Chapter 29

"Maybe yarn isn't it."

Once-ler shuffled through his drawers of skeins and more skeins of soft, colourful yarn. He tossed several to the floor in frustrated disapproval.

"Maybe yarn isn't what the Thneed needs."

Norma watched on in silence, feeling a desperate pull of butterflies in her stomach. She fiddled with the fret of Once-ler's guitar that lay on her lap.

"Maybe there is something… no, anything else," Once-ler whispered, dropping a few balls of the fluff to the hardwood floor. He had been storming around and paraphrasing Norma's words since that rainy evening on the hill. He hadn't knitted anything in little over a week. Instead, he spent hours racking his brain for a revelation. These hours quickly shifted into days, which in turn closed in on two weeks. Norma had felt like a quiet ghost, haunting his pacing trivialities in the corners of his days. She couldn't remember the last time she had spoken to him. Was the last time he had wrapped his arms around her been almost two weeks ago?

It was a Sunday afternoon at Once-ler's house. The year had just started working on April, bringing with it warm weather and singing birds. Norma stared longingly out the window to the greening grass that filled the fields around the farmhouse. Once-ler had been keeping himself cooped up inside since his realization. He was sitting on his bed across from her, flipping violently through his pile of worn sketchpads. They were full to the brim with patterns and designs. He had been sketching his Thneed to life long before he had ever even met Norma. But now, he was at a loss. She was at a loss too.

"How could I have never thought of this?" Once-ler grumbled, tearing out a page from his sketchbook and crumpling it up into a ball. He tossed it toward a trash can by his door without looking. It ended up hitting the wall next to it and bouncing to the floor. It landed amongst a few other balls of sketch paper that he had just tossed away carelessly. The trashcan itself was nearly full. Norma wanted to say something.

"How could I have just overlooked this?" he muttered, slamming the sketch book shut. He then picked the book up from his lap and thoughtlessly threw the whole thing away. This time he didn't miss, and it landed noisily on top of all the other rejects. A few balls fell over the rim, making room for the hefty new resident. Norma flinched.

Once-ler jumped to his feet. He looked around his bedroom with his bloodshot eyes. When was the last night he had slept, Norma wondered. He looked terrible, as if it had been days. She imagined poor Once-ler, up all night, staring into the bumps on his ceiling for an answer. Was this… her fault?

"Just because yarn is what is traditionally knit doesn't mean I can't expand my horizons."

Once-ler took a few steps to his left and stopped.

"It doesn't mean I can't knit with anything."

He shifted his weight and took a few steps to the left. He was speaking with his hands. Stroking his chin. He was in such a deep amount of thought that Norma wasn't even sure if he knew she was there anymore. He was pacing again.

"All I need is that perfect material. That perfect substance for the perfect Thneed. It has to exist! I just have to find it!"

Once-ler paced one more time. He walked the full diameter of the room before turning to the door. He was gone in seconds. Norma barely realized he had even left. Suddenly she was alone, in Once-ler empty bedroom. She didn't know if she wanted to follow or wait it out. She was a little scared of Once-ler. A little worried for him too. She had never seen him so determined and so crazy before in their time together. Sure, there had been times she had thought him to be a little obsessed with his Thneed, but this was something else altogether. This… whatever this was… it was making him forget to eat, forget to sleep, forget to come to school, and mostly importantly, forget to love Norma. Like Norma, she meant.

She chose to follow. She treaded lightly down the stairs in search of where Once-ler may have gone. The house seemed empty. Silence seemed to scream down the hallways. The rest of Once-ler's family were out to some function out of town, leaving the two of them alone with the house for the weekend. But even so, the house felt emptier than that. It didn't feel like Once-ler was even still there.

"Once-ler?" she called out in a whisper. She couldn't help but keep quiet in the quiet, quiet home. She felt like an intruder now, lurking around the corner. She found her way into the living room, but Once-ler wasn't there to be found. She wandered into the dining area only to find the same results. The kitchen and the foyer followed suit. Soon enough she found herself staring at the front door. It was unlocked.

Norma felt hesitant. She wasn't sure what Once-ler would be doing outside. It didn't even look like he had put on his coat or boots before leaving. She saw his jacket hanging on its hanger in the closet, right next to hers. She slipped into her boots that were on the floor right next to his.

"Once-ler?" Norma called out again, a little louder this time. She had opened and pulled the door away from her line of sight. She walked slowly into the pleasantly cool April air. Her eyes darted around the clear blue sky. It was sunny and full of life; chirping birds danced among the sparse clouds. She blinked a few times and found Once-ler sitting in the grass a few paces away.

"Hey… what are you doing?" Norma asked when she reached him. He didn't look up to her. He didn't respond. His eyes were focused on his hands. More specifically, what was in his hands. He held onto blades of grass, examining them carefully.

"Something better than yarn…" he mumbled while working the grass with his fingertips. It was still yellowed from the harshness of Winter, as well as short and stubbly. Norma couldn't see any possible way of knitting with such a material, let alone how it could prove to be any better – or comfortable – than yarn.

Once-ler chewed on his bottom lip with frustration, probably realizing the exact same thing. In one quick motion, he tossed his collection of grass into the air. It fluttered gently to the ground around the two of them. Many blades found their way into his dark hair. Norma couldn't help but giggle.

"You think this is funny?" Once-ler grunted without even looking up.

Norma closed her mouth and froze.

"Do you not know how serious this is?" he snapped, this time looking up at her with a fierce glare.

Norma grimaced, "Well, it's kind of silly how you're reacting. I mean, there's nothing wrong with yarn. All I had meant was-"

"There is everything wrong with yarn!" Once-ler interrupted with a snapping shout, "All this time it has been yarn that has been holding us back. The Thneed needs something so much more than just some cheap yarn. It needs something amazing. Something that exists somewhere. But where?"

"Maybe it doesn't exist," Norma whispered, staring down at Once-ler's bare toes.

"If you're going to be apart of the Thneed, you can't give up so easily."

Norma thought on this. Once-ler got up and trudged away from her. He was looking for foliage of any kind. Natural was always better, right? The Thneed needed to be all natural! Synthetic and processed fibres just wouldn't do. But Winter had only just come to an end, leaving the land a lifeless mess.

"Maybe I don't want to be apart of the Thneed, then."

Once-ler spun around to find Norma right where he had left her. Her feet were planted into the ground and her hands were balled up into fists on either side of her body. A frown curved her lips and furrowed eyebrows crinkled her nose. Once-ler could see she was upset and suddenly he felt at a loss.

"Hmph!" Norma exclaimed and marched off. Once-ler watched her as she stomped away back into his house. He stayed.

Norma found herself alone again in Once-ler's bedroom. She let herself fall into his bed. It somehow still felt warm with Once-ler's body heat from earlier. She curled into it. She pressed her face into his pillow. It felt nice warming up her skin. It smelled nice in her nose. She relished in a sort of comfort she had never quite felt before. She could almost fall asleep…

"Why do you need to be such a jerk?" Norma questioned the air around her. She propped her face up with her elbows and stared achingly at the wall in front of her. This wasn't an unusual scenario anymore. It seemed the more days that passed, the more Once-ler put his Thneed before everything else. Sometimes Norma felt like she might as well stay home. Why was she even there anyway? It's not like she was helping in any way. Nowadays it seemed all she really provided for him was ambience music in the background. But on the other hand… what was he even providing her?

Norma extended one of her short arms toward the guitar she had propped up against the bed before leaving earlier. She twisted herself around while pulling it up and over her body. Lying on the bed, she stared at the ceiling and strummed a few sad chords. She hadn't heard Once-ler play a single note in almost a month. She hadn't heard him sing, either. He hadn't helped her improve or write. He hadn't done anything musical. It made her sad. It broke her heart. Lately, when she tried envisioning the two of them together on stage, it was excruciatingly difficult. It had become clouded. Fogged. It was troubling.

"Remember when we were the perfect duet

all the way back when we had only just met?

Oh, what will it take to win you back… again?"

Norma started to sing, and she continued to sing the daytime into night.

When Once-ler returned to his bedroom several hours later, he found Norma asleep on his bed. His guitar lay across her chest as if she had fallen asleep while playing. He watched it gently lift and set with each of her slow breaths. He felt awkward and couldn't help but blush. He was unsure of if he should wake her, or simply let her be. He chose to stay quiet.

"I'll wake you soon…" he whispered, quietly stepping towards her. He took hold of the guitar and pulled it away from her. She instantly rolled over onto her side, facing away from him. He couldn't help but smile at the soft sleeping noises that escaped her throat. He put the guitar down and turned away, sitting down at his desk. It was time for more work on his Thneed.

Right as his pencil was about to meet his fresh sketchpad, Norma shifted in the bed behind him. He turned around to check up on her to discover she was sitting up. Her tired eyes dug into him deeply.

"Hey there sleepy head," he greeted with a smile.

Norma frowned, "How about you take a break from your Thneed and play with me for a while. I've been working on some songs. I'd love to hear your feedback."

Once-ler tried to hold his smile, "I've been hearing your songs. You play them all the time. They're great, you know that."

"So you're saying no again?"

Once-ler sighed, letting his lips fall, "I don't really have time right now."

Norma scowled at him, "You never have time. I honestly think your stupid Thneed can wait an hour or two."

Once-ler started to become annoyed, "Look, Norma, I know you don't really get it, but I have a lot of work to do. I basically have to rethink my Thneed entirely. As much fun as it is singing silly little songs with you, I have much more important things to do. So please, let me work!"

Norma wasn't quick to make her comeback this time. She stared deep into Once-ler's eyes. He stared back at her just as profoundly. Their eyes burned holes into each other with angered passion. Their hearts crumbled ever so slightly.

"Silly little songs…" Norma echoed in a low throaty voice. She didn't notice her own tears slide down her cheeks.

Once-ler's face softened, "Hey, I didn't mean it like that…"

"I'm sure…" she mumbled. She started pulling herself apart from the bed.

"Wait," Once-ler said, moving away from his text and sliding his chair over beside her.

"I'm going home," was all Norma said.

Once-ler held his hands out, trying to keep her from standing, "Wait, come on. Don't be like that."

Norma struggled to get free of his trembling grasp on her. It wasn't too difficult to push him off. His wheeled chair rolled him away with the momentum. With that, she stood to her feet and fled. Out of the room, down the stairs, and straight out the door; she slid her feet into her boots and her arms into her coat as she ran passed the doorway. Once-ler had been close behind, but he stopped when he reached the doorframe. He watched her run through the field, and down the little pathway. It wasn't long before she was gone and out of sight.

"Norma…" he said her name like a cuss. He slammed the door closed and headed back for his bedroom. When he reached it, he sat back down at his desk and went back to his work. Right as his pencil was about to caress the paper, he thought he heard a sound behind his thoughts. He spun around to find his guitar had slid down the side of the bed and to the floor. He frowned. He thought. He had hoped it was Norma coming back, but it was not.

Once-ler picked up the guitar and brought it up onto his lap. He let his fingers slide into place, a few soft notes echoing throughout the room. He took a deep breath, preparing to sing a few lines-

"I just don't have time for this."

A/N: Another chapter for my darling readers. c: I'm going to go ahead and apologize if my story seems slow. It's just the kind of story it was intended to be. It's just more focused on the character development and relationship as opposed to the underlying plot. I've decided after writing a short breakdown of the rest of the story, that this story will official end at Chapter 39, with the possibility of a 40... but probably not. Anyway, thanks again for reading. I really appreciate every view and review that I get! Have a lovely day!