Hi there! This is chapter three. Again, Thank you for reading and for the reviews. As always, I hope you'll enjoy!
So, operation 'find mister right' is still in motion about a month after the almost-kiss fiasco. They were still at the same lair (the planning and design stage is the longest one in a smart villains life). They were still working on their plans and after a few weeks, a contraption had started to magically appear in their living room.
She had gone on a few more dates but none of them really made an impression on her. What did make her happy though, was the fact that for the first time in years, she was able to wear her more trendy dresses. It made her feel quite womanly and she had gained more self-confidence because of that. Dr. Minyak, to her knowledge, did not appreciate her dressing up and/or going out. He would always get this really annoyed look when he saw her leaving (for some reason, he had been present each and every one of those times after the shave-talk-almost kiss day). He would nod curtly at her when she said her hellos and goodbyes, a dark look on his face and lips pursed. She chose not to comment on it.
Today however, when she's leaving for an early morning date, she doesn't see him. He had probably crashed out in his room last night because he had barely gotten any sleep in the past four days. So she leaves a note, telling him that she'll be back around noon, and walks out through the kitchen door. She takes the bus and meets the guy infront of the restaurant. They walk in and she sits trough just about the most awful of dates with the most annoying type of villains ever: The kind that did one thing right in their whole career and who keeps bringing it up.
Have you ever seen one of those videos of people telling their horror-date stories?
Well, she officially has her own to tell now. Forget Cracken, Daniel, the Toddler, Brain Matter and even horrible date number five. Those are the kind of stories that you would tell a friend and you'll both be trying to hold in your giggles and laughter because it's so funny.
This however, is not comedic.
This is just painfully horrible.
When they are seated, he, and only he, introduces himself.
"Yeah sweet cheeks, I'm Pilfer. Yeah, I'm that Pilfer, the one that stole The Red Ruby from the towns museum. I bet that's the greatest achievement by any villain ever. I bet everyone was talking about it. Do you want to know how I did it? Of course you do, sweet cheeks! Everyone wants to hear how The Pilfer did it (she hadn't even said yes). Well it all started on a Saturday when The Pilfer read in the newspaper that there would be an exposition on The Red Ruby. The Pilfer already knew-"
Gosh this guy's pretentious. He just randomly starts talking in third person. And what's with sweet cheeks business.
He keeps prattling on and on about how he got into the museum and masterfully stole the ruby. It has been forty-five minutes, and he has yet to finish. She's just staring at him, occasionally nodding her head, while trying to eat her food.
"And then, when they asked if The Pilfer had anything to do with it," he says while stuffing his face with as much bacon as possible, " The Pilfer tells them no, of course not. Isn't that the most genius thing ever?! He starts laughing, mouth open, food plain in sight. "Yes it is!" He sticks out his hand with those greasy fingers (that he had licked thoroughly at one point) and grabs a hash brown off of her plate. He then stuffs it into his mouth.
"I mean, they actually believed me! You're not going to eat that right, sweet cheeks?" He takes the pancake off of her plate before she can answer him and also stuffs that in his mouth. She can see it mixing with the bacon and the hash brown as he talks and tries to chew at the same time. A bit of food, that's more of a mashed glob, flies out of his mouth and onto the middle of the table. He scoops it up into his mouth again.
Charming.
The waitress who passes by, sends him a disgusted look before looking at Nurse Cohort in disbelief. Her eyes are basically asking her why she's sitting here with this idiot.
Funny, she was just thinking the same thing.
"So have you and your partner ever done something so awesome?" he asks when he's finally done recounting his wonderful story.
"Well-"
"No, I didn't think so. No one could get on my level, you know? So I wouldn't blame you for being able to do things that are only mediocre. Not everyone can be like The Pilfer."
She just stares blankly at him. There's just-ugh- there's just- ugh, gosh.
The waitress, clearly seeing her distress, comes over, asking if they want the check. She's not even done eating, but heck, it's not like she's going to eat the food that has been touched by his greasy and full-of-spit fingers. Nope. Not going to eat that.
"Yeah, check please." She answers, throwing the waitress a thankful smile.
"But I'm were not done talking!"
We? She thinks.
"I'm just not feeling so well." She answers smoothly.
"That time of the month, huh?"
Can she be even more horrified?
"Hey, you got this right sweet cheeks? I don't have any money on me at the moment."
Yes. Yes she can.
The waitress, all the other staff members, all the patrons in the restaurant and herself, stare at the guy infront of her who's smiling easily.
She -oh she just can't.
The waitress walks away to get the check and Pilfer stands up, downing down his glass of cranberry juice, before setting it back down.
"I'm going to leave now 'cause you already got this. Nice meeting you sweet cheeks. Until next time."
And he starts walking out, and he
He actually.
Tries.
To steal.
Her fudging purse.
The purse with the wallet that contains the money that she needs to pay for both of their meals.
He just snatches it off the table, and tries to make a run for it.
He however runs smack dab into another waitress, who's carrying a pot of hot coffee. Which spills on him and his…area. She doesn't think she has ever heard anyone scream so loudly and curse so thoroughly. He falls down, clutching his…you-know-what in pain.
Nurse Cohort just dabs her lips with a napkin, stands up, walks towards him and takes her purse. She takes out a fifty dollar bill, and hands it to their waitress, who has just come back with the check.
"Uh, no. It's on the house, hon. I think everyone here agrees that it should be on the house after that."
Everyone acquiesces.
"Thank you." Nurse cohort tells her gratefully.
"No need to thank me, hon. Seriously. That was just awful." She motions her head towards Pilfer who's still on the floor, grunting in pain.
No one tries to help him.
"Now run along, hon. We'll take care of him." The waitress smiles evilly. Yeah, even female villains stand up for eachother.
Nurse Cohort throws her another thankful smile, presses the fifty dollar bill in her hand and walks out the door.
Do you think she saw Pilfer again?
Of course not.
Rumor has it, no one else has seen him since that day either.
Is she concerned about that?
Eh, not really.
When she gets back to Swellview, she goes straight to a supermarket. They needed to stock up on meat and produce and she's pretty sure that she's the only one who even bothers with food these days. After also getting sweets and some feminine products, she heads to the checkout line. She looks around at the peo- Why is that teenage boy staring at her?
She looks at the blond, thinking that he looks oddly familiar yet not at the same time. Something in her mind is telling her that he's trouble and that she needs to get out of there as fast as she can. He probably thinks she looks suspicious or something because, well, who wears a trench coat in this weather and tops it off with a fedora and big sunglasses?
So after paying for the articles (some things you really have to buy you know. And some of their projects have yielded a great amount of money so it's really no bother), she scurries out as fast as she can, taking a detour to one of their old lairs. She occasionally casts a look behind her to see whether someone's following her. She uses a secret underground passageway in the lair which leads her to an ally just a few blocks away from their new home.
Take that, nosy teenager!
A little out of breath, she continues the trek home.
She passes by an organic luncheonette and decides to buy Dr. Minyak something. Lord knows the man needed someone to take care of him when he was working on his plans. He would probably starve without her. And maybe, just maybe, she just wanted to see that smile he always gives her when she surprises him with food.
She gets him some freshly made orange juice and a club sandwich. And with that last purchase she walks straight home.
She hurriedly walks through the backyard and to the kitchen door. Before she can even close it, she hears him yell.
"Nurse!"
She looks up startled, almost dropping the OJ. She walks quickly to the living room, looking around in concern, trying to figure out what could have made him so agitated. At the same time he walks towards her, stopping about six feet away. He looks annoyed.
"You scared me, what-"
"We need to talk about this." He says with a serious look on his face.
She frowns, "Talk about what."
He gestures at her, "This…this! You, just leaving for hours on end. We have to talk about that."
"I just went on a-"
"I know where you went!"he snaps, "That's not the problem!"
Okay, she's totally confused right now. "Then what is the problem?"
He sighs in exasperation, "The problem, Nurse, is that I am here, working on this stupid contraption - he motions at the thing that looks like a tiny laser that's standing in the middle of the living room- and I need help but ooh, ooh low and behold, my assistant is not here. Again." He yells, hands waving around, his face turning slightly red.
"I left a note." she answers bewildered. Why is he making such a big deal out of this?
"And can the note help me with the building of a machine, Nurse?"
"No but-"
"No! It cannot! So I need you to be here!"
"But I-"
"You are wasting our, no, you are wasting my valuable time with these shenanigans!"
"Shenanigans?!" she yells.
"Yes, shenanigans!" he yells back.
"They're no-"
"Then wha-"
"Let me finish a sentence, jeesh!" She already had to deal with a stupid idiot today who did not give her the opportunity to talk.
"Well, by all means, Nurse. Speak." He says, as he motions towards her, as if he's giving her permission.
One of her eyes twitches a little, " I'm here more than half of the time, Doctor. I don't see how I'm wasting your time, especially when we are perfectly on our semi-schedule. And you keep doing little side projects and I don't say anything about you wasting our time.
"..."
"See! You have nothing to say to that, now do you?" she says triumphantly.
"You're still wasting my time." He answers hotly.
"How?!"
"Because…..",
"Uhuh, because?" she taunts, smirking knowingly at him.
"Because when I do need you, you're not here! And that actually does bring us behind schedule!" he huffs, "And why are you not here? Because you're on a ridiculous quest to find love." He spits out the word like it's a disease.
Okay, now she's had it. She stomps her foot down ( yes, like a child). "It is not ridiculous you, you, you buffoon!"
He visibly reels back at her tone. They have not yelled at eachother in years. Not since they had started working together and he was too pigheaded and she had told him as much. But now they're both yelling at eachother and she's glaring quite viciously at him. He however does not step down.
"Yes, it's ridiculous," he growls, "We're villains, we do not look for such trivial things as love. His accent is becoming more prominent now that he's mad.
She scoffs. "Since when? Even you know that that's not true."
"Well the ones that do are as ridiculous as you are, Nurse."
She gasps, then glares even more viciously then before. "Take that back, you jerk!" she growls.
"I will do no such thing." He answers simply, a smirk on his face. She really wants to throw the OJ in his face.
"Take it back! Why are you even bringing this up now? We talked about this a month ago and you didn't seem to have any problem what so ever with it."
"I- erm- I was trying to spare your feelings."
"Oooh, how nice of you. And what made you suddenly change your mind?"
"As I said, you are wasting my time by going out! And I repeat again, ridiculous!"
"What's so ridiculous about this? And don't use that stupid 'villains don't look for love' excuse again because it's just that: Stupid!"
"It's not that that's ridiculous, it's you!", he yells loudly, motioning at her. " Playing dress up for oth- for men and prancing around like a schoolgirl and, and…and probably making a fool out of yourself!"
She gapes at him, the pang of hurt she feels immediately making room for angered disbelief. She levels him with a cool look. "You can't be serious. You don't mean that?"
"Yes I am and yes I do." He mumbles.
"I do not prance around nor do I make a fool out of myself, Doctor."
"How would you know, Nurse?"
"Well how would you know, Doctor."
"Because I have yet to see you bring any one of those suitors home."
"So?"
"So, none of them must have 'professed their undying love for you' ", He says mockingly, "That must tell you something nurse."
"Or maybe, I have someone and I don't want to bring him here?" she says hotly. The lie comes out so easily now that she's being verbally attacked.
He looks at her, an unreadable look on his face. She almost starts fidgeting but he speaks up again.
"Do you?" he asks lowly.
She gives him a questioning stare, to which he sighs in frustration.
"Do you have someone?"
And because she can't go back on her lie now -that would be embarrassing and she would prove him right. And his ego did not need that- she nods her head.
He looks…something…for a moment, before his face morphs into something more sinister, a cutting smirk coming onto his face.
"Well, I didn't think you had it in you Nurse."
What.
The.
Heck.
"What do you mean by that, Doctor?" She asks him coolly.
"Well, I thought you more of one of those women that become…what do you call them?", he thinks for a moment and she can see that he's being sarcastic about it, "Ah, yes. A spinster."
"And why did you think that, Doctor?" She wonders if he knows that underneath her cool exterior, there is a volcano of emotions boiling right now.
He shrugs. " Because you haven't had any suitors in years. I was starting to wonder you know. Maybe men just weren't attracted to you besides maybe physically. But as you must know, personality also matters."
"And what do you mean by that?! That my personality is horrible or something?" she yells, sending him a hard look.
And the volcano has erupted.
"I'm…I'm just saying that you can be somewhat of a smart alec sometimes and most men don't like that."
"Oh please, Doctor. Now you're just being ridiculous."
"No, it's just logic." He answers with a shrug. " Tell me nurse, has this suitor of yours told you that he cares for you?"
"And why does that matter?"
"Ah, so he hasn't."
"Again, why does it matter?"
"Because Nurse, if a man doesn't even tell you that he cares, what kind of chance do you think you have? What kind of relationship do you think you could have? Maybe a physical one, yes, or even a platonic one, but not a romantic one. I just don't want you to get your hopes up thinking that he is thinking about you in more than a physical way."
She just stares at him, trying to keep the look of hurt off of her face. Because that was about the most horrible thing he could have ever said to her. Especially since its him. He who had never told her that he cared. He who had almost kissed her- she was sure- but had never told her he cared so that-that must-
That must mean that he was only maybe physically attracted to her. Maybe to him, the rest of her didn't matter. Her personality may not be so appealing to him. Or it may be just plain appalling to him.
This seriously hurt.
It wasn't like he was opening up old wounds. No, because those wounds, the wounds caused by years of him not returning her feelings, have not healed yet. This was like dousing her wounds with the most sourest of lemons. And it hurt so much. She could basically feel her heart…was that breaking? Was this feeling what people called 'heartbreak'? It was horrible. Not like when she decided to give up on him because then, she notices, she still held a little hope. This felt like someone was squeezing her heart, tighter and tighter, making her feel out of breath and choked up and her eyes start to water and she really, really needs to get this under control cause she's oh gosh- don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Her mind keeps replaying the same thing though, making it harder for her to control her emotions and her tears.
If a man doesn't even tell you that he cares, what kind of chance do you think you have? What kind of chance do you think you have? What kind of chance do you think you have?
What kind of chance do you think you have?
He, totally oblivious to her internal turmoil, keeps on talking.
"Now stop this nonsense," he motions at her and she thinks he probably means the dress and hair and the notion of her dating altogether, "and start committing yourself to your job. You are my nurse, my assistant, and that is all you need to keep yourself occupied, not some uninterested suitor." he says matter-of-factly.
She grits her teeth, partially because she's mad at herself because her heart still managed to flutter the moment he said 'my nurse'. But mostly because she was holding back all the words that she wants to call him right now and the tears that are still threatening to spill onto her cheeks. And also because suddenly her head is filled with doubts. Doubts about herself that she usually doesn't have. Which make her eyes water even more.
Is this really ridiculous? Can it really be nonsense?
She looks down at her painted toes that were peeking out of the front of her high heels and then at her blue sundress. She thought about the lipstick and her hair, which was done in an intricate up-do. She loved them this morning but now…
Am I ridiculous? Do I look ridiculous?
She bites her lip. She doesn't believe she does at all. She was sure that she doesn't to the other men either.
But the one standing infront of her was still the only one who mattered.
Her shoulders sag as all fight leaves her body. She closes her eyes, trying to hold everything in. But her eyes were overflown with tears, and they of course start falling the moment she closes them. She sniffs so loudly that she's sure he hears it. She doesn't want to look up at him but it's not like she can keep standing here the whole day. She quickly wipes the tears with the back of the hand that's still clasping the sandwich bag.
She bites her lip harder before glancing up. She has no idea how long they've been standing there in silence but right now he's watching her, his face blank. His eyes look between hers and then she thinks she sees some sort of guilt flit through them. His face morphs into that of a boy who has just been chastised. He looks down, probably thinking about apologizing or something but-
But she really couldn't-she really didn't think that she could deal with his pity right now. So she excuses herself, pushing the juice and the bag in his hands, before briskly walking up the stairs and to her room.
She does not come out for the rest of the day. And although she hears him tinkering with his machine, he never comes to ask for her assistance or to apologize.
If possible, her heart breaks a little more.
Tbc.
And that's the end of chapter three! Next up, chapter 4, the final chapter! So, until next time!