Enchanted
By angellwings
Ella huffed and stabbed her spoon into her pint of Haagen-Dazs. She glared at the animated character on the screen that was currently singing about her true love's kiss. Ella rolled her eyes and leaned back on her couch. She glared at Mitchie and Caitlyn as they hummed along.
"Ugh, why are we watching this?" Ella asked. "Can we watch something else? Something less…happy?"
Mitchie and Caitlyn's eyes widened and Caitlyn quickly paused the movie.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Caitlyn asked in shock. "Did you ask to watch something not happy?"
"Who are you and what did you do with Ella?" Mitchie asked. She placed a hand on Ella's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"
She scowled and pulled away from Mitchie's hand. "I'm fine."
"No you're really not," Caitlyn said as she shook her head. "You love this movie."
"For real," Mitchie agreed. "You make all of us watch it on your birthday every year."
"I'm not in the mood for it right now," Ella told them. "I want to watch something about people who don't find true love. Oh! Pretty in Pink! Let's watch Pretty in Pink!"
"Um, Pretty in Pink is a love story, Ella," Mitchie said with a furrowed brow.
"Nu-uh! Not for Duckie! He spends all that time being there for Andie and she just turns her back on him and dates that snobby rich guy! It didn't matter that Duckie was the one that was always there. No, in the end the rich guy, who I don't think deserved her, won. And that, my friends, is love. Painful and unfair," Ella said before she violently scooped up some chocolate ice cream and shoved it into her mouth.
"O-kay," Caitlyn said with wide eyes as she and Mitchie exchanged worried glances. "Let's just roll with this one."
"I mean if Duckie can't get the person he's in love with how much of a chance is there for me? Seriously? Ugh, why can't I be tall and stick-like and—and leggy and all beautiful and have an incredible range or bring Broadway audiences to their feet every night? Who am I kidding? Even if I was all of those things I wouldn't get what I wanted…that's just my luck. I'm the other person in the triangle. The one that gets dumped," Ella said with a huff. She motioned to the screen and the animated prince it had stopped on. "I'm Edward! He loses Giselle to Robert and I—well, let's just say I understand how he feels."
"Okay, woah. Rewind, sweetie," Mitchie said softly. "What are you talking about? Are you talking about movie characters or yourself?"
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Well, of course, she's talking about herself. Seriously, Mitch, context clues. Use them."
"Thank you, Caitlyn," Mitchie said sarcastically. "Your criticism is appreciated."
"What? It's obvious that she's talking about Nate and his new little friend."
"Little friend?" Ella asked with a sigh. "She's playing Christine in Phantom of the Opera. She's insanely talented and very beautiful. I can't compete with that."
"He's not dating her," Caitlyn told her.
"Oh no? Then why are they out to dinner alone, right now? I was supposed to have a fitting with him this afternoon and he called to reschedule so he could get ready," Ella said with a sigh.
"Did he say it was a date?" Mitchie asked.
"He said he was taking her out to dinner. That usually means it's a date," Ella said as she stood up and put her ice cream back in the freezer.
"Well, maybe it won't go well," Caitlyn said with a shrug.
"How could it not go well? She's perfect!" Ella yelled in frustration as she returned to the couch. "Then again, it's not like Nate and I are really a good match to begin with. He probably thinks I'm an annoying ridiculous air head. He'd probably laugh in my face if he knew how I felt. I mean we're fine as friends, but as more than that? It wouldn't work. I like romantic comedies and fashion and I make the occasional illogical purchase. My office is a sloppy mess, I'm no where near as organized as him. I'm a romantic optimist and I would probably drive him absolutely insane. Right? It would never work. I'm right. Right?"
Neither Caitlyn nor Mitchie answered her. They stared down at the bags of chocolate candy in their hands and avoided looking at her.
"Guys? I'm right, right?" Ella repeated.
"Well," Mitchie said hesitantly. "I mean, yeah, you and Nate are very different but…"
Caitlyn sighed and interrupted Mitchie. "You're not right. Not at all. You're completely wrong."
"What do you mean?" Ella asked.
"You're wrong about everything. Including your sad little self assessment," Caitlyn told her honestly. "You don't drive Nate nuts. Trust me, I know. I've watched the boy stress himself out over what kind of flowers you might like."
"It's true," Mitchie said with a nod. "And he made me go with him to help pick out your Christmas present. He thought I would be able to help. Sadly, I was very little help. He knows how to shop for you better than I do, apparently."
"What?" Ella asked in shock. "Why didn't either of you say anything?"
"Well, we have…to each other," Caitlyn told her. "We think the two of you would be adorable."
Mitchie nodded and then smiled when she spotted the TV screen out of the corner of her eye. "Like Giselle and Robert! Oh my God, you guys are totally Giselle and Robert! You're this adorable compassionate little princess and he's this no nonsense logical guy who's surprisingly sweet when he wants to be!"
Caitlyn high fived her. "That is the most accurate comparison I have ever heard. Good work."
Ella whimpered pathetically. "Okay I know you guys are my best friends…but why couldn't you have told me these things? Preferably earlier!"
"We thought you knew," Caitlyn told her. "I mean everyone else does."
"Oh, well perfect. That's just perfect. For future reference, a little heads up is always nice," Ella said with a sigh.
"Well, next time you're head over heels for someone in the group we will definitely tell you if we think he feels the same way. Although, for your sake, I hope this one works out for you," Mitchie told her with a warm smile.
"Ugh, I hate to say this, but I don't think I'm going to be very good company tonight," Ella said sadly. "I know I agreed to host this girls night, but…"
Caitlyn patted her knee. "No worries, we get it. You need time to think. We'll leave you to it."
Caitlyn and Mitchie gathered their things and as they headed to the door Cailtyn froze. "Oh! Oh! I just thought of another couple to compare Nate and Ella to!"
"Ooh, who?" Mitchie asked as Ella walked them to the doorway.
"Fran Fine and Maxwell Sheffield! From The Nanny!"
Ella smirked and rolled her eyes. "Guys…stop."
"No! It's a good one!" Mitchie agreed. "Seriously, I totally see it!"
"We're going to have to think of more of these," Caitlyn said as she opened the door. "This is fun!"
"Please think of them somewhere else," Ella said with a chuckle.
"Aurora and Phillip?" Mitchie asked Caitlyn as they stepped into the hallway. "From Sleeping Beauty."
"Oh my goodness, yes! We are good at this," Caitlyn told her. "Later, Ella. Hope you feel better."
"We'll make a list of our comparisons and e-mail them to you," Mitchie said with a wink. "I think you'll get a laugh out of it."
"Oh, please, don't. Right now these comparisons feel more like torture than fun," Ella told them honestly.
"Fine, then we'll save them for when the two of you actually get together," Caitlyn said with a nod.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Ella said dryly with a pained smile. "Thanks for coming. You did sort of make things better."
"No problem," Caitlyn said as she gave Ella a quick hug.
Mitchie followed Caitlyn's hug with one of her own. "It's what we're here for. Now go think and drown your angst in Haagen-Dazs."
Ella laughed. "Good plan."
She waved as they continued down the hall and then shut the door once they reached the elevator. She leaned against it and let out a heavy sigh. She, honestly, didn't know what to do. So, there was a chance that Nate felt something for her too, but did he still? He was going on a date with another girl. How could he do that if he apparently had such strong feelings for her? She was confused and maybe a little hurt. Had she missed her chance with him?
There was a knock at her door and she assumed it was Mitchie or Caitlyn and they'd forgotten something. She didn't bother glancing through the peep hole before opening the door. Her throat suddenly went dry once the door was open, and her breathing quickened. "N—Nate?"
Nate stopped pacing and turned to face her with his hands in his pockets. He looked nervous. He took in a deep breath and spoke as he exhaled. "Ella."
Her brow furrowed. "What are you doing here? I thought…didn't you have a date tonight?"
"I did have a date, but I couldn't finish it."
"You couldn't finish it? Dates aren't drinks, Nate."
He smirked at her before his face grew serious again. "I know that, Ells. Let's just say…I was distracted and it wasn't fair to her."
"Distracted?" Ella asked nervously. "By what?"
"Can I…come in? Please? I want to talk to you, but I don't exactly want to say it in the hallway."
She gulped and nodded before opening her door wider. "Sure, come on in. Um, forgive the mess. It was my turn to host girl's night."
His brow furrowed. "And it's over already? I thought girls nights didn't end until around four in the morning? It's barely nine o'clock, right now."
She bit her lip before she answered. "I wasn't exactly in the mood for a marathon of Disney movies and romantic comedies."
His eyes widened. "You? Not in the mood for a romantic comedy? Is that even possible?"
Ella sighed. "Apparently. I wasn't really being any fun so I sent Cait and Mitch home early."
"Is everything okay?" Nate asked in concern as they entered her living room.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," She told him honestly. "But this isn't about me. You came over here to talk. So, let's talk. So you ended your date early?"
Ella sat down and Nate followed her lead. He sat down next to her on her couch. "Yes, I just wasn't really there with her." He gave her a meaningful glance. "My thoughts were with someone else."
Her heart rate sped up and her breathing quickened again. She brought a hand to her mouth and gulped. "Oh? Who?" She thought she knew what he meant, but she wasn't sure.
He smiled softly. "Ella…you have to know."
"I need to be sure, Nate. Please, just tell me?" Ella asked pleadingly.
"I couldn't go on a date with her when all I could think about…was you."
Her eyes glistened and she smiled brightly at him. "Really?"
"Ella, I am so totally in love with you that most of the time I just don't know what to do with myself when I'm around you," He told her as he scooted closer and laced his fingers through hers.
She released his hand and launched herself at him. The force of it sent him backward into the armrest of the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in crook of his neck. She lifted her head until her lips hovered just below his ear.
"I love you too," She whispered against his skin. She heard him take in a sharp breath and felt his arms tighten around her. She placed a kiss to the edge of his earlobe and then another to the corner of his jaw. She felt his jaw tense against her lips and she smirked. "Nate, relax. It's me."
"That's sort of the point, Ells. It's you," He said hoarsely. "I'd nearly convinced myself that this would never happen."
She kissed his jaw again and then kissed him just below his bottom lip. She pulled back to look at him with a furrowed brow. "What?"
"I thought—I thought you would think we were too different. I thought all of my uptight pessimistic attitudes would lead to you laughing in my face. I thought you'd think I was all wrong for you, Ells," He admitted as he reached forward to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She smiled softly. "You couldn't have thought that."
"Why not?"
"Because…I thought the same thing about myself! I thought…I thought you'd think I was too airheaded or romantic or…silly or something. I'd convinced myself that you'd think I was ridiculous for even having feelings for you."
"Ella, I would never. You're not any of those things. Well, except romantic. I can't deny that you're one of those," He told her as he softly caressed the side of her face.
"And you're not uptight, and I really don't think you're pessimistic. A little grumpy at times, maybe, but I think you're secretly an optimist. You just refuse to admit it."
"You think so, huh?" Nate asked with a smirk.
"Yes, I do," Ella told him brightly. "You're a puppy with a very loud bark."
He laughed. "I'm a puppy? At least make me a threatening guard dog or something."
She smirked at him playfully. "Nope, puppy."
"We'll just see about that, won't we?" He asked as he lifted Ella into his lap. His lips hovered over hers and just when she thought he was finally going to close the distance between them he changed his trajectory. His lips landed on her neck and she gasped. She felt him smirk against the skin on her neck and her hands immediately dug into his curls. She felt his tongue against her skin which was followed by his teeth dragging across her skin. She arched her neck as he continued and whined softly.
He kissed his way up her neck and across her jaw. He kissed both corners of her mouth and then let his lips linger over hers for several moments. She tried to move forward and cover his lips with hers but he managed to hold her back. She glared impatiently at him and he grinned at her.
"Yes?" He asked teasingly.
"Na-ate! Kiss me already!"
"What do you think I've been doing?" He asked sarcastically.
She glared at him. "On the lips. Kiss me on the lips, jerk."
He licked his lips and stared at hers for several minutes. "Should I?"
"Oh God, yes," She said as she twisted her fingers into his curls. She smirked evilly at him. "If you don't kiss me soon I'll go find someone who will."
"No, you won't," Nate practically growled. He crushed her mouth in a kiss and then forced her lips apart with his tongue. She groaned into his mouth and kissed him back eagerly. They kissed for several minutes before they finally pulled apart for air. Ella smiled at him and sighed happily.
"You are really good at that," She said with a goofy smile.
"You're not so bad yourself," Nate said with a bright smile of his own.
She slid off of his lap but kept her legs draped over his. "And now that I'm in a better mood…let's finish Enchanted."
He groaned and wrinkled his nose. "Do we have to?"
"Yes, because apparently you're Robert and I'm Giselle."
"What?" He asked in confusion.
She laughed at the look on his face. "It was something Mitchie and Caitlyn said earlier tonight. They thought we would be cute together because we're like Robert and Giselle. You know, you're all logical and sweet and I'm—"
"A beautiful princess with a heart of gold?" Nate said with a smirk.
She blushed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Anyway, I want to watch it with you and see if they're right."
"Fine," He said with a warm smile. "If you really want to then I guess I'm okay with it."
She pressed play and smirked at the screen. Maybe the girls were right. Maybe she and Nate were…enchanted.