Being in love is never easy!
By: Sailorjj07
5. The Effects
A/n: I haven't updated in like...forever! I'm so sorry! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Oh and THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING TOO!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
Ages:
Yai, Maylu, and Natalie: 12
Lan, Chaud, and Tory: 13
Sunlight filtered in through the window, and birds chirped as the sun rose behind them. Natalie rolled away from the offending light and opened her eyes slowly, only to find Tory's peaceful and calm face in front of her own. He had an arm around her, which she hadn't noticed until then.
'He looks so cute like that! I hope he doesn't wake up for a while. I wanna watch him longer.'
"Nat, why are you looking at me like that?" Tory opened one eye slowly, making Natalie giggle quietly. He had a sleepy expression on his face, and Natalie laughed again.
"I was just watching you sleep."
"Do you do that all the time?"
"I've never been around while you were sleeping, Tory."
"Are you going to start doing that all the time?"
"Probably." Natalie smiled, and rolled over, so that she was facing the baby's crib. She sat up and looked down at Anastasia, only to find her still asleep. Natalie lay back down against the bed and turned to face Tory again. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Not exactly."
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...its 6:30, Natalie." Nadalia said, stretching. She walked up to the computer screen and grinned at the sleepy faces that met her.
"Its 6:30! Ah! I won't have enough time to be ready!" Natalie got out of Tory's bed quickly and began to dig through her bag. She grabbed several items then ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind.
"It takes her that long to get ready?" Tory said, opening his other eye. He sat up and looked at Nadalia for an answer.
"No, but she likes to make sure she looks alright. Natalie sometimes has a problem with how she looks. So she tries to put in a bunch of different hair styles to see which looks the best on her."
"But everything looks good on her."
"That's what I said. But you also have to add the fact that Dex told her she was the ugliest thing he had ever seen in his life. If someone I loved said that to me, I'd probably feel pretty ugly."
'Dex has no idea how bad he scarred Natalie. She never deserved the treatment he gave her.'
"Oh, did you notice that your Dad came in and got Iceman?"
"He did? When?"
"At exactly 5 o'clock this morning. He was still sleeping when your Dad took him."
"Well you'll see him when school is out, Lia."
"I know, but...I miss him already!" Nadalia cried, dramatically. Tory grinned and picked up Anastasia. He took her diaper bag and began to change her. He heard the shower turn on and smiled to himself.
30 Minutes Later
"NATALIE! ANASTASIA IS CRYING!" Nadalia appeared on the TV of Tory's living room. Tory was in the shower and Natalie had been downstairs with Tory's Mom helping her make breakfast.
"I'll be there in a second, okay!" Natalie untied her apron and ran up the stairs, throwing Tory's door open. She walked to the crib and picked up Anastasia, rocking her.
"Is she okay?" Tory asked, peeking his head out of the bathroom door. Natalie blushed a bright red and turned the opposite direction, continuing to rock the baby. 'I never knew Tory had a body! Oh my...'
"Yeah, she just panicked because she didn't see anyone." Natalie told him, rocking the baby still. She hoped that Tory didn't see the blush on her face; that would be embarrassing. But he really didn't have to tempt her like he did, hanging out of the doorway like he was.
"Oh, okay. Just checking." Tory turned and closed the bathroom door behind him.
"Whew...That was close."
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! I saw the look on your face! You were looking at him, weren't you! I'm telling!" Nadalia cried an amused look on her face.
"If you tell on me, I tell on you.'I MISS ICEMAN!' I heard you, Nadalia." Natalie smirked at her navi and went downstairs, with her "daughter" in her arms.
10 Minutes Later
"Mrs. Froid that was the best food I've had, next to my mom's." Natalie said, smiling at Tory's mom. She smiled back and took Natalie's plate for her.
"Thank you. That's a wonderful compliment coming from my son's pretend wife." Tory's mom giggled, winking at her son. A light blush crossed Tory's cheeks and he looked down at his breakfast, shoving food into his mouth so he didn't have to answer anything. Natalie watched him and laughed, knowing his mom was going out of her way to embarrass Tory. It was all in love though, she could tell.
"So when do you two have to be at school?"
"By 8, ma'am." Natalie answered, trying to be polite as possible.
"Would you like me to take you?" Mrs. Froid asked Natalie. Natalie opened her mouth to answer, but Tory answered instead.
"No thank you, Mom." Tory said, getting a weird look from Natalie. He smiled at her, making her wonder what he was up to.
"You sure honey?"
"Yup." Tory stood up and grabbed Natalie's hand, "Come on, we have to get ready to go. We still have to walk."
"O-okay." Natalie let herself be pulled into Tory's room and then got her backpack off the floor. Tory got his own backpack and then got Anastasia's diaper bag.
"You ready to go?"
"Yeah, just let me get Nadalia." Natalie got Nadalia's PET and strapped it to her hip. "Now we can go."
At School
"So what happened with you and Tory last night?" Yai whispered, sitting down next to Natalie. Maylu nodded and turned her chair around, pulling it up to Natalie's desk. Natalie blushed slightly, but shook her head.
"Nothing. I watched him sleep this morning. And..."
"And?" Maylu and Yai asked together, leaning in closer to Natalie.
"And Tory leaned out of the doorway in the middle of his shower to see if the baby was okay."
"Wow...So...What'd you see?" Yai asked, grinning.
"I only saw his chest, but let me tell you, it was a wonderful sight!" Natalie said, with a large grin on her face.
"I bet it was. I always knew Tory was hiding something from us." Maylu replied, laughing. Yai nodded and bounced Akira on her knee, then watched as he reached for Anastasia's hand.
"Awwww! They like each other!" Yai cried, smiling.
"Hey, keep your son away from my daughter." Tory gently took Anastasia out of Natalie's arms, smiling at her. He tossed her up, making her giggle and Tory laughed at her little smile.
"I can't help it. He's just so adorable! Right Chaud?" Yai turned to see her boyfriend walking over towards her. Lan walked behind him and went over to Maylu to get Sakura out of her arms. He smiled at the little pink hair baby and tapped her nose.
"Right, Yai." Chaud had no clue what he was saying right to, but if it made Yai happy it didn't matter.
"See? Even Chaud thinks Akira's cute." Yai grinned at her boyfriend then turned back to Natalie. "So what are you and Tory doing tonight?"
"Nothing. That I know of. Why? What's going on?"
"Oh nothing. Chaud and I were trying to figure out what to do after school today and we couldn't come up with anything. So we were wondering...Do you guys wanna hang out?"
"Lan and I can!" Maylu cried, smiling widely. Yai grinned back at her and looked at Natalie, "Well?"
"Ummmmm...I can't..." Natalie answered, a weird expression crossing her face. 'Today's the anniversary...and I totally forgot...I have to go visit.'
"Does that mean you can't either, Tory?"
"I might..." Tory glanced at Natalie, out of the corner of his eye. He watched as her eyes became misty and immediately began to worry. Natalie had been fine this morning, why would she be upset all of the sudden?
"Okay. Well, if either of you change your mind, just let me know." Yai walked back to her seat with Tory, smiling at Natalie. She had caught onto the misty look as well and wondered what was going on. 'I know they didn't have a fight. She was just happy a minute ago!'
An Hour Later
"Natalie! Natalie, I believe I asked you a question." Ms. Mari (and the rest of the class) stared at Natalie. She had been staring out the window since class had begun and Ms. Mari watched as she wiped her cheeks and turned to face the board.
"Yes, Ms. Mari?" Natalie bit down on her bottom lip, knowing she hadn't been paying attention in class. They entire class watched as she wiped her cheek again with the back of her hand and faked a smile. "I'm sorry; I'm a little out of it."
"I can tell. I asked you if it is possible for a deleted virus to return."
"Yes, it is. The deleted data can join with other data and create another virus." Natalie answered, grinning at the end of her answer. She knew she had gotten the question right.
"That is correct. Now viruses can always return like that way and there are also other instances..." Natalie tuned Ms. Mari out and stared out the window again. 'I can't believe he's been gone for only two months. It feels like it's been two years since I last saw him. As much as I hate to admit it, I still love him. Even though he tried to kill me, I would've forgiven him...I know I would have. But Tory...Tory is so different from him. He's shy and quiet and sweet and I like him a lot. Maybe it's better if I don't go see the grave today. Maybe it'd be better if I forgot all about him. Although, I know I can't. That's what I hate the most. I know I can't forget all about Dex, because I loved him for such a long time. I was always happy to see him smile and see him laugh. But I was always sad too. Sad that he ignored me. Sad when he called me ugly. I was always sad when I saw him with Maylu and Yai. I was always sad when I worked for him. And my heart broke when he held that gun to my head. Dex, why'd you have to be so stupid! You could've still been alive. You could've still had me to love you. But you threw your life away just like you threw me away. I hope...its better this way. I hope you're happy in the dead place you live. I hope you have someone there to love you. 'Natalie watched as it began to rain outside, reflecting how she felt. The rain splashed against the window and left a wet trail. Natalie could have sworn it was falling down her face as she continued to stare out the window.
'What's wrong with Nat? I've never seen her look so sad...I hope it's nothing I did...' Tory watched as Natalie wiped her cheeks again, and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face the front of the classroom and sighed. 'Something's wrong and I'm going to find out what it is.'
At Lunch
"You're free to go to lunch class! But you have to eat inside today, since it's raining!" Ms. Mari yelled out the door. The rest of the class was almost half way down the hall when Natalie walked out with Anastasia in her arms. Tory walked beside her, glancing at her every now and again.
"What's with Nat?" Yai whispered to Maylu, who glanced at Natalie and then back at Yai.
"I have no idea. She was crying in class."
"Yeah, I saw."
"Do you think it has something to do with Tory?"
"Probably..."
"I bet it does."
"Me too."
"Well let's cheer her up! And Tory too. Look at his face. He's worried about her."
"Yeah, he is. Let's cheer them both up!" Yai and Maylu grinned at each other then made their way to Natalie and Tory. "Hey you two! I'm gonna have a movie party at Chaud's house! You two should come!"
"I don't know-." Natalie started, but Maylu shook her head, cutting her off.
"You're going to come whither you want to or not. I refuse to go to a movie night if you two don't come along and I really want to see the movie that Yai is showing us. It's a New Release!"
"Natalie, let's go. It'll be fun." Tory told her, smiling gently at her. Natalie nodded and smiled softly back.
"Fine, I'll go, but only if you promise to hold Anastasia while I eat."
"I promise."
"Then we can go." Natalie smile wider and walked into the cafeteria.
At the End of School
"Everyone ready?" Yai asked, leading the entire group to the limo. They had called their parents on Yai's cell phone during lunch and had gotten permission to stay until 9.
"Let's go!" Natalie cried, grinning at Yai. She had gotten a lot happier during the day, mostly because Tory had been flirting with her. He had told Yai that he liked watching her blush. He only told because Yai threatened him, but that was beside the point.
"Okay." Yai opened the door and let everyone into the limo. When she finally climbed in, she smiled at her friends. They all held babies between themselves and everyone was tickling and grinning and just being...happy. Yai loved it.
At Chaud's House
"I've wanted to see this movie! I never got to see it!" Natalie plopped down on the couch happily, eager to watch the movie. Tory sat down next to her with Anastasia in his arms, sleeping. He watched as Chaud and Lan pushed the table out of the way and laid a blanket down. They place Sakura and Akira down on the blanket, who were both sleeping. Tory put Anastasia down as well, and watched as she snuggled into the blanket that she was laid on.
"Well they're comfortable." Yai commented quietly, watching the babies sleep soundly.
"Yup."
"That's just less work for us." Lan added, sitting down on another couch with Maylu. She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled at him. He smiled back and kissed her forehead gently.
"Oh yeah! Tory, here. Your Dad brought this over earlier." Yai handed Tory his PET and watched as he stared down at his PET.
"Iceman? Is that you?"
"Yep! Dad made some pretty cool improvements, huh?" Tory nodded slowly as he stared down at his navi. Iceman was as tall as Glyde now, but he had the same clothes on as before. His face didn't look as young as it had been, but you could tell it was Iceman. The air around him seemed a lot colder, as if he could control the temperature of the air.
"Wow, your dad really made some changes. Hi Iceman!" Natalie leaned over Tory and smiled at the improved navi. Iceman waved and then looked at Tory.
"Do I look alright?"
"Since when did you care how you looked?" Tory asked, amused.
"Well I don't...but I don't know what Lia will say..."
"I'm sure it won't bother her too much." Natalie said, logging Nadalia into the TV. She had made a fuss about wanting to watch the movie as well. Roll hugged Nadalia as soon as she saw her.
In the Net
"Hi Nadalia!" Roll cried, making everyone laugh at her. Megaman waved at her, as did Glyde. Protoman just nodded in response.
"Hi Roll!"
"Did you hear what happened to Iceman?" Roll whispered, walking with Nadalia to the screen.
"No. What happened?"
"I'll let him tell." Nadalia felt someone tap on her shoulder and turned around. Nadalia blinked, "Iceman?"
"That was my name last time I checked."
"Iceman! I missed you today!" Nadalia threw herself into Iceman's arms, nearly knocking him over.
"Lia, I missed you too."
"Hey! You're taller than me now! Wow! Cool!" Nadalia took a step back and admired Iceman's physical changes, then took a step back, "The air around you...It's colder. How much did he improve?"
"Well my physical appearance for one and he also improved my fighting capabilities. And some other stuff too...But I don't remember everything he said." Iceman chuckled to himself and Nadalia just grinned.
"Well it's cool whatever he did!" Nadalia sat down next to Roll, who waved at Iceman. She winked at Nadalia, and then turned to face the screen.
In the Real World
"Wow, your dad wasn't kidding when he said he was going to make improvements on Iceman, was he? I think they're neat! Maybe we should have a practice battle to test them out." Natalie said, grinning. Tory nodded at her and turned to the big projector screen as the movie started. Chaud dimmed the lights (don't ask why) and then he sat down next Yai.
"I heard this movie was really romantic." Maylu commented as the previews began. Yai nodded and so did Natalie.
"Yeah, that's what I heard too." Natalie added, smiling to herself. Tory turned to her and placed a finger on her lips.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhh...the movie is starting."
Natalie nodded and thanked the heavens that the lights were out. She really didn't want Tory to the blush across her face.
"Exactly how long is this movie?" Lan asked, whispering softly.
"Three hours." Maylu replied, her eyes fixed on the screen.
"THREE HOURS! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS MOVIE ABOUT!"
"LAN! SHUT UP!" Maylu hit him in the back of the head and glared at him in the dark. Lan muttered an apology and rubbed his head, a pout crossing his face.
"You didn't have to hit me."
"SHHHHHHHHH!"
"Fine." Lan pouted even more and watched the movie. Maylu kissed his cheek to make him feel better, and then went back to watching the movie.
'The last time I watched a movie with someone it was with Dex. I remember it perfectly. He got up in the middle of the movie because he said he couldn't stand being in the same room with me for an hour and forty-five minutes. A freaking hour and forty-five freaking minutes! Why was I so hung over him in the first place? He was a jerk, but I missed him. I still kinda do...' Natalie glanced at Tory out of the corner of her eye and leaned her head against his shoulder. 'But Tory's making me barely miss him. He's helping me to recover from all the pain and problems that Dex put me through. I really should thank him for it, but if I do that, then he'll know that I like him. Then again, him knowing isn't exactly a bad thing...Oh, I don't know!'
"Nat, you okay?" Tory whispered into her ear, making her shiver. Natalie nodded, and turned back to watch the movie. She decided to stop thinking because it made her head hurt and because it was making her sad.
Three Hours Later
"I told you it would be a good movie!" Yai cried, grinning at Chaud. He sighed, but nodded anyway. "This means you lost the bet, Chaud."
"It's not like I wouldn't mind losing, Yai." Chaud replied, making a blush cross Yai's face.
"I never said you wouldn't."
"That's something you two should keep to yourselves." Natalie commented, smiling mischievously at the couple. Tory nodded and burst into laughter as Yai blush brighter.
"Whatever!" Yai turned and faced the opposite direction of the two and logged Glyde out of the screen.
"Hey Natalie! Can we go home now! It's already six and we have homework!" Nadalia said, giving Natalie a stern look. "Mom told me to make sure you weren't slacking off and that's what I'm going to do."
"And Mom said the same thing for you, Maylu." Roll added, smiling at Maylu. Maylu nodded and logged Roll out of the screen. "We better head home then."
"Oh, we can take you! To the limo, everyone!" Yai excitedly gave the baby to Chaud and walked to the intercom against the wall. "We need a limo in the front, pronto."
"It's amazing how all your people take orders from Yai and she's the daughter of the rivaling company." Maylu told everyone, watching as Yai nodded at the intercom. Someone had answered her and she had an accomplished smile on her face.
"My dad almost died when I told him whose daughter she was. Then I told him that she was my girlfriend too. I thought he was going to kill over." Chaud stated a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, that was really amusing." Yai nodded in agreement, and then led everyone down stairs to the front of the house.
After Dinner (At Tory's House)
"Tory, you and Natalie need to be in bed by ten!" Mrs. Froid yelled up the stairs. She wiped the pot in her hand and waited to her an answer.
"Okay!" Natalie and Tory said together, smiling at each other.
"Night you two!"
"Night!" They spoke together again, and Nadalia laughed.
"You two are so weird." Nadalia looked between the two and watched as Natalie giggled. Nadalia shook her head and turned to Iceman. "Did it hurt?"
"Did what hurt?"
"Did it hurt to get those improvements added?"
"No. Why would they hurt?"
"Well...Because, when I got them-...I mean nothing..." Nadalia replied, not looking at Iceman. She looked down at the ground and suddenly felt bad. 'I said too much. No one is supposed to know.'
Iceman took a step closer to Nadalia, causing her to look up at him, "That didn't sound like nothing to me. What were you saying?"
"Nothing."
"Lia..."
"When I got some improvements added, they hurt. I remember it like it was yesterday. All they were doing was improving my battling capability...At least that's what they said they were doing. I was just wondering if it hurt you, like it hurt me."
"It's not supposed to hurt you. You aren't even supposed to feel anything when they do it." Iceman hugged Nadalia with a sad expression on her face. He knew the World Three was evil, but to make a navi go through pain when all their doing is improving them? That was just wrong.
"Iceman, I'm okay. It was just a question, right?" Nadalia faked a smile and then sat down. "I think I'm going to sleep." Nadalia lay down on the ground and closed her eyes, turning the other way so Iceman didn't see her face. 'I wonder if I'll get in trouble when Nat finds out I said something.'
At 12:00 Midnight
"NO! STOP! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Natalie shot up, gasping for breath. She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, trying to calm down the fast beating of her heart.
"Nat...What's the matter?" Tory asked, tightening his grip around her waist. He pulled her closer to him, and rubbed his cheek against her hair. Natalie tried to calm down and wiped the tears that were streaming down her face.
"It...It was just a nightmare, Tory. That's all. Just a nightmare." Even when he was half-awake Tory was so sweet to her. Natalie took another deep breath and released it slowly.
"Is that...Did Dex do that to you?"
Natalie drew in her breath sharply, then released it slowly again, "Tory...It's okay...You can go back to sleep."
"You didn't answer my question." Tory said, quietly.
"Tory..."
"Did Dex do that to you?" Tory tugged on Natalie's sleeping bag, making her turn over and face him. He looked at the fear and pain in her dark violet eyes and knew he had hit the nail on the head.
"Dex and the World Three. After Maddy and the others left...Dr. Wily went...crazy. He was determined to make us stronger and we had to endure so many things..." Natalie whispered, staring into Tory's eyes. She felt like he could see everything she was thinking and she closed them tightly, trying to stop the tears that were trying to come through.
"Natalie, I'm so sorry." Tory hugged her to him and stroked her hair gently. Natalie's bottom lip began to tremble and then the tears began.
"Tory, it was so terrible...So terrible..."
"Nat, you didn't deserve anything they did to you."
"But Dex...he said..."
"He lied to you. Just like how he said you were ugly, he lied."
"But I am ugly..."
"Natalie, you are the most beautiful person I've met in my entire life. Inside and out. You are not ugly. You're so beautiful."
"Tory..."
Tory shook his head and held Natalie tighter, "It's okay, Nat...It's okay..." Natalie nodded and just let herself cry, releasing all of her past in tears.
End Chapter 5