I'm Not Wicked

Part Twelve

"Hey," Dorian greeted with a smile, joining Eleanor and Gabriela in their quick stride down the hall.

"Hey," Gabriela said happily in return, making Eleanor look away uncomfortably as Dorian bent down to kiss her.

"So," Dorian started, a bit confused by Eleanor's discomfort, "It's Jane's birthday this weekend, and she told me to tell you you're both invited and to bring a swim suit."
He then turned to Eleanor, adding, "Or rain boots and gloves."

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny." Eleanor said with a sarcastic smile, crossing her arms, still frazzled from seeing her grandfather.

"Come on, Ellie, birthday parties are fun!" Gabriela insisted, grabbing Eleanor's arm.

"We didn't really celebrate birthdays on the Isle." Eleanor stated, looking down at Gabriela's hands on her arm and quickly looking back up.

"Anywho," Dorian cut in suddenly, "We were promised the second half of a story."

Eleanor glared at him; she was really hoping the two would forget.

***

Before Eleanor could protest, Gabriela was dragging her and Dorian to the dorms, pushing both of them down onto pink stools, and plopping down next to them, crossing her legs.

Eleanor stared at the floor, trying to find some way to weasel herself out of having to explain.
Gabriela watched Eleanor for a moment, seeing her subconsciously fidget with her ring.

"Actually, Dorian," The blonde started, turning to her-I hate to say it-boyfriend, "Could you leave?"

Dorian looked extremely startled and confused, sitting with his mouth agape, "I mean...I guess?"

"Great!" Gabriela beamed, grabbing Dorian and pushing him out the door, locking it behind him.

Gabriela's smile then dropped, her face turning more serious.
Eleanor was just staring at Gabriela with her eyes wide.

"Alright, now tell me the rest of the story, and I'll tell Dorian later or not at all, whatever you prefer." Gabriela stated, sitting back down and crossing her legs once again.

"Well, I..." Eleanor still wasn't sure what to say, because, as she said, "I don't really know what happened."

"What do you mean?" Gabriela asked, tilting her head like a confused puppy.

"We agreed to meet up and talk more about it. I waited there on the dock for three hours before Carlos and Jay came to grab me." Eleanor explained, clearly still hurt.

She remembered it so, so clearly. After that, Eleanor had only seen Uma a few times, and they'd only exchanged words once.

"She just...didn't show up?" Gabriela questioned quietly, hoping that she was misunderstanding the situation.

"Yeah," Eleanor clarified, sighing shakily and pushing her glasses back up her nose.

Gabriela couldn't think of anything to say for more than a couple moments, simply thinking back to Eleanor's memory she'd accidentally seen. They seemed so happy together. She just didn't except that it ended so quickly.

"I'm gonna go to the library," Eleanor muttered, snapping the blonde out of her thoughts.

"No," Gabriela said firmly, standing up with a slight stomp of her foot.

Eleanor was already reaching for the door handle but stopped short, "No?" She echoed.

"You can't just leave again. Talk to me," Gabriela stated, running up to Eleanor and grabbing her arm.

Eleanor flinched away, immediately feeling bad for that reflex when Gabriela frowned slightly.

"There's nothing else I can say," Eleanor told the blonde, shaking her head slowly as she spoke.

Gabriela stared at her friend for a moment, trying to read the complex emotions she was feeling.

"I'll see you later," Eleanor promised, looking away from Gabriela to try and avoid her gaze.

The green girl then slipped out the door, making her way to the library in quick strides. As she passed by Dorian, who was sitting in the common area like a pouting child, the boy jumped up and grabbed her arm.

Eleanor automatically yanked her arm away, giving Dorian an offended look.

"Are you okay?" Dorian asked, reaching for Eleanor's hand.

"Do you care?" Eleanor asked in a snarky voice, slipping into sarcasm as a defense mechanism.

Dorian stared down at Eleanor's hand, which she hadn't pulled away quite yet, looking at the contrast of his tan complexion and her strange one, thinking hard about the question.

"Yes?" The boy answered unsurely.

Eleanor gently pulled her hand away, "I'm fine," She lied.

With that, she ran off to the library, leaving Dorian to stare after her, coming to a strange and slightly horrifying realization, whispering it to himself like a mad scientist, "I do care about her."