<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: Ravi;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 10pt;">Somehow, so easily, Ardelia startled a laugh out of Bethany when she was set to be braced for rejection. With her work, and Colin's interests that she felt unequipped to satisfy, she knew very well the slang for vanilla was. And it was enough to put a flush of a blush bright in her cheeks as the laugh trailed off, the sound having been bright, surprised and uncertain. But she gave a smile that was tinged with those emotions, added to the warmth of her affection for her friend at the sheepish smile she was given and the TV garnered only a shrug from her shoulders. <br/><br/>"No, it's fine and.. I do want you to do that. Make yourself at home that is. That was the whole idea, though there would need to be.. " She trailed off, wondering if she had become entirely too much like her mother. Rules? How lame. Way to go in impressing her friend. "Is your team winning?" <br/><br/>Not the smoothest of segways possible, yet the brunette was trying, and working actively outside of her comfort zone. She even abandoned the table with dishes still on it, uncleared away when her mind was urging her to clear them off and rinse them now. It could wait. At least a little while. So she moved slowly, eyes fixed on the younger girl's face as she drew near almost as if waiting for a sign that she shouldn't keep going, waiting for that moment of being shoved away. The moment where she knew not only how she had offered, but what she had offered were unworthy. That was the crux of it all, wasn't it? The doubts of self worth, the nagging insidious voice she was never able to fully conquer no matter how perfect her clothing was, or how well her makeup was applied, or how loving Colin was. <br/><br/>It was part of the reason why she couldn't be anything other than vanilla, for all her love of wild cherry. Because she was afraid that once she removed the boundaries that kept her relatively 'pure' her areas of lacking would only be made more clear. Beth never ever wanted Colin to have to deal with the aftermath of PTSD that playing in such dark spaces could evoke. She also didn't want him to be left with a shattered wreck of a woman tonight if her attempt at bonding further with a friend went utterly horrid. He deserved more than that, and hell so did she. And so she tried to convince herself that if the teen rejected the offer that it wouldn't mean a thing about her, it would be Ardy's own issues. Her own wounds. <br/><br/>Silly of her to forget that Ardy would have them, but her friend seemed so strong, so fearless. <br/><br/>Feeding her like that... <br/><br/>The words took a moment to sink in, coming just as she paused a few steps away from the couch, blinking like an idiot for a moment. Because she couldn't believe it, couldn't breathe. But it sank in, her whole face lighting up with a joy that was pure in the best of ways, like a child first introduced to Christmas. "You mean it? Really?" Breathless she let out a happy little sound halfway between a squeal and a laugh and threw herself down on the couch to hug Ardy tightly without giving herself time to over think it. "I normally make more salads and such but I'll make whatever you want at least once a week, sort of a treat, and you could help me, if you wanted, we could work together and that would be fun, wouldn't it? Oh... but maybe it's more normal for girl friends to do nails together instead of cook... do you want to go get our nails done? I don't know how to do my own really..." Yes, she had babbled, was babbling still infact but that delight was still shinning out through her eyes, an unusual level of animation suffusing her features and turning her from classically beautiful to something warmer, more engaging.</span></span><br/>