AN: I was really nervous when writing this chapter because I wanted it to be extra perfect. So I turned some music on to calm my nerves and this song by The Spinners called Could It Be I'm Falling In Love starts to play. It re-inspired me to keep going rather than start over. I hope it turned out okay and you guys like it.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Horton Hears a Who or any of the characters involved in this story...as well as Could It Be I'm Falling In Love by The Spinners.
The sun was setting, leaving behind a scarlet halo of light on the tall, arched buildings that made up most of Whoville. It was getting colder and colder. Ned had to get Tallulah home before town curfew. In Whoville, riding a bike after dark was illegal—a law Ned had enforced himself due to several past mishaps on his part.
"Hop on!" Ned called on his unicycle. He pedaled over to the front of City Hall where Tallulah was waiting for him.
Tallulah raced right over to Ned. She stared at the unicycle, her head tilting, and frowned. "Um…" she said unsure.
Unfortunately, the unicycle only had one saddle and Ned took over all of it; his bottom was overlapping. Ned hadn't used the unicycle since college. He had gained a lot of weight since then.
"If you hold on to me," Ned told her. "I promise to go slow."
"Hold on to you?" Tallulah gazed at Ned for a long time. She seemed to be daydreaming about something. She had a very relaxed look on her face.
Ned waved a hand over her face. "Tallulah?"
Tallulah about jumped a mile. "Huh? Oh yeah," she said, blinking away the fantasy she must have been having.
Tallulah climbed on Ned's back and fastened her arms around his waist. When she seemed comfortable, Ned looked over his shoulder at her. "Do you feel secure?" he asked.
"Secure?" Tallulah repeated. She sounded utterly confused.
Ned chuckled. "Secure is spelled s-e-c-u-r-e. It means that you feel safe with someone," he explained
"Oh! I do! I do!" Tallulah assured him cheerfully. "I feel super-duper secure with you!"
"Okay then," Ned said lightheartedly. "Let's get you home." And he pedaled away.
Tallulah's was singing 'Could It Be I'm Falling In Love,' off-key. The crisp, cold wind roaring in and out of Ned's ears was already deafening enough, but he pretended to enjoy it. He was in a good mood and nothing could spoil it.
"Since I met, you, I've begun to feel so strange…" Tallulah belted out.
Even though it was getting darker and darker out, Ned was still gleaming from the accomplishment of being pictured on the big twenty who-dollar bill. He still couldn't believe it that every who in Whoville loved his portrait…every who except VonFrood.
Ned thought about what the hateful-hearted chairman said about him again. He couldn't exactly remember the structure and wording, but the sting from the comment was all too memorable.
What was it that he said again? Ned wondered to himself.
"And darling you'll always be the only one for me. Heaven made you specially!" Tallulah sang on.
Ned swallowed. He'd got a quick glance of his reflection in a puddle of water on the sidewalk. Suddenly, Ned couldn't stand to look at himself. Why did he have to let what VonFrood said get to him? The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt. Who's were going to see his face on the big twenty and laugh hysterically at how terrible he looked. His picture would be mocked for generations. His thinning, graying hair. The folds under his chin. The dark circles under his eyes.
Ned pedaled faster down the road to Mulberry Street. He tried to soothe the bad thinks with all the good things Sally had said about him but he couldn't remember what she said more or less how much better she had made him feel. All he could hear in his head was VonFrood and the council members laughing at his portrait.
"I used to sing fa fa fa…but right now I feel so good, I sing la la la la…" Tallulah kept singing. Her voice was starting to sound tired. Her sleepy head fell against the center of Ned's back. The bumpy pavement made her sound like a skipping record. "Once you get me up won't let me down…just let this feeling carry me on…"
Suddenly VonFrood's comment hit Ned even harder the second time. Something about buying weight loss supplements for his fat load.
'It's a suggestion.' Ned heard VonFrood say in his mind.
Ned was fuming. "I do not have a fat load!" he mumbled.
Tallulah leaned against him, tightening her hold around his waist. Ned was pedaling erratically.
"Slow down, Mr. Mayor!" Tallulah cried.
"Huh!" he gasped.
Ned shot out of his thinks, swerving to slow down. The wind tore Tallulah's arms free from grip. The force from the tire breaking, threw her off the unicycle. She rolled all the way down a gaping ditch, landing in a pile of twigs and branches.
"Oh my!" Ned cried. He leaped off the seat of the unicycle and threw it down. He spread his arms out to maintain his balance as he rushed down the short, steep hill. When he got to Tallulah, he reached for her hand.
"Tallulah! Are you okay?" Ned asked.
Tears were spilling out of Tallulah's emerald green eyes. To Ned, they looked like a forest after good rain. "My…my elbow!" Tallulah wailed.
Ned felt so ashamed. Tallulah had gotten a small cut on her elbow from the fall. Luckily, he brought his suitcase with him.
"Come on," Ned said. He led Tallulah safely out of the ditch and searched his suitcase for supplies to treat her cut.
"Hold still," Ned gently ordered. He crouched down to Tallulah's level and splashed small amounts of water from his water bottle onto the cut. He then dabbed it dry with a handkerchief and sealed a bandage over it.
Tallulah's sobbing shortened to hiccups. Ned stared at her sobbing face. It always pained him to see a child cry—especially due to his cause. Tallulah was like a daughter to him and he'd hurt her!
Ned threw his arms around Tallulah's neck and held her head against his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," he told her. "If you want, we can walk the rest of the way."
Tallulah swept an arm over her tears to dry them. "No, let's ride."
"Are you sure?" Ned asked, climbing to his feet.
Tallulah gave a weak smile. "I feel secure with you," she said.