Collector's Item

Rating:
PG-13 for language, the theme of death, and hints of sexuality



Note: Just wanted to see if this would do any good here. Hope you all enjoy!

Enter James
chapter one


"AND if you purchase THESE items shown NOW...WE'LL give you a KEYchain, featuring Frodo's SWOrd, STING ABSOLUTELY FREE!"

Natalie and her siblings sat in the living room with their eyes glued to the TV.

"Oh my God. We so have to order those."

"CALL 1-800-LOTR-TOY NOW to enjoy these FABULOUS COLLECTOR'S items and a FREE KEYchain."

"Quick...Get the phone."

The two younger siblings stared frantically at the television as the commercial started to end. They tried desperately to memorize the numbers on the screen before the commercial ended.

"Today, Nat. TODAY!"

"I'm looking...I'm looking." Nat replied hysterically as she searched through the loads of mail piled on the coffee table. "Found it!"

Paul looked at her sarcastically, "I thought I said the phone."

“Hey buddy. Back in my day pens and paper were the best things we had. Use them."

Paul ignored her remark and took the pen and paper from Nat's hands. He immediately started to right down the phone number previously announced on the TV screen. "One. Eight Hundred. Em…what was the rest?"

"L. O. T. R. T. O. Y...the numbers are 5-6-8-7-..." Annette replied as she looks over her twin's shoulder to make sure he was writing the right number down.

Nat smiled at her siblings. It felt so good to finally be back home with her family. She had always felt so safe under this roof. She had so many memories in this house; coming home in tears after her first day of school, having her 6th birthday party disrupted by the neighbor's sons, winning that pair of tickets to a Weezer concert off the radio, and the countless sleepovers with her best friends. But the most treasured of all things were the shelves, racks, and displays of various collector's items the family had composed during their lifetimes. Collecting collector's items of all sorts was a family hobby. And a proud one at that, judging by all the items they had displayed throughout their house.

Two years of college behind her and two years of college before her, UC San Diego had already exhausted her and it felt so good to be in a place where projects and deadlines didn't exist. Well, for a three months anyway.

"Paul...Come here and set the table for me."

"Moooom. Why me? Why not Anne?"

"Because I'm older," Annette teased.

"By three minutes!"

Their mother sighed. "Fine. Annette. Come here and set the table."

Paul smiled wickedly but then started to defend himself when Annette started to attack him.

"And Paul, you come here and grate the cheese."

At the sound of that Annette disentangled herself from the wrestling and gave Paul a satisfied grin. This time Paul scowled.

Anne and Paul raised themselves off the floor and started to head towards the kitchen on their mission to help out their mother. Natalie stayed on her recliner and gazed back at the TV. There was a commercial on for the second installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She watched two bright blue eyes appear on the screen along with a mess of dark, curly hair. Nat chuckled to herself as she remembered the first time she took Anne and Paul to see The Fellowship of the Ring. The two of them had not stopped talking about the movie for weeks after she had taken them to see it. They had constantly called her up and spoke hours on end about how funny Merry and Pippin were and how great Legolas was with his bow and how great Aragorn was with his sword. For some odd reason they never talked about Boromir much, and he happened to be Nat's favorite character. They even started bawling once trying to talk about Gandalf. And of course Anne never stopped talking about the hobbits. She was madly in love with every single one of them. Especially Frodo.

"Natalie! Dinner's ready."

"I'll be right there, Mom." Nat got up and turned off the television before following her nose into the kitchen. "The lasagna smells great! I am so starved." She sat herself down on the gold-colored seat at the left corner of the table. Four years ago she and her best friend had helped each other paint two chairs gold. Nat and Eden each had one in their houses and called them their personal "thrones".

Natalie's mom started to serve out the food. "One huge meat lasagna for the meat-lovers," she pronounced as she placed the large lasagna on the table, "And a medium large veggie lasagna for those of us who don’t eat meat," she said as she placed the second lasagna in front of Natalie.

"Thanks, Mom," Nat said, grinning at her mother's thoughtfulness.

"Your welcome, honey. Remember to leave some of that for Jamie after he gets in tonight." Nat's mom sat down and helped herself to some lasagna. "So what was all that yelling before about?"

"Oh. There was an ad on..." The ring of the doorbell cut Paul off. Natalie got up to open it.

"Jamie gets in at nine right?" Her mother nodded leaving Nat suspicious of whoever was at the door seeing as it was only a bit past eight. She walked through the living room and went up to the door. As she opened it she gasps. "Oh My God!"



Note about chapter: the time this part of the fiction is set is, as you can tell, around the period of the release of LOTR: TTT, meaning in the middle of 2002.

OMG I REMEMBER THIS.

heeeh. no, really, i do! i love the phone number, it makes me happy. (yes, i am verrrry easily amused.) and i really like paul - he's adorable.

Matt! You...were you Padfoot? All the ways away back then? Oh man, I had no idea all these former-EWFNers sailed over here to set up camp. It's all one big shock to me right now. Haha. Anyway, thanks for your reply.


Alli.

OMG OMG OMG
*bounces*

I still cannot believe it!!!
Your back...and with this splendid fic!!!
I do remember it so well. It was loads of fun...and the silly convo's we had over it...ahahaha. They really cracked me up. Count me in on reading this!

I am soooooo happy you are back!!!
:hug: :hug: :hug:
A BIG HUGE WELCOME BACK TO YOU!!!!!!!!

I'm all happy and jittery about being here again. Hahaha. I missed you all!

Matt and Dana: Do you guys have fics on here?


Okay, I'm just going to post a new chapter...because I can. :) I changed this story quite a bit, so if you guys remember the first version of Collector's Item at all you'll notice that this chapter is pretty different. Anyway, enjoy!











Enter Orlando
chapter two

"JAMIE! Wh--what are you doing here? I thought your flight got in at nine!" exclaimed Natalie, who almost bowled him over with her hug. Once her arms had been swung around her brother's neck and her head had make its way above Jamie's slightly taller shoulder she was met by a shocking although handsome sight. Confused she whispered into Jamie's ear, "Don't look now but I think you've been followed. There's a dark seemingly brooding man right behind you." Jamie laughed as he pried her off of himself.

"Nat, this is Orlando, Orli for short. Orlando, Natalie, Nat for short. Listen, how happy and pleasant do you reckon mum is right now? As in, think I'd be able to pull off telling her I've brought a friend with me to stay for a bit?" At first Nat seemed to be stuck on the words 'reckon' and 'mum,' which were phrases she thought were highly uncharacteristic of her brother, even though she hadn't seen him for almost two years. She had still been in her senior year of high school when Jamie had gone away to study in New York. He had promised to come back to help her move into her dorm in San Diego, but, while in the Big Apple, he'd been faced with a chance of a lifetime, an all-expenses paid trip to Europe. He took it. After two years, to Nat, Jamie definitely looked bigger, more mature and actually like the 25 year old he was, but apparently his brain had not lived up to his braun. She oggled at him as his friend continued to shift awkwardly behind him.

"You're kidding! You didn't tell her? Oh lord, what were you..." Suddenly screams ripped through the house. This time Anne and Paul did manage to topple their brother to the ground. Mrs. Cutter could now be seen walking up to see what all the commotion was about. Nat attempted to stop or at least stall her, "Hey mom! How's it going? Good? Good. Let's go back to the table shall we?" Her mother, not buying it, as usual, eyed her warily, brushed her off, and proceeded but upon seeing Jamie beamed brightly, brought him to his feet and seized him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Jamie! You're early! How are you? How was Europe? Was--oh. Hello there." Mrs. Cutter was as surprised at the sight of Orlando as Natalie was. Paul and Anne, who had also just noticed Orlando stood there both shell shocked from being int he presence of not only a celebrity but a celebrity that they both idolized. Orlando chose to ignore the two young'uns and focused on Mrs. Cutter instead.

"Good evening, ma'am. Sorry to intrude on your supper. It...uh...smells...quite lovely...ma'am." Simultaneously Jamie's face turned into a grimace and his mother's eyebrows rose in confusion.

"Why...thank you." There was the briefest of pauses, but nonetheless still an incredibly awkward one. "Now, I'm not trying to sound too forward or rude or anything but...who exactly are you?" Jamie's grimace disappeared as he finally remembered his place in this mess. As he started to open his mouth to explain the turn of events he found he was all but a second too late.

"Well, I see you've all met Orlando. Good good. Oh and you too Kathleen? Isn't he just a charming young man? I suppose you've just given the okay to let him stay here? Very good. See Jamie, all is going very well, just like I said it would!" Mr. Cutter had just come out of the garage rolling two travel bags, one with a duffel bag on top of it, behind him. Jamie's face contorted back into a grimace.

"Excuse me?!" Mrs. Cutter asked as pleasantly as she could; although, her voice seemed to hang in the air, quivering slightly. Mr. Cutter's eyes filled with horror.

"Oh, erm," he turned toward Jamie giving him a pat on his back, whispering, "I'm going to turn this over to you, son. Good luck." Kathleen's eye's turned to slits in front of her husband.

"Bruce..." she said, warningly, as her eyes followed her husband into the house. They then darted back to her eldest son. "Jamie, come in here. I'l like to have a talk with you..." Jamie didn't even hesitate to follow his mother into the house; however, he did give Orli and Nat each a frightened glance as he made his way through the living room. "BRUCE! I'd like a word with you too!"

Nat turned back toward Orlando and her brother and sister, half amused and half terrified at the whole situation. The twins were still staring at Orli, completely star struck. "I think we'd better get inside, where it should be warmer than my mother's welcome blast of iciness." Orli gave her the feeblest of laughs, which rather sounded more like he'd hiccuped three consecutive hiccups. Natalie gave him a sympathetic smile. "Please. Come in." As she lead the way into the house she was about to tell the twins to also come inside before they froze but when she turned they had already walked into the house, seemingly in a trance, following in their idol's wake acting like moths drawn to a fire.

Yup Yup Yup...I ahve a fic here.
*blushes*
Which is a bit in want of attention
*blushes even harder*

Aaaaaah it is so nice to read this again.
Though I am afraid I don't remember it that good anymore to spot the differences (sowwy *hides in corner*)
But it is hilarious!

WOW!
I remember this! What a great fic. I'm glad you've brought this back.
^_^

~Stacy~

Hey,

Well I was told to check this out by Dana, and I'm glad I did. It's a great start and well wondering where you are going to go with this. 2 great chapters. Looking forward to more

Anneka

Thanks you guys. :) You make this all the more special.

Dana, I'll go look for your fic now.








Houseguests: part one
chapter three

They could faintly hear Jamie and his father fighting with Mrs. Cutter in the next room.

"Didn't I always tell you to be responsible? Bringing a friend with you from another country halfway around the world and springing him on us is not what I'd call responsible!"

"Mom, I'm telling you, Orlando is a really nice guy! If you'd only just get to know him a bi--"

"I'm NOT saying he's a bad person! Don't twist my words! I'm just saying that if you had given us prior notice then, yes, I would be happy to let him into our house!..."

Okay, so maybe not faintly.

Natalie had seated herself at her usual spot on the recliner while Orlando had seated himself in one of the couches to Nat's left. The twins were sitting on the carpet facing the other two, their eyes continuously flitting from Nat to Orli and back to Nat.

"So, you're from England I'm going to guess." Orli, who'd just immersed himself in an interesting stain in the carpet, looked up a little surprised. He was just about to speak when Paul interrupted.

"Nat! Of course he is! Jeez!" She looked questioningly at Paul but decided to just disregard his outburst.

"So.....what do you do?"

"NAT!" It was Annette this time, "He's an actor! You know that!" Orlando and Nat exchanged glances, each showing a hint of a smile.

"Okay. Apparently I know that. Moving on then." She thought of another question. "Have I seen you in anything recently? Or is it mainly smaller indie films that you do?" Once again, Orlando's answer was interrupted.

"NAT!" they both screamed, incredulous to their sister's supposed tactlessness. Annette then whispered, but still loud enough for Orli to hear, "He was in LOTR. He was the elf!"

Now she was confused. "LOTR?"

"Lord of the Rings," Orli replied before the twins could even reopen their mouths. Instead, at the sound of his voice they froze.

"So, then, question, why are you staying with Jamie when you could be at a hotel? Isn't that usually where actors like you stay?" Orlando was a taken aback by her question and proceeded to seem a little hurt by what she had said, expecially the phrase "actors like you."

"I...well...I'm just starting to get famous around now and I'm not exactly used to all of it yet. And I really didn't feel like staying in a hotel by myself when I could really just be with a friend for a week or so."

"Oh," Natalie had taken the hint that she had slightly offended Orlando and decided to move on once again, "Right. So, you were Legolas? But, I thought he was blonde."

"They're called wigs..." Paul had seemed to be struck out of his reverie with the dimwittedness of Nat's question. Natalie laughed.

"You were Legolas?" Jamie had suddenly appeared in the archway looking like an exhausted soldier from the battlefield known as the Cutter residence's kitchen. "When you told me you were an elf in the movie, I'd just assumed that you were one of those tall, thin, blonde extras."

Orlando laughed, "No man. I was the tall, thin, blonde main character." Natalie eyed her brother warily.

"Why you out here anyway? Shouldn't you still be in there having your guts torn out by the mother vulture?" Natalie asked. Jamie shook his head a little too smugly.

"We managed to calm her down. Me and Dad are an unbeatable team," he said giving a few playful air punches. Just as he'd put his arms down Mr. and Mrs. Cutter appeared in the archway next to Jamie. Orlando automatically jumped up and proceeded to apologize.

"Oh, I really should go.."

"Nonsense. Stay. Have a cup of tea if you'd like," Mrs. Cutter said as Orli was mid-jump. She continued as he straightened up slowly, "You'll be staying in Nat's room. Come with me and I'll show..."

"Woah woah woah. What?!"

"Nat..." her mother turned back towards her, "it only makes sense. You've been here for two and a half months already. You really should be going back to San Diego anyway to get everything ready for school." Nat gawked at her, incredulous.

"But where am I supposed to sleep tonight?!"

Orli felt this was an opportune time for him to jump in and still save the day. "You know, I really don't want to be trouble for you all. I'm really sorry about all of this. I can just leave now."

"And go where?" asked Mrs. Cutter. Orli took this as his sign of permanent defeat but remained standing, wishing that he'd never stood up in the first place, as now he felt he was in an incredibly awkward position. Kathleen turned back to her daughter, "I'm sure you can stay at Eden's. If you want I can talk to her mother for you. I'm sure they'll understand."

Catching on to the contagious air of defeat, Nat sighed. "Alright. Fine. I'll go call Eden now and get my stuff," she said as she trudged up the stairs to her room.

Ouch being thrown out of your own house like that, but it is for Orlando so I guess thats ok then. I loved the bit where they twins interupted her. Brilliant. Great chappie

*grins*

That was great!!
I so love your hilarious style of writing.
It is very enjoyable...and good for a great laugh!

Omg Omg Omg
*rolls over with laughter*

Tssssssk
Being chucked out of the house for bloody Orlando Bloom
It is a shame!

Great chappie darling.
Oh and if your looking for my story: it is called chosen. You can find it in the lads.

You guys ARE the best. :)





Eden
chapter four

"Orlando Bloom? He sounds vaguely familiar..." Eden gazed at the road ahead biting her bottom lip gently, letting the information Natalie had just given her on the bizarre night she'd just had at home sink in.

"Apparently he's Legolas in the Lord of the Rings."

"Oh," Eden continued to stare hard at the road they were driving on, her eyes seemingly screwing up in concentration, "Wasn't he blonde?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought! Then the twins yelled at me," Nat said with a laugh. "Oh wait! Pull over. I'm starved." Eden pulled into the drive through of the In-n-Out on their immediate right.

"You didn't have dinner?"

"No. Not after Jamie showed up. The kitchen was occupied with the screams of my dear mother and brother for like ten thousand years. Never got to actually eat that lasagna." Nat sighed as she ordered a grilled cheese and some fries. After her order had been passed to her the two took off again towards the Pastell family residence. Upon arriving Eden honked as she pulled into the drivewy.

"What are you doing that for? You're gonna wake your dad!" Nat gawked at Eden, who replied with her characteristically slightly devilish smile.

"Relax. It's only 9:30! He doesn't sleep for another thirty to forty minutes. And besides Lance'll open the door. I mean, you don't want to have to carry your own bag in do you?" Eden grinned again while her friend laughed.

"It's only got some clothes and my toothbrush in it. All together it weighs about the same as a Shitzu."

"Shitzu's could be heavy. Who knows. The fat ones are.." Eden was interrupted as her younger brother, Lance, appeared at the front door. "Hey there little bro. Wanna get this for us?--Thanks," she said as she passed Nat's bag through the open car window. Driving into the garage up ahead she said, "You know, he used to have the biggest crush on you. Probably still does."

"Who? Lance?"

"No. Jude Law.." Eden said as she put the car in park, "Yeah, Lance. Although, I don't think he knows I know," she added with that evil smile. Surprised by Eden's impulsive admission, Nat didn't exactly know how to respond.

"Oh."

Eden got out of her car, Nat following suit, In-n-Out bag in tow. As they both walked through the back door of the house Eden pushed the red button, closing the open garage door. Through the kitchen and up the stairs, Natalie followed her friend in silence. It was Eden who finally said something when they got to her room.

"I'm going to go look up this Orlando Bloom of yours. I'm intrigued," she said, turning on her computer. Glad they were off the subject of Lance, Natalie was point blanked and taken aback when Eden suddenly yelled, "LANCE!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Calling him," Eden said half-heartedly, busy fidgeting with her computer, "Unless you don't want your stuff for tonight." Realization sunk into Nat as she remembered that her bag was still with Lance.

"Hi Nat. Here's your bag." Lance had grown a bit since Nat had seen him last summer. He seemed to have been going to the gym but still looked a little on the scrawny side. He also had on a choker of puka shells, making Lance look somewhat awkward and causing Nat to wonder, somewhat in horror, if such a look had become a permanent practice with him.

"Thanks."

He was just about to leave when his sister called him back. "What. You don't say hi to your sister anymore?" Eden finally turned away from her computer screen and looked up at Lance expectedly, who grinned.

"No. I don't greet beasts," he said as he dashed away from the doorway with a laugh.

Eden giggled a little, "What a brat. Oh hey, look at this picture of Mr. Bloom. Wow, he has dark curly hair? Who woulda thought--wow he's a looker isn't he?" Natalie peered over Eden's shoulder also looking at the IMDB picture of Orli.

Natalie finally spoke, ending their stare-fest trance, "Hey, when were you planning on leaving for San Diego?"

Eden bit her lip again, "Not for a week I think. Why?"

"Care to go a little earlier than expected? I think I've been kicked out of the house so I thought I might as well go back soon. Like tomorrow. Or the day after."

Eden's eyes screwed up again in concentration. "Yeah. I guess that'd be okay. I don't have much else to do here anyway." Nat smiled at her friend, thankful for her promised company on the long drive back. "Oh wow. Look at all these other pictures. I really wouldn't mind having him stay in my room a while, that's for sure. What a hunk! Hunkydorylicious for sure."

Natalie unsuccessfully stifled a holler. "Hunkdorylicious?"

"Well, he is. Isn't he?" Another devilish grin spread onto Eden face.

"Fine. Yes. He's definitely 'hunkydorylicious'," concluded a beaming Natalie.

Ok many bits that made me laugh and I needed to laugh tonight so Thank you.

LMFAO Brilliance pure brilliance

Thank you for your comment. :) It brings me incomprehensible joy to hear that someone is enjoying my work. mUAHz to you, babe.



Okay, I'm going to post another chapter. The reason I'm going so fast, as in posting a chapter a day, is because in about two days I'm going to be moving into my dorm for university and starting then I really won't be on here much, maybe once a week if I'm lucky. So, I'm trying to get as much down as possible for you guys. So, I hope you all enjoy while it lasts. :)

And without further ado...






On The Road
chapter five

Natalie pulled into the driveway of her home at around ten in the morning. Leaving her car at the front door, she let herself into the house, the smell of her dad's famous breakfast hooking and automatically dragging her into the kitchen. After a series of short greetings to her parents and Paul she settled herself down at the table and proceeded to gorge herself. Finishing up the last crumbs of toast on her plate, she put her plate and utensils into the dishwasher and started to go up to her room, bringing along with her a cup of coffee.

Pushing open her door she stepped into her room receiving quite a fright. "Ahh!" Apparently she wasn't the only one who'd been knocked off their feet. A half-dressed Orlando jumped about five feet straight into the air, the door Nat re-closed narrowly missing his toes. Nat gasped, her heart having done a somersault, which had been the only exercise it had done since the beginning of spring, leaning against the wall opposite the door to her room, re-catching her breath and cleaning up a bit of the coffee she'd managed to spill on herself. Orlando, now fully dressed, although still very disheveled, reopened the door to the room looking at Natalie questioningly. "Hi. Um. Sorry about t-t-that. I--I think I forgot you were staying in my room. I--I di-didn't see anything. I swear. Um," she looked around desperate for a peace offering, "Here! You can have my coffee if you'd like."

Orli’s face cracked into a smile and then he started to laugh, which quickly became contagious as Nat also started to giggle, eventually spilling more coffee onto herself in the process. "Oh, let me help you with that." Orli took the mug from Nat's hands as she started to clean herself up once again.

"Thanks. Here, let me take that back. Thanks again. Um so, I was just about to gather some stuff from my room, if you were wondering why I'd barged in like that." Her smile was tinted with embarrassment.

"Oh, sure. Yes. By all means," Orlando reopened the door for her letting her step in first before doing so himself. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm leaving for San Diego today."

"Right. Like you're mum said you should," Orlando said, nodding. "You know, I'm going to be heading there myself, sometime next week."

"Really? Have you been there before?" she asked, putting down her coffee on her desk.

"Actually no. But I've heard it's lovely."

"It is. You'll see." Nat smiled, not quite knowing what to say in reply to that. The only reply that made sense to her at the moment would have been to politely offer that she take him around the city or giving him an option of temporary housing if he wanted. But for some reason those weren't exactly the things she wanted to do at the moment. She did admit, he was incredibly gorgeous, but she just wasn't attracted to him. Not wanting to be rude though, she offered him something else, "Uhm...would you like my number in San Diego? Just in case you need it for anything?"

Orlando turned the offer over in his mind before responding. "Actually, yeah, that would be nice. Just in case of emergencies and the like."

"Yes. Right. Exactly," Nat said, oddly relieved. After having accepted the small piece of paper bearing Nat's name and number, Orli then proceeded to the kitchen downstairs, leaving Nat in the privacy of her own room.

-:-:-:-

The sun was low that afternoon as the two girls started to pack up. As she moved a few boxes of knick-knacks and clothing into her car, Natalie could feel sweat forming in places she'd never known it could even form.

"Need any help?" Nat looked at the person who'd just offered, Jamie, shaking her head.

"No thanks. I'm pretty much done--" she was cut off by the ringing of the walkie-talkie lying on the driver's seat. "Hello?" The first response to her greeting was static, then the walkie-talkie emitted Eden voice.

"Hey. You about ready? Over."

"Yeah. Just put in the last box."

"Alright. Do you want me to go there or you come here? Over."

"I guess you could come here if you wanted.--And stop saying 'over'."

There was a pause before Eden said, "You're no fun. Alright. I'll be over--hey I said over!—" Eden giggled, "Okay then, I'll be there in eight minutes."

And sure enough it had taken Eden exactly eight minutes to get from her own house to Nat's. Looking out at the two girls, it may have seemed a bit odd to see that they were going to drive to San Diego together, but in their own separate cars. The two, however, had made such trips before and this time they were as prepared as ever, each armed with a walkie-talkie, mounds of snacks, the same pile of CDs for the road, and even synchronized watches.

Having already introduced Orlando and Eden, who had swooned in front of him for effect, and said goodbye to each of her family members, all that was left for Natalie to do was actually get on the road. Climbing into her own beat up Camry, Eden into her own station-wagon, the two friends backed out of the driveway of the Cutter residence, slowly making their way down the street. Nat took a last glance at her family and Orlando, who all stood waving at the front door, before catching Eden's eye in the car right next to her, beams simultaneously spreading on both of the girl's faces.

Sorry i didn't reply top your previous chappie.
I haven't been home much yesterday.

I just have to say that this part cracked me up bit time!
*grins*

Now I have to admit.....that is something everyone would love to see
:tsk: :tsk: :tsk:
*whistles innocently*

HA!
Finally someone who is not falling for him
Mwuahahahaha
Take that Orlando Bloom
*blushes*
Oke I got carried away again
:meh:

Great chappie!
And the trip together sounds like a blast!


To bad you won't be on much after this week.
So I am certainly enjoying this as long as it lasts.
:love:

Dana whats happeneing to you. You've been corrupted to Orliness cries. It's a good thing Peiyu isn't here.

Anyways back to the great chappie. How embarassing, walking in to Orlando like that. Lol and the walkie talkies are so cute. Great chapter.

I'm certianly enjoying the new chapters while I can.

Thank you you two. You are are the best. Don't doubt that. Ever. Haha.







City of the sun, surf, and Shamu
chapter six

It took about a day to settle back into their apartments. The drive from LA to SD proved to be somewhat long and tedious but, on the whole, fortunately uneventful. Splitting ways, Natalie and Eden drove down separate streets to their own dwellings, which weren't actually that far apart from one another, one apartment could be found within a six block radius of the other. It was a strip of road too short to drive yet too long to walk.

Settling into the usual way of life, Natalie thought of calling a regular client of hers. A few years back, Nat, tired of the continuous flatness of her wallet, sought ways to raise her spirits and satiate the hunger of her bank account. One of her friends from UCSD had suggested babysitting and eventually Nat resorted to it, admitting it was probably the most painless path to some quick cash. She'd met the Kirk family about a year ago through the same friend who'd introduced her to the part-time career. Gregory was an only child and thus eventually came to depend on Nat like the big sister he'd never had. She'd also grown fond of the six year old, affectionately nicknaming him Grover, after his and her favorite Sesame Street character.

"Hi. Mrs. Kirk? It's Natalie. Hi! Good good, and you? Yeah, I came back a little earlier than expected. Right, I'm sorry I missed it. I know he wanted me to be there. I'll try to make it up to him." Natalie laughed politely, smiling, "So I was just calling to maybe talk sched--oh, really? That sounds like fun. Yeah, sure, of course. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Of course. No problem. I'll see you in a bit then. Alright. Mm hmm. Bye."

Turned out Mr. and Mrs. Kirk had signed up for a ballroom dancing class at a one of the local dancing studios nearby. Scared they would have to cancel their plans after calling numerous nanny agencies and friends' babysitters with unsuccessful results, the Kirks were ecstatic that Natalie had come back early, giving them a way out of the mess. Upon arrival to the Kirk's house, Natalie was given two warm smiles from the parents and a leg-crushing hug from Grover, who was so happy to see her he actually braved stepping outside the door empty-handed, a feat he usually couldn't do without the Grover stuffed animal Nat had given him on their first night together. A brief glance at the emergency numbers list and a quick goodbye from Mr. and Mrs. Kirk later, Nat was finally left alone with Grover, who seemed not the least bit unnerved at his parents' hasty departure.

"So how've you been, Grove? It's been a while since we last saw each other huh?"

Gregory nodded and looked up at her through his wispy bangs, "I'm glad you're back."

Natalie laughed, "Me too, Grover, me too. So, what do we want to do tonight?" At the sound of this Gregory immediately let go of Nat's legs and dashed upstairs. "Wha--where are you going? Grover?"

"Hold on! I wanna show you something!" he screamed as he ran into his room. Then, almost as suddenly as he'd left, he came right back down, bearing a new set of roller skates and a broad big-kid grin.

"Wow. Those are flashy!" Natalie said as she eyed the black and gold skates in awe.

"Can we go outside and skate?"

"Hmm. You know. That's not a bad idea. Alright. Go back up and get a coat and we'll go down to the boardwalk. How's that sound?" By the ever-more widening of his grin and his following sudden dash back up the stairs, Nat could tell Gregory was extremely pleased with the idea too.

Great chappie Alli,
I really loved it.
I cannot remember reading this the last time...but maybe my memory has gone a bit.

Good luck with the coming trimester at uni!

Great chapter, lots of fun can be had with roller skates. It's strange how quick you get back into things isn't it? Great chappie.

Like Dana said good luck with uni huggles.

Love Anneka

oh my god this is gangster keep it rockin'!!!!
:love:
-cleo

Crap I'm out of chapters......
*sniffle*

This is great, its really cute and funny.
I can't wait to read more.