Redhawk Caldera If the whole wide world stops spinning

Eljay flinched too when the words came out, because he hadn't expected them at all. This wasn't what he thought Maia was like at all, and even though he had said his words a little heavier than he had meant them, a little less casual and a little more love-confession-y, this was certainly the last response that he expected in the world. Where was the happy, confident Maia that he knew?

Worse still, how would he ever explain to her exactly how he felt about her? How could he answer that question? Of course the answer was a whole-hearted yes, but you couldn't just say 'yes!' to a question like that, could you? But what on earth could he say? How could Maia think that he wasn't sure?

There were so many questions swirling inside of his head and so little actual answers coming out of his mouth. There was a pregnant silence between them. He could feel Maia flinch, as they were still very close, and he could feel his own muscles tense and tight, too. She looked away, down, an expression he understood all too well. But how? How was all this possible? It just didn't make any sense.

Maia, I... Eljay frowned while he tried to make sense of it all in his mind, but it was hard. Mostly, how did one eloquently respond to such a question? He looked back at her face again, then reminded himself that had made her awkward and looked away, but then looked at her again, drawn in like a moth to a flame, while he tried to piece together a response. Yes, of - of course. Why would I... Why do you think..? He trailed off, hoping he didn't have to say it out loud because the thought was so absurd. It had been hard enough to tell her that he liked her in a casual way, and he'd failed completely at that (the casual part, anyway), and he just wasn't ready for the follow-up question.