The Secretary {Once-ler x Reader}

That's just Show Business (Chapter 8)

     N entered her room, her mouth hanging open at the amount of space in one room. Closing the door behind her, she dropped her stuff and ran to the bed, throwing herself on it. It was incredibly soft.

     She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, thinking about all that had changed in the past few days. Not too long ago, she was telling her friend that she would never fall for The Once-ler. Now, she had the knowledge that he liked her and she...

     What about me? she wondered, blinking.

     The Once-ler had his flaws, but he seemed to have more personality than she thought he did. He was actually kind of nice; after all, he had put his tailcoat around her like a blanket earlier. Not only that, but he really was attractive.

     Sighing, N sat up and took a good look at the room.

     Unfortunately, he also isn't that bright. Doesn't he know that by cutting down the trees, he'll run out of resources someday? she thought. Doesn't he know how long they take to grow?

     N stood up and looked out the window, several questions running through her head. What was he doing right then? What does he normally do during his free time? And most importantly, how long did he have feelings for her?

     -      -      -

     N opened her eyes, finding herself in a strange place. It took her a few seconds to realize that she was in her hotel room. Looking at the time, she got up and straightened out her clothes, coming to the conclusion that she must have fallen asleep while she was busy thinking earlier.

     She glanced at the time again. She had about twenty minutes before she had to meet the Once-ler and head to the studio to supervise the filming of his thneed ad. Having nothing else to do, N decided to head downstairs and wait.

     In the lobby, N admired the pieces of art. She particularly liked a painting of the old truffula valley, before the trees started to get cut down. She couldn't believe just how beautiful it had been before and how it was slowly losing its beauty because of...

     "Don't tell me you're going to draw on that too," said a voice behind her teasingly.

     N gave a yelp and jumped back, spinning around to see the Once-ler.

     "You scared me!" she exclaimed. "A-anyway, why are you down here so early?"

     At that moment, N remembered their conversation earlier and turned her attention to the painting in order to hide her face from him. She tried to think of something else in order to rid herself of the embarrassment.

     "I... had nothing else to do," he replied. "What's that?"

     "Oh, just a painting," she said. "I forgot just how pretty the valley was before... Never mind."

     N glanced back and saw Once-ler scrutinizing the picture.

     "Don't worry," he said quietly, "I'll fix this."

     "Huh?"

     "I was just thinking," he explained, "that what you said was right. Once we're done with the ad, I'll hire people to collect the tufts from the trees."

     "Really?" N asked, relieved. "That's great!"

     N stared at the picture, a calm feeling overtaking her. She had made a difference after all.

     -      -      -

     The Once-ler looked up from the script he was reading, a skeptical look on his face. N watched as he set it down and put on his sunglasses.