Chapter Text
The city felt completely different once Gabi started showing it to her.
Nathalie had previously been wandering without a destination and checking her watch every few minutes out of habit. Now she was being dragged through narrow alleyways she never would have noticed.
Gabi seemed to know everyone. A baker waved at him from across the street. An elderly woman stopped him to ask about school. Two younger kids raced by on bicycles and shouted his name.
Nathalie found it fascinating. “You know a lot of people.”
Gabi shrugged. “It’s a small city.”
That earned a small laugh from her. The strange thing was that talking to him was getting easier. Normally conversations with people her age felt awkward. That explains why Nathalie usually spent gatherings standing quietly beside her father.
“So what brings you here?” he asked as they crossed another street.
Nathalie hesitated, the truth sounded pathetic. Instead she said, “my father has some work here.” That part was true.
“And?”
“And he let me go out to explore.” The lie slipped out effortlessly.
Gabi nodded. “That’s cool.”
Nathalie felt a stab of guilt. If her father had his way, she would be sitting alone in a hotel room reading until midnight.
The conversation shifted before Gabi could ask more questions. “So what about you?” she asked. “Do you always work at the food truck?”
“Normally after school.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“It’s okay.”
The answer came too quickly, Nathalie noticed immediately. “You don’t sound so convinced.”
Gabi glanced down the street. “I mean, I like helping my parents. The truck’s been around forever.”
“But?”
“But it’s not what I want to do.”
Nathalie looked at him curiously. “What do you want to do?”
For the first time all evening he seemed almost embarrassed. “Fashion designer.”
She blinked. “Fashion?”
Now he looked ready for her to laugh.
Instead Nathalie’s eyes widened. “You design?”
Gabi shoved his hands into his pockets. “I sketch.”
“Can I see?”
His surprise was immediate. “You actually want to?”
“Of course.”
He stared at her. “Most people hear that and immediately ask if I want to become a model.”
Nathalie frowned. “Why would they ask that?”
Gabi laughed. “No idea.”
A few moments later he pulled a small sketchbook from his bag. The pages were worn from use. Nathalie carefully flipped through them.
Her eyes widened further. “Gabi...”
“What?”
“These are amazing.”
He looked away. “They’re okay.”
She pointed at one page. “This dress is incredible.”
Gabi blinked, nobody had ever said that so seriously before.
Nathalie continued turning pages. There were dresses, suits, jackets, even entire collections.“You should absolutely keep doing this.”
He laughed awkwardly. “My parents think it’s just a hobby.”
“Then they’re wrong.” The words escaped before she could soften them.
Gabi stared.
Nathalie suddenly realized she might have sounded rude. “I mean—not wrong wrong.”
“Wrong wrong?”
She groaned, “forget I said that alright?”
As the city slowly gave way to the outskirts, the paved roads became dirt paths. The houses became fewer and trees began to appear.
Nathalie didn’t notice at first. She was too busy listening to Gabi explain why certain fabrics fell differently than others. Then her shoe sank into mud.
She froze.
Gabi kept walking.
Nathalie remained rooted in place.
“Gabi.”
He turned around then immediately burst out laughing.
Nathalie glared. “What is so funny?”
He pointed at her expensive cream-colored flats covered in mud. “You look horrified.”
“I am horrified.”
“You brought those shoes into the woods?”
“I didn’t know we were going to the woods!”
Gabi bowed dramatically. “My apologies your highness.”
Nathalie rolled her eyes. She grabbed a small pinecone from the ground and threw it at him. It bounced off his shoulder.
Gabi looked delighted. “You threw something at me.”
“You deserved it.”
He grinned. Then he offered his hand.
For a moment Nathalie just stared at it. Then, putting aside her pride Nathalie took his hand.
The path was uneven and muddy, forcing her to watch where she stepped. Gabi guided her around puddles with exaggerated seriousness.“Careful there, majesty.”
The woods turned out to be nothing like Nathalie had imagined. She had pictured forests as something elegant and carefully maintained with walking paths and maybe a fountain somewhere nearby.
This was different.
The trees stretched overhead in uneven arches, their leaves rustling in the evening breeze. Birds flew between branches and the dirt paths twisted unpredictably. Every few minutes Gabi would suddenly go off the trail because he wanted to show her something.
“Where are we going now?” Nathalie asked after the fourth unexpected detour.
“You ask too many questions just trust me.”
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she did. Eventually, they reached a small clearing. At first Nathalie didn’t understand what Gabi was pointing at. Then tiny lights began appearing among the grass.
Her breath caught. The clearing seemed to fill with floating stars. Fireflies. They flew through the darkness like tiny lanterns.
Nathalie stood perfectly still. “They’re beautiful.”
Gabi glanced at her. “We get them every late spring.”
“I’ve never seen them before.”
That surprised him. “Seriously?”
She nodded. Nobody had ever taken her somewhere long enough to see them.
After a while he nudged her shoulder. “Come on.”
“There’s more?”
“Obviously.”
A few minutes later he led her deeper into the trees. Soon, a structure appeared between the trunks. It wasn’t really a cabin, more like a pile of mismatched wood.
Gabi looked ridiculously proud.
“What is that?”
“My cabin.”
Nathalie stared. “You built this?”
“I did andwith my friend Harry.”
Gabi shoved open the door. The inside was surprisingly cozy. Old blankets covered a few chairs, shelves held books and random supplies, and a small lantern sat on a table. Most importantly, stacked in one corner was a collection of board games.
Nathalie blinked. “You have board games?”
“Of course.” Gabi pulled one off the shelf “Have you played this?”
She looked at the box. “No.”
Gabi stared. “Nathalie have you ever played any board games?”
She considered. “Chess?”
He burst out laughing. “No wonder you’re weird.”
Nathalie gasped. “Weird? For your information I’ve been busy.”
“Doing what?”
She almost said studying, reading, traveling, sitting quietly and being bored in hotel rooms. Intead she shrugged.
Gabi spent the next hour teaching her game after game. To his surprise, she was actually good. “How did you win again?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve never played before.”
“I was listening to your instructions.”
“You shouldn’t be this good.”
Nathalie smiled smugly.
—————
The evening passed far too quickly and darkness settled fully over the woods. Gabi checked the time. His expression shifted, “we should probably head back.”
Nathalie’s stomach sank. The disappointment slipped out before she could stop it, “Oh.”
Gabi smiled softly. “We can do this again.”
That made her heart skip a beat, nobody ever said again. People usually disappeared from her life as quickly as they entered it.
The walk back was quieter. Halfway back Nathalie shivered. The temperature had dropped considerably.
Immediately Gabi noticed and without hesitation he shrugged off his jacket. “Here.”
Nathalie blinked. “You’ll be cold.”
“I’ll survive.”
Before she could protest further he draped it around her shoulders. The jacket was far too large. It smelled faintly of laundry detergent and the fryer from the food truck. Strangely, she liked it.
By the time the hotel came into view, the city lights were glowing against the dark sky.
Gabriel slowed. Then Nathalie stopped completely.
His eyes widened. “Wait.”
Nathalie looked up. The hotel towered above them.
“You live here?”
“Temporarily.”
“This is a very expensive hotel.”
“Yes I suppose it is.” Nathalie shifted awkwardly.
“Oh.”
Everything suddenly felt complicated again. The differences between them. The things she’d been avoiding and trying to hide.
Gabi didn’t seem upset. “Highness really was accurate.”
For a moment neither moved. Gabi was still smiling. The same smile that had made her nervous at the food truck hours ago.
Before she could overthink it, Nathalie stepped forward.
Gabi’s eyes widened slightly.
She leaned in.
There was a brief moment of surprise.
Then Gabriel leaned forward too.
Neither of them quite knew what they were doing.
They were just two teenagers standing outside a hotel after what had unexpectedly become the best day of Nathalie’s life.
“NATHALIE!”
The shout shattered the moment.
Both of them jumped apart.
Nathalie froze. The voice was unmistakable. Her father. Camilo Pista stormed down the hotel steps. His expression was furious.“Nathalie!”
Her stomach dropped. The warmth from the evening vanished instantly.
Her father stopped in front of them. His gaze landed on Gabi. Then on the jacket around Nathalie’s shoulders and on how close they had been standing. The silence that followed was somehow worse than the yelling.
“Sir, we were just—”
Camilo Pista didn’t even acknowledge him. All his attention remained fixed on his daughter.
Before Nathalie could move, Camilo stepped forward and grabbed the front of Gabriel’s jacket.
The jacket still hung around Nathalie’s shoulders with one sharp movement he yanked it off her. Nathalie stumbled slightly. “Father—”
The jacket was ripped free and dropped carelessly onto the pavement as though it were trash.
Gabi’s expression darkened.
The older man seized Nathalie by the arm and pulled her to his side. Hard enough that she winced.
Gabi immediately noticed. “Sir we were just walking around the city,” Gabriel continued carefully. “Nothing happened I promise.”
Camilo gave a short laugh. “You expect me to believe that?” Camilo’s gaze swept over Gabi’s clothes. The worn boots, slightly faded shirt, the flour still dusting one sleeve. Everything about him. the judgment was obvious. “You work at that food truck.”
Gabi nodded. “My family’s truck.”
“How fortunate.” The sarcasm was impossible to miss. Camilo smiled. “If I ever see you near my daughter again…” The smile vanished. “…I will ensure your family never operates that truck again.”
Gabi stared. For a moment he seemed genuinely confused. As if he couldn’t imagine an adult saying something like that. Then realization hit. The threat wasn’t a joke. Camilo meant it.
Gabi’s jaw tightened. “You can’t do that.”
“Excuse me?”
Gabriel looked ready to argue.
Nathalie gave a tiny shake of her head. ‘Please don’t.’
To his credit, he noticed. His mouth closed.
Camilo nodded once. “What a wise decision.” Then he turned his attention back to Nathalie. His grip tightened on her arm. Not enough to leave a mark. “Nathalie.”
Her throat felt tight. “Yes, Father.”
He leaned down slightly. “You embarrassed me.” The words were almost a whisper. “You disappear for hours.” His fingers tightened further. “You return with some boy.”
Nathalie stared at the ground. “I—”
“You lied to me.”
Her chest tightened. “I didn’t—”
“You did.” His voice remained low. “I give you freedom and this is what you do with it?”
Freedom. The word almost made her laugh. Instead she nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Not here.” His voice sharpened. “We’ll discuss this upstairs.”
Nathalie felt cold.
Camilo pulled her forward. “Move.”
Nathalie stumbled after him. As they passed, she finally looked back. Gabi hadn’t moved. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
But Nathalie shook her head almost immediately.
He stayed where he was. Watching helplessly as Camilo pulled Nathalie through the revolving doors and into the hotel.
The last thing Nathalie saw before the doors closed was Gabi standing alone under the lights and found herself wishing someone would come after her.