• That Funny Feeling (bsf!ellie williams x reader)
you slowly start to realize you’ve fallen in love with your best friend.
• Invisible String (college!ellie williams x reader)
a week in your life where someone leaves you an anonymous note and you also meet a cute girl in one of your classes.
• Underneath the Tree (bbf!ellie williams x reader)
you’re happy to be back in your hometown for christmas break, but that changes when an unexpected guest shows up at your house.
• I Saw Her For The First Time (modern!ellie williams x reader)
you’re practically the girl of ellie’s dreams. it’s a shame her friend saw you first.
• Blue Moon (modern!ellie williams x reader)
dina’s crazy ideas lead ellie on a trip to italy during the summer. she meets you, a charming girl who’s visiting her grandparents and who turns her world upside down in the span of a few hours.
Thank you for reading my stories and taking the time to like, reblog and comment! It truly warms my heart when you guys let me know you enjoyed them. Love you all :) <3
that's completely fine!! take as long as you need you don't have to force or overwork urself ^_^ 💕
i'll be here waiting 🤭
i’ve had this on my inbox for a while and i just wanted to thank you for your patience and for being so sweet !! 🥹💘 i’m going to try my best to be consistent with my posting now that i’ve finally put out something new.
summary: dina’s crazy ideas lead ellie on a trip to italy during the summer. she meets you, a charming girl who’s visiting her grandparents and who turns her world upside down in the span of a few hours.
author’s note: it’s been a WHILE since i’ve last posted something, so i’m back with this 8k words one shot where nothing really happens but it’s cute. hope you like it and happy pride !!! <3
• • • •
a citrusy smell hits ellie the moment she steps into her house for the summer. she scrunches up her nose a little as she sweeps her gaze over the place. everything is mostly white; the walls, the floors and the decor, too. there’s a few pops of color here and there, which she appreciates. otherwise she’d go insane.
the other thing ellie notices is how quiet everything is, although she attributes that trait to the small town she’s in. it’s nice, she decides, a needed contrast to the bustling city of new york, where she’s currently living.
she steps further into the house, eyes scanning her surroundings with curiosity. jesse and dina, her best friends, are close behind her. they’re bickering about something ellie isn’t interested enough in to pay attention to.
the idea of vacationing in italy came from dina, as per usual. “we should totally form a band”, was crazy idea number 27. ellie and jesse vetoed it. “let’s sign in to a cooking class and open a restaurant together”, crazy idea number 28. vetoed. “summer holiday in italy, who’s in?”, crazy idea number 29. vetoed at first.
ellie, with her humble earnings as an artist who had not booked an exhibition in months and jesse, a photographer who had just burned through his savings to buy a decent camera equipment because wedding season was coming, completely turned down her idea without even thinking twice about it.
dina was the most financially stable out of the three. she worked at her mother’s beauty salon doing waxing. not her dream job, but the money was good and she had more freedom than most people do in their workplace — freedom meaning she decided when she wanted to work and not get fired.
the thing is, dina really wanted to go to italy with her friends. the 15% success rate on her previous wild ideas wasn’t encouraging, but she made an effort and came through with a full cost breakdown for the trip. according to her plan, if ellie got a job at the beauty salon, she’d have a stable income. jesse would have to sell some of his nerdy figurines, “do it on behalf of your friendship, even if it hurts,” dina had told him.
the rest of the logistics to cheapen the trip actually made sense, much to ellie’s and jesse’s surprise.
“the best part is—you ready? tell me you’re ready for it,” dina had told them excitedly.
“just tell us,” ellie replied with a roll of her eyes.
“i already found us a place to stay at for free! remember that old lady who comes to the salon and wants to set me up with her grandson? well, i was telling her about the trip and she told me she has a sister who lives in a small town in italy and she’ll come to new york in july to visit her, so her house will be available and she offered it to us!” she explained all in one breath, which was actually really impressive.
“are you sure this isn’t a scam?”
dina waved a hand at jesse’s question, “please, ruth is harmless. she made me facetime her sister and she showed me the house, it’s really nice!” she said. “c’mon, you know what they say: nicely wax a lady’s legs, get a house in italy!”
long story short, dina managed to convince them. flash forward a few months, and here they were.
“nice, huh?” dina says, gloating as she takes in the place. she mindlessly drops her bag near the entrance, making jesse almost trip on it.
“you can hardly smell the old lady scent,” ellie nods.
she hears jesse snort from behind as she goes to inspect the rest of the rooms. there’s a long hallway that leads to the bathroom at the end of it, and two bedrooms on each side.
“there’s only two beds,” ellie tells them.
“there’s an air mattress in one of the closets,” dina says from the kitchen. “go get your bed, jesse.”
“what? why can’t i sleep in one of the actual beds?”
“cause you’re a guy and we’re two ladies.”
ellie enters the kitchen just in time to see jesse roll his eyes. he’s leaning against the counter, arms crossed and with an expression on his face that says he already regrets the trip.
“ladies, she says,” he mutters under his breath.
“don’t be such a wuss,” ellie tells him, going over to the kitchen island to sit on one of the stools. “it’s not the end of the world. what if it’s comfortable?”
“i’m not a wuss, you’re a wuss. you sleep on the air mattress if it isn’t that big of a deal.”
“i won’t, and i’m not a wuss, i’m a lady,” she repeats dina’s words with a smug smile.
jesse shakes his head in disapproval, “i’m more of a lady than the two of you combined.”
“on some level, you’re right. i always felt like you were the lady in the relationship when we were together,” dina tells him, causing jesse to let out an offended gasp. “a real princess.”
her and jesse had dated on and off all throughout highschool and the first two years of college. they decided to end it when they realized it was a dead-end relationship and they always went back to each other out of familiarity and comfort instead of actual love. they agreed they were better off as friends.
ellie still believes they’ll fuck again at least one last time, especially on this trip. they’re too weak to resist their urges, and will probably do it just to be able to say they did it in a foreign country.
“we should buy food,” ellie interrupts whatever dumb fight they were about to get into. “i’m starving,” she says as she opens up the fridge. it’s pretty empty except for bottles of water, a few fizzy drinks and what looks like a bowl of prunes.
“yeah, me too. should we check google maps or go out blindly and get lost in these beautiful, aesthetic streets until we find a supermarket?” dina asks.
“let’s try to pass as locals and then annoy everyone around us with our american ways,” ellie proposes solemnly, and her friends quickly agree with her plan.
it’s hot outside. without the occasional ocean breeze, ellie is sure they would’ve melted away by now. the unbearable heat doesn’t make the town any less beautiful, though.
everything is bathed in a golden light that makes its way even through the leafy trees, not allowing them to cast a full shadow without stubborn rays of sunlight filtering through. there are teenagers biking down the cobbled streets, well-fed stray dogs wandering around and drinking water from bowls people left for them, old ladies chatting from balcony to balcony. it feels magical, in a way.
they walk around for a while, getting familiar with the town while jesse snaps a few shots. they’re mostly of dina, who wants a picture of her in every corner.
“okay, i’m gonna walk over there and turn around at the last second and that’s when you’re going to take the pic,” dina tells him.
“yes, dear,” jesse replies in a mock tired tone. he watches as dina sprints towards the spot for the photoshoot she conjured in her mind. “look both ways before you cross the street! jesus christ—”
ellie, knowing this will last a while, decides to wander off to the shops nearby. there’s a café at the end of the street. it’s small, but charming.
she fishes her phone out of her pocket and opens up the camera as she goes over there. ellie’s social media presence it’s not the best, but she likes taking pictures of everything. her instagram account mostly consists of pictures of paintings, her friends and cool spots she’s seen around new york, with barely any pictures of her face.
dina always gives her shit for it, and insists on ellie posting more selfies. ‘you’re letting it go to waste’ she always says. there’s actually more pictures of her on dina’s and jesse’s accounts than on her own.
once ellie takes a couple of decent photos, she checks them out, ready to favorite the best one to post. it’s only when she’s carefully inspecting picture number that she realizes she captured something other than the café. she zooms in on one of the tables, and that’s when she sees you looking straight at the camera. you’re smiling, and in the following photos you’re waving.
ellie looks up from her phone, and you’re still there sitting at the table, looking at her. her hands move on their own accord, almost dropping her phone in the process of putting it back in her pocket.
“oh—hi, i mean—ciao?” she fumbles with her words as she steps closer. “didn’t see you there, sorry—scusi? is that right? i don’t know how to say that in italian, sorry.”
you smile at her rambling, “i speak english, don’t worry,” you tell her, and ellie frowns as she wonders why you let her babble like an idiot. “how do i look?” you ask, and she doesn’t know what you’re talking about until you gesture at her phone.
right. the pictures.
“oh,” she says with an awkward laugh. “really good, actually.” she unlocks her phone and clicks on the first picture before handing it to you. “i can delete them,” she offers.
“oh, i don’t mind,” you say as you scroll through the photos. “i can move if you want to re-do them.”
ellie immediately shakes her head. not only she doesn’t want to inconvenience you any further, but she also really likes how the pictures turned out. “no, no. that’s fine. these are the ones,” she says, and then clarifies: “only if you’re really sure you don’t mind me keeping them, obviously—”
“i don’t mind” you interrupt her with a laugh. you take a moment to look at her before you speak again. “what’s your name?”
“ellie, what’s yours?”
you introduce yourself, going for a handshake. ellie can tell this is easy for you, meeting new people. there’s a certain confidence in the way you interact, completely relaxed and, clearly, not overthinking about the possible outcomes of the conversation and how you will act in each one, much like she is doing right now.
she isn’t exactly shy, but she’s not as outgoing as her friends. it usually takes her some time to warm up to someone and feel comfortable enough to relax around them.
“are those your friends?” you ask, pointing past her. you had noticed them when they were three blows down, their voices and laughter carrying through the streets and announcing their arrival.
“yeah — dina and jesse,” she says, looking back at you with a half-smile. “we got here today. we’re, uh, trying to get familiar with the town, y’know?”
you hum, and you seem to contemplate something for a moment before you speak again, “i could show you around.”
the offer lingers in the air for a moment, until ellie finally stammers out a reply. “wait, really?”
“yeah, i mean, i don’t live here but i come to visit my grandparents every summer, so i know my way around as well as the locals do.”
“uh, yeah, yes, i mean, if you don’t mind—”
“i don’t mind,” you repeat for the third time, a hint of amusement in your voice. “you’re the first person my age i’ve seen around here in a while, i’m not letting you out of my sight.”
ellie laughs, running her fingers through her hair. nervous habit. “yeah, all i’ve seen are either old people or kids.”
“most people here are over 50,” you nod. “there’s not many people in their twenties who choose to vacation in this town.”
she shrugs her shoulder, “it’s a funny story.”
you pull out the chair next to you and pat the seat, “i’m always in the mood for a funny story.”
that’s how ellie ends up telling you all about how this trip came to be. she has never been the designated story teller from her group. dina knew how to keep people entertained by adding little comments here and there, and jesse’s way of speaking and ability to maintain eye-contact always hooked people in. ellie, on the other hand, has always been the quieter one. she doesn’t exaggerate things, nor does she gesture wildly when speaking. yet, you seem interested in what she’s saying.
you haven’t looked away from her, and, ellie, who’s usually not very good with eye-contact, hasn’t looked away from you either.
you laugh at all the right times and ask questions out of genuine curiosity, which helps you get to know a little bit more about ellie’s life back in new york. she asks you questions, too. stuff like where are you from, what did you study, and what do you do for work.
she finds out you live in boston, you graduated law school two years ago and you’re are currently working at a library in your neighborhood. you’re an only child, just like her, you think cats are out to get you, and you know the waxed lady’s sister. it turns out she’s friends with your grandparents, which doesn’t surprise ellie in the slightest. in small towns like these, everyone knows each other.
“oh, and this café belongs to my grandpa, who’s not really my grandpa but an italian guy my grandmother married ages ago, so he’s, like, my honorary grandpa,” you tell her.
“oh, really? how did they meet?”
“on a cruise to the bahamas,” you say. “they kept in touch afterwards, and about a month later she moved here.”
ellie whistles lowly, “a month? that’s fast.”
you shrug, a half-smile on your face. “when you know, you know.”
she hums, unable to argue against that. love has never come easy to her, and she has already made her peace with the fact that maybe it just isn’t meant for her, but she does believe in it.
“it was so weird,” you continue. “you should’ve seen her when she came back, so painfully in love and giggly. my grandma, a sixty year old woman, giggly. i’d always seen her as this serious woman who had no time for trivial things such as love and having a partner after my actual grandpa died, but there she was — giggly and in love with some italian guy.”
ellie snorts, “and they got married?”
“yeah, about a year and a half later after she moved here,” you smile as you reminisce. “he proposed while my parents and i were visiting—after having already gotten our blessing, obviously— he got on one knee and everything, he still needed our help to get up afterwards, but still,” you laugh, and ellie joins you as she imagines the scene. “he proposed in a field not that far from here, i can take you there. it’s gorgeous.”
ellie’s smile softens, “sure, i’d like that.”
dina and jesse join shortly after, and you already feel like you know them personally by how fondly ellie had talked to you about them. conversation flows easily between the four of you, which doesn’t surprise ellie in the slightest. she knew from the moment you started speaking that you would get along with her friends.
at one point, you offer them free iced coffee to fight the heat, and pastries.
“i don’t really like coffee, so, nothing for me,” ellie tells you when you stand up.
“plain coffee?” you ask to make sure.
“coffee in general, actually,” she says. “never been a fan.”
you make a face, “not even a harmless cappuccino?”
ellie grimaces, and dina rolls her eyes.
“she drinks matcha.”
“oh,” you laugh. “okay, that i can’t offer you, but there might be a starbucks in bari, which is, like, 20 miles from here.”
ellie huffs at your teasing, and mentally curses dina for revealing such a vulnerable thing about her, “i don’t need starbucks.”
“i’ll bring you a soda, then,” you say with a grin.
she watches you go behind the counter, and her eyes stay on you for a moment before looking back at dina and jesse. they have that look, the one they usually give her when a pretty girl exchanges more than two words with her.
she rolls her eyes, and decides to pay attention to you again instead. you catch her gaze, sending her a smile before continuing with your work.
“need some help?”
ellie doesn’t wait for your reply, she stands up and goes over to you, happy to leave her annoying friends behind.
“you can pick the pastries if you want,” you tell her, already preparing the second iced-coffee. “i’m sure you know your friends’ taste better than i would.”
she nods, carefully inspecting the pastries display as if were the most important task in the world. there’s lots of things to choose from, but her attention is caught by a specific one.
“croissant?” she asks you, pointing at it.
you let out a chuckle, “cornetto,” you correct her gently. “plain, chocolate-filled, apricot-filled, custard-filled, or pistacchio-filled, a recent customer favorite.”
“cornetto,” ellie repeats to herself, and grabs three chocolate-filled ones. “did i offend an entire country by calling them croissants?”
you laugh, making the last iced-coffee. “pretty much. you’re lucky my grandpa isn’t here, he’d beat you with a cornetto until you learn the difference between one and a croissant.”
“the difference being…?” ellie trails off with a small laugh of her own, as she grabs the coke-cola you’ve left on the counter for her.
“cornetti are much better than croissants.”
“ah, of course,” she nods with a smile. “so, what, are you in charge of this place during the summer?”
“just today. no one seemed to be coming in so i told my grandparents to go home and that i’d handle it. they’ll be back in, like, twenty minutes, probably,” you say, checking your watch.
she helps you bring the drinks and pastries to the table, where her friends are waiting and pretending not to have been watching your interaction. ellie sends her friends a look, one that clearly means “don’t start”.
it’s hard for dina and jesse not to start. they know ellie better than they know themselves, and they can definitely tell when she’s interested in someone. she gets this particular look on her face, to which dina refers to as the blue moon look, because it’s so rare it almost never happens.
ellie is as picky about people as she is about food. she’s always been the type of person who keeps their circle small with only a few friends she can fully trust. for her, truly liking someone even as a friend is already a transcendental accomplishment. taking a romantic interest in someone? extremely rare. blue moon rare.
fortunately for ellie, dina and jesse don’t make any comments that would make her want to crawl into a hole an die. unfortunately for her, she can practically hear them inside her head going crazy and teasing her relentlessly.
you seem blissfully unaware, which is something she is extremely grateful for.
another thing she is very grateful for is cornetti.
jesus christ.
“you look like you’re about to have an orgasm,” jesse points out before she takes a sip of his coffee.
“honestly, i might just be,” ellie replies with her mouth full, her eyes closing in bliss as she savors the pastry.
you snort, “better than a croissant?”
ellie nods, “yeah, yeah. so much better.”
it’s half an hour later when two elderly people walk in, words that ellie cannot comprehend coming out of their mouths. it takes her an embarrassing amount of time to realize they’re speaking in italian.
the woman beams when you stand up to greet them, immediately opening her arms for a hug. ellie smiles softly at the fact that she can recognize some of your grandmother’s features on you.
as you keep talking to your grandparents, ellie’s phone buzzes in her pocket. she pulls it out, and sends an unimpressed look to her friends when she sees it’s them talking in their groupchat.
dina: ellie on a scale of one to ten how mad would u be if we leave you alone with her
ellie: i’d kill you
jesse: Don’t be a pussy
jesse: We’re trying to do you a favor you know
ellie: i didnt ask for it !!!!
ellie: drop it
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
jesse: Blue monk
jesse: *Blue moon
ellie: ENOUGH
ellie drops her phone on the table just as you return, immediately catching her attention. she smiles at you, her previous exasperation quickly forgotten.
“everything okay with your grandparents?”
“yeah, i was just telling them i’m going to show you guys around,” you say, returning the smile.
dina and jesse share an imperceptible look, before she clears her voice. “yeah, about that…” dina trails off.
ellie snaps her head at her, “what?”
“we’re kind of beat,” jesse continues, “we’re gonna go shower and probably nap for a bit. jet lag is crazy,” he chuckles.
“oh!” you say, and you turn to ellie, “what about you? are you tired?”
“she’s not,” dina cuts in before ellie can answer. “energy of a toddler on a sugar high, this one,” she adds with an awkward laugh.
ellie drops her face in her hands in embarrassment, but recovers before you can see her.
“you can totally go with your friends if you’re tired,” you tell her, ducking your head to meet her eyes. “we can exchange numbers and we can reschedule—or not,” you say with a small smile. it had been your idea to show them around, and you didn’t want to make them feel obligated to accept.
“no—yes. i mean, yes, i want to go. i’m not tired at all,” she says quickly. “we should still exchange numbers, though. just in case.”
she surprises her friends as much as herself by her suggestion, not expecting it to come out. she smiles, trying to hide the sudden nerves that had rushed through her and to ignore the proud looks dina and jesse are most definitely giving her.
“yeah, i think so, too,” you say, biting back a smile. then, you look at dina and jesse, who are unblinkingly staring at you two. “i’ll see you guys soon?”
“yes, definitely,” dina replies instantly.
she doesn’t really want to leave, and she’s definitely not tired, but ellie needs the push and be left alone with you. she just hopes her friends gathers up the courage and actually make a move, although with the phone number exchange situation she thinks there might be a higher chance of that happening than she originally believed.
as dina says goodbye to you with a hug, jesse walks over to ellie as she stands up from her seat.
“see you back at the house, williams,” he says, going for a handshake. when their hands break apart, ellie notices he gave her something.
gum.
she arches an eyebrow, “really?”
“just in case,” he shrugs. “you need to be on your A-game, okay? minty fresh at all times. who knows how this little tour might end?”
ellie rolls her eyes, “god—shut up, will you?” she shoves his shoulder as she checks if you’ve heard him. luckily, dina’s keeping you busy by talking your ear off. “wanna get going?” she asks you, to which you immediately nod.
dina and jesse wave at you, twin smiles on their faces that turn into mock teary expressions the moment you turn around. naturally, ellie flips them off.
neither of you notices when jesse pulls out his camera and snaps a picture of two of you crossing the street. ellie’s hand is hovering over your back as she checks both sides, and you’re just looking at your phone as if getting run over isn’t even a possibility.
“you should be more careful,” she tells you.
“what do you mean?” you ask, shooting a quick glance at her.
“you just crossed the street without checking if someone was coming.”
you wave a hand dismissively, "i was just saving your number, i can multitask. besides, cars usually stop when someone crosses the street.”
“key word usually.”
you roll your eyes, amused. “don’t worry about it. people here are really nice to pedestrians, i promise it’ll be fine.”
you lead her through the narrow streets with no particular destination in mind. every little corner of this town is worth seeing, and ellie is realizing it as you keep moving.
there’s a soft smile on her face as she takes everything in, and she thinks she could totally live in a place like this. it’s quiet, but the perfect kind of quiet. she can hear the sound of cicadas in the distance, and she prefers it a thousand times more than the incessant honking of new york.
“it’s pretty, isn’t it?” you ask, noticing the look of wonder on her face. “i didn’t like coming here when i was younger. i found it boring,” you tell her, much to her surprise.
“really?”
“i was fourteen,” you clarify. “i didn’t understand the language, and didn’t enjoy silence as much as i do now. i just wanted someone to talk about one direction, you know?”
ellie snorts, “you were a one direction fan?”
“don’t make fun of your tour guide.”
“i wasn’t making fan of you, i was just asking!”
“with that judgy tone?”
“it wasn’t judgy, i was just surprised—”
“what were you a fan of at that age, huh?” you interrupt her.
ellie laughs at your inquisition, and she takes a moment to think as you both keep strolling down the street.
even though the weather is not as hot as it was before, the heat still classifies as unbearable for a girl like ellie, who usually spends most of her summer days inside her apartment and under the AC. she decides to tie up her hair, a few strands falling at the nape of her neck given its short length. you try not to stare at her biceps as she does so. you barely succeed.
“i was a classic rock fan when i was 14,” she finally replies.
now it’s you who laughs, “of course you were.”
“what?” she chuckles, her eyes quickly trailing over your face before she looks ahead again. “what’s wrong with that?”
“it’s just so fitting. of course you had cool interests at that age.”
“you think that made me cool? i was the resident weirdo. my music taste matched a 50 year old dad’s.”
you shrug, a smile tugging at your lips. “well, i would’ve thought you were cool.”
she just laughs, her eyes crinkling at the corners. the “tour”, as jesse had called it, continues like that—talks about trivial stuff and an embarrassing amount of laughter spilling out from both of you.
ellie isn’t exactly sure how long you walk for, all she knows it’s been a while. by living in new york, she’d grown used to walking long distances, but she’s not sure if she’s ever enjoyed it as much as she’s enjoying it now.
eventually, you slow down and stop in front of a church. ellie shields her eyes from the sun as she looks up, taking in the details. although it’s not as imposing as the typical cathedrals seen around europe, this church has its own charm. her attention zeroes in the asymmetry of the towers that rise on each side. while one looks like it’s an inch short of touching the sky, the other stops abruptly halfway there.
“it’s unfinished,” ellie says, glancing at you before looking at the towers again.
“the architect made it look like that on purpose,” you tell her, following her gaze. “the one on the right represents the soul ascending to heaven, and the one on the left represents mortality and earthly imperfection. our flawed existence, basically.”
ellie hums at your explanation, contemplating the church in silence for a moment.
“looks cool.”
you snort at her ineloquent reply, “yeah, it does,” you agree. “let’s go inside, yeah? it’s really pretty.”
you momentarily grab her hand to lead her to the entrance. the touch lasts an approximate amount of six riveting seconds, but ellie feels it for the next following minutes.
she clears her voice, “it really is pretty.”
the ceiling is a deep blue with golden stars painted across it, which have faded a bit from the passage of time. her eyes move to the walls, then the statues, and finally set in the round, stained glass windows.
ellie stays there for a moment, mesmerized by the way the sun made the colors of the windows pop. it’s then when the artificial sound of a camera shutter makes ellie glance over her shoulder, and she catches you with your phone still halfway up. she raises her eyebrows at you, wordlessly demanding for an explanation.
you sputter for a second, “now we’re even.”
it takes ellie a moment to realize you’re talking about how you met, and the multiple pictures she had taken of you.
“that was an accident!”
she covers her mouth when she hears her own voice echoing, the quietness of the church making it sound embarrassingly loud.
you laugh, loudly, and if ellie’s voice had echoed through the entire church, yours echoes through the entire square.
“that was an accident,” she repeats, this time in a much more appropriate volume as a smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “let me see it, at least.”
you don’t put up any resistance when she reaches over and grabs the phone from you. in the photo, ellie stands in the middle of it with her head tilted back towards the stained glass windows, and her hands clasped behind her back. you can only see her side profile, a particular ray of light shining on her features while everything else is overtaken by shadows.
“huh,” ellie says, still looking at it. she glances at you, and sees you’re closer than expected, looking at the picture over her shoulder. it takes her aback for a moment, but she carries on. “i like it.”
“good, because i was planning on posting it.”
“you wanna post me on your instagram?”
you shrug, acting nonchalant. “i wanna post a good picture on my instagram, you just happen to be in it.”
ellie bites back a bigger smile, and nods. “sure. make sure to tag me, though.”
you smile back, taking your phone back from her hands and immediately open instagram. she tells you her username, and you hit follow before you start going through her account.
she groans dramatically, throwing her head back in despair. “don’t look at my pictures while i’m here. ‘s embarrassing.”
“why? they’re good! very artsy, very good,” you muse, just as you click on a mirror selfie of her with dina and jesse at what appears to be a bar. you like the picture before you keep scrolling down. “a lot of faceless pics, though.”
“oh, not you, too.”
you chuckle, “who else gives you shit about it?”
“dina,” ellie rolls her eyes. “she keeps bugging me about posting more pictures of my face.”
“well, yeah, i agree with her, and i’m gonna help.”
“you’re gonna help,” she echoes, an unimpressed look on her face.
“mhm, c’mon. there’s more places to visit and many, many pictures to take.”
the tour around town continues with cute spots, and, as promised, you take pictures of ellie in every single one. some are candids, which she doesn’t mind, but there are other times where you make her pose.
ellie hates being aware of the camera, and would’ve complained about it if you were literally anyone else, but it was you, and, even though you have just met, she already feels an unbearable desire to please you.
approximately an hour and a half later, you finally take her to the field you’d told her about. the vast greenery welcomes you, and ellie feels how peace settles within her as you two sit down on the sunbleached grass.
neither of speak for a while; you’re with your eyes closed as you listen to the silence, and ellie is busy watching the clouds pass by.
she doesn’t notice when, a few minutes later, you move to pull out your phone and snap one last picture of her. this time, you remember to mute your phone to not let the shutter blow your cover again. you drop it on the grass once you’re done, and lean back on your hands as a contented sigh leaves your lips. ellie looks over at you at the sound, smiling softly.
“thank you for showing me around today.”
“thanks for letting me,” you reply, returning the smile. “i hope i didn’t tire you out too much.”
“nah, it’s fine. i’m not tired at all,” she lies easily, waving a hand dismissively.
in all honesty, she was exhausted. her legs were a minute away from giving up. she’d do it all over again if you asked her, though.
“look,” you suddenly say, snapping her out of her thoughts. she follows your gaze, and she sees two guys laughing as they sit down the shade of a tree. “the blonde one’s blushing so badly i can see it from here,” you murmur, amused. “it has to be a first date, right?”
“looks like it,” she says, and tries not to think about the fact that they’re doing exactly what you two are currently doing. if that’s what you considered a date, does that mean you thought of this as a date, too?
ellie has been on dates before. not as many as the average person might go on, but she has, at least, the slightest experience in the matter.
the dates had gone well — not great, but not terrible, either. none of them prospered into a second one, and ellie felt like she was done trying at the age of 23. hookups? she wouldn’t give that up. but dating? yeah, she has been pretty much over it for a couple of years now.
ellie didn’t feel comfortable. it was as if her awkwardness intensified to an astronomical degree and she couldn’t fully concentrate on what was going on. she tried her best to ask follow-up questions, to appear at least somewhat interested in what her dates were talking about. she barely succeeded.
the girls weren’t the problem — they were interesting, but ellie didn’t click with them. also, she absolutely dreaded the part where the girls expected her to open up, to give them some information about herself. she tried to give them something, but it wouldn’t go further than how her day had been.
she had always struggled with intimacy. physical intimacy she could handle, but emotional intimacy was a whole different story. letting people know what she was thinking, what she liked, what she didn’t like, how she was feeling — she’d rather die.
which is why it’s extremely curious how now, sitting next to you, she comes to the realization that she wouldn’t mind if you considered this a date. she wouldn’t even mind if you asked her something, either. anything. she’d answer it.
she doesn’t seem to realize she’s already been doing that since the moment you met.
“you need to post every single one of these.”
ellie looks at you, and she sees you’re scrolling through the pictures you took of her. she shifts closer, her shoulder bumping into yours as she looks at the photos, too.
there are some that ellie would never in a million years even think of posting, which are, mostly, the ones where she’s smiling. she needs to keep her cool, mysterious persona alive, and those go against it. much to her disgrace, those are the ones you like best.
“this one’s my favorite, though,” you say.
you’re talking about the first picture you took of her back in the church. ellie can agree it’s a nice one, but what she likes the most about it isn’t the picture itself, but the memory attached to it — the sheepish look on your face when the shutter of the camera exposed you and, especially, the way you had laughed afterwards.
“so, should i post that one?”
you shake your head at her question, “this is the one i am going to post, i already told you that. you will post every single one of the others.”
ellie laughs, “every single one? isn’t that a bit much?”
“mm, no. i don’t think so. i think it’s vital.”
“vital,” she repeats, still amused. “okay, you’re the expert.”
your smile turns smug, “that’s good, you’re learning.”
the evening passes slowly under the warm italian sun. ellie is in no rush to leave, and, by the looks of it, neither are you. at one point, you find yourselves sprawled on the grass, shoulders touching as you stare up into the sky.
“i still can’t believe i’m here,” ellie speaks up after a while.
“in italy?”
“well—yeah, actually, but i meant here with you,” she says, and you wait for her to explain. “i’m not usually the type for person to just… tag along to a stranger’s plans. i don’t even talk to strangers,” she adds with a self-deprecating smile. “i mean, most of the ‘wild’ things i’ve done are because dina came up with them and made me do them.”
you hum, “but you still did them, right? that’s what matters.”
ellie tilts her head, “yeah, i guess.”
you roll your eyes, but it’s painfully fond instead of annoyed. “give yourself some credit, ellie.”
“i give myself plenty of credit.”
“i think you’re full of shit.”
ellie’s mouth falls open in mock offense. “you’re rude, did you know that? does your grandma know? i’ll tell her.”
you laugh, “you can try, but you’d have to learn italian to communicate with her — she refuses to speak english anymore. says it’s rude to her husband and this beautiful country that took her in.”
“wow, that’s… kind of romantic, and a little bit insane.”
“it’s what we should all strive to have.”
ellie turns her head to look at you, a hand resting on her stomach and the other mindlessly plucking blades of grass, “a partner who gives up their mother tongue to speak your language?”
“sacrificial love,” you correct her with a gentle smile. “and i don’t mean we should sacrifice something huge that would make us miserable — i mean doing stuff we wouldn’t usually do, but we’d do it for the right person.”
ellie falls silent for a moment, processing your words. she hums, her eyes leaving you to look up at the sky again.
“i think that’s what love is about — willingness to sacrifice your own comfort to do something for someone else. what do you think?”
she isn’t sure what she thinks. her knowledge of love is severely lacking, but the more she thinks about your definition, the more she agrees.
“i’ve never really thought about it, but i like the way you described it,” she says.
silence takes over after that, neither of you feeling the need to fill it. you lay next to each other for another fifteen minutes. no more words are exchanged, just enjoying each other’s company is enough.
“it’s getting dark,” you point out after a while, turning your head to her as she does the same. “we should probably head back.”
“yeah, probably,” she muses, but makes no effort to move at all.
her eyes trail over your face, and she doesn’t care if you notice. you cannot possibly expect her to act normal when there’s such little distance between you.
ellie feels warm all over, and it isn’t because of the summer heat. she feels it inside, a soft feeling spreading through her chest as her gaze flicks between your eyes and your lips.
“do you hear that?” you whisper.
ellie blinks, her eyes flicking back to yours. “hear what?”
“music.”
she pauses, but the only sound she hears is the pathetic thumping of her own heart. she closes her eyes, eyebrows furrowing in concentration as she tries to pick up the sound of whatever you’re hearing.
nothing happens for a moment, until, finally, ellie hears it. it’s faint, barely there, but she can hear it.
“how do you feel about making one last stop before i free you to go back to your friends?”
ellie looks at you, and the smile on her face is already enough of an answer. she loves her friends more than anything, but she isn’t in a rush to go back to them, not when the option to spend more time with you was available.
night has begun to fall, and the streetlights flicker on as you move towards the music. you tell her that, during summer weekends, it’s common for the town to get together in the main square and enjoy an evening of live music.
ellie’s breath catches slightly when you finally arrive at the piazza — fairy lights hang from balconies to balconies, casting warm light over the people dancing.
it looks like something out of a movie, and ellie can already tell she’ll feel nostalgic about this specific moment in the future.
she follows you mindlessly as you step into the makeshift dancefloor, brushing past locals and other tourists who look like they’re having the time of their lives. ellie’s pretty sure she has the same expression on her face, like she has just stepped into an alternate reality where nothing can go wrong.
the band starts playing another song just as you finally find a spot that convinces you enough to stay. ellie recognizes it instantly, it’s alright by jamiroquai.
i need your love, i need your love, i need your love.
“don’t you dance?” you ask her with a small laugh. you’re already moving to the beat, waiting to see if she’ll join you or stay still for the entirety of the song.
ellie grimaces, “i’m not the best at it,” she leans in so you can hear her over the music.
“i’m not asking you to perform the nutcracker or anything, y’know.”
she rolls her eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at her lips. she looks around for a moment — everyone is in their own little world. when her eyes flicker back to you, you’re still smiling at her.
“come fly with me eternally, you and me, we were meant to be,” the guy sings, and ellie loses her train of thought when she notices you mouthing the lyrics.
you don’t wait for her to make up her mind, you just grab her hands and move them to the beat until ellie reluctantly starts dancing on her own with a look of mock annoyance on her face.
yeah, yeah, alright
let’s spend the night together, wake up and live forever
“that’s it,” you say, laughter spilling out. you don’t let go of her hands, you actually pull her closer. “you’re a natural. did you ever think of telling me you were this gifted?”
“shut up,” she tells you, but she’s also laughing.
i see your eyes hold the key to my paradise
summer in your smile
well, it makes me feel so real
the longer she dances with you, the looser she gets. she even makes you spin, and you clumsily try to not bump into the people around you.
“shit, sorry,” you hastily apologize to a woman, who’s definitely too drunk to care about you almost stepping on her toes.
ellie doesn’t realize a lot of things until they hit her all at once; the fact that you’re closer than you’ve ever been before, the way one of her hands had wandered down to your waist and the other somehow ended up cradling the back of your neck.
take my hand, as one we will stand
you know it’s now or never to say hello to forever
she can’t help it, her eyes flicker down to your lips just as they did back in the field. the band keeps playing, everyone around you keeps dancing and singing signing along, but ellie’s not paying attention to any of that.
when she drags her gaze away from your lips, she expects to meet your eyes again. her stomach flips when she notices you’re too busy staring at her mouth.
she takes that as a sign, and, before she can talk herself out of it, she leans forward. you meet her halfway, and ellie can feel you smiling when her lips press against yours.
she can’t hold in the small chuckle that escapes her before she deepens the kiss, bringing you even closer than before. you go willingly, your mind completely empty except for the repeated “oh my god’s” and “fuckfuckfuck’s” echoing through your head.
you don’t know how long the kiss lasts, but, once ellie pulls away, you desperately wish it could’ve lasted even longer. forever, even.
your eyes lock, and her sheepish smile almost disarms you entirely. you can’t comprehend how someone can be so cute and so unfairly hot at the same time.
“i don’t think i wanna let you go back to your friends now,” you say, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
“i don’t wanna go, either,” she admits. “…maybe you could come with me? the four of us can have dinner. we can cook, or we can go somewhere. i don’t care.”
“do you think they’ll mind if i’m there?”
ellie snorts, as if the idea is completely ridiculous. if anything, they’ll be so happy they’ll be bouncing off the walls. “trust me, they won’t.”
she threads her fingers through yours, and smiles gently before leaning in to kiss you again. this one’s shorter than the first, but not any less sweeter.
“let’s go,” she mumbles, barely pulling away from you. “you’re going to have to guide us, though, because i don’t know where the hell i am.”
you laugh, as if guiding her through town wasn’t the thing you’ve been doing all day. you give her one last peck, because why not, before you start leading her out of the crowd.
ellie pulls out her phone with her free hand, and uses the last seconds of her battery to text her friends. she needs to give them a heads up in case they’re doing something she definitely doesn’t want to interrupt.
ellie: coming home
ellie: be nice to our guest
dina replies almost immediately.
dina: GUEST?
ellie: yeah
ellie: please don’t be weird
ellie: PLEASE
jesse: Did you hook up with her
ellie rolls her eyes before she quickly types in her reply.
ellie: who do you think i am
jesse: A. horny lesbian
dina: they definitely made out
dina: i feel my blue moon senses tingling
jesse: Blue monk
jesse: Aha amiright ladies
ellie’s phone dies before she can reply, and she figures that’s for the best. she would’ve gotten tired by typing the amount of insults she wanted with just one hand.
she focuses on you, and the fact that you’re still holding her hand. you keep shooting glances at her, and every single time your eyes meet hers. neither of you has been able to erase the dumb smiles from your faces. it’s embarrassing, but oh-so-good.
then, a thought suddenly hits her, and she’s opening her mouth before she can even process it.
“how far is boston from new york?”
you raise your eyebrows, “thinking of visiting me already?”
she shrugs, trying to act nonchalant. “if i go to boston and you happen to be there, i guess i wouldn’t mind seeing you.”
you shake your head in amusement, “it’s, like, a one hour flight. couple of hours more by train.”
“oh, that’s not too bad—wait,” she interrupts herself. “did you check already?”
“it’s general knowledge,” you roll your eyes, trying to hide the fact that yes, you had definitely checked the distance between your cities earlier while you were at the field.
ellie hums, eyeing you suspiciously. “right, right,” she says, clearly not buying it. “y’know, it’s crazy, i was actually planning a trip to boston after this.”
“were you, now?”
“yeah, it’s crazy,” she repeats. “chose that city randomly, too. don’t know why, i just felt boston calling out to me.”
you try to fight back the smile on your face, but it’s impossible. “you’re a dork.”
ellie shrugs with a lazy smile, not caring one bit about the insult.
“and you checked.”
when all you do is huff and not deny it, ellie’s smile turns annoyingly smug. she’s never been a cocky person, but this information strokes her ego just right, and it causes a surge of new found confidence within her. you don’t have time to process anything when, suddenly, she grabs your face with her free hand and kisses you.
ellie loves that your response to her kiss is almost instant, a contented hum leaving her when your hands come up to tangle in her hair.
“we’re in public,” you mumble against her lips when she backs you up against a wall, but you can’t even pretend to want to stop.
“the street is empty,” she replies, and dives in for another kiss. “everyone’s at that thing.”
“someone could—”, kiss, “—pop up any second,” you say, just to be annoying.
ellie huffs a small laugh, “i don’t think i care, do you?”
you don’t answer, and ellie’s smile widens when you pull her closer. by the back of her neck.
never in a million years she would have guessed that this is how her first day abroad would end. she can’t believe her luck, and the knowledge that she still has six more days of this fills her with excitement, which makes her kisses turn a little too eager. you don’t mind at all, and kiss her back with the same energy.
needless to say, your walk home takes a little more time than originally planned. ellie knows her friends will tease the absolute shit out of her.
she does not care one bit, though. how could she, with you by her side?
summary: dina’s crazy ideas lead ellie on a trip to italy during the summer. she meets you, a charming girl who’s visiting her grandparents and who turns her world upside down in the span of a few hours.
author’s note: it’s been a WHILE since i’ve last posted something, so i’m back with this 8k words one shot where nothing really happens but it’s cute. hope you like it and happy pride !!! <3
• • • •
a citrusy smell hits ellie the moment she steps into her house for the summer. she scrunches up her nose a little as she sweeps her gaze over the place. everything is mostly white; the walls, the floors and the decor, too. there’s a few pops of color here and there, which she appreciates. otherwise she’d go insane.
the other thing ellie notices is how quiet everything is, although she attributes that trait to the small town she’s in. it’s nice, she decides, a needed contrast to the bustling city of new york, where she’s currently living.
she steps further into the house, eyes scanning her surroundings with curiosity. jesse and dina, her best friends, are close behind her. they’re bickering about something ellie isn’t interested enough in to pay attention to.
the idea of vacationing in italy came from dina, as per usual. “we should totally form a band”, was crazy idea number 27. ellie and jesse vetoed it. “let’s sign in to a cooking class and open a restaurant together”, crazy idea number 28. vetoed. “summer holiday in italy, who’s in?”, crazy idea number 29. vetoed at first.
ellie, with her humble earnings as an artist who had not booked an exhibition in months and jesse, a photographer who had just burned through his savings to buy a decent camera equipment because wedding season was coming, completely turned down her idea without even thinking twice about it.
dina was the most financially stable out of the three. she worked at her mother’s beauty salon doing waxing. not her dream job, but the money was good and she had more freedom than most people do in their workplace — freedom meaning she decided when she wanted to work and not get fired.
the thing is, dina really wanted to go to italy with her friends. the 15% success rate on her previous wild ideas wasn’t encouraging, but she made an effort and came through with a full cost breakdown for the trip. according to her plan, if ellie got a job at the beauty salon, she’d have a stable income. jesse would have to sell some of his nerdy figurines, “do it on behalf of your friendship, even if it hurts,” dina had told him.
the rest of the logistics to cheapen the trip actually made sense, much to ellie’s and jesse’s surprise.
“the best part is—you ready? tell me you’re ready for it,” dina had told them excitedly.
“just tell us,” ellie replied with a roll of her eyes.
“i already found us a place to stay at for free! remember that old lady who comes to the salon and wants to set me up with her grandson? well, i was telling her about the trip and she told me she has a sister who lives in a small town in italy and she’ll come to new york in july to visit her, so her house will be available and she offered it to us!” she explained all in one breath, which was actually really impressive.
“are you sure this isn’t a scam?”
dina waved a hand at jesse’s question, “please, ruth is harmless. she made me facetime her sister and she showed me the house, it’s really nice!” she said. “c’mon, you know what they say: nicely wax a lady’s legs, get a house in italy!”
long story short, dina managed to convince them. flash forward a few months, and here they were.
“nice, huh?” dina says, gloating as she takes in the place. she mindlessly drops her bag near the entrance, making jesse almost trip on it.
“you can hardly smell the old lady scent,” ellie nods.
she hears jesse snort from behind as she goes to inspect the rest of the rooms. there’s a long hallway that leads to the bathroom at the end of it, and two bedrooms on each side.
“there’s only two beds,” ellie tells them.
“there’s an air mattress in one of the closets,” dina says from the kitchen. “go get your bed, jesse.”
“what? why can’t i sleep in one of the actual beds?”
“cause you’re a guy and we’re two ladies.”
ellie enters the kitchen just in time to see jesse roll his eyes. he’s leaning against the counter, arms crossed and with an expression on his face that says he already regrets the trip.
“ladies, she says,” he mutters under his breath.
“don’t be such a wuss,” ellie tells him, going over to the kitchen island to sit on one of the stools. “it’s not the end of the world. what if it’s comfortable?”
“i’m not a wuss, you’re a wuss. you sleep on the air mattress if it isn’t that big of a deal.”
“i won’t, and i’m not a wuss, i’m a lady,” she repeats dina’s words with a smug smile.
jesse shakes his head in disapproval, “i’m more of a lady than the two of you combined.”
“on some level, you’re right. i always felt like you were the lady in the relationship when we were together,” dina tells him, causing jesse to let out an offended gasp. “a real princess.”
her and jesse had dated on and off all throughout highschool and the first two years of college. they decided to end it when they realized it was a dead-end relationship and they always went back to each other out of familiarity and comfort instead of actual love. they agreed they were better off as friends.
ellie still believes they’ll fuck again at least one last time, especially on this trip. they’re too weak to resist their urges, and will probably do it just to be able to say they did it in a foreign country.
“we should buy food,” ellie interrupts whatever dumb fight they were about to get into. “i’m starving,” she says as she opens up the fridge. it’s pretty empty except for bottles of water, a few fizzy drinks and what looks like a bowl of prunes.
“yeah, me too. should we check google maps or go out blindly and get lost in these beautiful, aesthetic streets until we find a supermarket?” dina asks.
“let’s try to pass as locals and then annoy everyone around us with our american ways,” ellie proposes solemnly, and her friends quickly agree with her plan.
it’s hot outside. without the occasional ocean breeze, ellie is sure they would’ve melted away by now. the unbearable heat doesn’t make the town any less beautiful, though.
everything is bathed in a golden light that makes its way even through the leafy trees, not allowing them to cast a full shadow without stubborn rays of sunlight filtering through. there are teenagers biking down the cobbled streets, well-fed stray dogs wandering around and drinking water from bowls people left for them, old ladies chatting from balcony to balcony. it feels magical, in a way.
they walk around for a while, getting familiar with the town while jesse snaps a few shots. they’re mostly of dina, who wants a picture of her in every corner.
“okay, i’m gonna walk over there and turn around at the last second and that’s when you’re going to take the pic,” dina tells him.
“yes, dear,” jesse replies in a mock tired tone. he watches as dina sprints towards the spot for the photoshoot she conjured in her mind. “look both ways before you cross the street! jesus christ—”
ellie, knowing this will last a while, decides to wander off to the shops nearby. there’s a café at the end of the street. it’s small, but charming.
she fishes her phone out of her pocket and opens up the camera as she goes over there. ellie’s social media presence it’s not the best, but she likes taking pictures of everything. her instagram account mostly consists of pictures of paintings, her friends and cool spots she’s seen around new york, with barely any pictures of her face.
dina always gives her shit for it, and insists on ellie posting more selfies. ‘you’re letting it go to waste’ she always says. there’s actually more pictures of her on dina’s and jesse’s accounts than on her own.
once ellie takes a couple of decent photos, she checks them out, ready to favorite the best one to post. it’s only when she’s carefully inspecting picture number that she realizes she captured something other than the café. she zooms in on one of the tables, and that’s when she sees you looking straight at the camera. you’re smiling, and in the following photos you’re waving.
ellie looks up from her phone, and you’re still there sitting at the table, looking at her. her hands move on their own accord, almost dropping her phone in the process of putting it back in her pocket.
“oh—hi, i mean—ciao?” she fumbles with her words as she steps closer. “didn’t see you there, sorry—scusi? is that right? i don’t know how to say that in italian, sorry.”
you smile at her rambling, “i speak english, don’t worry,” you tell her, and ellie frowns as she wonders why you let her babble like an idiot. “how do i look?” you ask, and she doesn’t know what you’re talking about until you gesture at her phone.
right. the pictures.
“oh,” she says with an awkward laugh. “really good, actually.” she unlocks her phone and clicks on the first picture before handing it to you. “i can delete them,” she offers.
“oh, i don’t mind,” you say as you scroll through the photos. “i can move if you want to re-do them.”
ellie immediately shakes her head. not only she doesn’t want to inconvenience you any further, but she also really likes how the pictures turned out. “no, no. that’s fine. these are the ones,” she says, and then clarifies: “only if you’re really sure you don’t mind me keeping them, obviously—”
“i don’t mind” you interrupt her with a laugh. you take a moment to look at her before you speak again. “what’s your name?”
“ellie, what’s yours?”
you introduce yourself, going for a handshake. ellie can tell this is easy for you, meeting new people. there’s a certain confidence in the way you interact, completely relaxed and, clearly, not overthinking about the possible outcomes of the conversation and how you will act in each one, much like she is doing right now.
she isn’t exactly shy, but she’s not as outgoing as her friends. it usually takes her some time to warm up to someone and feel comfortable enough to relax around them.
“are those your friends?” you ask, pointing past her. you had noticed them when they were three blows down, their voices and laughter carrying through the streets and announcing their arrival.
“yeah — dina and jesse,” she says, looking back at you with a half-smile. “we got here today. we’re, uh, trying to get familiar with the town, y’know?”
you hum, and you seem to contemplate something for a moment before you speak again, “i could show you around.”
the offer lingers in the air for a moment, until ellie finally stammers out a reply. “wait, really?”
“yeah, i mean, i don’t live here but i come to visit my grandparents every summer, so i know my way around as well as the locals do.”
“uh, yeah, yes, i mean, if you don’t mind—”
“i don’t mind,” you repeat for the third time, a hint of amusement in your voice. “you’re the first person my age i’ve seen around here in a while, i’m not letting you out of my sight.”
ellie laughs, running her fingers through her hair. nervous habit. “yeah, all i’ve seen are either old people or kids.”
“most people here are over 50,” you nod. “there’s not many people in their twenties who choose to vacation in this town.”
she shrugs her shoulder, “it’s a funny story.”
you pull out the chair next to you and pat the seat, “i’m always in the mood for a funny story.”
that’s how ellie ends up telling you all about how this trip came to be. she has never been the designated story teller from her group. dina knew how to keep people entertained by adding little comments here and there, and jesse’s way of speaking and ability to maintain eye-contact always hooked people in. ellie, on the other hand, has always been the quieter one. she doesn’t exaggerate things, nor does she gesture wildly when speaking. yet, you seem interested in what she’s saying.
you haven’t looked away from her, and, ellie, who’s usually not very good with eye-contact, hasn’t looked away from you either.
you laugh at all the right times and ask questions out of genuine curiosity, which helps you get to know a little bit more about ellie’s life back in new york. she asks you questions, too. stuff like where are you from, what did you study, and what do you do for work.
she finds out you live in boston, you graduated law school two years ago and you’re are currently working at a library in your neighborhood. you’re an only child, just like her, you think cats are out to get you, and you know the waxed lady’s sister. it turns out she’s friends with your grandparents, which doesn’t surprise ellie in the slightest. in small towns like these, everyone knows each other.
“oh, and this café belongs to my grandpa, who’s not really my grandpa but an italian guy my grandmother married ages ago, so he’s, like, my honorary grandpa,” you tell her.
“oh, really? how did they meet?”
“on a cruise to the bahamas,” you say. “they kept in touch afterwards, and about a month later she moved here.”
ellie whistles lowly, “a month? that’s fast.”
you shrug, a half-smile on your face. “when you know, you know.”
she hums, unable to argue against that. love has never come easy to her, and she has already made her peace with the fact that maybe it just isn’t meant for her, but she does believe in it.
“it was so weird,” you continue. “you should’ve seen her when she came back, so painfully in love and giggly. my grandma, a sixty year old woman, giggly. i’d always seen her as this serious woman who had no time for trivial things such as love and having a partner after my actual grandpa died, but there she was — giggly and in love with some italian guy.”
ellie snorts, “and they got married?”
“yeah, about a year and a half later after she moved here,” you smile as you reminisce. “he proposed while my parents and i were visiting—after having already gotten our blessing, obviously— he got on one knee and everything, he still needed our help to get up afterwards, but still,” you laugh, and ellie joins you as she imagines the scene. “he proposed in a field not that far from here, i can take you there. it’s gorgeous.”
ellie’s smile softens, “sure, i’d like that.”
dina and jesse join shortly after, and you already feel like you know them personally by how fondly ellie had talked to you about them. conversation flows easily between the four of you, which doesn’t surprise ellie in the slightest. she knew from the moment you started speaking that you would get along with her friends.
at one point, you offer them free iced coffee to fight the heat, and pastries.
“i don’t really like coffee, so, nothing for me,” ellie tells you when you stand up.
“plain coffee?” you ask to make sure.
“coffee in general, actually,” she says. “never been a fan.”
you make a face, “not even a harmless cappuccino?”
ellie grimaces, and dina rolls her eyes.
“she drinks matcha.”
“oh,” you laugh. “okay, that i can’t offer you, but there might be a starbucks in bari, which is, like, 20 miles from here.”
ellie huffs at your teasing, and mentally curses dina for revealing such a vulnerable thing about her, “i don’t need starbucks.”
“i’ll bring you a soda, then,” you say with a grin.
she watches you go behind the counter, and her eyes stay on you for a moment before looking back at dina and jesse. they have that look, the one they usually give her when a pretty girl exchanges more than two words with her.
she rolls her eyes, and decides to pay attention to you again instead. you catch her gaze, sending her a smile before continuing with your work.
“need some help?”
ellie doesn’t wait for your reply, she stands up and goes over to you, happy to leave her annoying friends behind.
“you can pick the pastries if you want,” you tell her, already preparing the second iced-coffee. “i’m sure you know your friends’ taste better than i would.”
she nods, carefully inspecting the pastries display as if were the most important task in the world. there’s lots of things to choose from, but her attention is caught by a specific one.
“croissant?” she asks you, pointing at it.
you let out a chuckle, “cornetto,” you correct her gently. “plain, chocolate-filled, apricot-filled, custard-filled, or pistacchio-filled, a recent customer favorite.”
“cornetto,” ellie repeats to herself, and grabs three chocolate-filled ones. “did i offend an entire country by calling them croissants?”
you laugh, making the last iced-coffee. “pretty much. you’re lucky my grandpa isn’t here, he’d beat you with a cornetto until you learn the difference between one and a croissant.”
“the difference being…?” ellie trails off with a small laugh of her own, as she grabs the coke-cola you’ve left on the counter for her.
“cornetti are much better than croissants.”
“ah, of course,” she nods with a smile. “so, what, are you in charge of this place during the summer?”
“just today. no one seemed to be coming in so i told my grandparents to go home and that i’d handle it. they’ll be back in, like, twenty minutes, probably,” you say, checking your watch.
she helps you bring the drinks and pastries to the table, where her friends are waiting and pretending not to have been watching your interaction. ellie sends her friends a look, one that clearly means “don’t start”.
it’s hard for dina and jesse not to start. they know ellie better than they know themselves, and they can definitely tell when she’s interested in someone. she gets this particular look on her face, to which dina refers to as the blue moon look, because it’s so rare it almost never happens.
ellie is as picky about people as she is about food. she’s always been the type of person who keeps their circle small with only a few friends she can fully trust. for her, truly liking someone even as a friend is already a transcendental accomplishment. taking a romantic interest in someone? extremely rare. blue moon rare.
fortunately for ellie, dina and jesse don’t make any comments that would make her want to crawl into a hole an die. unfortunately for her, she can practically hear them inside her head going crazy and teasing her relentlessly.
you seem blissfully unaware, which is something she is extremely grateful for.
another thing she is very grateful for is cornetti.
jesus christ.
“you look like you’re about to have an orgasm,” jesse points out before she takes a sip of his coffee.
“honestly, i might just be,” ellie replies with her mouth full, her eyes closing in bliss as she savors the pastry.
you snort, “better than a croissant?”
ellie nods, “yeah, yeah. so much better.”
it’s half an hour later when two elderly people walk in, words that ellie cannot comprehend coming out of their mouths. it takes her an embarrassing amount of time to realize they’re speaking in italian.
the woman beams when you stand up to greet them, immediately opening her arms for a hug. ellie smiles softly at the fact that she can recognize some of your grandmother’s features on you.
as you keep talking to your grandparents, ellie’s phone buzzes in her pocket. she pulls it out, and sends an unimpressed look to her friends when she sees it’s them talking in their groupchat.
dina: ellie on a scale of one to ten how mad would u be if we leave you alone with her
ellie: i’d kill you
jesse: Don’t be a pussy
jesse: We’re trying to do you a favor you know
ellie: i didnt ask for it !!!!
ellie: drop it
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
dina: blue moon
jesse: Blue monk
jesse: *Blue moon
ellie: ENOUGH
ellie drops her phone on the table just as you return, immediately catching her attention. she smiles at you, her previous exasperation quickly forgotten.
“everything okay with your grandparents?”
“yeah, i was just telling them i’m going to show you guys around,” you say, returning the smile.
dina and jesse share an imperceptible look, before she clears her voice. “yeah, about that…” dina trails off.
ellie snaps her head at her, “what?”
“we’re kind of beat,” jesse continues, “we’re gonna go shower and probably nap for a bit. jet lag is crazy,” he chuckles.
“oh!” you say, and you turn to ellie, “what about you? are you tired?”
“she’s not,” dina cuts in before ellie can answer. “energy of a toddler on a sugar high, this one,” she adds with an awkward laugh.
ellie drops her face in her hands in embarrassment, but recovers before you can see her.
“you can totally go with your friends if you’re tired,” you tell her, ducking your head to meet her eyes. “we can exchange numbers and we can reschedule—or not,” you say with a small smile. it had been your idea to show them around, and you didn’t want to make them feel obligated to accept.
“no—yes. i mean, yes, i want to go. i’m not tired at all,” she says quickly. “we should still exchange numbers, though. just in case.”
she surprises her friends as much as herself by her suggestion, not expecting it to come out. she smiles, trying to hide the sudden nerves that had rushed through her and to ignore the proud looks dina and jesse are most definitely giving her.
“yeah, i think so, too,” you say, biting back a smile. then, you look at dina and jesse, who are unblinkingly staring at you two. “i’ll see you guys soon?”
“yes, definitely,” dina replies instantly.
she doesn’t really want to leave, and she’s definitely not tired, but ellie needs the push and be left alone with you. she just hopes her friends gathers up the courage and actually make a move, although with the phone number exchange situation she thinks there might be a higher chance of that happening than she originally believed.
as dina says goodbye to you with a hug, jesse walks over to ellie as she stands up from her seat.
“see you back at the house, williams,” he says, going for a handshake. when their hands break apart, ellie notices he gave her something.
gum.
she arches an eyebrow, “really?”
“just in case,” he shrugs. “you need to be on your A-game, okay? minty fresh at all times. who knows how this little tour might end?”
ellie rolls her eyes, “god—shut up, will you?” she shoves his shoulder as she checks if you’ve heard him. luckily, dina’s keeping you busy by talking your ear off. “wanna get going?” she asks you, to which you immediately nod.
dina and jesse wave at you, twin smiles on their faces that turn into mock teary expressions the moment you turn around. naturally, ellie flips them off.
neither of you notices when jesse pulls out his camera and snaps a picture of two of you crossing the street. ellie’s hand is hovering over your back as she checks both sides, and you’re just looking at your phone as if getting run over isn’t even a possibility.
“you should be more careful,” she tells you.
“what do you mean?” you ask, shooting a quick glance at her.
“you just crossed the street without checking if someone was coming.”
you wave a hand dismissively, "i was just saving your number, i can multitask. besides, cars usually stop when someone crosses the street.”
“key word usually.”
you roll your eyes, amused. “don’t worry about it. people here are really nice to pedestrians, i promise it’ll be fine.”
you lead her through the narrow streets with no particular destination in mind. every little corner of this town is worth seeing, and ellie is realizing it as you keep moving.
there’s a soft smile on her face as she takes everything in, and she thinks she could totally live in a place like this. it’s quiet, but the perfect kind of quiet. she can hear the sound of cicadas in the distance, and she prefers it a thousand times more than the incessant honking of new york.
“it’s pretty, isn’t it?” you ask, noticing the look of wonder on her face. “i didn’t like coming here when i was younger. i found it boring,” you tell her, much to her surprise.
“really?”
“i was fourteen,” you clarify. “i didn’t understand the language, and didn’t enjoy silence as much as i do now. i just wanted someone to talk about one direction, you know?”
ellie snorts, “you were a one direction fan?”
“don’t make fun of your tour guide.”
“i wasn’t making fan of you, i was just asking!”
“with that judgy tone?”
“it wasn’t judgy, i was just surprised—”
“what were you a fan of at that age, huh?” you interrupt her.
ellie laughs at your inquisition, and she takes a moment to think as you both keep strolling down the street.
even though the weather is not as hot as it was before, the heat still classifies as unbearable for a girl like ellie, who usually spends most of her summer days inside her apartment and under the AC. she decides to tie up her hair, a few strands falling at the nape of her neck given its short length. you try not to stare at her biceps as she does so. you barely succeed.
“i was a classic rock fan when i was 14,” she finally replies.
now it’s you who laughs, “of course you were.”
“what?” she chuckles, her eyes quickly trailing over your face before she looks ahead again. “what’s wrong with that?”
“it’s just so fitting. of course you had cool interests at that age.”
“you think that made me cool? i was the resident weirdo. my music taste matched a 50 year old dad’s.”
you shrug, a smile tugging at your lips. “well, i would’ve thought you were cool.”
she just laughs, her eyes crinkling at the corners. the “tour”, as jesse had called it, continues like that—talks about trivial stuff and an embarrassing amount of laughter spilling out from both of you.
ellie isn’t exactly sure how long you walk for, all she knows it’s been a while. by living in new york, she’d grown used to walking long distances, but she’s not sure if she’s ever enjoyed it as much as she’s enjoying it now.
eventually, you slow down and stop in front of a church. ellie shields her eyes from the sun as she looks up, taking in the details. although it’s not as imposing as the typical cathedrals seen around europe, this church has its own charm. her attention zeroes in the asymmetry of the towers that rise on each side. while one looks like it’s an inch short of touching the sky, the other stops abruptly halfway there.
“it’s unfinished,” ellie says, glancing at you before looking at the towers again.
“the architect made it look like that on purpose,” you tell her, following her gaze. “the one on the right represents the soul ascending to heaven, and the one on the left represents mortality and earthly imperfection. our flawed existence, basically.”
ellie hums at your explanation, contemplating the church in silence for a moment.
“looks cool.”
you snort at her ineloquent reply, “yeah, it does,” you agree. “let’s go inside, yeah? it’s really pretty.”
you momentarily grab her hand to lead her to the entrance. the touch lasts an approximate amount of six riveting seconds, but ellie feels it for the next following minutes.
she clears her voice, “it really is pretty.”
the ceiling is a deep blue with golden stars painted across it, which have faded a bit from the passage of time. her eyes move to the walls, then the statues, and finally set in the round, stained glass windows.
ellie stays there for a moment, mesmerized by the way the sun made the colors of the windows pop. it’s then when the artificial sound of a camera shutter makes ellie glance over her shoulder, and she catches you with your phone still halfway up. she raises her eyebrows at you, wordlessly demanding for an explanation.
you sputter for a second, “now we’re even.”
it takes ellie a moment to realize you’re talking about how you met, and the multiple pictures she had taken of you.
“that was an accident!”
she covers her mouth when she hears her own voice echoing, the quietness of the church making it sound embarrassingly loud.
you laugh, loudly, and if ellie’s voice had echoed through the entire church, yours echoes through the entire square.
“that was an accident,” she repeats, this time in a much more appropriate volume as a smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “let me see it, at least.”
you don’t put up any resistance when she reaches over and grabs the phone from you. in the photo, ellie stands in the middle of it with her head tilted back towards the stained glass windows, and her hands clasped behind her back. you can only see her side profile, a particular ray of light shining on her features while everything else is overtaken by shadows.
“huh,” ellie says, still looking at it. she glances at you, and sees you’re closer than expected, looking at the picture over her shoulder. it takes her aback for a moment, but she carries on. “i like it.”
“good, because i was planning on posting it.”
“you wanna post me on your instagram?”
you shrug, acting nonchalant. “i wanna post a good picture on my instagram, you just happen to be in it.”
ellie bites back a bigger smile, and nods. “sure. make sure to tag me, though.”
you smile back, taking your phone back from her hands and immediately open instagram. she tells you her username, and you hit follow before you start going through her account.
she groans dramatically, throwing her head back in despair. “don’t look at my pictures while i’m here. ‘s embarrassing.”
“why? they’re good! very artsy, very good,” you muse, just as you click on a mirror selfie of her with dina and jesse at what appears to be a bar. you like the picture before you keep scrolling down. “a lot of faceless pics, though.”
“oh, not you, too.”
you chuckle, “who else gives you shit about it?”
“dina,” ellie rolls her eyes. “she keeps bugging me about posting more pictures of my face.”
“well, yeah, i agree with her, and i’m gonna help.”
“you’re gonna help,” she echoes, an unimpressed look on her face.
“mhm, c’mon. there’s more places to visit and many, many pictures to take.”
the tour around town continues with cute spots, and, as promised, you take pictures of ellie in every single one. some are candids, which she doesn’t mind, but there are other times where you make her pose.
ellie hates being aware of the camera, and would’ve complained about it if you were literally anyone else, but it was you, and, even though you have just met, she already feels an unbearable desire to please you.
approximately an hour and a half later, you finally take her to the field you’d told her about. the vast greenery welcomes you, and ellie feels how peace settles within her as you two sit down on the sunbleached grass.
neither of speak for a while; you’re with your eyes closed as you listen to the silence, and ellie is busy watching the clouds pass by.
she doesn’t notice when, a few minutes later, you move to pull out your phone and snap one last picture of her. this time, you remember to mute your phone to not let the shutter blow your cover again. you drop it on the grass once you’re done, and lean back on your hands as a contented sigh leaves your lips. ellie looks over at you at the sound, smiling softly.
“thank you for showing me around today.”
“thanks for letting me,” you reply, returning the smile. “i hope i didn’t tire you out too much.”
“nah, it’s fine. i’m not tired at all,” she lies easily, waving a hand dismissively.
in all honesty, she was exhausted. her legs were a minute away from giving up. she’d do it all over again if you asked her, though.
“look,” you suddenly say, snapping her out of her thoughts. she follows your gaze, and she sees two guys laughing as they sit down the shade of a tree. “the blonde one’s blushing so badly i can see it from here,” you murmur, amused. “it has to be a first date, right?”
“looks like it,” she says, and tries not to think about the fact that they’re doing exactly what you two are currently doing. if that’s what you considered a date, does that mean you thought of this as a date, too?
ellie has been on dates before. not as many as the average person might go on, but she has, at least, the slightest experience in the matter.
the dates had gone well — not great, but not terrible, either. none of them prospered into a second one, and ellie felt like she was done trying at the age of 23. hookups? she wouldn’t give that up. but dating? yeah, she has been pretty much over it for a couple of years now.
ellie didn’t feel comfortable. it was as if her awkwardness intensified to an astronomical degree and she couldn’t fully concentrate on what was going on. she tried her best to ask follow-up questions, to appear at least somewhat interested in what her dates were talking about. she barely succeeded.
the girls weren’t the problem — they were interesting, but ellie didn’t click with them. also, she absolutely dreaded the part where the girls expected her to open up, to give them some information about herself. she tried to give them something, but it wouldn’t go further than how her day had been.
she had always struggled with intimacy. physical intimacy she could handle, but emotional intimacy was a whole different story. letting people know what she was thinking, what she liked, what she didn’t like, how she was feeling — she’d rather die.
which is why it’s extremely curious how now, sitting next to you, she comes to the realization that she wouldn’t mind if you considered this a date. she wouldn’t even mind if you asked her something, either. anything. she’d answer it.
she doesn’t seem to realize she’s already been doing that since the moment you met.
“you need to post every single one of these.”
ellie looks at you, and she sees you’re scrolling through the pictures you took of her. she shifts closer, her shoulder bumping into yours as she looks at the photos, too.
there are some that ellie would never in a million years even think of posting, which are, mostly, the ones where she’s smiling. she needs to keep her cool, mysterious persona alive, and those go against it. much to her disgrace, those are the ones you like best.
“this one’s my favorite, though,” you say.
you’re talking about the first picture you took of her back in the church. ellie can agree it’s a nice one, but what she likes the most about it isn’t the picture itself, but the memory attached to it — the sheepish look on your face when the shutter of the camera exposed you and, especially, the way you had laughed afterwards.
“so, should i post that one?”
you shake your head at her question, “this is the one i am going to post, i already told you that. you will post every single one of the others.”
ellie laughs, “every single one? isn’t that a bit much?”
“mm, no. i don’t think so. i think it’s vital.”
“vital,” she repeats, still amused. “okay, you’re the expert.”
your smile turns smug, “that’s good, you’re learning.”
the evening passes slowly under the warm italian sun. ellie is in no rush to leave, and, by the looks of it, neither are you. at one point, you find yourselves sprawled on the grass, shoulders touching as you stare up into the sky.
“i still can’t believe i’m here,” ellie speaks up after a while.
“in italy?”
“well—yeah, actually, but i meant here with you,” she says, and you wait for her to explain. “i’m not usually the type for person to just… tag along to a stranger’s plans. i don’t even talk to strangers,” she adds with a self-deprecating smile. “i mean, most of the ‘wild’ things i’ve done are because dina came up with them and made me do them.”
you hum, “but you still did them, right? that’s what matters.”
ellie tilts her head, “yeah, i guess.”
you roll your eyes, but it’s painfully fond instead of annoyed. “give yourself some credit, ellie.”
“i give myself plenty of credit.”
“i think you’re full of shit.”
ellie’s mouth falls open in mock offense. “you’re rude, did you know that? does your grandma know? i’ll tell her.”
you laugh, “you can try, but you’d have to learn italian to communicate with her — she refuses to speak english anymore. says it’s rude to her husband and this beautiful country that took her in.”
“wow, that’s… kind of romantic, and a little bit insane.”
“it’s what we should all strive to have.”
ellie turns her head to look at you, a hand resting on her stomach and the other mindlessly plucking blades of grass, “a partner who gives up their mother tongue to speak your language?”
“sacrificial love,” you correct her with a gentle smile. “and i don’t mean we should sacrifice something huge that would make us miserable — i mean doing stuff we wouldn’t usually do, but we’d do it for the right person.”
ellie falls silent for a moment, processing your words. she hums, her eyes leaving you to look up at the sky again.
“i think that’s what love is about — willingness to sacrifice your own comfort to do something for someone else. what do you think?”
she isn’t sure what she thinks. her knowledge of love is severely lacking, but the more she thinks about your definition, the more she agrees.
“i’ve never really thought about it, but i like the way you described it,” she says.
silence takes over after that, neither of you feeling the need to fill it. you lay next to each other for another fifteen minutes. no more words are exchanged, just enjoying each other’s company is enough.
“it’s getting dark,” you point out after a while, turning your head to her as she does the same. “we should probably head back.”
“yeah, probably,” she muses, but makes no effort to move at all.
her eyes trail over your face, and she doesn’t care if you notice. you cannot possibly expect her to act normal when there’s such little distance between you.
ellie feels warm all over, and it isn’t because of the summer heat. she feels it inside, a soft feeling spreading through her chest as her gaze flicks between your eyes and your lips.
“do you hear that?” you whisper.
ellie blinks, her eyes flicking back to yours. “hear what?”
“music.”
she pauses, but the only sound she hears is the pathetic thumping of her own heart. she closes her eyes, eyebrows furrowing in concentration as she tries to pick up the sound of whatever you’re hearing.
nothing happens for a moment, until, finally, ellie hears it. it’s faint, barely there, but she can hear it.
“how do you feel about making one last stop before i free you to go back to your friends?”
ellie looks at you, and the smile on her face is already enough of an answer. she loves her friends more than anything, but she isn’t in a rush to go back to them, not when the option to spend more time with you was available.
night has begun to fall, and the streetlights flicker on as you move towards the music. you tell her that, during summer weekends, it’s common for the town to get together in the main square and enjoy an evening of live music.
ellie’s breath catches slightly when you finally arrive at the piazza — fairy lights hang from balconies to balconies, casting warm light over the people dancing.
it looks like something out of a movie, and ellie can already tell she’ll feel nostalgic about this specific moment in the future.
she follows you mindlessly as you step into the makeshift dancefloor, brushing past locals and other tourists who look like they’re having the time of their lives. ellie’s pretty sure she has the same expression on her face, like she has just stepped into an alternate reality where nothing can go wrong.
the band starts playing another song just as you finally find a spot that convinces you enough to stay. ellie recognizes it instantly, it’s alright by jamiroquai.
i need your love, i need your love, i need your love.
“don’t you dance?” you ask her with a small laugh. you’re already moving to the beat, waiting to see if she’ll join you or stay still for the entirety of the song.
ellie grimaces, “i’m not the best at it,” she leans in so you can hear her over the music.
“i’m not asking you to perform the nutcracker or anything, y’know.”
she rolls her eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at her lips. she looks around for a moment — everyone is in their own little world. when her eyes flicker back to you, you’re still smiling at her.
“come fly with me eternally, you and me, we were meant to be,” the guy sings, and ellie loses her train of thought when she notices you mouthing the lyrics.
you don’t wait for her to make up her mind, you just grab her hands and move them to the beat until ellie reluctantly starts dancing on her own with a look of mock annoyance on her face.
yeah, yeah, alright
let’s spend the night together, wake up and live forever
“that’s it,” you say, laughter spilling out. you don’t let go of her hands, you actually pull her closer. “you’re a natural. did you ever think of telling me you were this gifted?”
“shut up,” she tells you, but she’s also laughing.
i see your eyes hold the key to my paradise
summer in your smile
well, it makes me feel so real
the longer she dances with you, the looser she gets. she even makes you spin, and you clumsily try to not bump into the people around you.
“shit, sorry,” you hastily apologize to a woman, who’s definitely too drunk to care about you almost stepping on her toes.
ellie doesn’t realize a lot of things until they hit her all at once; the fact that you’re closer than you’ve ever been before, the way one of her hands had wandered down to your waist and the other somehow ended up cradling the back of your neck.
take my hand, as one we will stand
you know it’s now or never to say hello to forever
she can’t help it, her eyes flicker down to your lips just as they did back in the field. the band keeps playing, everyone around you keeps dancing and singing signing along, but ellie’s not paying attention to any of that.
when she drags her gaze away from your lips, she expects to meet your eyes again. her stomach flips when she notices you’re too busy staring at her mouth.
she takes that as a sign, and, before she can talk herself out of it, she leans forward. you meet her halfway, and ellie can feel you smiling when her lips press against yours.
she can’t hold in the small chuckle that escapes her before she deepens the kiss, bringing you even closer than before. you go willingly, your mind completely empty except for the repeated “oh my god’s” and “fuckfuckfuck’s” echoing through your head.
you don’t know how long the kiss lasts, but, once ellie pulls away, you desperately wish it could’ve lasted even longer. forever, even.
your eyes lock, and her sheepish smile almost disarms you entirely. you can’t comprehend how someone can be so cute and so unfairly hot at the same time.
“i don’t think i wanna let you go back to your friends now,” you say, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
“i don’t wanna go, either,” she admits. “…maybe you could come with me? the four of us can have dinner. we can cook, or we can go somewhere. i don’t care.”
“do you think they’ll mind if i’m there?”
ellie snorts, as if the idea is completely ridiculous. if anything, they’ll be so happy they’ll be bouncing off the walls. “trust me, they won’t.”
she threads her fingers through yours, and smiles gently before leaning in to kiss you again. this one’s shorter than the first, but not any less sweeter.
“let’s go,” she mumbles, barely pulling away from you. “you’re going to have to guide us, though, because i don’t know where the hell i am.”
you laugh, as if guiding her through town wasn’t the thing you’ve been doing all day. you give her one last peck, because why not, before you start leading her out of the crowd.
ellie pulls out her phone with her free hand, and uses the last seconds of her battery to text her friends. she needs to give them a heads up in case they’re doing something she definitely doesn’t want to interrupt.
ellie: coming home
ellie: be nice to our guest
dina replies almost immediately.
dina: GUEST?
ellie: yeah
ellie: please don’t be weird
ellie: PLEASE
jesse: Did you hook up with her
ellie rolls her eyes before she quickly types in her reply.
ellie: who do you think i am
jesse: A. horny lesbian
dina: they definitely made out
dina: i feel my blue moon senses tingling
jesse: Blue monk
jesse: Aha amiright ladies
ellie’s phone dies before she can reply, and she figures that’s for the best. she would’ve gotten tired by typing the amount of insults she wanted with just one hand.
she focuses on you, and the fact that you’re still holding her hand. you keep shooting glances at her, and every single time your eyes meet hers. neither of you has been able to erase the dumb smiles from your faces. it’s embarrassing, but oh-so-good.
then, a thought suddenly hits her, and she’s opening her mouth before she can even process it.
“how far is boston from new york?”
you raise your eyebrows, “thinking of visiting me already?”
she shrugs, trying to act nonchalant. “if i go to boston and you happen to be there, i guess i wouldn’t mind seeing you.”
you shake your head in amusement, “it’s, like, a one hour flight. couple of hours more by train.”
“oh, that’s not too bad—wait,” she interrupts herself. “did you check already?”
“it’s general knowledge,” you roll your eyes, trying to hide the fact that yes, you had definitely checked the distance between your cities earlier while you were at the field.
ellie hums, eyeing you suspiciously. “right, right,” she says, clearly not buying it. “y’know, it’s crazy, i was actually planning a trip to boston after this.”
“were you, now?”
“yeah, it’s crazy,” she repeats. “chose that city randomly, too. don’t know why, i just felt boston calling out to me.”
you try to fight back the smile on your face, but it’s impossible. “you’re a dork.”
ellie shrugs with a lazy smile, not caring one bit about the insult.
“and you checked.”
when all you do is huff and not deny it, ellie’s smile turns annoyingly smug. she’s never been a cocky person, but this information strokes her ego just right, and it causes a surge of new found confidence within her. you don’t have time to process anything when, suddenly, she grabs your face with her free hand and kisses you.
ellie loves that your response to her kiss is almost instant, a contented hum leaving her when your hands come up to tangle in her hair.
“we’re in public,” you mumble against her lips when she backs you up against a wall, but you can’t even pretend to want to stop.
“the street is empty,” she replies, and dives in for another kiss. “everyone’s at that thing.”
“someone could—”, kiss, “—pop up any second,” you say, just to be annoying.
ellie huffs a small laugh, “i don’t think i care, do you?”
you don’t answer, and ellie’s smile widens when you pull her closer. by the back of her neck.
never in a million years she would have guessed that this is how her first day abroad would end. she can’t believe her luck, and the knowledge that she still has six more days of this fills her with excitement, which makes her kisses turn a little too eager. you don’t mind at all, and kiss her back with the same energy.
needless to say, your walk home takes a little more time than originally planned. ellie knows her friends will tease the absolute shit out of her.
she does not care one bit, though. how could she, with you by her side?
hi! I know that legit we’ve never met but I saw your blog pop up on my “check out these blogs” on my feed and thought omg your blog looks adorable!!!! <3
you’re so niceeeee thank youuu 😭😭 yours is super pretty ! <3 also yeah bring back ellie williams tumblr WHERE is everybody
hiiii thank you so much sweets but i’m not from the usa so i don’t celebrate it ! it looks like such a nice, cozy holiday though. hope you had a great one ! <3
Honestly I never saw the vision of people shipping Ekko and jinx together. But after seeing him and powder in that other universe I’m like ☺️
when i saw ekko give jinx that look during their fight in season 1 i was like wait a minute…
i thought that for season 2 we would probably see some hints that maybe they felt something for each other but i wasn’t expecting what we got in episode 7. it was so bittersweet seeing what could’ve been but i loved every second of it 😭😭 i absolutely love them and i’m so grateful we got to see them together even if it was in an alternate universe (also seeing powder grow up without becoming jinx)
Why can’t anyone in arcane be happy for more than 5 min? 😀
omg i just realized that i wrote my reply to this but instead of publishing it i sent it to my drafts i’m so sorry 😭😭
i’m still recovering from the last few minutes of episode 6…….. at least we had a glimpse of vander, jinx and vi (+ isha) being together and happy before everything went to shit !
SHE DID !!! everyone did tbh. act II may have given us emotional whiplash but it also gave us really hot versions of every character so i think it was worth it.
snowghoul
pixelskylines
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