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Nicholas. Eli remembered the way he looked standing at the edge of the clearing, back before everything headed in a dark direction. [i]"Tall dark and blandsome,"[/i] as Lynn referred to him. Lynn's amusing description of him had gone completely over her drunk little head at the time, but now it only made her smile grow wider as she listened to him speak to Natalie. Whether it was the drink, or the aftermath of chasing Lynn into the forest, she didn't quite remember much of him at the party. In fact, she hadn't even seen him since. [i]"Partying isn't really something I've done much of."[/i] Why had he said that? If Lynn hadn't run off to the woods, she probably would have asked that exact question.

Eli looked him over, recognizing his tense stature that resembled a security officer. That's what she thought he was, before she realized he was another awkward, teenage para at the party. So, what could make a teenager stand in such a way? She considered a few possibilities, but it was hard to focus on the outcomes while Nicholas was picking away at his ear. Was he nervous? He seemed nervous at the party, too. In fact, she thought it odd that it would take him so long to respond to her question. She glanced over at Natalie, and wondered if Natalie had any hunches too. Was the guy just stuck in his head?

His mosquito excuse wasn't convincing, [i]at all,[/i] and the full-bodied laugh didn't exactly sell the excuse either. Then he just stared at Natalie. A full on, almost confrontational stare. Eli's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before she looked over at Natalie. [i]Seriously, what is with this guy?[/i] Was it her new look, or was he remembering something about her from the bonfire? Or the loading bay? She couldn't help herself, and gave Natalie an awkward smile. Should she apologize to her, after this encounter, for siccing such an odd scenario on them?

[b]“Oh, sorry. I thought about it a little bit and, honestly, my mind just started wandering. No--not wandering, I.. Yeah. I was there. And I’m really sorry.”[/b]

Eli looked back to Nic and was relieved to see that he'd regrouped whatever was going on up in that head of his. So, he'd been in the loading bay. Maybe his mind was just a little messed up because of the trauma. Why apologize, though? Eli tilted her head to the side, and a look of concern came over her face. Despite how odd he appeared, Eli couldn't help but empathize for him. Sometimes someone just needs to get it all out, and maybe Nicholas felt that she herself was the person to trust with the dark thoughts.

And then he began to explain himself.

Eli listened closely, and found herself looking between his eyes, down at the scar on his arm, and back up at his face. So... that's where the explosion had come from. Eli felt her heart begin to beat faster within her chest as she relived the moment through Nic's eyes. She imagined the giant beast as it charged towards two helpless girls, one of them looking and acting exactly as she had that day. [i]He's seen a lot of things? What kind of things?[/i] The apology made sense, now, in Nic's own odd way. He tried to help her, he tried to stop Archie- he didn't know it was Archie, of course- and now he felt bad because the explosion could have gotten her and Keaton too. It was touching that he would even try to help her, even if his actions had been reckless.

The rest of the details floated through Eli's mind and she assumed that the girls he was speaking of had been Amelia and Lynn. [i]He even tried to help them, too.[/i] Eli swallowed, and found it hard to shake the feelings from that day from her now.

[b]"It looked like you were having a real bad time with it all."[/b]

Yeah, that was an understatement. She'd been having the worst time of her life. Her people were being attacked, her friends were bleeding out around her, and her good friend hulked out and almost killed her and Keaton. Now she was about to go meet up with everyone. Even the one that Nic tried to save her from. Was she okay? [i]Am I okay?[/i] Not really. Did she want to tell Nicholas? Not really, either, but she had this gut feeling that he was here now on good intentions. Maybe Nicholas could be the one that she laid out all of her raw emotions in front of.

[color=E5D0FF]"I'm..."[/color] She began, finding it hard to speak. [color=E5D0FF]"I'm not doing great, actually."[/color] She glanced between Nicholas and Natalie, and felt her cheeks burn from embarrassment. It was rare that Eli ever felt speaking truthfully in front of anyone about her own problems. Most of the time she was able to handle them on her own, and she never had to discuss them with anyone. She could count the amount of times she'd cried in front of someone on her hands, and most of them had been in front of Maddy. Like when she and Ezekiel had broken things off, or after the breakout when they grieved together for him. In any other instance, Eli was the one that looked out for her friends. It felt strange to admit her feelings to someone, but right now it felt right, too. Natalie was a good friend now, and Nicholas had secretly been there for her without letting her even realize it.

[color=E5D0FF]"I'm finding it hard to bounce back from this one, to be honest."[/color] This was too much. She was making it sound much worse than how she actually felt. Was she just lying to herself, when she told herself that she was doing fine? [i]Reel it back in, Eli. This isn't your pity party.[/i] She recovered from the moment by giving her two friends a small smile. [color=E5D0FF]"I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way right now. I think I just need a bit more time to recover."[/color] 

[i]And maybe a bunch of tequila to help with it. God, when was the last time I got drunk?[/i]