Being In Love Is Never Easy
By: Sailorjj07
7. A Note and A Church?
A/n: Wow, sorry. Life is MURDERING ME, you guys. I barely have time to SLEEP nowadays. With school just starting and now I'm in Yearbook AND it's my senior year, AND I'm tryna get a new job...It's crazy. Anywho, THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
"So you AND Nat stayed at home ALONE?! OH MY GOSH, TORY!! That's serious!" Yai was rejoicing on the inside. Not only was Tory opening up to her and losing his shy nature slowly, but he was ACTUALLY making progress with Natalie. They probably had the most romantic day: skipping school and being together. It gave Yai ideas for the next time she didn't feel like going to school.
"Shhhh!! Yai, not so loud! I only told you because...I think...I need your advice."
"Oh really? You want MY advice! Tory, that's one of the best things I've ever heard! I'm more than glad to help you!" Yai cried, posing dramatically, and laughing behind her hand, in a show of complete and total conceitedness.
"No wonder you're head is so big, Yai..." Chaud said, coming up and placing his hand on top of Yai's head. He smirked at the girl below him, who smiled nervously back.
"H-hi Chaud."
"Yai, are you being bad again? What have I told you about trying to turn everyone's lives into a soap opera?"
"I know but-!"
Chaud shook his head and tugged on Yai's arm, while speaking to Tory, "Look, just tell Natalie how you feel about her. Geez, you guys are pitiful. First Lan and now you. It isn't that hard, you know." With a sigh, Chaud gave Tory one final nod, and walked away, dragging Yai along with him. He muttered something about, "Overdramatic Girls" which cause Yai to walk on her own, and away from him.
"I have to tell her..." Tory told himself, thinking about how exactly he would do that. He did live with her, so it shouldn't be that hard, but he was shy. And nervous. And down right scared. What if she rejected him? Tory didn't want to be turned down and rejected.
"I have to tell her."
Elsewhere
It was Natalie's turn to go out and buy groceries. Since Tory was staying in her house again, she had to buy extra. Tory had some kind of training with his dad and Lan, but Natalie didn't mind. It was her time to spend with their (artificial) baby. Anastasia gooed and gaaed all the way to the store, winning the hearts of many mothers and girls on the way to the store. The trip was uneventful, but Natalie had felt an odd presence as she was leaving the store.
"Anastasia? Hey little one." Natalie smiled and played with the baby in the stroller who was giggling and smiling at her. The two walked towards Natalie's house, when she saw a beautiful out of place building that she had never seen before. It was a church, a huge church, that looked about two or three stories high. It was light blue with silver and gold outlines on the doors and stained glass windows.
"Was this here before? I don't remember this being here on the way to the store, did you?" Natalie asked, holding up her PET to show Nadalia the building.
"Wow...It looks brand new, Natalie. But no, I don't remember us walking by it either."
"That's odd..." Natalie shrugged and placed her PET back on her hip, "I guess I was so worried about memorizing the shopping list that I didn't see it."
"Probably. It's really pretty though!"
"Yeah, it is. But come on, Mom needs some of this stuff to start dinner." Natalie told Nadalia, who promptly agreed with her, while Natalie rushed on. She didn't want to be late with her mom's dinner. She'd probably kill her and then bring her back to life.
With Tory
"Mom, I'm home!" Tory called out, into the house, walking through the front door. As he headed towards the stairs, Natalie's mother greeted him.
"I'm so glad you're actually calling me by that name like I asked you too! Such a good, respectable boy." Natalie's mother grinned at hearing a boy call her mother. She had always wanted a son and a daughter, but since all she had was Natalie, Tory was the next best thing to a son. She was going to treat him like one and he would treat her like a second mom. It was only fair.
"Thanks...Mom." Tory had felt odd when he had first came back and she had demanded the name change, but now that he had started he just couldn't stop. Natalie's mom was overjoyed though, and so he was happy. Plus, Natalie didn't seem to mind all too much either, which really mattered in the end. Tory sighed and dropped his backpack in Natalie's computer chair, like she had told him to do, then plopped down on his sleeping bag. As the air was forced out of the bag, something else was too: a small slip of paper. Tory looked down and read the whole note, staring at it with slight curiosity. He read it over and over so many times that Iceman finally asked why Tory was being so quiet.
"There was a note...In my sleeping bag, Iceman."
"Well, what's it say?"
"It says, 'You can't have my sloppy seconds'. What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sloppy seconds? Like food? You ate someone's second sloppy joe, Tory?"
"No! Iceman, I've never taken anyone else's food, what are you talking about?"
"That's what it sounds like to me."
Tory sighed, and laid down on sleeping bag, holding the note up higher, rereading it a few more times, "Sloppy seconds? What exactly does that mean?"
"How the heck should I know?"
"Let's think about it..."
"Ok, start thinking."
"Alright...Hmmmm, let's see...Sloppy seconds...I know I didn't take anyone's food, so they aren't talking about food...Hmmm, did I take someone's 2nd page of notes and they wrote in sloppy handwriting?" Tory thought for a second and glanced at Iceman. They both shook their heads at the same time.
"Nah," Iceman answered, placing a finger on his chin in thought.
"Hmmmm, then what else could it be?"
"Tory!!" Tory jumped as he heard his name called from the kitchen downstairs. It was Natalie's mom, he guessed. "Can you come here? Natalie needs your help with something!"
Tory sighed and slid the small note into his pocket, with a shrug,"Ahh well, we can figure it out later."
"Ok."
Tory nodded as Iceman sat there inside the computer, still thinking about the note. What WERE sloppy seconds?
At Dinner
"Whoa! Curry? Cool!" Tory didn't know they were going to have curry, and know that he knew, he wasn't worried about the note anymore. Tory liked curry a lot.
"I see you're a curry lover too? That's Natalie's favorite food."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it is," Natalie added, sitting down as her mother put a plate of food in front of her spot at the dinner table. She placed a plate in front of Tory and then sat down in front of her own.
"So, how was your day, you too?"
"It was good, Mom." Tory answered, bowing his head over his food before digging in.
Natalie followed suit and answered after she had swallowed her first bite, "Same for me."
"Good. Anything interesting happen today?"
Tory shook his head, deciding that the note wasn't something to talk about with Natalie's Mom. He even debated wither or not to tell Natalie, since it might worry her. He took another bite, slowly, contemplating on what he was going to do.
"Well, I came across this church on my way to the store today."
"A church? Since when was there a church over here?" Natalie's mother asked, eating her food as well.
"I don't know, Momma. That's why I thought it was really odd."
"Hmmmm, that's odd. I don't remember there ever being a church in this area...What'd it look like?"
"It was light blue...with stained glass windows and everything. It looked about two or three stories tall...I've never seen anything like it before."
"Well isn't that just an unusual thing? I don't even recall anyone building anything in this area."
"Me neither..."
"Oh well! No use worrying about something that's already there, right?"
"Right!" Both females glanced at Tory and waited for his agreement, but he was thinking off on his own. When Tory realized it was quiet, he looked up, wondering why both women were staring at him. Suddenly, it clicked and Tory blushed slightly, embarrassed by his lack of attention,"Ummm, right."
Natalie and her mom laughed at Tory's blush, but went back to eating and chatting, since they didn't get to often.
At Bedtime
The moon was shining brightly through Natalie's dark room as she climbed into her bed, with Tory laying in the sleeping bag beside her. She yawned, and then turned to face Tory, who's eyes were closed.
"Tory..."
"Hmm?"
Natalie jumped, since she hadn't expected Tory to answer her.
"What is it?"
"What were you thinking about at dinner today? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, Nat. I'm fine."
"Well you were in lots of thought and so, I was just wondering..."
Tory sighed and reached out for Natalie. He turned her and pulled her back against him, releasing another sleepy sigh. Tory was the type to do extremely bold stuff when they are sleepy, and so grabbing Natalie was just one of those things.
"I got a note today."
Natalie laid still, with Tory's arms around her and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to sleep yet; this note business was making her curious.
"A note? About what?"
"I have no clue..."
"What'd it say?"
"Something about sloppy seconds."
"Sloppy seconds? You mean like when a girl goes out with another girl's ex-boyfriend?"
"I don't know."
"Hmmm, sloppy seconds...I think that's what the letter means. Have you taken another person's ex?"
"No..." 'Unless you count YOU...Then yes, I have...' Tory sat in thought for a second and then his heart nearly stopped beating in his chest. It WAS Natalie! It had to be! But the only person she had gone out with was...'Oh no...But I thought he had-? Then it can't be! But Natalie's the only person that I want...So it HAS to be.'
"Well then, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be put in your sleeping bag." Natalie said with another yawn. She slowly drifted off to sleep as Tory held her, sighing at the warmth she felt from him. This was heaven.
"But who else would it go to? Did you take someone's ex, Nat?"
"Of course not! At least I don't think so..." Natalie blinked slowly, 'Did Tory ever have an ex? Has he even gone out with anyone before? Maybe he had and I just never knew about it...Am I taking him from someone else? Is HE a sloppy second?'
Natalie thought about it for a little while longer.
'Nah! Of course he doesn't...'
"Natalie?"
Natalie blinked again, and looked at Tory's face, wondering what he was saying,"Huh? What?"
"I asked you if you were involved with someone's ex?"
"Ummmm, no, not that I know of."
"Not that you know of?"
"I mean, I dunno if that person had an ex or not."
"Ohhhh. Well then maybe it's to you?"
"I doubt it. It was in YOUR sleeping bag. If it was to me, it'd probably be on my bed." Natalie knew she wasn't making all that much sense, but that was ok. She was sleepy and not making sense was a trait of that sleepiness. She needed to go to bed, ASAP.
"Nat?"
"Huh?"
"What if-..." Tory started to ask, but found himself unnerved. He couldn't do it...Not yet...not right now. He couldn't ask her about Dex; he didn't want to hurt her.
"What ifff?"
"Nothing. Night Natalie."
Natalie sighed, and laid her head on her pillow, telling herself to ask Tory about it later. "Night Tory." Natalie was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the soft, squishy pillow underneath her and Tory rolled to his side, to watch her sleep. He tried to think about if the note was truly directed to him. He didn't think it was possible for Dex to have written the note, he was dead after all. The dead can't write notes to the living, and Dex wouldn't have prewritten it either. Tory hadn't even met Natalie when she had been in love with him, so that threw that path out of the window too.
"Then what is going on?" Tory asked himself quietly, the silence and Natalie's snoring his only answer. Tory sighed again and laid down on his pillow, closing his eyes. With Natalie in his sight of vision, he couldn't think straight, and that wasn't going to help him in the situation. What was he supposed to do?
"Tor...go to sleep."
Tory jumped when Natalie's voice cut across the silence that had been filling the room. His eyes flew open and he looked at her, but Nat's eyes were still closed and she was still hugged up on her pillow. Tory laughed nervously at himself, and then closed his eyes, wondering how in the world Natalie managed to say something like that in her sleep.
"Nat, you're so amazing..." Tory whispered quietly, turning over and trying to relax again. He decided to worry about it in the morning.
The Next Morning at 7:00 A.M.
"Bye Mom!!" Tory and Natalie yelled together, walking out of Natalie's front door. Natalie was humming lightly and Tory just listened to her, while they strolled down the street. Their morning had been off to a wonderful start and neither was all that willing to mess it up.
"Hey Nat?"
"Yeah?"
"Didn't you say there was a church on that street yesterday? Don't you think you could see it from here?"
Natalie's head turned as soon as that church was mentioned, and her humming stopped immediately. Sure enough, from this point you WOULD be able to see the church. That is...if it had been there.
"What in the world?" Natalie stated, staring in the direction she had gone just the day before. She held onto the stroller tighter, and shook her head, wondering what was happening.
"Natalie...?"
"Tory, that church was there yesterday. I promise you." Natalie glanced at Tory and looked to see the look on his face. He looked thoughtful and contemplative, but not once did she see doubt run across his face. Tory believed her...that was good. 'Whew...'
"She's right, Tory! I remember her asking me about it." Nadalia added, jumping to Natalie's aid, even though it wasn't needed. Tory believed her completely.
"It's not that I don't believe you two...But I just don't see how it could just...up and vanish like that."
"I don't know how either!" Natalie resisted the urge to pout; she should've taken a picture of it! Natalie's grip on the stroller's handle tightened, and Tory watched as her knuckles turned almost white with her grip. He reached up, and placed a hand over here's, a soft smile crossing his face.
"Don't worry, Natalie. We'll figure it out." Tory told her, hoping that he would relax her grip somewhat. Her hand would be hurting later, if she didn't.
"Tory, you're right." Natalie answered, as determination flew across her eyes, in what looked like a spark. "We WILL figure this out..."
'Because this isn't normal...' Nadalia glanced up at the look on the two OP's faces, keeping her thoughts to herself. She would help too...Even if that meant hacking for it.
End Chapter 7