Animation Source Forums

"C'mon Nate, Pay attention!" Chapin whined, wrapping her arms around his arm, and laying her head on his shoulder.

"I am, and c'mon Chapin, get off me!" Nate mumbled but the girl didn't uncling herself, and wouldn't let him get her off.

Bethany saw. She looked off in horror, her jaw dropped down. Bethany looked away quickly, then her eyes darted back up, but they were still clinging together. Hurt. That's what she felt. She thought she meant something to Nate, apparently not. Bethany frowned and stood, "Excuse me...I'm going to go to the library.." She said, collecting her things and gathering herself to go hide in the library. She couldn't stay there and look at them practically snogging. Once in the library, Bethany sat down and whipped out her Notebook and started drawing aimlessly.

Nate noticed Beth hurry off, it took him a few minutes to realize what had just happened. "C'mon Chapin, lay off!!" he growled ripping his arm away from her.

Chapin blinked at him with surprise, "What's your problem, jack-a**?" she asked, almost in a hurt voice.

Nate just shook his head, before turning and bolting off. It was a misunderstanding, surely Beth knew that! He couldn't lose her, not like this... His mind wandered through a painful future without Bethany when he finally burst into the practically empty library.

((Oh yes!!! I have an idea!! But it takes place after Beth gets with Nick, and you might not like it cause it sounds like a soap opra xD we don't have to do it, but here it is. Like after Nick and Beth get together, Nate kinda disappears for awhile (on vacation or something xD) so like we time skip a few years. So Nate and Beth are like 25-27ish (Mid to late 20's) And maybe Beth has a little kid (cuz Nick's a jack-a$$), but she's not married to Nick, so he don't care about Beth or his son/daughter. So she's scared to leave Nick, cause she has no where to go. And so like, somehow she meets back up with Nate (he recognizes her cuz she still has his necklace) and the little kid just loves Nate to death, more than their pyshco dad. And Beth starts to fall back in love with him, cause she realizes she always loved him, like he has always loved her xD)

((OMG THAT'S SO PERFECT. YES!! ))

Bethany didn't bother looking up. She knew he was playing her for a fool. He just wanted to mess with her, that was it. He didn't care about her, her didn't care. Bethany felt tears burn in the back of her eyes as she focused on her current, sad, depressing, doodle. She began shading, trying to block Nate out of her vision.

(Awesome!! Now I wanna start it really bad(when I get all excited I get writers bock xD)... XD darn my patience!!)

Nate saw her sitting at one of the back tables, "Beth!" he whimpered walking slowly over to her, and the table.

"Go away Nate, you don't need to say anything!" Bethany hissed, narrowing her eyes to slits, "I get it, I knew all along. I know who you are. You were messing with me, and you still are. You don't have to put on this f*cked up act anymore. Did you have yourself a good laugh? Was it fun messing with the nerd of the school? I hope you're satisfied Nate. I hope you got all the little sh*ts and giggles that you wanted out of me. I never want to talk to you again, do I make myself clear? I hate you Nate, I. Hate. You."

And before Nate could even get a word in, Bethany was packed up and steaming towards the office. She checked out, saying that she and her mother had plans to go somewhere. She could miss her last periods of the day, besides, missing elective meant not seeing Nate. Bethany looked over at the school, hurt in her eyes, then began walking the 3 miles home.

Nate, in her mind, had been leading her on as a joke. A bet, maybe. But there was no way he actually cared fore her. An alien pain settled in her chest. Bethany had never experienced heartbreak in her life, but she was now. Tears finally streaked her cheeks, and she clutched the dogtag that hung around her neck with an iron grip. Clinging to the hope that maybe she did mean something to him...That maybe...Bethany didn't know, she blew her hair out of her face and pressed forward, keeping a hard glare set on the sky.

(Time skip...)

Years had passed since that day, which still haunted Nate. He stood before the mirror in his bathroom. He had been in Europe for a majority of the years since then. Every now and then, Beth's words would haunt him. I hate you Nate. I. Hate. You. He sighed and splashed water on his face, before fixing his auburn brown hair, which was now short, his bangs only reached his eyebrows. He went and got his jacket, he had to be at work. (He works at Build-a-Bear Bahahaha!!!) without another word, he robotically left his home, just as he had done for nearly eight years now...

It was a living h*ll, honestly. Bethany's bright, sunny, happy, future was all torn to shreds. She should have never gone to Nick, should have never even considered him as a sweet and loving person. But she had, she'd gone back to him the day she broke up with Nate. She remembered the rain, the smeared mascara, the tears shed, the embrace. Bethany could only help but frown now, the monster Nick was. At first, she'd assumed he was simply just cranky, but that cranky attitude evolved into a psychopath whom scared Bethany to death on a regular biases. She used to consider dumping Nick, but that was before the baby...

Bethany sat in her urban home, juggling a 4-year-old boy, who clung to her like a screaming monkey, and the morning meal. It was tough being a full-time mom, and work a part time job. All hopes of one day becoming something had been depleted. Her parents had stopped giving her money, ashamed that their sweet, innocent, little girl had gotten banged like a drum by a stable hand.

"Jeffery, no. Stop it." She grunted, prying the tot off of her leg and setting him on the counter. She wiped off his strawberry jammed covered face and smiled tiredly at him. She hooked him underneath the armpits and set him gingerly on the ground where he stayed at her side. Bethany hurriedly stirred the egg, and set them out on a plate of Nick. She knew how he got if he didn't eat well in the morning. The toast was done so she trudged over to retrieve it. Once that was set on a plate she staggered over to the table and set it down for Nick, who hadn't even gotten up yet.

Bethany had been up all night, tending to Jeffery, who had regular night terrors. She'd asked Nick once or twice if he'd ever tend to Jeffery, but she'd only gotten a grunt in answer.

((Does she live in Europe as well? ))

(oh no, Nate dosen't either, he had just gone there after the breakup. He's back in their hometown now.)

Nick came stalking into the kitchen, his footsteps heavy and his expression dark. It was easy to tell that he was suffering from a hangover. He just sat down and rubbed his temple, mummbling something. He glared over at Jeffery, "You takin' him out? I need s'more sleep... Can't get none for his screamin'..." Nick growled, it wasn't a question, it was a command, that Beth take their son out somewhere.

Nate walked somberly to work, he hated his work, not because of kids... Ironically, Chapin was his co-worker. Since that day, years ago, he was no longer the same. He no longer sang, infact, now he barely spoke.

Bethany looked at him with woeful eyes, You selfish b*stard, I haven't slept in days. She wanted to say, but she didn't. She didn't want to be left alone with a kid and no one else. She wouldn't be able to survive like that.

"Uhm...sure...We'll go to Build-A-Bear." She muttered. Jeffery grew silent at the mention of his favorite toy store, then he smiled and started laughing and telling her an aimless story about how much he likes bears, "Yes, you do like bears, Jeffy. I know that." Bethany said in a sweet voice.

"Breakfast is on the table, I'll be back in a few hours." Bethany said, shouldering her coat and leading Jeffery outside. Once outside they took a cab over to the store and Bethany allowed Jeffery to roam the place while she leaned against the counter tiredly.

Nate was just a sales clerk, he stood at the counter, his head on the flat surface, and his arms slung over the edge.

"Look sharp, Ginger!" Chapin teased as she walked past him. He didnt move, or even react. She frowned, sighed and walked off. She wished he would act as he used to, but she could never get that out of him. She disappeared into the back room. Leaving Nate alone, thankfully he noticed their was just one woman, around his age, and a cute little kid. As he watched he smiled a bit, Nate didnt mind kids, some he even thought where cute.

Jeffery looked up at a large bear at the bottom of a pyramid of stacked poodles. A devious little grin stretched across his pink cheeks. Jeffery looked exactly like his father, his nose, his eyes, even his facial expressions belonged to his father. Bethany just wished that Nick took more of an interest in Jeffery, because after all, Jeffery was their child.

The small boy grasped the end of the bear in his hands and ripped it from underneath the pyramid. This caused all of the stuffed animals to plummet to the ground and scatter all across the store floor. Bethany perked, seeing the commotion, and sighed.

"Jeffery Nathan Barrent!" Bethany scolded, using Jeffery's full name. She had intentionally made his middle name Nathan, because she always missed Nate. Bethany knit her tired eyes and trotted over to him, taking the bear out of his hands and trying to clean the place up.


(This is how I see Nick http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... CHYQrQMwCw)

Nate raised his eyebrow when he heard the little boy's name, but, thought nothing of it. For some reason he smiled softly when he saw the woman begin to frantically try to gather animal. Oh boy... Nate thought leaving the counter and walking over to the mess. Nate didn't speak, it was like, the day Beth left his, voice went with her... To Nate... She had simply taken his heart, therefore he found no reason to speak anymore.

He could still talk perfectly, and his singing had improved a well. Nate could've been famous had he not stopped speaking. Nate went so far as to learn sign language. He stopped and kneeled down, starting to help her clean up, it was afterall, his job. As he helped his mind flashed back, to the day he had been pushed into Beth... When she dropped all her things, and he was the only person who stopped to help. I hate you, Nate! I. Hate. You. her words again burned his mind. If only he could've explained, but he had lost the most important person he had ever loved. He quickly blinked and looked with sad eyes, at the woman. She seemed familiar but he didn't ponder on it for long, he just looked quickly away, and continued to pick up animals...

(poor Nate DX I never realized how messed up he his until I typed it all out... Lmao xD and hahaha, I never really thought about how nick looked, I just knew he was blonde XD)

When the man came to help, Bethany nodded her thanks graciously, "Thank you." She said, looking up quickly and smiling at him. She paused immediately, gaping at the man who knelt before her. It couldn't be. It mustn't. Was the man standing before her really who she thought he was?

"N-Nate..?" Bethany asked softly, unsure the man was really just that. Maybe she was seeing things, maybe he wasn't real.

When she said his name he looked at her curiously, his eyes narrowed suspiciously, before growing round again. The sad eyes changed. The dark brown eyes, of a heartbroken man, whom was haunted by his past faded. They where replaced by the brilliant amber hue, the amber color, of a fifteen year old boy, with not a care in the world.

"Bethany?" the name escaped his lips awkwardly, his voice hadn't been used in so long it sounded rustic. He coughed and cleared his throat, he took her hands and stood, pulling her up with him. He looked down at her, he had grown far taller, and she only came to his chest in height. "Bethany..." he repeated, in a deep gruff voice, that was unintentionally filled with love for the girl, who he assumed loved him no longer. "Beth Valentine?..." something about saying her name made Nate happier, as he looked down into her tired blue eyes.