A/N: Hi people! Ok, DD has been begging me since November to write a story about Nat and Henry on a first date. For a while I was like, 'HOW DO I DO THIS?!?!?!' and then it came to me the other day! So here it is!
REVIEWS PLEASE! I know it's a little stupid, but it's cute at the same time…It can't be TOO perfect cuz this is Natalie we're talking about and since when has her life been perfect? So I put a little spin on it….heheh
SO REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I don't own N2N or Jesus Christ Superstar or Facebook or Ted Neeley…wow….I don't own a lot of things…
Natalie sat in her room, alone, her laptop resting on her desk. She was checking her Facebook. Lately, she'd been getting Facebook-stalked by some guy from her grade school. Reluctantly, she signed onto the chat, hoping that he wasn't there….he was.
He immediately sent her a message. 'Hello love'
To which she replied quickly, 'Leave me alone, you fucking moron.'
Before he could reply, she got another message from someone else: Henry.
'Hey ;D'
She didn't even remember accepting his friend request, but she didn't mind. 'Hey.'
The stalker-boy was back. 'Why? You don't want me?'
She began to type a strongly-worded response when, mid-sentence, Henry sent another message.
'Can I call you? Or is now a bad time?'
'No. Now's fine,' she managed to type.
'Ok.'
The stalker sent yet another message when her phone rang. She quickly logged out of Facebook and answered hastily.
"Hey."
"Hey…" Henry replied smoothly. "Um, look….can I ask you something?"
"Yeah….uh, sure…what is it?"
He took a deep breath and blurted, "Well, since technically we're now boyfriend and girlfriend…"
"Oh, God…."
"I was thinking….my sister got a pair of tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar, you know, with Ted Neeley? And she bailed 'cause her stupid fiancé said they had 'other plans.' So, I was wondering…do you…wanna go with me?"
She was a bit puzzled. They'd been 'going out' for two weeks now, which really means confessing their feelings for one another and then going back to being just friends.
"You mean…like a date?" She asked stupidly.
"Yeah…a date…I mean, we are together and all…."
"Um…ok…yeah…When is it?"
"This weekend," he admitted a little sheepishly. "Sorry for the late notice…"
"It's not a problem, really…I mean, I wasn't doing anything else this weekend…" She rolled her eyes. There goes my rehearsal time…
"Awesome….Let's see…if the show's at 8, then I'll pick you up around…7:00?"
"Ok. Sounds fine."
"Really? Great…"
She giggled. She loved how excited he was getting about this, "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Ok. Bye…" He went to hang up but he stopped himself. "I love you, Nat."
She smiled quickly. "Goodbye, Henry," and hung up the phone. The smile quickly faded. He loves me…she thought. He actually loves me… She couldn't even fathom the thought.
She placed her phone down on the desk as she logged back into Facebook. She went immediately to the 'Info' section of her profile and changed her status.
Natalie Goodman is in a relationship.
Her stalker didn't take the news too well. He kept sending her messages and ridiculous wall posts (ex: C'mon, baby, you know you want me…). She ended up blocking him anyway.
The weekend came way too fast. She still didn't know what to wear or what to do…This was only her first date…
She had another boyfriend before. Jack Parker. He was an eighth grader when she was in seventh grade. They were both in the school band together. He told her that he had feelings for her one day and they were automatically together. They never went anywhere on a date. He would just drag her along with him to his sports practices, bragging that he was one of the only guys on the team who had a girlfriend. She hated the way he treated her: like an object rather than a person. She broke it off with him after he graduated.
She thought of the story again as she looked through her closet. She finally decided on a decent enough outfit. She chose a plain, short black dress with her high-heeled, knee-high black dress boots. It was casual yet dressy at the same time. She quickly slipped it on, ignoring the fact that it was about a size too small in the bust. She looked at herself in the mirror and grinned with approval. She had time to kill before Henry came to get her, so she turned on her computer and logged onto Facebook. She quickly changed her status.
'Well…off to JCS with Henry…wish me luck… Cuz I'm gonna need it…'
She got a notification within seconds. Her cousin had commented on her status.
'Oooh…is he your boyfriend?'
'Um….sort of, yeah…' She replied.
'Have fun!!! Don't sweat it, Nat, you'll be fine…=D
She smiled and was about to type back when she heard the loud beep of Henry's car from outside. She rushed downstairs and was about to open the door when she was startled by a voice.
"Where are you going?" She jumped and turned around. It was her father, staring at her, arms crossed in a concerned manner.
"I'm going out…with a…friend…" She forgot that he didn't know they were going out.
"Which friend?" He asked curiously.
"Um, Henry…" Why was he so nosy tonight?
He gave her a challenging stare. "Uh-huh…and you'll be back…?"
"Before one…I know…" She groaned, opening the door. "Bye, Dad…"
She walked out and slammed the door on him before he could reply to her. She felt a bit relieved as she walked over to Henry's car. Like a burden was lifted. She sighed and let herself into the car, ignoring the fact that Henry wasn't even aware that she was there.
"Hey," she said, getting settling and tapping him on the shoulder.
He jumped slightly and turned to face her. "Oh. Hey." He examined her dress, his eyes guiltily falling onto the tight spot caused by her curves. "You look…great…"
"Thanks, " she responded, blushing a bit. "Um, you too…"
They awkwardly just stared for about a minute. She didn't know what to do. Should she start a conversation? Or should she wait for him? He seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"So…" She started quietly. "Should we go?"
"Yeah…" He responded just as quiet. "We should…"
He took a moment to start the engine up and the sped off towards the city.
Parking lots were full everywhere. Apparently, Ted Neeley was more popular than they thought. They found an open lot about a block away from the theater. And luckily it was only $10 for parking. So they quickly found a spot and parked the car.
They both took a moment and opened their doors at the same time. It was a bit chilly out and she wore nothing more than her tight-fitting dress. Henry looked over at her and noticed her shivering a little. He decided, Ah, what the hell…and took his jacket off and put it around her shoulders.
She gave him a small smile as they began to walk to the theater.
"Um…thanks…" She muttered quietly as they approached a crosswalk.
"No problem." He replied, pressing the button to cross the street.
Suddenly, a guy no older than Henry had walked up next to them. He looked a bit suspicious as he sat there, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Henry caught him staring a few times at Natalie, or rather Natalie's chest.
He defensively put an arm around her and glared at him. "What the hell do you think you're looking at?"
The guy just shook his head and sped across the street as soon as the light turned red.
"What was that about?" She asked Henry, whose arm was still around her.
"Nothing…I just…saw the way he was looking at you…"
"Oh, so now you're Mr. Tough Guy, huh?" she teased, raising her brow challengingly.
"Shut up…" He laughed, tightening his grip around her, pulling her closer.
They reached the theater and quickly filed in with the crowd and got their tickets scanned. They were in the balcony so they trudged up two flights of stairs to find their seats. The view of the stage was far, but sill good enough. Natalie handed her ticket to one of the ushers, who showed them to their seats. In the middle of the row, tightly cramped together.
They both squeezed into their seats, noticing the poor elbow room. He was practically sitting directly next to her, if it wasn't for the arm rest of the seat separating them. She didn't mind being so close to him. She sort of liked it. His arm draped across her shoulders again as she rested her head on his, pulling them closer even more. She felt the warmth of his skin as his fingers lightly stroked her back, tiny shivers ran down her spine. Everything seemed absolutely perfect….then the show started.
The audience had cheered their Judas through "Heaven on Their Minds" as the whole cast assembled for "What's the Buzz?" Natalie was never a religion junkie, nor did her family practice it very often. But somehow she was compelled by the show so far. And Ted Neeley. For a 60-year-old man, he had some pipes.
The song was half-way done when the usher came and stood right in front of the couple, blocking their view of the stage. He was escorting a man to his seat, right next to Natalie. The man squeezed his way past the two and sat himself down with some satisfaction. The usher left and Henry looked over at the man, who was obviously drunk off his ass. It was the guy from the crosswalk.
Henry leaned in towards Natalie and whispered, "Hey, at intermission, switch seats with me."
"Why?" She whispered back.
"Just…because…"
She rolled her eyes and ignored his overprotective attitude. The scene had ended and the actors playing the high priests came on. The one was a deep bass. She couldn't take him seriously and giggled every time he opened his mouth. Ironically enough, Henry did the same. They seemed more alike now than ever before. She wondered if he was maybe a perfect match for her, if she had found her special someone.
The first act continued, nothing really eventful happened…until "I Don't Know How to Love Him." As Mary Magdalene sang her song soulfully, Natalie looked up Henry, who allowed her to keep her head on his shoulder. She couldn't help but relate with the song. She really didn't know how to love him. She was new with this thing…she never really had feelings for anyone like she did with Henry. She loved him…but she couldn't show it.
A small smile spread across her face as she nestled in closer to him. She thought she was in paradise, a euphoria of sorts. But something was wrong. She had that feeling that something was just going to go wrong. She looked over a the guy next to her. He was staring. Just staring. She turned away from him, frightened a little.
"Henry," she whispered, nudging him in the side with her elbow.
"What?"
"He's staring again…It's really starting to creep me out."
Henry gave a cold glare to the guy and turned back to Natalie. "One more scene 'til intermission. Then I promise I'll get rid of him."
She nodded, grabbing his arm and wrapping it around her shoulder, a wordless way of saying 'thanks.'
The act had ended longer than she thought it would. The both of them remained in their seats, and so did the guy. Henry had let her switch seats with him as he started the confrontation.
"Hey," he said, sounding rather cruel. "What the hell are you staring at, you bastard?"
The guy threw him a cold glare. "Why does it matter to you?"
"Because it's bothering her."
"Like that's a good enough reason…"
Natalie sank back into her seat, not wanting to look at either one of them.
"Well, I'm sorry that I care about my girlfriend's safety." She felt her heart leap at the word girlfriend.
"Well, I don't seem to be bothering her, do I? Or she would've come up and told me herself. I think I'm just bothering you. What, are you jealous or something?"
"Oh my God, you are so drunk…" Natalie muttered under her breath.
"I'm only a little buzzed, sugar lips."
"Sugar lips? Seriously?! How lame can you get?"
"I can get as lame as you want me to get…" He winked at her. It was a creepy, stalker wink.
She shuddered and fell back into her seat, leaving Henry to deal with him. The two continued to bicker until the lights flickered for Act II to start. It wasn't a happy act either. She could hardly focus on the play as thoughts swarmed her head. She didn't know if she liked this protective Henry. It was nice to have someone to keep the creeps off her back, sure, but if he was like this all the time…She didn't know if she could handle it.
Her eyes darted over to the guy, who was turning around constantly in his seat, really getting drunk now. For some odd reason, he seemed so familiar to her. Like she'd seen him before…somewhere…Sugar lips, she thought. What a stupid name…the only person who ever called me that was….holy shit…She felt a little guilty using the word 'holy' in a curse word at a play about Jesus, but she quickly tapped Henry on the shoulder.
"Um, Henry, this might sound kind of awkward, but I think I know who that guy is…"
"Ok. And he is…?"
"He's my ex-boyfriend."
He started to snicker a bit before getting angry glares from everyone around him (it was the Crucifixion scene, anyway, the most inopportune moment for giggles).
"That's what you've been worrying about this whole time?"
"Henry, that guy is obsessed with me! He's been Facebook stalking me for like six months!"
"Wow…"
She rolled her eyes, and looked over at the guy, who she now knew as Jack Parker, her ex from seventh grade. He gave her an awkward smile that gave her shivers, and they weren't the good shivers either.
The show had ended and Ted Neeley had gotten a two minute standing ovation, but as soon as the cast left the stage, Natalie was tugging on Henry's sleeve, trying to get out as fast as possible. They got out of their seats and were in the aisle when she felt someone grab onto her arm.
She turned around and saw that it was Jack, completely drunk. "What the fuck are you doing?!"
He didn't say a word, but pulled her close to him, staring at her bust, taking in the image of the adolescent Natalie. "You know I still love you." He pressed his lips hard against hers as his hands groped around her body. Henry had seen enough and pulled her away from him and punched Jack in the face. He fell to the ground, a bloody mess.
"Don't mess with my girl…"
She felt a sense of pride. She was his. No one else's. Just Henry's.
They began to walk out of the theater, when Henry pulled her aside.
"I'm so sorry, Nat…Really. This was a really suckish first date, huh?"
She smiled and shook her head. "No. It wasn't really…I mean, if you'd call getting seated next to your ex boyfriend who's drunk off their ass who eventually tries to make out with you while your current boyfriend beats him up suckish, then yes. This was a suckish date."
He gave her a little half-smile, half-smirk. His arm was back around her shoulder as they exited the theater.
"But…you know, this was suckish in a good way." She piped up, waiting at the crosswalk. "Like, my life is suckish. Really suckish. So this wasn't really that bad."
His face lit up with a little bit of hope. "Really?"
"Really."
He grabbed her hands gently and slowly pulled her closer, kissing her lips softly. His kiss was so gentle, so tender. She didn't want it to end. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere, like someone noticed her. Like she was a real person. She felt that spark of romance that she'd seen in so many fairy tales. She kissed him back, a little harder than he had. He pulled away and laughed at her. She was waiting for him to reattach himself to her, to never let go. But it had to end.
"I love you, Natalie." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.
She kissed his cheek gently and whispered back, "I love you too…"
A/N: So who was confused/unhappy? I'll explain my choice of plot in the author's note (located in the next chapter). Because I feel that this was really strange but it needed to happen cuz Natalie's life IS hell.
Reviews please?