Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sherry nodded. She'd known it was an accident. It was just...She'd wanted....Her hands fidgeted nervously.

The tomb. Sherry froze at the mention of it. She...she didn't want to say it. His reaction had been enough, hadn't it? It should have been. Yet here she was.

"The tomb," she repeated with a laugh. She looked down at her hands; silly things wouldn't stop shaking. Sherry had died, fought monsters, been turned to crystal and had vines burrow in her skin. Why in the hell was this so hard? She sighed.

Her gaze rose to meet his and she shrugged. "What is there to misinterpret? I like you. A lot."

Oh, hells. He was going to make her repeat it?

"I...I like you. Like like you. According to Armagnac I'm head-over-heels-in-love-with-you!" She gestured to him with on hand, her feelings finally getting the better of her. "And she tells me I'm stupid but Ofie says I'm not and then you....you...." Her arm moved again, but it was a half-hearted gesture.

She wanted to run. Run away before he had the chance to say anything else. Before he could tell her that Armagnac was right. Living with a secret crush had to hurt a lot less that living with a broken heart. What was she thinking? She'd seen his reaction today, he'd pushed her away and then left. She knew already. She was a fool. A foolish little girl with a foolish little crush.

"You...Jake, I," she almost apologized.



s**t. When had she started crying?

Sherry blinked in surprise. "Am I lying? You want this to be a joke? Why would I do all of this as a joke?"

Why was she still here talking to him? Did some part of her still hope? She was so stupid. Stupid and foolish. Armagnac had been right, he'd never given any indication of liking her back. That was fine, she could have lived with that. If she just hadn't kissed him, or if she'd went and pretended it'd never happened then this wouldn't be happening.

But it was happening. Her heart was out on the table now, all her love, her shame, her fear...and he wasn't even rejecting it. He was denying it.

Her hand rose to wipe at her tears. "I like you. And I'm not lying about it."

He was laughing at her? Was he really laughing? Did he seriously think it was some kind of joke? Sherry crossed her arms in front of her, more of a self-hug than anything. It stung, the way he laughed, deep down inside. And the way he looked at her. It hurt.

"I don't..." she looked at the floor. "It just happened. It's not like I went looking for it. One day I looked up and realized that I had feelings for you. You don't have to laugh at me for it." Why did he find it funny?

She was an idiot. Hadn't they established that? She didn't need to hear it again. "I..." she watched the floor as he spoke, too embarrassed to look at him. His words were things that she knew, but she had hoped in some way. For that, she felt foolish.

She heard him move, and she looked up to see him coming closer. She gave up ground, but her whole body tensed, adrenaline readying her for a fight. Armagnac had stopped talking. They lindwyrm was feeling, radiating a rage that Sherry had trouble not accepting as her own. Her fist clenched in a silent denial of the weapon's one query. She would not be summoning the glaive.

Now she met Jake's eyes, aware that her back was to the wall and that he was, once again, very close. The need to defend herself, her pride, turned and rolled into something akin to anger, pushing down the feelings of fear and shame that did not wish to feed it. She flinched the slightest bit at his final words, but she did her best not to show it.

"I know what we are," she said it quietly, almost whispered it. Her gaze held onto his. "I know what we give up. I walked away from could have been a good, simple life. I didn't come looking for fairy tales. And I didn't come here looking for a lecture." She raised her left hand, placing it in the center of his chest and pushed. It was a slow deliberate push, telling him to get out of her way.

"But that is all you had to say. 'Go away, Sherry.'" She took two steps toward the door, her hand ending it's contact with him. She hesitated at the door, almost turning to say something, but then she thought better of it, and let herself out.