AN/... Whoo chapter 6 =P thankyou thankyou thankyou for all the reviews! Love you guys out there who read New Life, especially those who have read New Light too! If you haven't read New Light, it's never to late to try it *hint hint*! Enjoy!
Chapter 6 - Learning How To Be Human
Wheatley POV - It all started as just another - sort of normal - day. I woke up late morning as usual, and stretched. Chell wasn't beside me, and I assumed she was downstairs. Trudging into the hallway whilst rubbing my eyes sleepily, I nearly tripped over the washing basket like I do every morning. I gave it a kick angrily, and it teetered unstably from side to side a few times before returning to a normal upright stance. When I called Chell's name halfway down the creaky stairs, I was surprised at her lack of an answer. I spotted a piece of paper pinned to the bottom of the staircase, and I tore it from the post curiously.
'Wheatley,' it read in Chell's familiar curly handwriting. I raised my eyebrows and continued. 'I've gone to help Rick home from the hospital. Come over to his house when you're ready and we'll be there! Love you, from Chell.' a neat line of crosses followed her name, and I wiped my finger along them suspiciously. The ink stayed put. I had no idea what the crosses meant, and I vowed to ask Chell later. Maybe they were secret code for something! Folding the paper, I went to place it in my shirt pocket, then realised I wasn't dressed yet. With a sigh, I jogged back to our room, and pulled on my usual outfit of a shirt, black trousers, and bright blue Converses. I affectionately put Chell's note in my chest pocket, so it now rested gently over my softly beating heart, and I patted it with a love drunk smile. That is, feeling love oozing from me in waves. I don't actually know what drunk means, it is probably another human custom.
Honestly, I was hungry for Chell more than for breakfast; so I immediately left, headed towards Rick's house - which is just three houses away from our own. A few drops of rain splattered onto my head and front, and despite the fact I knew humans had immunity to water, I rushed along to escape it. Shaking the water from my hair, I ducked under the protection of Rick's extended roof, and knocked on the door pitifully. Chell answered, and I scooped her into a tight, slightly wet hug, breathing in the smell of her dark chocolate, soft hair and feeling the warm pressure as she returned my embrace. She looked up at me with her beautiful grey eyes, and I just about melted. Slowly and gently, I bent down and kissed her flushed lips.
"Er... don't mind me," Rick interrupted awkwardly with a fake cough as he suddenly materialised in the hallway.
"Gah!" I cried, jolting upright and leaving Chell looking at Rick with an almost annoyed look. His brown hair hung limply around his ears, and his face looked thinner, sucking to his pointy cheekbones. Dull eyes looked at me, and a weak smile appeared on Rick's brave face. He was wearing old scuffed jeans, and a black t-shirt with a couple of little holes in it. A neck brace gripped him like a boa constrictor, and every now and again Rick would tug at it uncomfortably. A red-brown jagged line streaked down his cheek, from eyebrow to chin. In a nutshell, he looked a mess.
I pulled him into a hug, carefully avoiding his neck, and Rick returned it, collapsing against me slightly. I pulled away, holding his shoulders with a concerned expression.
"You look exhausted mate," I told him truthfully. "How much did you sleep last night?"
"About two hours. I'm fine, just annoyed with this neck brace! I'm not allowed to do any hard exercise for four whole days! What am I supposed to do for four days?"
I let go of his shoulders, suppressing laughter. Yep, Rick was back to his normal, adventurous self.
"Hang out at ours and watch films whilst Chell is at work and I'm just a lonely old man?" I suggested, grinning.
"Thanks bro, that's pretty good I guess," Rick smiled back, giving me a big hi-5. "Oh, and another thing: you're hardly an old man, I think apart from kids, we're the youngest people on this street!" I agreed, and grabbed Chell's hand lovingly.
I could hear Rick's radio blaring away from the other room, playing some up-beat, fast songs. Peeking my head around the door confirmed that Chell had been working her magic, and all of Rick's junk had been cleared. His sports equipment was neatly stored around the edge of the room. Cleaning confirmed that somewhere under that pile of junk, Rick had a TV and a PS3. I smirked, wow that must have been a high pile of rubbish.
"So... Anything you particularly want to do?" Chell suddenly appeared beside me with Rick.
"You're gonna hang with me today?" he sounded shocked, and sympathy coursed through me in waves.
"Sure we are," Chell smiled at him kindly. "What would you like to do?"
"Cinema?" he suggested, tilting his head on one side. I'd heard of cinemas, though I hadn't seen one before. Apparently people go there to watch films on a giant screen in a big room together. I honestly wasn't sure what the point was when they could just buy the film and watch it from the comfort of their own home, but it was an experience I was willing to... Well experience. Chell nodded with a smile, and set Rick up on his computer in his room to look at the film choices. I stayed put, not bothering to get my say in the film discussion. No doubt Rick would choose some type of adventure film.
Chell came down a few minutes later, shaking her head slightly, seemingly bemused.
"He wants to talk to you. Said it had something to do with spin the bottle. I guess that means something to you?"
"I... Erm... Yeah," I muttered nervously, getting to my feet hesitantly. I felt awkward, knowing that the discussion could just be about Chell in some way. With a pre-apologetic glance at her, I sped up the stairs to Rick's bedroom. He was sitting at a little desk in the corner in front of his modern, shiny black computer.
"You wanted me?" I questioned suspiciously, closing the door behind me and avoiding the monster pile of dirty laundry by the navy blue wall. I did not want to fall into that. Rick pushed away from his desk, and stood before me.
"Look, about what I said when we were playing truth or dare the other day... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, because honestly, we will never be human. There's no point pretending anymore. Wheatley, we are ROBOTS! We can't change that because we got shoved into a human's appearance! It's not right for you to be... You know... Physical with Chell. She's a human, we're not, and the sooner we accept that the better. You know what I'm saying right?" Rick looked at his feet nervously, then back up at me. Well that was totally unexpected. Anger flashed through my eyes (yes eyes, not optics!) and I made a snorting sound deep in my throat.
"No! I won't listen to that! I am a human!" denial filled my voice though, because I knew he was right.
"I'm sorry mate, but you're just not. I'm not either. Life's hard, a machine's life is harder. Because when you think about it, that's all we are. Machines. Cold, hard machinery. Look, we can act like them, but some human things are just beyond boundaries."
"Why are you being like this?" the hurt burned through me, right to the core (no pun intended). He shrugged, then smiled slightly.
"Because I'm your best friend and I don't want to see you get hurt by a human."
I couldn't fight with that. We were best friends, and surely keeping pain from me was a good thing? I just wished it could be different. Odd, because I never thought I would willingly want to be a human. At the time, they were just smelly, weird creatures with low IQ and no sense of self preservation. But now, they were so much more. Rick put his arm round me reassuringly, then gestured for me to follow. "Come on ! You can still act human, just watch your step, for me? Now let's go, you're keeping your girlfriend waiting and we have a movie to watch." He'd accepted at least part of my argument, because he deliberately chose to say 'girlfriend'. That was something.
I nodded, pulling a fake smile on my face, and followed Rick downstairs. Chell hugged me when I entered, sensing something was wrong. I shook my head slightly, and kissed her instead. Luckily for us, Rick didn't interrupt for once, and disappeared for a bit. He returned wearing cleaner clothes without holes, his hair immaculately gelled into pointy spikes. I sacrificed Chell's lips, and settled for her hand instead.
"Ready?" I asked. We were, and after a very stressful morning, finally left for the cinema, thoughts of humans hanging over my head like a storm cloud. I think I had come to a solution, which I would run past Chell later. I didn't want to do it, but I had to. For her sake.
Rick POV - I felt strangely mean for warning Wheatley, but he had to know. I had known it deep inside from the beginning, we were just weird hybrids, pretending to be something we aren't. What's the point? Although since there was a zombie massacre happening on a giant screen, I was happy to be half human. Blood splattered everywhere, and I looked across to Wheatley. No doubt he would be scared. However I was surprised, because he looked interested in all of the brutal deaths. His eyes narrowed, and I knew he was thinking deeply about something. Chell looked at him anxiously, and Wheatley instantly snapped out of his daydream and wrapped his arm around her with a soppy look in his eyes. I couldn't help but notice brave old Chell had to hide her eyes in Wheatley's shirt for some parts of the film, and I smiled slightly. The tables have turned. I did envy them though. It was hard to stay sane with a past like ours, but they always seemed able to drag the one another back to reality. It was sweet.
I flipped back to the film, laughing internally at the people screaming, both inside and outside the screen. Zombies were like child's play in comparison to Aperture. The special effects were pretty awesome though. I think, if zombies existed, then there is a high chance they would resemble these ones. The main guy slashed one down the middle with a sharp knife, and its' guts splattered the ground with a sickening plop. Wheatley tapped my shoulder, and when I turned to him, he mimed gouging a zombie's eyes out whilst pulling a silly face. We snorted, trying to hold in our laughter, and Chell looked up at us from her pillow (or Wheatley's chest) with a mildly amused expression. He covered her eyes deftly, milliseconds before the monsters began ripping human brains out, splashing yet more blood across the screen. Chell snuggled into him gratefully, and I smiled to myself. She can take on murderous super computers, but not a poxy fake zombie apocalypse. I found that quite funny.
Chell POV - Wheatley was warm, and protected me all the way through that gross film. Rick teased me to no end about it, but I allowed him to. Poor bloke had a neck brace on, I didn't want to be too harsh. Despite my great head pillow, I was relieved when the credits rolled and everyone burst into chatter about zombies and blood and knives. I was on the verge of refusing to get up now the film was over, Wheatley was so comfortable and soft I could almost fall asleep. But the lights flared up, and I reluctantly pulled my head upright. Rick stood, and pulled me up after him, yet laughed and refused to help Wheatley onto his long, dead legs. I had to nimbly catch him as he got to his feet and nearly tripped head over heels down the descending chairs. Carefully, he stepped around the averagely heighted people at his feet, and managed to make it to the exit accident free.
Bursts of sunlight hit us as we left the dark cinema, blinding us. Wheatley used his arm to shield his bright, almost glowing blue eyes. Rick fished a pair of trendy, deep black sunglasses from his pocket, and covered his eyes with them. I simply blinked a few times, allowing my eyes to adjust, then continued as normal. However, when I turned around to see why the boys were lagging behind, I realised a very primary-school-style fight had broken out. Wheatley was laughing, Rick's sunglasses on his head, and Rick was desperately trying to reach them. A smile wasn't present on his face.
"Wheatley!" I shouted, slightly annoyed. He looked up like a scalded child, and hid the glasses behind his back, trying to deny they were with him. Rick nabbed them in Wheatley's moment of weakness, and put them over his snake green eyes with a smirk. I jolted my chin, indicating for them both to hurry up, and they obeyed. Wheatley did look amazingly cute in sunglasses though. We clambered into Rick's car casually, Wheatley in the front watching Rick drive with curiosity filling his expression.
"So..." Wheatley began, turning his head slightly towards me and Rick. "What were those zombies, and are they real creatures?" Rick spluttered, then burst into loud guffaws. I giggled a little, then decided to put him out of his misery.
"No, zombies aren't real, and they're sort of like... Undead humans. Like, a living corpse. Just think of them as part human and part... Something else? Monster I guess."
"Oh." he said looking down to the floor. He muttered something unintelligible, but for some reason it sounded like 'I know how they feel.' Anxiously, I patted his shoulder.
"Hey, what's wrong," I asked, touching his cheek gently. Rick looked at him worriedly, and I assumed he probably knew.
"It's nothing luv, I'll tell you later." he muttered, turning away from both of us. For some strange reason, Rick looked massively guilty. If he was involved, I would kill him. I knew there was more than 'nothing' wrong with Wheatley, and I nervously awaited for this evening to arrive, where we could ditch Rick and he could tell me everything.
Wheatley POV - I held it off for as long as possible. I waited for Rick to leave, I waited for Chell to make dinner, I waited for us to sit down and eat it and I waited for us to sit awkwardly on the sofa and watch TV. However when we climbed into bed early that night, I couldn't hold it off anymore. Chell had a right to this, she needed to grasp what I had to explain. I sat up on the mattress, and turned Chell's face towards me with a couple of slow, lingering fingers. Pure worry filled her expression, and a twinge of guilt attacked me. Would she ever forgive me for this?
"Chell, I love you, I love you more than anyone could ever comprehend, you know that right?"
Chell smiled, and leant in for a kiss, but I declined it offhandedly.
"But... I'm not human really, am I? My personality, my mind, was all inside a core. I'm still that core Chell, just because my outer appearance has changed. There's nothing I can ever do to change that, so I think we should just accept the fact."
Chell opened her mouth to protest, but again I flipped it away.
"Humans... Humans shouldn't date artificial lifeforms, should they? I mean, because they're artificial. I can't give you what other humans can. I don't know what half of the human traditions here are, and I'm always breaking stuff! So, for your own good, even though I love you so much, maybe I should leave before I do anymore damage. Just promise... Promise you'll find a nice human to look after you - not that you need looking after - but I worry, you know? I always will."
Crystal tears welled up in Chell's beautiful eyes, and my heart shattered into a million pieces. She grabbed my hands, pulling me closer.
"No! Wheatley I don't want any old human! A human who doesn't understand my greatest fears, a human who can never fully grasp my daily nightmares that occur when you're not sleeping next to me? A human to use me then dump me when they've had enough? I don't want a normal person! I want you, because you are part of me, we share a past, and nobody can ever steal that bond away. Also, you are definitely human, there is not a human thing on this earth you could not do!"
I sniffed slightly, holding back the tears. "Prove it. Prove I can do some completely human things and I'll stay. I mean, it's not like my love for you can ever decrease."
"I'll show you something human," she whispered, kissing me full on the lips. This one tasted different, tasted something like lust. Her hands roamed my body, and I did the same to her. At some point our clothes met with the floor, and from then on began the single most human experience I could ever wish to share with Chell.
Morning sunlight dappled through the windows, leaving patchy light on Chell's back. I stretched, feeling absolutely amazing. I was human after all! At some point during last night, Chell said we could forget the whole me leaving conversation if I wanted, and I accepted graciously. How did I ever think I could live without the other half of my heart? I noticed another bullet mark on Chell's back, she had loads of them. I touched it gently, then traced the line of sunlight going along her back. My hair was a ruffled mess, and I combed my fingers through it before turning back to the sleeping beauty next to me. I grinned casually as her amazing eyes opened, and a smile spread across her face.
Chell POV - My eyes opened to the most beautiful man in the universe staring back at me with a level of affection nobody else could ever match. I didn't regret last night, it was the best night of my life probably. I remember Wheatley understanding exactly what I wanted him to do straight away, I remember him being the most romantic and caring guy ever, I remember him discovering several bullet marks and other scars, apologising futilely and kissing them softly. I remember how connected we felt, like nobody could ever separate us, no matter what. That connection ran through the night, and it stayed with me through to the morning. I think - I hope - it might be a permanent one. I had decided, that was the best night of my life, period.
I snuggled closer to Wheatley's ever warm body, and lay my head on his smooth chest. He kissed my hair, and wrapped his arm right around me.
"I love you," he smiled, blue eyes shining like a glistening sapphire-blue river. My heart skipped a beat, even though I was really familiar with this phrase now.
"I love you too. I always have, and always will. No matter what."
AN/... Tadah! Hope u liked it =P just like to say, for those who have noticed me miscounting chapter numbers in my author notes, just ignore them, it's just me being a moron and Wheatley-ish. Either you can count yourselves, or the number before the chapter name will be right =D. Also, thanks to ComapnionCube1410, who helped me a lot with the last few paragraphs of this chapter, and as always to everyone who bothers to read this story; love you all!