Chapter 3
After taking a shower, Osmond goes to Natalie's room and knocks on her door.
"Come in."
He opens the door and sees Natalie sitting on her bed, reading a book.
"Hey."
"What's up?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to hang out."
"Why?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"I guess not. Let me just finish this paragraph first."
After a few seconds, she puts a bookmark in the book, closes it and lays it on the bed.
"What were you reading?"
"Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with commentary by Swami Vivekananda."
"How is it?"
"It's decent compared to most other translations, but I think it could still be better."
"Cool."
"..."
"..."
"I thought about you while I was showering."
"Gross."
"No, I mean about how you feel towards me."
"And?"
"I don't wanna ruin our friendship."
"I don't want to either, but I can't just ignore these feelings."
"So what do we do now?"
"I don't know."
"..."
"..."
"Should we, like, go on dates and stuff?"
"You don't have to force yourself to like me, you can just keep treating me the same way you always did."
"But… Ughh…"
Osmond puts his elbows on his knees and grabs his head.
"Ah geez, I give up."
"You worry too much."
"Well of course I'd worry if my best friend suddenly says she's been in love with me for God knows how long."
His eyes turn teary. Natalie hugs him.
"It's okay."
"It's not okay. I don't want things to turn sour between us."
"Nothing's gonna turn sour, Ozzy."
He starts crying.
"I don't want to lose you."
Natalie starts rubbing his back.
"I'm not gonna hate you even if you reject me."
"I… I don't know what to do."
"You don't have to do anything."
"Don't leave me."
"I'm not gonna leave you, Oz."
Natalie keeps rubbing his back while tears roll down his face.
"I'm sorry I'm such a mess."
"Don't worry about it."
"I love you, Nat."
"I love you too, Oz."
"But it's not the same."
"It doesn't have to be the same."
"I don't want you to suffer."
"Well, you can't force yourself to fall in love with me."
"I want you to be happy."
"I will be happy, Oz, we'll both be happy."
"..."
"Listen, Oz, no matter what happens, no matter how you feel towards me, I'll always be by your side."
"Even if I don't love you the way you love me?"
"Even so."
"So it's okay if we hang out like we usually do?"
"Yes, it's okay."
"Okay."
Osmond wipes his tears and Natalie releases him.
"But I'm not rejecting you."
"You're not?"
"I've never been in a romantic relationship before and it sounds like it could be fun, maybe even better than what we have now, or rather what I thought we've had up until now."
"So… What are we now?"
"I don't know what we are, but now I consider you a potential…"
"Say it!"
Osmond blushes a bit.
"I think of you as my best friend and a potential future lover."
Natalie smiles from ear to ear.
"But I still haven't fallen in love with you."
Her smile vanishes.
"You big jerk!"
She starts punching him lightly.
"Ow, hey, stop!"
"You can+t go playing around with a maiden's heart like that, you freaking cock teasing bastard pasta fucker!"
"You're gonna make me cry again."
"Then go cry in a pot and cook some pasta in it!"
Natalie gets up, pulls Osmond's arm so he stands up, then starts pushing him towards the door.
"I'm leaving, I'm leaving, geez!"
"Go masturbate with a cannelloni you freaking extra virgin pasta pervert!"
She pushes him out of her room and slams the door shut.
"Natalie!"
"What?"
"Do you hate me now?"
"I love you, now fuck off!"
A few seconds later Natalie smiles again.