[chapter four]
Disclaimer: If you've heard of
them, I don't own them. Everything else is mine, so no stealing, pretty please.
;-)
**
Nya really didn't want to do this.
With a heavy sigh and a pang of regret, she knocked on Jamie's front door, tapping her foot and *almost* hoping he wasn't home.
She knew he was, though. Lights were on, and she could hear a television through the door.
Moments later, Jamie opened up the door, his face breaking into a grin when he saw Nya standing across from him. "Hi." He said, opening the door wider to admit her.
Nya remained rooted to the spot, her cheeks glowing red. "Um, hi. This is very embarassing." She began uneasily.
"You want to borrow some sugar?" Jamie teased. "That's cool - I have a whole bag full."
Nya shook her head no. "Right. So, there was a spider in my house." She said, trying to sound authorative and tough as Jamie looked at her, slightly bemused by her presence. "So I grabbed some paper towel and I smooshed it."
Jamie laughed but motioned for her to continue. "Well, apparently, I used a tad too much paper towel in hunting down the beast, and...I..."
Jamie looked at her, confused.
"Iflushedthepaperandnowmytoiletisstoppedupandwaterwasgoingeverywhereandcanyoupleasecomeplungeitforme?" Nya said, looking down at the ground in embarassment.
Jamie laughed so hard and loud that Nya jumped in place. "You...you killed a spider...and flushed the evidence...and now it's..." Jamie laughed again, then tried to regain control. "And now you need a manly next door neighbor to fix it?"
"No, what I *need* is a warm body who knows how to do that so I don't have to pay a plumber an outrageous amount of money to come out after hours and fix it." Nya huffed. "Never mind." She said, turning on her heel to make the walk of shame back to her own house.
"Wait, wait. Nya - WAIT." Jamie said, closing his front door and jogging after her. "I'll help you, no problem."
Nya slowed until Jamie had caught up, then looked up at him briefly. "Thanks. I...I would really appreciate it."
As they made their way to the offending bathroom, Jamie asked questions about turning off the water and where her plunger was. Nya watched in awe as Jamie masterfully plunged the toilet and set her bathroom back in working order. "How did you learn that?" Nya asked curiously.
"There's not a lot to do in Missouri, so I learned how to do house stuff. Plus, my mom was afraid of spiders too." Jamie winked.
"Thanks." Nya repeated. "I thought maybe it was just an ingrained Y chromosome thing."
"Maybe." Jamie shrugged. "Anyway, it's cool now. There is a charge, though."
Nya looked at him warily. "What?"
"You have to come over and do my dishes for a week."
"What??"
"Or mow my lawn for a month."
"What?!"
"Or cook me dinner every night I'm home this week."
"WHAT??" Nya repeated incredulously.
Jamie smiled, a little nervous now. "I'm just kidding, Nya. Don't worry about it. I was just, you know, teasing you?"
"Right, right." Nya nodded. "I knew that. I was just...playing along." She said as she escorted him to the door.
"Sure you were." Jamie said with a grin. "Sure."
"Listen, thanks for..."
Nya trailed off as a car pulled into her driveway. "Great." She
muttered. "This is all I need."