It's 2:20. I still can't sleep. Here's another chapter.
Kiren- Anytime! ;) Thanks for reviewing!
enjoy! -ReadLikeYouMeanIt
I've looked around my room about ten times now. Nothing. I can't find it anywhere. Then I remember something. The camera. I look in my drawer, and the camera is still there. I almost start crying in relief. At least I have something now.
I've spent about an hour looking for his present, so I'm late for breakfast. I decide to have Paige bring me some coffee and a croissant. I'm not a fan of black coffee. I'm one of those people who has to load it up with a bunch of sugar and crap. But when I do that, I love it. I know that kind of defeats the purpose of coffee, but I don't care. It tastes good to me.
It's now time for me to go down to lunch. I take the camera with me, and I head downstairs. Lunch is pretty uneventful. We have grilled-chicken Caesar salads with penne pasta mixed in. I love it so much. It tastes like heaven. I remember eating this with some of my friends in my early teenage years. In the middle of lunch, Dad announces that there' seen a development in the Chris situation.
"According to one of our spies, Christopher is losing supporters fast. Just this week, he's lost one-thousand supporters." Dad announces. "We'll see how this develops later."
Well, that's good news I guess.
I go up to Nat after lunch.
"Hi, birthday boy." I say to him.
He smiles. "Hi Nosey."
"Okay, so I had something to give you—"
"You don't have to give me anything." He interrupts.
"Shut up and let me explain." I say.
He smiles even wider. "Okay, continue."
"So, I had something for you, but after the rebel attack, it was gone."
His jaw drops slightly. Even he can't contain the shock.
"However," I hold up a finger. "I had taken a picture of it before it was stolen. I'm going to get it developed today."
"April, you don't have to do that." He says.
"Too bad." I say. "I just wanted to let you know that it's coming, it'll just be a little late."
He sighs. "Okay."
I sigh dramatically/sarcastically. "Oh what a burden. To receive a birthday present!" I say.
He laughs. "You are very persistent! You know that, right?"
"Of course! I get it from my parents!" I say.
I finish up developing the picture and put it in a decorative box to give to Nat. I find him on the roof. I go up to him, tap on his shoulder, and hand the gift to him.
"You didn't have to do this." He reminds me.
"We've been over this before. Just open it." I say.
He gives me a look, then finally opens it up. He looks at the picture for a while, then finally says, "April, I love it so much."
I smile. The picture was of a painting of him in the gardens. I had stolen Dad's camera one day and got a candid shot of him walking around. He's wearing a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt. I painted myself in the picture too. I'm taking the picture of him.
He looks up from the picture after a few moments and embraces me. I hug him back, and we just stay like that for a while. He finally loosens his embrace and stares at me for a while. I stare back too. After a while, we lean in until our lips meet. I can't help but think that to is just so right. He makes me feel so warm inside and out. After a while, I finally realize what I have done and I pull away slowly. He looks just as confused as I feel. We both realize the mistake we've just made. I wish that I could enjoy this moment, but I can't. What have I just done?
"Uh," I say intelligently.
"Um," he says, concerned.
"I-I..." I try to talk, but words won't come out. It's just unintelligent blabber-mouth talk.
"I'm so sorry," He finally says. "This was all my fault."
"Nat, I—"
"No, no, this has gone on for too long. This is my fault, and I will take full credit for it." He turns and starts to leave.
"What do you mean, take full credit?" I call after him.
He pauses, and turns back to face me. "I need to leave the palace."