Ellie smiled faintly and looked towards the fire. She didn't exactly know how to answer without making Dallin feel.. uncomfortable about it. Sighing a little bit, she set her plate of sweets on the floor and turned in the chair to face Dallin. "It was great." And that was the honest truth. "While it lasted." She had to add, though. Ellie looked down at her hands. "We met at the beginning of fourth year and we hit it right off the bat, as friends. Really great friends. And we got together near the end of that school year. Honestly, it was a great a relationship." Ellie looked up at Dallin, to see his reaction because she honestly didn't know what he would be thinking. Or feeling.

But something suddenly popped into the back of her mind. It was something that she had thought of before, many, many times before. She just didn't know when the right time to bring it up was. Maybe it was now? Ellie wanted to avoid it, but she knew she shouldn't. Twiddling her thumbs absently, she decided that she would talk about it that night. Just not... right at that moment.

So it was great. That nice to know. Not really, but Dallin was trying to convince himself that it was. Because he was glad that she had had a good relationship. That had been before Dallin had even come into the picture, so he couldn't be jealous over it or anything. But for some reason he still couldn't look up at Ellie and smile. Not a real smile, at least.

He couldn't look at her at all. He wasn't done with the questions... but now he didn't want to ask another one. Maybe if he just stayed quiet for long enough Ellie would change the subject and they could forget about it. Then he could bury it in his mind and worry about it when he can't sleep. Heh.

No. No, that wasn't good at all. His reaction. It was terrible. Why had she said all of that? Why did she make it sound like she loved that relationship so much? Why? Now Dallin looked upset. Really upset. Merlin, he wasn't even looking at her! Ellie suddenly felt a giant knot in her stomach and she buried her face in her hands. "Dallin." She mumbled, though it was muffled. Lifting her head again, she looked at him for a moment before speaking again. "Look, when Alex and I were dating, it's true... I had fun. We had fun together. But those days are over." Reaching forward, she placed her hand on his, hoping he would understand.


"I love you, Dallin. I love where I am and who I'm with. I love everything about us. Just because that relationship was great, doesn't mean that I miss it, or Alex. Because I don't." That was really all Ellie could say now. She just had to hope that he would understand. But again, that thought came back to her mind. And she just had to say something before her mind exploded.

Ellie brought a hand to her head and rubbed her forehead. "While we're... on this subject," Deep breath... "There's something I feel like you should know. About why... why Alex and I broke up."

Oh no. Now she was justifying herself and stuff... Dallin looked up quickly, shaking his head at her. "I get it, okay? It's fine. I'm glad you two were good." He laughed a little, shrugging half-heartedly. "It's the past, right? And I know you love me." There was no reason for her to feel guilty or anything. Or to feel like she hurt his feelings. "Your answer just surprised me is all." He added that quietly. Yeah, surprised. That was a good word for it.

He squeezed her hand lightly, finally looking back at her. Apparently she wasn't going to drop the subject, but what could Dallin do about that? He couldn't tell her that he didn't want to know. He did. Of course he hoped that she would talk about something good and happy, but... the way she brought it up didn't make it sound like it would be. Something he should know; so it was important. But why would he need to know why Ellie and her ex-boyfriend broke up?

So, quietly, he asked, "What is it?"

Okay so Ellie was a little confused now. Because she thought Dallin was upset about what Ellie had told him. At least, that's what it seemed like to her. Ellie looked at him while he spoke, explaining that everything was okay. And then she kind of felt stupid for trying to mend everything she said, even if there wasn't much need for mending. But, whatever. Her answer surprised him? That seemed kind of silly. Why would it be surprising that she enjoyed her last relationship? But, no... She wasn't going to ask that.

Taking the hand-squeeze as an invitation to begin talking, Ellie took a deep breath. She briefly considered changing her mind. It was his birthday after all, but she had already began. She couldn't let herself drop the subject now. "I don't know how... how you'll take this. It could be bad, or it could be... okay." Because "good" probably wasn't likely. Ellie huffed out a breath of air and looked down, and around and anywhere but at Dallin while she spoke. "Over the summer, Chandler and I went with Alex to his house, in New York. Alex's house, that is. We all had a blast, but as the days went on, it seemed like Alex wasn't always around. So a lot of the time it was just Chandler and me." Ellie looked at the floor and cleared her throat. "One day, Chandler asked me if I liked him. As more than a friend... In retrospect, I was an idiot. I really was." She let out a little humorless laugh and shook her head. "He told me that he liked me too, in that way." Pausing, Ellie considered what the best way to say the next part was. "Eventually, we left New York. Chandler and I, we never.. did anything, not even kiss. I don't even think we hugged. But for some reason, the guilt was killing Chandler and he... He told Alex." She paused again for a moment, staring into the fire. "Naturally, he freaked out. There was a lot of yelling and terrible things said... But he couldn't forgive me, and neither could I. I was stupid and we both knew it. Eventually, that "break" turned into the final cut. And we were done." Ellie bit the inside of her cheek and nodded slowly.

Ellie tentatively raised her eyes to Dallin's, to see his face. His reaction. And honestly, she was scared to death.

Dallin was silent - completely silent - throughout Ellie's whole story. Explanation. Whatever it was. At first, he couldn't figure out where it was going. Where had Chandler come into the picture? And what did he have to do anything. As Ellie went on, though, Dallin understood. Mostly. His eyes traveled down from her face to their interlocked fingers, then to his own knees.

Then she was done. Her and Alex broke up, just like that. 'Cause Ellie had been with Chandler. Chandler. Dallin sighed, putting resting his forehead in his free hand. Why did he need to know this, exactly? It wasn't really important. Did he need to know that she did that?

Obviously, she thought so. For whatever reason. And Dallin was probably expected to respond, yes?

"You cheated on him?" O_______o That was not supposed to come out of his mouth. He'd been thinking it, wondering if that's what she called it... and it just slipped out. Dallin's eyes widened in horror and he immediately sat up straight. "I mean - never mind. Sorry." He didn't know what he meant.

While she was waiting for Dallin's response, Ellie watched him silently. On her face was an extremely worried expression. And it only got worse when he sighed and put his head in his hand. Yeah, it was bad. But Ellie really felt like he should know. She just didn't know why. But now she wondered just what he would do or say. Ellie waited for Dallin to say something. Anything.

... *blink* Okay, maybe not that.

Ellie immediately retracted her hand from his and put it back in her own lap. She broke her gaze from Dallin with a somewhat hurt expression on her face. You cheated on him? That stung. Really bad. Especially the tone of voice that came with it. Cheated. That was a horrible word, and it matched the horrible feeling in Ellie's stomach. And chest. "I didn't cheat on him." Ellie said so quietly. "At least, that's not what I consider it." She added as she turned away from him. Unbending her knees, Ellie placed her feet back on the floor and stared at the glowing embers in the fireplace. Maybe telling him wasn't such a good idea. Was him not knowing actually better?

"Look, I told you this because I want us to be completely honest with each other. About the past, the present and the future. And I just..." She shook her head. "I just felt guilty for not telling you that. I don't know why." And then her voice got quieter again and she began speaking slower. "I understand if you're upset. This isn't exactly the greatest thing to hear from your girlfriend, but please... Please know that I would never do this to you." Her voice wavered with emotion and Ellie looked back up at Dallin. She felt her eyes sting and small pools of tears formed, but they didn't fall. "I learned my lesson. I love you too much to do anything like that again." Ellie couldn't talk anymore. If she opened her mouth again, it would come out as a sob and the tears would fall. So she just bent over her lap, and rested her forearms on her knees as she gazed into the fire.

When Ellie spoke, Dallin could hardly hear her. He was preoccupied by the fact that she'd taken her hand away - not good. He should have kept his mouth shut. His words, he realized, could have sounded accusing. Or maybe they were accusing. Cheating was a harsh word. She had even said that she didn't do anything with Chandler, but... she had been with someone and liked someone else. That was as good as cheating, right?

... Ellie didn't think so. Yeah, Dallin did hear that. He didn't say anything though. Honestly, he didn't know what he could say. So he stayed completely silent as Ellie continued talking. Okay, they were being completely honest with each other. That was her reason for telling him all this. And some part of him appreciated and respected her for that. But most of him wished he didn't know. He wouldn't forget it, of course. No matter how much he tried. But he could look past it. And he would.

Setting his feet on the ground, Dallin shifted his eyes to Ellie's back. Not her face, though, because he couldn't stand to look at the tears in her eyes. He could hear them in her voice, and that was bad enough. He hated it when Ellie cried... it reminded him of her curse. "Thank you," he said finally. "For... telling me." It didn't exactly make sense for him to be saying thanks for that. But... he knew that it was hard for Ellie. That was clear from the way she was acting now.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair and leaning back. "I'm glad you're honest. Really, I am." He just wished she didn't need to be. About this. "And..." Another sigh. "I love you too. Of course. This is a lot, though, you know?" It's not like he thought she was going to cheat on him, too. Okay, maybe it crossed his mind, but he wasn't going to dwell on it. He couldn't even imagine it, and he didn't want to try. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

Chandler. "You don't like him anymore." It was partly a statement, and partly a question. Dallin just... needed to know. He couldn't let a small doubt get to him, and he needed Ellie to answer this question one hundred percent truthfully.

In the silence that hung, Ellie buried her face in her hands to try and hide the few tears that had managed to fall. Why did she have to cry so much? Why was this so difficult? Why, why had she been such an idiot? So she sat there with her face in her hands and waited for Dallin to say something again. When he did speak, though, he didn't say what she expected.

Thank you? For telling him... Okay. And maybe she should be glad that he was thanking her, but she just couldn't be. Ellie didn't deserve a "thank you" for this, at least not in her mind. She deserved a slap in the face or something. Ellie just kept her face in her hands and didn't respond to that. She didn't know how.

Ellie rested her chin in her hands and stared at the fire again. She felt a little bit of relief when Dallin said that he loved her too. But she understood where his next words were coming from. It was a lot to take in. "I know." She whispered. Ellie closed her eyes. "I don't want this to change the way you see me. I never meant to hurt anyone, you have to know that." Ellie kept whispering as another pathetic tear fell down her cheek.

His next question, though it was more of a statement, kind of surprised Ellie. Although she didn't really know why. It was kind of important. She sat up a little straighter and looked him in the eyes again, a small look of shock on her face. "No. Not even a little. We're just friends and that's all I'll ever see him as." This reminded Ellie of the conversation her and Dallin had had about Chandler and her. That they probably wouldn't ever be best friends again for certain reasons. Maybe Dallin could figure out that this was one of those reasons.

There was something that Ellie had to know though. And it really bothered her at the moment, because she had no idea. "Do you..." She paused and swallowed hard, "Do you consider that... cheating?" She asked nervously.

Ellie was crying. Real tears, now. Dallin closed his head, resting his head in one of his hands. Of course he didn't want her to cry, but he didn't know what to do about it. He could hug her, maybe tell her everything was okay... but would that even work? No, probably not. Especially not when she continued talking.

She didn't want it to change the way he saw her? Dallin shook his head, not knowing how to respond to that. Yeah, he didn't want to look at her differently either. And... it had to be possible. He couldn't let this one little thing mess up the way he felt about her. And it wouldn't. He still loved her; he knew that. There was no doubt in his mind. But he couldn't let himself feel anything else. Because nothing had changed between them. This was just the past.

...Right?

He'd worry about that later. Right now there were still other things on his mind. Such as did he consider that cheating? Well, he'd said it already, sort of. But was that an 'Oops I didn't mean to think that' moment, or was it really what he thought? With a sigh, he lifted his head to look Ellie. He had to look away, though, before he answered her. And, since they were being honest... he'd give her the whole, one hundred percent truth. "Maybe... emotionally." Could you cheat on someone emotionally? "I mean... I get that you didn't do anything. But... you had feelings like that for someone when you were with someone else. And you didn't tell him."

Hopefully that answer wouldn't bring on more tears. He really didn't want to make her cry anymore. But she had asked him. So... well, that was all he could do about it. Tell her the truth and hope she understood.

Sarah bounced up and down in front of the Room of Requirement. She remembered her last trip here, and wasn't able to decided if she wanted it to happen again. Of course, while jumping off high shrines, wading in cave water, and dodging giant boulders were fun, she wasn't so sure it would be the best idea to do it again. Dying in a school wouldn't go over too well with their parents.

She considered briefly having Ame figure out what she wanted the room to do. She wasn't sure what she should do, though. Do it herself and make it a surprise, or let Ame do it, and have it be a surprise to herself.

Choices, choices...

Amethyst smiled softly as she strolled along the seventh floor. She had the urge to explore, and of course, when doing so, she saw Sarah. She smiled wide and ran over to Sarah, who was standing in front of a door. "Hey, Sarah!" She giggled softly her ears twitching.

"Hey," Sarah replied, blinking innocently before grinning.

She frowned at the door as if it had caused her personal pain, "I can't figure out what I want it to do," she muttered mostly to herself. She brightened and turned around again to look at her friend, "This is the Room of Requirement. Me and my friend Eris found it a few days ago. The door basically accommodates to whatever you want."

She tilted her head to the side, "But I can't figure out what I want it to do. Do you know what you want?" she asked curiously.

Amethyst smiled softly as she turned to Sarah. "What was the room like the last time you and Eris went?" She wanted to make sure that she and Sarah didn't repeat the same adventure from last time.

Amethyst smiled, thinking of one thing. "How about flying?"

Sarah laughed, "We went through a jungle and found a cave with this huge shrine in it. There was some treasure on the top of the shrine, I climbed up to get the treasure but as soon as I picked it up a giant boulder- like the ones in muggle movies- came rolling at us. I was forced to jump off the shrine and landed on Eris- I still feel guilty about having to use her as a cushion. Anyway, we got through the door, like, in the nick of time. We wouldn't been wall flowers, literally, if Eris hadn't wished for the door to appear right in front of us."

Unrealistic? Yes. Awesome? Obviously.

"Stupendous idea, my friend." Sarah said dramatically, bowing for Ame to go first, "Be my guest."

Honestly, it worried Ellie that Dallin didn't say anything after she told him that she didn't want him to think of her differently. It made her feel like he was already judging her, changing his thoughts about her. Sure, he still loved her, he had just said that. But now that she had told him about this, there was no way that he couldn't see that in her. And the fact that he didn't say anything, made that sinking feeling even worse. She knew it had changed his views. It had to. There was no way it couldn't.

Still hunched over, Ellie closed her eyes while she listened to Dallin explain his thinking about this "cheating" thing. She furrowed her eyebrows and rubbed one of her temples. Cheated emotionally. That actually made total sense. Because although they hadn't done anything, Ellie's mind was somewhere else. She nodded slowly and looked down at the floor. "That makes sense.... You're right." She said quietly.

And she didn't know why, but she stood up from the chair. She walked closer to the fire and stood there for a bit, just watching the flames. Maybe she felt like Dallin needed some distance. It was kind of a lot to take in. And it was his birthday. Ellie ruined it. "I'm sorry." She apologized quietly.

No. No, no. Dallin shook his head, disagreeing with Ellie. He didn't want to be right; he didn't want her to tell him that he was. She could have defended herself, right? But she had to agree with him. He should have kept his mouth shut and just said no. Because he didn't want her to feel guilty or anything. Really, he didn't.

Sighing, he kept his eyes on her back as she walked away from him. And said that she was sorry. He should say something, too. Anything to break the silence. What, though? Slowly, he stood up and walked up next to her, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. He still didn't say anything, he just stared into the fire.

Another sigh. Then he looked at her. "Okay, I'm going to be blunt here. This isn't about us, right? It wasn't me. Yes, I don't like it. And yes, I'll remember it. Of course. I'm sure you would be surprised if I didn't." Right? She had to understand that. "But it's over. In the past. And..." he stopped suddenly, pressing his lips together. He wouldn't say that; it was rude.

"Look, all I'm saying is this. It happened. Can't change that. But Ellie I do love you. And whether or not this creates issues with us, I always will love you. We've gotta be strong enough to work through the issues, no matter whose they are." By no means did that mean he'd forget about it... but hopefully that was a start. And Ellie wouldn't feel so bad.

Ame smiled softly and walked over to the door. She took a deep breath and reached out to grab the door nob. I wish Sarah and I were on broomsticks, flying in a meadow in Scotland...She turned the nob, and slowly opened the door.

There is was. Teo broomsticks hovered over a patch of grass, just waiting to be hopped upon. The sun was out and the wind blew gently. A small cottage was empty, but was vacant for them. Just them. The shelves would be piled high of delicious food, including chocolate.

In a small stretch of silence, Ellie heard Dallin rise from the couch walk up next to her. Ellie folded her arms and didn't look at him. She wasn't mad at him, by any means. She just... didn't want to see what expression he wore on his face. His words were enough.

Taking in a deep breath, Ellie listened as Dallin spoke again and was blunt. It actually wasn't too bad, and it all made perfect sense to Ellie. No, it wasn't necessarily about them. Ellie hadn't cheated on Dallin, and she never would. Ever. Of course he didn't like it, though. Ellie could only imagine how Dallin could be feeling right then. And of course he would remember it. Something like that was hard to forget. Ellie nodded slowly, agreeing with the fact that she would indeed be surprised if he forgot.

Ellie's emotions were on a roller coaster ride at that moment. So much of her felt guilty for the things she had done. But when Dallin said that he loved her and that he always would, something made her feel like everything was just perfect again. But then that got swept away with the issues. Because he wouldn't forget it. Neither would Ellie. But like Dallin said, they had to be strong enough to work through the issues. "We are strong." She said quietly, looking up at Dallin for the first time in minutes. Ellie believed that they were strong. "I just..." Ellie paused and looked back down. She spoke quietly again. "I wish I had never done that. I just want the guilt to leave." She shook her head slowly and looked sadly at the floor. Would the guilt ever leave?

Ellie was being so quiet. Dallin risked a look at her to see that she wasn't looking at him. She wasn't crying anymore, though, and that was a start. At least she'd be easier to talk to now, right? Hopefully. She was harder to talk to when she cried because Dal was afraid of making her cry more.

They're strong. Dallin looked away at those words, catching her looking back at him out of the corner of his eyes. So she agreed with him, right? That they could work past everything she'd just told him. Dallin nodded slowly, biting his lip as he looked up again. He didn't look away this time, even when she did. A frown pulled down the corner of his lips. What could he say to that? The guilt part.

He could be sympathetic, or something. Maybe. Or he could just stay quiet and make sure he didn't say something horrible on accident. Finally, he just shrugged. "Maybe it will, some time." Yeeeeah, big help there. He should've just kept his mouth shut.

Maybe it will, some time.

That was less reassuring than Ellie had hoped something Dallin would say. But then again, she couldn't really blame him. She had kind of just threw a bomb at him. On his birthday. Ellie looked at him sadly for a moment before putting her head in her right hand. She sighed and rubbed her temples, wanting to get away from this conversation forever. "I ruined your birthday." Ellie said to him quietly.

Ellie had prepared so much for this. Painting the picture, getting the room just right, finding the perfect song and then practicing it over and over until she finally got it down. And just when everything was going great, Ellie had to throw a curve ball that Dallin didn't expect. And then there they were. Standing a foot apart, not looking at each other. Confused. Worried. Upset. Some birthday present, huh?

Nate was pacing the halls. I need a private place to practice transfiguration. he kept thinking over and over to himself. Then he heard a stretching noise and stopped pacing. He looked over and saw a door in the wall that wasn't there before. Nate, being the curious self he was, strode over confidently and opened the door. It was a mirror maze. Well, I can see myself from almost any angle in here, no matter where I look. Nate thought. Then it hit him: Mirrors. They had done appearance-changing spells in transfiguration. Pure Genius! he thought. Nate wandered through the maze until he reached a small clearing that housed a small podium that was surrounded entirely with mirrors. "Ok, here goes..." Nate said, stepping onto the podium. He thought of a skater cut, with long, smooth hair all around his head and face. "Felintas," he said, tapping his head once with his wand. Looking in every angle, Nate watched his hair grow out to his shoulders. Brilliant! he thought. Then, he decided, it ought to be green. Why not? He tapped his head once more and said, "Ristaris," focusing on a bright electric green. It worked! "Alright, time to go back to normal," he said to himself, as he tapped his head twice and said, "Intaris!", returning his hair to its usual color and state.

"Nice imagination, Ame." Sarah chuckled.

Brooms. Yes! She needed to practice flying. And that cottage looked comfortable. Hmm, she'd probably check that out after flying.

She glanced at Ame over her shoulder, "D'you think these brooms work like the ones at the carnival?"

"Thanks!" She giggles softly and she ran over to the brooms. She smiled and nodded. "Maybe! Or these'll let us go a bit further." She winked, and hopped on one of the brooms.

Dallin... almost laughed at that. Ruined his birthday. Honestly that fact had sort of slipped his mind for the past few minutes. But yep, she was right. It was still his birthday. And they were still in this great room that she had made for him and worked so hard on. So... he wasn't going to put that to waste.

"Can we just... forget about it for tonight?" He asked quietly as he turned toward her and grabbed her hand that wasn't by her face in both of his. "Let's enjoy the room. And each other." Slowly, he walked backwards toward the chair they'd been sitting on. "Please?"