Olive was enjoying herself way too much, and whenever doubts that this was real or fears that Chuck would one day appear out of nowhere the way she and Ned had started to creep in, she pushed them away. She tried to keep her spirits up and enjoy the time she had alone with Ned. They'd been here for five or six days, she was losing count, together and still no signs of Chuck. Or anyone else for that matter. In all honesty, she wouldn't have minded if Emerson or the Aunts dropped in. But she was perfectly content to have the company of Ned and the animals all to herself.
She'd seen Ned make use of his journal, and while she hadn't commented, she'd secretly fumed over what she saw as some flirty on Ned's part. If she was truthful with herself, she knew deep down that Ned wasn't really the type to flirt, and if he did, he didn't know he was doing it. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy when he was able to so easily joke and talk to other women. It had taken a long time for him to get that way with her.
She had to shake the negative thoughts from her mind and focus on the here and now. She only giggled when Ned told her that a space-aged goldfish might end up being her prize instead of a giant stuffed panda. She didn't care what she got, the idea of Ned, of all people, trying to win her anything was far beyond anything she might have been able to imagine before landing in this strange city.
"I don't mind." She took another long lick of her ice cream and turned her eyes down to look at her outstretched tongue. It was blue with the color of her ice cream and she broke into a smile. "What do you think, does the color suit me?" She stuck her tongue back out for him to inspect and waggled her brows.