Quote:
Originally Posted by
sarahlooo 
Ellie squealed a little when she felt Braeden lift her off the ground. And then she landed with a soft thud on the snowy path. Goodness, she was so puny compared to him. Ellie grinned and nudged him in the lanky arm.
Noticing the worry and apprehension on Braeden's face... Ellie didn't do anything to make him feel better. Heh. Ellie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I talked to Emma the other day..." She began, not really sure which angle to take. Let's see... How did she say this so she didn't embarrass herself or Braeden? "I'm your friend, right? And Emma's my best friend. I care about both of you. Tons." And Ellie was rather fond of beating around the bush. But, no longer. She looked up at lion. "Skinny dipping? Really? Are you an idiot, Braeden?!" She sort of exclaimed, hitting him in the arm.
But then she laughed a little bit. But it wasn't really an "I'm amused" laugh. It was more of a "I'm not amused, but I'm going to laugh to ease some tension" laugh. She was good at those.
The second Ellie brought up Emma's name, Braeden realized where this was going. And he was scared. He knew Ellie was for the most part sweet and adorable and very helpful, but he still hadn't forgotten that one time he found her dueling with some random girl. And, ironically enough, that had taken place right here! In the pathways!
OHMYGOSH, this was Ellie's spot for beating up people!!
That could only mean one thing for him.
The cowardly lion grew a little paler at all these panicked realizations, but said nothing as he listened to Ellie continue. Uh-huh, yes, they were friends… right, she was very close with Emma… she cared about them, that was nice… This all sounded really nice and sweet, but Brae knew better than to think the girl was only here to remind him of how much she cared about Brama.
And then she got to the point -
'Skinny dipping? Really? Are you an idiot, Braeden?!'
The Gryffindork cringed. Well, thank MERLIN this wasn't about Caroline. If Ellie was this upset about the skinny dipping, which he had already explained to Emma, then… well, he just wouldn't want to imagine her angrier.
"I-- I know, I… I wasn't thinking!" the boy replied, or more like pleaded. He knew just how close Ellie and Emma were, so if Ellie decided the boy wasn't good enough for her best friend… well, there was a good chance Emma would listen to her. And Brae couldn't afford to lose Emma.
"It was-- I-- I just…" With a sigh, the boy ran a hand through his hair as a need to release some tension and stress. "I just didn't want Ruby to stay mad at me… She's kind of always mad at me, so I just…" He sighed once more. "And--and-- you're right! I
am an idiot; I didn't realize what I was doing could've hurt Emma, I just-- I wasn't thinking… But you know I love her, Ellie," the boy admitted hopelessly. "I wouldn't do something to purposely hurt her. Ever."
Poor Brae felt like the biggest screw-up of life. It seemed no matter what he did, he almost always ended up ruining things for himself and Emma. For a moment, the boy paused, and, realizing once again just how close Ellie and Emma were, he asked, "Does she... know that? That I wouldn't hurt her on purpose, I mean... Does she know it?" If anyone knew the answer to this, besides Emma herself, it must've been Ellie. And Braeden needed to know.