"You see, I know you well enough to be certain that you saying 'duly noted' means that you have already thought about it, your mind is already made up, and I can't convince you otherwise... so... you do whatever makes you happy." she said in irritation as he laughed.
Pete had a bad habit of making it seem like he would take to your advice while in reality he already knew what he was going to do. This simply annoyed Natasha because she would take time to analyse his problem and give him a very thought out solution only to find out that he went to do the exact opposite.
"You know me too well, I'm sorry Natasha, I have just realized how short life is, and how old I am, I need to get my priorities straight and starting a family would certainly help me do that, I'm going to be thirty one, gosh, I'm well on my way to my forties, imagine me having my first child at forty five? I would look like a grandfather instead of a father." he said showing his real concerns.
"So is that why you're rushing things? because of your age and your scared of starting late? Because let me tell you right now that if those are your reasons, you will be unhappy and miserable in your marriage in no time." she replied.
"I know that Nat, and no I'm not rushing things because of that. If anything, I am not rushing things at all, I love Lia, and I really do want to marry her because I love her, and not because I've been alone for ages now." said Pete.
"You know me more than anyone Nat, in the past I was never as serious as I am now about marriage. I do love her." he said.
"I can truly see that, it's as if she bewitched you." she said as she scoffed.
"But as I said earlier, I'm happy for you." she said.
"Thank you, now the problem is popping the question without scaring her off." he said vividly nervous.
"I can't believe that you're actually nervous right now, you've been in much more dangerous situations, I am sure that you will do it the right way." she said as she tapped him on the shoulder and he smiled.
"Now, if you would not mind, I would like to stop talking about this." she said.
"Of course." he said as he laughed.
...
"Here..." said Ethan as he opened Joy's chocolate bar for her and handed it to her while they sat down in a small corner underneath the slide.
Joy did not think him which was unlike her, she just sniffed and ate the chocolate as they sat there in silence even though the entire playground was filled with noise.
Ethan who thought that he would enjoy the silence was sorely mistaken, he found it odd, Joy was never quiet, never, and he could not help but worry about her.
"Are you okay now or not?" he asked her as she did not say anything and he sighed.
"I'm actually worried, do you feel okay?" he asked as he looked at her and she nodded.
"Then why aren't you speaking?" he asked her.
"I don't want to talk." she replied in a small voice as he was convinced she was still upset.
Ethan sighed internally, he hated that she was like this because she was bullied. Joy was rarely sad, and it really irked him that someone would dare bully her. He wanted to cheer her up really.
"How about we talk about something fun? That would make you feel better." he said with a smile as she ate her chocolate.
She wanted to go home, she did not like this party at all, but she also knew that her parents still needed to stay here since this party was organized by them and she did not want to be a bother or make them worried, which was why she wanted to stay here.
"How is school?" he asked her.
"Fine..." she replied.
"And your little friends, how are they?" he asked trying to recall their names.
"They are fine as well." she replied.
"Do you hate the boy who bullied you?" he asked out of the blue as she shook her head.
"Why not?" he asked.
"He's just mean, I'm only sad because he didn't leave me alone when I asked him to." she said.
"But you scared him, so I don't think he will be mean to other children." she said as she sniffed.
"I see..." he said as she ate his own chocolate.
"Do you like the chocolate?" he asked her.
"Yes." she said.
"You want some orange juice?" he asked as he brought out the juice boxes and she nodded as he handed her one.
"Why did you ask for orange juice?" she asked curious.
"Well your dress kind of made me want to get orange juice." he said as she looked at him surprised.
"It did?" she asked him confused as he nodded.
"Yes, it just got into my mind, it's really bright." he said as she looked away.
"Oh...okay." she said as the silence continued and Ethan cleared his throat.
"You know I like... your dress... a lot." he said.
"I like the colour, it suites you, and I like your hair as well, you don't wear it like that everyday." he said as he complimented her causing her eyes to go wide as she looked at him.
"You do?" she asked surprised, Ethan had never complimented her before, never ever, that was why she was beyond surprised.
"Yes I do, you look really pretty." he said looking away, he wanted to cheer her up and if that meant giving her a compliment that he truly meant, then he would do it.
"Thank you Ethan, I love this dress a lot, my mommy and daddy picked it out for me together." she said as a slow smile formed on her face.
"I see, no wonder it's so pretty." he said.
"Yes." she said as she nodded happily.
"And what about your hair? Who did your hair?" he asked.
"Ahh my mommy did, and it looks so pretty, I love it, but it took too long to make." she said as she giggled slowly going back to her usual, happy self.
"Well your mommy did a really good job, it's really pretty." he said as she looked at him happily.
"Thank you Ethan, and I love your suit, it's blue right?" asked Joy as he looked at her and smiled.
"Actually it's aquamarine, which is a type of blue so yes and thank you." he said.
"Are you the only one wearing blue?" she asked as he shook his head.
"No, my mom forced us all to wear different shapes of blue." said Ethan.
"So you are all matching? That's so cool, maybe next time we have a party I should tell my mommy and daddy to make us all match." she said as she giggled.
"I can see that you feel better now." he said as he smiled and her eyes shined brightly.
"Yes I do, thank you for cheering me up Ethan." she said as she smiled and gave him a hug.
"Now that you feel better, I can't believe that you allowed yourself to be bullied dummy. This is your family's party, you should have stood up for yourself and given that idiot a punch." he said as he reprimanded her and she looked at him with confusion.
"I... I didn't want to be mean to him, we should always be nice to everyone, even though they are not always nice to us." she said as he shook his head.
"No dummy, no, you need to be bold, better, braver, people just can't bully you the way they want." he said.
"Okay, but thank you for defending me." she said as she smiled at him.
"Don't thank me, I won't always be present to defend you, you have to learn to do it yourself." he said.
"Okay, but still thank you Ethan." she said as she smiled and hugged him again as he went stiff.
"Stop hugging me." he said.
"Why? Don't you like hugs?" she asked him.
"I absolutely hate them." he replied.
"I don't believe you." said Joy as she laughed and drank her juice.
"Believe whatever you want dummy, never hug me again." he said as Joy just giggled, Ethan could be so funny at times, he pretended like he did not care when he really did care.
That was why she was very grateful to have him as a friend, because she was sure he would always stand up for her and try to cheer her up when she was sad. It was really sweet of him to do.
"I know that you secretly like hugs." she said as she whispered and giggled as he was annoyed and just drank his juice, shaking his head, he hated that he allowed himself get stuck with her yet again. So much for his plans... he would have to stay here with her for the rest of the evening.