She's Stronger Than You Think

Smiles

"Look, I don't want your opinion of me to change," I said. "That's why I didn't tell you anything before."

"And I understand that," Nate answered. I didn't think he did. "Just--" He paused as he looked me in the eye. There was something in his eyes that I had seen, maybe once before, but this time it was more prominent. "I need to do some thinking," he finally said.

Nate took my hand again, and began to led me back inside. But he paused for a moment, then turned back to me. "(Y/n), you had to start the gang because of bankruptcy...right?"

"Um, yeah," I hesitated.

"So, did you even want to do that? Do you really want to continue this route now you've got everything back?" He asked. That question really hit me, probably because I had known the answer for a while, but never really bothered to face it.

I looked at him seriously before answering, "I'm not proud of it. If I could be in a different place, I would be. But there's not a lot more I can do. Sixteen year olds have a better education than I do. I really have no choice."

With that, Nate led me inside. We both got ready for bed without much more speaking. I went back to my own room tonight. That had been something I had been wanting to do for a while. But somehow, tonight, it felt lonely. As much as I hated sharing a bed with Nate, it had kinda grown on me.

Now I had to think about what Nate was talking about. I had a lot of new questions for him. How long would he need to think? What was he even thinking about? What was that in his eyes? And the final question that kept coming back to me, even as I fell asleep: Why did I get butterflies when he looked in my eyes?

 
"We're going out today," Nate said, as he entered the kitchen the next morning.

I looked up quickly. "What?"

He looked at me, before answering, "With the gang. We have some things to discuss."

"Oh," I said. I cleared my throat. "What things?"

"Just the results of the heist. I have to pay everyone for doing their parts. And we need to talk about our next mission. I don't know what it's going to be yet. Maybe we'll trash some nightclub downton." Nate sipped his coffee.
I shifted on the stool I was sitting on. Something didn't feel right. "You're going to follow a heist like that with trashing a nightclub?" I asked.

"Hey, it's what we do," Nate laughed. "See you in about an hour." He headed down to the basement.

I decided to go upstairs and get dressed. When I came back down, I heard a weird noise. It was the same noise that I had heard a few days before. Determined to find out what it was this time, I dashed to the source. It took me downstairs, but I had to find out.

When I got there, I noticed that the noise was coming from a room to the left. I quickly walked over there and pushed the door open. Nate sat there a the computer, which had a Word document up. At least, I thought it was Nate. He had a guitar in his hands, but when he turned, he looked different. He was wearing black-framed glasses.

"Well, this is a new look," I said, actually kind of amused.

Nate laughed. "Actually, this is my real look. If any of the other guys saw me like this they'd lose all their respect for me. That's why the door says to knock first."

I glanced at the door, just seeing the sign for the first time. "I didn't see it," I giggled. Then I stopped myself. Why was I giggling?

Trying to change the subject, I took a few steps over to the computer. "Did you write that?" I asked about the document.

"Yeah, it's kind of my hobby," Nate answered, scratching the back of his neck.

"Wow, that's actually pretty good," I commented after a minute.

"Really?" He seemed surprised.

"Well, from I've seen," I said. "I don't really know how it sounds."

To my surprise, Nate actually started playing for me. As he started in with the first verse, I was absolutely mesmerized. The words just seemed to flow from him. As he sang, I noticed a passion that had been so hidden before. It was as if this was what he was meant to do.

Suddenly, and kind of abruptly, Nate stopped.

"Why did you stop? That was so great!" I exclaimed.

Nate laughed a little. It was different than before. It sounded genuine. "Well, you can only get so far in a song with no bridge."

I couldn't help but smile, though I didn't know why. "I'll leave you to it, then."

I ran upstairs, barely able to hold back a stupid grin. I tried to discipline myself. But what I didn't notice, was that, as I left, Nate was watching me. And he was smiling.