AN/... So, the first chapter of my New Light sequel - New Life! If you haven't read New Light, you should still be able to understand this story but please read New Light anyway! And if you have read New Light, you'll know I'm a fan of saying enjoy!

Chapter 1 - Exploding Microwaves

Chell POV - We were all sitting on the sofa, watching a film and drinking coke. Wheatley was on my left and Rick was next to him. Nobody was smashing the windows or juggling the plates. Why couldn't Wheatley and Rick be this calm all the time? Of course, when I say calm, I mean Rick was laughing raucously at the TV, Wheatley was laughing like a hyena on drugs, and I was being normal and simply chuckling like a sane person at the funny parts of the film. Wheatley's arm was around me as usual, and Rick's arms weren't around anyone. His were on his knees, since he had now actually doubled over laughing. Wheatley threw his head back, and a tear escaped his eye from the laughter. Sheesh! Men! I thought, rolling my eyes. Rick prodded Wheatley and they both leant their heads on each others shoulders, shaking with laughter.

"I'm tired, I'm gonna head off to bed. You guys, don't break anything," I warned, standing up and stretching out my leg which Wheatley had been sitting on for the past hour and a half. I really was exhausted, maybe that was why I didn't laugh so much at the film. Rick waved at me with a grin, and Wheatley pulled me onto his lap for a quick hug. I rubbed my cheek along his soft blonde hair, on the verge of falling asleep right there. Wheatley nuzzled into my neck before releasing me, and I stumbled to my bedroom on cloud nine. If it's possible, I think I grow to love Wheatley more and more every day. With a happy sigh, I got ready for bed and fell asleep straight away. The bed felt horrible and empty without Wheatley next to me, and I hoped I wouldn't get nightmares.

Rick POV - that hilarious film had to come to end at some point, and as the end credits rolled, I felt a twinge of sadness. It was lonely at my house, all alone. I felt more at home here than I did in my own house, which was stupid.

"What shall we do now?" Wheatley suddenly asked, grinning. Phew, I was allowed to stay longer.

"Let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Sure, come on!" Wheatley led me into his kitchen excitedly. He was so optimistic and cheerful all the time it was almost annoying. He flicked on the light switch, and a warm, bright kitchen complete with a dining table became illuminated. Wheatley opened the fridge and cupboards, to show me all the options. They had enough food to feed a large family, and there was only two of them. I guessed Wheatley must eat a lot, he always seemed to steal my crisps and biscuits at my house.

"We can't use the oven," he told me, though I had no idea why. I decided to ask him.

"Because last time I used an oven, I burned my house down, literally. That was the reason I had to move in with Chell in the first place," I couldn't help but snort at this tale.

"You burned the house down... By cooking..." I said slowly. When he nodded, I burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" he wailed, looking embarrassed and distressed. As funny as this story is, Wheatley's my best friend, so my tormenting should only go so far.

"Sorry, so what should we make?" I asked him, a ghost of a smile playing on the edge of my lips.

"I dunno, let's just stick some pie in the microwave or something,"

I grabbed the box holding a delicious looking apple pie, and removed the cardboard. The pie sat in a little tinfoil container, and I placed it in the open microwave.

"Shouldn't we read the cooking instructions on the box first?" Wheatley asked, sounding worried.

"Nah, instructions are for wusses! Anyway, it's a microwave, you just put a few minutes on the number thingy and press the start button and wait! How hard can it be?"

"For us, very very difficult," Wheatley groaned, but allowed me to continue. I typed three minutes onto the timer display, closed the microwave door, and pressed the big start button.

"C'mon Rick, let's go play footie whilst we wait!" suddenly Wheatley's favourite, slightly abused football landed in my arms. I looked up at him, grinning like mad, and smiled back.

"Okay, but in the garden, I don't wanna get in Chell's bad books again, she didn't dig us playing indoor baseball last time," I replied, opening the back door leading out into the moonlit night.

"The window didn't dig it either." we both burst out laughing, that was a good one coming from Wheatley.

Kicking a ball around, we didn't notice the strange sparking coming from the microwave, or the odd crackling noise it was making. We didn't realise the damage we'd done till it was too late, and we were startled by a deep bang. I whipped around, to see the microwave flickering and sparking. The door was hanging off its hinges, and the pie was burnt to a crisp, with all the filling bubbling in steaming piles dotted around the inside. Great, so much for staying in Chell's good books. We ran into the kitchen, ditching the football in the muddy gloom. As soon as I touched the microwave, the door clattered to the floor and another spark flew from it. I unplugged the completely broken machine with a sigh.

"I'll go check on Chell, to see if we woke her. If we didn't then maybe we can fix it before morning and she'll never know," Wheatley said, surprisingly calm. We weren't about to break out in argument this time, by the looks of things. I gingerly lifted the microwave door, and inspected it. There was no way we could ever fix this microwave. A burning smell filled the room like deadly smoke, and I breathed shallowly so I didn't have to inhale so much of the stench. Suddenly, I had a good idea. I would tell Wheatley to go to bed, and 'fix' the microwave myself. Although my fixing will consist of buying a new one. This was a brilliant plan, there was absolutely no way it could go wrong! Also, just to add to the awesomeness of the plan, Wheatley will think I'm an amazing mechanic when I'm only a very good one! It was flawless!

Wheatley POV - I slowly opened the bedroom door, careful to stop it creaking. Chell was tied up in knots with the sheets, writhing around the bed. I felt instantly guilty for not going to bed with her, because now she was having nightmares. Sitting next to her on the matress, I began to slowly stroke her hair. When that did nothing, I lay down next to Chell, and pulled the nightmare ridden woman into my arms. She began to struggle and kick against me, and I figured since she was asleep she'd probably have trouble identifying me.

"Chell, luv, it's me, Wheatley," I whispered gently into her soft ear. That stopped her kicking my shins and pushing away. Instead, Chell snuggled into me, grabbing me around my waist and locking her hands.

"You're okay, it's just a dream, not real," I murmured to the still sleeping girl, who seemed to be in a nightmare by her shallow breathing and slightly sweating body.

"What's really happening, right, is you're at home, in bed, fast asleep, and I'm lying next to you hugging you. Rick's downstairs fix- erm... Playing football, and GLaDOS is disabled. Nobody is in Aperture anymore to wake her up, so She can never ever bother us again. We're going to be safe for the rest of our lives. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

Chell buried her face into my shirt, and curled her knees up so they rested on my thighs. Her hands were clasping the back of my shirt so tightly, she obviously didn't want me to go again. Rick would have to fix the bloody microwave by himself, and to be fair he's the one that broke it in the first place. I fished my mobile out of my pocket, and opened a new text.

'Chell needs me upstairs. She having nightmare. Fix microwave yourself. See you tomorrow. Sorry.'

I sent it to him, then put the phone on the bedside table and pulled Chell closer to me, enveloping her with my warmth and safety. Eventually, Chell's body relaxed completely. Her nightmare was over. I calmed down instantly, relieved of my worry, and fell asleep too.

Bright mid-morning sunshine slipped through the crack in the curtains, and cut across my face. I awoke suddenly, annoyed by the sharp intruder. I groaned, and turned my head into the comforting darkness of the pillow. Chell was still clinging to me, breathing softly against my chest. Chell was lying on one of my arms, the other wrapped around her waist. We were interlocking, so I stayed still as to not wake Chell. However, she was still fast asleep half an hour later, and I slowly began to untangle myself. Even as I stood up and left the room, Chell didn't stir. She must have been exhausted.

I swiftly walked down the stairs, through the dim hallway and front room, to investigate what state Rick left the microwave in. I nearly cried out in shock as I turned the corner into the kitchen, and found Rick fast asleep, his head resting on the worktop. I inclined my head, to investigate the microwave. It was white, clean, and looked brand new. I fiddled with the door and buttons, everything worked. It was like a miracle had zapped Rick and turned him into a super mechanic. I gave him a little shake, and he jumped into an upright position.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, confused to as why he was sleeping in our kitchen.

"Must've fallen asleep whilst fixing this," Rick muttered, patting the microwave as if holding some affection for it, like a normal human would a pet. I shook my head, bemused, and interrupted his petting of the microwave.

"Thanks for fixing it, anyway, it looks great!"

"Nah, it was nothing," he smiled modestly. "Let's try not to annihilate this one."

I laughed. "Yeah, that would be good."

"Man, you need to sort out your hair," he said to me, making my hands automatically clap onto my head.

"Joking, it looks fine," he laughed at my expression. "Awh, you should have seen your face! Classic!"

At that exact moment, Chell came into the kitchen, smiling slightly. Her hair was wet and she was wearing daytime clothes, so I assumed she had a quick shower before coming downstairs to find me.

"Whoa, Rick you're here early. Not having one of your monster lie-ins?" Chell turned to me, and smiled.

"Morning luv," I said, opening my arms for a hug. She delivered it instantly, just like we did every morning one of us got up before the other.

"I popped round, to ask if you guys wanted to have a guitar hero tournament with me. Despite the fact you know I'll win," Rick said smugly.

"Bullshit! I always beat you!" I retaliated, using the word Rick said so often when he thought people weren't telling the truth. In fact, Rick had taught me a lot of new vocabulary, under the categories swearing and slang. I was happy to be able to use it in some context for once,

"He has a point," Chell added with a grin."Wheatley always beats us, I mean he does play real guitar after all."

"Today is the day that all changes, my friend," Rick punched my shoulder gently. I returned the gesture.

"Bring it on!"

Twenty eight songs later, Chell laughed as I thrashed Rick again and again. I was playing on expert, and he was playing on medium, yet I still could win every round. This game was simple to me, compared to playing a real acoustic guitar.

"When are you going to give up?" I questioned, as my fingers shot up and down the multicoloured buttons with speed and accuracy.

"Why would I give up when I'm about to win?" Rick moved to nudge me with his guitar, but I dodged, predicting that he would attack.

"You're not about to win!" I cried, achieving 100% on the song - again. I couldn't help but laugh, Rick's 82% seemed measly in comparison.

"Competitive much?" Chell raised her eyebrows at us with an amused smile. We both shrugged in unison, and continued bashing the guitars with the sheer force of our competitive drive.

Another three songs after that, Rick gave up due to getting stiff fingers. They seemed permanently fixed in claw positions, and I chuckled.

"Next weekend, I'm going to beat you at something Wheatley, just you wait." Rick grinned, and all I could imagine was a villain laughing evilly. It was a pretty scary image, and I didn't like the thought of being on Rick's tiny hit list of people who could beat him at something. Whatever he had planned, I doubted it would end well... For me.

AN/... First chapter's up! I hope you liked it =/ please follow/favourite/review =D