A Story Finally Finished || The Stanley Parable

[8] - Research

Narrator  POV:

Narrator was at his desk, typing away erratically. He was confused as to why he felt like this whenever Stanley complemented him, or praised him for something. He didn't understand it, and so he turned to the internet. He had typed in multiple questions, although they didn't give him the correct answers.

Why do I feel so warm?
Overheating. Take off a few layers.
Why does my heart speed up?
A lot of exercise
Why does my face go red?
Embarrassment.

Embarrassment didn't sound right. Nor did overheating or exercise. Narrator groaned in annoyance, before typing again,
Why do my insides feel fluttery?
The search bar took a few seconds to load answers, and once it did load, the common answer was Anxiety, Nervousness, Embarrassment.
No that wasn't it either.. Narrator removed the search, replacing it with:

Why does my stomach feel fluttery when I'm complimented by him? That sounded right.. Narrator hit the enter key, and the computer began to load.
So, what's actually causing that fluttering in your stomach? The sensation may be due to increased levels of the substance norepinephrine throughout your body's central nervous system.
"It seems we might be getting somewhere.." Narrator mutters, as he types in his next question.

What is norepinephrine?
Norepinephrine is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. Together with adrenaline, norepinephrine increases heart rate and blood pumping from the heart. It also increases blood pressure and helps break down fat and increase blood sugar levels to provide more energy to the body.

"A hormone you say? That means.." Narrator began to spiral in his own thoughts, "I have a fully functioning human body.." The Narrator creased his eyebrows. Huh.. So he's basically making me extremely excited, causing my heart to beat quicker than usual.. But why..? Why does he make me so excited..? Narrator crossed an arm over his chest, and placed his second elbow on the table, holding his chin in his hand.

He didn't realise how long he was sat there, thinking, until they heard a knock on the door. Narrator sat up, and beckoned Stanley to enter. Although it wasn't Stanley who entered. It was the Timekeeper..
Narrator immediately stood. His hands clenched in front of him. "Timekeeper! What a wonderful surprise to see you here.. How are you?"
The muddle of clocks approached by a few steps, and closed the door behind them.

"I am well. But it seems you aren't in the best state of mind. You're curious."
The Timekeepers voice was quiet, but it echoed in the room. Narrator sunk slightly in his place, nodding. Not exactly embarrassed, but still in thought.

"Tell me, Narrator. What is on your mind?"

Narrator sighed, indicating for Timekeeper to have a seat on the other chair in the room. It normally belonged to Stanley, but for now, Timekeeper could sit on it. The Narrator then sat back down in his own chair.
"I've been getting these feelings when Stanley is close, or when he compliments me. It's sort of a fluttery feeling in my stomach, and then my face goes all hot, and my heart speeds up. But I don't know what it is.."

Narrator took his glasses off of his nose, and pinched the bridge of his nose, before reapplying the glasses. They looked at The Timekeeper, who's clocks seemed to have stopped ticking. "I see.." It says, "You know.. It could be multiple things. What has the internet said?"
Narrator shook his head, "It says I have too much Norepinephrine, which is a human hormone."

"Hmm.." The Timekeeper hums curiously, "I mean, that can be one of them, but it probably isn't. I see nothing wrong with this human body of yours. But there is one other thing it could be."
Narrator perks their head up quickly, hopeful, "Which is..?"

"Love."

"Love?"

"Love, Narrator."

Narrator didn't know much about love. He had never been in love. But Narrator seemed to be quite certain that this is what it was. "What should I do..?" He asked The Timekeeper, who stood. "Nothing yet. See how it goes. If the feeling gets stronger, you can call for me if you want. I can help if need be."

Narrator nodded, "Thank you. Will you be heading back now?" He stood, putting the chairs back under the desk. "I'm going to speak to Stanley, and then yes, I will be returning to the Parable. Goodbye Narrator."
And The Timekeeper left the room. Narrator stood there, in the middle of the room. God damn it.. They thought, I'll need to look into this more.. I need to understand.

And with that, Narrator sat back at his desk, and began typing away again.

Stanley POV:

Stanley was still reading Narrators book, with some classical music on in the background when out of the corner of his eye, he saw floating clocks. The music abruptly stopped without being touched, catching Stanley's attention. He grabbed his bookmark and closed the book, standing. he then turned back to the clocks. Timekeeper? What are you doing here?
"No need to stand, Stanley. I'm coming to check up on you both. I've spoken to Narrator already, so I just want to know, how are you?"
Stanley relaxed, I'm well, thanks. Take a seat! Stanley sat back down, but The Timekeeper didn't. "Apologies Stanley, I don't have time. I must return to the Parable. We're getting a new protagonist today."

A new protagonist? What does that mean? Stanley asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "Ever since you and Narrator left, the Parable keeps glitching out. We realised we needed another Narrator and another Stanley to keep the Parable alive."
Ah. That's understandable. You'll still be able to visit though?
The clocks seemed to nod, "I will, yes. Now, I must go. It was nice to see you Stanley."

Nice to see you too, Timekeeper. Be safe and say hi to Curator for me please. The Timekeeper claimed that it would, before disappearing in a glitch of green and red. And the room was empty once more. The music that Stanley had playing before resumed, and Stanley went back to reading, but all that filled his mind was Narrator and the Parable.

He kind of missed it, but he didn't at the same time? Still, Stanley missed his office, and his co-workers, and the bucket. Ah, the bucket.. It brought Stanley joy just to think of it. And come to think of it..

So did Narrator..
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