Natalie

Chapter 16

In the morning, Natalie woke up around ten. It was Saturday, and she was excited to spend the day with Spencer for once. When she entered the living room, she could smell something burning. It was odd considering that Spencer never cooked, and he definitely wasn't dumb enough to start a fire. Natalie figured it wasn't anything to worry about until an obnoxious sound started coming from the ceiling... the fire alarm.

She followed the smell to the kitchen where Spencer stood flabbergasted in front of a burning pot. Apparently, he was dumb enough to start a fire. Grabbing a fire extinguisher that was conveniently located outside the apartment, Natalie put the fire out immediately. Then, she sighed heavily, and almost knocked him over with the fire extinguisher.

"I attempted to make breakfast," Spencer said.

Dropping the fire extinguisher, Natalie started to clean up the mess that was made. She had definitely accepted that the apartment was her home, and sometimes treated it like she was the sole owner of it. This was one of those moments, but who could blame her? The thirty year old who actually owned the apartment almost burned it down.

"You are aware that cooking is basically a science right? It's like mixing chemicals, except with things that are edible," Natalie suggested.

Spencer began helping with the clean-up process, and threw out whatever was in the pot. It definitely wasn't one of his finest moments, but he really did want to do something nice. Realizing that cooking wouldn't be the nice thing he could do, Spencer thought about going out to breakfast. 

"Yeah... I'm not the best at practical things, but I'll finish cleaning this up, and we can go out for breakfast?" it was more of a statement than a question, but Spencer's tone revealed it as a question.

"That's definitely better than... this. I'll go get dressed," Natalie said, turning around to go back to her room. 

They ended up choosing the diner down the road from Spencer's apartment. It was within walking distance which was perfect for the two of them. When they arrived, Natalie and Spencer were automatically hit with the smell of every breakfast food imaginable. The smell of bacon was the most prominent. Apparently, they had the best breakfast in town.

One of the waitresses approached Spencer and Natalie to find out where they wanted to be seated. Naturally, they aimed for a window seat where they could watch the city go by. It was strange how different they were from each other, but the little things were what made them get along so well. 

When they were seated, Natalie immediately grabbed a menu, but didn't bother grabbing one for Spencer since she assumed he already had it memorized. It didn't take long for her to go through the several breakfast options because all she wanted were waffles with turkey bacon. 

"So," Natalie began, making sure to drag out the 'O'.

Spencer looked up, making sure she knew he was listening.

"I finished The Sign of Four. It was a good book, I get why you like Doyle's writing so much. I just don't get why you didn't want me to read it in the first place. I mean, it's Sherlock Holmes," she said.

Now, Spencer looked away. This was definitely a topic he didn't want to discuss with Natalie, but he knew he had to be honest. As much as he wanted to pretend that Tobias Hankel never happened to him, it was a defining moment in his life, and he couldn't keep Natalie in the dark about it. 

Glancing back at Natalie, Spencer sighed, "We haven't even ordered yet, and you're already interrogating me," he laughed.

Right when he was about to start explaining what happened, their waitress walked over. Natalie ordered her bacon and waffles, and made sure to emphasize that she wanted tea instead of coffee. On the other hand, Spencer definitely wanted coffee, but he only wanted pancakes. He really wasn't much of an eater which Natalie definitely didn't relate to.

After the waitress left, Natalie looked at Spencer like she was waiting for him to continue. She noticed his expression, and realized she may have touched a nerve. There was no denying that she was curious, but maybe now wasn't the time. Then again, there never seemed to be time for anything.

"Look you know my job can be difficult, and sometimes it seems like we have terrible luck. Sometimes, it feels like my luck is the worst of them all," Spencer blurted out.

"You don't have to..."

"You were probably going to find out anyways. I know you already found out about what happened with Emily last year," 

Natalie didn't see Spencer get emotional often, he just wasn't like that. So, to see him not even want to look at her was concerning. She listened along to what he was saying, but she dreaded the ending more than anything. 

Spencer sighed, and began explaining what had happened to him. Everything that Tobias Hankel did, and what shocked Natalie the most, everything Spencer did to cope. It was more than surprising to hear Spencer admit that he had a drug problem at one point. He made it clear that he would never do it again, and that he regrets it more than anything in the world. 

"I'm really sorry that happened to you Spencer," Natalie said, grabbing his hand. It wasn't like her to be so confronting with another person, but she continued anyways, "But, I promise that reading a Sherlock Holmes novel is not going to make me do drugs."

Interrupting their conversation, the waitress brought their food over. The smell of it made Natalie jump to grab her fork. It was almost as if she hadn't been fed in weeks, but that's how good the food was at this diner. 

By now, Spencer had let go of Natalie's hand, and began to eat his own food. He was a pretty slow eater, but that matched up with his appetite in general. It was clear why his mom always worried about how skinny he was. 

The comment Natalie made about the book threw Spencer completely off guard. Not in a bad way though, he laughed at it. Part of him wanted to defend his reasoning, but now he couldn't really see it. Maybe the book just triggered something in himself that reminded him of how he used to feel. Sherlock's struggles reminded him of his own struggles.

"So, how about that principal you're stuck with at that school?"