Big and Small (Henry tags Estelle!)

[Henry Ballo]

((I MIGHT have written this when it was a little late, so...hopefully it makes sense?^^*))

How had she talked him into this? That was the main question that popped into his head as he stared about the gymnasium, noting the pads and stuff that had been set up, just barely, for gymnastics. And all because a five foot girl had said it would be fun.

He was out of his mind.

Henry was early, but that was pretty normal for him. He liked getting to places early to scope out the scene and possibly to find escape routes. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case today, even if he was a little worried about the whole gymnastic thing. He’d seen gymnasts. They were small, they had tiny frames, they were compact.

They were, in other words, the exact opposite of Henry’s gangly and bulky self. Could no one else see how badly this was going to go? But Estelle thought it was going to work, and no matter what he could do, he couldn’t say no to her. She was so…so…Well, she was kind of cute. And what was more, she was sweet and kind. What kind of horrible person could say no to that? So here he was, sitting on the bleachers and waiting, a little bit wary, for the girl to arrive. As per the request, he had dressed in his usual gym clothes—sweats and a tank-top—and was trying, trying to think about the positives about this whole thing.

Flexibility, a chance to hang with a person who didn’t look alarmed every time he stood up, working out, good company.

And then, of course, there was the possibility of looking like a total fool…oh well. Like he was unfamiliar with that. He lifted his head as he heard the door open, wondering if it was his friend and preparing to stand up and maybe even smile.

After all, he did like Estelle. And he didn’t want to scare her away.

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle didn’t think that Henry was scary at all. In fact, Estelle thought Henry was a pretty nice guy, albeit a little serious. And really, all Estelle wanted to do was let them have a little fun, and what was more fun than gymnastics?

Now, Estelle knew that there were things Henry wouldn’t be able to do simply because he was so tall, but she was just going to teach him little things, like cartwheels and headstands and things like that. Truth be told, Estelle was surprised Henry had agreed to let her teach him gymnastics things. She liked Henry very much, but he was a little reserved about these things. So she resolved to try to make this as fun as possible. Handstands were fun, right?

Dressed in her own sweats and tank top, she skipped into the gym with a spring in her step. She grinned, unsurprised to see Henry already there and sitting on the bleachers. “Hi Henry!” She waved a little, “Don’t look so worried, this is gonna be really fun.” She smiled again and skipped to the center of the court, “Okay, so come down here and we’ll do some stretches and stuff.” She sat down where she was standing and waited for Henry to follow suit. “So how was class and stuff today?” She asked, brushing hair out of her eyes.

[Henry Ballo]

It still baffled Henry that Estelle could be so very, very cheerful. He lifted his head and watched her glumly as she skipped in and waved to him, then moved to the center of the court. Reluctantly, he realized that she wanted for him to come join her, and unfolded himself from the bleachers and crossed over to her side.

Fun? He wasn’t so sure about that. But instead of dragging his feet and scowling as he wanted to, he managed to school his expression into a mildly interested one instead. At least, as best as he could. It came out as still being pretty glum, though. There was only so much the man could do to make himself seem more cheerful. Stretching, however…stretching he could manage.

“It was fine,” he said, fairly lightly in his slightly-accented voice. “Nothing very interesting. Just…class.” That was typical of Henry. Even if his day had been horrendous, he wouldn’t have said. But to be fair, there really wasn’t anything to report. Class was class. “And you? Did you have a nice day?” He settled down across from her and put out his leg in a stretch. “And, uh.” He paused. “What exactly does fun entail, if I may? I have never done anything like this…gymnastics before.”

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle didn’t mind that Henry wasn’t the most openly enthusiastic of people. Honestly, she hung out with overly-excitable Robbie so much, that Henry was a much more calming change of pace. That, and it was a little funny watching him slump across the bleachers, trying to look as interested as he could. Poor Henry. Oh well, he would see! They would have fun.

She crossed her legs and rested her elbows on the floor, resting her chin in her propped up hands, listening as he talked. “Yeah, class is class.” She nodded with a grin, “But I had a good day. Nothing really to report, but sometimes no news is good news.” She could have said ‘oh yeah, I got my first kiss and went shopping for new bras and both experiences were weird’, but somehow she figured Henry really didn’t want to know that.

At Henry’s dubious question about gymnastics, Estelle smiled, “Don’t make that face, I’m not going to make you do anything horrifying. I’m just gonna teach you a cartwheel. It’s totally simple. But you have got to get loosened up a little. Here, sit up straight and put your legs out in front of you.” She hopped up and skipped over behind him, “Okay so try to touch your toes, and I’m gonna give you a hand.” She lightly pressed on his back, just between the shoulderblades, “Lemme know when it starts to hurt, because I don’t wanna hurt your hamstrings, because that would suck.”

“But yeah, cartwheels!” Estelle nodded behind Henry, “It’ll be fun, and everyone can do cartwheels, even if they aren’t very experienced at gymnastics.”

[Henry Ballo]

Actually, Henry probably would have wanted to know that. Well, not all the details. The details would have made him want to duck his head and mumble something about “congratulations” and “interesting” and then change the subject. But he did like Estelle and would have wanted to know about the…general gist of things. Sort of. You know, in a supporting way.

“I was not making a face,” he said, a bit stiffly, even though evidence was showing something to the contrary. His mood looked positively black at the statement until he realized that it was Estelle and he was trying to actually be nice to her. So he sighed, nodded, and did as instructed. Touching your toes when you are over six feet is a sketchy situation at best, and Henry had been glumly trying to figure out a way to do so (and so not really paying attention to what Estelle was saying) when he felt her hands on his back. He tensed and just barely managed to stop himself from leaping up. Calm. Friendly, right? This was supposed to be a normal sort of situation—what teenagers normally did, right?

Actually, no. He was pretty sure most girls who were five feet didn’t try to teach oversized teenagers how to do cartwheels on a regular basis. He let out a breath and dismissed the thought, then tried to relax himself and allowed himself to be pushed forward. He wasn’t that inflexible and he almost made it to his toes before requesting for her to stop, but he did snort at the thought of loosening up.

“Estelle, I am not usually…how did you say? ‘loosened up?’ He sighed. “But I will try, if you think this will help.” She had so much faith in him that he did hate to disappoint her. He glanced back at her. “Are you sure this will be that simple? My brother does cartwheels. But he is also very…small.”

The other question was, of course, if all stretches involved touching. But he didn’t think he could ask that without blushing. And she wouldn’t notice, but he would, and that was bad enough. So what he said aloud instead was, "What next?"

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle flashed him an affectionate grin. “You were making a little bit of a face,” She held her thumb and forefinger about an inch from each other, “Itty bitty.” She actually didn’t mind Henry’s sullen attitude, mostly because she knew he wasn’t all that sullen. He was just reserved, and that was just fine with Estelle. He was nice when you wanted some quiet. And Estelle enjoyed trying to pull him out of his comfort zone with as much cheer as possible.

She felt him start when she tried to help him stretch. “Just relax, will you?” She asked kindly, giving him a crooked grin, “If you get tense, your muscles will be tense and then this won’t be any fun at all.” And this was going to be fun. She would make sure of it. At his question, she nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see it. “It’ll be fine. I mean, yeah, most gymnastics stuff I can’t teach you because you are too tall, and I’m too short and it would be terrible.” She grinned, pushing slightly on his shoulderblades, “Tell me if this hurts, and I’ll back off, mkay?”

At his question, she bounced backwards and scooted back around to sit across from him, “Just a few more stretches. Just do what I do, ‘kay?” She sat on the floor and pressed the soles of her feet together, her knees bent. “Lean forward just a little bit, this’ll stretch out the inside of your thighs and stuff.” She could press her legs all the way to the floor in this position, but didn’t expect Henry to be able to. He simply wasn’t that flexible.

“Sooo…” She trailed off, leaning down to rest her elbows on the floor, her chin resting on her hands, “We never just talk. We should talk.” It was true; usually they got together to do homework, or study or something like that. And while Henry was a far better study partner than Robbie, Estelle still wanted to know more about him. He was such a nice guy! “How’s your brother?” She almost jokingly told him to tell her a story, but he might take that seriously.

[ooc: aaah sorry for the wait >.<]

[Henry Ballo]

A faint, almost reluctant smile appeared on his face as Estelle commented on how he had, in fact, been making a face. “Perhaps,” he admitted after a moment, “I was making a little one.” And he smiled at her for a moment, but only a moment, before looking down again, not sure if he was comfortable stepping that far out of his comfort zone. He liked Estelle, and he liked that she didn’t push him—or pushed him in subtle ways—into being something that he wasn’t. But he still wasn’t used to being friendly with people just yet.

“All right, all right,” he sighed. And he tried to make sure that he did relax, even though it rubbed against his nature. “And I will take your word on it, Estelle. Thank you.” He leaned forward just a little more as she pressed against his back, then relaxed back when she moved forward to sit in front of her. He blinked at her pose, then shrugged and mimicked it in a fairly smooth motion. Flexible, no, but Henry tried to be graceful. A combination of his powers, height and his fondness for sports had made that a bit of a must. He could see that Estelle was much more flexible than he was, but only a grimace of distaste indicated how displeased he was with the fact that his knees were still several inches off the ground.

“That hurts,” he muttered under his breath, and he lifted his head, brows rising, as she said that they should “talk.” He’d just been about to ask what exactly they should talk about, most likely in a sarcastic tone, when she mentioned his brother. It was strange to watch the change of expression that came onto his face. The reserve faded to honest fondness, and tension eased. Briefly. But when both returned, they weren’t quite so solidly attached to his features.

“He is doing well,” he answered. “It was his birthday the other day. I managed to speak to him, and I bought him a car set for his present.” His brother had liked it, too. It was a wonderful feeling. Knowing that Estelle’s own family was a bit of a sensitive subject, and having the thought of Richard put him in a good mood, he decided to actually continue the conversation with something…safer, although the subject himself had always puzzled him. “And Robbie? You have been spending a lot of time with him, I believe?”

It was funny. Had she actually invited Henry to tell her a story, he probably would have. He liked telling stories, but she was probably right not to. His stories all tended to be ones his mother had told him, which were long and complicated and took many tellings. But as it was…well, it wasn’t really the kind of thing one shared in high school.

((Psh, no worries!))

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle beamed at Henry in response to his half-smile. “It’s a good thing I like your face,” She teased him lightly, raising her arms and pushing them behind her, stretching out her joints. She arched backwards to stretch out her spine, her shoulders and back in a graceful arc. It sounded nice, and she looked fluid and graceful, but the little “blaagh” noises she felt compelled to make while stretching did indeed ruin whatever graceful beauty Estelle would have gained in her exercise. It was hard to be beautiful when you sounded like a duck.

“Baby steps, Hen.” She grinned at him as he grumpily went about trying to relax. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She was always equal parts impressed and proud at Henry’s surprising gracefulness. He was by no means a bumbling giant, and when he wasn’t thinking too hard, he was confident in his movements. She could see his disgruntled face at how much more flexible Estelle was, so she shrugged, “Don’t try to be as flexible as me. ‘Member, I’ve been doing this for a while. And your legs are like, waaay longer than mine.” She made a face at him, “Lucky. You’re all tall and I’m… Hobbit sized.” She pouted a little before the smile returned.

“Well, then don’t push down so much,” Estelle warned, hearing Henry’s muttered complaint, “You don’t want to tear a muscle or something, do you?” She knew he probably knew this from sports, but it merited repeating.

Her own smile turned fond as Henry’s expression softened at the mention of his brother. She liked how much Henry loved his brother. It was sweet. Estelle perked up, “His birthday was yesterday? Oh, happy late birthday, Richard!” She waved at the air vaguely, as though Richard would sense the disturbance in the Force and know that someone somewhere was wishing him a happy birthday. “Good call on the car set,” She congratulated, “He should come to visit or something sometime.”

One of the things Estelle liked most about Henry was how much he quietly understood things, and didn’t make a huge fuss over them. She’d never told him everything about her own family troubles, and he’d never asked, but the things he’d been able to glean were probably not all positive. But he never pressed the issue. He just understood. She rolled her eyes at the mention of Robbie. “Oh you know, still flirting with anything with boobs.” She laughed, “I swear, I feel sorry for any girlfriend he’ll have. He’d be so frustrating. Not that everybody doesn’t think we’re dating anyways.” She made a face that, while unflattering, hopefully conveyed her distaste with the prospect of dating Robbie ever. Gross.

“Speaking of dating~” Estelle sang, her grin turning wicked, “What about you? Any ladies on your mind?” She smiled at him, hoping he wouldn’t get too scandalized about this.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry’s brows rose slightly at her comment, and the little smile reappeared, this time actually lingering instead of being forcefully shoved back into a stern expression. He liked Estelle. He did always end up relaxing when he was around her, even though he might try his best not to in the beginning. He just wasn’t sure of what would happen if he ever just completely relaxed and stopped thinking about things that could go wrong. He was convinced that it wasn’t good, even though there wasn’t much evidence to that.

“Keep on saying things like that,” he said lightly, “and I might think you are flirting with me.” But he smiled at her to make sure she knew he wasn’t serious. Or…that serious. And he may or may not have ducked his head to hide his outright grin from the noises she was making. She was very graceful, yes, but it was very hard to take a woman seriously when she was making the sounds of a mallard even while moving like a swan. But he would have never said anything of that sort. Ever. He did have some manners.

He did, however, relent with a soft little sigh and relaxed his posture a bit. “Very well,” he murmured. “I will do my best. But you are not Hobbit sized.” He paused after a moment, rethinking that, then added, “Close, but not that small. I think it is more…pleasant.”

This time, he really did laugh as she waved in the air and wished his brother a birthday. But he seemed pleased that she cared enough to mention it. “I will pass it on, certainly. But I…” And now he paused, his smile turning into a grimace. “Visiting is not in the cards.” He hoped she wouldn’t ask more about that. It wasn’t a fun subject.

He didn’t know Robbie all that well, but he nodded a little at the description. “Ah. That sounds very interesting. Well, perhaps he will become a little more mature when he finds a girlfriend? But I would not know. I have not spoken to him often enough.”

However, at Estelle’s next comment, he felt heat rush to his cheeks, and he cleared his throat and looked down, embarrassed even though he knew she couldn’t really tell. “Ah…no. No, there is not…Um. No. No ladies.” Why did he always have to get flustered around these kinds of topics? It wasn’t fair. “Besides, who would put up with me?” he managed, in a slightly more even tone. But only a little. “And, ah…you?” This was just as bad, judging by his slightly embarrassed expression. “Anyone…in mind?” He had wondered about she and Robbie…but apparently not. Huh.

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle giggled at Henry’s comment, brushing hair out of her eyes. “Don’t worry, Hen.” She assured him lightly, “I’m an awful flirter.” Feeling a little giddy for no good reason (it was probably the fact that she had no homework and was with a good friend doing something fun), she leaned back and rolled over her left shoulder, tumbling to her feet. “Whee.” Estelle grinned after regaining her seat, “See, you could probably roll like that. It’s just a somersault. They do it in volleyball.” She knew that Henry didn’t actually play volleyball, but it was a sport. That was something!

“Thank you for the support.” Estelle laughed, “Still. It’s hard to reach things that are high up. I guess when I get my own place I’ll have to organize everything close to the ground. Or get a huge stepladder. We have to promise to be friends forever so you can come over and get things off of shelves for me.” She giggled again, stretching her arms. She was mostly serious; she liked Henry, and wanted him around for as long as she could. But not just to get things off of shelves for her.

“Oh. Okay.” Estelle’s voice was a little hushed, feeling guilty that she’d brought up an apparently touchy subject, but didn’t press further. It was only fair, after all: Estelle hadn’t elaborated much on her familial situation. There was no call to pry into Henry’s. It just made her sad that he didn’t have the completely happy life he completely deserved.

Estelle rolled her eyes at mention of Robbie. “Oh, who even knows? What a dork. Hopefully he’ll work things out eventually. I know there’s a brain underneath all that hair, I just haven’t seen it yet.” That was the problem with Robbie: Estelle just knew there was a brain under there. But Robbie didn’t ever use it. And it was frustrating.

So Henry blushing was more or less the cutest thing ever, Estelle decided. She’d never seen him so flustered, and she tried hard not to embarrass him more by laughing. “Whaat?” She let the word get drawn out to communicate her disbelief, “What do you mean, who would put up with you? You’re awesome! I mean, you’re reliable and funny and a great listener and cute and—and…” Estelle turned beet red, “…and I totally made this awkward.” She laughed sheepishly, “Whoops? Well whatever! My point is: I don’t know why you don’t have a girlfriend, but it’s not because you’re not boyfriend worthy. Or something.” Why were all her words coming out so stupid today?

She looked surprised at Henry’s question back. “What, me?” She snorted, “Please. I’m too… I dunno. Boring for dudes right now. That, and the entire Hammel universe think me and Robbie are dating.” She rolled her eyes, “Which makes it really weird when people stop me in the halls to tell me that I should know that Robbie was flirting with someone and they thought I should know. And then I have to explain why I don’t care.” She threw up her hands in despair, “Oh well, I guess.”

[Henry Ballo]

“I am sure that is not true,” he corrected with a slight smile, although it was very faint and hard to distinguish from his normal expression. That was partially on purpose, because he was pretty sure he was blushing again, and didn’t want her to notice. “Why do you keep calling me ‘Hen,’ anyways? Is my name so difficult to pronounce?” This time, his smile indicated that he was just teasing. He couldn’t help it. His name had never been shortened before. Or, his first name. His middle name was an entirely different subject. He watched her tumble with a slightly envious look, then shook his head. “I am not so sure,” he admitted, good mood fading as he thought about his long gangly frame trying to roll like that. “My flexibility is not so good. But I was not aware they did that in volleyball!” It was a sport, so he did look intrigued. “How? And why?”

He was glad that she hadn’t pried further. One day, he’d tell her more. But not for right now. He just wasn’t comfortable enough.

“I have not spent a lot of time with him, so I would not know,” Henry admitted. “But he sounds like an interesting boy. Perhaps we could spend more time with him sometime?” If Estelle liked him, he thought that he might give it a try. Although Robbie did sound a little energetic for his tastes.

Henry was sure Estelle meant well. He was sure she was trying to help him feel better. But at her insistence that someone would want to date him because of all the traits she thought he had, he found himself blushing even more furiously, and his head bent further down, hardly daring to look at her as he lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. Had she really said he was cute? “But it…it…” he couldn’t lie about it, so instead of saying that it wasn’t awkward at all, he lifted his head to smile at her, and what came out was a, “It is a little awkward, I think it is a good one.”

And what had made him say that? He cleared his throat and was grateful for the change of subject.

“What are you talking about, too boring for ‘dudes’?” he exclaimed. “You are not boring at all! You are very…” Now it was his turn to look sheepish, and he shrugged a little, stretching out one leg and completely giving up on the stretching. “Friendly. Charming. Funny.” He cleared his throat and decided to move on. “But I can see why the Robbie thing would be a problem Now, were you going to teach me cartwheels, or might I escape?”

Yes, Henry, let’s move on from things that might involve something like feelings.

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle laughed, “Oh god, my radar for that kind of stuff is so bad. I mean, I think I’m just talking and then suddenly whoever this guy I’m talking to is either totally laughing at me or skeevily asking for my number and I’m just like ‘no, I don’t want to give you my number’ and it is just terrible. The worst, though is when the opposite happens and a guy is interested in me and I don’t even know until, like, he’s asking me on a date and I just think ‘oh, I guess you weren’t all that interested in talking about Lord of the Rings or the color symbolism in Star Trek’…” She trailed off once she realized how utterly ludicrous she sounded. Blushing furiously, she brushed her bangs out of her eyes self consciously, and gave Henry an awkward grin, “Anyways! I call you Hen because I say so.” She laughed, “I could call you Henny. I knew someone who had a little sister who called him Henny.” She raised an eyebrow teasingly.

“Oh, I guess they do a tumble to catch a ball that’s gonna hit the ground, and it’s too low to run to it. Liiike…this!” She scooted to her feet, and then took a few running steps and rolled, agile, over her shoulder, “…I think.” She amended sheepishly, “I never played volleyball.”

“Sure!” Estelle grinned, “I don’t know why we all hang out more often.” It was kind of strange: Robbie was her best friend, and Henry was an awesome guy. Why didn’t they hang out?

And now they were both blushing. Fortunately they were both darker toned, and that helped hide the flush a little bit. She mirrored his action, rubbing the back of her neck and staring at her feet. However, a stupid looking smile curled the edges of her mouth, and she wasn’t quite sure why.

“Aha…” She gave Henry a nervous, surprised little giggle when he started enumerating her positive traits. “Thanks.” Estelle brushed her bangs to the side, inexplicably shy.

At the subject change, Estelle straightened up, “Yes! Cartwheels! You don’t get to escape mwahaha.” She gave him a mock-evil grin and hopped to her feet. “Okay, stand up,” She ordered, waving her arms like a pinwheel, “We’re going to do headstands first.” Why? Because Estelle thought it would be fun, mostly. That, and it would help him get acquainted with the movements.

[Henry Ballo]

“I cannot honestly picture that happening to you that often,” Henry admitted, shaking his head as the girl spoke. And he honestly couldn’t. She really had that much of a trouble with boys? Or, to be more accurate and a little closer to Henry’s own troubled feelings about the matter, she had that many boys asking about her?

But he was being silly about that, he chided himself. He should be glad that boys were interested in her. Although he did wonder if she was interested in--

No. Enough of that. He was here to do—and he shuddered at the thought—cartwheels. Not to worry about Estelle’s dating situation. So instead, he groaned as she suggested calling him “Henny” and shook his head.

“Please, not that. Hen is fine if you must, but ‘Henny’…no, please no.” He found that he was laughing. Henny? Honestly? He folded his legs, cross-legged, and gave up all pretenses of stretching completely as he watched her tumble, clearly impressed by the way she managed it. “That is very…cool,” he admitted, leaning forward. “You should, if that is really what they do. I think you would be very good. And we probably do not all hang out often because I am too serious and Robbie seems very…cheerful.” As in “too” cheerful, but as he was her best friend he wasn’t going to say so. And when she was blushing and giggling, he found himself smiling in spite of himself, shy as well and not quite sure why.

“Of course,” he mumbled, awkward but glad she’d had that kind of reaction and hadn’t just…hit him. Because who knew? Maybe she would’ve been offended. He was both grateful and a little sad for the change of subject this time, but reluctantly clambered to his feet. “I do not think someone my size should attempt headstands,” he told her frankly. “I think there is a law somewhere, under ‘felling trees illegally.’ I think you will come to regret this. But fine.” He looked around. “What do I do? Just…stand on my head?” He looked worried. “That hardly sounds simple.”

Another point for Henry still taking things too seriously. This boy really needs help.

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle giggled, blushing brightly, “But it does. At least when boys actually do hit on me, which isn’t much.” She made a face, “But that’s ok. It’s probably for the best!” She didn’t want him to think that she felt badly about herself. She really didn’t. Would she like a boyfriend? Of course. Did she need a boyfriend? No.

“Whaat?” She laughed loudly, “Henny is cuuute.” She smiled brightly, happy to see him laugh, “Okay, okay. No Henny. Promise.” She put her hand on her heart.

“Thank you!” She gave an exaggerated bow at his praise over her tumbling, “Aww, you aren’t too serious! You are the right amount of serious. Most of the time.” She grinned, knowing she was completely contradicting herself and what she said earlier, but she didn’t really care, “Robbie can be a little much sometimes. He’s been so busy lately, though. I haven’t gotten a chance to hang out with him.” Which made her a little sad, but he was allowed to have a life, as was she.

Estelle laughed delightedly, “Henry. You are not a tree. You can do this. Here, I’ll show you. We’ll start small.” She walked over to stand against the wall, “Crouch over like this, and put your hands on the floor, elbows crooked.” She demonstrated, “Then put your head on the floor and balance your legs on the wall and off the floor.” As she did so, her legs slowly straightened up, still leaning against the wall. She flipped over to her feet, smiling. “See? Easy! You try, I’ll make sure you don’t fall over.”

[Henry Ballo]

“I cannot believe that,” he mumbled without even realizing it. Or…sort of realizing it. He just really hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and as soon as he realized he had, his face flamed, and he cleared his throat and quickly moved past it, before she even noticed he’d said it. Hopefully. Please.

“Thank you.” He sighed in exaggerated relief and chuckled a little. “Still, I am sure someone will call me that at some point, because you have now said it. And then, Estelle…” he wagged a finger at her, attempting to be stern but failing completely, because that smile still lingered on his lips. “I will blame you.”

He bowed right back at her, which was quite a feat—all six feet for of him bending into a rather elaborate and flourishing bow, like one straight out of the movies. And when he straightened back up, he was still smiling. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed himself so much. “Well, thank you. But I would agree with the statement of…most of the time. What has he been doing?” She seemed to be upset by the fact. Maybe he could get her to talk about it, perhaps…

However, judging by the expression on Henry’s face when she did her handstand, he didn’t think he could do that at all.

“Estelle,” he said slowly. “If I were to fall on you, I would very probably crush you. Does this not concern you at all?” It concerned him. He moved, very reluctantly, to the wall and stared down at the ground, then shook his head and stepped back. “Why can we not start with cartwheels? Are those not easier?”