Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Why would you need to censor yourself?" Sam didn't quite understand what was going on. If Ella wanted to say something, then she should go ahead and say it, and she had, so where was the regret?
"Never regret anything, because at one point, it was exactly what you wanted," he said, not as a reprimand but just as a phrase of wisdom.

But Sam wasn't the kind to brush things under the rug. He stopped walking for a bit, and turned Ella to face him, still holding her hand with his free one resting on her shoulder.
"Ella, keeping negative things in doesn't help your center. I'm not freaked out. Don't condition yourself to be guarded with me."

Sam bit his tongue there. He understood what she was saying, but it still frustrated him. After all they had spoken of, there was no point in censoring their speech. What could possibly be weirder than all they'd spoken of?

He walked with her in silence for a bit, before realizing with a blush that they were holding hands still. Sam didn't let go, though. Instead, he just smirked.
"Does holding hands with someone you just met meet your standards of normality?"

"No," he said, remarkably without stuttering. That always happened when he was nervous. "Just wondering. I don't mind holding hands with a pretty girl."
Boldness like that only escaped him when he was becoming too comfortable with his surroundings, and that, he decided was something dangerous. Grove wasn't a place you wanted to feel dull and unconcerned.

"Honestly? No."
Sam walked on, taking his time, unawares that further down along the path behind them was a Rosie practically being dragged by a Colin.
"Just the ones who catch my attention." His cheeks were blushing badly, but Ella didn't seem to mind it all that much.

"Yes, but I'm not talking to them, am I?" he said, with a very wide grin.

Rosie was nearly livid.
"Colin, I am not being dragged around so you can play big brother with someone who can take care of themselves! Now stop being silly, and just let her take care of things!"

Rosie was red-faced with his antics. since she wanted some kind of explanation, she went galavanting after him, catching his wrist and giving it a tug.
"What is going on, Colin? Why are you so... weird about this?" As far as she knew, Ella was a good person and could see when another person wasn't the same.

Rosie listened intently, and nodded once the story was done. Colin did have a reason for it after all. At least that soothed her worried heart a bit.
"We're at Grove, though, Colin. On campus. Near buildings, not..." But she stopped herself, knowing that wouldn't stop anything if this Sam was intent on hurting Ella.

Rosie put her hand on his cheek, and rubbed it a bit with her thumb. Her dear Colin.
"I understand, though. I get it. I just don't want you turning into a stalker or something and freaking him out."


Sam, though, was freaked out anyhow. He held her hand, not too tightly or too loosely. As they walked he tried to think of something to say, settling only on a faint, "So we're friends now?"