Chapter Nine - Stranger Danger!

A Chapter by Natalie Mark

Enjoy!

Chapter Nine:
Note: I cried while writing the last chapter. This is going to be substantially less sad but also sad (if that makes sense).

March 6:
Ring ring. Ring ring.
(LH) "Hey, Nova. I just wanted to call you and ask how you were doing."
(NR) "... What?"
(LH) "Um... How are you?"
(NR) "Who is this?"
(LH) "Leona. Leona Hensley. Your friend."
(NR) "Sorry, I don't remember you."
(LH) "What?"
(NR) "I. Don't. Remember. You."
(LH) "Look, if this is about how I couldn't talk to you that one time, just... This is childish."
(NR) "I don't remember you. Don't call me back."
(LH) "Wait, no �""
Click.

March 8:
Ring ring. Ring ring.
(NR) "What do you want? I told you not to call me!"
(LH) "Look, I don't know who the hell you are �""
(NR) "I don't THINK I'm anyone. I know my name's Nova"
(LH) "What do you mean? Do you just know that your name is Nova?"
(NR) "... I... I don't know who you are, sorry."
(LH) "Yeah, but... Do you know who you are?"
(NR) "... No. I know my name's Nova."
(LH) "That's weird. You mean, you don't remember �""
(NR) "Stop! I don't want to know!"
(LH) "What? What do you mean? What's going on?"
(NR) "I wrote a note. It reads, 'Do not go looking for answers. Do not remember anything. If anyone tries to make you remember, get away from them.'"
(LH) "What the f**k? Listen, let me talk to one of your doctors, or something �""
(NR) "Doctors? What are you talking about? I don't have any doctors?"
(LH) "Okay! Listen to me! You just spend a year in a hospital. You �""
(NR) "Shut up! If I was ever that, I don't care. I'm nobody now! I'm just plain Nova! Don't call me ever again."
Click.
(LH 4:27 pm) "You didn't say I couldn't text you." The number you are texting has been blocked.
(LH 4:28 pm) "Oh, really classy!" The number you are texting has been blocked.
(LH 4:31 pm) "GODDAMMIT." The number you are texting has been blocked.

Ring ring. Ring ring.
(LH) "PICK THE F*****G PHONE UP OR SO HELP ME �""
(MA) "Uh."
(LH) "You will not BELIEVE the s**t that I've gone through today."
(MA) "Hi?"
(LH) "Are you okay? You sound ill."
(MA) "Hung over, or whatever you call it after someone gets too plastered."
(LH) "Oh, Jesus Christ. Never mind, I don't have time for your s**t right now. It's Nova I'm worried about. Something's wrong with her, she doesn't remember anything: the hospital, me, you, nothing!"
(MA) "And that's my concern... Why?"
(LH) "Because you are so obviously in love with her, you s****y Byronic hero!"
(MA) "Oh, please. I am not in love with her. Love's a luxury I don't have time to waste on, now if you please, just piss off �""
(LH) "Why'd you answer your phone, huh? Why'd you answer your phone if you didn't want to talk to me?"
(MA) "I may be a melodramatic Byronic hero, but I'm not rude."
(LH) "You're a goddamn atrocity of a human being, you know that? And it bother me so much, because SHE LOVES YOU TOO! And if you both weren't too busy being little poetic shitheads, and started living like real people, you'd be able to see that."
(MA) "What do you want me to do?"
(LH) "You need to tell her."
(MA) "Why?"
(LH) "Oh, let me think... MAYBE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO? People lucky enough to find someone they fall in love with should take a hint from fate and FALL IN LOVE. So take a leap of faith! Fall passionately in love, fall madly in love, fall so in love that you forget all your problems and remember only her. Just free fall straight into that s**t, heart first, head last."
(MA) "..."
(NR) "YOU ARE SO GOOD FOR HER. AND SHE IS GOOD FOR YOU. She needs another kindred spirit to connect with! Otherwise, she'll be alone! I've seen what she can do to you! She can turn you from a cold, calculating machine into a little puppy begging for attention!"
(MA) "Why do you care so much?"
(LH) "Argh... Look, I'm that person in the romance flick who spends the whole damn movie trying to get the two leads to fall in love. Maybe I'm jealous of you, maybe I ship you, maybe I secretly want to be a part of your relationship �" maybe, maybe, maybe, whatever! The point is: you're both my friends, and I want nothing more than to see you both happy. Whether that entails �" you being married or just being on slightly tempestuous speaking grounds �" I don't care. I. Ship. It."
(MA) "That was... I don't know what that was, but it certainly did the trick."
(LH) "So, you'll call her?"
(MA) "Yes, I'll call her."
(LH) "Thanks. Freshen up a little first. You sound like you just crawled out of hell."
Click.

Ring ring. Ring ring.
(NR) "Oh, who are you? Let me guess, another 'person I used to know'? I'm not interested."
(MA) "... You really have changed."
(NR) "... What do you mean?"
(MA) "You sound angry, emotion packed. Like you're brimming with a fiery kind of life."
(NR) "What, I wasn't like that before?"
(MA) "No. Before you were more kind. More gentle. More sassy. Never mean. You were never mean."
(NR) "And I'm mean now?"
(MA) "Maybe. You sound like it."
(NR) "... I'm not trying to mean, sorry. I just... I like who I am now. I'm happy."
(MA) "You don't sound happy."
(NR) "Neither do you."
(MA) "That's true. I'm not happy because you're not."
(NR) "Why would my happiness alter you?"
(MA) "... No reason. So, you don't remember anything?"
(NR) "No. Is that bad?"
(MA) "Maybe. I don't know. It could be."
(NR) "Huh... Were we... Like... Girlfriends, or something?"
(MA) "No."
(NR) "What were we?"
(MA) "I don't know. But now we can be whatever you want us to be..."
(NR) "We have an artistic license on reality. That's sweet. Let's just start off as friends."
(MA) "Yes, I suppose so."
(NR) "Now we can start over... I guess. Get a clean slate? Whatever happened..."
(MA) "Doesn't matter now?"
(NR) "No. I suppose it doesn't. Does it matter to you?"
(MA) "... Not really... You don't remember how you lost your memory?"
(NR) "No... This Leona person mentioned something about doctors and a hospital?"
(MA) "Yeah, that's no big deal. Don't worry. Tell me, where are you?"
(NR) "At my house. Why?"
(MA) "That's good. How are you doing?"
(NR) "My mom's throwing a party. I was having a lot of fun, but I kind of ducked out for awhile. Everyone was getting a little too clingy..."
(MA) "Ah... Have a great time."
(NR) "Thanks. What was your name again?"
(MA) "Um... Moth. You can call me Moth."
(NR) "Kind of an odd name..."
(MA) "Kind of an odd person. Bye, Nova. Have a nice time at the party."
(NR) "Thanks.
(MA) "Text you later?"
(NR) "Yeah. That sounds good."
Click.

March 10:
(MA 4:28 pm) "I don't see you at school. Everything okay?"
(NR 4:57 pm) "I'm apparently going to be homeschooled now."
(MA 5:01 pm) "Ah, so I won't see you anymore. Wait, that's not quite true. We'll still see each other around town. Do you like Turkish food?"
(NR 5:14 pm) "Not particularly, sorry."
(MA 5:17 pm) "Oh, that's cool. My uncle owns a restaurant, so... You know... He could probably make something other than Turkish food..."
(NR 5:23 pm) "Are you asking me out on a date?"
(MA 5:27 pm) "What? No. I'm asking you to dinner."
(NR 5:31 pm) "Isn't that a date? It doesn't have to be a date."
(MA 5:35 pm) "So just dinner, then?"
(NR 5:41 pm) "Sounds good. What time?"
(MA 5:43 pm) "Anytime. Now?"
(NR 5:48 pm) "Sorry. I have another thing... Kind of a family engagement thing. Maybe next week?"
(MA 5:49 pm) "Count on it. Have fun! :)"
(NR 5:54 pm) "Thanks."

(ZP 11:25 pm) "meeting at grand p's. you should be there"
(MA 11:32 pm) "Fine. Fix your grammar, though. I'm offended by it."
(ZP 11:35 pm) "you would probably be a lot more offended if I punch you in the face so why dont you just shut up and get down here"
(MA 11:42 pm) "Did you just make your grammar worse to piss me off? You're not very good at making friends."
(ZP 11:47 pm) "didnt i tell u to get the f**k over here"
(MA 11:52 pm) "I'm clean."
(ZP 11:57 pm) "not what sadie says"
(MA 12:01 pm) "Samantha has a childish grudge against me. She can't let sleeping dogs lie; she has to kick them in the face and then shoot them."
(ZP 12:04 pm) "fine ill just tell her you were being a little s**t and well see what shell do about that"
(MA 12:07 pm) "You go right ahead and do that, and soon after, she will receive a report about how you knocked up her best friend."
(ZP 12:10 pm) "howd you hear about that?"
(MA 12:12 pm) "You just told me, you wanker. Beautiful little girl, to my understanding. Little Miracle, really. So, to be perfectly clear: You shut up and I shut up. Everyone wins except you."
(ZP 12:15 pm) "this aint over b***h"
(MA 12:17 pm) "You're giving me so many opportunities to be a smart a*s, do you really except me not to take them? *isn't*."
(ZP 12:19 pm) "I hate you."
(MA 12:22 pm) "Get in line; there's quite a long one."

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