Disclaimer: CatCF does not belong to me. It belongs to Roald Dahl, Tim Burton, etc.

Chapter 10

Ellie sat in the candy grass of the chocolate room, under one of the many candy cane trees, the calming noise of the chocolate falls filling her ears. She sighed and brought her legs up to her chest, her brows nit tougher in thought.

After having come clean about her past, she had decided she wanted to be alone for a while. The Buckets and Willy had protested of course, but she had said she needed to clear her head. She knew that being alone probably wasn't the best thing for her to do, considering she had just reopened a deep emotional wound, but she really didn't have it in her to face anyone at the moment, especially Willy.

The way he had reacted to her story had not only shocked the Buckets, but her as well. She could tell, just by the little time she's spent with him, that he wasn't exactly the type to get mad often, and although he seemed harmless, Ellie knew there was a much darker side of the chocolatier that no one wanted to see, not even himself. But she had seen something else, something the made a chill run up and down her spine and her heart race.

Behind all the anger and all the rage that burned like fire in his eyes, Ellie had seen Love. Unconditional love that was so powerful, it had shown through all the other emotions that his eyes held and that's what had shocked her the most.

After a while, Ellie turned her head when she heard quiet footsteps and saw Willy walking towards her, his hand in his pockets. She watched him, noticing he wasn't wearing his hat or coat. As he got closer, he looked up from the ground and gave her a small smile.

"Hi, Ellie." Willy said and looked to his feet awkwardly.

"Hi, Willy." Ellie said and looked back at the river.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Ellie said and patted the grass beside her gently. "Sit down." She insisted. Willy smiled sheepishly and sat down Indian style, his elbows resting on his knees. They sat like for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the calming sounds of the chocolate river.

Ellie's mind was on over drive. So many thoughts raced through her head, she couldn't keep count and most of them were connected to the chocolatier beside her. Why is he wasting his time just sitting here with me, when he could be off doing something much more fun? Ellie asked herself. Well because he loves you.

Ellie looked over at Willy and cocked her head to the side. She felt her heart flutter when he looked over at her, with a brow rose. But the question is, do you love him back? Willy watched as a blush creep up on to Ellie's face, a small smile playing on his lips. He also saw something flash in her eyes. It was like a small spark of light, and then it was gone as fast as it came. They stared at one another for a while before Willy spoke.

"Ellie?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about what happened to you." he started, his face going very serious. "And I meant what I said. Every word. I promise I'll keep you safe, always." He said, his eyes telling her he wasn't joking. She looked down at the ground, twisting a blade of grass in between her fingers, her small smile fading into a frown.

"It's not your fault that this happened to me, you know. You don't have to protect me Willy." Ellie said looking up at him. Willy scooted closer to her and gently took her hand.

"But I want to, Ellie." He said, giving her a smile.

"But I don't want to drag you into this. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt." She said tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly looked down at her lap, her cheeks growing hot.

"Hey, look at me." Willy said, lifting her chin with his thumb. She looked up at him with wide eye, the tears in them making them sparkle in the light of the room. "Do you trust me?" he asked, looking into her eyes. Do I trust him? Ellie asked herself. She looked away, her brow nit in thought. She had ended up trusting Tony and look what happened. But Willy's different, he would never…...he would never hurt me. Ellie looked back up at Willy, and blinked her tears away.

"I trust you, Willy." She said making him smile.

"Good." He said, "And Ellie, I want to protect you. You're not dragging me into anything and I'm not gonna' get hurt and neither are you." He said and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly. Ellie stared at him in complete and utter shock. She couldn't believe that this man was going to risk his life just so he could save hers.

"You must really care for me." Ellie said. Willy looked down and the ground, his face somber. He then slowly looked back up into her eyes.

"I care for you more than I have ever cared for anyone in my whole life." He said with a small smile. Ellie smiled.

"Enough for you to risk everything, huh?" Ellie asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah." Willy said smiling and nodded his head. Ellie chuckled and reached up, hugging him tightly around his neck. She then plopped back on the ground, with a sigh. "So I'm guessing you feel better now right?" Willy asked, his face hopeful. Ellie smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, thanks to you." She said and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. Willy laughed, a blush staining his cheeks

"I try." He said with a shrug. Ellie giggled, then looked to the ground, twiddling her thumbs.

"Willy...do...you think we could continue our tour?" She asked shyly, looking up at him. Willy smiled and quickly stood, holding out a hand for Ellie.

"I thought you'd never ask!" He said as he helped her to her feet. Once she was up, she smiled up at him and intertwined their fingers. Willy looked at their hands and gave her a questionable look, which made Ellie giggled and blush.

"I like you, Willy." She said happily, staring up at him. Willy looked quite stunned.

"I…..I like you too, Ellie." Willy said, smiling joyfully.

"Good cuz' you're stuck with me." Ellie said poking his chest playfully. Willy rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Come on, we still have a lot to see!" He said and they made their way to the elevator to continue their tour.