Disclaimer: Nope. Not. Mine.

---

"Now it's your call, Nash. What do you want?"

What did I want?

I wanted to be happy.

I wanted Craig to be happy.

I wanted Jesse to be happy.

But whatever I chose to do, one of us wouldn't be.

I looked away from Craig.

"I don't know," I whispered.

There was a pause.

"Goddamn it, Ellie!" Craig yelled.

Now I was getting angry.

"What, Craig? What the hell do you want from me?" I spat.

"I want you to make a fucking choice! That's what I want! I've made myself and what I want pretty clear to you so now it's your turn. Choose."

He paused and looked me straight in the eye.

"I've spent five goddamn months in this city. I've toured, I've sang, I've recorded. I've gone insane. And not the insane I talked about everyday in group. No. Every redhead I see is you. Every sarcastic voice is your voice. Every laugh is your laugh. Every girl I see, I want to call Ellie. And I get mad at every other girl named Ellie for not having red hair."

He paused again.

"Do you get it? You. Have. To. Choose."

Why couldn't I just say it?

I want you. Iwantyou. I. Want. You. Damn it, how hard is that to say out loud?

So instead, I kissed him. I kissed him hard and ran my fingers through his shaggy hair. My gesture surprised Craig and it surprised me.

"I want you," I whispered, taking a breath.

Craig smiled. "Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He laughed and picked me up, swinging me over his shoulder. I laughed. I actually laughed. A real laugh.

Craig put me down and kissed me. He kissed me softly and slowly.

When he was done he said, "El?"

"Yeah?"

"You better not go anywhere."

"Okay. There may be one little problem though."

"That being?"

"I may get murdered by a cult of twelve year olds."

He smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about it. They're pretty vicious, but so are you. I remember when you almost kicked Spinner's ass."

I smiled.

"He deserved it."

Craig tucked my hair behind my ear. It was corny. And cliché. But at this point, I didn't give a damn about who thought what.

Because everything was going to be okay. Everything was going to be fine.

And yeah, he hadn't given me one damn good reason to believe what he said.

But I did.

And I don't exactly know why.

Maybe it was the smile.

Maybe it was the hair.

Or maybe it was just the fact that he understood.

He understood my humor. He understood my actions (most of the time.) And he understood me.

And yeah that sounds lame. And it sounds all –dear-lord-Ellie-what-are-you-on?- But I really didn't care.

I was happy. I was finally happy. I wasn't pretending. And I wasn't forcing it. And it felt good.

"Craig?"

"Yeah?"

"You never answered your phone."

"I know."

"What if it was important?"

"It wasn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're sitting right next to me, Nash."

I raised an eyebrow.

Craig leaned in and kissed me.

"The only person who's important is finally here."

I smiled at him and he intertwined his fingers with mine.

Cheesy? Yeah.

Corny? Definitely.

Cliché? For sure.

And did I love it? Absolutely.


A/N: Fin. Reviews would be nice… characters? Story overall? Any continuation of sorts?