Natalie's neck ached from how fast she whipped her head around. She thought she had been alone in the corridor. She had not heard, as she passionately ranted about cats and misery, the patter of feet against the lino floor. She couldn't find the energy to scold herself for getting distracted as she stared at Gray Mitchell, the two of them wide-eyed.
Her mind did, however, allow her to curse Zach for not looking after his brother like she had told him.
"You like Zach?" Gray asked again, the tips of his eyelashes grazing his brows as he gawked at Natalie. "Like, like-like Zach?"
"Erm..." She was trying to say 'Gray', but the only noise Natalie could seem to make was a crackling, croaking noise. "Uhh..." 'Shit'.
The sound of her Aunt Cass's muffled voice finally pulled her to her senses. In her surprise, Natalie's hand had dropped from her ear, her phone now pressed against her flushed neck. Bringing the mobile back up to her eye, Natalie sputtered out, "Aunt Cass, I gotta go. Talk t'you later." Her racing mind had barely given her the power to form the short sentence, her words had slurred together that even Natalie had difficulty understanding what she had said.
Ignoring her aunt's questions, Natalie hung up. Her eyes had not left Gray for a second, nor his from hers.
"Gray--"
"Does Zach know?" Gray interrupted Natalie.
Natalie's head dropped in defeat, her body soon following as she fell back into the wall behind and slid to the ground with a 'thump'. Closing her tired eyes, she pulled her knees to her chest to rest her head upon them. "What are you doing here, Gray? You're supposed to be with Zach?"
Natalie could hear Gray quietly make his way over to her, sitting on the floor beside her with much more ease. "I needed the bathroom, Zach wouldn't take me," he explained quietly, knowing that she was upset. Natalie scoffed at his answer, not at all surprised. "Does Zach know that you like him?"
"...No," Natalie finally lifted her head up to look at Gray, who was already staring at her in confusion and concern. "Gray, I need you to listen to me. You can't, under any circumstance, tell Zach."
"Why not?"
"Because!" Natalie stopped herself as soon as she realised her voice had raised so loud. She didn't want to shout at Gray, she couldn't. He didn't do anything wrong. This wasn't his fault, if anything, it was her own. "Because, Gray," she started again, her voice much softer, "If you tell Zach and he doesn't feel the same way about me, then I can't be friends with him anymore, it would be humiliating. I can't take that risk, your brother means too much to me."
Not only would it be humiliating but she knew the pain she felt now would only intensify. She liked Zach and seeing him with other girls hurt her, but he didn't know how she felt about him. If she told him, however, and he carried on the way he does now, her heart would shatter.
He would have chosen to see other people. At the moment, Zach didn't know that Natalie was a choice.
"What if he likes you back?" Gray asked innocently.
Natalie couldn't help the pitiful laugh that escaped her. "He doesn't,"
"But what if he does?" Gray pressed.
Natalie paused for a moment, thinking. What if he does? "...Then I would be happy," she heard herself mutter softly.
"You're not happy now?"
Natalie looked down at Gray, a small smile stretching across her lips at his concern. "I'm happy enough," she reassured him, "I've still got Zach and I've got you," Gray grinned up at Natalie as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "And we are about to spend a week with the most extraordinary animals in the world."
Above them, a voice crackled to life, "Welcome to Isla Nublar, home of Jurassic World. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable stay with us."
"There you are!" Zach came storming down the corridor, dragging along everybody's luggage with a frustrated glare. "What are you doing? Everyone's getting off."
Gray jumped to his feet in excitement, snatching his bag from Zach's arms and running towards the mass of people getting off the boat. "Gray! Wait for us!" Natalie called after him as she pushed herself to her feet, satisfied when she saw him stop at the edge of the crowd.
"What were you two doing?" Zach frowned down at Natalie as she took some of the bags off him.
Natalie shrugged, giving him a small smile. "Only talking," Her smile dropped immediately as her eyes locked onto Zach's lips. Slowly, her eyes travelled back up to meet his intense dark eyes, already staring down at her. "I like your lip gloss."
Zach's cheeks flushed red as he reached up to his face, scrubbing at his lips vigorously with his sleeve to get the sparkly gloss off his skin. Not wanting to wait for his reply, Natalie turned away from him to catch up with Gray who was waiting for them impatiently.
"Welcome to Isla Nublar, home of Jurassic World. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable stay with us."
Ten minutes of getting pushed and knocked and tripped up, the three teens had finally managed to get off the ferry. The boys immediately started looking around for their Aunt Claire, who had told them that she would meet the three at the dock.
"What does your aunt look like?" Natalie asked as she looked around with the brothers, even though she didn't know what their Aunt Claire looked like. She was just hoping to find someone who looked like Mrs Mitchell.
"Red hair," Zach answered absentmindedly as he looked around. His giant stature gave him an advantage compared to Gray, who could just about reach his shoulder and Natalie, his chin.
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Zach, that really helped. I'll find her in no time."
"No problem,"
"Where is she?" Gray asked, slightly frustrated. The longer they spent looking for Aunt Claire, the less time he would have with the dinosaurs.
Natalie stood on her toes and craned her neck to help her see. Zach had teased her for looking ridiculous, but it was the best she could do to help them find their aunt. Which she didn't, but she did find a tall woman dressed in black and white. Her long, dark hair was perfectly curled and a pair of large sunglasses perched on her nose to protect her eyes from the sun. In her hand was a tablet displaying a sign.
Zach & Gray Mitchell
& Natalie Parker
"Zach," Natalie said as her hand began tapping Zach's arm a dozen times. Grabbing her fingers in his hand to make her stop, Zach followed Natalie's gaze to see the woman. "That's not her, is it? Has she dyed her hair?"
Zach shook his head, letting go of Natalie's hand, "Never seen her before." he answered. With no other option, the three made their way over to the unfamiliar woman with furrowed brows.
The woman lowered the tablet when she saw the three teens approach her, her sunglasses raised to sit on her head to show her piercing green eyes. "Are you Claire Dearing's nephews?" she questioned the brothers once they were in front of her. Natalie couldn't help it when her eyes widened a little at the sound of the woman's British accent, not expecting it.
"Urm, yeah," Zach answered with a raised brow.
Hearing the unspoken question on their faces, the woman held her hand out to Zach, "Zara Young, I'm Miss Dearing's personal assistant." Zach stared at Zara's hand, his face showing nothing but boredom. The entire situation was awkward as Zara continued to hold her hand out to him. Even Gray began to shift uncomfortably.
"For fuck's sake, Zach," Natalie muttered under her breath.
"You shouldn't say 'fuck'," Gray scolded from beside her but Natalie ignored the twelve-year-old.
Letting a tight smile stretch across her face, Natalie reached forward to shake Zara's waiting hand while jabbing an elbow into Zach's side with her other arm. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Natalie,"
Zara's smile became less forced as she shook Natalie's hand, "Oh, yes. The girlfriend,"
"Natalie's not my--"
"Yes!" Natalie quickly interrupted, biting her tongue to stop her grin from spreading too wide. "Yes, the girlfriend. That's me,"
Zara nodded as she tucked the tablet into her handbag. "If you would all like to follow me. We have to take the train to the park." Zara informed them as she spun on her heels, leading the way to the train.
Gray followed quickly after his aunt's PA, almost jumping in excitement at the idea of being so close to the park. "How long is the train? Will we be riding past any dinosaurs? How close will we be to them?"
Natalie shook her head at Gray as she began to follow them, looking over her shoulder at Zach who had yet to move. "What?" she asked innocently. Natalie was a convincing liar, but Zach could clearly see the mischief and mirth building in his best friend's eyes.
"The girlfriend?" he asked, his lips twitching in a smirk as he began walking beside her. "Why would I date you?"
"That, my dear Zachary, is an excellent question. I'm glad you asked." Natalie grinned as she dug her hand into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a list. It was really a list of the souvenirs she planned on buying. Clearing her throat dramatically, she began, "Reasons to date me, Natalie Parker. Number one, I have kickass taste in music. Number two, you'll always be able to talk to me about whatever's bothering you. Number three, we can stay in bed together all day and cuddle. Naked. Number four, I bake the best brownies in the world. Number five, if numbers 1 to 4 doesn't convince you, look at my butt."
Zach began to choke on his laughter as Natalie began to awkwardly twist her hips around while they continued to walk, trying to show him her butt. "Okay, okay," Zach wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulders to stop her from breaking an ankle, "You make a convincing argument, I have to admit."
"Does this mean we're dating, now?"
Zach smirked down at Natalie, her dark brows raised in question. "Not yet. I'm going to have to taste these brownies of yours to see if you're legit."
"Are you talking about brownies or my tits?" Natalie knew they were only teasing each other as Zach fell into another fit of laughter, it was how they joked with each other. As Zach's arm wrapped around her tighter, pulling her closer to his side, she couldn't help but wish he wasn't joking. Because Natalie definitely wasn't.