[color=Silver][CENTER][h1][b]Natalie Ellis[/b][/h1][/CENTER][/color] [hr][hr] [color=Silver]"Keaton hasn't texted you back?"[/color] Nat replied to Eli, puzzled. [color=Silver]"Do you have her number? I got a message from here just before I met you. I know where we've to meet. It's-"[/color] Right then, Eli's phone pinged again, and Nat stopped talking while she checked it. And Cara confirmed it. Not that Natalie felt Eli would have needed confirmation after what happened at the picnic. She looked over to Nic, and...was he crying? She listened to Eli indirectly send him on his way, and felt a little bit bad, but the truth was, she wasn't sure he should be there either. He still felt like a stranger to the group. The rest of them had been through some serious stuff together. Sure, Nice was there for the last two, but it wasn't the same. This is the first time she'd ever talked to him. Did he really belong in this group meetup? Nat got the impression that important things were going to be said, if Lynn of all people organised this. Natalie then heard the sound of somebody approaching from behind them and turned on her heel very quickly. She didn't have her guard up or any hint of aggression but she clearly moved in order to face the approaching person as fast as possible. The moment she saw it was Archie, her last breath got stuck in her chest and her cheeks flushed slightly yet noticeably. She thought she had the rest of the journey to the meeting place to prepare mentally for this, but guess she was being thrown into the deep end. She still couldn't forget their last conversation, that had to get cut short doe to them both having to go to the Ceremony. So much more needed to be said there. The way it was left made her heart hurt every time she thought about it. The rejection. The knowledge that her actions had hurt Archie's feelings and hadn't even helped her out anyway. She had nothing to show for shutting herself out. She should have just leaned on her friends and even if she'd have been a gibbering wreck, that would have still been better than shutting them all out. But it was too late to change the past. She had to fix their relationship in the present. She eventually caught her breath and smiled shyly. [color=Silver]"He-hey, Archie."[/color] Nat heard the pop shortly after Archie say Nic, and saw him grow considerably in height. He stopped, though. And his monitor hadn't gone off. So Natalie figured it was fine. The Beast had stirred, but wasn't awake yet. Even so, her smile had vanished and she was watching him very carefully now. [color=Silver]"Yeah, we're heading to the meet point. The picnic spot,"[/color] she finished for Archie. She looked over at Eli out of curiosity, and saw she was very obviously petrified right now. Nat gave her a very brief reassuring smile, and a gesture of her hand as if to say 'it's okay. I got this'. Lynn then arrived, and asked the group where Keaton was. Amelia was also there, but hadn't reached the group yet. Natalie was shocked at the state Lynn was in. What happened to her eye? Was it injured? Scarred? Or was it gone? Natalie had known that several of them had been injured, but that knowledge hadn't sunken in until seeing Lynn's bandages right now. She composed herself, and pointed in the direction they were walking. [color=Silver]"You know, Keaton might be waiting for us at the meet point as we speak."[/color]