Rosie walked back in the room to find Octavius holding the book, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
She was about to say something, when Octavius closed the book and said, "O.K, I have absolutely no idea what he was talking about here. This mind was not meant for poetry!!"
Rosie couldn't help but laugh at this.
"Alright, Otto, let me explain it..."
Octavius growled at this, prompting Rosie to start laughing again.
"Come on, Otto, I'll explain it."
"Rosie, come on..." he started, but Rosie would hear none of it.
The two sat for close to an hour, her explaining, him reluctantly listening. When she was done, she said, "So... what do you think?"
Octavius sat there for a moment before saying, "Poetry... it's harder than advanced science."
Rosie laughed outright at this and said, "If you say so..."
The two sat silent for a moment, before Rosie said, "So, tell me about your life before you came to America. What was your childhood like?"
Octavius looked down at the floor. He was not comfortable talking about his childhood, and Rosie sensed his reluctance.
"You didn't have a very good childhood, did you, Otto?"
He didn't look up at her as he shook his head no. Flashes of his past came back to him, and he shook his head to clear the images that haunted him.
Rosie said, "Otto, what's wrong?"
No response.
She was about to say something, but he spoke first.
"Well, it was my father more than anything... my mother was supportive of everything I did, but my father... he was the complete opposite. He... he tore me down at every opportunity. Sometimes with words... and sometimes..." he broke off, unable to go on, but Rosie understood.
"I'm sorry... no one should have to go through that."
Octavius did not respond, so Rosie continued, "Is there any other part of your life you feel like talking about? I know so little about you..."
They talked for a while as he explained to her just what his life had been like. How he gained his Ph.D in record time, how he was among the first people to witness the power of radiation at work, and after about a half hour, he had nothing left to say.
Rosie just nodded and said, "Well, it would appear that you've led quite an interesting life."
Octavius just shrugged and said, "I guess you could say that..."
Rosie was silent for a moment, then she put her hand to his face, turning his head as she looked into his eyes.
"You know, you have a strange ability for being able to charm someone without even realizing it."
Octavius looked away with a half-grin on his face. "Oh, is that so?"
Rosie nodded. "Yes. Without question."
Their faces were only inches apart, the space between them seemed charged with energy. Seemingly without realizing it, Rosie closed that distance, pressing her lips against his. He flinched, pulling back, then looked at her. Then, his hand, which had been on her shoulder only a second ago, slipped behind her head as he pulled her closer, kissing her back. It seemed like the entire world had stopped in that moment, and they were the only people on the planet that truly mattered.
Suddenly, Octavius pulled away and looked at Rosie, a somewhat confused look on his face. Without warning, he jumped off the couch and ran into the room that was to be his own, shutting and locking the door. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, trying to figure out what just happened.
Rosie, like Otto, was trying to figure out what had just happened. She had acted rashly, out of impulse more than anything. The trigger to her impulse was that he had told her about himself, something she knew he had never talked about with anyone before. The moment had been so... intimate. She had felt that she should share something special with him as well, but he had denied it in a sense.
Octavius sat there a moment more, than walked over to the door, hesitating a second before quietly opening the door and standing in the doorway. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to look at her...
She heard him open the door, and she couldn't bear to look at him either. He isn't ready for a relationship, she thought, trying to justify his actions. "Otto?" she questioned his presence. "I'm sorry. I was a bit too forward. I'm normally not like that... I just... lost control for a moment. Please forgive me?"
Octavius didn't respond for a moment before walking over to the couch and taking a seat beside her. "Of course... I... I just panicked... I'm not used to that kind of... affection..." he said, sounding somewhat embarrassed. "As I said yesterday... I'm not experienced with women..."
Rosie was silent for a moment, before looking at him and said, "I understand completely. I didn't mean for that to happen at all."
The two were silent before Octavius said, "Well, I'm going to take a walk around the city... I just need to clear my head."
Rosie nodded and said, "O.K. I'll see you when you come back."
Octavius did not respond as he grabbed his black trenchcoat from off the back of the chair. Putting it on, he left the apartment, walking into the cold night air. He looked up at the moon.
Good night for a walk, he thought to himself. Let's just hope I don't get lost in this city...
-To Be Continued...