Chocolate Heart (Wonka And Noodle) #1

Chapter 14

The morning was no different from the night, the cold was still present and entered the chocolatier's room in small gusts of wind

He had barely slept, trying to make as many chocolates as possible, although he had not managed to completely the jar

Wonka sat on his bed, yawning as he turned to look at Noodle, who was still sleeping, noticing that she was shivering and breathing heavily

"Noodle-?" he leaned slightly to feel the girl's forehead, which was concerningly warm

Wonka made a small noise of thought, he had been in that state a few times, and on all those times he would have had at least two days of rest, but Willy knew that Noodle wouldn't have the opportunity to rest enough, Mrs. Scrubbit and Mr. Bleacher wouldn't let any second of work be lost

"...Sweetie, you have to get up" Wonka said softly

Noodle opened her eyes, looking at the chocolatier with confusion, although maybe she couldn't even see him clearly "Dad...what...?" she questioned her words with a incoherent mumble

That only increased Wonka's concern "...Noodle, I wish I could let you rest but... I can't, c'mon, I'll help you up" he carefully took Noodle's trembling hand as she struggled to crawl out of bed

For a moment the young man could feel the girl slipping out of his hands, but finally he managed to make her stand on her own

"My head... my head hurts" Noodle muttered

"Yeah, I know, sweetie, just... just hold on for a little while, when we go down to the laundry you can rest" said the chocolatier as he opened the door

Noodle straightened her position to try to look normal, but she couldn't stop shaking, so Wonka had to take her hand again, helping her out of the room

"Morning, Mr. Wonka" said Abacus while leaving his room, and then he turned to look at the girl "Noodle, are you okay?" he questioned

"She's sick, Abacus" Wonka explained "But she will get better"

"Oh, I understand" said the man "Just try to look convenient or Mrs. Scrubbit will increase your debt when she realizes something's wrong"

The others left their rooms, also instantly noticing Noodle's condition

"C'mon, sunshine, try, I'll be making sure you don't fall" Wonka looked at the girl "Okay?"

"...Okay" slowly she let go of the chocolatier's hand

"Quick! Everyone down" Bleacher exclaimed from across the hall

Wonka let Noodle go before him, watching every step the girl took as Bleacher called to them; she seemed to be trying too hard to look normal, especially when it was her turn to leave the hallway

Surprisingly, Bleacher did not notice the state Noodle was in, which was a great relief for the young chocolatier

•  •  •

When Wonka entered to the hot and humid washhouse, he realized how difficult it would be for Noodle to get through the day, so he hurriedly went to look for her between the rooms of the laundry room

It wasn't very difficult for him to find her, sitting in a corner, next to a pile of clothes. Wonka hurried to her, kneeling down

"Hey, you shouldn't have gone too far away, sweetie" he joked

Noodle giggled "I think this is the best place to not be discovered"

The chocolatier moved to sit next to her "I think I have a funny story that might cheer you up" Wonka said

"What story?" she questioned

"It's something I forgot to tell you last night, but I made a trap for the little orange man!" he explained while smiling "Do you remember me telling you about him?"

"Yeah... did you catch him?" Noodle asked, holding her head because of an obvious headache

"Yes! But we were talking and it all turned out to be a misunderstanding, so we made a deal and I let him go" he spoke

"Why didn't you... wake me up? I wanted to see him" the girl muttered

"But you looked tired... anyway, don't worry! Next time I'll make sure you can see him" Wonka promised "Now I think you need to rest, wait here, I'll bring you some blankets"

"Okay, dad..."

Wonka stood up again and hurried to the laundry basket, where the freshly washed clothes were accumulating, managing to grab a pair of white blankets, looking out of the corner of his eye at the others resting comfortably, because all the work was being done by his invention

"Oh, Mr. Wonka, we didn't see you enter, where were you?" Abacus asked to him

"I was with Noodle" Wonka said

"It's so adorable! You two really look like a family" Larry exclaimed

"Oh... thank you, Larry, but now I don't have time to talk, I have to take this to her" Willy explained, pointing to the blankets

"Do you need us to help you?" Piper questioned

"It's not necessary, now I think she's going to get some sleep... so everything's fine" Wonka spoke

"Oh, okay, if you both need anything, let me know" Abacus said

The young chocolatier nodded with a smile, walking back towards the far corner where the girl was, leaving the blankets on the floor to arrange them, rolling up one of them so Noodle can use it as a pillow

"...Dad, aren't we going to sell chocolate?" the girl questioned

Wonka was silent at her question, he had completely forgotten that they should be out of the building by now, he made a noise of thought

"I... I don't think that today we can, sweetie" Willy muttered "But don't feel guilty..."

"What are we going to do?" she asked

"Well, today I'll make sure you heal... or at least I'll try, tomorrow maybe we can return to our plan" Wonka smiled, having already finished setting up the makeshift bed

Noodle laid her head on the rolled up blanket

"I'll wake you up before the roll call" he pulled the blanket up to Noodle's shoulders as he spoke "You'll get better, I promise"

She smiled in response before her eyes slipped shut and her breathing began to even out. Wonka slowly brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face, kissing her forehead