This chapter came really fast and easy. No writer's block here! Thank you to those who have reviewed. ^__^

Chapter Three: LoneleeGurl & Scars~on~my~Wrists

Natalie was flipping through a magazine, finding nothing worth reading in it. It was a trash magazine that she had found on the coffee table in the living room, as boring as could be. All it had were ads for lip glosses and eye shadows and mascaras. Oh, and shoes. Lots of shoes. And then there were actually a couple of articles, nothing amazing, about how to get a boyfriend, or the perfect date, or what to do to have the perfect sleepover. Trash. Why was such a piece of garbage even sitting on the coffee table to begin with? A waste of paper, that’s what it was. Gossip and trash magazines like this one were the things that were killing the Earth’s trees for no reason.

Natalie had opened her door a little while ago and it was now open a crack. She heard a clicking sound and then the front door swung open and heeled footsteps could be heard on hardwood flooring.

Natalie jumped up off of the bed, discarding the magazine on top of it, and opened her door all the way to see that her mother had just come home from work. She walked out into the living room to meet her.

“Mom,” Natalie greeted with a smile.

Natalie’s mom turned toward her and smiled.

“Oh, there’s my baby!” she gushed, enveloping Natalie in a hug. “We missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, mom.” Natalie replied, hugging her back. At least her mom gave her a warm welcome, even if her sister didn’t. It was nice to know that somebody cared that she was home…even if that somebody had left her alone at the train station to find her own transportation home.

“How did you get home?” Her mom asked, retracting her arms away from Natalie and stepping back a little to get a good look at her youngest daughter.

“I took a cab.” Natalie told her. She thought about it and felt that it was probably best if no one knew the actual way she had gotten home. She didn’t think that her mom would feel very happy about the fact that practically a complete stranger had driven her home, a male stranger, even if he was in her high school and already knew where her house was, which struck Natalie as a little odd.

“How was the train ride?” Her mom asked while moving toward the coat rack to hang up her sandy colored coat.

“Long,” Natalie replied, “but other than that, it was alright.”

“Did you meet anybody?”

“Yeah,” Natalie decided that it was alright to tell her mom that she had met Ryan, she just didn’t have to know the whole story. “I shared a compartment with a boy two grades older than me because there was nowhere else to go that he could find. We talked for a little bit. He was really nice.”

“Oh, that’s good.” She set her briefcase down on the coffee table and set her purse beside it before sitting—or, rather, falling—onto the couch, propping her high-heeled feet up on coffee table. “Listen, sweetie, I’m really tired. I just had a long day of work. I’m sorry, but could we talk another time? I just need some time alone to myself to relax.”

Natalie forced a smile. “Oh, sure, mom,” she told her. “No problem.”

“Thanks,” her mom said as she smiled up at her daughter, before laying her head back against the couch and closing her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Natalie stood there for a few more seconds before deciding to turn around and go back to her room. She closed her door as silently as she could and moved over toward her bed, where she grabbed the magazine and promptly threw it into her trash bin, where it rightfully belonged.

Whatever, it wasn’t like she had actually wanted to talk to the woman who had given birth to her and whom she hadn’t seen for a couple of years or anything.

Natalie laid back down on her bed again, sprawled out and staring up at the ceiling in boredom. Back at her grandparents’ house, she had never had a moment to do this; she had always had something to do. For being old, her grandparents were so lively and active, always on the go and wanting to do things. And she had gotten used to it. But here…here she didn’t know what to do with herself, and it was only just the first day! She hadn’t even been here a whole day and already she was bored out of her mind.

It wasn’t like she had friends she could go visit or anything. The ones who lived here she hadn’t seen since she moved, and she hadn’t really had much contact with any of them. Besides, they were all probably busy with their own lives, out on vacations and what not, hanging out and having fun before school started back up again.

Even her own family didn’t want to be around her. What a drag.

That evening after dinner Natalie had turned on the computer that she had left in the room when she had moved. It was a black dell and was sitting neatly on top of her clean desk. She had dusted earlier after she had gotten home, not being able to live in a dust ball.

Dinner had been a disaster, in Natalie’s opinion. Or, at the very least, it certainly didn’t go very well.

Her mom had heated up some frozen dinners and had served that. Natalie was half surprised that she hadn’t eaten it with a plastic fork. All throughout dinner Julia went on and on about her band and her friends and gossiped—she was as bad as those gossip magazines, like the one that Natalie had thrown out earlier—and talked about people and things that she hadn’t the faintest idea about. Her mom had nodded in all the right places, but had had a far-away, distant look in her eyes, as if she were thinking about something else entirely—work, most likely—and hearing her daughter, but not really listening. And who would actually want to listen to Julia? All she did was rave about the things going on in her life, as if the world revolved around her, which she probably thought that it did.

Anyways, Natalie was just glad that it was over. Frozen dinners were not something that she had missed when she had moved to her grandparents’ house—her grandmother was a fabulous cook who always made everything, even the most disgusting food, taste good.

The first thing that Natalie did when she was on was check her e-mail on yahoo. There were three new messages: one was from her grandmother, probably wondering if she got there alright and how she was and if she wanted to come back yet, one was an ad for some lotion or something like that, and the third unread e-mail in her inbox was from her “pen pal” of sorts.

Natalie had met this boy in a chat room online three years ago—a little while after her dad had split—and they had instantly clicked. His username was Scars~on~my~Wrists, because she found out that he used to be a cutter, but he said that he didn’t do that anymore, ever since he started playing the guitar. Her username was LoneleeGurl since LonelyGirl was already taken. Natalie had gotten to know him pretty well in those three years. He was one of her best friends, even if she hadn’t even met him before. They had decided not to share information that was too personal, that way there would still be that mystery of not knowing just exactly who the other person was. For all Natalie knew, he could be the next boy she saw, the next guy she walked past, and she wouldn’t even know it. But she was just fine with that.

Natalie had told him everything about how her dad just up and left one day and got himself a whole new life, and how her mother was a workaholic and spoiled her sister—Jenny, she called her, so that he wouldn’t know her real name—and about how she felt neglected and unwanted. She talked with him before, during, and after her move to her grandparents’ house. He was the comfort she found at night when she was crying into her pillow, wishing that somebody was there to hold her and comfort her.

He had told her about how his dad had gotten really drunk one night five years ago—when he was thirteen and she was ten—and had stabbed his mother. He had called 911 from inside of his locked room on his mom’s strict orders, crying into the phone. The police and ambulance had showed up. His dad had gotten twenty-to-thirty years in jail on stabbing and attempted murder. His mom was now in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. He told me that she had told him once when he was fourteen that things could have ended up a lot worse and that she was just glad that he didn’t get hurt.

They had laughed together, and they had cried together, and he really seemed to understand her. Natalie felt like he could read her very soul, even though she had never laid eyes on him before. He was sensitive and kind and caring, and he was funny—he could always make her laugh, even if she didn’t want to. He tried never to let her see his bad side, and rarely ever did he use swear words when chatting with her, only when he was extremely angry did he do that. He had great self-restraint, which is what led him to finally stop cutting. He told her that he had smoked for a year or so, but then decided to ultimately quit when his mother found a pack of cigarettes in a pair of jeans lying on his floor and had told him that she was very disappointed in him.

Natalie deleted the ad for whatever it was, and opened up her grandmother’s e-mail first. She would reply to her friend’s e-mail after.

Natalie,

Did you make it in alright? Your grandfather and I were so worried about you riding the train all by yourself. I know that you’ll just say that you’re a big girl and can handle things on your own, but that still doesn’t ease our worrying. What if something happened to you?! We would never be able to live with ourselves. You haven’t even been gone a day yet and already I miss your presence here. There’s no sweet piano music to fill the air, and your grandfather is restless. He can’t stop playing basketball in the driveway. I swear, ever since we got that basketball hoop installed, he’s just like a teenager again. I don’t know where he finds the energy. I myself could never play basketball now—not that I’d want to, anyways. Well, I’d better go. I put a pumpkin pie in the oven and it should be ready any minute. Reply to this when you get it.

Love, Grandma
(Your Grandpa sends his love as well, I just pray that he won’t displace a hip)

Natalie laughed while reading that. Her grandfather only played basketball by himself when he was worrying about something; it was a good stress-reliever for him. Even the doctor agreed so, although he was a little reluctant in agreeing because of her grandfather’s age. Natalie hit the reply button and started typing.

Grandma,

I wouldn’t worry about Grandpa if I were you. If he needs a hip replaced then the insurance will always cover it. I miss you as well! I can just smell your pumpkin pie all the way over here in Los Angeles. I’m perfectly alright, no harm done at all. I met the nicest boy on the train ride. He sat with me and was two years older; he goes to my school and knows Julia. He was really fun to talk to and didn’t try anything at all, even though we slept in the same compartment! I hope I see him again. Plus he was really cute! Mom couldn’t pick me up, so he offered to give me a ride home since he knew where I lived. It was so sweet of him! But don’t tell mom, she’d have a fit if she knew. She thinks I took a cab. The welcome home wasn’t the nicest, but there’s always tomorrow. Good-night Grandma, I love you. Tell Grandpa I love him too.

Wish you were here,
Nat

Natalie knew she could tell her grandmother that Ryan had driven her. She wasn’t as paranoid about things like that as Natalie’s mom was. Her grandmother believed in Natalie’s good judgment, and if Natalie trusted the boy, then her grandmother would see no reason to worry. Her grandmother was also pretty good at keeping secrets. Natalie smiled as she pressed send.

She turned back to the other mail in her inbox and clicked on the one from her “pen pal.”

Lonelee,

I have to read Romeo and Juliet for summer homework because I’m taking Shakespeare next year. Kill me now. I swear; if I read one more rhyming line I’m going to shoot somebody. Is this a play or a poem? I really don’t like any of the characters, especially not Romeo. Doesn’t anybody have a problem with the fact that he’s cradle-robbing? This play is so cheesy it could be French. If he proclaims his love to her one more time I’m going to die. Seriously, we GET it already, you LOVE her, now MOVE on! Part of my summer homework was watching the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. Gag. And seriously, when they said, “Draw your swords.” I didn’t expect them to draw GUNS. Are they TRYING to confuse everyone? The movie version was so pathetic that I couldn’t wait until it was over. Thankfully movies aren’t that long, you can try to withstand them the best that you can and before you know it they’re over. Do you have any summer homework to do?

Scars

Natalie laughed when she read the part about how cheesy it was. She quickly hit the reply button and grinned all the while typing her reply.

Scars,

That play isn’t the only thing that’s cheesy. ;) It’s your fault for taking Shakespeare; you didn’t HAVE to sign up for it. And take it like a man! Besides, you can’t really accuse Romeo of cradle-robbing, considering we’re friends and I’m going to be a freshman while you’re going to be a senior. True, we aren’t in a romance, but that’s not the point, not exactly anyways. My grandma and I rented that adaptation of Romeo and Juliet from Blockbuster one time and we were crying because we were laughing so hard at it. Terrible, terrible movie, but hilarious when you’re making fun of it while watching it. No, I don’t have any summer homework, because I was smart enough not to take any AP classes next year. You weren’t. : P

Lonelee
(Do you have to act in a play then? Because all of Shakespeare’s stuff are plays. That would be funny to see. ^__^)

Natalie hit send and then exited out of her internet, turning off her computer. She walked over to her dresser and opened up the third drawer down, taking out her pajamas: a white tank top and blue cotton sweats with little white and light blue circles all over them. After changing into her pajamas, Natalie sat on her bed.

School started in about two weeks, which meant that she had to go to the store and by school stuff for the new school year, and she also had to go shopping to buy some new clothes, since she was growing out of some of her other clothes. She wondered if her mom would take her, or if she would have no luck in that department.

Looking at the digital clock on her bedside table, Natalie sighed. It was only nine-thirty-five. She crawled under the covers, already having brushed her teeth, and turned off the lamp sitting behind her clock. It was either go to sleep and have tomorrow come sooner or stay up and be bored all night.

She chose the less boring of the two, although it was a rather close call.

Natalie woke up early, seven o’clock. She figured that her mom, being the workaholic that she is, probably already left the house, even though it was a Saturday. Yep. Same old mom, never changing. She had worked on Saturdays and Sundays even before Natalie had left too. It was how she coped with having her husband leave her. She worked, which meant that there was no free time for her to think about and agonize over the fact that he was happily married to a younger, prettier woman in Hawaii, who children that weren’t even his. How could he possibly love children that had no relation to him whatsoever more than children who were blood-related to him?

Natalie ran her fingers through her hair as she walked out into the hallway from her room. Julia’s door was cracked open a little and Natalie could hear her slightly snoring in there. She put her hand over her mouth and barely stifled a giggle. She walked into the living room to see that, confirming her suspicions, her mom’s keys weren’t hanging on a coat hanger that was nailed to the wall, where they usually were.

Natalie looked around before opening the front door and stepping out onto the cement walkway that merged into the driveway. She walked down the driveway toward the end, before it let out into the street, and bent down to pick up the newspaper inside of the plastic covering. She was still in her pajamas, which consisted of lime green pants that had all different colors of music notes all over them, and a white Team Jacob shirt that had a black outlined wolf and paw prints on the back on, with fuzzy hot pink slippers. She was definitely quite the sight. She was wearing her glasses, too, because she hadn’t put in her contacts yet. And Natalie was sure that her hair was a mess, too. But it was seven in the morning, who was going to see? Besides, it was just getting the paper. She shouldn’t have to glamour herself up for that.

But when Natalie had bent back up, paper in hand, she had suddenly wished that she had done something to herself before leaving the house.

One house to the right from the one across the street from her house, Natalie spotted the cutest guy. He was dressed all in black—black jeans, black converses, and a black hoodie—and, since he had black shaggy hair, it added to his visibly pale skin. Even from across the street, Natalie could tell that he didn’t see the sunlight very often. He, too, was getting the paper, and he looked up at her, their eyes locking. He had such dark brown eyes that from Natalie’s distance, they looked black.

Natalie could feel her cheeks warm and her stomach shrank as her muscles tightened and her lips parted a little. The cute goth-looking boy was scanning her up and down with his eyes, a smirk dancing on his pale lips.

Take a deep breath, Natalie told herself, you don’t care what he thinks. You don’t even know him. You don’t care what he thinks.

But she did care what he thought, even if she didn’t know him. She was holding her breath and she couldn’t release it, couldn’t get new oxygen in.

The goth-boy shook his head at her with a smirk still on, although it was starting to turn into a smile, and turned his back on her, walking back to his front door.

Natalie wasted no time in running to her front door. She didn’t look back to see if he was watching her at all or if he was inside of his house already as she opened the door and raced into her house, shutting the door quickly behind her and turning the lock.

With her back against the wall, Natalie finally let out the breath she had been holding.

How embarrassing! It would have been one thing if she had looked nice, but it was so early in the morning! He had seen her in her pajamas! And he lived right across the street pretty much. She’d never be able to step foot out of her house again, not after today, not after he had seen her looking like that.

Natalie ran to the bathroom, not caring about being quiet for Julia. She looked in the mirror at herself, still holding the newspaper in its plastic covering. Her hair was everywhere, although it didn’t look like it had tangled itself into knots while she slept—that, at least, was good. Overall she didn’t look that bad, but still! Someone outside of her family—someone she didn’t even know—had seen her in what she slept in!

Hopefully she would never see him again. That way she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed. Yeah, maybe he was just visiting for the summer and he would be gone soon.

Although that was highly unlikely. But still, she could hope, couldn’t she?

Natalie walked out of the bathroom and placed the newspaper on the coffee table. She didn’t like reading newspapers, but she thought she’d go get it and bring it in anyways.

Natalie plopped herself down on the couch, her feet resting up on the coffee table.

What was she going to do about this? She couldn’t stay inside the house forever, especially with school coming up.

And then she took a deep breath of air in sudden realization. He didn’t look that much older than her. He was probably still in high school, which meant that he probably went to the same high school she’d be going to, which meant that there’d be a chance that she’d run into him at school.

Oh dear.

Well, what did you think? I wrote this all pretty much in one day. I just got a whole lot of inspiration for this one and knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wish I could do that with all of my writings.

I originally thought about making her wear an Eragon T-Shirt, because I saw one in Borders a while back, but then I thought about Harry Potter, and finally decided on Twilight. She's a Team Jacob kind of person. :D Lol.

Please review and tell others about this if you like it! Reviews mean a lot to me, because if you just read it and don't review, then I don't know if you like it or not!

Love ya, :D