Re: Edge of a rooftop; defying gravity/scaring himself
"You can't take something that isn't a compliment as a compliment," she insisted. It felt unfamiliar to her, insisting. It was like she was doing something expressly forbidden, and she found that she liked it. She kind of liked the weird things her stomach was doing too, but she wasn't going to focus on that. Instead, she focused on looking down her pointy green nose at him. "Intention trumps interpretation," she insisted.
She didn't like charming princes for a lot of reasons, and being contrary had nothing to do with any of them. Which was a thought that she thought contrarily, and then she almost laughed at herself. She maybe would have. Laughed. But then he turned the tables on her with the dancing thing, and then he did it again. She was deliberately dancing in the stupidest way she could think of. Not trying, not really trying, made all the difference in how much something hurt. But he asked about dancing with him, and what was she getting herself into?
But he was just a guy. A straw guy. Dancing with a straw guy was absolutely no big deal whatsoever. None. Chin up, she moved a little forward and held out her hands and rolled her eyes, any and all nervousness obfuscated. "Fine."