"I mean, she's alright I guess. I think he could do better, but she's pretty cool and is starting to fit in with the group pretty well. She's been here longer than you, but things can still get so awkward with her sometimes. I dunno." Xaiden paused for a beat, then continued. "Honestly, her temper really triggers mine, so it helps having you and Jax around when we're together."
"Do y-you l-like, like her?" Ewen asked cautiously, staring at the ground to avoid Xaiden's piercing stare.
"Not at all." Xaiden emphasized each word, "She was my nemesis at first, and now, I'd barely consider us friends." Ewen nodded, meeting Xaiden's gaze again, then quickly looking away as its intensity hadn't waned. "Now please tell me why you asked such a strange question? Does Eliana actually think I like her? I'm not that much of a jerk to people I like, I can assure you."
"I j-just think you should talk about how you feel with Jax." Ewen said after some thought, palming away a bead of sweat on his forehead anxiously.
"Wait, Jax is the one that thinks I like her?" Xaiden asked incredulously. "Where on Zenith did he get an idea like that?"
"I f-feel like I've already said too much." Ewen stuttered regretfully. "I just want us all to be able to g-get along again."
"It's okay, Ewen, I'm not going to blow up on anyone." Xaiden responded kindly, "I honestly want the same thing. If all those two need is my blessing, then I'm happy to give it."
"W-well, it may not be t-that simple, b-but it may help clear things up to talk openly."
"I hear you," Xaiden said. "You're a good kid, don't worry about it, okay?"
Ewen nodded, then added lightly, "I'm not that much younger than you guys, you know."
"Still young enough to be my little brother," Xaiden joked lightly. "And I've always wanted one of those."
Ewen smiled back, humming quietly as he returned to the rules of another board game he already had a copy of stored away.