Chapter 7: Getting To Know Each Other

Natalie's POV

Morning hit and I opened my eyes as I let out a huge yawn. Then I looked to my left to see Quasi standing beside me and he said,

"Good morning."

I smiled and said, "Good morning." In response.

I then sat up and asked, "Did Frollo come here this morning and did you ring the bells yet?"

He answered, "No, he's busy in the outskirts of the city and I don't ring the bells until later."

I responded, "Oh, okay."

Then he said, "I made something for you."

I asked a little surprised, "Oh, you did?"

He answered, "Yes. Come, it's on my workbench."

I said, "Alright." And I got out of the bed and Quasi led me to a table where the model of Paris rested.

Then he grabbed a figurine that looked just like me, and handed it to me. I looked at it and asked,

"Is this me?" he nodded in response.

It was so accurate and it made me have a pose where I had my arms out wide open as if I were about to hug someone. I was just so amazed at how talented Quasimodo was and how well he made this.

Amazed, I said, "Wow, this is amazing, when did you make this?"

He answered,

"I made it last night while you were asleep. I saw how much you liked the figurines, and I-I thought you would've liked it if, I made one of you."

I smiled in response and said, "Aw, that's really sweet. Thank you Quasimodo."

He smiled and said, "You're welcome."

As I set the figurine down, Quasi said,

"Even though I met you yesterday, I'd like to know more about you."

A little nervous, I asked, "Well, ok. What would you like to know?"

He asked, "How old are you?"

I answered, "I'm 15, but I'm about to be 16 in a few days."

He said "Ah." and he nodded in response.

Then he asked, "Is it hard in your home?"

I answered,

"Um, it's kind of hard right now because there's more responsibilities that I'm taking as a teenager. And kind of crazy too because I have to rush in and out for them."

He asked, "Is that why you came here? So you could get away from that stuff?"

I replied, "Well not really, how I came here, I still can't explain. All of it just happened." He nodded in response.

Then he said, "Natalie, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you since last night."

I asked, "Yeah sure, what is it?"

He asked, "Remember when Esmeralda asked you if you had depression?" I answered, "Yeah."

He then asked, "Do you really have it?"

When he asked me that, I just felt bad, because when people said I had it or I was on the brink of it, I never thought I had it. I answered,

"Well, some people said I had it or that I was on the brink of it. But like I've said yesterday, I never felt like I had it. I admit, I felt sad, but never really depressed."

He asked me, "And why is that?"

I didn't feel like going back into my past, so I just said,

"It's just things that went on when I became a teenager."

He asked, "Like what?"

I tried to back out of it by saying, "Um, nothing. Just forget I said anything."

But then he said, "It's not just nothing. Natalie, whatever it is you can tell me."

I knew I couldn't brush it off now, so I just took a deep breathe and said,

"It really started after I broke up with my ex-boyfriend."

He asked me, "You were in a relationship?"

I answered, "Yeah and It was dumbest mistake I've ever made."

He asked with concern, "Was he cruel to you?"

"No, he wasn't mean to me or anything, but he kept rushing me to do stuff that I wasn't ready to do, and to be fair, I wasn't even ready for a relationship then anyhow."

Then he asked, "Then why did you have a relationship anyways?"

I explained, "It was because I felt like he would've been the only one who'd ever actually love me and I didn't want to lose that."

I saw a sad look appear on Quasi's face and I said,

"I was sad when I did it, but the things that followed really took a toll on me."

Then he asked with concern, "What happened?"

I had to take a deep breathe to compose myself, then I went on to say,

"My Grandfather or Papa as I called him, passed away in a horrible accident, and my great grandmother passed away. Then my dog got sick, and longtime family friend died. My favorite teacher lost his job for the most stupid reason, and to top it all off, my other Grandfather got sick and I don't know if he'll ever get better and, I... I just can't bare to lose anybody else anymore, and I feel like I'm cursed!"

Then I turned away as my eyes began to fill with tears.

Then Quasi said, "So you've been in pain for a long time haven't you."

All I could do was nod in response as I caught a lump in my throat and couldn't say anything. Then all my emotions poured out as I covered my eyes with one hand as tears flowed down my face. I couldn't bare to have those thoughts in my head and all of them just came out and I couldn't stop no matter how hard I tried. As I still wept, I felt Quasi wrap his arms around me in a tight embrace.

Quasimodo's POV

As I listened to her, I began to realize that she's really had it rough for a long time. She had a bad relationship with someone, she lost some of the people that she loved, and she's still at risk of losing someone else. Then I said her as she looked away from me,

"So you've been in pain for a long time haven't you?"

She didn't say anything, all she did was nod in response. Then I saw her bring her hand to her eyes as tears fell down her face and she began to cry. It broke my heart even more to see her like this, her having to go through what she did and not being able to open up or let out her emotions, and finally they all came out. I knew there had to be more to this girl than I ever thought there was.

I knew I couldn't leave her in this kind of pain and I felt like she really needed a friend, so I got closer to her and I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. She buried her face into my shoulder and wrapped her arms around me tightly but not as hard.

I said to her, "I'm sorry you had to go through all of those things."

Then she said as she still had tears in her eyes,

"I just can't deal with this anymore, like I can't get over it. Th-They just come back and it hurts!"

I rubbed her back as I said,

"I have never dealt with loss before, but I know it's hard to deal with things like that, especially when they're really close to you."

Then she asked, "What am I going to do Quasi? I can't get over this, no matter how hard I try. O-on some days I'm good, and most of the time, I'm a mess." Then she cried into my shoulder.

Then I thought for a minute, and I finally said, "Let me show you something."

I grabbed the figurine of Natalie and showed it to her and said,

"There's something that I see in this figurine."

She sniffled and asked, "What?"

I answered, "I see a girl that has hit some rough patches in her life, that has had her own struggles in the past and still has them."

Then I looked at her and smiled as I asked her, "But do you know what else I see?" She shook her head in response.

I said, "I also see a girl that is kind, good, loving, and has a good heart and bright spirit."

I went on to say, "Natalie, everyone goes through struggles in their life, I know mine aren't ever going to get better, but your's will."

Then she asked, "But when, and what makes you think your's won't?"

I explained to her,

"It takes time to get past them and heal from your losses, but you will get through them. And people still think of me as hideous and as a monster and they always will."

She shook her head in response and said,

"No they won't. Quasimodo, there are many people out there who can see past looks, and there are some who can't. Quasimodo, you may not have it good on the outside, but in my eyes, you're beautiful, inside and out. And for the people that can't see that, then they're gonna have to deal with me because you're my friend, and I don't ever let my friends get treated like that."

I smiled in response and said, "Thanks Natalie."

She smiled and nodded in response and we hugged each other. Then I looked outside and up at the bells as Natalie looked at them. She seemed so interested in them, and I thought to myself for a second.

Then I asked her, "Would you like to ring one of bells?" She eagerly smiled and nodded in response.

Natalie's POV

I felt a lot better after letting out my true emotions and Quasi being there to help me through that. And I was able to tell him how beautiful he was, inside and out. After we hugged each other, Quasi looked outside, up at the bells, and then finally at me.

He asked, "Would you like to ring one of the bells?"

Excited at his offer, I smiled and nodded eagerly in response. Smiling back, he took my hand and led me to a ladder where we climbed up, and met the bells.

Then I asked him, "Just out of curiosity, how many bells are there?"

He answered, "About 10."

Amazed, I asked, "10 bells? How do you ring all of them?"

He said, "Oh, I don't ring all of them. Usually They're rung at different times."

I nodded and said, "Oh, okay."

He then said, "Well, go on, give it a try."

I walked up to one of the smaller bells, grabbed onto the rope, and I jumped up and pulled down on the rope to make it ring. Unfortunately, after the bell rang, the force of it yanked me up off the floor and made me fly up into the rafters.

Then Quasi shouted as he looked around for me,

"Natalie? Natalie? Where are you?"

I called to him, "I'm up here!" As I was left dangling from the beam.

Then he said, "Hold on, I'm coming for you."

And with that, he climbed up the rafters to help me down. As I looked down, I started to get nervous after remembering that I fell from here in the first place. Then I closed my eyes as I started to lose my grip. Before I could fall again, after a second, I felt myself getting caught by Quasimodo.

I looked at him as he smiled and said,

"I told you I wasn't going to let you fall." I giggled nervously in response.

Then I screamed in response as we dropped down to another beam and I laughed.

He looked at me and asked as he chuckled, "Are you okay?"

I said as I still laughed a little, "Yeah, It just scared me for a second! But it was fun though."

He smiled and said, "Hang on tight, okay?"

I said, "Alright." Then we swung down to 3 more beams as I remained excited.

Then he said, "Now, I hope you're ready for this one."

I said, "Oh trust me, I'm ready for anything."

He laughed lightly to himself and nodded in response as we sung to a rope and we swung down on it and hit the ground. Then after he set me down, I asked,

"How did you ever learn how to climb so good?"

He said, "Well, I've been up in the tower for so long, I had to do something to keep myself from being bored." I understood, so I just nodded in response.

Thinking about what he said about how his situations will never change and how he feels that nobody would ever love him, I asked him,

"You know you're loved right?"

Then he looked at me confused and asked, "What?"

I finally said, "It, it really hurts me that you don't feel like you are worth anything or that nobody loves you."

Then he said,

"But it's true Natalie, all of my life I have been treated like I was some sort of monster, and no one has ever treated kindly like you or Esmeralda have, and face it, nobody has or ever loved a face like mine."

I then said,

"No it's not, Quasi you're not a monster, and you were and are loved, even if you don't know it, you are. To me, I think that's why God put us on this Earth, so we can become one with each other and learn to love one another."

Then I took a deep breathe and I began to sing;

We all want to make a place in this world
We all want our voices to be heard
Everyone wants a chance to be someone
We all have dreams we need to dream
Sweeter than any star you can reach
'cause when you reach and find, you've found someone
You'll hold this world's most priceless thing
The greatest gift this life can bring
Is when you look back and know
You were loved

You were loved by someone
Touched by someone
Held by someone
Meant something to someone
Loved somebody
Touched somebody's heart
Along the way
You can look back and say (mm)
You were loved (yes you are, now)

Then I sang;

You can have diamonds in your hands
Have all the riches in the land
But, without love,
You don't really have a thing, no no no
When somebody cares that you're alive
When somebody trusts you with their life
That's when you'll know
That you have all you need
You'll hold this world's most priceless gift
The finest treasure that there is
You can look back and know
You were loved

Then I sang;

So many roads that you can take
Whatever way you go
Don't take that road alone
It's better you should know...

You are loved by someone
Touched by someone
Held by someone
Meant something to someone
Loved somebody
Touched somebody's heart
Along the way
You can look back and say
You were loved

So remember to tell that special one (Yes, mm)
You were, loved
You are loved
You're loved
You are loved...

After I finished, Quasi took my hands and said with a smile,

"You really have a beautiful voice and a compassionate heart."

I smiled at his kind words and said, "Do you really think so?"

He nodded and replied, "I do."

I blushed in response and said,

"Thank you Quasimodo, you know, you actually have a great voice too, especially when you're singing."

Then he blushed in response and asked, "O-oh, y-you actually heard me?"

I said, "Yeah, before the festival remember? And also a little bit last night, But I didn't hear too much of it because I fell asleep."

He then let out a deep breathe and said with a stammer,

"Oh, good. Uh, I mean, um, What I mean is, um-"

I smiled and brought my hand to his and said, "It's okay Quasi, I think you really have a great voice."

He smiled in response and said, "Thanks Natalie." I nodded in response.

Then he asked, "Would you like to go outside?"

I said, "Sure, why not."

Then we went out onto the balcony where the sky was really cloudy and gray.

I said as I looked at the sky, "It sure is cloudy, isn't it?"

Quasi replied, "Yeah."

Then we saw the same baby bird from yesterday fly over to us. He landed into Quasi's hands and warmly said,

"Hello, little one. You must've had a long journey, haven't you?"

Then he turned the baby bird to face me and I flinched as I backed away.

Then he asked me, "Are you okay?"

I said, "Yes, it's just that I have a fear of birds. Like, I'm okay from a distance, but if I'm too close, I start to get nervous."

I've been afraid of birds since I was 7 when a bird landed on my head, and I'm ok now, but if a bird gets too close to me, I get nervous.

Then he got closer to me and said, "It's alright, he won't hurt you."

Then he said, "Hold out your hands."

I nervously said, "Alright, if you say so."

I held them out and Quasi let the baby bird jump from his hands into mine. when he walked around in my hands, I gasped nervously.

Then I looked at Quasi and he said, "He's smiling at you."

I looked back the baby bird and he was.

Smiling back, I asked, "Hey little guy, do you like me?" The baby bird chirped happily in response.

Then I said with a smirk, "Well, I'll take that as a yes. And guess what, I like you too."

I laughed as the bird flapped his wings and chirped in my hands.

Then I said, "For a little bird, he sure still has a lot of energy in him."

Quasi replied, "Yeah. Would you like to release him?"

I said "Sure." Then he brought his hands under mine and guided me as I released the baby bird into the sky and he flew off.

Once the bird left, I said,

"Ah man, I should've known that overcoming my fear of birds would've been this easy."

Then Quasi explained,

"Well, there are many ways to overcome a fear, you just got to know which one is the right way." I nodded in response and we walked back inside.

Then we sat down on a wooden bench and that's when the gargoyles came hopping toward us.

Hugo asked, "Hey Quasi, how's your new friend doing?"

I was a little bit startled seeing them actually talking and moving in front of me, because I never knew whether they were real or they were just a part of Quasimodo's imagination.

I asked Quasi, "Do you also see them moving and talking?"

He answered, "Yes, but don't worry, they're very nice."

Then he got up and introduced them, "This is Victor, Hugo, and Laverne."

Then he said to them, introducing me, "Guys, this is Natalie."

Then Hugo said, "Oh, so this is the girl that we saw yesterday. So tell me something sweetheart, did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?"

I asked a little weirded out, "Um, what?"

Then Victor said taking my hand,

"Don't mind that hooligan! He doesn't know the first thing about welcoming a beautiful and quite radiant young lady."

Then Laverne butted in, saying, "Knock it off you two, give the girl a break, she just met us!"

I said, "I'm sorry, I just never knew that gargoyles could actually come to life."

Hugo said, "Ah, don't sweat it kid, no one does, except for Quasi."

Laverne chimed in, "Yeah, he's known us for many years."

Then I turned to Quasi and asked, "How long have you known them?"

He answered, "I've known them since I was 5."

I said, "Oh wow." In response.

He said, "They've been my only friends my entire life."

Then he looked down at the ground depressed. Then I placed my hand on his shoulder and said,

"Well you know what? You've got a new friend to add to your list."

He smiled in response and said,

"Thanks Natalie, I bet with that kind of goodness, you could make a million friends in the world."

I smiled in response and said,

"And I bet that you could make everyone smile with your kind heart." He smiled and gave me a side hug.

Then I saw the gargoyles hopping, twirling around, and falling. I laughed and asked Quasi,

"What are they doing?"

He answered, "They're dancing."

I then said, "I didn't know that gargoyles liked to dance."

He explained, "They usually dance when they're happy or when they want to have fun."

I said, "Ah." and I nodded in response.

Then he asked, "Can you dance?"

I said nervously with a blush,

"Well, I don't know, I mean, I haven't really danced since I was 12 and to be fair, I'm usually a dork when I dance."

He smiled and said,

"Aw, I don't believe that. If I could ring the bells of Notre Dame, climb on the building, and if you can sing, you can surely dance as well."

Then I said shrugging my shoulders, "Ok, if you say so."

Then he gave me a hand up and led me to some of the space in the bell tower as the sun shined down on us.

Then I heard someone playing the ukulele and I said to Quasi a little hesitant,

"I don't know if I can do this."

Then Quasi said as he smiled, "It's alright, just be yourself and let go."

I nodded and as I listened to the music, I started to get a beat as I felt my feet tapping on the ground. Then I felt myself moving my body to the music. Then I moved my hips and started to twirl. Then I just went crazy and danced with all I had.

Then I pulled Quasi to the center as I moonwalked and said,

"Come on, dance with me."

Then he asked, "A-are you sure?"

I said as I kept dancing, "Yeah, it's not as fun when I'm dancing by myself."

Then he smiled and said, "Alright."

And then he joined in and danced with me. He twirled me around and dipped me.

Then he lifted me up by the waist and swung me around as I laughed with joy. Once he set me down, I spun myself around and I saw Quasi jump as he clicked his heels together. Then me and him did some sort of do see do. Then we spun both of each other around until we both finally fell to the ground, laughing with joy.