For a while Ellie wondered if Dallin was ever going to say anything. He was the one that came to her, anyway. Maybe he would just give up and leave again; he seemed pretty good at doing that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him look at her. But he still didn't say anything. Maybe Ellie should leave...? But she really didn't want to. She was trying to find places that didn't remind her of Dallin and if she kept running, he might find her and eliminate all other options. Or... maybe she was just being dramatic. That happened sometimes.

Finally, Dallin faced her and started talking. Ellie continued to stare out the gate at the forest, chewing on the inside of her lip. She let him finish, or... not quite finish. And then she closed her eyes and silently searched her brain for something to say.

"You're not an idiot," she finally said in a quiet voice. He wasn't an idiot, Ellie believed that. She noticed the slight pause before he said 'then' and wondered what it was about. But she didn't ask.

Ellie turned to face him, but she stared past him off in the distance. "Your reaction was logical. I don't suppose it would be nice to hear that after all this time, you just started out as a distraction." That was a little harsh, wasn't it? But Ellie really thought that he made a good choice in running away from her.

Sniffling from the cold, Ellie shoved her hands in her jeans pockets. She should have worn a coat. "I guess I just... shouldn't have expected any different." It's not like she could have just hoped Dallin would shrug it off and forget about it. Something like that is hard to forget.