Masterlist ❦
(this is all so embarrassing omg no)
Ellie Williams ᖭི༏ᖫྀ:
Hard day
Cum slut
I don’t care who sees
Vi 🧁:
Nothing here…yet!
Jinx 𒅌:
Nothing here…yet!
Chloe Price ༝꩜🦋:
Nothing here…yet!
DIVIDER CREDIT TO: https://www.tumblr.com/kodaswrld
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Claire Keane
noise dept.
$LAYYYTER

titsay

★
Mike Driver
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda

Kiana Khansmith
Peter Solarz

shark vs the universe
AnasAbdin
Game of Thrones Daily
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
Today's Document

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣

@theartofmadeline
todays bird
seen from South Africa

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Malaysia
seen from United States

seen from Türkiye

seen from Canada
seen from Germany

seen from Russia

seen from United States
seen from United States
@plsbenicetomeimsoscared
Masterlist ❦
(this is all so embarrassing omg no)
Ellie Williams ᖭི༏ᖫྀ:
Hard day
Cum slut
I don’t care who sees
Vi 🧁:
Nothing here…yet!
Jinx 𒅌:
Nothing here…yet!
Chloe Price ༝꩜🦋:
Nothing here…yet!
DIVIDER CREDIT TO: https://www.tumblr.com/kodaswrld
HONEY GLAZE — Michael Jackson x F. Reader.
— SUMMARY: Michael’s sleeping over at your house for the first time without your family there. You decide to play a game and give him a taste of your favorite lipgloss.
— WARNINGS: sub!mike, fluff, dual loss of virginity, face-fucking, oral, fingering, protected sex, dry humping, premature ejaculation, scent kink (?), reader is a tease, reader is experienced, use of daddy to tease, manipulation (sorta), michael is lowkey a himbo LMAO, dirty talk, pleasure dom reader. jermaine feature.
— WC: 7.7k (let’s all act surprised).
— A/N: Loosely based on this request. Let’s pretend the strawberry shirt he has on in the photo is a pj shirt. Please leave feedback in the comments and don’t forget to like and reblog!
Siren sounds
BBF Ellie x reader
˚⟡˖ ࣪ Synopsis … … Ellie is your brothers best friend, you’ve known her since you were little kids on the playgrounds together. And when you grew up things became different— messier. What happens when fantasies become a reality?
˚⟡˖ cw: 18+ content minors n men do not interact. use of alcohol, weed mentioned in background, cheater!Ellie, slight angst if you squint, fem reader, some fluff, make-outs, fingering r!recieving, eating out r!recieving, dirty talk, trying not to get caught, only proofread by me so it might be ass😭
Word count: 11k
You met when you were kids.
The air smelt like freedom and everyone was wild eyed, ready to face the world head on because you all had no idea what it was truly like. But at that time it never mattered, the focus was on living, not surviving.
Your brother and Ellie were only a year older than you, and they’d become the self proclaimed trouble makers of the class even in kindergarten, always getting into some form of mischief— either it’s drawing on the playground with markers, which is mostly just leaving dumb shapes over the monkey bars. Running away from teachers who try to wrangle them into the reflection corner, or picking fights with other kids on the playground.
On the other hand, there was you.
All frilly dresses and bows, dressed up like a doll which your mother just insisted on when you were a kid. It was embarrassing sometimes, but the dresses were also pretty and you didn’t entirely hate it.
You'd try to stick with your brother since it seemed like a lot of the kids didn’t want to be around you, you couldn’t tell why— but it hurt your feelings. You’d run to him to help yet he wouldn’t care, too distracted with his own group of friends, and didn’t want to be around you.
But he couldn’t get rid of you, and that’s because of one person.
Ellie.
Not only did she consistently try and include you despite the pushback, but she also kinda seemed to have a small thing for you.
It was one of those little kid crushes, you weren’t all that aware, but Ellie made sure to pay you special attention and that made you feel good.
She’d pick flowers for you out of the garden despite almost getting caught by the teacher a few times, she’d push you on the swing and make sure when you wanted to get off to make sure you’d come to a complete stop, and when some kid was mean to you she’d make their life a living hell.
She’d get in a lot of trouble whenever she’d try to impress you or protect you, but the way she’d look at you like a little puppy in headlights when you’d talk to her just proved how much she really liked you.
Your brother would poke fun at her for it, not truly understanding the depths of Ellie’s affection; part of that is because he’s a dumb kid, another part is the fact you’re both girls, making all these things just come off as friendship.
But you both felt that little flutter, even so young you’d know it felt different. All the times boys on the playground would attempt to impress you the same way Ellie did— they couldn’t make you feel the same way, there was no pull.
When she’d come over for play dates she’d try to sneak away and just be around you, making pillow forts because she’d usually have to stay in your room if she was allowed to sleep over, and you’d just be giggling and making little daydreams together. Playing with dolls. She’d always try to be the dad and you’d be the mom.
But it was just a sweet innocent crush.
Once you grew up, it’s not like Ellie changed that much.. but she’d definitely created her distance, you couldn’t pinpoint where she switched, when she became so closed off, when she’d started pulling away.
But by that time; you’d gotten your own friends, it’s not like you could avoid her all the time since she was always over, but she’d planted herself on the couch instead during sleepovers. She’d give less responses to you when you were in the room together.
But she never lost that kindness towards you, she still treated you better than most, still showed up if you did truly need her, but it didn’t feel like you had that own little moments between yourselves anymore.
And by her senior year? She definitely had the glow up of the century, talking like— insane levels of hot. She had girls questioning their sexuality and guys wanting to have that charm that she effortlessly possessed.
And you weren’t one to disagree with the rest, she had these magnetic eyes that had once been filled with pure childhood innocence, now they drew you in even when you couldn’t show it.
Her freckles lined her cheeks and nose like kisses from the sun itself, her hair always messy but somehow effortlessly her.
The distance killed you, especially when she looked so damn good prancing around your house in a hoodie, and sometimes boxers instead of pants if it’s an early morning. Killing you more when she’d grab your hip to move past you. The little squeeze she’d do could make your body react before your mind even had a chance to catch up, and followed by you immediately reining yourself in.
She still had that troublemaker spirit in her, some habits die hard. But instead it switched to skipping classes and smoking weed in your brother’s room, which you swore on your soul that you wouldn’t snitch.
You’d watched her live her life through the lens of a bystander, despite how badly you wanted to be the girl she had on her arm, new one every few weeks, you wished on a lucky star for your turn.
And maybe it was your turn at some point, but you were too young to actually take advantage of it, because you didn’t even know there was anything there.
And when she graduated? She’d stayed nearby, in the community college despite her potential for more. She didn’t wanna stray too far from home and that’s something you couldn’t judge.
You saw her less during that time, her and your brother were still close but they’d started dorming, so they wouldn’t come back often.
And by your senior year, graduation, and eventual acceptance into a university a few states away; you’d left it all behind. You couldn’t let the simple dream of being with someone outweigh the undeniable fact that it wasn’t going to happen.
The day you left, your parents hosted a small goodbye party. Lined with cheap tinsel draped over the walls next to the dining table, everything being placed like it’s the final dinner, which it was but at the same time; it was a little dramatic.
You just expected it to be a small get together before you’d moved on, you tried not to get overly emotional, to keep your head on straight.
Yet something different charged in the air than what you’d pictured, because Ellie was emotional. And you physically felt your heart break in your chest at the sight.
Your brother teases her for it, he was the only one not reacting like you were about to be shipped off to war, but hell, Ellie was more emotional than your damn parents.
And when you’d left the next morning she’d given you the biggest hug, your heart fluttered when her strong arms wrapped around your waist, you were so close.
It felt like during that last week, she’d almost been able to replicate something resembling the childhood you’d shared together. She spent more time with you, made you some form of priority. It felt like a guilt trip from God to make you reject your scholarship and let you stay home just to be by her side, like all the years spent with the gap between you two was forgotten.
Her breath was right against your neck, making you have to prevent a small shiver rising up your body and giving you goosebumps that could be marked permanently into your skin.
She only pulled away slightly to look at your face, noses almost pressing together. You were alone at the front door, your parents having said their goodbyes and your brother just thinking Ellie was in the bathroom, all of them having said goodbye earlier.
You could feel the brush of her eyelashes almost, like a phantom effect, like you’ve personally embedded yourself into her skin.
And then she whispered the words to you that fill you with hope, and dread. “I’ll miss you—fuck— I’ve always missed you”
“What?” You’d whispered back, looking at every inch of her face trying to indicate if this was some sick joke.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve said it sooner— but I was just focused on myself.” She said more firmly now, responding to your investigation of her features with a stronger look, something that just screamed sincerity.
You’d tried to come up with a response but the smell of her skin infected your nostrils, the scent mixed with something woody with a hint of vanilla, it was intoxicating.
And before realising it your eyes darted to the one place they’d been trying to avoid, her lips.
Soft, a light pink with a tiny scar that you’ve always wanted to kiss better despite the fact it healed years ago, she’d cut it whilst climbing a tree branch to impress you, you were there for that. You followed her to the nurse like a puppy trying to help the older lady make it better, despite the fact you were 6 and had no idea how to do anything medical related.
She noticed, she always seems to notice. It’s a certain click in her jaw that always somehow indicates that she’s picked up on a small trait, she just knows how to read people.
And it was like the air was cut off for a moment, and you barely processed that it actually was.
She kissed you, it was soft, tentative, like you were made of glass and this moment was sacred, precious. And it was.
You didn’t kiss back for a moment, before finally programming the fact in your mind that this was actually happening.
that’s when you finally kissed back, it was more passionate than her. Because you realised fast that this was a moment you’d never get back.
It didn’t feel much like a fairytale, despite the fact it was undeniably perfect. But maybe it was the fact of everything prior, that this is a moment of impulse and pure emotion. Something meaningful but not something you’d have tomorrow.
And just as quick as it came, it left. Your lips still tingled with the sensations, her lips were stained with your lipgloss.
You looked into her eyes for just another moment, but before anything could happen further, your brother called out.
“Ellie! Get the fuck back in here! I can’t beat this stupid level.”
And.. that was it. She stared for a moment longer before turning back around, like it didn’t happen. Like the kiss didn’t absolutely rewire your damn brain chemistry.
You wanted to call out, say something more, but the way she just— left, there was nothing else to do. And it almost drove you crazy for a minute, wanting to scream ‘what the fuck was that?’ But the door clicked behind her.
Standing for a moment longer, suitcase being gripped so hard just to ground you back to reality, you felt like it must’ve been a spur of the moment. Emotions just tying together to create one big fucked up mess that neither of you could exactly go back from.
But there’s nothing else to do other than to turn around, open the front door despite the little tremor in your hand you didn’t pick up on earlier, and leaving.
It was scary at first, being across state lines, exploring a new territory away from everyone you’ve ever known, but it’s a good university. It gets you a good head start into a really good future, and it’s just something you can’t fuck up.
The first few days were hard, adjusting to this new life that you’d done by choice yet it was all so confusing. You were late to the first few classes because your sense of direction felt absolutely smashed, you tried to decorate your side of the dorm and had to ignore your roommates glare. You didn’t even have anyone to complain about that to.
You left everything. Friends, family, Ellie. But soon enough it got easier, your parents still called sometimes, even your brother on the rare occasion, never from Ellie though.
You wanted answers, the kiss plaguing your head for days. It felt honestly like you’d lost your mind because your heartbeat was constantly out of order, like it could barely beat without closure.
But you couldn’t text first, it’d be too awkward now, especially because you’re now far away from her.
It felt impossible to start something now that there was so much distance, way more distance than it was being in the same room with her for years, whilst never truly addressing all the nights spent with each other. The curious way you’d always be following her around. And the way she’d guide you like she was your cover, the one protecting you from the snotty kids in the playground.
And after a few months during the semester, you stood on your own. The usual busyness of the hallways becomes something you’re able to walk through without having a stumble in your step, or being overtaken by the other kids rushing around.
It became something of your own, strictly yours, with nobody else’s say. The crisp air felt like new beginnings instead of fear and a clicking loud time bomb with a timer on top of your head.
You’d even tried college parties, being dragged there by new friends you’d made in your course, which finally gave you a sense of belonging. But they didn’t seem as fun as people made them seem.
Sure it was cool, something you’d never done before, usually you’d be at home watching Ellie and your brother going to parties and you’d be at home in your pajamas, watching Law & Order reruns with popcorn. But you’re not in high school anymore, are you?
And now you’re at the scene, watching the smoke filled air twirl around you, it could be beautiful as it flows through the flashing lights.. if it also didn’t feel like it was suffocating you and tying up your airways.
Some guys tried to approach you, and like clockwork you turned them down. None of them exactly appealed to you, men never did. You felt like you should’ve put a sign over your head telling them that you’re only here by sheer force, not to listen to a frat boy discuss politics that he clearly had no real idea about.
You let your friends lead you across different areas of the house that seem to be filled with different people each time. Each time you pass someone new you can’t help but wonder about their stories, wonder what part of their life they’re in. A little people watching habit you developed after being a spectator most of your life.
And then by the time the alcohol had started entering your system, the bitter taste of vodka was unable to be hidden by the raspberry juice, which made you want to throw it back up, but you’d started truly engaging in the scene despite the fact.
You felt like having a good time, and you did. The vodka could almost be water after a few more drinks, and whilst dancing with your friends you’d manage to get approached by a girl.
It almost took you aback, because she was cute, she was sweet. Long hair, pretty face, eyes that could almost draw you in. But even in your drunken state, even when someone had finally gotten their gaydar on right, it wasn’t who you wanted it to be.
It was stupid, because she’s not even here, the girl could’ve made you forget, but you didn’t want her to. You didn’t want another girl to touch the lips that once grazed someone who held your heart in her hands for years. Despite not even knowing it.
You left that party quick, because your chest felt tighter and you almost wanted to cry at the memory. You’d hadn’t dwelled on it in a long time, but your heart felt like it was squeezing and slowly losing blood. Or maybe it was the alcohol kicking into its full potential.
The excuse you gave to the poor girl felt so fake to even your ears, though the sound of it was pretty much non-existent compared to the house music that will 100% make your ears ring for the next week.
And with your friends— lowkey Irish goodbyed them. You just wanted out of there.
By the time you’d stepped out, you could feel bile piling up in your throat before the eventual fluid. Throwing up right in the front yard, in the bushes thank god.
Yet before you knew it, tears were ruining your makeup, because god— you’d give anything to forget her. And her stupidly pretty face.
You walked back to your dorm and the entire time it felt like it was one big dream, almost like you were jumping from place to place on the way back in flashes, and soon enough you’re back in bed.
You felt gross, musty, probably sweating your ass off from the temperature of the party yet you thought you’d cooled down when you arrived back, a sore mistake.
You almost passed out on the spot before even taking off your makeup, or changing out of the tight dress you felt encouraged to put on. Instead your brain decided to have different plans.
You could feel the light sweatiness of your hands when you pulled your phone out of your purse, head dizzy and eyes lidded.
It took a century to unlock your phone, even accidentally locking yourself out for a minute before finally perfecting the code and immediately opening Instagram.
You didn’t even truly clock whose page you immediately searched up, but it was unmistakably Ellie’s. You saw her posts, you tried not to keep track when you’d moved away for the semester. Thought it’d hurt too much.
It was mostly empty, no posts, only stories. You pressed through each photo of her face in the highlights, feeling your heart tear in two actually seeing it again, switching to the ‘places’ label. Seeing all the different photos she’s taken, some of graffiti, others of moments on her campus, some in the nighttime, some in the daylight.
And when it moved over to the ‘people’ highlights you saw so many memories, photos with your brother you remember seeing years ago, photos of her friend group that has somehow stayed together for years. And even some of you.
The sight of yourself with Ellie made the tearing in your heart stitch back together if only for a moment, you didn’t think she’d keep those up after you’d accidentally kinda ghosted her. But she did.
And when you were done, you noticed a new story uploaded. And like a stalker you pressed it immediately, 30 seconds after she posted it, of course you’d fuck up that hard, not even a minute.
But it was the picture that made your blood run cold, a photo of her, her hands around another girl's waist.
Of course she’d move on, it’s not like you expected her to wait for you despite all the moments in your dreams where she’d pop up and haunt you, always haunting you.
But god if it didn’t kill you to see it happening in real time. Seeing the girl look so happy, seeing Ellie with a sweet smile on her face that could’ve looked like love to your drunk gaze.
It made you burst into tears again, like a kid, except this time it wasn’t Ellie wiping them away and telling you it’s okay. It’s just you. Alone, seeing her move on with her life.
You stalked her apparent girlfriend too. Tagged in the story. Her name being Cat as per her Instagram label. In that short amount of time you’d managed to find out she does tattooing, which of course Ellie would go for a cool girl like that.
She’s pretty, talented, her art featured on her page like a museum to remind you that you’re untalented and should bash your skull against the wall.
And she had way more photos of Ellie, a highlight on Cat’s page just fully dedicated to the girl, flipping through each one just felt like another stab to your very fragile ego.
She looked so happy, intimate moments between them that’d been caught in seemingly perfect shots, like a whole wedding photographer somehow came in to specifically took photos of them at the perfect time.
You found out Ellie also got a tattoo at that time, done by Cat herself. A moth wrapped around her forearm with ferns surrounding it. It was sick, couldn’t deny that, it looked damn good on her too.
Should you be checking out a now taken girl? Probably not, probably shouldn’t be crying about her either but that definitely wasn’t stopping you.
You spent the whole night just sobbing and trying to find out everything about Ellie’s new girl like a mad woman, somehow trying to think ‘maybe it’s temporary like all the ones in high school?’ But that’s a dumb thought. You barely even know Ellie now, and she’s not yours.
You’d gotten so deep into the stalking grind your thoughts got toxic, influenced by intoxication and jealousy and hurt.
You’d passed out that night through tears, having to imagine what you could’ve had with Ellie if you’d only stayed, if you’d given it up and asked her about that kiss. Because what could it have been if you’d just tried?
The plane back to Jackson felt like flying head first into a shit show, you almost prayed to god to let the plane crash so you wouldn’t have to face what’s coming.
Maybe that’s a bad thought, probably shouldn’t be wishing that with thousands of passengers on board, yet all you have is your head. All you know is your dreams nowadays.
It’s summer break; end of the semester. Which means you have to head back home.
It’s not something you entirely hate, I mean— you’re seeing your family again. Seeing them would be nice after only seeing them on FaceTime. Seeing your brother.. probably fine. He’s not that bad.
But it’s Ellie, it’s Ellie that’s going to kill you. She’s inescapable, you can’t just avoid her— she’s also going to be on summer break. And every summer-like routine she just loves to come over to your brother's house.
You haven’t even spoken in months, not since you left for college. You could’ve kept in touch but it’s not like she did either, and besides, now she’s taken.
How the hell do you bring it up now? There’s not even a slight chance left for you. But would it be so bad if you kinda hoped there would be?
The ding of the plane cuts through your thoughts, making you eyes dart up despite the fact there’s nothing you’re exactly supposed to be looking at.
Each sentence literally felt you were about to enter your death warrant. It’s simply just telling everyone to prepare for landing, that you’ve arrived in Wyoming. But you’re seriously debating just finding a good street to sleep on for the night to avoid everything awaiting you, or booking the next plane back to college and just somehow finding someone who will take you in.
Yet it’s too late. You land, get your bags from the pick up zone, and see your parents. It’s a sweet reunion, almost bringing you to tears being able to see your family again.
The plus side is, it’s only them. No brother, no Ellie.
“We missed you sweetie..” your mother says as she hugs you tight, possibly cutting off your airways.
You manage to bring yourself to hug her back, before attempting an escape to gain some air back before you pass out on the airport floor. “I missed you too mama.”
She stares at you for a moment longer, like she’s trying to commit seeing your face in person for the first time in so long to memory.
“We prepared some lunch for you at the house, your brother is grabbing some supplies with Ellie.” She said softly, not knowing how the name of her almost made you flinch.
You’re gonna have to see her right off the bat. Not even a moment to calm down before entering your childhood home again and getting an unfortunate blast to the past.
You didn’t respond back instantly, making your mothers eyebrows furrow a little, trying to maybe read your expression. See what exactly is the problem.
“Yeah, thanks mama” you manage to spit out once you notice that look on her face that’s screaming that her instincts are kicking in.
She asks if you’re okay, you brush it off and just try and tell her you’re fine. And she doesn’t push it, just leading you to the car with her hand on your shoulder, rubbing it for a second.
The drive home was weird, sitting in the backseat of your dads car as his cigarette hangs out the window, puffing on it every so often. Your mother gives him a stern look clearly disagreeing with his decision to smoke at this very moment, but for once you don’t mind it.
The smell grounds you, honestly, and despite the fact you’re hardly a cigarette girl— you could use a puff right about now.
As the car moves fast across the road you take a moment to properly stare out the window, watching as you pass the town you grew up in. Every little moment was at different locations.
You see the woods, the exact spot that Ellie had cut her lip on, where she and your brother had made a hideout and you’d fought for an Invite.
The different store chains, the mall, and eventually— by pure luck. You pass by your kindergarten. You passed it quickly, barely able to dwell on the look of it after all these years because of the car’s pace. But it’s barely changed.
Each glance at everything you had once called home feels like forever ago now, makes you feel nostalgic. Until you pull into the driveway and it really starts to hit you.
It hasn’t changed, much like your old kindergarten. Still the slightly chipped paint around the garage door, still the same perfect garden your mom has attended to since you were in diapers, and the same welcome home mat. Which felt like a sick joke right now.
Your parents entered the house like everything was business as usual, I mean— it is their everyday. But to you it felt like the biggest blast to the past, everything did.
Walking in, all the walls were lined with the familiar photos, some changed, more containing you. Which is a sweet gesture. And in this moment you feel ungrateful for your brain even suggesting the fact of not returning.
You were sent off to your room, some form of ‘we’re not ready yet’ and ‘we’ll call you down once it’s all set up.’ And you don’t argue, you need your own space right now.
Your bag is hard to take up the stairs, eventually demanding some help from your dad because you packed your entire life into the suitcases and bags when you’d left, and now you’re sentenced to putting them all back.
He grabbed what he could, you did too. If loading them in the car was bad enough, the stairs were worse.
And your room felt cozier, despite all the stress of arriving it did truly start to feel like home again once you saw the familiar aspects of it. The walls are lined with posters, the bed feeling like it was made for the princess you are, and your vanity still set up.
Nothing was changed, almost like you never really left despite the empty drawers and wardrobe. And you were very particular whilst unpacking it all, putting it all in their assigned spots that your mom had labelled when you were a kid and you very much stuck to.
When your dad left, you didn’t realise the breath you’d been holding since you boarded the arrival plane. Laying down on your back with a thud as you stare up at the ceiling like it’ll hold all the answers.
You lay for a while on your bed, lost in the thoughts of everything that’s happened and everything you expect to happen. And you channel that energy into getting dressed.
You wear a pretty dress, something modest, calculated. Something that’s not going to make your family question if their daughter has entered the wrong scene, but something that— in your mind, could draw Ellie in a little, only a bit low cut.
You debated it for a while as you put it on, spinning a few times in the mirror and mentally scolding yourself for even trying to draw in a taken woman. But some sick part of you can’t help but push the barriers.
“I’m home!” You hear echo downstairs, the sound of your brother's voice making you double take the door despite the fact he’s definitely not right outside. And the dread you’d been ignoring suddenly blasts you right in the gut.
Because you know exactly who’s with him.
It takes you about a minute to calm down, speedrunning the makeup you started after the outfit was chosen, when you had too much time to yourself. You let the routine distract you, but it can’t distract you for long.
You spray your nicest perfume, checking yourself out one more time, fixing your hair a bit, before finally making your way down the stairs.
You saw your brother waiting by the door for your parents orders of where to put everything, and you feel a pair of eyes land on you almost immediately. Ones you don’t meet.
Your brother focuses on greeting you, doing the usual family routine. “Hey sis, how are ya?”
“I’m good, just arrived back a few minutes ago— how are you? It’s been awhile..” you reply, trying to force a smile on your face and ignore the hole burning into the side of your head.
“It’s been good, the usual.” He responded, curt, dry. The usual act he puts up with you because he never wants to tell you shit about how he’s doing anyway.
He nods his head to the side, reminding you to acknowledge the one thing you’d been praying to the universe to not see. Ellie. It’s rude not to greet her too.
But as you turn your head to meet Ellie’s eyes after not seeing her for months, it felt like you could’ve gone into cardiac arrest automatically.
If she was hot in high school? She’s hot now. You knew obviously, you’d been stalking her Instagram every single day since your drunken fit after the party. But damn she looks better in person.
And she stares at you like she’s boring into your soul. You try and get a little smaller under her gaze, it shouldn’t be intimidating but it feels like it under the circumstances.
“Hey Ellie” you say softer, way softer than you were speaking with your brother. A dead giveaway which makes you internally facepalm.
She turns her head to the side for a second, analysing you for only a moment before her lips form into a smile that makes a flush rise in your cheeks.
“Hi” is all she says, gentler than she usually talks too. And her tone being as soft as yours could’ve made you melt.
There was a small beat of silence, just staring at each other with equal fascination, something you could’ve construed as more. Before the moment is cut off by your mother finally yelling for your brother to help out quickly.
He ran immediately at her tone, knowing when to behave, but Ellie looks at you and doesn’t move until she hears the command directed at her too. Walking away, it was a scene that felt so familiar to the day you left her for the last time.
You’re left standing once more. The scene felt so recognisable it could’ve been a whole flashback. Your fists clench at your sides at being stuck like this again, right where she left you.
Your feet stay firmly planted, the entire time it takes them to set up the little function you don’t move too much, you sit on the steps after a few minutes but other than that? You can’t bring yourself to go back upstairs.
Instead, you focus on the trinkets around you, all the small details that did change when you left, new little house accessories your mom definitely brought. Some new plants to replace some of the old.
The rest of the time is spent back in the familiar burrow of your mind, up until you’re finally called into the dining room.
The sounds of the room got invaded by your parents yelling ‘welcome home’ a little dramatic for just being back for summer break, especially since they literally picked you up.
“So, how has college been sweetheart? Really, you haven’t told us all too much,” she said with the familiar sweetness in her tone.
You play around with your food, using the fork to just move the meal across the plate. “Sorry mama— it’s been good, but busy, so..”
“Yeah, I bet.” Ellie cuts in, barely looking at you.
Your fork pauses, but you still don’t look at her. “Yeah, lots of new things to focus on.”
“Right, new hobbies, new people—“ Ellie started before getting cut off.
“Have you made any friends?” Your brother asks, half interested, half just wanting to scoff down his meal and go back to his PlayStation.
You glanced at Ellie, finally, for a split second. “Some, they actually talk to me.”
Ellie’s jaw flexes, her gaze sharper. “Oh, communication. That’s important.” She smirks, humourless, more trying to poke the bear aka you. “Some folks just disappear y’know? Cut off contact."
You stab at the food a little too aggressively, ignoring everyone else’s gaze except Ellie’s. “Yeah well, sometimes they just don’t have anything to say.”
Ellie tilts her head, fake curiosity. “Or they don’t know how.”
Your mother laughs in the background, thinking this is some joke. But everyone else’s eyes are filled with intrigue, and even some confusion.
“You’re bickering like an old married couple” your mother jokes, giving a hearty laugh after the fact.
“I don’t—“ you and Ellie started, accidentally overlapping each other. “We don’t—“
Your dad chuckles, unaware but clearly feeling something off, whilst on the other hand your brother is staring daggers at you and Ellie, clearly trying to see if the answer is written on your faces. It definitely is.
The smell of the meal is pretty much drowned out right now, it could’ve just been a nice sweet dinner but no, of course the bullshit starts just after you've arrived home.
“So.. are you staying long? For the summer I mean..” Ellie started, quieter than before, which adds a flick of genuine shock to your face. Attempting once again to look anywhere but her.
“I think so.”
“Cool, cool.. I’m around too. Not that it matters of course.” Ellie says with a shrug, your eyes lifting to meet her face whenever she’d look away, paired with looking at your plate when she turned back to you.
“It doesn’t” you mutter, trying to look at the table decorations instead.
The table goes quiet for a moment, the family is still obviously eating, and damn your mom outdid herself because it is a good meal, it just sucks that it feels spoiled when it feels like Ellie is almost breathing down your neck.
“Didn’t think you’d ignore me” Ellie almost whispered, something she clearly didn’t want to let slip, obvious from the widening of her eyes when she did say it.
You look back at her.
“Didn’t think you’d move on so fast.”
She blinks, looking away sharply. “Yeah, well, things happen.”
“Yeah, they do.” you mutter back.
You instinctively started adjusting your dress a bit, the light cleavage you’d intentionally tried to show a bit for Ellie’s eyes feeling more embarrassing than it was originally.
It’s awkward, painfully so. Ellie decided to start fiddling with her fingers when you’d started fiddling with your dress. Seeking distraction elsewhere.
“Why are you two being weird?” Your brother chiming in, which makes your gut twist with a small, healthy amount of panic, knowing he doesn’t know.
“We’re not.” You both replied to him, in a perfect sync that causes more humiliation than you’d expected, if it wasn’t bad before it’s definitely bad now.
Basically, in all, it went exactly how you expected it to go. Talking about it, but not talking about it, though it’s more embarrassing than it was when you were strictly just picturing it on the plane here.
And it just got too much, your instincts telling you to run so you stand up a tiny bit early to throw away the rest of your dinner. It felt extremely uncomfortable to be the only one finishing up.
You went to the kitchen without looking back, unable to face all the eyes that are inevitably on you right now. And after binning the rest of the meal, you wash the plate in the sink, making the job easier for whoever is on dishes duty this week.
You feel too tense, every signal in your brain firing that this is crazy and you probably shouldn’t have even pushed that conversation with Ellie further than it actually went.
And then you feel it. A presence coming up behind you, and you already know who it is.
Ellie didn’t say anything to you, putting her own plate into the dishes as you both silently washed away the evidence that there even was a dinner in the first place.
It’s an excruciating situation, not even knowing what you should and shouldn’t say.
“You could’ve texted, y’know, checked in or— whatever.” You hear Ellie mumble in the moment that’s only the two of you. You can hear the utensils clinking against the plates from your family in the other room, making this moment alone with her feel more intimate than you’re currently comfortable with.
“Well, not like you did either.” You fired back, it was a quiet retort but it had enough passion in the words to make your point clear.
“I thought— I thought you needed space.” She falters under your tone.
“I thought you did.” You chime back in, the quiet hum of the sink filling in for the silence between you two for a second.
She takes a second, clearly her eyes showing a form of debate happening in her head before saying; “I wasn’t exactly alone.”
You pause, warm water rushing over your fingers that ties you down to reality. “Right, your girlfriend.”
Ellie freezes— not expecting you to say it outright. “She’s.. nice.”
Something hot twists in your stomach. “I’m sure she is, you always liked them nice.”
“Why are you saying it like that?” She says quieter.
“Like what.”
“Like it bothers you.” The words spew out of her mouth before she can stop the implication. Unable to meet your eyes.
You shut off the tap, trying to focus on aggressively scrubbing the plates instead. God she’s bold, she always was. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“Bullshit”
Those words make your neck almost crack from the turn you did, seeing her right at your side. And even though you’ve gone back and forth meeting her eyes and then subsequently looking away, you see her. Really see her.
You maintain looking at the side of her face, despite your mind desperately trying to will your body to direct your head away, but now you can’t help but stare like you’re witnessing something shift.
“You moved on too fast.” You whisper, your face hardens due to the lingering resentment.
Ellie blinks, caught off guard.
“What was I supposed to do? Sit around and wait until you remember I actually exist?” She quipped with a hint of desperation, her raspy voice infected with a small whiny plea for acknowledgement.
You stepped closer, drying your hands on the towel. “I didn’t forget you.”
Ellie’s breath stutters and quickly tilts her chin up, trying to keep some semblance of confidence. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“You’re the one who just— popped out on Instagram one day with someone else!” You state, trying to reign yourself in because you’re starting to sound a little unhinged.
Ellie opens her mouth, closing it, almost having a pink hue to her cheeks before her expression suddenly slips into a small, lingering smirk.
“Are you jealous?”
You scoff, too quickly.
“No.”
“You sound jealous.” she leaned in, voice dropping. The sound makes your heart skip a beat.
You hold her stare, it’s intimidating how close she is and how small the kitchen suddenly feels. “Maybe I just didn’t think you’d give up on.. whatever we were gonna be.”
Ellie’s breath catches as your words process in her head, her fingers tightening on the counter.
A beat passes by. “I didn’t.. she isn’t— you.” She whispers, so close to your face it’s giving you Deja vu.
Your stomach flips, feeling a small tingle travel through your entire body. A shiver that travels up your spine and lands right between your legs.
“Then why her?” You say quietly, trying not to reach out and touch her.
Her eyes flick to your lips, and then look away. “Because I couldn’t have you.”
Silence.
A silence so loud you swear you could hear Ellie’s heartbeat along with yours, and you reacted without thinking.
You press right against her chest, her hands moving to your waist with ease as your noses touch. Lips centimetres apart, and it was so close to perfect.
Breaths mingle together, and for a moment all you could focus on was the soft graze of your lips meeting.
It could’ve been eternity if the universe willed it, but nothing is that perfect.
Sudden footsteps approach, getting louder and louder and in immediate panic both you and Ellie pull back. Ellie froze in place whilst you went back to doing the dishes, pretending like nothing happened.
“Yo, it’s boring here. Wanna head out for a spell?” Your brother said, one hand looking at his phone and the other holding the dirty plate. “No offense” he followed up when you gave him a sharp side glance.
“Yeah— yeah alright” Ellie started, still lightly flushed from the adrenaline.
“Uh.. you wanna come?” Ellie said, turning to you. You were taken aback because well, you’ve never been invited to the hangouts your brother and Ellie would do, not since you were a kid anyway.
Your eyes widen for just a moment before automatically nodding, the flush in your cheeks visible, the shade matching the pink on Ellie’s. Ellie wants to actually spend time with you.
And after that kiss? It feels special.
Your senses are filled with the chirping of the outside air and the chill surrounding you. Your grip tightens on the sides of your coat, despite the fact that the summer air should in theory make it too warm for this, somehow the universe decided on a chilly night.
You follow behind your brother and Ellie, you’ve walked a few blocks from your home and only slightly getting more anxious. And who could blame you? You’ve never exactly done this before.
“Almost there, don’t get your panties in a twist” Ellie mutters softly to you, slowing down to match your pace whilst your brother walks a bit ahead.
“It’s fucking cold” you whisper, giving her a small glare.
She laughs at that, truly laughs. The sound makes you feel on top of the world and the goosebumps in your skin must either be from the chilly night or the beauty you’re blessed to see.
“Yeah well, it was your choice to join, princess” she said with a smile, and in turn it made the corners of your mouth twitch up too. You always loved that nickname.
You had to stop yourself from holding her hand, or grabbing her arm and linking it with your own, but you still knew better, despite that semblance of a confession you’d shared.
You scoff instead. Walking next to Ellie with your arms crossed to hug yourself, you look at Ellie once, then twice. She does the same before you both just burst into a fit of giggles.
You’re still tasting her in your mouth.
And by the time you turned to look ahead to see your brother, you’d already arrived.
It was a little alley corner, only lit up by a single streetlight. The whole place was tagged up, graffiti over almost all the walls and a little set up made out of big storage containers to create tables and chairs.
There’s a Gatorade bong sitting on one of the containers, mixed with spray paint cans and empty snack wrappers tossed about.
Even some string lights are set up, they’re dim, trying not to draw too much attention to the alley but also to give the spot some light. The only thing that could give the corner the most attention is the speaker set up in the corner.
And sitting in that homemade table set up is a few people, some you recognise from your brothers and Ellie’s friend group, clearly they haven’t had any separational issues despite being together every day for years. And then there’s a girl you have come to recognise very well.
The sight of her makes your heart actually stop, like, you could’ve sworn you had a heart attack. Because you see Cat herself in the flesh.
You immediately paused in spot, standing perfectly still and watching as Ellie walked up to give Cat a hug, to give Cat a kiss. Your eyes widened and the floor almost felt like it was falling beneath you.
Cat was originally sitting on one of the crates, on her phone. Ellie had specifically leaned down just to go out of her way to kiss her.
“Hey” Cat said, sweet, you wanted to throw up on the spot.
“Hey babe.. didn’t know you were coming.” Ellie responded, her tone more casual, something that seems to be mixed with embarrassment, her eyes darting over to you for a second.
You knew this was coming, one way or another. You knew Ellie had a girlfriend, you knew that when she kissed you only an hour ago. But you weren’t fully prepared for it.
On the other hand, your brother announced his presence loudly, saying hello to his friends, giving them side hugs or dabbing them up— but your attention is completely on Cat.
She’s even prettier in person, it makes you wish you could choke yourself out. And she’s hanging off Ellie’s arm like she owns her. She does, of course, but how much exactly is called into question.
Cat seems to have an easy confidence, her vibe is a mix of effortlessly cool yet could either be the sweetest or the meanest girl you’d ever meet just based on her appearance.
Just as you were about to turn around, call this a big fat mistake and walk home to eat ice cream and cry— your brother wrapped his arm around your shoulder, unexpectedly ruining your escape plan.
“This is my sis, y’all remember her” he said, ruffling your hair before shoving you lightly.
A spew of greetings are heard from his friends, asking how you’ve been. The usual show.
“You want a drink..?” Ellie asks, seemingly to the group but it was more directed at you.
“I’m good.” You respond, tight lipped. Questioning your morals, you should probably tell Ellie’s girlfriend that Ellie kissed you, but you don’t even really know Cat like that. And— it’s also Ellie you’re talking about.
“Do you know her personally or something?” Cat said loud enough for you to hear, but her gaze stayed on Ellie’s.
“I mean— yeah obviously, I grew up with her brother and her too.” Ellie cut in, too fast.
You shifted around a bit, putting weight on your right leg and then switching to your left. Uneasy.
“Aw, cute. Childhood friends.” Cat says, smiling right at you.
Then Cat reaches for Ellie’s hand, slotting her fingers between Ellie’s. Slow, casual, and possessive. You felt your lungs suck in air too quickly.
Ellie tensed a bit, trying to just smile and look around at her friends with no real agenda to say anything, using it as an excuse to make looking at you seem more normal.
It’s like she’s trying to see your reaction, but you look away first, sitting on one of the crates.
“Yo, you good?” One of your brother's friends asks, laughing quietly.
“Yeah, just a bit warm.” You muttered, looking down at the homemade table and taking off your jacket because hell, you really are starting to get warm.
If you were really honest, you’re trying to ignore the fact that you’re actually just burning with jealousy.
Cat keeps talking about some story from last weekend— touching Ellie’s sleeve, laughing too loud, almost already seeing you as some kind of threat. And every single time Ellie flicks her eyes back to you, trying to see your reaction, if you’re watching, if you’re even affected.
You are, you absolutely fucking are.
Your brother nudges your shoulder, giving you a look that’s asking if you’re actually chill with everything. You just force a nod.
There’s so many factors that make you just so sad, angry, and all and all, feeling like a horrible person. She kissed you, and seeing her with Cat hurts you. And you don’t know what to do about it.
You said no to the drink originally, but just the sight of Cat hanging off Ellie’s arm is motivation enough to grab a beer.
It tastes disgusting, but it soothes your nerves. And it’s easier to laugh, and talk, and loosen up.
It also made you a fucking idiot.
Cat stands up after the PDA display, being all close and personal with Ellie, somewhere she belonged and you didn’t. But you still felt the boiling fire running through your veins either way.
“I’m gonna add something to the wall before Peter gets here, or he’s gonna take up my space.” she announced, a big triumphant smile before grabbing one of the spray cans.
Ellie nods, something automatic, giving Cat one last squeeze of the hand before she walks away.
The second she does, you move. Planting yourself right next to Ellie in what was once Cat’s seat. Close enough that your knees pressed against hers.
You feel her stiffen for a second, then relaxing.
You hold the beer, tightening slightly around it, making indents in it with your fingers, using the coldness against your hand as a grounding technique.
The music has changed a few times, low volume, but it’s either Rap, Rock, or hard metal. Everyone is more scattered about, having their own conversations between each other.
Cat doesn’t look over, her tongue stuck out slightly just between her teeth, too focused on perfecting the art than you pushing the boundaries.
“You’re sitting here now?” Ellie asked, her voice cutting through the observation you were making.
You met her eyes, something different in them. Having enough liquid courage. “Problem?”
Ellie’s almost comedic gulp was audible, it made you laugh for a second.
“No.”
You take a sip of your drink, the liquid bitter but just what you needed. And mid sip you turn your eyes back to the wall where Cat is spraying messy, pink lines.
“She’s.. artistic.” The words come out quiet, not entirely judgey, but more so getting that same reminder you did when you first stalked her Instagram last month. That she’s definitely got talent and you don’t.
Ellie snorted, glancing sideways at you. “She tries.”
“Sounds like someone who isn’t very supportive of their girlfriend.” You whisper, a small smirk, eyeing her like she’s prey.
“Don’t do that” The auburn hair girl scoffed. Watching as her eyes look you up and down, checking you out.
“Do what?” Your head tilts.
She doesn’t reply, instead talking a large gulp of her own drink. Trying to ignore your prying eyes.
After all the anxiousness you were experiencing prior.. the alcohol has made you feel a bit bold. A dangerous smile grazing your lips.
“Should I move?” You whisper.
Ellie’s breath catches, and she shakes her head.
“No, stay.”
The two words go straight through you, like an arrow was shot right into your heart. Across the alley you can hear Cat laughing at something one of the guys said, oblivious.
“Were you serious?” You whisper, the smartass look you originally had fading a tiny bit.
Ellie’s eyes turn back towards you, her brows furrow and her face is a dead giveaway to her confusion. “What do you mean?”
“That she isn’t me, that you’re with her because you couldn’t have me—“
“Not here.” Ellie cuts you off, her face shifting to panic and concern. Clearly trying to keep a secret since you’re around all her friends and spilling the confession, even if you were being quiet.
“No ellie— I wanna know. I mean.. it’s a little fucked up isn’t it?” You whisper quieter, leaning in close so Ellie doesn’t tweak the fuck out if someone overheard.
“I don’t know what you want from me.” Ellie whispers back, turning her head forward. Because if she looked at you right now? You’d be way too close.
“You kissed me.” Is all you say, quiet, almost like a mouse. But you burn holes into the side of her face once more.
Ellie’s breath stutters, you heard it. “You kissed me back.”
Cat turns then, looking over her shoulder and seeing you in her spot. Ellie shifts away from you, guilt ridden all over her face. You let her.
Cat walks back towards you both. You don’t turn around to see her face, because you think that— if you did, it’d show every conflict you’re going through.
“Ellie, grab a can. C’mon help me out.” Cat’s voice rings, standing directly behind you both.
“Yeah, yeah alright babe.” Ellie mumbles, giving you one last glance before fumbling her way out of the seat. Turning to follow Cat and see what she’s got so far.
The music shifted to a softer tune, the stars more shiny at this hour. Some would call it slightly creepy. But by this point you’re tipsy and about to fall asleep.
And soon enough your brother decided that you and him should go back. Inviting Ellie to come along but Cat chimed in at the last second.
“Ellie, you should stay at mine instead—“ she said with a big smile, giving her the up and down look that’s implying more. It just made you more jealous at the thought of what they’d be doing alone.
You expected Ellie to agree, but she surprised you enough tonight, and she’s willing to do it again clearly. “Nah, I’m gonna head out with them.”
You saw a flash of disappointment spreading over Cat’s features. And you almost felt bad for her, almost felt all the guilt from kissing Ellie hit at full force.
But Cat met your eyes for a split second as Ellie pried her off her arm, and she looked openly pissed. She didn’t say anything, but you could swear she could read your mind this entire time.
You spiral. She knows, she knows— she definitely knows. You could almost hear blaring alarms. You were too obvious, she definitely knows you at least have a thing for Ellie—
“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Cat’s expression is sweet. Too sweet, like she’s grinding her teeth together and you can see it obviously by the tense in her jaw.
You turned to follow your brother to avoid watching them kiss, the last thing you want to see is Ellie’s lips on Cat again.
It seemed like your brother was paranoid on the way back, not too confident in what could happen at 3am on a Friday night. But all your brain is replaying is every moment that’s happened today, way too much for you to handle on your first day back.
The street lights make the road light up, enough to see despite the darker areas that anything can happen in.
Your street was the darkest of them all, somehow not properly lit up at night so it’s based purely on instinctual direction.
You put your jacket back on, it had been around your waist the whole time because you were overheating enough from the events from earlier. And the cold was really kicking in now.
Yet you felt a hand sneak around your waist, just under the jacket. You jumped, almost let out a squeak. But when you turned it was Ellie coming up at your side.
She looked almost protective, her hand on the bare skin of your waist as she guided you, she’s focused on moving ahead. On making it back to your place, but her touch just makes it so easy for you to lean in closer.
Your arm wrapped around her waist in response to her touch. Clinging to each other, it’d be sweet if you were both anything other than messy.
Thankfully your brother is up ahead, none of us actually talking because we’re more focused on not drawing attention and getting back. And it’s easy to find your house since it’s the only one with the patio light on.
Your parents knew you were going out, and it’s nice to see they’d take the dark night into consideration for you all.
The steps creaked a little as the weight from each of you had an effect on it. You’re tipsy enough to almost fall back, but you still have Ellie’s arm wrapped around your side. Keeping you upright.
Her arm pulls back from your waist when your brother turns around, but he’s more focused on fishing through his pockets to have even realised Ellie was touching you.
“You got the key?” He whispered, darting his head back up to you.
You nod, fishing through your own pockets until you find it, unlocking the door hastily. Acting like you’re in a full blown horror movie and could die any second, with the way tonight’s going? Totally possible.
The house was dark, illuminated by a small lamp on the cabinet. Immediately you rush a bit to take off your shoes and jacket, not stopping to say goodnight to your brother, or Ellie. Just making your way up the stairs until you’re in the confines of your room.
The sanctuary of finally having a moment to yourself felt like breathing again. Leaning your back against the door and closing your eyes.
It felt like you were spinning for a second, eyes opening quick once that started. Deciding instead of falling asleep upright you’d start getting unready.
You take time to slowly wipe off any makeup you’d applied earlier this afternoon. Particular to every little crevice concealer could be hiding in.
You do your skincare, making sure you’re able to feel refreshed before trying to go to sleep. You slip into just a loose shirt and panties, and then burrow yourself under the sheets.
Your mom had clearly prepared them for you before you’d arrived, feeling awful having to ruin the perfect display but the blankets are calling your name.
It’s warmer, you lay against the pillows on your side, facing the wall as you try to fall asleep, closing your eyes and then opening them slightly every few minutes.
Just as you were finally about to slip into a nice slumber you heard your door creek, making you jump a bit. Wild eyed at whoever dared to disturb you, but quickly calming down when you saw who exactly it was.
Ellie. Her and her stupidly perfect self standing inside your room, acting like she’s never seen it before when she obviously has.
“You still love pink, huh?” She muttered quietly, holding back a snort.
You roll your eyes, falling back down onto your mattress to avoid her presence. “Shut up, I haven’t slept here in months.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t still love pink.” She said, light. Clearly comfortable, and a bit too comfortable when she started making her way under your sheets.
You turn to face her, seeing her laying next to you. “What are you doing?”
“Everytime I’ve slept here it’s been in your room since you decided to move like— states away. You’re in my space now baby.” She teases, her voice quiet but with that familiar rasp that just almost sets you back to the teenager you were. The same girl who’d fawn over her, and clearly hasn’t stopped since.
“You’ve slept in here? It’s definitely not.. you.”
“Yeah well, beats the couch” she shrugs. Can’t argue with that.
You giggled, a giggle. Something that would come out of a lovesick woman which you’re totally— definitely not.
A lie.
Yet Ellie cuts off your ability to quip back at that comment, leaning in and kissing you.
It took you aback, happening so suddenly after you’d just met her girlfriend. You almost want to pull back, tell her she can’t be doing this, that you’re not gonna be the other woman— but you don’t.
You kiss her back, taking in the taste of her lips against yours. It’s so intoxicating, her lips are warm, able to feel the fact they’re less chapped than you’d imagined them to be.
You really get the chance to process this kiss, and as it goes on for longer, and longer, only with some breaks to pull away for air— a whimper escapes you.
“Shh..” she whispers after pulling back for a second, lips still pressed against yours. The vibration of her shush makes you shiver.
Her hands land back on your waist, rubbing the sides up and down whilst her lips still remain planted onto yours. In response your arms wrap around her shoulders to make sure she can’t go anywhere, keeping her nice and close.
It felt like you were kissing for hours, you could kiss her every day for years if it always felt this amazing.
The other kisses before didn’t feel as satisfying as this one did. It truly felt like fireworks, like it was just too perfect, too.. right. Like you were made just for this.
“Ellie..” you whisper after taking a second for air, the way you say her name is completely breathless— you want to say more, tell her everything for real this time.. but her lips latch onto your neck instead, making your mind go to jelly.
You feel the little pecks, then the firmer ones. Open mouthed, making their own markings on you, lightly biting. Not to make it hurt; but as a sign of ownership.
You moan quietly, muffling the sound into her shoulder as she reaches your pulse point. Making her own little home there as you lightly scratch her back.
One of her hands is still on your waist, but the other one slowly moves up until it cups the fat of your breast. Giving you a little squeeze.
“This okay baby?” Her voice husky in your ear, going right down to your pussy and giving it its own heartbeat.
You let out the tiniest whimper, you can’t help but be a little noisy when Ellie’s the one making you feel this good. “Mhm..”
“Good girl” she whispers, moving down to kiss your collarbone, down to look at your cleavage on display for her.
She doesn’t say anything as she pulls your shirt over your head, you try and take a minute to fix your hair that got messy after that, but she laid you down too fast. Holding your hands at the side of your head.
“I wanna fuck you so bad.” Her voice almost whimpers. Like she’s desperate for just a little taste of you.
Your heart almost exploded, feeling more and more heat on your cheeks at her dirty talk. All you can do is stutter, attempt to say something cheeky but nothing comes out except breathless panting.
All you can do is nod and lay back. Her kisses go downwards from your neck once more until she latches onto your nipple, lightly sucking the left whilst her fingers lightly rub the right in circles.
You could’ve sworn the room got hotter, all the tension and desire could’ve made your windows fog.
After giving your breasts some much needed attention, leaving a small hickey right on the fat, she slowly works her way down.
“Just panties, huh?” She whispered, kissing your abdomen as her sharp green eyes darted up at you with a predatory look.
“It’s my bed” you whisper back, finally finding your voice despite how shaky it sounds.
She smirks, kissing your stomach. “Not complaining. Gives me easy access.”
She worked her way until she was just above your heat. Her eyes closing like she’s savouring the moment, not even thinking once about the consequences.
“You sure?” She whispers once more, more vulnerable this time.
And you nod once more, expecting her to hesitate for a second longer but she doesn’t. Instead licking a stripe through your already damp panties.
You have to hold back a moan, biting your lip to prevent a sound.
She teases you, her tongue drawing circles. She doesn’t bother to take them off, not yet. It’s torture for her not to taste all of you yet— but she’s willing to wait.
“Ellie— c’mon” you stutter, arching off the bed a little to try and get her to give you more.
She lets out a few tsks, smiling. “Beg.”
You almost laughed in her face— almost. But then she meets your eyes again, too serious, and you actually realise she does want you to beg for it.
You attempted to be a little bratty, standing your ground. But god— she just kept teasing and pushing you until you couldn’t stand it anymore. Giving into what she wants if it means you get some much needed release.
“Please— please Ellie please fuck me” you whimper quietly, trying to prevent your pitch being loud enough to wake anyone up.
“Tell me what you want me to do baby.” She chuckled, actually chuckled.
“Please.. eat my pussy— finger me— need it so bad..” you beg, giving her exactly what she wants.
Before you know it her pointer finger pushed your panties to the side. Not taking them off entirely, yet slowly sticking her finger in.
You have to hold back a moan at the sudden intrusion. Biting your tongue so hard you could’ve left teeth marks.
“See? This is how you get your way princess, just have to beg me and I’ll do anything you ask.” was the words she said before her lips latched around your clit.
Your back arches once more, your hand flying to your mouth to tame the volume as she wreaks you, another finger slipping inside. Creating double the pleasure.
You push her head down a little, fingers tangling in her hair as she goes a little quicker, her tongue lapping and eating you out like she’s gunning for a marathon.
You can’t stop the little whimpers, the pleasure intensifying until you truly feel like you’ve reached heaven in this single moment.
“Don’t stop” you whimper through the muffle of your hand, eyes closing tight as it courses through your entire body.
She hummed, leaving another satisfying feeling behind, the pleasure building up and the urge to praise her taking over.
“God.. I love how you fuck me.” You manage to keep at a whisper, small gasps escaping through each word. In response she goes quicker, getting you closer and closer to release.
When covering your mouth doesn’t work anymore you turn your head until it’s buried in the pillow, gasps getting sharper.
And in that moment she pulls her mouth away, still having her fingers thrust in and out of your pussy. “Eyes on me.”
You whined at the lack of tongue. At her demand you face her, looking at her as she then finally goes back to both, sucking your clit and pulling her fingers in and out.
It was at that moment that you felt a coil in your lower stomach, indicating your quick release.
“Ellie— Ellie..” you whimper over and over, saying her name like a prayer. And she liked that. Curling her fingers just right whilst making eye contact, until you’d cum all over her face.
You tried to catch your breath, staring back up at the ceiling. Eyes closed.
She lets you ride it out, going more slow until you loosen your grip on her hair and your legs shake a bit. Indicating your overstimulation.
She slowly let her fingers exit your hole. Watching as you still clenched over nothing, fascinated.
But it didn’t take her long to make her way up, gently pushing light strands of hair away from your face before gently cradling your cheek.
“Water?” She asked softly, her eyes almost having stars in them as she meets your fucked out ones.
You can’t bring yourself to respond, giving a simple nod as she reaches over to your bedside table and helps you sit up. Holding the water to your lips as you sip.
When you’re done she puts it back down, giving you a sweet kiss to the lips. Putting your panties on right, before laying at your side and pulling you close, letting your ear rest against her heartbeat.
It helps you calm down despite the fact her heart is racing too. And a small smile appears on your face, a sense of contentment.
She almost laughs, making you look up at her from your spot.
“What?” You whisper in response, scanning her.
Her expression becomes gentle, like she’s handling something fragile, like you’re putty in her hands. “Nothin’ you just.. look cute.”
That makes you giggle, nuzzling your face closer as her hand moves to run her fingers through your hair.
You fall asleep soon after, the afterglow leading you into a nice slumber.
You ignore what this all could mean, what you’ve done, the effects this could have on everything.
This is gonna be a long summer.
Tags 🏷️: @mischievous-darling @andieprincessofpower @valeisaslut @shadowmythe @isuki @chaosgremlinnn @rhian88 @zzelysian @moonylvs
—Charity Girl—
Jackson Ellie x Fem! reader one-shot
Content: Slightly enemies to lovers, Ellie’s an asshole, AFAB reader, mentions of death and slightly graphic description, smut, nipple play, oral sex (r! receiving), making out, Ellie isn’t very cannon so if that peeves you don’t read this, mentions of weed, set in TLOU 2 universe, Joel is alive!!, this is unedited so lmk if there is any typos
Word Count: 5k
Description: You love Jackson, and you like helping people out. From farm chores to playing chess with the elderly, you’re liked around Jackson for being a charitable girl. You think everyone deserves some kindness. Everyone except Ellie, who can’t seem to find it in her to be nice to the one person who doesn’t deserve a harsh word.
♱ 𝐒 𝐇 𝐄 .
previous - next. | omg shits getting serious this chap yall!!! cw: swearing, lying, !stalking!, harassment, use of yn, reader is anxious and the groupchat finally locks in.
⟡ 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭; @letmebeurbaby , @valeisaslut , @les4elliewilliams , @seasonsofchaos , @liztreez , @andieprincessofpower , @notlinear , @zzelysian, @cinnamongirlsev , @ghostofmaxx , @frosttbitten , @kirammanss , @merquriie , @iadorefineshyt , @sophislover , @thatredheadloserlesbian , @shadowmythe , @musingsfromtheflowers , @gutturalslut , @2pleaseyou , @cherrybomb61 , @piercedome , @elliefavvs , @leilune @lonelyoutinjackson , @whimsyystar , @sawaagyapong , @sashaaaur , @slut4elliewills , @ph4rmacyfa1rie , @cherrybomb61 , @rhian88 , @badbaewatch , @m0on1ight1 , @velvetinkbym . comment to be added / removed.
⟡ series; @pxgeturner @cutflwr @gglittergoddess @roiizxoxo @mari-ibarrafan69 @xx-n3onmxshrxxmkjss @da3n3ra-blog @elsggf @elliesfavtoy @nyxplanett @lyviesb @pawsandlasagnaa
‧₊˚ ⋅ ❤︎ . . . KINKTOBER MASTERLIST .ᐟ from the outside, your family is that shiny, picture perfect stereotype, the kind your father can gloat about at work. he has it all: the beautiful wife, the gorgeous home, and a rewarding career as an airline pilot—the only thing missing is a daughter he gets along with. that's where ellie came in; a brilliant, confident young pilot receptive to his mentoring. she was welcomed to the family with open arms, but she's been overstaying her welcome recently. ellie's having the most fun betraying her captain in pursuit of his well-mannered daughter, even if it means she must pick up some of his slack.
♡₊˚ ──── 6.3k . airline pilot!ellie x femme!reader ◞ dbf!ellie ◞ intro to pilot!ellie here ! note some aspects are different in this fic but the essence is the same ◞ big age gap ꒰ e!30s , r!19-21 ꒱ ◞ reader is an english major ◞ sneaking around ◞ forbidden relationship ◞ anxious!reader ◞ daddy issues ◞ body inspection kinda ◞ marathon sex ◞ daddy kink ◞ dom!ellie ◞ sub!reader ◞ oral & fingering & strap-on sex ꒰ r.rec all ꒱ ◞ doggy style ◞ clit play ◞ praise kink ◞ stern!ellie ◞ lotsa kissin ◞ cockwarming ◞ cuddlefucking ◞ subspace◞ overstimulation ◞ multiple orgasms ◞ ellie comes untouched ◞ pet names ꒰ mainly baby girl , babe , darling , bug ꒱ ◞ aftercare . minors are not welcomed ! reblogs 'n comments appreciated ♡
SYNOPSIS: after moving into a comfy house with your four year old son you’re in desperate needs for a babysitter.. what better option than the broke university student next door..
wc: 6.5k
SWEET NOTHING
SUMMARY: You barely speak to your roommate. Then your neighbors develop an alarming cardio routine, bad sci-fi becomes a nightly ritual, and Ellie Williams turns out to be a much bigger problem than the noise ever was. WARNINGS: Oral sex (reader and ellie receiving), finger riding, vibrators, neighbours having loud se, very big nerd alert. WORD COUNT: 11,700
A/N: i just wanna say thank you so much for reading friday, i'm in love!! i'm shocked with how many people enjoyed it!! thank u sooo much from the bottom of my heart. literally couldn't stop writing.
You’ve had the kind of day that makes you wonder if Corporate America was really worth it. Between the constant barking of executives who can’t find their own email attachments and the blisters currently throbbing on the arches of your feet, you were operating on a purely mechanical level.
The walk from the train station felt like a marathon. By the time you turned the key in the lock, the silence of the apartment felt like a holy thing. The fridge hummed its usual, dying mechanical tune, and the floorboards creaked as you gingerly peeled off your heels.
You were hyper-aware of the dark crack under Ellie’s door. You and Jesse’s friend had lived together for six months, yet you were still in that polite, distant phase where you treated each other like rare, skittish animals.
Thud.
“Shit,” you hissed, your heel slipping from your cramped fingers and hitting the hardwood with the force of a mallet. You froze, waiting for a groan or the rustle of sheets from her room.
Nothing.
Fifteen minutes later, the scalding water of the shower had successfully scrubbed the horrible work grime from your skin. You crawled into bed, the sheets cool and crisp, and for one beautiful, shimmering second, the world was perfect.
You rubbed your feet together, a contented sigh escaping your throat as your brain finally began to power down.
Then, the wall vibrated.
It wasn’t a subtle sound. It wasn’t the rhythmic thumping of a headboard you could eventually tune out like white noise. It was a high-pitched, soul-shattering wail that pierced through the drywall.
Your eyes snapped open. You stared at the ceiling, unblinking.
Maybe they were just… rearranging furniture? Very heavy furniture?
“Oh, god,” a muffled voice groaned from the other side of the wall.
“Yeah? You like that?” a man’s voice boomed, sounding disturbingly proud of himself.
You pulled the pillow over your head and squeezed. It didn’t help.
The acoustics of this building were apparently designed by someone who hated privacy. For thirty minutes, you lay there, oscillating between genuine fury and a weird, delirious kind of amusement. It was so loud it bordered on performance art.
Finally, the sheer injustice of it — the fact that you had to be up in less than seven hours — snapped your patience.
You threw the covers off and marched toward the door. You needed water. You needed to stand in the kitchen where the air wasn’t thick with the auditory evidence of your neighbors’ stamina.
The moment you pulled your door open, the door directly across the hall swung inward at the exact same time.
Ellie stood there, looking like she’d been dragged through a hedge backward. Her hair was a mess, her eyes bloodshot and squinting against the dim hallway light, and she was wearing a faded grey t-shirt with a cartoon Brachiosaurus on it.
“I can’t sleep,” you whispered, though your voice was sharp with irritation. “These motherfuckers have been going at it for like… hours. I’m losing my mind.”
Ellie leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, rubbing a hand over her face. She let out a yawn so wide you thought her jaw might click.
“Yeah,” she rasped. “No kidding. Sounds like they’re trying to kill each other in there.”
“Ellie, I’m pretty sure she just screamed for a deity. I have to be at the office by eight. I can’t be hallucinating spreadsheets because the guy next door thinks he’s an Olympic athlete,” You gestured wildly at the wall behind you as a particularly loud thump echoed through the hall.
Ellie let out a short, breathy huff of a laugh. “Olympic? Please. Dude sounds like he’d pull a muscle tying his shoes.”
“You’re a critic now?”
“Hard not to be when I’m being forced to listen to this shit,” she muttered, shoving her hands into the pockets of her oversized sweatpants. She shifted her weight awkwardly. “Seriously though… it’s loud.”
“I was going to go grab some water,” you said, gesturing toward the kitchen. “Escape the blast zone for a minute. You want some?”
Ellie hesitated.
Usually, this was the part where she’d give a quick “no thanks” and disappear back into her cave of monitors and circuit boards. She wasn’t exactly the late-night kitchen chat type.
But then, a fresh, rhythmic bang-bang-bang started up against the shared wall of her bedroom, followed by a muffled: “Oh, baby!”
Ellie flinched, her nose crinkling in disgust.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” she muttered, stepping out into the hall and shutting her door with a firm click. “Yeah. Water sounds amazing.”
The kitchen was bathed in the sickly blue glow of the digital clock on the stove. You leaned against the counter, clutching a glass of cold water, while Ellie hovered by the fridge. She looked out of place in the common area, like a guest who wasn’t sure if she was allowed to sit on the furniture.
“You okay?” she asked, her voice quieter now. She leaned against the opposite counter, picking at a loose thread on her sleeve. “You look… wiped.”
“That obvious?”
“Kinda.” She shrugged. “Usually you’re more… I don’t know. Put together. It’s weird seeing you like this.”
“It’s midnight, Ellie. The professional version of me died around 6 PM.” You took a long sip of water. “And for the record, you’re one to talk. Is that a coffee stain on your dinosaur?”
She looked down at her shirt, squinting at the faint brown smudge on the Brachiosaurus’s neck.
“Maybe. It’s vintage. Adds character.” She looked back up at you, expression softening slightly. “Jesse says they’re running you ragged over there. Secretary for some high-end law firm or something?”
“Investment firm. Even worse,” you sighed. “I spend eight hours a day saying ‘of course, sir’ to people who don’t know how to use a stapler. I just wanted one night of silence. Just one.”
As if on cue, a muffled, rhythmic “Yes! Yes! Yes!” drifted through the vents, followed by a violent headboard slam.
Ellie winced. “Jesus. What the hell are they doing over there?”
“He’s certainly persistent,” you muttered. “It’s been forty minutes. I’m almost impressed. Mostly homicidal, but slightly impressed.”
“Don’t be. Most of that’s probably just noise. Guys like that?” She gestured vaguely. “All bark, no bite.”
“Oh? And you’re an expert on the technical skills of our neighbor?” You arched an eyebrow at her.
Ellie’s face went bright red. She looked away instantly.
“I — no. Obviously not.” She cleared her throat. “I’m just saying. It’s loud. Kinda… pathetic.”
“Pathetic,” you repeated, leaning in slightly.
“Shut up,” she grumbled. “I’m just saying — if you’re gonna keep the whole floor awake, at least mix it up. Don’t just yell the same crap like you’re reading off cue cards.”
“I think ‘Oh, baby’ is a classic for a reason, Ellie.”
“It’s a cliché,” she countered. “It’s the ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ of the bedroom. Boring.”
You laughed. “I didn’t know you were such a snob about this.”
“I’m a snob about anything that screws up my sleep,” she muttered. “And I was right in the middle of a really good dream, too.”
“What was it? Space? Dinosaurs? Saving the world?”
She shifted her feet. “I was eating a really good sandwich.”
“A sandwich.”
“Hey.” She pointed a finger at you. “It had avocado. That’s premium dream food.”
You were both tired, both annoyed, and both stuck in a kitchen at 12:30 AM because the people on the other side of the wall wouldn’t shut up. Still… it wasn’t that bad.
“Well,” you said, finishing your water. “I can’t go back in there. I’ll end up banging on the wall with a shoe.”
Ellie glanced toward the living room, then back at you. She bit her lip, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.
“I, uh… I’ve got some terrible movies on my hard drive. Like, ‘so bad they’re actually funny’ bad.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “We could put one on in the living room? TV’s on the opposite wall. Might drown them out.”
She looked like she expected you to say no.
But the thought of your dark, noisy bedroom felt miserable, and Ellie, with her stupid dinosaur shirt, was actually decent company.
“As long as there are no ‘Oh, babies’ in the movie,” you said.
Ellie grinned. “Strictly monsters and bad decisions. I promise.”
“Lead the way.”
As you followed her into the living room, another muffled shriek drifted through the apartment.
Ellie just sighed. “Unbelievable.”
The living room was cramped, dominated by Ellie’s oversized beanbag chair and the sprawling array of tech equipment she kept on the coffee table. You settled onto the pull-out couch, which creaked in protest, while Ellie fumbled with an HDMI cable.
“Okay, so,” she started, not looking at you as she toggled through a folder of pirated movies. “I’ve got Sharknado 4, some weird indie horror about a killer tire, or Child’s Play. You know, Chucky? The homicidal doll.”
“Chucky?” You raised an eyebrow. “Is that really going to drown out… that?”
You gestured vaguely toward the wall, where a rhythmic thud-thud-thud had just resumed.
“Trust me,” Ellie muttered, finally getting the movie to full-screen. “That little shit screams loud enough to wake the dead. Plus, it’s a classic. Kinda.”
“It’s ridiculous,” you countered. “It’s a doll, Ellie. Just… kick it.”
Ellie finally flopped down onto her beanbag, clutching a bag of stale pretzels she’d scavenged from the kitchen. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. Guy’s got the soul of a serial killer. You can’t just kick a serial killer.”
“It’s literally plastic and cotton.”
“Yeah, well, so’s a pipe bomb if you build it right,” she retorted, pointing a pretzel at you. “If I were in that movie, I’d totally pull a Sid from Toy Story. Take him to my workbench, rip him apart, maybe solder his legs to a toaster. See how tough he feels then.”
You snorted, watching her get animated. Her face lit up when she talked about taking things apart; it was the most life you’d seen in her since you moved in. “You’ve clearly thought about this way too much.”
“I have a lot of time on my hands while I’m waiting for code to compile,” she shrugged, her voice dropping back into that shy mumble.
For the next forty minutes, the two of you sat in the blue light of the TV. You found yourself actually laughing as Ellie pointed out every technical flaw in the movie’s logic.
“Look at that!” she hissed, gesturing at the screen. “Who the hell leaves a window open like that? In Chicago? That’s just asking to get murdered.”
“Maybe they like the breeze,” you teased.
“Yeah, the breeze of impending death. Solid choice.”
She was mid-ramble, explaining exactly why Chucky’s wiring wouldn’t allow him to move his jaw that fast, when a sound from the apartment next door cut through the movie’s soundtrack. It wasn’t a moan this time. It was a full-bodied, top-of-the-lungs shriek that sounded like someone winning the lottery and being stabbed at the same time.
“Whoa, whoa,” you said, leaning forward. “Pause it. Ellie, pause it.”
She hit the spacebar, and the living room fell into a heavy, expectant silence. From the other side of the wall, a woman let out one final, shaky “Oh my god!” followed by the sound of someone collapsing onto a mattress.
You looked at Ellie. Ellie looked at you. For three seconds, neither of you breathed, and then you laughed.
“Jesus,” you whispered. “Should we call the police?”
“Man, how embarrassing would that be?” Ellie snorted. “Imagine the cops kicking the door down, guns out, and they just find some dude named Gary standing there in his socks.”
“I’m serious, though,” you said. “That sounded like a crime.”
“In some states, it probably is,” Ellie muttered. “But honestly? We don’t need the cops. I bet Beth from 5B is already losing her mind. She’s like the SWAT team of noise complaints.”
You nodded fervently. “Oh, Beth is definitely worse than the police. She’s got that little notebook.”
“Dude, seriously,” Ellie said, her voice rising in shared annoyance. “One time I got home late — like 2 AM — and I was trying to be quiet, right? Barely touched my keys. Next morning, she leaves a note saying the ‘clinking’ was disruptive.”
“No way,” you laughed. “Do you think she stays up the whole night? Just sitting in the dark with a glass against the wall, waiting for someone to mess up?”
“Oh, 100 percent,” Ellie said, nodding solemnly. “She’s probably got a full file on us.”
The silence from next door finally seemed permanent. A heavy, peaceful quiet settled over the apartment, the kind that only comes after midnight.
You stood up, stretching your arms high above your head. The movement caused your shirt to ride up, exposing a sliver of your waist and the curve of your hip.
You didn’t notice it at first, but when you glanced down, you caught Ellie’s eyes. She wasn’t looking at the TV anymore. She was staring right at the patch of skin. The second she realized you’d caught her, she snapped her gaze back to the blank screen, her ears turning bright red.
“Well,” you said, your voice a little softer as you pulled your shirt back down. “I think the coast is clear. I’m gonna try to get at least… four hours of sleep.”
Ellie cleared her throat, her hand flying to the back of her neck. “Yeah. Yeah, same. I’ve got… stuff tomorrow. Early.”
“Right. Tech stuff,” you teased gently.
You both walked toward your respective doors. The hallway felt narrower than usual, the air between you humming with a different kind of energy than the frustration you’d started the night with.
You reached your door and turned back. “Goodnight, Ellie. Thanks for the movie.”
She stood by her own door, hand on the knob, looking like she wanted to say something else. She hesitated, then gave a short, awkward nod.
“Yeah. Night.” She paused. “Try not to let those freaks ruin your sleep.”
“I’ll try.”
You shut your door and collapsed into bed. The silence was finally absolute, but your brain was buzzing. When you finally drifted off, it wasn’t the neighbors or the stress of the office that filled your head.
You dreamt of a tiny, red-haired doll in a denim jumpsuit, chasing you through a dark hallway. But every time he got close, he didn’t have a knife — he was just holding a pair of keys.
In the dream, you looked for Ellie to help you, but she was too busy trying to solder the doll to a toaster.
When you woke up at 7 AM to the shrill scream of your alarm, you groaned into your pillow, your first thought clear and amused: Dammit, Ellie. Even in my head, you’re a loser.
Lunch at the firm was less of a “break” and more of a tactical retreat. You usually had two choices: sit in a cramped bathroom stall, scrolling through your phone in a fugue state to avoid “team-building” small talk, or brave the breakroom.
The breakroom was a liminal nightmare. One of the fluorescent lights overhead flickered with a rhythmic click-shirr-click that made you want to lob your stapler at it. To make matters worse, Tom from Finance had once again nuked a tray of leftover tilapia. The air smelled like a pier baking in the sun for three straight days.
Fortunately, Jesse was clocked in at the same time today. You were actually functional because, miracle of miracles, the Olympic athletes next door had finally taken a night off from their gold-medal attempts. You’d actually gotten a full seven hours.
Jesse was leaning against the laminate counter, nursing a coffee. He was halfway through a rant about the new filing system.
“I’m telling you, it’s a joke,” Jesse said, shaking his head. “They want everything digitized by Friday, but the scanner in 4B has been jammed since forever. I asked Miller for a repair tech, and he looked at me like I’d asked for one of his organs. It’s just… you even listening?”
You were currently staring into space, slowly chewing a green grape while the ghost of a blister on your pinky toe throbbed in time with the flickering light. Your kitten heels were slowly sawing your feet off.
“Huh? Yeah. Digital. Friday. Got it,” you mumbled, popping another grape.
Jesse narrowed his eyes, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “You’re a thousand miles away. What’s going on? Did corporate finally crush your soul, or is this about the neighbor drama you’ve been texting me about?”
“The neighbors were actually quiet last night,” you said, leaning back against the cold brick wall. “Last week, though… I ended up hanging out with Ellie. We watched Child’s Play.”
Jesse froze, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. He blinked.
“Wait — hold on.” He stared at you. “You actually watched Child’s Play with her? Like… voluntarily?”
You stopped mid-chew, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah? What’s the big deal? It was her idea. Well, she gave me a list of terrible movies, and that one seemed like the least offensive.”
Jesse let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “Man… she’s probably insufferably smug right now. Do you have any idea how many times she’s tried to get me and Dina to watch those movies? She’s obsessed with that creepy plastic asshole. We always bail.”
“Why?” you asked, genuinely curious. “I mean, it’s a bad movie, but it’s not that painful.”
“Because she doesn’t shut up,” Jesse said flatly. “She spends the whole time pausing it to explain how the animatronics work or how she could ‘totally dismantle him’ with a screwdriver and five minutes. It’s exhausting. It’s like being trapped in a TED Talk about murder-dolls.”
You shrugged, a small smile tugging at your lips as you thought about Ellie’s heated defense of the Toy Story method of doll disposal. “I don’t know. I liked it. We actually had a pretty philosophical conversation about it.”
“Philosophical? About a killer doll? Jesus.” He shook his head. “You two are unbelievable. I always knew sticking you together was gonna create some weird energy, but bonding over Chucky wasn’t exactly my prediction.”
“We’re not ‘bonding,’” you corrected quickly, though even you didn’t quite believe it. “We’re just… survivors of a noise violation. But hey — how did you even meet her anyway? I realized last night I don’t actually know the origin story.”
Jesse took a sip of his coffee. “Through Dina. They met at some Space Camp thing when they were kids. Ellie was apparently the only one there who actually cared about rocket specs or whatever. Dina thought she was a massive nerd. Naturally, they became best friends.”
“Of course she went to Space Camp,” you muttered under your breath.
Jesse’s eyes flicked to yours. He tilted his head slightly. “Why the sudden interest in Ellie’s backstory? Usually, you just complain that she leaves circuit boards all over your kitchen.”
“Just curious,” you said, pushing off the wall and tossing your grape stems into the trash. “She’s… more interesting than I thought. A loser, definitely, but interesting.”
Jesse huffed a laugh. “Careful. Spend too much time with her, and you’ll start wearing flannel and arguing about sci-fi accuracy like it’s a personality trait.”
“Too late for the arguing,” you called back over your shoulder.
Back at your desk, the afternoon slog felt a little less heavy. You sat in your ergonomic chair, staring at a spreadsheet of quarterly earnings, but your mind was elsewhere.
You found yourself imagining the look on Ellie’s face — that wide-eyed, deeply offended, “you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me” expression — when you eventually told her you’d never seen a single Star Wars movie.
The thought made you smirk. It would be priceless.
The following weeks were a slow-motion study of who Ellie Williams was when she wasn’t trying to be invisible. You’d learned she had a weirdly encyclopedic knowledge of space, a habit of humming 80s synth-pop while she tinkered with hardware, and a fierce, borderline defensive loyalty to physical media.
On your way home, your feet aching in your heels, you stopped in a cramped corner shop. Your eyes snagged on a bargain bin, and there it was: The Core. It was a masterpiece of scientific stupidity — a movie about drilling to the center of the Earth to restart the planet’s magnetic field with nukes. It was exactly the kind of high-stakes, low-logic trash she loved to dissect.
When you got home, you went through the motions. Coat on the rack. Bag dumped. Heels kicked into the closet. You were still in your stiff work slacks and button-down when you found yourself standing in front of her door. You didn’t really knock on her door — some sort of unspoken boundary — but you found yourself rapping your knuckles against the wood anyway, shifting from one sore foot to the other.
The door creaked open. Ellie was there, wearing a faded t-shirt featuring a T-Rex in boxing gloves (“Jurassic Punch”), but it was her hair that stopped your train of thought. It wasn’t pulled back in its usual messy knot. It was down. She looked different.
“Hey,” she said, her voice a little raspy. She leaned against the frame, hands buried in her sweatpants. “You look like hell. Rough day?”
“Fine,” you said, trying to keep your voice level despite the sudden, strange thrum in your chest. “Found something. Figured your collection was lacking.”
You held out the DVD. Ellie’s eyes went wide. She took the case, her fingers brushing yours for a fleeting second that felt like an electric shock.
“No fucking way. The Core? You serious?” She flipped it over, a crooked grin breaking across her face. “This movie is unbelievably stupid. It’s perfect. Thanks.”
She hesitated, glancing down at the case before looking back at you, suddenly a bit less confident.
“So, uh… what are the odds you’ll watch this with me? Or are you too wiped from dealing with corporate idiots?”
“Odds are high,” you smiled, exhausted but intrigued. “Just let me scrub the day off first. Twenty minutes.”
“Yeah,” she said quickly. “Cool. I’ll get it set up.”
The shower was a blur of steam. You moved fast, your brain replaying the way she’d looked with her hair down. It was only when you turned off the water that you realized you’d left your change of clothes sitting on your bed. God dammit.
You wrapped your towel tight, tucking it securely over your chest, and cracked the door. The hallway was short. You stepped out, damp hair dripping onto your shoulders, your skin still flushed from the heat. You were halfway to your room when Ellie rounded the corner from the kitchen, a bowl of popcorn in her hands.
You both froze.
Ellie’s gaze dropped. Her eyes tracked down the line of your legs, lingering for a fraction too long on the water droplets sliding down your skin, before snapping back up to your face. Her entire neck and face turned violently red.
“I — shit. Sorry,” she mumbled, her voice cracking. “Didn’t know you were — yeah. I was just… popcorn. Living room.”
She moved past you quickly, eyes glued firmly to the floor.
When you finally joined her on the couch, dressed in oversized sweats, the atmosphere was charged. Ten minutes into the movie, the neighbors started up. A rhythmic, high-pitched wail sliced right through the dialogue.
“Jesus,” you muttered, leaning your head back. “Okay, I have a theory. Maybe they’re content creators. Like… professionals.”
Ellie snorted, shoving popcorn into her mouth. “Well, if they are, it’s gotta be terrible content. Just a lot of noise and zero imagination.”
“I don’t know,” you teased, glancing at her. “You watch a lot of straight porn to know?”
Ellie stopped chewing. She slowly turned to look at you, eyebrows raised, then pointed a thumb at herself.
“Are you seriously asking me that right now?” she said, deadpan. “Look at me. Use your brain.”
A laugh escaped you, though the air between you shifted slightly. “Fair point. Just checking.”
By the end of the movie, the room was quiet. The neighbors had finally finished, and the credits rolled softly in the dim light. You turned to comment on the ending — and caught Ellie staring at you. Specifically, your mouth.
Heat crept up your neck. Normally, her tech obsession struck you as chaotic, messy even, but right now, looking at the intricate web of wires and logic scattered across the coffee table, you felt something different.
The silence thickened. You needed to break it before you lost your nerve.
“Oh — before I go, there’s something I should probably tell you,” you said, standing up to go back to your room, your voice a little lower than intended. She looked at you expectantly. “I’ve never watched Star Wars.”
The reaction was instantaneous.
“You’ve… what?” she said, staring at you in disbelief. “Like — none of them? Not even by accident?”
“Nope. Not a single one.”
Ellie just stared at you for a solid two seconds.
“Oh my God. No. Absolutely not.” She grabbed the remote. “We’re fixing this right now. Sit. You are not going another day without seeing Star Wars. That’s insane.”
You laughed, settling back into the cushions. For the first time, you didn’t mind the lack of sleep.
The bus ride home was the usual exercise in modern envy. You scrolled through Instagram, watching people you hadn’t spoken to since high school post high-definition reels of Tokyo neon and Kyoto shrines.
A vibration in your palm broke the spiral. It was a text from Ellie.
new high score unlocked. they’ve been going at it since 3pm. i’m currently wearing noise-canceling headphones.
You caught yourself smiling at the screen, a little too wide, a little too quickly. You bit your lip and tucked the phone away. Shit, you thought. Since when do I look forward to her complaining?
When you finally pushed through the front door, the apartment smelled faintly of dust and sugary cereal. Ellie was perched on a kitchen stool, hunched over a bowl of Froot Loops with the intensity of someone performing surgery.
“Lovely dinner, Ellie,” you remarked, dropping your bag on the counter. “Very balanced. Very adult.”
She didn’t even look up, her spoon halfway to her mouth. “Don’t start. I just bought a PS5. I’m basically living like a broke college kid until Friday. These loops are a luxury item.”
“Priorities, I guess.”
“Better graphics make the poverty feel less depressing,” she shot back.
You both retreated to your rooms — you to tackle a sociology assignment that felt increasingly pointless, and her to likely disappear into a digital world. You were halfway through a paragraph about urban sprawl when a sharp, authoritative knock echoed through the apartment.
The sound was so unexpected that both your doors flew open at the exact same moment. You and Ellie stood in the hallway, staring at each other like two deer caught in headlights.
“Are the cops finally here for the noise violation?” Ellie asked, her eyes wide.
“Only one way to find out.”
You reached the front door together. In a silent, clumsy dance of “who’s going to do it,” you both reached for the handle at the same time, bumped hands, pulled back awkwardly, and then Ellie finally yanked it open.
Standing there were the neighbors.
Up close, they looked… aggressively normal. The man — presumably “Gary” — was wearing the ugliest polo shirt ever.
“Hey! Sorry to drop by unannounced,” the woman chirped, holding a small plate of store-bought cookies. “I’m Nathalie, and this is Mark. We moved in a while back and just wanted to introduce ourselves.”
You didn’t dare look at Ellie. If you saw her face, you were going to lose it.
“Hi,” you managed, your voice tight. You said your name, then introduced Ellie, who stood absolutely silent beside you.
“Nice to meet you guys!” Mark said. “Hope we haven’t been too annoying with all the moving.”
Ellie made a strange sound that was half-cough, half-choke. She was staring very intently at Mark’s sneakers.
“Yeah,” she said, voice slightly strained. “All good.”
You stepped in quickly before Nathalie could continue. “Thanks for the cookies! We actually have… a thing. But welcome to the building!”
You shut the door perhaps a little too fast. The second the latch clicked, the silence lasted exactly three seconds before Ellie turned to you with a thousand-yard stare.
“I couldn’t even look at him,” you said, leaning your forehead against the door. “I kept thinking about the power grunts. He looks like he manages a Best Buy.”
“He absolutely manages a Best Buy,” Ellie said immediately. “That’s the most Best Buy-looking dude I’ve ever seen. Man, he’s so… aggressively normal.”
You looked at her — really looked at her — leaning against the wall, hair a mess, still glowing from the absurdity of it all. And you realized you didn’t want to go back to your sociology paper.
“Look,” you started, “since you’re officially starving until Friday… how about we grab some cheap pizza from the place around the corner? My treat.”
Ellie blinked. For a second, the sarcasm dropped, replaced by that flicker of shyness you were growing disturbingly fond of. A faint pink tint crept up her neck.
“Uh… yeah. Okay. I mean — if you’re sure.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I could definitely be convinced to eat something that isn’t fluorescent cereal.”
“Put your shoes on, Ellie.”
The pizza was greasy, the crust slightly burnt, and it was the best meal you’d had in weeks. You brought the giant box back to the living room and settled in for the next leg of the marathon: Attack of the Clones.
As the movie played, Ellie became a fountain of information.
“Okay, see that guy in the background? That’s Plo Koon. His lore is actually insane,” she said, leaning forward with a slice of pizza in one hand. She broke down Palpatine’s political maneuvering with more clarity than your professors ever managed in a lecture.
She was animated, hands moving as she talked, eyes bright and focused. It actually made the confusing plot make sense.
But as the night stretched toward 2 AM, the exhaustion of the week finally caught up to you. Your eyes grew heavy, the flickering lights of the TV blurring into soft shapes.
Without really thinking about it, your head tipped sideways. You felt the soft fabric of her hoodie against your cheek as you leaned your weight onto her shoulder.
You felt her freeze. For a moment, she stopped breathing entirely.
And then — as you hovered in that fragile space between sleep and wakefulness — you felt the light, careful touch of her fingers brushing a stray strand of hair away from your forehead.
Her hand lingered there, incredibly gentle.
The office happy hour was a necessary evil. You hated these things — the forced camaraderie, the lukewarm appetizers, and the way everyone pretended to enjoy talking about quarterly projections over fifteen-dollar craft beers. But the firm was a ladder, and you weren’t planning on staying at the bottom forever.
Fridays had recently become sacred. They were the nights you and Ellie sat on the floor, ate questionable takeout, and let her explain the intricacies of a galaxy far, far away. Trading that for a crowded bar in Midtown felt like a betrayal of your own sanity.
You stood in front of your bedroom mirror, adjusting a dress that was just a little too tight in the ribs. You reached behind your back, your fingers fumbling blindly for the zipper.
“Come on,” you muttered, your face flushing with frustration as the metal teeth snagged halfway up. “Seriously?”
You struggled for another two minutes, nearly pulling a muscle in your shoulder, before giving up. Usually, you’d rather die than ask for help, but time was ticking, and the Uber was already ten minutes away.
You walked out into the hall and stopped in front of Ellie’s door. It was still a weird boundary to cross, but you took a breath and knocked.
“Ellie? You in there? I need a hand with something.”
There was a heavy pause, then the squeak of her desk chair. The door opened, spilling a low neon-blue glow from her monitors into the dark hallway. Ellie stood there in her usual hoodie, blinking at you.
Her eyes dropped. They lingered. She swallowed, throat bobbing slightly.
“You, uh…” She cleared her throat. “You look… really nice.”
“Thanks,” you said, feeling a sudden prickle of self-consciousness. You turned your back to her, gathering your hair and pulling it over one shoulder. “I can’t get this zipper. Do you mind?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sure.”
Her presence was warm, a stark contrast to the cold draft of the hallway. Then you felt her fingers — cool against your skin as she carefully brushed stray hairs away from the nape of your neck.
The contact sent a sharp, involuntary shiver down your spine. Her touch was slow. Careful. Almost hesitant.
You felt the steady glide of the zipper moving up your back. Her knuckles grazed your skin — light, fleeting — but it felt like she was leaving a trail of heat behind.
“There,” she said quietly.
“Thank you. Really. I was about to start cutting my way out of it.” You turned back around, adjusting the straps. You shifted on your feet, the silence between you suddenly dense. “I’m really sorry about tonight. I tried to get out of it, but my boss is a team-building fanatic.”
Ellie shoved her hands into her pockets, leaning against the doorframe. She shrugged.
“Yeah. It’s fine.” A beat. “Go do your corporate thing.”
“I’ll make it up to you? Double feature next week?”
Ellie hesitated for half a second. Then: “Yeah… okay.”
You checked your phone. “Okay, I have to go. My ride’s outside.”
You started to turn, but Ellie moved, quick and uncharacteristic.
“Wait.”
You stopped.
“Hey, you’ve got…” She leaned in slightly. “You’ve got something right here.”
Before you could ask what, she stepped closer. Into your space. Her thumb brushed the curve of your cheekbone. She dragged it slowly — deliberately — gaze locked on the spot like it required absolute concentration.
Your heart did a slow, heavy roll in your chest. You looked at her. The blue glow from her room caught the copper in her hair, sharpened the focus in her eyes. Since when did she look like that? You told yourself it was just the lighting but you couldn’t move.
“Got it,” she murmured, dropping her hand.
“Thanks,” you breathed, your face burning.
The ride to the bar was a blur of city lights and traffic. You sat in the back of the Uber, staring out the window, absently touching the spot on your cheek where her thumb had been.
You’d checked the mirror right before leaving. You were almost positive there hadn’t been anything there.
The office party was every bit the sterilized nightmare you’d anticipated. Even with Jesse there to provide a buffer, the air felt thin, saturated with the smell of expensive gin and desperate ambition.
You’d spent three hours perfecting a “client-friendly” smile that made your jaw ache, nodding along to stories about offshore accounts and golf handicaps.
Jesse hadn’t made it easier. He spent the better part of the night leaning against the mahogany bar, nursing a beer and grinning at you with a look that was way too knowing.
“So,” he’d said, lowering his voice as a group of junior partners moved past. “Funny how things work out. You’re asking about Ellie’s space camp days, and now she’s blowing up my phone asking if you’re surviving this corporate circus.”
You’d nearly choked on a stray olive. “She asked you that?”
“Among other things.” He took a slow sip of his beer, clearly enjoying this. “She’s curious. It’s… interesting.”
You’d brushed it off. You refused to let yourself dissect what it meant for Ellie Williams to be checking up on you.
By 11 PM, you’d hit your limit. You slipped out, the cool night air hitting your face like a benediction.
When you turned the key in the apartment lock, you expected the silence of a place gone to sleep. Instead, the flickering blue light of the TV greeted you. Ellie was sprawled on the couch, half-engulfed in a blanket, watching a re-run of UK Border Security.
The sight made your pulse do a strange, uneven skip. You didn’t want to be the kind of person who assumed things, but the British narrator’s voice was the only sound in the room, and Ellie didn’t exactly look deeply invested in the luggage of a suspicious traveler from Ibiza.
“Hey,” you said softly, kicking off your heels with a groan of pure relief. “You’re still up.”
Ellie looked over the back of the couch, her hair a chaotic mess against the cushions.
“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep.” She gestured vaguely at the TV. “Got sucked into this nonsense. How was the corporate hellscape?”
“Awful. I almost taped Jesse’s mouth shut. He was being a menace.”
“Sounds about right,” she muttered, a small, tired smile flickering across her lips.
“Wait there,” you said, gesturing toward the TV. “I need to get out of this dress before I lose my mind. Don’t let them seize any more contraband without me.”
You retreated to your room, shut the door, and leaned your back against it. Your face felt dangerously hot. You pressed your cold palms against your cheeks, trying to steady your breathing.
She stayed up, you thought. Then immediately shut the thought down.
Five minutes later, you returned to the living room. You slumped onto the couch beside her, the familiar scent of her laundry detergent grounding you. On screen, a customs officer was pulling a suspicious brick of white powder out of a hollowed-out surfboard.
“He’s never gonna make it,” you murmured. “Total amateur move. Who puts it in the board?”
“Right?” Ellie shifted, shoulder brushing yours as she leaned forward. “If you’re gonna smuggle something, you gotta be subtle. I’ve thought about this.”
You turned slightly. “Of course you have.”
“You need something incredibly boring. Something no one wants to deal with.” She gestured at the TV. “Like industrial plumbing parts. Or a box of ancient computer junk. Nobody’s digging through that willingly.”
You snorted. “You’d get caught because you’d start explaining motherboard specs to the guard.”
Ellie scoffed. “Hey. Distraction technique. While I’m nerding out, you’re casually walking past with the actual crime. We’d be unstoppable.”
The low hum of the television and the warmth of the blanket eventually started to pull at you.
The adrenaline from the party faded, replaced by a heavy, comfortable lethargy. Your eyes drifted shut as the customs officer began lecturing a man about undeclared beef jerky.
Sleep claimed you quickly. The last thing you felt was the subtle shift of the couch cushions.
Somewhere in the haze of half-sleep, you felt something soft slide over your feet — your thick wool socks. Then her hands, steady and careful, tugging them on one by one.
Followed by the weight of a blanket being tucked securely around your shoulders.
And through the fog of exhaustion, you remembered mentioning to her once — weeks ago, over a late-night glass of water — that you could never fall asleep if your feet were cold.
Saturday was the only day the apartment didn’t feel like a high-speed chase. It was the day for the mundane — the hum of the dryer, the scent of lemon floor cleaner, and the slow realization that you were exhausted from a week of playing corporate pretend.
You were hauling a plastic basket of warm, folded laundry up the elevator when it let out a dull chime at the lobby. The doors slid open, and Mark stepped in. He was wearing another polo — navy blue this time — and smelled like expensive aftershave and laundry detergent.
You immediately developed an intense interest in the “In Case of Fire” sign on the wall. Your brain, traitorous as ever, started replaying the muffled, rhythmic thumping of his headboard. You tried to think about literally anything else — cat videos, your sociology grade, the weather — but the silence in the elevator was heavy.
“Hey,” Mark said, breaking the quiet. “I don’t think I caught your name the other night.”
You said it, offering a tight, polite smile.
“Nice. How long have you and your girlfriend been in the building?”
The word girlfriend hit you like a physical jolt. You adjusted your grip on the laundry basket, the plastic digging into your hip.
“Oh — Ellie’s not my girlfriend. We’re just roommates.”
Mark’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, man. Sorry. I totally assumed. My bad.”
The elevator dinged at your floor, and you both stepped out into the hallway. You reached your door first, dropping the basket with a heavy thud as you fished for your keys. Mark stopped a few feet away, but instead of heading to his own door, he lingered.
Then stepped closer. Too close.
“Well,” he said, his voice dropping into something oddly deliberate, “since you don’t have a girlfriend… I’d like to make an offer.”
You froze, key halfway into the lock.
“Nathalie and I,” he continued, leaning one hand against the wall near your door, “we’ve actually been looking for a third. If you’re ever interested in… broadening your horizons.”
Your brain short-circuited. Fully.
“Okay,” you muttered, the word coming out strangled. “Sure. I — yeah.”
You jammed the key in, twisted it, and practically fell into the apartment, locking the deadbolt behind you with a frantic click.
Why did I agree to that? What is wrong with you?
The apartment was empty. Ellie had gone over to Joel’s for the afternoon and said she wouldn’t be back until nine. You leaned against the door, staring at your laundry basket, feeling like you’d just escaped a cult recruitment attempt.
You pulled out your phone, fingers flying across the screen.
You: Mark just asked me to be their third. They are literally recruiting.
A few minutes later, your phone buzzed.
Ellie: no fucking way. you’re kidding.
You: Dead serious. When you get back, we’re doing a deep dive. If they have a channel, you do the dishes for a week. If they don’t, I’m on sink duty. Deal?
Ellie: deal. prepare to wash some plates.
When the front door finally opened later that night, Ellie didn’t even take her shoes off before heading straight for her desk.
“Move,” she muttered, nudging you aside as she dropped into her swivel chair. “Let’s see how much I regret this.”
You hovered behind her, leaning over the back of the chair as she typed their names into a very specific search engine. The blue light of the monitors washed over both of your faces.
After a few seconds of scrolling through social media profiles and suspiciously polished “lifestyle” blogs, a link appeared that looked… disturbingly professional.
Ellie clicked it. Her eyes scanned the page.
Then: “Jesus Christ,” she muttered.
“Called it,” you whispered, a triumphant smirk on your face. “Enjoy the dishes, Williams.”
She clicked a thumbnail just to verify. The video buffered for a second, then Mark appeared on screen, very much not wearing a polo shirt.
Ellie recoiled. “Oh my God — nope.”
Her hands flew to the keyboard, killing the tab like she’d just triggered a bomb. She spun around in her chair so fast she nearly slammed into your knees.
“I did not want to see that,” she barked, eyes wide in genuine horror. “I really, really did not need to see our neighbor’s dick. Ever.”
“It was… a choice,” you said.
Ellie dragged both hands down her face, ears burning red. “Can you imagine? Your name next to theirs on a thumbnail?”
“Jesus, no,” you shuddered, leaning against her desk. “If Mark were a woman, maybe I’d consider the curiosity, but… I mean, you saw it. That was a very… unique genital situation.”
Ellie stilled. Instantly.
The frantic post-trauma energy faded, replaced by something quieter. Sharper. She looked up at you, head tilting slightly.
“Wait,” she said. A beat. “You go… both ways?”
Her voice tried for casual.Didn’t quite land.
“Nah,” you said, looking down at your feet. “Just women.”
You realized then that you’d never actually said it outright to her. You’d mentioned “bad dates” and “exes,” but always vaguely. You watched her face carefully.
Ellie didn’t speak for a long moment. She just stared at you like you were a puzzle piece she’d been turning over for weeks.
Then — slowly — the corner of her mouth twitched. A small, private smile. She turned back to her computer.
“Good to know,” she muttered. Then, after a tiny pause: “I’ll go start on those dishes.”
The marathon was officially over. Nine movies, three months, and enough technical debates to last a lifetime. You were slumped on the couch, the credits of the final film rolling in the dim light of the living room.
It was funny how the space between you and Ellie on these cushions had shrunk since that first night with the neighbors; now, your knees were practically tucked under her side.
“So,” Ellie said. She was looking at you with that expectant, nerdy glint in her eyes. “Alright. Don’t bullshit me. Which one wins?”
You knew exactly what you were doing when you looked her dead in the eye and named the worst-rated prequel in the bunch.
Ellie’s face went through three different stages of grief in five seconds.
“Oh, come on. No. Absolutely not.” She stared at you. “The one with the CGI grass? You’re screwing with me.”
“I liked the romance, Ellie. It was poetic,” you teased, biting back a smile.
“Poetic?” she scoffed. “It was like watching two awkward robots try to date. You’ve got terrible taste. Seriously.”
“Whatever,” you laughed, stretching your arms over your head. “It’s over. I’m a fan. What now? Do I get a certificate or something?”
“Better,” she said, leaning back. “How much do you like Yoda?”
“A lot. He’s a little green legend.”
Ellie glanced at you sideways. “What if I told you there’s a baby version?”
Your head snapped toward her. “Stop. Where?”
“It’s called The Mandalorian,” she said, already reaching for the remote. “Space western. Tiny green menace. You’ll love it.”
“Okay, put it on,” you said, shifting to stand. “But I need water first. My throat is parched from all your lecturing.”
Ellie pulled her legs back from the coffee table to let you pass, but between the dim light and the tangled mess of the weighted blanket on the floor, your foot caught.
You stumbled. “Whoa —”
Ellie’s hands shot out, catching you by the waist and arms before you could hit the floor. The momentum pulled you straight into her space, leaving you sprawled awkwardly across her lap and the crook of her arm.
The room went silent.
You were so close you could feel the heat radiating off her skin. For the first time, you could actually see the faint constellation of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
Her breath hitched, her pupils blown wide and her hands still gripping your waist.
“You good?” she whispered, voice tight.
“Yeah,” you breathed.
You didn’t move. Actually, you didn’t want to.
“Ellie.”
She exhaled your name like it had been stuck in her throat. She looked like she was physically restraining herself from doing something reckless.
“Hey…” her grip tightened slightly. “What are the odds of you letting me kiss you right now?”
Heat surged through you. A memory of blue hallway light, a fake smudge.
A thumb against your cheek and you held her gaze.
“The odds are high, Ellie.”
Ellie swallowed. A tiny, nervous nod.
“Okay,” she murmured. “Good.”
Then she leaned in and closed the distance.
Ellie tasted like soda and felt like pure electricity.
She pulled you fully on top of her, her hands losing their hesitation as they slid up your back, mapping the skin beneath your shirt. You let out a soft sound into her mouth, your head starting to spin as she kissed you fervently, her teeth grazing your lower lip.
You reached for her — grabbing at her arms, the back of her neck, the copper strands of her hair — but no matter how close you got, it didn’t feel like enough.
You wanted to be closer. You wanted to crawl under her skin.
When she threaded her fingers into your hair and tilted your head back to find the sensitive skin of your neck, you completely lost your grip on reality.
You let your head fall back, a shaky breath escaping you, finally understanding why the neighbors had been so goddamn loud.
Her hands, which had been gripping your hips, stilled. She pulled back just enough to look at you, her green eyes wide and dark in the dim light of the room.
“Can I…?” she breathed, the question hanging in the air, thick with want. You just nodded, unable to form words, and her hand slipped from your waist, sliding under the loose elastic waistband of your pajama bottoms.
Her fingers were tentative at first, tracing the line of your panties before they dipped lower, through the leg hole and directly against your soaked folds. A sharp hiss escaped you. The air was filled with the wet, slick sounds of her exploring you. She found your clit, and you bucked against her hand.
“Fuck,” you whispered, your head falling back. She wasn’t a talker, not then; she let her fingers do the work, circling the hard nub before sliding lower to gather your wetness. You were so fucking slick, your arousal coating her fingers in a thick, glossy sheen.
She pulled back to look, her gaze fixed on where her hand disappeared into your pants. With her free hand, she hooked her thumb into the fabric, pulling it aside. Her fingers returned, and this time she used her other thumb to gently pull back the hood of your clit.
The bundle of nerves was swollen and flushed, peeking out from its sheath, and she stared at it for a second, mesmerized. Then she sank two fingers knuckle-deep into your cunt.
A guttural moan was torn from your throat. You didn’t wait, didn’t give yourself time to adjust. You started to ride her hand, rocking your hips in a steady, demanding rhythm. The couch springs creaked in time with your movements as you fucked yourself on her fingers.
She watched you, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes dark with a concentration so intense it was almost reverent. She curled her fingers just right, and when her thumb found your clit again, rubbing tight, hard circles, your legs started to shake.
“Ellie,” you gasped, her name a broken prayer on your lips. The pressure built, a tight coil in your gut, and you leaned down, crashing your mouth against hers. The kiss was nasty, all tongue and desperation.
You ground down harder, chasing your release, and when it hit, it was a blinding, silent wave that left you trembling and breathless.
You slid off her lap, your knees hitting the floor with a soft thud. You started your descent, kissing a trail down her body. You lingered on the sharp line of her jaw, the hollow of her throat, the dip of her navel.
You could feel her muscles quivering under your touch. When you reached the space between her thighs, you saw it: a dark, damp spot on the grey fabric of her boxers, a clear sign of her own arousal.
You hooked your fingers into her waistband and pulled her boxers down. Her pussy was perfect, neat and glistening with wetness. You leaned in, flattening your tongue and giving her one long, slow lick from her entrance to her clit.
Her whole body jerked, and her hands flew to your hair, her fingers tangling in the strands, holding on for dear life. She was writhing under you, soft, breathy whimpers escaping her lips.
You used your thumbs to spread her open, your gaze fixed on the swollen, pink pearl of her clit. Just as she had done to you, you gently pulled back the hood, exposing the sensitive nerve endings. You leaned in and closed your mouth around it, sucking hard.
Ellie cried out, her back arching off the couch. You didn’t let up, alternating between sucking and flicking your tongue against the hard little nub. You could feel her getting closer, her thighs tightening around your head, her grip on your hair becoming almost painful.
When she came, she came a lot. A gush of wetness flooded your mouth, so much it almost dripped down your chin. You lapped it up, determined to get every last drop.
You crawled back up her body, her limbs limp and pliant beneath you. You kissed her, letting her taste herself on your tongue. She was panting, her eyes glassy and unfocused. You pulled back just enough to look at her, a smug, satisfied smirk playing on your lips.
“Told you,” you whispered. “Sex doesn’t need all that screaming.”
The aftermath wasn’t some grand, cinematic shift. It was quiet. You spent most of Saturday scrubbing the bathroom and cycling through loads of laundry while Ellie was out, presumably at Joel’s or hunting for some obscure tech part across town. By the time she drifted back in, you were already halfway to sleep, leaving the air between you thick but untouched.
Sunday morning, you slipped out for lunch with Jesse while Ellie was still dead to the world. You found yourself at a place that charged twenty dollars for avocado toast, but as you took the first bite, you had to admit it was worth the corporate exploitation.
Jesse was mid-sentence, gesturing with a fry. “I’m telling you, it’s in the eyes. Mila from HR looks at me, and it’s like… there’s something there.”
“Jesse,” you said, reaching for your coffee. “Mila looks at everyone like that. It’s called being professionally polite. She’s HR. That’s literally the job description.”
“You’re unbelievable,” he groaned. “She laughed at my joke about the printer jam. A real laugh.”
“Everyone laughs at that joke because they want you to stop talking.”
You leaned back, the steam from your coffee hitting your face. The words slipped out before you could reconsider them.
“Besides, I’ve had enough drama at the apartment. I hooked up with Ellie.”
Jesse dearly choked. He coughed violently, eyes widening as he set his glass down.
“Wait.” A beat. “You’re serious?”
You frowned. “Yeah. I mean, I like her. What’s the issue?”
Jesse stared at you like you’d just confessed to time travel. “Man… I’m just shocked Ellie finally made a move.”
You blinked. “What do you mean?”
Jesse leaned forward slightly, expression flattening into pure disbelief. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am very serious, Jesse. What?”
He exhaled sharply, running a hand over his face. “Ellie has had the most painfully obvious crush on you since day one.”
You froze. Jesse continued, voice calmer now, matter-of-fact.
“Dina used to talk about it all the time. Ellie would bring up these tiny details about you — weirdly specific stuff. Your routines. Your coffee order. Things you said once and probably forgot.” He shook his head. “She’s been circling you for months, but she’s Ellie. Overthinking, panicking, assuming you’d never be into her.”
Heat crept up your neck, slow and unavoidable.
“So no,” Jesse added, leaning back. “ You basically walked into a long-running emotional disaster.”
You swallowed, hard. Suddenly very aware of your coffee.
“We haven’t really talked about it,” you admitted quietly. “It’s been… weirdly quiet.”
“Oh, man. She’s absolutely spiraling then,” Jesse winced.
You looked up. “What?”
“Knowing Ellie?” He snorted softly. “She’s probably replaying every interaction you’ve ever had, convinced she screwed something up.”
“I just haven’t had time to sit her down,” you muttered.
Jesse studied you for a moment, tone shifting slightly. “Is this just a hook-up?”
The question landed heavier than expected.
“Because if it is,” he continued, voice steady, “that’s gonna make your whole living situation a nightmare. And Ellie? She doesn’t really do casual.”
You thought about it. About her stupid dinosaur shirts, her careful hands. You thought about how coming home didn’t feel like obligation anymore.
“No,” you said, voice firm. “It wasn’t just a hook-up.”
Jesse nodded once. Like that answer made perfect sense. And it did. You couldn’t let her sit in that room thinking she was a one-night mistake. You needed to fix it.
On the way home, you decided, you’d stop by that weird corner store again. You’d buy her another ridiculous DVD — something with bad CGI and a completely nonsensical plot — and tell her exactly how much you wanted to kiss her again.
The corner store was dark, a “Closed” sign mockingly swinging in the window. You stared at it for a beat, realizing the universe wasn’t going to let you hide behind a ten-dollar plastic case this time. Words would have to be enough. You weren’t about to trek across town just to find a copy of Sharknado 3.
The apartment felt cavernous when you walked in. Usually, there was at least the low hum of a video game or the sound of Ellie shifting around in the kitchen, but it was dead quiet. You made a beeline for her room, your heart doing a nervous staccato against your ribs.
You knocked — once, twice — but there was no answer. Panic flickered briefly in your chest before you slowly pushed the door open.
The blue light was off. Her bed was made, her monitors dark, and the room felt strangely sterile. Ellie wasn’t there. You frowned, checking your watch. It was Sunday evening; Ellie never left the apartment on Sundays. She usually spent the day decompressing and mentally preparing for her remote workweek.
You pulled out your phone, feeling relief when you saw a notification from an hour ago.
Ellie: heeey don’t freak out but i went home for a couple of days. my sister went into labor so i came to see if my niece is ugly and whatnot. i’ll be back wednesday. lemme know if you accept mark’s invitation.
A small smile tugged at your mouth. You remembered her mentioning Sarah was due any day now. You could practically hear her voice behind the message, that familiar layer of sarcasm barely masking the excitement underneath.
You: Will do. Good luck with the baby. Try not to tell her she’s ugly to her face.
The apartment felt twice as empty after you hit send. You went through the motions of your Sunday routine — showering, laying out clothes for Monday, prepping your bag for the office. Everything was organized, seamless, and entirely boring.
Eventually, you wandered back into the living room and sank onto the pull-out couch. Your face heated instantly as your eyes landed on the corner of the cushions — the exact spot where everything between you had finally detonated. The memory was vivid enough to make your pulse pick up speed.
You grabbed the remote and turned on a random movie, something about a bank heist you’d seen a dozen times before. You leaned back, expecting to finally relax, but after ten minutes, you realized you hadn’t processed a single line of dialogue.
You kept waiting for a voice to chime in — to complain about the getaway car, to call the explosion “complete bullshit,” to spiral into some deeply unnecessary technical rant.
Your eyes drifted to the empty space beside you.
Well, you thought, tossing the remote onto the coffee table with a sigh. This is no fun without that dork talking her head off.
Wednesday suddenly felt impossibly far away.
When you walked through the door on Wednesday, the apartment finally felt like it had oxygen in it again. You sensed her before you even saw her — those trashed Converse were kicked haphazardly by the mat, and her backpack was slumped near the couch, looking like it was one overstuffed zipper away from an explosion.
Your heels clicked rhythmically against the hardwood. Usually, the first thing you did was tear them off to save your feet, but today you didn’t care. You just wanted to see her.
Her bedroom door was cracked, spilling a deep, moody purple light into the hall. You knocked softly twice before pushing it open. The glow was so saturated it turned your white office blouse a soft shade of violet.
Ellie was hunched over her desk, headphones clamped over her ears, brow furrowed as she stared at lines of code that looked like a foreign language to you.
“Ellie?”
No response. You stepped in and nudged the back of her chair. She jumped, nearly knocking her mouse off the pad, and yanked the headphones down around her neck.
“Jesus — Oh. Hey,” She blinked at you, clearly rattled. She shifted in her chair, trying to recover. “You’re home.”
Her hair was down again, short copper wisps messy around her ears.
“How was it?” you asked, leaning against the doorframe. “How ugly is the niece?”
Ellie’s face lit up instantly. “She’s actually… Man, she’s tiny. Like — ridiculously tiny. And not nearly as ugly as I expected. And the best part? I caught Joel crying. Full-on tears. Dude didn’t even try to hide it. I’ve got blackmail material for life.”
You laughed, enjoying the way her hands moved when she got animated. But as the story trailed off, the air in the room shifted. It grew quieter, the purple light making everything feel smaller, more intimate. You walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, facing her.
“Hey,” you said softly. “I wanted to talk about last Friday. Before you had to leave.”
Ellie’s bravado flickered. She started picking at a loose thread on her thumb, gaze dropping immediately.
“Yeah. About that.” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to just… disappear. It was the baby thing and everything kinda blew up at once.”
“Ellie,” you said gently, “I wanted to let you know that I really like you. A lot. And I’ve liked you for a while now.”
She went completely still. Slowly, she looked up at you, eyes scanning your face like she was waiting for the punchline. When none came, she exhaled shakily.
“Oh,” a beat. “Oh… okay.”
She rubbed the back of her neck, cheeks flushing pink.
“I mean — Jesse probably told you, but I’ve been completely screwed about you since you moved in.” A small, embarrassed shake of her head. “I used to think I was being subtle.”
“You weren’t that subtle,” you teased. “But I think the dorkiness actually did it for me. The puns, the dinosaurs, the lectures… it’s charming.”
“Seriously?” Ellie squinted at you. She leaned back slightly, mock-offended. “Wow. That’s brutal.”
“You love it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, though the corner of her mouth twitched. “I’m absolutely holding that against you forever.”
“Sure you are.”
Ellie stood from her chair. In the purple light, her silhouette was sharp, expression shifting from shy to something more daring. She stepped toward the bed, bending slightly as she reached your face. Her hands were warm as she cupped your cheeks, pressing a firm, lingering kiss to your lips.
You reached up, grabbing the hem of her shirt and tugging her down with you as you scooted back onto the mattress.
She broke the kiss briefly, hovering inches from your face. A sudden, mischievous spark flickered in her eyes.
“You wanna get revenge on our neighbors?” she murmured.
You blinked. “Revenge?”
“They’ve been keeping us up for months.” Her voice dropped slightly. “Feels fair.”
Before you could answer, she reached for the first button of your blouse, gaze locked onto yours. “Okay?”
“Okay,” you breathed.
Her fingers, slightly clumsy but determined, had just finished unbuttoning your blouse. She didn’t pull it off, just pushed the fabric aside, her mouth immediately finding the swell of your breast.
She kissed the soft skin, her tongue tracing the edge of the thin, lacy bra you wore before closing her lips over your nipple, sucking the fabric and the peak beneath into a tight, wet point.
While her mouth was occupied, her hands drifted lower, a surprising dexterity in her movements as she unbuttoned your pants. She tugged them down your hips, a weird expertise you didn't really expect from her, taking them down with a single, smooth pull.
Her mouth never left your body, a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses following the path her hands had just taken. When she got to your navel, she pressed a few quick kisses around it before kneeling back on her heels and pulling the rest of the fabric from your legs, tossing it aside.
You were panting, your chest rising and falling, and so was she, her breath coming in short, excited bursts from the sheer thrill of getting to do this again. She lay down on her stomach, her elbows propped on the mattress, and pulled you closer by the backs of your knees.
She maneuvered your legs over her shoulders, settling you against her mouth. She gave one last look up at you, those pretty, sunken eyes dark with a hunger that made your stomach clench, before she dove in.
She started licking over the thin cotton of your panties, her tongue flat and wide, soaking the fabric until it was nearly transparent. When she deemed them wet enough, she pulled the fabric taut over your pussy, the white cotton smushing your clit, outlining it perfectly.
She used her fingers to slowly rub the sensitive nub through the saturated material, and you started writhing under her, the maddening, indirect stimulation making you desperate. Her name was a breathy moan on your lips.
Just when you thought you couldn't take it anymore, she pushed the panties to the side. And then, in a movement so fluid you barely registered it, she reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out a small, sleek clit stimulator.
She went back to work, her tongue licking and sucking on your now-exposed, swollen clit while her fingers spread your slick around your lips before sinking two fingers inside of you.
She didn't give you a moment to breathe, immediately fucking into you hard, her fingers curling with every thrust. Her eyes never left your pussy, completely mesmerized by the sight of her fingers disappearing into you, by how wet you were.
Then, she pressed the vibrator against your clit. The sudden, intense buzzing sensation was electric.
"Fuck, Ellie, oh fuck," you cried out, your back arching off the bed. It was too much and not enough all at once. The combination of her fingers pumping into you and the relentless stimulation on your clit was overwhelming.
It didn't take long for the pressure to snap, a blinding, powerful orgasm tearing through you, leaving you a shaking, gasping mess.
When you both came down, you were lying side by side, the room quiet except for your slowing breaths. She turned onto her side to face you, a shy but proud little smile on her face.
"Next time," she said, her voice still a little hoarse, "I'm gonna make the whole building hear you."
You looked over at her, a matching smirk playing on your lips. "Confident, are we?"
The last thing you thought about before the world narrowed down to just her was that you really owed Mark and Nathalie a thank-you note.
You didn’t even bother with the formality of knocking this time. You just pushed the door open and slipped inside, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you let out a wide, bone-deep yawn.
Ellie was hunched over at her desk, the glow of the monitors reflecting in her eyes as she focused on whatever was happening on her PS5. You drifted over behind her, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to the top of her head.
“They’re at it again,” you murmured, your voice thick with exhaustion. “I’m crashing here, if you don’t mind.”
Ellie barely looked away from the screen.
“Yeah, no kidding,” she muttered. “Go for it.”
You made a beeline for her bed and slid under the covers. The sheets were warm, the room filled with that familiar, comforting hum of her computer fans. You stared up at the ceiling for a moment, listening to the muffled, rhythmic thumping starting up again next door.
“I was thinking…” you said, your voice drifting lazily through the purple-lit room. “We should totally start our own channel. I bet we could get rich from it.”
Ellie paused her game. Her chair creaked as she leaned back slightly.
“Like… a YouTube channel?” She squinted toward you. “What would we even do? Yell at bad sci-fi for money?”
“No,” you said, a mischievous edge creeping into your voice. “Like our neighbors.”
Ellie went quiet, then she shrugged. “You know what? Not the worst business model I’ve ever heard.”
You laughed softly into her pillow.
“I’d pay off my PS5 in like… a week,” she added. “I’ll handle the tech.”
“Deal.”
A couple of hours later, the apartment was dark and the neighbors finally quiet. You felt the mattress dip as Ellie crawled into bed beside you. You felt her hand brush your forehead as she gently pushed your hair away from your face, followed by the soft, warm press of a kiss against your cheek.
Then you felt her fingers at the end of the bed.
True to her quiet, observant nature, Ellie tugged thick socks over your feet, making sure you wouldn’t wake up freezing in the middle of the night.
When she finally settled behind you, pulling you flush against her chest, sleep claimed you quickly. Dreams blurred into warmth — filled with terrible puns, unnecessary space lore, and that crooked, dorky grin. Still a loser, you thought as you drifted deeper into the haze. Even in my dreams.
tysm for reading!! i feel like a writing machine i literally can't stop. lemme know if u guys have any suggestions! hope you enjoyed. see u next time!
song from the title: sweet nothing by taylor swift
alysa liu!!!
ㅤㅤㅤ𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 <𝟑// 𝒎.𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕.ᐟ
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ❝𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒚 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏𝄒𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒖𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍.ᐟ ❞
๋ ࣭ ⭑ㅤ 𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 . . . ellie creates a fake facebook account to mess with her best friend, dina. then you add her. she has quietly liked you for years, yet never had the courage to talk to you in class. when you start messaging her, ellie panics. you think you’re talking to a boy. she knows you’re straight, but telling the truth feels like the fastest way to lose the only version of you that ever chose her first.
๋ ࣭ ⭑ ㅤ𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 . . . catfish, wlw shit, loser ellie.
๋ ࣭ ⭑ ㅤ𝒂/𝒏 . . . this is not a continuation nor a prequel of my other ellie is away fic. reblogs and feedback super appreciated<𝟑
♯ㅤ 1.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟏. ﹫elliot jackscumˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 2.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟐. curiosity killed the boyˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 3.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟑. almost boldˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 4.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟒. goodnight messagesˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 5.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟓. facebook after darkˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 6.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟔. make it make senseˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 7.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟕. someone else showed upˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 8.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟖. wasn’t supposed to lastˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ 9.cht.lgㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟎𝟗. it was real to meˎˊ˗
♯ㅤ offlineㅤㅤ ✦ 𝟎𝟏𝟎. one last thingˎˊ˗
˚₊‧꒰ა 𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ [ comment to be added<𝟑 ]
𝐓𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐒𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘
chapter two of lookin' for love
butch cowboy!ellie x farmer's daughter!reader - warnings: internalized homophobia, a little angsty/kinda sad, alcohol intake and drunk driving (don't drive drunk yall!) - minors dni - wc: 4.8k - note: each chapter is named after a country song so if anyone fw country music and wants me to make a playlist for this once I finish lmk!
𝐈𝐅 𝐈 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔
chapter one to looking for love
butch cowboy!ellie x farmer’s daughter!reader - warnings: ellie is a perv lowkey, internalized homophobia, brief mention of abuse, sweet but angsty. minors dni - wc: 4.3k - note: better late than never i guess im so sorry my writing is rusty >_<
you know what, fuck it be free, keep reading that bad fan fiction, keep writing that bad fanfiction, keep using y/n, keep staying up to 4 a.m reading x reader, to be cringe is too be free
(just NO a.i)
Sancta et Damnata
Religious!reader x Ellie Williams
One-shot!
CW; mentions of suicidal thoughts, religious trauma, spiritual abuse, internalized homophobia, queer repression, references to hell and damnation, parental emotional abuse, grief and mourning, panic attacks, toxic family dynamics, religious fanaticism, sexual tension, loss and death, emotional neglect, consensual sexual activity, oral sex (reader receiving), fingering (reader receiving)
Summary; raised in a strict religious family, you secretly date Ellie Williams, a girl who challenges everything you believe. Torn between faith, family, and love, you face painful choices and the search for acceptance in a world that demands conformity.
Notes; this story deals with a very personal and heavy topic for me. I’m not trying to romanticize forbidden love. I want to portray its realness and complexity. I didn’t plan to turn this into a series, so I hope the story doesn’t feel rushed. Please approach it with care and sensitivity. Also the title means holy and damned. It’s Latin :)
Word count; around 11,9k
Taglist; @gogolsbf
──𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄-𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄;
(college roommates! vi x reader): vi gets a little frisky at the drive in
READ THE SEQUEL HERE!
wc: 3k | cw: kinda enemies to lovers, but like not really enemies, heavy petting, fingering (r!receiving), light degradation, car sex (in the bed of a truck) MINORS DNI.
note: vi, my beloved, simply had to be next up! also thank you guys for all the love on my first post!! kissing each and everyone of u telepathically <3
You wouldn’t exactly say you’re friends with your dorm mate.
Vi is loud, popular, and constantly flitting around campus like the social butterfly she was clearly born to be. Half the time, she's crashing at a friend’s—or a hookup’s—place, so it’s already pretty rare to see her on the regular.
If anything, you’d say life is easier when Vi’s not around. It’s nearly impossible to get any studying or homework done in her presence. And it’s not just the videos she insists on watching at what feels like full blast or the endless stream of calls she takes on speakerphone for reasons you still can’t comprehend.
⋆ ˚。✞ ⋆˚sanctified⋆ ˚。✞ ⋆˚
rebel!ellie x preachers!daughter!reader
✞ summary : you, the preacher’s daughter, falls for the school’s rebellious out lesbian. shame, faith, and first love collide in a slow-burning secret romance that threatens to ruin everything - unless you’re brave enough to choose it.
glass saint
✞ cw : religious themes, internalised homophobia, fem!reader, emotional repression, drug use, language, emotional vulnerability.
✞ wk : 4,500
✞ 1 > 2 > 3
you grew up believing heaven was measured in obedience.
pressed skirts, bowed heads, and whispered amens. that was the currency of salvation. your father taught you that. he didn’t say it so much as live it - voice steady at the pulpit every sunday, always dressed in some shade of holy, his faith shining like a sword in the dark. you were raised like a precious thing. protected. sheltered. moulded.
so when you came to saint agnes girls academy - the all-girls religious boarding school nestled in the woods just outside ashland - you already knew how to keep your mouth shut and your knees together. you already knew the words to every hymn, every psalm, every prayer. you already knew who to be.
but nothing could have prepared you for ellie williams.
you’d heard of her before you ever saw her. the whispers started day one. “don’t sit near her.” “she’s a freak.” “she got expelled from three schools already.” “she kissed a girl and told the priest to go fuck himself.” you told yourself you didn’t care. that she was just another lost soul on the edge of ruin.
but that was before the chapel incident.
it was the third week of term when it happened. wednesday evening mass. you were sitting in the front row, back straight, cross necklace gleaming like polished silver in the candlelight. ellie stumbled in halfway through the sermon - late, of course - and didn’t even pretend to be reverent. she slouched into the pew behind you, her uniform a mess: tie loose, shirt untucked, black hoodie poking out from underneath her blazer. her shoes, beat up and definitely not regulated, clunked against the floor as she kicked them up onto the wooden bench, arms stretched wide like she was crucifying herself.
you didn’t mean to look. you really didn’t. but you couldn’t help it. something about her demanded to be seen.
her eyes met yours halfway through father matthews’ reading from leviticus. you hadn’t realised she was staring. her gaze was piercing; sharp, amused, knowing. and when the priest read, “thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination”, ellie smirked.
then, quiet, low, just loud enough for you to hear, she muttered: “guess i’m going to hell.”
you flushed hot all over.
not because you were scandalised.
but because your thighs pressed together, tight.
you didn’t speak to her for weeks after that. you avoided her when you could. she always seemed to be somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be: behind the science labs smoking weed, or carving something into the underside of a desk in ethics class, or passed out in the sun with headphones on during choir practice. people gave her a wide berth. the teachers tolerated her only because she was too smart to flunk and too stubborn to punish.
but you were different. you couldn’t ignore her.
because she was the only thing in this place that made you feel like you were unraveling.
and you hated that.
so the first time you talked to her, it was out of spite.
she was lounging outside the dormitories, sitting on the hood of one of the school vans with a sketchpad in her lap and a cigarette between her lips. the sun was setting behind her, turning the clouds violet and gold.
you stood over her with your arms crossed.
“you’re not supposed to smoke on school grounds.”
she didn’t look up. just exhaled slow and said, “you’re not supposed to lie, either. but i bet you do.”
you stiffened. “excuse me?”
ellie finally looked up. her eyes were green and wicked. “you think no one notices you staring? you practically drool every time i walk past.”
“i don’t-“
“relax,” she said, smirking. “i’m flattered. daddy’s little saint wants to be a sinner. cute.”
you slapped the sketchpad out of her lap.
it fell to the pavement, flipping open to reveal a half-finished charcoal sketch.
of you.
you turned and walked away before she could see your hands trembling.
from that day forward, she started talking to you like it was a game.
little things. snide comments in the hallway. winks from across the dining hall. notes slipped into your locker with things like “tell me again how you’re not gay while you keep staring at the girls in the locker rooms like that.” or “confession at 7? you should really bring up the way you stared at me in theology today. real unholy.”
you hated her.
you hated the way she made you feel.
you hated that she could say those things so freely, like she wasn’t scared. like she’d already made peace with the part of herself you were still trying to drown in scripture.
but the worst part? you started writing back.
the first note was angry. accusatory.
i feel sorry for you.
her response?
that’s funny. i touch myself to you.
you nearly set it on fire.
but you didn’t.
you kept it in your bible. right next to the book of james.
the slow burn wasn’t fire at first.
it was silence. stolen glances. unspoken tension.
it was the way she sat behind you in chapel, always one pew back, always close enough that you could hear her breathing. it was the way your skin burned when she brushed past you in the hallway. it was the fact that you started watching her hands in class, long fingers smudged with ink, drumming against the desk, always restless, always creating.
and then it was anger again.
one day in ethics, when father matthews launched into another homophobic diatribe, ellie laughed. loud. too loud.
you turned around in your seat, furious.
“can you show some respect?” you hissed.
ellie leaned back, one arm slung over the back of her chair. “for what? a bunch of bigots using god to hide their hate?”
“he’s a priest-“
“he’s a coward.”
you stared at her, your face burning.
“you’re disgusting.”
she smirked. “and you’re a liar.”
that was the first time she kissed you.
not there. not then.
but later, that same night, when you found her sitting on the chapel steps, legs outstretched, blunt in hand, sketchbook resting against her thigh. you meant to yell at her again. you meant to tell her to leave, to stop tormenting you, to act like a decent human being.
but when you opened your mouth, all that came out was:
“why me?”
ellie didn’t look at you.
she exhaled smoke and said, “because you’re the only one who looks at me like you want something you’re not allowed to want.”
and then - quiet, almost soft - “because you hate me the way i hated myself.”
she didn’t wait.
she just leaned in, fingers curled under your jaw, and kissed you like it didn’t matter if the world burned down around you.
✞ perm taglist : @yasmilks , @natsheretic , @lovemiraamira , @ellies-real-wife , @wewerewildandfluorescent , @jullsii , @eyesttokill , @dmenby3100 , @bunchogravie , @oneinameliann , @intheshadowofthestars , @pariiissssssss , @vanpalmertruther , @madsxh1022 , @rbnvrnxoxo , @firefly-ace , @alyaserrax , @silly-pigeon69 , @glassofgreenteapls , @pearlsiie , @aj0elap0l0gist , @sincerelyherz , @imsiriuslycool , @0phantom0 , @ggutpunch , @leeidk87 , @mikellie , @celiacallsitcasual , @gurlbownerr , @l0veylace , @bluminescent-moon , @oatmatchalatte <3
limerlove presents. college!violet x comphet!reader
sum, little love is lost between you and violet vanderson. slowly, but surely, orbiting each others existence due to circumstance. but what happens when it becomes more than just mutual friends pulling you together?
content warning. eighteen+, wc 5k. internalized homophobia, comphet, mentions of reader have a boyfriend, y'all know i couldn't resist some good 'ole angst (let’s remember who is writing), smut, fingering, mentions of oral.
this fic truly got away from me. it was just supposed to be a cute little blurb. ummmm.....sorry! thanks for the request plu, you always knock it out of the park. hope y'all enjoy the build up to the smut because i'm such a little tease. but who doesn’t like a little edging? ♡ ‘nd and special thank you for the prompt @meganegatari, i had entirely too much fun with this.