S C O T T

I stared at Elle in complete shock, jaw slack. She stared back at me, green eyes wide, and I just couldn't say anything. I didn't mean to say that - it had slipped out. But something as big as that couldn't just slip out so easily, and now I didn't know what to do. (Not that it wasn't true, but still).

I opened my mouth to say something, but I just didn't know what to say. I cleared my throat awkwardly, and twisted my fingers together. I took a deep breath, but was cut off by someone's shoes slapping against the pavement. It was only a few seconds later when Connor appeared, throwing one arm around my shoulder.

"Dude!" Connor said, squeezing my shoulder. I blinked and laughed awkwardly, turning to face him. Connor was grinning widely, "We're going out for celebratory dinner, you ready?"

"I think Scott and I are gonna go back to my house," Elle said. I turned and stared at her, dumbfounded, and she just quirked one eyebrow at me.

"Definitely," I agreed, ducking under Connor's arms, "but have fun, buddy."

Connor grinned, brown eyes twinkling in amusement. For a second I wondered if he heard what I said (he hadn't been that far away, but I didn't think I said it that loudly, either), but then Con spoke again, and I knew that I was in the clear. For now, because, no matter what, Connor always managed to somehow find everything out.

"Can I borrow your jersey?" Connor asked, eyes going wide in hope, "Jay said you get a discount if you're a player. Plus, I look pretty fucking good in that jersey."

"It says Wilson on the back, dickhead."

"I can be a Wilson for tonight!" Connor cried, shaking his hands wildly in front of my face, "Scott, are you really gonna deprive me of my one simple request? Deny your best friend the chance to wear a professional jersey?"

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly took off my jacket, stripping off my jersey afterwards. I knew if I didn't give it to him, Connor would just spend the next couple of weeks complaining about it. Plus, I was going to Elle's house, and I just kind of told her I loved her, and I didn't want to go in my sweaty jersey.

Connor pulled my baggy jersey over his head and grinned up at me. I couldn't help but grin back at him, and couldn't help but notice the wide grin on Elle's face. She seemed totally relaxed, which I couldn't really understand. I knew she heard me say what I did.

"Thanks, Scotty!" Connor called, sprinting towards Kelly. He scooped Kelly up and turned to me, flashing a thumbs-up, "Love you, dude!"

I laughed and went to turn back to Elle, only to have Jay's voice cut me off. I sighed, cursed under my breath, and turned back, shooting Jay an expectant look. Jay and Edi both held their hands up, eyebrows raised. They didn't have to say anything - I understood their question.

"I'm going to Elle's instead!" I shouted, tugging my jacket tighter around me.

Jay grinned wickedly and wiggled his eyebrows, "Ah! Celebratory sex - "

Edi busted out in laughter and grabbed Jay's head, easily pulling him into a headlock. Jay shouted and tried to pull out of his grip, and Edi just rolled his eyes, letting him go and jokingly kneeing him in the stomach. I snorted and Edi waved happily to me, before waking to the car. (Jay stumbled after him, and I didn't bother waiting to shout, "drama queen!" after him).

After everyone got into Con's car, I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned to Elle. Despite how awkward and unsure I felt, she was smiling and looked totally at ease. I blew out a breath and waited to see if Elle was going to say anything to break the silence.

"You drive?" she asked, hands shoved deep into her pockets, "My dad drove me here, so I don't have my car."

"Yeah!" I agreed, fumbling to pull my keys out of my pocket, "No problem."

Elle laughed and we both walked into my car, getting in quickly. The drive was awkward, and consisted mostly of me playing with the volume on the radio, and Elle complaining that every song played nowadays kind of sucked. By the time we pulled up to her house, the radio was completely off, instead.

I got out quickly, and jogged to the other side of the car. I opened Elle's door for her and she smiled up at me, before getting out and grabbing her keys. I followed behind her, noticing that there weren't any other cars in the driveway, besides Elle's.

I slipped inside her house, flicking the light switch on and blinking. It looked exactly as I remembered it, only, this time, the dining room table was covered in papers and folders. I flipped one over and laughed, seeing how it was all different game plans Monroe had written for tonight. (None that we used, I noticed).

"I'm starving," Elle groaned, walking into the living room and dropping down onto the couch.

I snorted and walked into the kitchen, riffling through the cabinets. I had to look past a lot of healthy protein drinks and one-hundred calorie snacks before I could find actually junk. I scooped up two bags of chips and walked back into the living room. Tossing the chips onto the couch, I flopped down next to them.

It took us a few minutes of arranging to get comfortable, but eventually we did it. I was laying on the couch, and Elle was kind of laying on top of me, but, at the same time, the chips were on top of me. It was awkward, but we both had access to each other and the chips, so it was all right.

Elle flipped through the stations, yet I couldn't help but notice the awkward tension around us. No matter how many times Elle (fake) laughed at the movie on, I couldn't help but notice how she kept looking back at me hesitantly. And that brought me back to thinking about what I said in the parking lot.

The thing was, I didn't really need to think about it. I had blurted it out kind of randomly, and I never really thought about it before, but I did love Elle. I didn't need to think about it - there wasn't any hesitation or doubt about it. I loved Elle Monroe.

Elle was annoying, and she had a tendency to blurt out sarcastic comments. She was confident, and she made me think about things twice. But she was the girl I trusted with anything, and the one who had tried to help me have a better chance of making it onto the team. Elle had gotten along so well with Connor and Kelly, and she just fit. And I loved her.

And I really, really needed to tell her that. I didn't want Elle to think that I had just randomly said it because I was still hype from winning. I wanted her to know I said it because I meant it; I wanted Elle to know that when I said I loved her, I meant it with absolute sincerity.

"Babe?" I whispered, and Elle rolled around (I held down my arm to keep the chips from falling), and looked up at me, "You know what I said back at the rink was, like, true, right?"

Elle's eyes widened slightly, and she bit her lip, "Really?"

"Yeah," I laughed, nodding. A grin split out on my face and my arms tightened around her, "I do love you."

There was a few (terrifying) seconds of silence, before an equally wide grin split out on Elle's face, too. I had seen Elle happy a lot of times, but now was something completely different. She was grinning so widely, and her eyes were practically twinkling with happiness. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.

"I love you too, Scott," Elle said, and I leaned forward to kiss her. After we broke apart, Elle looked up at me with that same, wide grin, "I really do."

And that was that. We fell back into silence, but I didn't let go of Elle. I just held on tightly, rubbing my hand up and down her back gently. Elle's arms were awkwardly wrapped halfway around my waist, and we were both kind of crushing the chips now. But neither of us made an attempt to move, and I didn't mind at all.

A few minutes later, and I was sick of the stupid movie on the TV. I grabbed the remote and flicked through the channels, sighing at how there was basically nothing on. That was when a thought hit me, and I leaned down a bit to get Elle's attention.

"What's your favorite show?"

Elle blinked up tiredly at me, and I couldn't help but notice how she looked beautiful even when she was half-asleep, "What?"

"Favorite show," I repeated, waving the remote in front of her face. Elle looked at me in confusion and I rolled my eyes, "I don't even know what your favorite show is. Come on, I want to know all the little things about you," Elle smiled up at me and my cheeks flushed lightly.

Elle paused for a moment, blinked at the TV, and then turned back to me, "Probably Big Bang Theory."

I scoffed, "Of course, you dork," Elle laughed and punched me lightly in the arm. I grinned down at her and secured my one arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me, "Mine is definitely," I paused, because, really, I didn't have a favorite show. I glanced at the TV and said what was on, "Sports Center."

"And I'm the dork."

I laughed and shook Elle a bit, laughing when she wrapped her arms tighter around my waist to make me stop. I laughed again and settled back into the couch, tugging the blanket more around her. Somehow, Elle had managed to bring the blanket off from the edge of the couch, but only wrap it around herself.

I bent up and kissed Elle again before settling back down, "Favorite color?"

"Light blue," she said, grinning down at me, "Kind of like your eye color."

"Me too," I smirk and Elle rolled her eyes, before cuddling down against my chest. I hummed in thought and pulled the pillow closer to me, "Favorite superhero? And you better have one."

Elle and I stayed like that for the next couple of hours, until we were both half-asleep, mumbling out our answers. I kept teasing Elle for saying her favorite superhero was Iron Man (she only said it because of Robert Downey Jr.), and Elle kept making fun of me for saying that chocolate ice-cream was better than vanilla. (We both knew I was right, anyway).

Elle kept complaining when I made sure to skip every Big Bang Theory, and I just laughed, reluctantly going back to each episode. It was two in the morning, I noticed, when Elle was cuddled against my chest, eyes barely open. I had lost track of time, but I was absolutely exhausted, and there wasn't a chance I was getting up.

"Elle," I whispered, and she grumbled in response. I sighed and poked her temple, "Baby, when is your dad gonna get home?"

"Probably another hour or somethin'," she muttered, voice muffled even further against my shirt, "He would be at the stadium all night, running over the plays. Mom probably just got him to leave."

"I hope he doesn't cut off my balls for sleeping on the same couch with you."

Elle laughed against my shirt and I grinned. I leaned down and pushed Elle's hair from her forehead to give her a quick kiss. Before I knew it, Elle was back to falling asleep. I bit my lip and poked her temple again, laughing when Elle mumbled out, "yes, Scott?".

"I love you," I whispered, leaning down to lace our fingers together.

"Love you too," and I decided that Elle smiling up at me, half-asleep, and whispering that she loved me was definitely one of the best things.