Disclaimer: Apart from Mrs. Brooks and the un-named teasers, I don't own anything in this story!
A/n: Well, long time no see! Make that VERY long time no see! I'm sure most of you had pretty much lost hope of this story ever being updated (let alone completed). After all, it's been close to three years since the last update! To be perfectly honest, I never expected to update this story, either. I lost interest in CATCF, and then various personal issues (nothing too awful, don't worry!) and other things kept coming up. However, recently something unforeseen happened: I became inspired to read some CATCF romance fanfics (I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for romance!), some of which hadn't been updated for a year or more. When I saw that, I came to regret leaving this story un-updated for so long. I realized that I wanted to continue it and, hopefully, complete it. I hope to see this story through to completetion this time around, but I know better than to make any guarentees! With that said, picking up where you left off almost three years ago is very hard to do, so I apologize in advance if this chapter seems a little different than the previous ones. The story may end up taking a slightly different direction than I orginally intended, but I assure you that, other than that, the basic plot will remain unchanged, and I'll do my best to make this and future chapters blend in with the others! If any of you have actually stuck with me and very patiently waited for updates these almost three years (I don't blame you one little bit if you didn't!), I recommend that you go back and re-read the prologue and first five chapters to refresh your memories before reading this one. Also, to anyone who has stuck with me all this time, I cannot tell you how immensly thankfull I am! Oh, and just so no one gets confused (no pun intended!), this chapter will be focusing on Ronnie and her feelings (yes, it IS slightly different than what the preview last chapter suggested, as Willy does not make an appearence this chapter). Willy will re-appear next chapter! And as always, please review! Flames, of course, will simply be thrown in the Chocolate River! Well, enough with this extremely long author's note! Onto my Valentine's Day gift to you, the extremely long over-due 6th chapter of Confusion!
Chapter 6: Feelings and Flashbacks
Ronnie, meanwhile, was dealing with some confusing feelings of her own. "How could I possibly tell Willy I work for Slugworth?" she thought as she left the factory. After all, if she HAD told him that she worked for Slugworth, it would probably convince him that she was a spy trying to steal his secret recipes! Even so, she could have kicked herself for running out on him and the Buckets like that! She sighed in exasperation. "I wish I'd never taken that stupid job in the first place!" she suddenly blurted out. Then she realized just what she'd said and clapped her hand over her mouth. She quickly glanced around, and was relieved to see that there didn't appear to be anyone within hearing distance.
Soon after her little outburst, Ronnie reached her apartment, which, ironically, was above Willy Wonka's original candy shop. As she unlocked the door and stepped inside, Ronnie was surprised to discover that, for once, she wasn't happy to be home. Usually she was thrilled to get home, since it usually meant the end of another long day at Slugworth's. Tonight, however, she felt, well, she wasn't sure how she felt. Sighing, she went into the living room, set her purse on the coffee table, and sat on the couch.
"What a day!" Ronnie said aloud. Actually, she had to admit, that was quite an understatement! Naturally, Ronnie had expected the day to be eventful. After all, it's not every day that one gets to visit a chocolate factory, let alone the biggest, most famous chocolate factory in the entire world! She had expected to enjoy the tour, and to be surprised and amazed by some of the things in the factory (just like practically everyone else, she knew from reading and watching the news that there was some incredible stuff in it).
Ronnie had not, however, expected to end up feeling so strange. At dinner, being seated next to Willy had an odd effect on her body. Her heart had started tap-dancing in her chest, and her stomach had decided to do gymnastics. Needless to say, she ended up not having much of an appetite! Then there was the whole incident with being asked about her job and running out of the factory. "Willy must think I'm an idiot!" Ronnie thought. As she continued to ponder the events of the evening, Ronnie suddenly remembered something…
It was Monday morning, and the school week had just begun. Eight-year-old Ronnie sat at her desk, listening as the teacher, Mrs. Brooks, took attendance. "Veronica Wells?" she called. "Here!" Ronnie answered. So far, all the students in Ronnie's class were present. However, then Mrs. Brooks called out the next name: "Willy Wonka?" This time, there was no answering, "Here!" or "Present!"
Since Willy had one of the best attendance records in the class, Ronnie was a little worried. She hoped that nothing had happened to him or his father! Although the other kids thought Willy was strange, there was something about him that Ronnie liked. In fact, she and Willy were alike in several ways.
Both were only children who were being raised by single parents (although Ronnie's situation was the reverse of Willy's: While Willy lived with his father and no mother, Ronnie lived with her mother and no father), and both loved candy. Well, what Willy actually loved was the idea of it, since his father never let him have any (which Ronnie felt awful about. She couldn't understand how Dr. Wonka could deny his son candy.).
Suddenly, a boy burst into the classroom, interrupting Ronnie's thoughts. It was Willy Wonka, and judging from the way he was gasping for breath, it sounded like he had been running. Then Ronnie noticed something that made her eyes nearly pop out of her head. Willy was wearing some sort of metal contraption on his head. It consisted of thick wires that encircled his head, eventually entering his mouth. When he opened his mouth, she saw something else: braces.
She assumed the metal contraception was a type of headgear. It looked more like a medieval torture device to her, though! Her mouth hurt just looking at it!
"I'm sorry for being late, Mrs. Brooks. My dad just put these braces on me last night, and he had to make some adjustments to them this morning," Willy apologized. "I understand, Willy. I'm still going to have to mark you tardy, though," Mrs. Brooks said gently. Several of Ronnie and Willy's classmates snickered at this. Willy blushed. "Sorry, Mrs. Brooks," he said again. Then he walked to his desk, looking sad and ashamed. Ronnie felt bad for him. Even the most punctual person can be late sometimes.
Unfortunately, things didn't get much better at recess. "Hey, look, it's an alien!" a boy said, pointing at Willy. "Hey, metal-face, do you get any radio stations with that thing?" another boy teased. "I know, we should call him jaws from now on!" a girl said. "Good one!" said one of the boys. The other teasers started laughing and calling out even more insults. Ronnie could see tears in Willy's eyes and she felt horrible for him.
She knew what it was like to be teased, as the kids often teased her as well. Mostly they called her "baby" for being so shy. She was also sensitive and cried easily, which unfortunately, had earned her the nickname of "crybaby". The fact that the kids were now teasing Willy as well made her blood boil. She wished, for about the ten millionth time, that she wasn't so darn shy…
Ronnie shook herself. This was no time to be having flashbacks! It was getting late, and she had to go to work the next morning! That thought made her groan. Other than the fact that it meant she got to work with candy, she hated her job at Slugworth's. The actual work wasn't so bad, but Slugworth, well, frankly he made Ronnie want to vomit. Even though Willy no longer employed human workers and thus sending in spies was next to impossible, Slugworth still tried to figure out ways to steal his secret recipes.
In addition, saying that Slugworth wasn't the nicest boss was an understatement. He rarely let his workers take days off, holidays included. Whenever Ronnie or one of her co-workers messed up, Slugworth would give them a harsh lecture (which was actually usually more yelling than lecture).
As if that weren't enough, Ronnie and her co-workers were only allowed two breaks a day (one for lunch and another as just a regular break). Other than that, they were expected to remain at their stations at all times. Needless to say, Ronnie monitored her fluid intake very carefully while she was at work! She wished she could quit her job, but that wasn't an option because she needed the money (which was why she had taken the job in the first place. She had thought she would like it since it involved her dream job, working with candy. What a mistake!). At any rate, she'd need to find a new job first, and she had no idea where to begin looking (a logical choice would have been a job at the candy shop she lived above, but, unfortunately, they weren't hiring at the moment).
Groaning, Ronnie headed into her bedroom to get ready for bed. She put on her nightgown, which was purple. "Just like Willy's eyes!" she thought. It was also soft and warm. "Just like Willy's hand when he was stroking my hair!" Not to mention how warm and soft he'd felt when she had fallen on him in the elevator… "Stop that!" she scolded herself. She shook herself and headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she reached for the tube of toothpaste, an inspiration suddenly hit her. "Wouldn't it be great if there was chocolate toothpaste? I wonder if Willy has ever considered the idea?" she wondered aloud.
The moment she finished brushing her teeth, Ronnie ran back into her bedroom and wrote down the idea for chocolate toothpaste on the notepad she kept on her bedside table. She would definitely have to mention the idea to Willy. "If he ever actually wants to see me again, that is," she thought as she climbed into bed.
Chapter 7 preview: Valentine's Day is approaching. Will Charlie convince Willy to invite Ronnie to the factory for the holiday? And is it because he wants Willy to finish giving Ronnie the factory tour...or does Charlie have other motives in mind?!