Hey now. Gonna try my hardest to make this chapter pretty long.
Disclaimer: I do not own the book even if I wish I did.
Get ready for awkwardness! And then…maybe forgiveness.
Wait…one question: did anyone get the feeling when reading the book that Gretel's mother had a 'slight' obsession with Kotler? Hmm anyone?
XX
"What do you want?" Bruno asked, as Gretel entered her younger brother's room. It was raining heavily with no intension of stopping within the next couple of hours.
"That's a nice welcome." Gretel snorted as she sat down on the edge of the younger boy's bed.
Despite the lights in his room being dim and the water pounded on the large window, Bruno lay on his bed with a book pressed against his nose.
"I'm reading." Bruno stated as if it were the simplest thing to notice in the world. I swear he is so ignorant, Gretel thought harshly.
"What are you reading." She tried to ask sweetly despite the bored tone that had taken a toll in her voice. Bruno turned from his book to stare at his sister suspiciously. If it were any other day she would have just stayed bored in her room.
But, for some reason her Father had decided it was a nice day to talk to Kotler just at the bottom of the stairs. She could hear them as if they were just a couple feet away and that bothered her. She was still extremely embarrassed and annoyed of what had happened yesterday and every time his voice was heard a blush would form across her face.
If the steam had only been a little less thick…
"Gretel will you just go bother someone else and leave?" Bruno asked in a tone that Gretel thought quite rudely.
"But, I have nothing to do" she started trying to chose her words wisely and not seem annoyed "I hate the rain."
Her brother just nodded in agreement. Though, he was not paying much attention to the girl that sat of the edge of his bed.
After a few moments of silence Bruno let out a long sigh and set his book down. Looking out the window with longing he sighed again, this time longer and louder.
"I hate the rain too. I hope Shmuel hasn't thought that I have forgotten of him."
"Who?"
"What's that?" Bruno asked blinking in surprise at his overly confused sister. She was for sure he said someone's name that she had not heard of before.
"I never said anyone's name." Bruno lied quickly, cutting off the now angry girl before she could repeat her question.
"Bruno!" she hissed in a threatening voice while scooting closer to where he sat.
"He's…my imaginary friend…" Bruno said slowly weighing his words carefully and watching his sister's reaction.
Gretel let out a loud snort of disbelief.
"Bruno you couldn't possibly have a-" Gretel started but instantly stopped when the sight of her mother stepped into the room.
"Bruno, Gretel dinner is ready." Their mother said softly before turning around and heading down the stairs with a dreamy look on her face.
Both Bruno and Gretel's gazes followed after her mother. Both of them were just as clueless of her dreamy look as the other.
"Well come on then we wouldn't want Father waiting now would we?" she said still dazed as she slipped off his bed and headed out of the room.
XX
Gretel would have been thankful for dinner as it was something to take her mind off of him.
And it would have worked out quite nicely if he wasn't sitting right across from her.
Sighing softly and looking at her plate, Gretel began to push the vegetables around her plate despite the warning glances from her mother.
She could feel his stare on her and it made her…uncomfortable. He's so handsome, Gretel thought before her eyes widened.
No, no he isn't. Trying to ignore him was proving to be hard.
A slight cough sounded from the head of the table. Looking up she saw her Father look around the table at everyone.
"I have a very important matter to speak of." Everyone trained their eyes upon the man in his neatly pressed uniform and he sat up straighter. His eyes moved around the table before lingering on Gretel and then settling on Lieutenant Kotler.
"I have noticed just recently how close you, Mr. Kotler, and my daughter, Gretel, have gotten."
Even at the table froze and stopped what they were doing. Bruno raised an eyebrow and looked somewhat disgusted. Her mother stared at her daughter and then at her husband waiting for him to say what he was thinking. Both Gretel and Lieutenant had paled considerably. And Father just looked stared at them both.
"I want to know if you two are having an affair. And if so Mr. Kotler I must know you're intensions with my daughter."
Gretel's mother gasped and Bruno looked fully disgusted. Kotler looked horrified. And Gretel…Gretel looked from Mr. Kotler to her father in an 'are-you-serious' look.
Everyone was surprised when Gretel let out a snort of amusement.
"Having an affair? Having an affair? Father, where would you get such an idea? Why would I ever be close to such a senseless man? Let alone be in an affair with him?" Lieutenant shifted uncomfortably in his chair but her Father just raised an eyebrow.
"Well if you'll excuse me, I seemed to have…lost my appetite." And without bidding them farewell she pushed out of her chair and headed out the front door.
XX
(Kotler)
Everyone at their table turned towards the young man, each having a different expression.
Bruno looked smug. The Herr Commandant's wife looked in distress. And the Commandant himself…he looked oddly blank.
A moment passed and the young Lieutenant squirmed uncomfortably in his chair.
An annoyed sigh escaped the lips of the Commandant and everyone looked up at him. He pulled a hand through his rarely hatless head before setting a fixedly stare at the young man.
"Well…?" he asked before motioning with one hand to the empty chair Gretel had once occupied.
What? The Lieutenant stared dumbly and confused at the empty chair before looking up and meeting the gaze of the Commandant. Finally realizing the meaning of the indication he nodded shortly and stood up.
"Thank you Herr Commandant…" he says softly before glancing once more at the dinner-set table and heading out the door and into the rain.
XX
(Gretel)
Gretel soon realized how stupid it was to have of stepped outside and into the pouring rain but there was no way-no way- she was going back inside to further embarrasses herself.
Of course her Father just had to ask about their relationship at her high point of hating him.
Before, when she was absolutely smitten with him she would have loved to hear to devoted reply of his undying love for her. Like that would have ever happened, Gretel thought angrily as she trudged through yet another mud puddle.
The rain seemed to come down even harder as she got further and further away from the house and deeper and deeper in the woods. The trees have set as a nice protection to the rain and wind but it didn't seem to matter how wet she got. She was mad.
She didn't know why but she just was.
Stupid Kotler and his harsh ways. Stupid Kotler being perverted weather he had meant it or not. Stupid Kotler making her Father ask questions resulting in her stomping off into the rain. There goes another dress, Gretel thought sadly as the last of her white dresses got more and more soaked.
She was so mad she hadn't even realized that the dress had started to become see-through and cling to her body wetly. She didn't notice how if someone were to see her now they could see every curve, every nook and cranny of her body.
And what she failed the most to notice was the almost near silent thudding of footsteps as they got nearer and nearer.
XX
(Kotler)
Pushing his feet to go faster he jogged after the retreating form of the girl.
She shouldn't be out in the rain, Kotler began as a million thoughts ran through his head. What had the Commandant meant by 'getting close'? If anything they were definitely not getting close; he had a bruise and a still throbbing eardrum to prove that.
The rain came down harder as he finally pushed himself into the forest and under the protection of the trees. His once ugly, pressed gray uniform had been actually somewhat of a sight. But, now it was nothing of the sort.
He probably looked like a madman. Chasing after a girl in the rain. Soaking wet with a horribly ugly gray uniform clinging wetly to his body and trying to grasp onto his hat as the wind battled to pull it away, he probably looked ridiculous.
His once shining shoes sunk again into a mud puddle as mud splashed up and splattered across his body and even landing on his face.
Too concentrated on chasing after Gretel he wasn't even aware of the mud blotches upon his face. Of yes, he most definitely looked like a madman now.
Finally, he was only about fourteen feet away from her. Stopping his paced jogging he began power walking until he was right behind her.
He had expected her to finally notice him and to start walking faster, yelling at him along the way.
What he wasn't expecting was for her to finally notice him and stop dead in her tracks.
Being right behind her and still walking quite fast the young man crashed into her just as she turned her body.
The impact of the crash sent Gretel falling backwards with a very surprised Lieutenant falling with her.
It was all in slow motion as the fell to the ground. Closing his eyes tightly he pushed out his arms praying he would squash her as he fell.
SPLASH!
Their body fell to the ground landing unfortunately into a puddle of mud. Mud all around them shot up and rained down onto them like confetti. While the Lieutenant had gotten the worse of the raining mud it was nothing compared to the amount of mud Gretel had fallen into.
Kotler's eyes widen as he realized what had happened. He had crashed into her and then fell onto her. Worst part they had fallen into a puddle.
His body trapped Gretel under him as both hands had landed on either side of her head and one of his legs straddled her while the other rested on her thigh.
After calming himself the young man looked into the very annoyed face of Gretel's and a dark chuckle escaped his mouth. "I can't seem to do anything right, now can I?" he asked to no one in particular not realizing the mistake in his chuckle and words.
"This is not funny!" Gretel screeched freeing her hands. She angrily hit, slapped, and punched at whatever part of him she could reach.
Frozen by her sudden outburst Lieutenant just stayed perfectly still as if in fear.
Finally, slowing the movement of her hands Gretel took in a deep breath of air and tried to calm herself. But, when she looked up into the young man's face a round of laughter escaped her lips.
He looked absolutely ridiculous! His blonde hair hung out of his hat, which severely crooked on his head. His gray uniform clung to his body and mud was sprayed upon his face.
The young man's eyes widened even further as the young girl beneath him began to laugh so hard tears began to stream down her face.
And that's when he finally noticed the state they were both in.
He, he knew, looked absurd. But Gretel…he couldn't help but stare.
Her once white dress was clearly soaked through. He could see the outline of her curves and the flatness of her stomach. He could see-
A gasp from Gretel stopped him from his ogling long enough for him to regain his sense of thought and look up at her questioningly.
"You're knee" she said breathlessly from the round of laughter and the new slight pain in her thigh.
Looking down to where his knee was he realized why she had gasped. At some point without noticing he must have started to apply pressure until it was at the point of pain. Slowly lifting his knee he placed it on the other side of her hip, now fully straddling her.
"Sorry." He whispered as he looked back to her face.
He didn't seem to mind the fact that the position they were in was very intimate or that if anyone where to walk by they would have clearly mistaken the sight and though that they were about to do something very inappropriately in the mud of the forest floor. No, he definitely did not care.
For his mind was somewhere else as he leaned in closer, so close that their bodies where flush together. And as he leaned in closer so did his face as it got closer and closer to move so the space between them was almost nonexistent.
XX
(Gretel)
The girl's body was pressed deeply into the mud. It squished into every part of her body exposed to it.
But, that didn't matter. She could barely breathe, let alone think as his body became flush against hers and his face lowered to hers.
99.99% of her brain was screaming in her to lean closer to him and kiss him senseless. That left only about 0.01% of her brain to be the smart part as his lips lowered.
And thankfully the smaller, but smarter part of her brain won.
Gretel quickly turned her face to the side successfully stopping him in his movements.
Pulling back quickly, the young man looked into Gretel's confused.
If she had allowed him to see her eyes he might have seen the want in them. But she quickly covered up the want as she stared at the fence to her left. It seemed to go on forever. As she continued to look at the fence and a couple of stray raindrops escaped the trees here and there fell onto her turned face a question formed in the back of her head.
"What did you mean?" Gretel asked finally. Kurt still confused and somewhat embarrassed for his rash actions, pushed himself off of her body and stood. Thinking for a moment of what she meant he also pulled her up until they were both standing upright and covered in mud.
"What?" He asked Gretel confused. Gretel's eyebrow's knit together and her arms wrapped around her body as a gust of wind passed by them.
"A couple days ago you said that the boy was no boy. What did you mean by it?"
Kotler, surprised by her words, turned back to her.
"I meant what I had said. He is no boy. Weather he looks it or not, he is no boy."
"That's ridiculous. What is he then?" Gretel asked still confused.
He pondered this for a moment. "Nothing. He is nothing." The young man started before narrowing his eyes at her "and you shouldn't ask such stupid questions. You could be punished for saying such things." He spoke gruffly.
Staring at the man in disbelief Gretel stomped her foot angrily.
"It was just a question in the least! So stop acting as if you're my Father and I am a child!"
"Look at yourself. You are nothing more than a child." He replied stiffly before turning on his heel and starting to walk away.
"What is with you! Half the time I talk to you, you act like a senseless jerk! I am not a child! I don't even know what I ever saw in you…I hope hell has a good spot saved for you!" Gretel said so harshly and filled with so much venom, she didn't even care that she had crossed the line when Kotler froze.
Pushing past the dazed and angered man she stomped off.
Stupid, perverted, dense Lieutenant Kotler.
XX
Ugh anyone have the feeling I make these characters super bipolar?
I was planning on writing/finishing/updating this on the 23rd-my birthday (finally 13!)-but got kinda caught up with my stupid nothingness.
I have the whole plot planned out but extra ideas for extra chapters to fit in there would be helpful (hint hint).