Deep Inside

Chapter 7

Sunday morning started out with the sun shining with a few clouds trying to ruin the beautiful morning. Everyone was able to sleep in since it was a Sunday and Nani didn't have to go into work until later in the afternoon.

Pleakley was currently laying on his stomach on the couch, draped over it, wearing his little blue shirt and red bow tie. His head was hidden in the crook of his arm, which was what he was using as a pillow. His other hand draped down off the side of the couch.

Lilo, Nani, and Stitch were sitting at the kitchen table, eating their breakfast. Lilo was eating her favorite cereal, Chocolate Puffs, while Stitch was eating the same thing, only taking his claws and placing little corn puffs on each nail and then eating them.

Nani was eating her own kind of cereal and some toast as she read the newspaper. The clock on the wall announced that it was 11:24 in the morning, a time in which Nani was usually at work already. That was what Nani loved so much about Sundays. She wasn't in nearly as big of a rush.

"Stitch, why are you eating your Chocolate Puffs that way?" asked Nani as she turned the page of the newspaper.

"Ju ginji ma jangiba!" he told her, looking up at her and showing her his corn puff-filled claws. Nani made a face and went back to her reading.

It was then that someone knocked on the door. All three of them looked up from where they sat at the table, but Nani was the first one to react. She put down the paper and went to answer it.

"David!" she cried after she opened the door. David gave a small wave and a smile as he greeted Nani.

"How's it, Nani?" he asked her, stepping through the threshold of the house. Nani shut the door behind him, smiling.

"Oh, nothing much. Just finished eating breakfast" she replied cheerily.

"Breakfast? But its almost lunch" he pointed out, taking a few steps forward. He saw that Pleakley was lying on the couch, having not moved from his spot since he arrived a moment ago. The surfer found this odd, seeing as how Pleakley was usually animatedly cleaning the house, or at least up and about and ready to talk.

"Is he okay?" asked David, looking to Nani as he pointed to Pleakley on the couch. Nani gave Pleakley a quick and nervous glance before turning back to David.

"He's……going through a tough time right now…" she whispered, holding onto David's arm. A sad expression came over David, feeling pity for his friend.

The sound of the phone ringing caught both of them off guard and for a moment, Nani only stood there, acting as though she had never heard it ring before. It wasn't until she heard Lilo answer it did she come back to reality.

Nani spun around the corner that led into the kitchen and watched Lilo with wide eyes as she spoke. "No, this isn't Nani, this is Lilo. Her sister…..Hey, do you have any zombies at your house?"

Nani managed to snatch the phone away just as Lilo finished her question, glaring down at her. "Hello!! Sorry about that….she's my little sister and can a bit too open at times…." Nani gave a fake laugh. Lilo shrugged and went back to her cereal.

David smiled as he saw Nani on the phone, still standing where she had left him. He glanced back over to where Pleakley was still lying down and decided to walk over to him.

"How's it, Pleakley?" he asked, sitting on the far end of the couch, making sure not to sit on any of Pleakley's three legs. When he received no reply from the small alien, he frowned. He tentatively and gently reached over and tapped Pleakley on the shoulder. "Are you okay, brudda, brudda?"

"Oh…..I've been better…" Pleakley finally mumbled, though David was just barely able to understand him since his words were also muffled from the couch.

"I've never seen you like this before. What happened?" he asked, concerned.

Pleakley took in a deep breath and let it out, slowly coming out from his spot on the couch and sitting up. He stretched and made himself comfortable, before finally looking over at David.

"Oh…..You don't look so good…." commented David.

It was true. The little Plorginarian didn't look well at all. His eyes was slightly red and he looked as though he hadn't slept in days. They could both hear Nani still talking on the phone as they both glance in the direction of the kitchen.

David cleared his throat, which grabbed Pleakley's attention. "I might be wrong….but you look as though you're heartbroken. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Pleakley shook his head. "No, there isn't." He perked up slightly. "And you were right about the heartbroken thing. Niiiiice." He smiled briefly, but then frowned again. He had been impressed with David's guess.

"So, there is nothing I can do….? Is the girl you like just not paying any attention to you? Because, I must say, I've had my share of problems…and you tried to help me…" David offered brightly. Pleakley's small shoulders sagged slightly at his words, which David noticed. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No….It's just……" he stopped talking, staring down at the floor. He rubbed at his arm, debating. "Well, since everyone else knows….I might as well let you know too…"

David blinked, not understanding what Pleakley was getting at. "What is it?"

Pleakley took in a deep breath before replying. "Well…..I am heartbroken…..but it's not because of a girl…." David just blinked at him, which made Pleakley sigh and roll his eye. "I'm in love with Jumba…"

It took a moment for that to sink in before David cried out, "Auwe!" He blinked several times, taking a moment to let it sink in. He shook his head, but then looked back at Pleakley, who was watching him cautiously for his reaction. "You're sure?"

Pleakley had a bland look on his face. "Never been more certain of anything in my life…"

David nodded, thinking things over. "Well, it's good that you found someone you love. I mean, Jumba was not my first thought for you, but its good!" He smiled warmly.

Pleakley just stared at David in awe, having not expected such a response from him. "You mean….You mean you're okay with it?"

"Why not? He makes you happy, no? I'm not one to judge…." was David's answer.

Pleakley smiled at his response. "Thanks."

David was about to reply, when Nani walked back into the room, now off the phone. "Sorry about that David I had to answer it. Would you like some lemonade?"

David looked over at Nani, still sitting at the edge of the couch, a sad expression on his face. Nani blinked at him and it then dawned on her what had happened while she was on the phone. "Oh, he told you, huh?" she wrung her hands together, not sure of what to do next.

"Yeah…." sighed David, glancing over at Pleakley, who looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. "It is a shame, no? That our little friend has to be so sad…"

Nani nodded, agreeing. She knew she hadn't taken the news well when Pleakley had originally told them, but now, seeing what was happening to their friend, she felt remorse and did wish that there was something that she could do.

"Just leave it guys, there is nothing we can do…" whispered Pleakley after a moment.

"That's not true" piped up Lilo's voice from the entrance to the kitchen. All three of them looked over to see Lilo and Stitch standing in the doorway next to each other, looking confident.

"And why do you say that, Lilo?" asked Nani.

"Because Stitch and I have a fool proof plan!" she announced happily.

"Ih!" agreed Stitch with enthusiasm.

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Working of hours on end on your latest of experiment had a tendency to make one sour and achy after a while. Which was why Jumba had no choice but to get up and walk away from his work after several hours of doing so non-stop. He was reluctant to, but in the back of his mind he knew that whenever he did return back to it, he would be relaxed and ready to start fresh.

The large alien walked out into the front room of the house, poking his head about, curious as to where everyone was. It was at this moment that his ears picked up the sounds of Lilo saying something outside. And another second later he heard Nani and David's voice as well. Curious, he decided to go outside to see what all the fuss was about.

Just as he was heading down the porch steps, Nani, Lilo, Stitch, and David were making their way up them. Jumba met them half way, his face abashed at the sight before him. All of them looked sad and depressed and he could tell Lilo was trying to hide her tears.

"Whatever is the matter!?" Jumba demanded, worried, in his deep Russian accent.

Nani looked up, seeming to be startled at his appearance and question and clamed herself a bit but wiping away a tear from her own eyes. "Oh! Jumba….I'm so sorry you missed it.."

All four of Jumba's eyes blinked at her, utterly confused. "I am sorry. But what exactly did I miss?"

Lilo reached up and pulled at Nani's shorts, looking almost desperate to her sister. "He doesn't know yet, Nani! It happened so fast! We didn't have the chance to tell him!" she wailed. Stitch took her small hand and had her release Nani then gave her a side hug.

Jumba, now completely spooked and worried, frowned. "What did I miss?"

David pushed past Jumba, going on up to the house. "I'll go in and make us some hot chocolate" he offered, giving Jumba a sympathetic look, which didn't make the large alien feel any better. Jumba turned to Nani, in hopes of more information.

"Umm…..Jumba….Pleakley….." she paused, trying the best way to put things into words. Jumba's face was horror-stricken. 'Something happened to Pleakley!?'

"Pleakley went home" she finally said.

Jumba tilted his head to one side, not sure if he had heard right.

"Home? But his home is here with us" he stated.

Nani shook his head. "Listen, Jumba….He told us…about his feelings for you."

Jumba felt a dead weight in his chest at these words, not believing what he was hearing. "What?"

"He told us…." Nani wiped away more tears. "He told us about how much he liked you and how you had said 'no' to him. He was heartbroken and….well, we tried to convince him that everything was going to be okay….And that we would work things out, but he wouldn't listen. Then…in a crying fit…he called his mother. She came…and…" she pointed down to the driveway. "And she came and picked him up. He…packed his bags and went home. He couldn't stand being here anymore. Not if it meant he couldn't…. be with you…. So he went home…back to his…home planet.."

"Sorry, Jumba. We would have told you but he was in such a hurry and his mom was already here waiting for him. In the rush of saying goodbye…I guess…..We're sorry Jumba" apologized a sniffling Lilo.

Jumba just stared at them, not sure what to think. "You mean? He just left?"

Nani nodded. "Sorry, Jumba. But he thought it was better this way. We tried telling him we could help him and we had ideas to make him feel better, but he wouldn't listen."

Jumba felt numb. He didn't know what to think. Everything had been just fine a few minutes ago. He knew he shouldn't have left his lab. But then again, he just would have found out later instead of now. He looked up into the bright blue sky, being able to picture the Plorginarian ship take Pleakley away. When he had told Pleakley that they couldn't be together, he had no idea that his little one would go to such drastic measures. Sure, Pleakley had mentioned go home to live with his mother, but Jumba never once thought he would go through with it.

He felt Nani pat him comfortingly on the shoulder as she took Lilo and Stitch up into the house, leaving him there. It was then, on the porch, that Jumba had never felt so alone since he came to Earth.

----

Lilo was escorted by Stitch up the elevator and into her room, sniffling at the loss of her friend. Once the elevator made it up to her room and the door opened, however, her sad expression disappeared and she quickly dried her tears. Stitch let go of her, waiting for her next move.

"It worked!" she beamed at Stitch.

"En jingsa bee!" he exclaimed along with her. "Success!"

"It worked?" squeaked a voice from the corner of her room. Pleakley stepped out from the shadows of her room, tentatively playing with his fingers, appearing nervous.

Lilo ran up to him and gave him a hug, which was returned. When she let go, she looked up at him. "You bet it worked! Poor Jumba is out there, realizing that you left because of him, and now he's going to realize just how much he cared about you!"

Pleakley nodded, smiling, but it soon faded. "But what if he really doesn't have feelings for me? Then what will I do?"

Lilo shook her head. " I doubt that'll be the case. And if it is, we'll worry about it when the time comes!" she beamed, refusing to let anything spoil they're victory.

Pleakley sighed, smiling with contentment. He sat down on Lilo's bunk bed. In the corner, sat his suitcases of all of his belongings. "Thank you, Lilo…Stitch….for letting me stay up here in your room…and invading your space." He said this meekly.

Lilo shrugged it off. "Nah, its okay. You're cool. I would only let cool people

into my room. And besides, now I can finally say I have an alien sleeping in my room!"

She paused. "Except Stitch" she pointed to the blue alien, who had pulled something out of his ear and flicked it away. "They just think he's my dog.."

Pleakley smiled broadly at this. He just wished that all of this would be worth it and that Jumba would really figure out his true feelings for the other alien.

Author's Note: Hello! I know it had been ages since I have updated! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this fic! I've just been really busy and frankly, not really in the mood, you know? But, I was able to get this chapter up for those of you who have been waiting patiently for me to update. J Thank you!