Okay, sure. Ellie sort of promised herself she wouldn't look at Dallin again while they were there. But he looked at her. She saw it out of the corner of her eye. And she wanted to look at him again. Pathetic? Maybe. But she missed him. Even though she left him.

Trying to be as sneaky as possible, Ellie first looked up at Vashti. That way, it just looked like Ellie was looking at everyone around her and not exclusively at -

What.

Dallin. Vashti. Dallin and Vashti. They were... kissing.

Ellie's face fell. Her stomach dropped. Her heart stopped. And she just stared at them. Eventually, Ellie saw Vashti push him away. Rightly so. But Ellie was still incredibly... she didn't even know. How could she describe what she was feeling right now?

Her eyes were on Dallin. She couldn't tear them away from him, and it was for a different reason than ever before. It was the first time she had actually felt some sort of... hate towards him.

No, she didn't hate him. Maybe she thought so, but in the back of her mind, she knew she could never hate Dallin. But... How could he do that to her?

Finally, Ellie looked down and away from Dallin. She swallowed the large lump in her throat and silently hoped to Merlin this staircase would move faster. She wanted to cry. And punch him. And kick him. But all she could do was stand there and let her eyes water up while she waited for the staircase to stop moving.