A/N-I DO NOT OWN THE NAKED BROTHERS BAND!
Hey guys!
Well...sorry for any mistakes. I'm having problems with my document manager...
But this is also just a filler chapter and not much happens, I'll tell you that right now. But I promise you guys, it will get better and MUCH more interesting. I just have to move the story along to get there.
Enjoy! (:
"What's wrong, Nat?" Rosalina asked as she walked into the living room.
"Where'd you go?"
"I was…um…in the bathroom. Sorry."
He nodded.
"Does your bruise feel any better yet?"
Nat shook his head. "But I'm afraid to move."
She smiled sympathetically at him. "It's okay, you don't have to."
"What about Alex? How is he supposed to get home if you're here with me?" He asked, trying to sit up.
"He's fine, don't worry," Rosalina said, gently pushing him back down. "Cooper's going to walk him home. Just relax."
Nat sighed. "I feel useless."
"You're not useless."
"I am right now."
"Well, you can move, you just choose not to. It'd be better if you didn't. And nobody blames you. All you have to do is sit here and do nothing. How hard is that?"
"If you're me, it's very hard."
"I'm sorry. I wish there was something that I could do."
"You might be able to do one thing…"
She gave him a look. "And what might that be?"
Before Nat could respond, Rosalina's phone started ringing. "Hold that thought," She said, and stood up to get her phone. "Hello?"
"Rosalina, I have to tell you something important."
"Cooper? What's wrong?"
"First of all, has Nat told you about why is stomach felt so bad?"
"Yeah, he said that he hasn't been putting ice on it so it got worse. You know that don't you?"
"Well, yes, that's probably a contributing factor but I think it's something else too."
Rosalina walked out of the living room and into the Fuzzy Room. "What do you mean?"
"Nat said he had gym right before lunch right?"
"Yeah, why? Cooper, you're starting to scare me. What's going on?"
"David and Qaasim said they heard some seniors talking. It sounded like they said Jake…" Cooper trailed off and Rosalina could hear something that sounded like a door opening in the background.
"What did Jake do? What happened?"
"I have to go. I'm sorry Rosalina. I'll call you later!" Before Rosalina could get out anything else the line went dead. She sighed. That was odd. What could Jake have done to Nat? And why didn't Nat tell her? She couldn't be upset with him, but she wished he would tell her. Obviously, Nat wasn't going to tell her, so she would have to wait until Cooper called back. She walked back out into the living room.
"Who was that?" Nat asked.
"It was Cooper," She said, sitting on the edge of the couch.
"What'd he want?"
"He was just making sure you were okay," Rosalina covered. She would bring up Jake and this problem later.
"But we just left an hour ago…and why would he call you? Couldn't he just call me?"
She shrugged. "But are you sure that it was just gym that made your bruise get worse?"
"I'm pretty sure leaving it untreated for almost a week didn't help either."
"Yeah, I know that. But I mean besides those two things, nothing else happened?"
Nat slowly sat up and winced as he did. "What are you talking about?" He managed to get out.
She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She shook her head. "Never mind, it's nothing. I'm just…I don't know. Forget I mentioned it."
"Rosalina, is something bothering you?"
Yes! Why wouldn't you tell me if Jake did something to you? "No."
He stared at her for a few minutes and then spoke up. "You're lying. I can tell."
"Can we just talk about this later, please?"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, I promise."
He let out a sigh, but nodded. "Fine."
"Do you need another ice pack?"
"Sure."
She carefully took the ice pack from him and walked into the kitchen to get another one.
The rest of the day, Nat and Rosalina watched TV and barely talked to each other. Rosalina didn't say anything because she was waiting for Cooper to call back so that she could figure this thing out, and Nat didn't talk because he knew something was bothering Rosalina, but she wouldn't say what it was. Around 3 p.m. Alex came home with Cooper, and Cooper motioned for Rosalina to come outside, while Alex walked over to talk to Nat.
"What is it, Cooper? What's going on with Nat?" Rosalina asked.
"David and Qaasim heard some seniors talking and it sounded like Jake did something to Nat when they were in gym."
"What'd he do?"
The manager shrugged. "I wish I knew."
She sighed. "I'll talk to Nat."
"Okay. Tell me if you find out."
"I will. Thanks for walking Alex home, Cooper."
"Sure thing."
"Oh and hey, I forgot to tell you. You know earlier this week when I had to stay after school to tutor for one of my teachers?"
"Yeah, the day Jake and Nat were fighting."
"Yeah, well, one of my teachers works for the NYPD and he brought in pictures of the guy they think put the graffiti on the wall."
"Why didn't you tell us the truth?"
"I just didn't want you guys to freak out. I was freaked out enough as it was."
"Well, either way, was it Jake's friend?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"So what happens now?"
"I guess they'll contact you or the studio somehow."
Cooper nodded. "Okay, well I have to go. Good luck with Nat."
"Thanks." She walked back into the apartment to see Alex sitting with his brother.
"Alex, would you mind going upstairs for a little bit?" Nat asked him.
"Sure."
Once Rosalina was sure Alex was gone, she sat down on the couch. "We need to talk."
He carefully sat up and winced again. "Okay. About what?"
"What happened in gym today? And don't say nothing happened."
"Jake was there."
"What did he do?"
"We were…talking…and he pushed me. I couldn't even think about what I was going to do next before he started kicking me in the stomach."
Rosalina was shocked, but all at once she wasn't. She knew Jake hated Nat, and she knew that he wanted to hurt him, but…she never thought he would get so extreme. "That's just like…" She mumbled.
"Like what?" Nat asked.
"That's just like my nightmare."
Nat looked down.
"Is that why you didn't tell me?"
He still didn't make eye contact with her and nodded. "And when I got out of gym…I knew we had lunch but I just wanted to sit for a little while. But it hurt so bad, I couldn't take it anymore."
"Nat, look at me."
He slowly looked up at her.
"Why would you push yourself like that?"
"I didn't want to scare you. I knew it was like your nightmare."
"No more secrets, Nat. No matter what, okay?"
He nodded. "I promise."
"Geez, when you're in middle school, you miss everything."
Nat and Rosalina looked over to where the voice had come from.
Alex was sitting one of the stairs, looking down at them.
"Were you listening to our whole conversation?" Nat asked, looking at his little brother.
"No, but enough to catch up on stuff that you guys won't tell me!" He said, coming down the stairs and walking over to the couch.
"We just don't want to worry you or anything, Alex," Rosalina explained.
"Who cares about that. I'm almost in eighth grade. Whatever happens, I want to be there for you guys."
"Thanks bro," Nat said, as they did their handshake.
"Anytime," Alex said to Nat and then looked at Rosalina. "But I think Rosalina is keeping one more secret."
Nat looked at Rosalina expectantly.
She looked back and forth between the brothers. "What are you talking about?"
"I have my ways, Rosalina. I know you're keeping something from us," Alex said. "I know for a fact that you weren't tutoring with your teacher the other day."
"What is he talking about?" Nat asked.
"How did you know about that? I just told Cooper about that when he left," Rosalina said to Alex.
"There's a vent upstairs that leads to the vent near the front door. I told you I have my ways."
"What's going on?" Nat asked again.
Rosalina sighed. "The other day when I said that I was helping my teacher tutor another student, I was actually going to identify the guy who put the graffiti on the studio wall."
"How could you do that? You didn't leave the school building," Nat said.
"My teacher works for the NYPD and he brought in pictures of the guy the thought did it."
Nat looked surprised. "So was it Jake's friend?"
She nodded.
"Are they going to contact the studio?"
Rosalina shrugged. "I don't know. I guess so."
"Why didn't you just tell us before?"
"Well, like Alex could probably tell you…I didn't want to freak you guys out. I was nervous enough as it is."
"Hey, if I can tell you anything, you can tell me anything, okay?" He said.
"Good to know. Now, Alex gets to start his homework, Nat gets to lie back down, and I have to get him a new ice pack," Rosalina said, standing up.
Nat and Alex groaned.
Rosalina laughed. "Just do it."
Alex walked over to the table with Rosalina as Nat lied back on the couch.
"So what exactly happened with Nat today?" Alex asked, sitting down at the table.
"Well after Jake got to him, he had gym and then when he was standing by his locker he basically collapsed."
"Wow…I didn't know it was that bad."
She nodded as she got an ice pack out of the freezer. "So don't tackle him, okay?" She joked with a smile.
"No tackling. Got it," He said.
Rosalina walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. She carefully put the ice pack on Nat's bruise.
Nat groaned. "How much longer do I have to lie here? I'm bored!"
"You are seriously like a six year old."
"But I've been lying here all day. I mean, it still hurts to move, but I don't want to just lie here."
"Then what do you think you can do without hurting yourself?"
He sighed. "Probably nothing."
"How about you play me that song that you've been writing?"
"It's not finished."
She shook her head. "I don't care, I want to hear what you have."
"Fine. Help me up, please."
Rosalina helped him up and over to the piano.
He got some sheet music out of the piano bench and sat down. He pat the bench. "Come on."
She sat next to him and he started playing.
"I'll intend the August sun the light shines on your eyes and I have won, I have won
In a day of sadness when my self-esteem is lowest there you are, I have won
I have won the greatest prize, just to look into your eyes
Never look away, I'll never leave this place
If your still standin' here, and I can see your face
Oh I have won the greatest prize, oh I am in my paradise
Oh I have won the greatest prize, oh I am in my paradise
When I am around you all my worries wonder of a different time, different times
And when you speak so softly I'm entranced and cannot move or blink an eye, blink an eye
I have won the greatest prize, just to look into your eyes
Never look away, I'll never leave this place
If your still standin' here, and I can see your face
Oh I have won the greatest prize, oh I am in my paradise,
Oh I have won the greatest prize, oh I am in my paradise…"
Rosalina smiled at him. "It's beautiful."
"But it's not finished," He said.
"I know. But even without a real ending, it's deep and meaningful."
"I'm glad you think that way, because I wrote it for you."
Rosalina's smile grew wider. "Really?"
He nodded, smiling.
She carefully pulled him into a hug. "I love it. Thank you, Nat."
"You're welcome," He said, pulling away.
"And I promise you, Jake isn't going to get away with what he did."
"No Rosie, just let him. I don't want to start anything with him. Just leave him alone."
"Nat, I can't just let him get away with doing this to you."
"And I can't let you get hurt. Just leave him, Rosie. Please."
She didn't respond.
He kissed her. "Please?"
She shrugged.
He kissed her again. "Please, Rosie, I don't want you to hurt. It's bad enough that he's after me. I don't need you to give him a reason to be after you. That's the last thing either of us need or want. If you got hurt I would never forgive myself, even if I had nothing to do with it. Just please, promise me you won't say or do anything to Jake."
Rosalina sighed. "I promise."
"Thank you."
A/N-Endings...I do not like them, and they do not like me.
Review please! (:
~NatalinaFanForever~