Chapter 6:
"So… I heard you've already seen some parts of the palace." Peyton started. The silence between them was pretty awkward since they were walking beside each other.
"Yeah. Just a little. It was pretty early then so no one was actually in any of the rooms."
"So you usually wake up really early?"
"Not today." He laughed as Peyton tried to laugh along.
"I'm sorry if I'm rude. I just…" She hesitated to continue, "I don't get it." Then she smiled innocently which made Nathan giddier."
"It's OK. I don't even know why I laughed… I do that sometimes, and then people look at me like I'm a retard." He said.
Peyton laughed and said, "Well… Now that I see, you're kind of a retard." She walked along as Nathan paused. Peyton noticed she was walking alone so she looked back at Nathan who looked a bit frozen. Peyton laughed so loud as she said, "Hey. That was a joke. Would I call someone like you a retard?" She walked towards him and took his hand although it felt awkward. "Come on now. Don't worry. I do it too."
Nathan stared at Peyton not uttering a word. Peyton suddenly felt worried. She moved closer to him and held his other hand. "I am sorry. Oh god, please don't get mad. I was only joking. Are you angry?" She asked with so much worry.
After a few seconds, Nathan burst into laughter. "Fooled you!" He said.
Peyton was so shocked. "That's not fair! You had me so worried." She even hit Nathan in the stomach as a joke and they laughed it off. "Come on now. You're wasting time with these jokes. You haven't changed a bit Nathan Donne." She said walking forward.
Nathan picked up his pace to catch up with Peyton. "You still remember my old gags?"
Peyton smiled and said, "How could I forget the time you replaced all my charcoal pencils with that wood you carved and painted in black. No wonder you got shipped of to training so soon. You're so crafty." She joked.
"Hey. You having those charcoal pencils should say something." Nathan said as he stopped in front of Peyton and faced her.
"What does that say?" Peyton asked as she folded her arms.
"It says Miss Peyton Raleigh," He said as he put his hand on her shoulders and gently faced her towards the door to his right. "That you are crafty yourself. Isn't this room your favorite?"
Peyton saw that Nathan faced her to the Art Room. She smiled warmly at the room then back at Nathan who stood behind her. "I can't believe you'd remember." Nathan's heart flipped at Peyton's smile. Unfortunately, Peyton felt the tension and walked inside the room to create some distance.
Nathan entered too and sat down at one of the painting seats. "Do you remember the time when you were sitting here and I was over there?" He pointed towards another seat in the center. "And I was posing so you could draw my face?"
Peyton couldn't help but smile because that was 13 years ago and he still remembered. "Yeah. I wasn't so good at drawing before, but it did look like you right?"
"Of course." Nathan said laughing. He paused and thought if he should continue. "Well…" He thought about it and said it anyway. "That drawing's still with me." He said nervously. He even looked down after saying it.
Peyton was surprised that he did. She turned around to be able to smile big and said, "You look embarrassed. Was it that bad?"
"No." Nathan immediately answered. "I just…thought you'd find it sort of lame."
"Actually," Peyton said walking towards Nathan and sitting beside him. "I find it really sweet."
Nathan smiled at her and so did she. They had a moment there but they heard two people fighting, so they went to see who they were. "Who is that?" Nathan said.
"I have a strong feeling." Peyton said laughing at the possibility. "Come with me." Peyton said grabbing Nathan's hand. They walked briskly towards the balcony at the end of the hallway outside the room. They looked down.
"Is that?" Nathan found the faces familiar then started to laugh with Peyton. "The twins are still fighting over that cat?" These fraternal twins were as old as Nathan and Peyton and they've been known to fight over who gets to play with their cat 'Milky'. They always said that they had this schedule but it seems to mess up every time. One time they fought in the mud just to determine who'd keep Milky. That time they were having a tug of war.
"Yeah." Peyton said laughing. "Some things here never change." Then Peyton remembered something and her eyes widened. She gasped and Nathan suddenly looked at Peyton.
"What is it?"
"I just remembered something. Follow me." Then they both ran across the halls, downstairs, outside then into the house of Carl. Carl was this old fellow who always took Nathan and Peyton to mini adventures.
Nathan saw the house and remembered. "Oh…That's right! Carl!" Then they knocked on the door feeling so excited.
Carl opened the door and felt so happy to see both of them. "Oh! Oh! This is marvelous! My two favorite people in the world. Why…You two have grown so much you look like a couple."
Peyton and Nathan's expressions were so funny when they looked at each other. Then they awkwardly laughed it off.
"Come in, please. I have hot cocoa here." Carl said.
"Thanks Carl. It's good to see you." Nathan said as they entered. They spent about an hour sharing stories and hot cocoa there. Then the two had to leave to see more of the palace.
There were tons of awkward silences between the two every time they'd stay too close to each other or say something 'too sweet'. Also, they shared so many laughs as they explored palace.
AN: Sorry if it's short. I can only think of so many Pathan situations. Hahaha. More to come so please keep reviewing! Read the next chapter cause it's Leyton. Shocks! I can't decide… Well I think I can, but sorry to others if it won't please you.