There was a moment of emotion going on in the kitchen, between Hannah and Richard. Hannah hadn't exactly planned on coming out and saying what she just said when they'd first gone to go into the kitchen, but the conversation had just gone in a direction that led to her coming out with it. She'd always wanted to tell Richard that she loved him. It just had never come to a time where she could effectively tell him. There was a lot of emotion built up in Hannah's heart, ever since that day where she and Nick had accidentally gotten together.

It's not that Hannah never wanted to tell Richard. She wanted to tell her, from day one, but she was in too much conflict. She loved Richard, but Nick was loving her and cherished every moment of their relationship. Hannah was willing to give up Richard to make Nick happy, but when she'd seen how Cindy acted towards him, she couldn't help it. She thought on things much too hard to completely ignore what was happening to Richard. She couldn't stand for Richard being mistreated in such a way and her old feelings for Richard had easily resurfaced.

Hannah may not have been shocked at this conversation, but Richard was starting to. Had Hannah told him that she loved him, normally, it might not have meant much. Friends talked about loving one another all the time, but this was a little different. The way Hannah's voice had used itself told Richard that it was something more than that. She felt very emotional in it, and hearing that tiny voice sent shivers down his spine and created a knot in his stomach. He felt that Hannah actually meant was she said. “H-Hannah? You...love me? But...I haven't changed. I'm still the same--”

“No, you're not!” yelled Hannah, her face getting more and more red all the time, looking up from her laying position on his finger. She knew what he was like before, and as much as he may have wanted to say he was the same person as before, she knew that he wasn't. Even she, a person that was only a few inches in height, had managed to completely intimidate Richard and shut him up with a little forced speech. She let a moment's pause go by before she furthered her point. Ensuring that he knew that he wasn't going to get out of this with just telling her he was the same.

“You see? You're not the same. I'm only a few inches tall, and I was able to completely cut you off just now. I'm the size of your finger, for crying out loud!” She took a deep breath, completely flustered. Richard just sat there, blinking, not knowing what he could say to her. She didn't give him a chance to, though. “You let Cindy walk all over you. You never acted like this when the three of us used to hang out together! You were always the leader, never a follower. You bend to her will, like she's some sort of goddess or something! She's not a goddess! She treats you badly. Why....Why do you put up with it? What did she do to you?! Did she...hurt you?” Hannah couldn't help it, but she was starting to get a tear rolling down her face, not able to take him denying all of these changes that were incredibly obvious.

Richard was feeling more and more nervous as the conversation went on. He didn't think he'd really changed that much, but had he? Hannah's words, the expression on her face, and most of all, the tear that had suddenly started to flow down her face, were making him think about this. “I...” He didn't know what to say. As he thought about it, he did remember those times, years ago, where he would lead them through everything they did together. Thinking about how Cindy was able to control him so easily, he did realize that something had happened. He'd just never thought about it until now.

“Hannah...I...I don't bend to her will, all the time. You saw for yourself...” He was bringing up the only example he could think of, which she'd already complained about in this conversation. However, it was the only thing he could think of to use. “I stood up to her when I found you and Nick, and I haven't been a carpet since then, right? It's not as bad as you think!” Hannah sat up on the finger and gave him a blank face. “Oh, come on! You stood up to her because she was about to KILL US! Are you trying to tell me that, at home, she can act like she does, and you don't submit to her every whim? Because if you are, I'm sorry, but I don't believe you for a second! Every last thing she's talked back to you about has been easily submitted to. Don't expect me to believe that it's any different at home!”

Richard frowned at this. Hannah wasn't believing him. He wanted to think that everything was just fine, but in the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't. He did, indeed, submit to Cindy's every whim. If she wanted him to be a human carpet for him, he did so. If she wanted him to lay at the end of the bed, with her feet laying on his face, he would do so. If she did a host of other things, he did so, without a second thought. Hannah was right, completely. He would have to accept it. He slowly nodded, blushing his face. “I...you're right, Hannah. I'm...sorry.”

The man was apologizing to her. Although Hannah didn't appreciate the apology, she was glad that he recognized what was going on. She nodded back to him and started talking to him about this problem. “Well, not that you accept it, we need to fix it, Richard. We may not be able to...be together, like I'd always hoped, but I'll help you with this problem! I want you to be happy, and I'll do anything I can, in order to achieve that goal.” Little did Hannah know that the two of them weren't having a private conversation...