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There's No One Like You

Summary:

The instructions were simple: The TA would randomly pair them up with a classmate with whom they had to write journal-like emails to. No real names were allowed, everything must be kept anonymous and vague. They had the option to be themselves, or to create a fictional persona. The choice was theirs.

OR

Dina and Ellie unknowingly get partnered up to be each other's Mystery Pen Pal.

Notes:

I recently watched You've Got Mail for the millionth time the other day and thought of this idea. What If Dina and Ellie were mystery pen pals, became friends IRL but with a twist?

ALSO, no beta, and barely an edit. Sorry in advance for any typos and mistakes.

Chapter 1: Bricks in her bag

Chapter Text

Jesse helped her move in. Not like it was a hard task seeing as Ellie didn’t have much to bring with her anyway.

She looks at her new room: disorganized with its new owner’s move-in clutter, but mostly it was all hers. Her room is right across the hallway from Jesse’s, in the house he had already been sharing with two of their friends since their second year at college.

Ellie wanted to move in with them when they initially planned it, but she hadn’t realized that her scholarship required her to stay at the student dorms for two years before she could live off-campus. So, she grudgingly stayed at the dorm – with a new roommate who didn’t understand the importance of sleeping in – and picked up a job at the school’s gym to save money to get herself ready to move in with her friends.

The room is much smaller than the one in the dorms, but it's also much better than sharing with a stranger. The only person she would have to share a bathroom with was Jesse, which was a massive upgrade to the public co-ed showers at the dorm.

“Are you sure this is everything?” Jesse asks her.

Ellie inspects her surroundings, counting with her fingers. She spotted the three duffle bags of clothes, two boxes of textbooks with her backpack sitting on top of one, her penny board next to the desk, and most importantly, the guitar Joel gave her.

“This is it. Everything I brought with me from Jackson.” Ellie smiles, “Thank God I’m done with dorms.”

“Dude! I’ve been so excited for you to move in. You can finally stay to the end of our parties, and just crash whenever you want.” Jesse says exiting her room.

Ellie follows him to the kitchen to grab a drink, “Jerk. You just want me around to help you guys clean up since I’ll have a reason to now.”

Jesse gives her a serious look, “I cannot deny, nor confirm your statement.” Ellie punches his shoulder, making him put his hands up in surrender. “Oh hey, how was your class today, by the way? I still can’t believe you managed to go instead of just moving your stuff in this morning.”

“Oh man, don’t even get me started on that damn class.” Ellie sighs and massages the back of her head. “I got there early, surprising, I know. The class was about to start, and a girl barges in, goes to her friend, who’s sitting 2 seats away from me on the same row, and then BAM!” Ellie claps her hands together, loud enough to startled Jesse, “I get fucking smacked in the head with her heavy ass bag!”

Jesse laughs so loud Ellie is sure it their neighbours could hear him. She hides her face in her hands, too embarrassed to look at her friend. She continues the story anyway, “I’m almost sure she was carrying bricks in that bag. I wanted to tell her off, but she kept apologizing and she was super pretty, so I said it was fine even if it hurt like a fucking bitch.”

Jesse keeps laughing at her, head thrown back and all. “Well at least she was pretty, huh?” He says after calming down, wiggling his eyes at her.

Ellie thinks back to the brick-bearing culprit from her class. She had dark curly hair tied in a neat bun, save for the stray hairs than hung near her ears. Her eyes were so wide, filled with worry, and apology. None of that matter though. Ellie found herself enthralled with the soft brown colour the girl’s eyes that all her irritation slowly dissolved.

Ellie found it hard to be angry with someone whose beauty and mystery captivated her attention.

“Yeah at least she was really pretty.” Ellie agreed, “How about you? When do I finally get to meet your mystery girl? This is probably the longest time you’ve kept someone secret from me.”

“We’ve only been together for a couple weeks!” Jesse exclaims, “She’s really great, and it’s still pretty new, and I definitely don’t want to do anything to fuck it up. She might be the one, El.”

Ellie studies Jesse, the way he keeps wringing his hands together, and how he looks up to the ceiling dreamily. She could tell her friend really liked this girl, whoever she was. If this person was important to him, then she would have to be patient.

“Sure, but how am I going to know she’s the right one for you if you keep hiding her from your friends?” She gasps as a thought comes to her, “Or is she not real?”

“Dude, I promise you she’s real.” Jesse pats her back, “You’ll see.”

 

--

 

After dinner with her new roommates, and a couple hours of unpacking later, Ellie finally made her way to bed. Sleep was inevitable after the day she just had.

She grabs her phone to text Joel, letting him know she was all moved in. Just when she was about to put her phone away, she receives a notification for a new email sent by a NotYourD. Curious, she openes the email:

 

To: elSavage

From: NotYourD

Subject: Creative Writing Partner

Hi,

I’m from the creative writing class with Professor Burnham. I guess I’m your partner for the pen pal project thing. Let me know when you get this email, just to make sure it’s real and it works.

I hope you had a great day!

NotYourD

 

Ellie stares at her phone. She'd completely forgotten about the semester-long project the professor gave them. It was something to do with the epistolary genre, and how he wanted them to experience it for themselves.

The instructions were simple: The TA would randomly pair them up with a classmate with whom they had to write journal-like emails to. No real names were allowed, everything must be kept anonymous and vague. They had the option to be themselves, or to create a fictional persona. The choice was theirs.

Ellie read the email three times before the information really sunk in. Her partner’s username really put her off.

NotYourD

What the hell kind of person thinks to use that name anyway? She tries to imagine her partner, only to assume he must be a horny college kid, using a class project as his new Tinder. Gross.

She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she scrambled what her tired brain could think of:

 

To: NotYourD

From: elSavage

Subject: RE: Creative Writing Partner

Hello,

I’m a real human with a real fake email for this stupid project

Let me know how you want us to do this email thing

-elSavage

p.s. Is your name a reference to your duck?

Sent From my iPhone

 

Ellie send it before she could wimp out of her witty remark. It was only after she reread her response that she realized her typo. She groans and hides under the covers. Her thoughts were loud in her head. How could she possibly still be so socially awkward even under the guise of anonymity?

She braved one final look at the mistake, shortly considering whether to correct herself or not. Before she could make a decision, a reply was sent by her partner:

 

NotYourD: Duck? I don’t have a duck.

 

Ellie cringes and wishes she had the energy to think of a clever reply to save herself.

 

elSavage: Autocorrect hates me. I meant, is it your dick? Because I don’t wanna call you D if it’s about your dick.

 

She shuts her eyes, preparing herself for the barrage of –she wasn’t sure what she was expecting, just quietly hoping that she hadn’t insulted her partner.

 

NotYourD: Haha. No dicks here, I’m just a chick. No ducks either, but I’m sticking to your ducks. You can call me Duck from now on if you want. Anyway, I’ll email you again tomorrow. Goodnight Savage

Yours truly,

Duck

Ellie reads the email one last time before finally putting her phone aside. She stares at the ceiling thinking of the information she was given.

Her partner is a girl.

Her partner wants to call her Duck. Because of her typo.

Ellie groans, remembering her typo. She vows to herself never to send emails when she was exhausted.

Fucking ducks…

 

 

Chapter 2: Back and Forth We Go

Summary:

Duck and Savage get to know each other. Dina hangs out with her friends.

Notes:

no beta, please forgive typos and mistakes. I also looked up common Sephardic Jew surnames and picked the one that sounded best with Dina's name. If you can guess which one I picked you are cool. (I was gonna offer the winner a sneak peek at the next chapter but I honestly don't think a lot of people read this lol)

ALSO now that the story I have in mind is coming along, let me know what you think!

Chapter Text

9:05 am

To: elSavage

From: NotYourD

Subject: Hi

Good Morning Savage!

I hope you slept well. I was thinking we should email at least twice a week? I’ve never had a journal or a diary so I’m not sure how it should go. So maybe you can tell me your weekly plans, I tell you mine. Tell me how your day went, I tell you about mine. Etc.. etc.. So forth, so forth.

What do you think?

Sincerely,

Duck

 

 

10:45 am

How do I know you won’t stalk me if I tell you those things? I’m not sure how I feel using a classmate as my journal. I don’t even know you. What if you’re a serial killer? Or a panty sniffer?

OR FUCK WHAT IF… I don’t know I ran out of ideas lol

Anyway I had pizza for breakfast. That’s all I’ll give you this week

-elSavage

 

 

 

1:28 pm

To: elSavage

From: NotYourD

Subject: RE:Hi

Savage!

You’re a bit paranoid aren’t you? Do you really think there’d be a serial killer in our class? LMAO you’re funny. Okay, panty sniffer, maybe… but serial killer? You’re a fucking comedian. I promise I have no idea who you are. I already asked my friends in class, and we don’t have each other. Savage… You’re just as much a mystery to me as I am to you.

Why don’t we get to know each other then? Let’s play 20 questions, but like, fucking weird questions. Not “oh what’s your favourite colour” kind of bullshit. If you’re down, I’ll send you 2 questions, you answer and you hit me with another 2.

Sound good?

Sincerely,

Duck

 

 

 

4:13pm

To: NotYourD

From: elSavage

Subject: RE: Hi

Uh… Sure. Why not. I like games. But can we use the school’s instant message app instead? I don’t want you to spam me with your questions and I end up missing emails from profs and shit. AND BEFORE YOU SAY NO, I thought about this and school emails use codes anyway so I still won’t know who you are.

Add me: [email protected]

 

4:20 pm

Message from: [email protected]

I don’t want to scare you Savage but, you just gave me your initials… E.W.

 

4:20 pm

Message from: elSavage

WTF WTF HOW Wait… What? Seriously how???

 

4:21 pm

Message from: [email protected]

You crack me up Savage! The school emails are NOT random. They’re your first and last name initials PLUS random letters and number. How did you not know that? Btw I already changed your name to Savage, so you can stop worrying… E.W.

 

Message from: [email protected]

The school doesn’t have emojis, but just so you know, I’m winking. WINK WINK < That’s me winking

 

4:22 pm

Message from: elSavage

I’m dumb? I’m very very VERY stupid. I thought my email said ew… you know? Like “ew gross, your face”. Fucking hell… FUCK

 

4:23 pm

Savage: Ok, I’m calm now. Gimme those questions. Nice to meet you, DS.

 

4:25 pm

Message from: DS Duck

Ok. 1, What’s the first thing you notice about someone and why. 2, Are you a good dancer?

Savage: LMAO No dancing for me, thanks.

DS Duck: What’s wrong with dancing!?

Savage: Gangly limbs and booty shakes? Not for me. Eyes.

DS Duck: Savage… What kind of dancing have you been exposed to? And wtf do eyes have to do with dancing?

Savage: Noooo It’s for the first question. I notice eyes

DS Duck: Why?

Savage: You can tell a lot about how someone feels through their eyes. Crystal ball? No. Eye balls? Yes.

DS Duck: That was amusingly profound, Savage. I want that on a shirt. Eyes balls LOL

 

4:30 pm

Message from: DS Duck

You never sent me your 2 questions btw!

DS Duck: *insert Jeopardy theme song* I’m waiting.

4:35 pm

DS Duck: Your Questions?

DS Duck: Savage?

 

 

4:52 pm

Message from: elSavage

Holy fucking spam, Duck! I was just getting ready for work. My q’s 1, Coolest scar story, where and how? 2, There’s life on Mars, would you go live there?

DS Duck: Oh shit sorry, Savage. You should’ve told me and I would’ve stopped.

Savage: And before you panic, I’ll check your answers on my break.

DS Duck: You sent 4 questions btw, Savage. Someone’s a rule breaker… WINK WINK

DS Duck: I have a scar just under my belly. I got knifed when I was 9. I’ll live on Mars only if my sister comes with.

 

 

5:01 pm

Message from: elSavage

YOU GOT KNIFED? WHAT THE FUCK????

DS Duck: Already on your break? That was fast.

Savage: WHAT THE FUCK

Savage: You can’t just say you got slashed open as a kid and expect me to wait!

DS Duck: LOL I wish I could see your face right now

Savage: What do you mean? It’s pretty fucking intense!

DS Duck: Savage, I’m kidding

DS Duck: It’s just an appendix scar LOL

Savage: …

Savage: You…

DS Duck: LOL

DS Duck: You said coolest scar story, I made my scar sound cool!

Savage: …

DS Duck: Did I break you?

 

Savage is typing a message…

 

___

 

“Who are you talking to?”

Dina glances away from her phone. She watches as Bonnie removes her apron and sits down on the chair opposite from her.

She looks around the place. Clickers Café was unusually calm at this time of the day. The afternoon rush slipped away faster than Dina expected. No wonder Bonnie came to her table for a chat.

“You’ve been smiling at your phone like a creep, is it Jesse?” Bonnie says wiggling her brows at her.

Jesse. She’d forgotten to text him. To tell him her classes were done, and that she was now doing homework at her usual spot.

“No, it’s actually someone from my writing class. Just talking about our project.” Dina answers, quickly opening her messages from Jesse to let him know where she was.

I’m at Clickers doing homework, if you want to join? Dina sends the message to Jesse despite the heaviness in her gut that somewhat felt like regret.

Jesse was a great guy, probably even the best guy Dina has ever dated. He was handsome, smart, and kind, and caring, selfless—Jesse was the ideal husband a parent could only imagine for their daughter. They had been on a few dates over the past two weeks. Their first was dinner at his favourite Japanese restaurant across town. It wasn’t fancy but it wasn’t cheap either, something that impressed Dina.

On their second date, Dina took him took him to the café’s monthly Clickericious Open Mic Night. She would normally occupy the table near the serving counter so that Bonnie would watch with her on her breaks. Sometimes other friends would join her at the table when Bonnie was too busy, but none of them enjoyed the performances the way she did.

There’s something about musicians that always fascinated Dina.

She was nervous to show her excitement around Jesse on their second date and hoped he wouldn’t find her deep interest in amateur music ridiculous. Instead, Jesse surprised her by being just as enthralled in the show. He even mentioned a friend of his—Al? Ally? —and how she’d be perfect for this.

Dina wasn’t sure why she was worried in the first place. Because just like she thought, Jesse reacted perfectly. Except something felt off. Something about their budding relationship felt off.

Dina wasn’t sure what it was.

“Why are you smiling like a dork then?” Bonnie asks her, curiosity obvious on her face.

“You know that scar I have on my stomach? From my appendicitis surgery?” Dina said.

Bonnie nods, tilting her head in confusion, “Sure?”

Dina smirks, “I told him I got knifed when I was 9 as a joke and he fucking believed me.”

Bonnie gawks at her best friend, eyes shooting up to her hairline, “Dina… You didn’t!”

Dina’s grin grew even bigger, “I did! And it was fucking hilarious. Who the hell knifes a 9-year-old anyway?”

“Murderers knife kids,” Bonnie gets up from her seat to poke Dina's shoulder, “And psychos make jokes about them.”

Dina put her hands up in defense, “Ha Ha. Don’t lie! I know you thought it was funny too.”

“Yeah it was pretty good.” Bonnie sighs and puts her apron back on, “I guess I should go back, huh?”

Dina looks behind her toward the serving counter— there were not that many customers, but tables needed cleaning up. She saw Bonnie’s fellow barista and friend, Jade with her head in her hands while her girlfriend Nora rubbed her back.

Dina follows Bonnie to the counter to check up on them. Her friend looked upset and she had to make sure nothing serious had happened. Nora smiles, noticing Dina. If she was smiling, it couldn’t have been too bad.

“Hey, guys. What’s wrong?”

Jade groans, stress lines creasing her forehead, “One of the regulars for open mic dropped out permanently. Said he was too good and wants pay for his booking.” Her friend huffs and blows a strand of hair off her face. “Your aunt is never going to pay for any of these guys to play an open mic night. And anyway it’s supposed to be voluntary, no pay involved. It’s open mic for fuck’s sake.”

Nora nods, “Yeah, Aunt Francine would probably fire you faster before paying those wannabes a cent. And I definitely don’t want you to get fired. Don’t worry, Bonnie, Dina, and I will help you figure this out. We’ll find you someone and you keep checking on the other performers. Right guys?”

Dina and Bonnie looks at each other unsure of their ability to help but agreed to the task anyway. Dina didn’t know anyone who could play like the people who performed at the café.  

“Do you know anyone D?” Bonnie whispers to her.

“Not personally, no. Why do you think I come here all the time to watch the show?” Dina shrugs.

There was nothing more than she wanted to do than help her friend, but this was a case that was out of her hands.

“Jesse!” She exclaims.

“Jesse sings?” Bonnie asks, incredulous. “You never mentioned this.”

“No, not him.” Dina laughs, suddenly imagining Jesse up on stage wearing a tutu and singing a cabaret, “When I took him here for last month’s open mic, he kept talking about how his friend Al could outshine any of the guys we normally get here. He kept saying she’s really good—talented and shit. Maybe I can ask him to ask her?”

Jade perks up hearing Dina’s idea. “Yes please! Dina, I swear to God, if you get someone to play I’m giving you all the hot chocolate for free for the whole month.” She looks at Nora with pleading eyes, “Just don’t tell your aunt I’m giving Dina free shit. I’m desperate.”

Nora shrugs, “Me? What? I didn’t hear anything just now.”

Jade smiles relief washing away her worries, “How about Ellie though? In case Jesse’s friend can’t make it? Do you think Ellie would finally play in public?”

Nora scrunches up her nose, as if in deep thought. “I’m gonna need more than free hot chocolate to convince Ellie to play. I’ll ask her at work tonight.” She looked at the clock and made her way to get her bag. “Actually, I’m gonna be late for my shift if I don’t leave now. See you later babe?”

“Thank you! Thank you! Please tell her I’m desperate. I’ll even buy her those comics she reads. That’s how desperate I am.”

Dina watches Nora leave the coffee shop in a rush—which didn’t make sense to her, seeing as the campus gym was just two blocks away from the place. Dina liked Nora for Jade. She was level headed, headstrong, and calm. Unlike her friend, Jade, who took the simplest things in the most dramatic turn. Which is the main reason why Dina didn’t have the heart to tell her that Jesse’s friend probably wouldn't make it.

Dina remembers their first year in college. Jade sat next to her in freshman orientation worrying about her schedule and getting lost. They'd been friends ever since.

“Who’s Ellie?” Bonnie asks.

Dina considers Jade expectantly. It’s true. Who is this Ellie and why has she never heard of her before?

“Ellie is Nora’s co-worker from the gym. She’s this super talented babe but she’s also super shy. We’ve been trying to get her to play since we started the program, but she turns us down every time.” Jade grumbles.

“Super talented babe, huh?” Dina teases her friend, winking suggestively.

“I’m serious!” Jade gushes, “Nora and I always tell her she’s hot and how blind she is to all the girls drooling if she just opened her eyes sometimes. We also tell her she’d get girls pregnant with her voice if biology worked like that.”

All three girls laugh from the last comment and continue talking about Nora’s friend, Ellie. She learned a few basic things about the girl before her friends had to go back to work. Ellie apparently only started playing the guitar for less than 10 years, yet she already had her own original songs, and some amazing covers of popular songs. Nora and Jade only get to hear Ellie sing when under the influence of some alcohol, and never outside their friend group.

Dina gathers that getting this Ellie person to play for the event would be a miracle. For a second, she wishes Jesse’s friend wouldn’t be able to make the show, now that the intrigue of Ellie filled her thoughts.  

Back at her table, Dina tries to imagine how a person who was seemingly so beautiful, and extremely talented could be reserved and private at the same time. How could someone keep all that talent hidden away?  What could possibly make someone hide in the first place.

The chime of her phone woke her from the trance.

Jesse had replied to her text. And a message from Savage was left unread.

Jesse: Are you still there? I just woke up from a nap, I could use a coffee to finish my homework.

Dina sighes. Why had she invited him again? She had honestly already forgot, but it’s too late now. She would have to get herself ready for Jesse’s company.

Dina clears out the table for Jesse’s arrival before opening the new message from her partner:

 

5:05 pm

Message from elSavage:

You have a really fucked up sense of humour, Duck. WINK WINK < I’m winking at you too.

 

Dina smiles.

Chapter 3: Flowers and Eggplants

Summary:

Duck makes an assumption. Ellie is at work.

Notes:

Sorry for the delay folks. I wrote a bunch and had a bunch of stuff and then got lazy and now we're here. This was going to be a much longer chapter (around 10k words), but I decided to splice it in two. Which also means I'm going off my outline and this fic will now be more than 14 chapters.

Soft reminder that I do not have a beta, and I make very little edits. Apologies for any mistakes.

This chapter is for msacchi and Lets for encouraging me to update.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

12:45 pm

Message from: DS Duck

Do you think we saw each other in class today?

Savage: I don’t look at people

DS Duck: …

DS Duck: What? Not even Professor Burnham?

Savage: Especially not Boreham

DS Duck: How do you take notes then???

Savage: Google saves lives

 

 

1:02 pm

Message from: DS Duck

Let me rephrase then. Do you think we interacted in class today?

Savage: Some girl took my pen today…

Savage: Was it you?

DS Duck: Nope

Savage: Then someone stole my pen...

Savage: Fuck

Savage: Wait

Savage: are you trying to figure out who i am?

 

 

1:10 pm

DS Duck: Maybe?

Savage: You’re sleuthing!

DS Duck: Maybe?

Savage: What happened to the air of mystery and all that shit???

DS Duck: WINK WINK

 

 

4:45 pm

From: elSavage

To: NotYourD

Subject: Week 2 Entry 2

Hello,

Today my roommate made pancakes for breakfast. Had a cheeseburger for lunch. Some girl stole my pen.

-elSavage

 

 

 

4:47 pm

DS Duck: What’s with the email?

Savage: We’re supposed to send each other journal entries by email!

Savage: For the project

Savage: Not slide in each other’s DM’s

DS Duck: Technically, I didn’t slide in…

DS Duck: You opened the door and let me in…

Savage: You know what I meant!

DS Duck: Are you saying you slid in my DM’s?

Savage: NO! Just…

DS Duck: This is not Tinder, you know…

Savage: It was just an example!

DS Duck: WINK WINK

Savage: Just send me an email! and I’ll compile them

Savage: And make it look like we actually did some work

DS Duck: Are you doing homework right now?

Savage: Nope. Planning. I’m going to class

Savage: Don’t forget the email!

Savage: Please

 

4:55 pm

From: NotYourD

To: elSavage

Subject: Week 2 Entry 2

Hi elSavage,

Is it not funny how my partner thinks it is appropriate to make note and share his daily meals with me, a total stranger? I am not so sure he understands the concept of journaling. Unless he is on a diet and needs to keep track of calorie intake. Or maybe he has a memory issue. Poor thing.

Sincerely,

NotYourDuck

ps. So far I had a grilled cheese and salad and ice cream and an apple and some hot chocolate and a pastry and some fries, but it’s up to you to figure out in which order I ate all of these

 

 

 

5:00 pm

Savage: Um… Duck…

DS Duck: Yes?

Savage: You keep calling me “he” in your email…

DS Duck: Yes... And?

Savage: Did I ever mention my gender to you?

DS Duck: Now that I think of it, I don’t think so

DS Duck: Why?

Savage: lol

DS Duck: ???

DS Duck: Did I mess up?

 

 

5:05 pm

DS Duck: Hello?

 

5:10 pm

DS Duck: Savage?

5:13 pm

DS Duck: Are you a girl?

 

5:20 pm

DS Duck: Shit you’re in class.

DS Duck: Sorry

DS Duck: Message me when you’re done

DS Duck: AS SOON AS YOU’RE DONE!

 

 

7:00 pm

Message from: Savage

You spammed my inbox again, Duck

DS Duck: You never answered my question!

DS Duck: Are you a girl? Did I mess up?

Savage: I see you’re still sleuthing. Detective Duck

Savage: That’s your new name

Det. Duck: I messed up didn’t I?

Savage: I’m extraterrestrial. I’m E.T.

Det. Duck: SAVAGE, PLEASE

Savage: Gotta admit. This new game is fun

Savage: It’s a mystery. Do I have a flower? Do I have an eggplant?

Det. Duck: Who the hell says flower and eggplant??

Savage: Will Duck ever find out? Will Duck crack the mystery?

Savage: Find out on next week’s episode of Detective Duck & Mysteries

Det. Duck: Why won’t you just tell me!

Det. Duck: PLEASE

Savage: Remember when you made me think you got stabbed as a kid?

Det. Duck: That was a joke!

Savage: Aha! Well I can joke too. WINK WINK

 

 

7:15 pm

Message from: Det. Duck

Where are you right now?

Savage: What do you mean?

Det. Duck: Where are you?

Det. Duck: On campus? Where do you live?

Savage: Why?

Savage: You’re bordering on creepy stalker, Duck.

Det. Duck: So I can poke you IN PERSON until you tell me!!

Det. Duck: POKE

Savage: Well first off, if you see me in person, you’d already know

Savage: Second, seeing each other in person defeats the purpose of anonymous classmates!

Det. Duck: ugh

Det. Duck: Fine.

Det. Duck: Don’t tell me.

Det. Duck: I’ll take the torture.

 

 

7:23 pm

Message from: Savage

What torture?!

Det. Duck: Girl or boy? Man or woman?

Savage: lol

Savage: Is knowing really that important to you?

Savage: Because I’m having fun not saying.

Det. Duck: TORTURE!

Det. Duck: You’re enjoying my embarrassment.

 

 

8:03 pm

Message from: Det. Duck

You know what? Let’s change the subject

Det. Duck: Plans tonight?

Savage: Is this your way of figuring out where I’m going be tonight?

Det. Duck: No! It’s Friday, people usually have plans.

Det. Duck: For example, I’m supposed to go on a date tonight.

Savage: Oh. Sorry. I’m working until 12 tonight

Savage: Wait… Supposed to?

Det. Duck: Meh, I like the guy… but I’m not feeling it. You know?

Savage: Is it a food kind of date?

Savage: Because if I go on a date with food, I’d go for the food even if I don’t like the girl.

Det. Duck: Food date? Who the hell says food date?

Det. Duck: And no, it’s a movie date. Some action film that just came out

Savage: I say skip it!

Savage: Popcorn isn’t enough to hold you over for a boring guy

Det. Duck: I never said he was boring!

Savage: You said “meh”

Savage: Girls only say that if they think the guy is boring

Det. Duck: He’s nice. He’s funny. And…

Savage: Boring?

Det. Duck: And too intense.

Savage: Oh

Savage: I didn’t expect that. Intense in a bad way? Like… Murder-y?

Savage: Am I the last person you’re talking to before the date?

Savage: Which theatre are you going to?

Savage: I could kick some ass for you if he is giving you a serial killer vibes.

Savage: DUCK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE

 

8:16 pm

Message from: Det. Duck

Look who’s spamming now! lol

Det. Duck: What is it with you and serial killers?

Savage: Thank fuck you’re still alive

Det. Duck: Of course, I’m still alive.

Det. Duck: And thanks for offering to protect me from my not-a-murderer date.

Det. Duck: That kind of makes us friends now, don’t you think?

Savage: You said the F-word!

Savage: You don’t even know if I’m flower or eggplant yet

Det. Duck: Way to ruin the moment, Savage.

Det. Duck: I’m going on the date by the way. My roommate said I have to give the guy a chance

Savage: HOLY SHIT. WHEN? WHERE? WHAT TIME? HOW DO I MAKE SURE YOU’RE SAFE WITH YOUR MURDER DATE?

Det. Duck: No need to panic, Savage. I told you he’s fine.

Savage: Well, I’m a little worried. You said he’s intense

Savage: I’m clocking in to work now. So I can’t follow you anyway

Savage: But at least let me know when you’ve made it back home safe. To make sure you’re still alive and all that

Det. Duck: Thanks for worrying, Friend. WINK WINK

 

--

 

There was something about Nora at work that made Ellie a little uneasy.

Ever since their shifts started, Ellie caught Nora staring at her on multiple occasions—sometimes even opening her mouth as if to say something, only to clamp it shut and turn away like nothing happened. When Ellie asked her what was going on, Nora shrugged and acted as if she had no idea what her friend was talking about.

The whole situation was weird and made Ellie wonder if she had accidentally angered her friend recently. But even if that were the case, Ellie knew that it wouldn’t make sense. Nora wasn’t the kind of person to keep her feelings bottled up, so her silent stares definitely nagged Ellie to the bone.

Friday night closing hours were Ellie’s least favourite shifts. They’re the quietest time of the week at the campus gym—people usually going out for the night or making plans for the weekend—and meant Ellie would have very little to do for the next few hours. There were barely any IDs to swipe at the entrance, she didn’t even have to help Abby put weights back on their shelves.

Except this night was unusual. Owen was on shift, which was also odd, seeing as he normally left on Fridays to spend the weekend with his girlfriend. His presence at work meant Abby would be right on his tail, following him like a lost and lovesick puppy. This also meant she couldn’t ask Abby what exactly was going on with Nora.

The lack of customers caused Ellie and her coworkers to figure out ways to bide their own time until they closed for the night. She watched Abby goofing off with Owen in the back of the gym eyeing the dumbbells, probably readying up for some friendly competition. Ellie already knew that Abby could easily win any game that involved strength endurance, and Owen—whose expertise leaned more toward agility training—didn’t have a chance against the woman in question.

But knowing Abby’s feelings regarding Owen, Ellie had a feeling her friend would let the poor man win. This is a subject that they had argued about countless times. Ellie and Nora tried to get Abby’s attention away from Owen, suggesting that her crush was not only a waste of energy, but it was also inappropriate. Owen had a pregnant girlfriend who he planned to marry. They relentlessly tried to convince Abby that her efforts were unmatched and that she was wasting time.

Their pleas were always shrugged off, and Abby kept on with her crush. Nora kept up with the reminders, but Ellie had given up long ago. There’s no point trying to force someone to listen to you, sometimes all anyone could do is to be there for their friends when fall. Ellie was ready for whatever Abby would choose to do when she finally realizes pursuing Owen was a dead end.

After all, if it were not for Abby, she wouldn’t have gotten the job at the gym. This job, though tedious at times, allowed her to save money so Joel would not have to help her pay for her new rent. He had already given her so much over the years, and the last thing she wanted was for him to have to spend even more for her. Living off campus was her decision, and she wanted to see through the plans on her own.

If not for Abby, she would probably never have befriended Nora and Jade, and the rest of their crew. While she loved Jesse and the friends he introduced her to, having a separate group of friends has actually brought some variety to Ellie’s social life. The least Ellie could do was to stop pestering her friend and to just be there when Abby needed her.

So Ellie sat with her legs propped up on the counter by the entrance. With nothing else to do, she scrolled through her conversation with her mystery classmate. Whoever this girl was, she certainly kept Ellie distracted on her boring Friday shift.

It had only been a week since the beginning of their project, and Ellie did not expect to be talking to this person as much as they have been.

At this point, she was sure their project was forgotten, the journal entry emails almost immediately replaced with text messages. And most importantly, Ellie still couldn’t believe she had accidentally divulged her real initials. She wondered how close her partner was to figuring out who she really was.

A smile crept onto her face as she remembered a particularly important detail that her partner had mistakenly assumed.

Duck thought Savage was a guy.

This revelation made Ellie chuckle when she read the girl’s email.

Ellie carefully thought about her next step. Should she tell her partner the truth about herself? But what was the fun in that? What if she made herself a candid participant to the project and laid her heart out to this stranger knowing that they would never truly find out who she really was? The professor mentioned that they could play a persona, so Ellie contemplated the idea of giving her partner a version of reality without fully revealing herself.

It sounded fun, to be honest. To be yourself with someone, to be able to tell them secrets and thoughts without feeling the burden of judgement. What an exciting concept, Ellie thought.

But then Duck said they were becoming friends. If they were truly becoming friends—even though Ellie couldn’t find a single clue that indicated a budding friendship in their chat logs—does that mean that Ellie would be setting up her partner for a game of deceit?

If that was the case, then Ellie didn’t want part of it. No matter how much fun it sounded to be mysterious and secretive, the last thing she wanted was to hurt someone in the end. How did a simple class project suddenly become so emotionally confusing?

She decided she would tell Duck the truth. One of the most valuable things Joel had taught her growing up was the importance of integrity and loyalty. He always used to tell her, “When you lie, the only person you end up hurting is yourself.”

So far it rang true in her situation, because even with the littlest of white lies she had told Duck, she already felt the weight of anxiety waiting for her.

The fact that her partner sounded like such a genuinely nice girl made the decision harder to make. Whoever she was, and if she really meant it, Ellie hoped that this project ended up with her gaining a new friend.

The ding of the gym doors startled Ellie out of her thoughts. Who could be out at this time of the night on their way to the gym on a Friday?

Ellie set her feet down on the floor, straightened herself up on her seat, and held her hand out ready to swipe the person’s ID card. A few seconds passed before Ellie realized that she was reaching for nothing.

“Hi, I need your student ID or else you can’t go in.” Ellie sighed not bothering to look up, a little irritated that this person didn’t already know the school’s rules.

“Oh! No, I’m not going in. I’m delivering these for Nora.” A female voice replied.

Ellie finally looked up, her eyes bulging out as she realized who it was.

In front of her stood the cute girl from her class, the one who slammed her bag on her noggin’.

 

Notes:

Thank you for those of you reading and leaving comments and kudos! I'm glad that the cute vibes are being felt, as an angst writer that makes me happy to hear.
I'll try to respond to comments this time.

Chapter 4: The Louis to Your Rick

Summary:

Ellie meets her new biggest fan.

Notes:

I changed the tense of the story, which means I edited to previous chapters to match this one.
I meant to post this last week, but the elections had me go a little crazy, and I'm not even American. BIDEN/HARRIS 2020 bitches!

Soft reminder that there is NO BETA. Advanced apologies for mistakes and typos.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“You!” Ellie exclaims, unintentionally alarming the girl in front of her, “You hit me in the head,” she murmurs, unsure whether the girl even heard her.

The girl studies Ellie for a second before lighting up with recognition.

“You’re in my creative writing class, right? With Professor Burnham?” she asks. Ellie nodded not sure what else to say. “I’m sorry about that by the way. I’m normally on time for class so scooting behind people in a hurry isn’t my forte.” The girl grins and holds out her hand to Ellie, “I’m Dina.”

“Ellie.” she replies simply, shaking the girl’s hand.

Ellie watches Dina gasps, a gleam appearing in her eyes, “You’re Nora’s Ellie!”

“I’m Nora’s who what?” Ellie repeats confused.

Dina places the cups on the counter between them, Ellie recognizing the logo on them coming from Clickers. “Yeah, she and Jade said you’ll be playing at—”

“DINA!”

Ellie and Dina jump in surprise by Nora’s booming voice.

“Dina…” Nora looks between the girls by the counter, a little bug-eyed and nervous, “Thanks for dropping the drinks by. Don’t you have a date to go to?”

Ellie finally looks Dina over properly and realizes she was dressed way too nicely to be at the gym. She had her hair up in a neat bun and wore a red blouse with the front tucked into her dark jeans. If Ellie thought the girl looked cute despite her haggard state in class, then she certainly found Dina even more attractive dressed for a night out.

Ellie clears her throat and barely catches a glimpse of Nora making gestures with her head as if sending silent signals to Dina. This only solidified Ellie’s suspicion of Nora’s strange behaviour.

Dina, whose eyes remained glued on the girl behind the counter, paid no attention to Nora and said, “Yeah, but I just met Ellie. Turns out we have a class together.”

“Wait, you know Ellie?” Nora asks, a hint of alarm in her tone.

“Not really,” Dina answers, “we were just about to get to know each other until you yelled my name.”

“So you’ve never talked before?”

Ellie's brows furrow, eyes squinting between the girls in front of her, wondering what exactly was going on. Why would Nora be agitated by the idea of Dina talking to Ellie, and what was it that Dina said to her about being Nora’s... something

“What did you mean I’m Nora’s Ellie?” Ellie directs the question at Dina, making air quotes as she says her own name.

Dina smiles at her, opening her mouth to answer only to be interrupted by Nora once again.

“Dina, aren’t you going to be late? Date with J? Isn’t he picking you up?” Nora moves forward, making motions to lead Dina out of the building.

“Ok, that’s it.” Ellie stands to walk around the counter to point a finger at her friend. “What’s with you tonight? You’re acting really weird.”

Nora carefully eyes Ellie before slumping her shoulders in defeat. She mumbles a few words to herself that Ellie can’t decipher and reaches around to grab one of the drinks on the counter. She carefully places it in Ellie’s hands.

Ellie warily accepts the cup, carefully inspecting the object expecting to be pranked right on the spot. She spares a glance at Dina, who had an infuriating smile plastered on her face, but Ellie doesn’t know her well enough to be worried of the girl. Nora, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable and ready to combust. Something was definitely up.

Nora sighs deeply before speaking, “It’s your favourite. Hot chocolate with the extra dark chocolate shavings you like. The one Aunt Francine only makes for you,” she points to the three remaining cups on the counter, “There’s another one for you to take home, just in case you wanted more, and also to remind you that I am an awesome friend.”

Ellie takes a cautious sip, relieved to find that it was indeed her favourite drink from Clickers Café. It’s actually an off menu drink that Nora’s aunt once made for her as a reward for helping clear the snow in front of the café last winter. Ellie has been hooked ever since, and only gets to have a taste of this drink when Nora's aunt is at the café.

The situation becomes even more suspicious to Ellie when she remembers that her aunt is away on vacation, and that she couldn’t have possibly made it. So who would have and most importantly why? Because if the drink hadn’t been part of a some practical joke, then what had she done that day to warrant such a kind gift?

“Thanks?” Ellie mumbles perplexed by the it all.

“Don’t thank me yet. I kind of have a favour to ask you.” Nora starts, “Well it’s not for me, it’s for Jade. And it would really help if you can help. But only if you say yes… And I hope you say yes… For Jade.”

Ellie takes a nervous sip of her hot chocolate. Patiently waiting for Nora to get to the point. She looked over to Dina and wondered why the girl was still hanging around for this.

“You haven’t asked her yet? It’s been a week since Jade for help…” Dina raises, and Nora shakes her head.

Whatever the favour was makes Ellie even more curious. It’s even more intriguing, and honestly a little troubling to her, that this Dina person, this charming and beautiful stranger, seemed to know about Nora’s sketchy behaviour more than she did.

“Jade needs you to fill a major spot for this month’s Open Mic Night please,” the words slip out of Nora’s mouth so fast Ellie almost misses them.

Nora’s strange behaviour suddenly made sense.

Her anxious demeanor, how she friend acted nervous in Ellie’s presence all night, and how she carelessly stared at Ellie looking on the verge of asking a question but falling silent when probed.

“Nope. Nope.” Ellie places the cup back on the counter whispering quiet apologies to the delicious beverage, “This drink was a trap! A bribe!”

“One night! Just one night!” Nora pleads clapping her hands together as if praying to Ellie.

“They say you’re really good,” Dina adds, and this doesn’t make Ellie feel any better, “they said you’re a natural. Jade talked you up so much I’m kind of excited to see you perform.”

Ellie can’t stop the blush that creeps up on her face and puts her hands up to cover herself. The pretty girl from class, who happened to be friends with her friends, is “excited” to see her perform?

“I don’t—I… I’m not a performer!” Ellie spat suddenly nervous, “I’m just a player…”

Ellie groans, realizing what she’d just said.

Dina, whose focus was fixed on Ellie laughs quietly, visibly amused by Ellie’s slip-up.

Nora doesn't bother hiding her grin, “Where have you been hiding all the girls, El?”

“I mean… I just play in my room, alone.” Ellie explains, “I don’t play for people. I play for fun! To relax, to wind down.”

“Jade said she’ll even buy you those comics you like as a gift. That’s how desperate she is. What is it called again? Wild Starfish?”

Ellie sighs wondering if her friend even notices a trickle of the discomfort rising she's feeling. She doesn’t bother correcting Nora's mistake either, it's far from the point she's trying to make.

None of that mattered, though, because no amount of bribing could get her to sing and play in front of a crowd of people. Getting a free copy of the newest Savage Starlight issue—as tempting as it sounded—couldn’t even begin to convince her to do it.

Playing the guitar is the one thing in her life that she wants to keep away from prying eyes and judgement. She doesn’t want the instrument to be linked to a form of stress. She has enough of that in her life.

“Wild Starfish? What’s that one about?” Dina asks.

Ellie can’t tell if she’s joking or genuinely asking, so she simply shakes her head and goes back around the counter to sit on her chair. She pulls out her phone and pretends to busy herself wishing that a prank would have been pulled instead.

Nora leans on the counter and places the hot chocolate back in Ellie’s vision. Out of the corner of her eye, Ellie sees Dina typing something on her phone then goes to stand next to their friend.

Ellie was ready to ignore them, but Nora doesn’t let her, “The guy who was supposed to play wanted to get paid for his slot, and obviously, that’s not going to happen. But Jade is willing to give anything to have you play.”

Ellie scoffs, puts her phone down and grabs the cup for another sip. Trap or not, she really does love Aunt Francine’s hot chocolate.

“She’s really stressed about this, El. You know how she gets,” Nora hesitates and for the first time that night, Ellie really notices how nervous she’d been to ask her. “We wouldn’t even be asking if it wasn’t urgent.”

That’s one of the things Ellie likes the most about her friends. While they may be the type to encourage her to try new things, they still respected her boundaries. They’ve never pushed her to play for them before. In fact, the last and only time that she ever sang in front them was at a quiet get together with the help of some alcohol. Lots of alcohol, actually.

Thinking about it now, Ellie slowly understood Nora’s reluctance to ask her to play. Her friend must have planned this for a while, she even went through the trouble of making her aunt’s secret chocolate brew.

Ellie lifts the cup for another sip, “Who made this, by the way? Isn’t your aunt in Florida or something?”

“Jade learned to make them just for you,” Nora answers.

“When’s the show?” Ellie asks.

Nora quickly checks the calendar on her phone, “Next Saturday.”

“What the hell? That means I’d have less than a week to practice,” Ellie eyes widen.

“From what I heard, you don’t even need to practice.” Dina chimes in.

Ellie stares at the girl, wondering exactly what her friends had told her.

“See? You already have a fan!” Nora smiles and Ellie ignores her, already too overwhelmed with the request.

“And there’s a lot of people?” she starts to fidget, unable to stop the nerves from creeping in.

She hasn’t agreed to do the show yet, but even just the thought of it already makes her stomach churn. So, Ellie settles her hands on the cup to stop her hands from twitching.

“If you’re worried about hecklers, I can hit them with my bag, if you want,” Dina winks at her and Ellie has to shut her lips tight from sputtering liquid out from her mouth.

“I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else,” Ellie manages to smile through her wet chocolatey lips.

“Wait, all these questions… Does that mean you’re doing it?” A flash of hope appears all over Nora’s face.

Ellie takes the scene before her and thinks of all the effort her friends had gone through just to ask her a simple favour. The truth was that she would do them the favour for free.

“If I say yes, Jade doesn’t need to get me anything,” she considers out loud, and Nora whoops and runs to Ellie to give her a hug. “Wait… I haven’t said yes yet. I just don't want you to think you have to pay me for something simple. Can I think about it, though?”

“Yes! Thank you! Take all the time you need.” Nora’s excitement oozed with her words, “Actually, just the weekend. We need to know by Monday the latest. Otherwise, take your time!”

“I wouldn’t even know what to play. What’s coffee shop music anyway?”

“You can play anything you want!” Nora answers.

“I could help you,” Dina perks up, “I’ve been to all the shows and I have an idea of the vibe Jade goes for.”

“Why? I don’t even know you,” Ellie shrugs, looking towards Nora for some help.

Meanwhile, Nora looks to her right, panic colouring her face, “Fuck, Dina! You’re going to be really late.”

“No, it’s fine. I texted him a while ago to reschedule.” Dina shrugs, “I kind of had fun watching you guys, and now I get to hang out with Jade's legendary Ellie.”

Ellie snorts, “I don’t know what bullshit they told you about me, but I am so far from legendary.”

Dina gives her a cheeky smile, and Ellie isn’t sure if she imagined it, “Jade had a lot to say, and I needed to see for myself if the stuff she said about you was true.”

Ellie groans, a million thoughts go through her mind, wondering what kind of things Jade told Dina about her, “Nothing bad, I hope?”

“Mostly good things,” Dina winks at her.

Nora clears her throat, a knowing grin on her face, “Well I have to go finish up some reports in the back before we close,” she looks to Ellie, “Please think about it, El. I know you said we don’t need to get you anything, but I will owe you big time!”

Nora removes a cup from the cardboard container to leave with Ellie. She takes the remaining cups and makes her way to the back of the gym where Abby and Owen are. She watches as Nora whispers something to Abby and hauls the girl with her to the back office. Ellie smirks, knowing that Nora bribed Abby away from Owen with a free cup of coffee.

Ellie makes herself comfortable on her seat and hesitantly looks at Dina, “Um… So, were you serious earlier?”

“What do you mean?” Dina asks, placing her arms up on the counter resting her head on them.

“About helping me pick songs to play at the show.”

“Yeah, I was. Why wouldn’t I bet?”

“Well, we literally just met tonight, and I know your backpack more than I know you.”

Dina cringes but there’s a playful tint in her voice, “You’re never letting that one go, are you?”

Ellie bites her lip and rubs a hand behind her neck. She examines the girl, overdressed for the gym, with a hint of a smile directed toward her. This is the moment when Ellie realizes she’s never met anyone like Dina before. Someone who showed their kindness as sincerely as the girl had in such a small amount of time.

“I guess we know each other’s names now,” Ellie says, “we’re not total strangers anymore.”

“Exactly, and strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet, anyway.” Dina smiles and Ellie feels an unusual calmness around this girl.

It was an odd feeling, really, to be comfortable around someone that you barely knew and still felt like whoever this person was, and whatever they wanted, everything would be all right.

Despite only being around each other for no more than half an hour, that was the feeling Ellie got with Dina.

--

Ellie wasn’t sure why, but Dina sat with her at the counter until the end of her shift. She grabbed a chair and kept Ellie company for the rest of the night. They mostly talked about Nora and Jade, they bonded over their shared appreciation for a good cup of hot chocolate, and for a brief moment, they’d even forgotten that they were actually classmates.

Dina immediately made it clear that she expected Ellie to sit next to her in class from now on. Ellie didn’t even have the chance to protest, not that she wanted to, anyway.

She didn’t know exactly how long they’d spent chatting about everything and nothing. Their conversation flowed easier than Ellie expected. Talking was never easy for Ellie, but Dina’s playful, earnest personality didn’t allow Ellie to even feel an ounce of discomfort.

It was a welcome change.  

Their conversation dwindled down when Nora and Abby joined them minutes before closing for the night. Ellie doesn’t miss the curious glances Nora sent her way.

The last thing she remembers before making her way home is Dina writing her number on her empty cup of chocolate.

“Keep this like a memento,” Dina explained, “like a little souvenir to remember the night you met me.”

Ellie scoffs, “That’s really cheesy. You could’ve just added your number straight on my phone.”

“Aw, come on. You know you like it,” Dina nudges her, “Ellie, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

“Pfft… I don’t want to be the Louis to your Rick,” Ellie huffs, “Humphrey Bogart is too cool for you.”

 “Bogart is too cool. Period,” Dina prods. “Text me when you get home?”

Ellie nods, and Dina bids her goodnight.

Just like that, what would have been a boring Friday shift ended up being one of the most memorable night s of Ellie's life.

--

 

 

2:43 am

Message from: Savage

Duck, did you get home safe? Just want to make sure you’re still alive.

 

 

3:03 am

Savage: Just so you know, if I don’t get any sign that you’re not dead around 10am tomorrow, I’m calling the cops.

Savage: Or something…

Savage: 10 o’clock!

 

 

3:14 am

Message from: Duck

Awww! Look at you being all worried and cute.

Savage: THANK FUCK YOU’RE NOT DEAD

Savage: And you don’t even know if I’m cute…

Det. Duck: You care about me WINK WINK

Det. Duck: That's cute enough for me

Savage: You said your boyfriend’s intense. Of course I got worried

Duck: Intense doesn’t mean he’s going to kill me!

Det. Duck: And he’s not my boyfriend

Det. Duck: Maybe it’ll make you feel better to know I didn’t go on the date.

Savage: WHAT

Savage: The poor chap…

Savage: He got stood up.

Det. Duck: I owe him a date, I didn’t leave him alone. You make me sound bitchy, Savage.

Det. Duck: But that’s okay. I still think it’s cute you got worried.

Savage: Dogs are cute. Cats are cute. I’m a normal human.

Savage: It’s basic human decency to get worried about others, you know…

Det. Duck: I thought you were ET?

Det. Duck: You know… Since you won’t tell me if you are, in your words, “flower or eggplant”

Savage: I am EVERYTHING

Det. Duck: Sure you are…

 

 

3:20 am

Savage: So why didn’t you go on the date?

Det. Duck: My friend had an emergency.

Savage: Oh? Are they alright?

Det Duck: Yeah, I think everything is good.

Det. Duck: It ended up being fun, actually. Met someone new too.

Savage: Damn! Your boyfriend must really be boring if you ditched him for a fun time with your friends.

Det. Duck: Again… Not my boyfriend

Det. Duck: Why are you still awake anyway?

 

 

3:32 am

Det. Duck: Nvm… You’re probably asleep now. Night, Savage!

 

 

10:00 am

Message From: Savage

I FELL ASLEEP

Savage: Sorry Duck

Savage: Goodnight to you too.

Savage: Well… I guess good morning now.

 

--

1:42 am

Text from: UNKNOWN NUMBER

Hey Dina. It’s Ellie. This is my number.

 

1:45 am

DINA: Ellie! I’m glad you actually added me.

DINA: What are you doing tomorrow?

ELLIE: Was gonna chill. Maybe play videogames. Not much really.

DINA: Do you want to meet up to pick your songs?

DINA: I did promise to help you.

ELLIE: Sure. I’ll text you when I wake up.

--

Back in her room, instead of throwing the empty cup like any sensible person should have, Ellie tucks the souvenir safely in her desk drawer.

Ellie had a feeling she had just met someone special.

Someone worth keeping sentimental junkfor.

Notes:

I want to thank everyone for reading and commenting and leaving kudos! I'm happy everyone is enjoying this as much as I am.
Chapter title is a reference to "Casablanca"
I hope everyone has a great week ahead!

Chapter 5: The Dad Club

Summary:

Ellie and Jesse Friend Time and Dad Clubs

Notes:

No beta. mistakes and typos are all mine and might be edited later.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Ellie wakes up much earlier than she had planned.

She grumbles and hides under the covers in an attempt to try and get more shut eye before getting out of bed. She quickly wonders whether Ben cooked anything before his shift at the restaurant. Ellie hadn’t eaten dinner the previous night, the sandwich she brought with her was forgotten in the employees lounge fridge when Nora’s friend, Dina, arrived during her shift. The thought made her stomach lurch but she wasn’t sure whether the feeling was from hunger or from the memory of spending the night with Dina.

She first imagined a plateful of bacon paired with whatever new pastry Ben normally made on weekends. It was one of the perks of living with a chef in training who used their kitchen to practice his newly learned culinary skills by making all kinds of food. Ellie never once imagined such luxuries for her time in college. She remembered how Joel warned her about the infamous Freshman 15—the custom of gaining fifteen pounds during the first year of a student’s life in college. This was a ritual that Ellie easily avoided, which made her thank her body’s fast metabolism and busy schedule. Instead, Ben offered his roommates a taste of what an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant would be like.

Living with her friends at the duplex certainly didn’t have the usual aspects of college life. There were no scattered pizza boxes lying around, instead there was always fresh produce in the fridge, and baked goods in the morning. Ben definitely spoiled his roommates. It was a big change from the food Ellie would normally have eaten at the school’s cafeteria, and after having a taste of “the good stuff” as Ben would say, she couldn’t think to live any other way.

She wondered if Dina lived on campus. Ellie had forgotten to ask. In all honesty, she hadn’t really said much during their conversation the previous night. Dina had done most of the talking, while Ellie quietly sipped on her beverage. She’d offered the second cup to her unexpected visitor hoping the drink would distract Dina from Ellie’s curious gaze. It was then that she got a good look at the other girl’s eyes. They were bright irises swimming in the calmest of browns she had ever seen. Nothing had ever looked so peaceful to Ellie than Dina’s eyes, and she had never been so mesmerized.

Ellie sketched them on her empty cup the moment she got home before she hid the object away in a drawer. Her attempt to preserve the memory of meeting Dina for the first time overlapped with the thought that her actions were a little creepy. What kind of sick person keeps a drawing of someone’s eyes on an empty throw-away cup?

She didn’t know the answer, but Ellie knew that nothing about it was malicious. It’s not like she would ever really be friends with Dina anyway. People like her probably talked to everyone they met, playing nice at first until they met someone more interesting, someone worth sticking around for. All of which were elements that Ellie didn’t see herself fulfilling. Everyone she’d ever felt close to either left or died. She wasn’t one to hold on to hope anymore.

Sure, Dina was nice. She carried an air of genuine kindness that Ellie noticed when the girl easily dropped her date to help a friend. There was not a single person in Ellie’s life that she could think of who would do anything like that for her. Joel doesn’t count, he’s technically her dad and adopting her meant he chose to care for her. She wasn’t sure if any of her friends had ever shown an ounce of the kind-heartedness that Dina presented her that night.

The idea of having Dina as a friend terrified Ellie.

It was hard to understand the situation, at first. Ellie asked herself over and over why Dina had chosen to stay with her that night, only coming up with Nora as their mutual friend. Dina was only being polite, Ellie thought. Dina talked with such ease, asking Ellie questions, telling her stories and simply smiling when Ellie fumbled for any sort of response.

Ellie didn’t understand the look of awe in Dina’s eyes upon realizing who she was. She couldn’t think of a single thing about herself that would make someone look at her like she was the most prized painting at a museum. Thinking back to her shaggy work outfit only made Dina’s gaze even more puzzling. What could it have been, despite her disheveled and awkward manner, that had Dina inspect Ellie with such obvious admiration?

As much as Ellie wanted to know, as much as she wanted to ask what her friend had told Dina about her, Ellie didn’t have the courage voice her question. More so, she didn’t want to spoil the stillness of their night by bringing her worries out in the open. If this was her only chance to chat with Dina, then she would have to bury her concerns and relish the moment.

But then Dina demanded Ellie to sit with her in class. And then Dina asked to hang out again. And Dina wrote her number down. Dina hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in letting Ellie go any time soon.

Which left Ellie in a spiral of her own thoughts, more worried than excited about having made a new friend. The kind of friend she had worked so hard to avoid in the last few years. Dina was the kind of friend that would be hard to lose if anything were to go wrong.

Ellie sighs and rubs her eyes. She could definitely use some food in her stomach to pluck up the courage she needed to text Dina about meeting up.

Despite all her efforts to stay hidden in the comfort of her bed, she braves a peek around her room to find the culprit of her early rising. She doesn’t have to look far, though, as her eyes squint from the harsh light beaming bright from the window. The sun looks higher up in the sky than it should have at nine in the morning.

Ellie groans, realizing then that she had forgotten to close her blinds the night before.

Once dressed and out of her room, she finds Jesse slumped and brooding on the couch half-heartedly playing a game on the console in the living room.

“Hey, you’re home!” She says as she plops down next to him, “I thought you’d spend the night with your girlfriend.”

Jesse huffs, keeping his eyes on the TV, “We didn’t go out last night.”

“Oh, shit! Is she here?” Ellie looks around for any sign of another girl in the house.

“No. As in we didn’t go out at all. She rescheduled last minute and I spent the night cleaning up and then I watched a movie on my laptop.”

“But didn’t you have a whole thing planned?”

Jesse pauses his game, places the controller on his lap and covers his face with his hands, “I know! But I was gonna surprise her, so she technically didn’t know.” He inhales deeply and continues, “I’m just bummed that I hyped myself up and then she didn’t show up last minute. I mean, sure she had an emergency, and I get those things happen and it’s fine! It’s totally fine, but man… I should have probably just told her what the real date was.”

Ellie looks at her friend, distress painted all over his face. She tried to understand him, but Jesse was the kind of person who felt the need to organize everything and had the strongest determination to follow through his plans. While it may be a great personal trait to have, it was also Jesse’s biggest downfall. His blind persistence always prevented him from seeing the possibility that plan might fail.

And this time it had.

“Hey, at least she rescheduled! She didn’t completely ditch you, that’s a good thing right?” Ellie patted his shoulder, hoping that her tone was positive enough to cheer up her friend, “like you said, she had an emergency, you can’t plan those. It’s not like she woke up that morning and randomly decided she didn’t like you. You’ll have another night for another date. I’m sure it’ll go great next time around.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Jesse placed his head on her shoulder.

Ellie took this as a good sign. Maybe she was getting to him.

“Wanna hang out with me today?” Jesse asks her, hope shining bright in his eyes, “We haven’t hung out just the two of us in a long ass time. I miss Ellie and Jesse Friend Time.”

Ellie considered Jesse’s offer. It’s true that they hadn’t spent time together in a long time. Their schedules always clashed, only allowing them to see each other in odd hours of the day. The last time their week matched was the day he helped her move in—it was a miracle, given that they had barely seen each other the previous weeks.

Truth be told, she had also missed hanging out with Jesse.

Out of all the friends she had made over the years, Jesse had been the closest to her. Or, at least, he was as close to her as she let anyone else be.

Ellie thought of Dina, recalling her confusing bout of anxiety earlier in bed. She’d been overwhelmed with the idea of having Dina as a friend. Ellie had a habit of overthinking things, this time was the thought of losing someone before she even had them to begin with. There was something about Dina that felt too real for Ellie, too intense, and too much of the things she avoided, and that terrified her.

It was an odd feeling, really—despite her fears of opening up to someone, and despite the fact Dina’s genuine kindness startled her and made her anxious to the bone— Ellie hasn’t felt such calming ease around someone before. Dina was clear in showing the kind of friendship she was inclined to offer. It’s the kind that Ellie deflected, the kind she protected herself away from. But she had a feeling that Dina wouldn’t be so easy to ward off.

There is something about this girl that Ellie couldn’t get her mind off of.

Maybe hanging out with Jesse was the best distraction from all her thoughts. Maybe what she needed in this moment is to get a last taste of what she’s already been used to, what she’s been comfortable with for years before jumping in the tantalizing pool of whatever Dina had to give.

“I’m supposed to meet someone today,” Ellie says quickly noticing the way Jesse’s eyes fell, “but I can tell her to meet another day instead. I miss Ellie and Jesse Friend Time too, which by the way, is a really stupid phrase for just saying you miss me.”

Jesse snorts and smacks her on the face with a pillow, “shut up, dude. I know you missed me too.”

“Okay. So what are we gonna do?”

“Games. Movies. More games. More movies,” Jesse counts with his fingers, “Oh and we can catch up while we eat. Ben made this Italian egg cake thing. He called it a Fruitato? Or something ta-ta.”

“Hakuna Matata?”

“I don’t fucking know, dude” Jesse frowns and shakes his head, and they laugh in tandem.

“Okay. I like your plan. Games, movies, and matatas,” Ellie gets up from the couch making her way back to her room to grab her phone, “and I'll help you plan the next date. Let me just text this person quickly.”

__

 

-9:45 am-

TEXT FROM: ELLIE

hey dina, it’s ellie, nora’s friend. can’t make it today. my roommate had a bad night and requested some friend time

DINA: I know who you are, Ellie. lol You don’t have to introduce yourself. I have your number saved, you know…

ELLIE: oh. haha. i just had to make sure

DINA: So are you doing the show?

ELLIE: no, i don’t know… maybe… we’ll see…

DINA: We don’t even have to pick songs if you want. We could just chill. I’m free Sunday afternoon. We can have lunch together or something

-9:57am-

ELLIE: are you sure? You don’t have to hang out with me because of nora or wtv…

DINA: I’m not asking just because you’re Nora’s friend. You shared your hot chocolate with me, I think that pretty much makes us friends even without Nora.

DINA: Unless you don’t want to…

ELLIE: NO!

ELLIE: i mean

ELLIE: i like food. i get hungry. we can have lunch

DINA: Perfect! I’ll see you tomorrow? I can pick you up if you want.

ELLIE: cool! text me tomorrow and we can figure things out

 

__

 

10:06 am

Message From: Det. Duck

Why am I not surprised you that you said goodnight in the morning? It’s very Savage of you.

 

11:02 am

Message From: Det. Duck

I’m bored.

Det. Duck: What are your doing today? Mine plans fell through

Savage: People call that Karma where I come from, Duck

Det. Duck: And where do you come from, exactly?

Savage: HA nice try, Miss Detective

Savage: You’re so sneaky with your questions

Det. Duck: I thought you were going to say you’re from space. Missed opportunity, really, E.T.

Savage: I have a joke for you since you’re bored

Det. Duck: Go on…

Savage: What’s something Detective Duck isn’t good at?

Det. Duck: I don’t know… Flying?

Savage: Quackin’ mysteries!

 

11:10 am

Det. Duck: Congratulations, Savage.

Savage: What for?

Det. Duck: You’re a dad.

Savage: I’m a dad?

Det. Duck: I like telling Dad jokes too, you know.

Det. Duck: Sometimes he even laughs

Savage: YES

Savage: I knew you had it in you! Welcome to my Dad Club

Det. Duck: Thank you for fulfilling my dreams of being a dad, Savage.

Savage: Why, you’re most welcome, fellow Dad

Savage: I’m promoting you from Detective to Dad Duck

Det. Duck: Okay NO. You are NOT calling me Dad.

Savage: I was going to say “who’s your daddy” but that makes me wanna barf soooo

Det. Duck: Good. Go barf. Go to the corner and think about what you thought.

Savage: Well now you sound like a mom…

Det. Duck: Make up your mind, Savage. I can’t be both parents!

Savage: It’s a good thing you’re just Duck then

 

12:03 pm

Savage: Hey we never finished playing 20 questions

Savage: Want to keep going?

Det. Duck: I kind of thought you hated the game.

Savage: I mean, you’re the one to blame for that

Savage: Miss McStabby

Det. Duck: Oh come on, that was supposed to be funny.

Savage: It made you sound maniacal. But I’m willing to overlook your fiendish sense of humor, now that you’re in the Dad Club

Det. Duck: Oh wow. How generous of you.

 

12:10 pm

Det. Duck: So are you asking questions, or do you want me to go first?

Savage: Calm your tits, I’m googling fun questions

Det. Duck: Excuse me? My tits are super calm, thank you very much.

Det. Duck: Since you’re taking forever, I’ll start

 

12:14 pm

Det. Duck: Flower or Eggplant?

Savage: Sneaky as always huh Duck

Det. Duck: It’s a fair question…

Det. Duck: AND you’re the one who wanted to keep playing again. Plus I can get more creative with my questions if I knew.

Savage: I guess I can put you out of your misery

Savage: Two birds one stone. Except there’s only 1 bird. And I don’t want to stone you.

Savage: So technically not even two birds one stone

Savage: What do you think?

Det. Duck: Are you deflecting?

Savage: Is that another question?

Det. Duck: You’re infuriating…

 

12:17 pm

Savage: Ask me something more fun, and maybe I might just answer your first question.

Det. Duck: Okay, fine.

Det. Duck: What food combination do you think should be banned?

Savage: Celery and peanut butter. Even weirder when people put raisins on them.

Det. Duck: You don’t like ants on a log?

Savage: I don’t like what?

Det. Duck: You literally just described a childhood snack. It’s called ants on a log because that’s what it looks like.

Savage: But celery is green?

Savage: It’s not even close to being a tree

Savage: Who the hell came up with that name. It’s just as dumb as combining peanut butter with celery

Det. Duck: Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just telling you what I know.

Det. Duck: Your turn…

 

12:24 pm

Savage: If you could live on any other planet, other than Earth, obviously, which one would you choose?

Det. Duck: That’s the second question you asked me about planets.

Savage: What? Space is cool.

Savage: So? Planet?

Det. Duck: I don’t really know planets so I guess… Venus?

Savage: Why that one?

Det. Duck: Isn’t it supposed to be the planet for women or something? Imagine a planet just for women, I think that would be amazing.

Savage: Technically not really. It’s named after the roman goddess of love and beauty and people just misinterpreted is as being the planet for women

Savage: But I see your point

Det. Duck: That still sounds pretty fantastic though, a planet that represents love and beauty, I could live there.

Det. Duck: You taught me something today!

Det. Duck: What about you? Which one would you want to live in?

Savage: Easy. Mars.

Det. Duck: Should I bother asking why?

Savage: It’ll take ages to explain

Det. Duck: Then I’ll have to remember to ask again next time. WINK WINK

 

1:14 pm

Savage: I lost track. Is it my turn to ask?

Det. Duck: I lost track too. But shoot.

Savage: This one might sound weird, but it’s a legitimate question

Savage: And you don’t have to answer if it’s too weird or something

Det. Duck: Out with it, Savage. Give me your weirdest.

Savage: Say you have a friend. And that friend has a crisis and asks you to do something. But the something makes you embarrassed. But doing the something will help the friend a lot. Would you do the something?

 

1:20 pm

Det. Duck: That’s a lot of “somethings”

Savage: Is it too weird?

Savage: Never mind, it’s too weird, huh?

Savage: I’ll ask something else

Det. Duck: No it’s fine. I just had to read it over a couple times to understand it lol

Savage: Oh. Sorry about that, it’s the best I could do to make it sound vague

Det. Duck: My answer is…

Det. Duck: I would help my friend with a crisis even if it meant I had to do something embarrassing.

Savage: Fuck that doesn’t help

 

1:33 pm

Det. Duck: Wait a minute

Det. Duck: Was the question your way of asking me for advice?

Det. Duck: Is that why you wanted to play 20 questions?

Savage: Kind of?

Savage: A little bit of both

Savage: I’m sorry if I made it weird.

Det. Duck: No! It’s fine, Savage.

Det. Duck: You could have just asked lol

Det. Duck: So what’s the embarrassing thing you have to do?

Savage: Can’t say. It’s too specific

Det. Duck: Okay…

Det. Duck: Does it involve anything dangerous?

Det. Duck: Because if your life is in danger for helping a friend, then definitely don’t take my advice. Call the cops for that one.

Savage: Haha. No. Nothing dangerous. My life is totally safe.

Det. Duck: Then I say do it. Do the embarrassing thing, make a friend happy, and who knows what if you end up having fun too?

Savage: Fun…

Savage: I didn’t even think of it being fun, actually. I guess it could end up being fun

Savage: You make a good point.

Det. Duck: I have a lot of good points. Many good things are in my brain. Dr. Duck, at your service.

Savage: Oof, don’t get ahead of yourself, Duck

Savage: You don’t want your head to be bigger than your beak, but that’s your new name. Dr. Duck

Dr. Duck: My point is…

Dr. Duck: Next time you want my advice, don’t pretend you want to play 20 questions. Deal?

Savage: Deal. But I do like the game

Savage: Just so you know

 

 

2:27 pm

Savage: You never asked a question back

Savage: So I’ll just answer your first one

Savage: I’m a girl

Savage: Flowers over eggplants, any day

Notes:

Sorry for the delay folks. I got addicted to the game Forager, and I played the game every time I sat down to write. I also wrote 3 versions of this chapter and this is the only survivor. And I might have got distracted making a list of other Dina/Ellie AUs and considered reviving my old tumblr to share, but my remembering my password is tricky.

Anyway I hope you all like this one.

Again, thank you for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos! You are all appreciated.

Chapter 6: Friendship Is Magic

Summary:

Dina gets ready.
Savage reveals something.
Dr. Duck starts a new game.

Notes:

Sorry for the delay, my goddaughter was born last week and she has filled up my days since then. Not to mention 2020 Christmas online shopping has been INTENSE.

No beta, mistakes and typos are mine... until I edit them later

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

[SATURDAY]

 

“So, tell me more about your girlfriend.”

Ellie and Jesse finally sat down to eat after playing a few rounds of Super Smash Bros with Jesse, and after following Ben’s instructions on how to reheat the egg matata dish he made for them. Jesse eventually relaxed enough to talk about the girl he avoided talking about for the past hour.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs, “what do you want to know?”

“Well for starters, does she have a name? What is she like? You only ever talk about how great she is but then I find you sulking on the couch on a Saturday. It doesn’t add up.”

Jesse looks up at the ceiling as if carefully choosing his next words, “Deen. I call her Deen. She’s really smart. She’s studying something about bodies or something. I’m not really sure, every time she talks about it, I zone out and just stare at her because of how beautiful she is.”

Ellie laughs at her friend. She’d witnessed how moronic Jesse behaved around girls he liked. He was the kind of person who could be focused on a subject but still be distracted by the simplest things. She remembers their time in high school, how Jesse would flit from girl to girl quickly losing interest until another caught his attention.

This new girlfriend of his, the one that he’d somehow kept private from Ellie for so long, sounded like the first girl that has been able to cement Jesse’s attention. Ellie had wanted to praise whoever this woman was, since keeping Jesse fully absorbed looked like a difficult task, and this girl succeeded well.

“Okay, now that she has a name, will I ever get to match it with a face?” Ellie prodded, “You’ve been dating for almost a month and I still haven’t met her. What gives?”

“It’s nerve wracking!” Jesse huffs, “She’s the perfect girl, but what if she doesn’t like my best friend?”

“I’m not your best friend, Jesse. You know I don’t do best friends.”

Ellie sighed. She and Jesse have had this argument countless times before. Sure, he may be her closest and oldest friend, but Ellie ensured that she would never have anyone be her best friend again.

Not since Riley. Not since the accident.

She hated the idea of getting close to people only to lose them in the end. Jesse never understood, but he respected her boundaries—although he sometimes forgets or maybe he just ignores her and still says that Ellie is his best friend.

“Whatever, man.” Jesse pouts, disappointed, “My point still stands. I’m worried that if she doesn’t like you, then the relationship is a no-go. Bros before Hos.”

“Oh my God, please tell me you did not just call your girlfriend a ho.” Ellie groans.

“It’s just an expression! I was just trying to make a point.”

She chuckles, “I know, dude. I’m just giving you a hard time.” Ellie eats another forkful of her breakfast then has a thought, “she sounds like a nice person. But that still doesn’t explain why you’re moping around.”

Jesse finishes his plate and walks over to the sink to rinse it. When he turns back around to look at Ellie, the dejected look on his face makes her stop eating her food.

“She um… It’s not the first time she’s cancelled a date,” he sputters the words out a little shy and quiet.

Ellie stares at her friend a little dumbfounded and confused.

“How many times has she blown you off?” Ellie demanded, suddenly wanting to find this girl and making her pay for ditching her friend.

“Well, it’s only the third time she cancelled or postponed or whatever. And I haven’t seen her all week.” Jesse looks anywhere but at Ellie, scared to see how she would react, so he quickly adds before she could say anything, “But it’s okay, because technically last night was an emergency, right? It’s not like she made up a story. She’s too good of a person to do something like that. And she has lots of friends, so she’s busy. Because she’s caring. And she really is great. So, so great.”

Ellie fails to control her disdain, the scowl on her face more obvious than she’d anticipated, “I don’t know Jesse. It kind of sounds like your relationship is one-sided. I’m not a fan of her anymore.”

“I swear she’s good El!” Jesse adds, trying hard to get Ellie to get back on his side, “You’ll see when you meet her—and it’ll be soon. You’ll meet soon. And you’ll see how great she is.”

“Hm… I don't know, Jesse. I guess we'll have to wait and see when I meet her.”

Ellie finishes her plate while keeping a close eye on Jesse. She trusts that her friend can make good decisions, but she also knows that her friend‘s judgement could get obscured by his overly optimistic thoughts.

While Ellie was known to be cautiously cynical, Jesse was the complete opposite. He’s the kind of person who gets caught up seeing the good in people but also quick to overlook their flaws. What if his infatuation with this new girl made him indifferent to her suspicious behavior?

She hoped that Jesse’s girlfriend wasn’t one to worry about. For her friend’s sake, she hoped the girl was as great as she was described.

 

--

[SUNDAY]

 

Dina changes her outfit five times.

Clothes are scattered all over the floor of her room, a small pile littered her bed, and more than half the contents of closet is out—it’s the messiest she has ever been in her entire life.

Dina isn’t really sure why, but there is a nagging voice in the back of her head that tells her she has to look perfect for her lunch with Ellie.

Ellie.

Thoughts of the girl have flooded Dina’s mind ever since meeting the other night. Memories of their short time together played on repeat for the past couple days. Dina remembers the way Ellie tightened her lips in a straight line, preventing herself from smiling big anytime she cracked a joke. Dina can only imagine how Ellie’s smile would look like if she didn’t compress the urge. She noticed the way Ellie’s eyes hovered over her in interest, a move that would have made Dina self-conscious if it were any other person. Strangely enough, Ellie doing so didn’t make her feel awkward, rather the gesture made her feel honored to be regarded in such a way.

Mostly, Dina remembers Ellie’s eyes, how the light green hues reminded her of the pine forest trees behind her uncle's house, something akin to home.

There was an ease of familiarity being around Ellie, something that Dina hasn’t felt with anyone in a long time. In fact, she doesn’t remember if she had ever felt so easily comfortable around someone before. Sure, Dina was known to be a friendly and pleasant person but having tons of friends didn’t necessarily guarantee deep connections with every single person she met.

Ellie was surprisingly quieter than she’d anticipated, Dina couldn’t believe it at first, she’d imagined someone much louder in both posture and character. Most of the musicians that performed at the café had extravagantly showy personalities, all of which were words that were not fit to describe Ellie. The girl’s reaction to Nora’s request amazed Dina. Ellie obviously feeling uneasy with the favor but clearly feeling torn with wanting to help a friend despite her own anxiety.

Talking to Ellie alone after Nora had left them for the rest of the night was the highlight of the interaction for Dina. She worried she might have talked Ellie’s ear off, but quickly noticed that the girl preferred to listen than to talk. Dina didn’t mind this, she didn’t mind having Ellie’s focus reserved for her, she didn’t mind it when Ellie gave her short answers. Dina simply absorbed the situation and wished she could get more of them in the future.

It’s the strange mixture of quiet and charming that Dina found alluring about Ellie.

It’s safe to say that she has never been this hypnotized by anyone in her life.

Shaking the thoughts away again for what felt like the thousandth time, she finally settles on a pair of soft blue jeans neatly tucked in the bottom of her closet that she hasn’t worn in a while. She prefers to wear leggings to class, comfort is a must when you have to sit through hours of long lectures.

The rational part of her brain reminds her that this lunch isn’t a date, that she doesn’t have to worry about what she’s wearing. Ellie doesn’t seem the type to judge people by their looks, anyway, and Dina shouldn’t have to stress about something as simple as her outfit.

But that voice in her head is loud. She doesn’t understand it, but it reminds her that Ellie is unlike anyone she has met before.

Despite the thought crossing her mind several times, she doesn’t understand why she feels the need to impress her new friend. And she most certainly doesn’t understand the anxiety bubbling up her chest every time she thought of Ellie.

Now that her bottoms were chosen, she had one last challenge to tackle: choosing an appropriate top. A blouse is too formal, too prim, too date-like. But a sweater feels too laid back, a little too unconcerned. She doesn’t want to seem too pushy without looking chilled-out either. Whatever she chose, it had to be right, she couldn’t risk having Ellie scared off by giving the wrong impression.

Dina looks at the clock on her bed side table and begins to panic. Time slipped faster than her thoughts, leaving her with only a few minutes to spare before having to leave to pick up Ellie at her house. She rummages through the clothes on her bed and finds what she was looking for: a burgundy sweater with a deep V-neckline.

She looks herself over in the mirror by her dresser and smiles to herself. The outfit is perfect. It was neither too fancy nor sluggish—she hoped it looked cozy enough to make Ellie feel comfortable around her.

“Hey D, have you seen—”

Dina turns around and finds her sister, Talia, by the door.

“What the hell happened to your room?” The older girl asks, looking at her surroundings then at her sister, “wait… are you going on a date?”

“No, just meeting a new friend.” Dina ignores the smile creeping up on her sister’s face.

“Does this new friend happen to be the guy you’ve been going on dates with?”

“No, not him. And like I said, it’s not a date.” Dina turns around and starts putting clothes back in her closet.

“So why are you dressed up then?” Talia goes to sit on the bed, waiting for Dina’s answer.

“I’m not dressed up! I just want to wear something different, I guess.” Dina continues to pretend with her cleanup and waits for her sister to leave, but Talia pushes.

“Who are you trying to impress?”

Dina stills. She finally turns around to face her older sister with a slight tint of red on her cheeks.

“Honestly? It’s more like… I-I’m trying not to scare someone away. And I’m still trying to figure this out,” she motions to her outfit and bunches her hair up behind her head, “What do you think? Hair up or down?”

Talia puts a finger up to her chin, trying to understand what was going on with her sister, “Depends if whoever you’re meeting wants a bit of your neck. Or if you want them to see your neck. So is it really not a date?”

Dina considers her sister’s words. Too much neck, not enough neck, but even more… why does it matter how much of her neck she’s showing? It’s only Ellie. It’s only lunch.

“Hair down, then” she decides. “Actually, I’m going to be late if I don’t leave now. But I promise to talk later when I understand more of… Whatever This is.”

Dina looks around her room for her purse, checking that she has everything she needs. She kisses Talia on the cheek and hurries out.

“Be careful!” She hears Talia call out to her as she shuts the door of their apartment.

Dina can’t afford to be questioned by her sister for what she’s doing when she doesn’t understand what’s going on either. She hopped inside her car, tapped Ellie’s address on her phone and made her way out. She hoped meeting Ellie would explain some of what she’s been feeling since meeting her.

Back inside the apartment, Talia knocks on the door to the room across from Dina’s.

“Come in.” The voice inside said.

“Hey, Bonnie,” Talia entered the room finding Bonnie sitting cross-legged on her bed, furiously typing on her laptop.

“Tal! What’s up?” Bonnie says without looking up.

“I was wondering,” Talia starts, “Do you know who Dina’s meeting up with today?”

Bonnie looks up, “No, should we be worried?”

Talia leans on the doorframe and thinks for a moment, Bonnie looking at her in confusion. “I’m not sure. She said something about not wanting to scare someone away. Does that ring any bells for you?”

Bonnie chuckles lightly, “Who would be scared of Dina? She’s too much of a sweetheart to scare anyone off.”

“She looked nervous too,” Talia shakes her head, her eyes motioning to the room behind her, “have you seen the mess in her room?”

“What mess?” Bonnie gets up from her bed and peeks around Talia to look into Dina’s room, “Holy hurricane!”

“See what I mean? Who knows how many times she must have changed?”

Bonnie looks at Talia, her face now mimicking the same confusion the older woman wore. She hops back onto her bed and grabs her phone.

“Maybe she has a date with Jesse today. She missed their date on Friday so she might be making up for it or something.” Bonnie suggested.

Talia shakes her head again, “Is that his name? Jesse—the one she’s been dating?”

“Wait… You don’t know his name?”

“She actually hasn’t mentioned him much, to be honest.” Talia shrugs.

“Huh…” Bonnie sighs, “I really thought she liked him. But if she doesn’t say much about him to you then maybe not? Who knows, Tal.”

“Well, maybe whoever she’s meeting up with today, I hope she at least tells me about him when she gets home.” Talia nods to Bonnie and turns to leave for her own room, “Thanks, anyway.”

 

---

 

[SATURDAY]

 

2:27 pm

Savage: You never asked a question back

Savage: So I’ll just answer your first one

Savage: I’m a girl

Savage: Flowers over eggplants, any day!

 

2:45 pm

Message From: Dr. Duck

I can’t tell if you’re telling the truth.

Dr. Duck: How do I know you’re not messing with me?

Savage: Well, how do I know you’re telling the truth too?

 

3:03 pm

Dr. Duck: I have no reason to lie.

Savage: Neither do I

Dr. Duck: There’s probably only 20 guys in our class, and 40 or so girls.

Dr. Duck: It’s harder for me to figure out if you’re a girl. Maybe you’re trying to trick me

Savage: Ok, so in your theory, what do you think I’d get from “tricking” you?

Dr. Duck: I don’t know… What if you’re trying to confuse me so I never find out who you really are?

Savage: That’s a good point

Savage: But I promise you I’m telling the truth

Savage: Scout’s honor

 

3:16 pm

Dr. Duck: Let’s say you ARE telling the truth.

Dr. Duck: Why the change of heart? Why tell me now?

 

3:45 pm

Savage: First off, I really am telling the truth

Savage: Second, I kind of feel bad that I duped you into giving me advice

Savage: Which I’m grateful for, by the way. Because you didn’t have to help me once you read into it. And you still tried to help me

Savage: I kind of get a good vibe from you

 

3:58 pm

Dr. Duck: You know what? I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Dr. Duck: I accept the theory of you being a girl.

Savage: It’s not a theory. I AM a girl

Savage: Do I have to send you a picture for you to believe me?

 

4:00 pm

Dr. Duck: Are you really going to send a picture?

Savage: Of course, I’m not sending you a picture

Dr. Duck: Damn, you got my hopes up for nothing. WINK WINK

 

4:16 pm

Savage: You’re levelling up in our ranks of online friendship, are you sure you want to jeopardize your current level with me sending you a picture?

Dr. Duck: Hold up, forget the picture. What do you mean by “levelling up”?

Dr. Duck: I didn’t know we had levels. Where am I at now? How many levels are there?

 

4:39 pm

Savage: It’s simple

Savage: Levels 1 and 2 are acquaintanceship, that’s when you just kinda know of someone

Savage: Levels 3 and 4 are normal friends that hang out but still kinda annoy each other

Savage: Then level 5 and up are close friends that you don’t want to kill

Dr. Duck: That’s terrifyingly elaborate, Savage. Are you sure you’re okay?

 

4:43 pm

Savage: You asked!

Dr. Duck: So if 5 is close friends, where do you put your best friends?

Savage: Bestfriendship is the highest level, obviously

Dr. Duck: That’s a lot of ships but yes, of course, obviously WINK WINK

 

5:02 pm

Dr. Duck: So am I high up in your ranks yet? Am I one of your best friends?

Savage: HA good luck with that. You can’t be my best friend. It’s impossible and never going to happen, seeing as we’ll probably never meet in person

Dr. Duck: Ouch, way to dig the knife in quick and deep, Savage.

Savage: We don’t even know each other’s real names

Savage: Don’t you think it would be weird to have a best friend without knowing the most basic information about them?

Dr. Duck: Well, yeah there’s that, but I’m not one to rule out the impossible.

Dr. Duck: By the way, your system is really well thought out. Do your friends know you’ve been grading them? Lol

 

5:21 pm

Savage: It’s not a system! It’s a way of life

Savage: And I’m not grading my friends. I just like to know which of my friends are what. Kind of like how you have to separate clothes when you do laundry

Dr. Duck: Did you just compare your friends to dirty laundry?

Dr. Duck: Oof, you’re harsh Savage, as always.

Savage: Out of all I said, your brain stuck to my laundry analogy? Interesting train of thought you got there.

 

6:34 pm

Dr. Duck: You don’t see it, but I’m smiling right now.

Savage: Okay?

Dr. Duck: You’re giving me ideas.

Savage: Do I even want to know?

Dr. Duck: So you know how I like games right?

Savage: Oh no. You’re starting a new game and we haven’t even finished playing 20 questions

Savage: My brain is like scrambled eggs whenever we talk

Savage: I can barely keep up with you and we’re only chatting

 

7:45 pm

Dr. Duck: Hey! You’re the one who wrote an essay about how you categorize your friends

Savage: Because you asked me!

Dr. Duck: Only because you mentioned levels!

Savage: I am so confused right now

Dr. Duck: Honestly? Me too Lol

 

8:31 pm

Savage: What’s the new game then? You never said

Dr. Duck: Oh right!

Dr. Duck: Well it’s more of a challenge for me. You barely have to do anything

Savage: I like this so far

Savage: What are you going to do?

 

8:46 pm

Dr. Duck: We’re going to be best friends, Savage.

Savage: Duck, you’re quackin’. Crazy. Insane.

Savage: And like I said before, that’s impossible

Dr. Duck: You say impossible? I think it’s an excellent challenge

Dr. Duck: We’re literally in the same class, I could figure out who you are. We could meet, it’s going to be great.

Dr. Duck: What do you think? Like I said, it’s more a game for me than it is for you.

 

8:57 pm

Savage: So you mean it’s a lose/lose situation.

Savage: What do I get if I win? What do YOU get?

Dr. Duck: Friendship is magic, Savage. We both win in the end.

Savage: Okay my little pony princess Duck

Savage: You do realize I need to agree in the end for the so called “magic” to happen. What if I say no?

 

9:32 pm

Dr. Duck: I know you won’t say no. I am positive my charm will work on you.

Dr. Duck: We pretty much talk every day at this point. You’ll soften up soon enough.

Dr. Duck: I’ll creep in your deepest darkest secrets, I’ll slide into your life and we’ll be friends before you know it.

 

10:03 pm

Savage: You’re definitely creeping, all right.

Dr. Duck: You love it.

Savage: Creepy

 

10:37 pm

Dr. Duck: So when do you think we’ll meet?

Savage: Who said we were meeting?

Dr. Duck: Maybe not now, but I’m sure we’ll meet some day.

Dr. Duck: You wait and see, Savage.

 

11:58 pm

Savage: You’re so creepy, Duck.

 

Notes:

Thank you for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos! You're all the best.

Next Chapter: Ellie and Dina meet up for lunch.

Chapter 7: The Brick Master

Summary:

Savage has a question.
Dina and Ellie have lunch.

Notes:

NO BETA. Mistakes and typos may be edited later.

Apologies for the delay. No good reason this time, just laziness.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

8:46 am

Message From: Dr. Duck

Good morning, bestie!

8:55 am

Dr. Duck: Bestie?

9:01 am

Savage: New number. Who dis?

Dr. Duck: That doesn’t work here, Savage.

Dr. Duck: I don’t have your number…

Dr. Duck: What are you up to today, bestie?

9:15 am

Savage: New email. Who dis?

Dr. Duck: Oh I get it now. You refuse to acknowledge your role in my life.

Dr. Duck: Accept who you are, Savage.

Dr. Duck: You’re my bestie.

Savage: Sorry, who?

Dr. Duck: Nice try, bestie.

Dr. Duck: WINK WINK

 

--

 

Dina arrives at Ellie’s just on time.

She sits in her car staring up at the house, the blue front door and the crooked porch light gave her an oddly familiar feeling that she may have been here before, but she cannot place when. There were tons of these types of student housing for rent around the area, all of them with cracked walkways, colourful doors, and questionable front door lightings. It is possible that Dina had simply been in a house like this one from attending a party of sorts, explaining why it felt so familiar to her.

But there is something about the blue door and the way the protective screen hangs slightly off its hinges that makes Dina think that she has been in this specific house before. There is something more than familiar about this walkway, on this street, where Ellie’s house is, that feels like she has definitely been here before—except she can’t put her finger on the exact moment when that was.

Dina checks her hair in the rear-view mirror and tidies the passenger side of the car for her guest before making her way out of the car. Her phone dings as she walks the path leading to the front door. She fishes the phone out of her back pocket and finds a message from Savage:

 

 

11:58 am

Savage: If you could choose what your farts smelled like, what scent would you choose?

 

Dina can’t help but to burst out laughing right by Ellie’s front door and doesn’t notice when it suddenly opens.

“Um… Hello? Can I help you?”

Startled, Dina looks up at the voice and finds a disheveled looking young man around her age, a backpack half slung on a shoulder and textbooks tucked under another arm. He looks at her curiously, patiently waiting for her to answer.

“Oh. Hi. I’m here for Ellie,” Dina says.

“You’re here for Ellie? Is she expecting you?” he asks her, head cocked to the side.

Dina ignores the surprise in his tone and nods. The guy looks her up and down with a puzzled expression. Dina tries to ignore that too.

“ELLIE! Someone’s here for you!” he shouts out behind him before giving Dina another once over, the inspection making her slightly uneasy.

Dina stands on the tip of her toes and tries to look over his shoulder. She hopes Ellie comes out to meet her soon, this guy’s inquisitive gaze makes her feel even more anxious than she already was. It wasn’t that she felt any malice to his watchful eye, or anything that suggested a lustful claim. His gaze felt more like someone staring at an unwelcome intruder, an alien poking the safety of a secure territory. The man stands a bit further out of the doorway and pulls the door closer to his body, as if preventing Dina from peeking into the house.

“How do you know Ellie?” he prods. His accusatory tone grates Dina’s nerves.

“What’s it to you?” she pockets her phone and feels it vibrate again before standing up straighter and crossing her arms.

They hear a door close in the background and footsteps coming their way. The man instantly softens and gives her a cheeky smile, this confuses Dina even more. He opens up the door again revealing a casually dressed Ellie behind him. Ellie is wearing a blue flannel with the buttons left open to show what looks like a black t-shirt of a band that Dina doesn’t recognize. The outfit is simple, and informal, but Dina can’t stop but think of how cute Ellie looks.

The man turns to Ellie and murmurs something to her, but his attempt at whispering fails when Dina hears him say, “Didn’t know she was your type.”

Ellie’s eyes widen and socks her friend hard on the arm and hisses, “Shut up, Khan. Thought you’d be at the library by now?”

“Mhm,” he jokes, “But your date showed up and I got curious.”

Dina laughs along when she sees Ellie’s eyes widen even more, a pink tint coloring her cheeks. The other girl gives Dina an endearingly apologetic look that makes her want to tease Ellie too. She suddenly feels a strong need to discover what other things could make Ellie be this cute again. She takes note of the way Ellie stiffened when Khan implied that Dina was her date, this could be useful for future instances to tease Ellie with.

“O-okay. We’re just friends, and it’s time for you to go,” she forcefully pushes Khan out the door, Dina automatically sidesteps to make way for him to leave.

The two women stand side by side by the front door watching as Khan grins and gives them a mock salute before sauntering off into the street.

“Hey, I’m so sorry about that,” Ellie rubs the back of her neck, “My roommates like to mess with me.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I had fun watching you freak out,” Dina smiles and finds it hard not to laugh out loud when Ellie gets even redder in the face.

 Ellie clears her throat and mumbles, “So… Uh, I’m hungry. How about you? Where should we go?”

“I could go for a burger,” Dina offers, finding Ellie’s shyness charming.

“Do you know Bloaters? It’s only a 20-minute walk from here. Unless you want to drive then that’s fine too.”

Dina takes this opportunity to loop her arm around Ellie’s and says, “It’s a nice day. I say we walk. Lead the way.”

 

--

 

12:02 pm

Savage: Was that weird?

Savage: I’ll let you know my scent if you let me know yours WINKYFACE

--

 

The walk to the diner wasn’t as awkward as Ellie feared it would be. Sure, Dina’s hold on her arm may have felt like a jolt of electricity waking every nerve of Ellie’s body, and sure, she hated small talk, but conversation with Dina came as natural as breathing air into her lungs. There wasn’t a single moment that made Ellie feel out of place. There wasn’t an ounce of the usually overwhelming awkwardness that followed Ellie around when she interacted with new people.

Being around Dina felt like what Ellie imagines being truly comfortable with someone else’s presence. Ellie never thought she would ever get to feel this way about someone.

Bloaters is a hole-in-the-wall diner on the outskirts of campus. It’s not very popular amongst students from school, the exterior makes it look like a murder house. The alley leading up to the door of the diner was even worse, nothing about the entrance made the diner look pleasant and safe. The interior, however, is the complete opposite of what it looks like outside. Going in was like going through a portal to another dimension. The diner had soft blue lights, and quiet synth music in the background. The furniture was an array of eclectic objects put together, seats made out of reclaimed barrels and tables with mismatched legs. The walls were covered with space-themed art (astronauts and aliens and nebulas), Ellie’s favorite piece is on the wall opposite to her preferred table: a spray-painted floor to ceiling illustration of the Witch’s Broom Nebula.

The outlandish atmosphere of the diner is what made Bloaters Ellie’s go-to spot for quick comfort food.

Ellie chooses a table on the far end, it’s her favorite spot in the whole place. The booth is in the back wall of the bar, there’s a tree that covers the window which prevents pedestrians from peeking inside while they ate. Ellie hates it when strangers randomly look through the window only to see her stuff her face with whatever food she was eating. This made the booth Ellie’s favorite in the diner.

Once settled in their booth sitting across from each other, Ellie watches Dina look around the place

“Have you ever been here before?” she asks Dina.

“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never actually been here. Honestly, I don’t think I would have been able to find it.”

“Yeah, the first time someone brought me here, I thought I was about to get murdered,” Ellie jokes, and is glad to see Dina smile at her.

“I didn’t expect it to be so…” Dina looks around and then back to Ellie, “nerdy inside, though.”

Ellie had to resist from smacking herself in the head. She hadn’t thought of the possibility that the unconventional ambiance at Bloaters might not be Dina’s thing.

“Fuck,” she says under her breath, “We can go somewhere else if it’s too much for you here.”

“No way,” Dina says in a tone so reassuring Ellie could swear her heart stuttered its way out of her chest. Dina grabs one of the menus on the center of the table, “there’s a whole page just for burgers! This is amazing.”

“Would you believe me if I said I’ve tried every single burger on the menu?”

“You haven’t! There’s like, 25 different ones on here,” Dina gasps.

“I swear I have. I’ve been coming here since right before freshman year started and next thing I know, I tried all of them,” Ellie hides her face behind the menu, and peeks up to see what Dina would say to that.

Eating all the burgers at a diner was not something someone should be bragging about to a new friend. Much to her delight, Dina doesn’t seem disgusted by her confession, in fact, she looked amused.  

“Since you’re the expert, which one do you suggest?”

“It depends…” Ellie puts the menu back on the table and flips the pages to the list of burgers, “do you want something simple? Something crazy? Maybe a healthier one? They’re all really good, to be honest,” she was babbling, and she knew it.

When meeting new people, Ellie would normally be quieter, observing people on the sidelines before letting anyone come close to her. Jesse always pestered her tendency to be overly wary of others but growing up the way she did meant having to be more careful than others. Jesse would never understand it, having grown up in a privileged household. Both of his parents were around, and he had a huge safety net at his feet to catch him if life ever knocked him down.

Ellie doesn’t have that luxury. Her family was a mixture of people Joel introduced her to, some his family some his friends. Joel did well at work and was financially stable enough to provide a comfortable life, but Ellie doesn’t want to be that daughter who relied on her family for the rest of her life. But in order to get there, Ellie knew she would have to live a meticulous life. She can’t afford to get attached to anyone, not when she had a plan to follow.

But then Dina came along, slowly chipping away at Ellie’s walls without even knowing it. She made Ellie want to talk, no matter how much she ended up stuttering in the process. Ellie doesn’t feel like sticking in the shadows, Dina has something in her presence that makes her want to burst out of her skin and dance and talk and tell her everything.

Ellie knows this feeling isn’t normal. She knows that it goes against everything that she has set her mind to for the last few years. This is the moment when panic should be settling in her bones, telling her to run the opposite direction as far away from Dina as possible.

But there’s something about Dina, and Ellie wants to stick around to find out what it all meant for her.

“Oh, come on, you have to have a favourite one,” Dina winks, cocks her head to the side and hopes Ellie yields.

“How about this: Close your eyes and pick the one your finger lands on?”

Dina huffs dramatically and pouts. Ellie is suddenly horrified that she’d pushed too far, that she might have irritated Dina just a bit too much. But much to her surprise, Dina flattens the menu on the table and covers her eyes with her left hand. She lifts her right hand up ready to jab a finger down on the table.

Dina uncovers her eyes and finds herself amused to see Ellie burst out laughing when she completely misses the menu, her finger landing on the rolled napkin containing her cutlery instead. She chucks the napkin toward Ellie, who barely manages to catch the thrown object.

“Ha. Ha. You know,” Dina says, pointing her finger at Ellie, “it would have been easier if you’d just told me what your favorite is!”

“I don’t have a favorite,” Ellie insists.

She pushes herself up on the booth, holds Dina’s eyes with her own, and plans to keep her stubborn façade. Ellie is relieved to see Dina taking note of her playful tenacity, the girl maintaining her gaze just as fiercely as she was.

“Yes, you do,” a third voice says.

Both women jolt up, their staring contest broken from shock. They look up to see a waitress dressed in all black, hair held together with a green headband with googly eyes. Her sleeves were rolled halfway up to show her

“Cat!” Ellie says, missing the way Dina looks down and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, “I didn’t know you worked on Sundays.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re never here on Sundays,” Cat turns to Dina and says, “Hi Ellie’s date, she will never admit it, but her favorite is the Brick Master.”

“We’re not—"

“It’s not on here…” Dina cuts Ellie, scanning the page of burgers for the Brick Master.

“It’s technically not a part of the menu. I made it up for Ellie when this one,” Cat pats Ellie on the head, “went through the whole freakin’ menu. I wanted to name it after her, but my manager said no. He says it doesn’t fit the theme.”

“Exactly how many off-menu creations do people make for you?” Dina gawks at Ellie, astonishment clear in her voice.

Ellie flushes under Dina’s scrutiny. She isn’t used to being the center of attention, especially not someone as beautiful, and kind as Dina. She tries her hardest not to stare, at least not for too long, but she can’t seem to take her eyes off of Dina. She wants to count the freckles on her face, she wants to memorize ever detail of her eyes, and most of all she wants to find out just how soft her skin is.

Ellie shakes her thoughts away before she drowns too deep in her mind.

“Oh, I don’t… I—” she stutters out, causing Dina to chuckle under her breath.

“So, what can I get you ladies today?” Cat says after clearing her throat very loudly.

“Can I try the Brick Master? Or is that just for Ellie…” Dina asks, looking up at Cat with a grin on her face.

“Hell yes, you can! And I’m guessing you want the same, baby?”

“I’m not your baby. But sure, I could eat a whole cow now, anyway,” Ellie gives in, realizing that there’s no way her stubborn act wouldn’t win against two women bent on teasing her.

Cat gathers their menus and saunters off behind the double doors leading to the kitchen.

“Are you sure you’re ready for the monstrosity of a burger that you just ordered?”

“If you think you can eat a cow, you should see what I can eat when I haven’t eaten in 3 hours,” Dina brags, but Ellie is almost sure she catches the woman’s mood fall, “So, Cat is fun.”

“She’s also a pain in my ass,” Ellie retorts.

Dina waits for Ellie to elaborate, but she wants to change the subject. She doesn’t want to talk about Cat right now. She wants to know more about Dina and goes for the first subject that comes to mind.

“How are you liking the Pen Pal project we have for class?” Ellie kicks herself for that. She wanted to know ins-and-outs of Dina’s mind—school is the last thing she wanted to talk about now.

“It’s been fun,” Dina starts, “but I’m pretty sure my partner is a guy pretending to be a girl. Now to think of it, I think he’d like this place a lot.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Ellie leans back into the booth, feeling more comfortable with the ease of their conversation.

“He’s mentioned space quite a few times. How about you? How’s your partner?”

“I got a girl who talks a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like, I thought we would do short emails like the instructions said, but she sends me messages pretty much everyday.”

“We should switch partners! I like talking, and I think you like space. I wonder if that’s allowed,” Dina ponders.

“I do like outer space and planets and stars,” Ellie offers, “but my partner is growing on me. Plus, I already live with three other guys, I don’t want another one to talk to. Sorry you’re stuck with Mr. Catfish.”

“Wait, you’re the only woman at your house?” Dina gapes.

“Yeah,” she shrugs, “I’ve never really lived with women before, so I stuck to my comfort zone.”

“Isn’t that a lot of testosterone in one place?”

“Pft, honestly? They’re just as dramatic as girls. Like take one of my roommates. He literally moped around all day because of girlfriend problems. And my other roommate is the King of the kitchen, he doesn’t let anyone else mess around there or else Mama Bear comes out. The only normal one out of them is probably Khan. The one you met today.”

“Where does that put you?Dina leans forward on the table, studying Ellie with careful eyes.

“I…” Ellie thinks, “I’ve never thought of it, actually. I just moved in a month ago.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to invite me over one day, and then I can tell you which roommate you are,” Dina winks and Ellie is sure she feels all her goosebumps rise in every inch of her body.

Ellie finds it hard to tell if Dina is flirting with her. No, there was no way this beautiful woman would be flirting with someone as awkward and floundering as her. She wonders if Dina is the type of girl who’s flirty by nature, just the way Cat is. Ellie wonders if Dina even realize what she’s doing to her?

Ellie decides that her imagination is playing trick on her. Damn her stupid growing crush on Dina. Damn her feelings.

Sensing Ellie’s distress, Dina begins speaking again, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Ellie says a little too fast, eager to change the subject.

“You don’t seem all too comfortable with the idea of performing at the open mic, so why don’t you just tell Nora the truth and decline?”

She wasn’t expecting this question to come up at all. As a matter of fact, Ellie had completely forgotten that they were supposed to be out to choose songs for her to play. She takes the minute to think of the right words nothing comes to her.

“You don’t have to answer,” Dina interjected, “I’m just worried that you’re trying to do something nice for someone regardless of your own anxiety.”

How did she know? How did this practical stranger, someone who was barely friend able to read Ellie so spot on?

For the first time in her life, Ellie understands what it means to be thunderstruck. To have someone beam their way into her walls and crack them open as if they were never there in the first place. She is in awe of the way Dina has slithered her way into her defenses, poking at the right places, peering with the right amount of kindness.

Ellie is amazed, and she lets words fall out of her mouth before she can stop herself.

“I uh… I don’t have a lot of female friends,” she hesitates and looks down at her hands, “actually, I don’t have a lot of friends in general. And I only want to make everyone happy.”

“I’m one of your friends,” Dina assures her, “and I’m sure that no one expects you to do any favors as a payment for friendship. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be friends. They’re assholes, and I will gladly beat them up for you.”

“Why are you so nice to me? We barely know each other,” she tries to still the tremble in her hands. Ellie isn’t used to have anyone be so upfront with their kindness, something that Dina didn’t seem afraid to show.

“The real question is… Why shouldn’t I be nice to you? I think you’re a good person, and an even more exceptional friend. I’d be lucky to have you as my friend,” Dina shrugs, quashing Ellie’s insecurities for her.”

A blush heavily colors Ellie’s cheeks so fast there was no way to hide them from Dina.

They spend the next few minutes in comfortable silence until Dina asks about the art on the wall facing them. Ellie begins talking about the nebula next to them, reciting the history behind the Witch’s Broom and loves the way Dina listens to her with interest. Ellie worries she might be boring the other girl, but Dina starts asking about constellations, and meteors.

Next thing they know, Cat reappears with two plates juggled on her arms. She places the dishes on their table and Dina’s eyes widen in surprise.

“This looks delicious!” Dina’s eyes widen at the gigantic burger on her plate.

“Oh your tastebuds are about to go wild,” Cat chimes in, “give me a holler if you need anything else. Bon appéttit, ladies.”

Ellie is already mid-bite when Cat leaves them. She chews and watches Dina is investigating the contents of her burger. Just when she thinks Dina might want to change her order to something smaller, the other girl takes a giant bite and moans with delight.

Ellie grins under her burger, hiding how happy it makes her to see Dina enjoying herself.

“This is so fucking good,” the girl exclaims, “Cat! This thing is more than delicious.”

“Glad that you’re enjoying The Ellie in your mouth,” Cat responds, and Ellie almost chokes on her food.

She hopes Dina didn’t hear the last comment. Why is it that her friends enjoyed teasing her so much?

They spend some time quietly eating their meals, glancing at each other from time to time. They manage to talk in between bites, until Dina gives up halfway through the burger, and Ellie scrapes the sauce drippings on her plate with a tiny piece of the bun.  

“What makes you think you’re not a good singer? Has anyone said it to your face before?” she asks Ellie.

“No. No one’s ever told me I’m bad. But I’ve never heard anyone ever say I’m amazing either,” she wipes her hands with a napkin, “and I sure as hell don’t think I’m performer material.”

“Nora and Jade both gushed about how great you are. There’s no way they haven’t told you you’re amazing,” Dina shakes her head in disbelief.

“Okay, sure, they told me I’m good. But that doesn’t count! I’m almost positive they were only saying that to be nice, or whatever.”

“Do you really think they’d ask you to play if they thought you sounded like a banshee?”

“Well… No. I guess not.”

The air between them should feel stifling, at least Ellie thinks so. She’s never had a conversation focused on her supposed talents without having it feel like an intrusive interrogation. But talking to Dina about these things feels normal, like they’re old friends that have had this discussion countless times.

“Why don’t you play for me? I have no reason to lie to you,” Dina suggests.

“Right now? Should I use this fork as a guitar?” Ellie laughs and picks up her unused fork for pretends to strum with it.

“No, stupid,” Dina laughs with her, “let’s go back to your place, sing me a song and I’ll let you know if you’re as bad as you think you are.”

Ellie lets out a mock gasp, “Am I auditioning to be your friend?”

“Nah, you already passed when your shared hot chocolate with me,” Dina taps their feet together under the table.

“Fine. Okay. I will put a show on for you,” Ellie sighs dramatically in mock surrender, and Dina brightens up, “Let me just go to the bathroom and we can go.”

Ellie scoots out of the booth and quickly makes her way to the bathroom. She goes straight for the sink and splashes water on her face. What the hell is going on with her? How did she let Dina convince her to sing? Ellie is off her game and knows that needs to control herself before Dina made her way further under her skin.

 

--

 

1:47 pm

Message from: Dr. Duck

Custom scented farts? Really, Savage?

 

Notes:

I watched Shannon Woodward's birthday stream and Halley Gross asked her the fart question. Then Shannon asked the same thing to Ashely Johnson, and it inspired me to include it in this story because the moment was GOLD.

The next update should be next after Christmas and before New Year's. It's already halfway done, so the delay shouldn't be long.

Next chapter: Ellie sings for Dina.

Once again, a massive thank you for reading and leaving comments and kudos and love. Stay awesome

Chapter 8: Whales in Bouncy Houses

Summary:

Ellie thinks too much. Ellie fails. Ellie is Ellie.

Notes:

WARNING: NO BETA!! I write and I post before I chicken out and delete everything. Typos and mistakes might be edited later. Emphasis on "might"

Sorry for the delay. This was meant to be posted before the new year. But neck tension headaches are a real fucking pain and not something to joke about. Anyone ever had them before?

OH and belated Happy New Year! I will have a drink for anyone who reads this story, and I sincerely hope everyone has a better year coming ahead.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

1:47 pm

Dr. Duck: Custom scented farts? Really, Savage?

Dr. Duck: I can’t decide between something flowery or something food related.

Dr. Duck: What’s yours?

Dr. Duck: I’m anxious to hear what your scent will be.

 

--

 

One… Two… Three…

Ellie watches herself breathe deeply in the mirror. She knows it isn’t real, but she feels her reflection berating her for giving in to Dina’s captivating presence.

Four… Five… Six…

Ellie tries to calm herself. She makes a plan—no, a pact—with herself to never let her guard down around Dina ever again. She can’t afford to let herself be too comfortable with the girl, no matter how effortless and easygoing Dina made her feel.

Her phone keeps chiming, but she’s dead set on calming her breaths before she checks it. Ellie decides can play Dina one song, and maybe that will be enough to satisfy her curiosity. And she might even realize that Ellie’s not that good at all, that she’s not worth playing at the Open Mic Night. It might be enough to let Dina realize that she’s not all that great after all.

Seven… Eight…

She can’t let anyone else get close anymore. She scowls at her reflection, willing herself to find the strength to dismiss Dina’s goodness. Trouble finds her wherever she goes, that’s why she’s had a plan to live in the stars away from everyone—people who might end up getting hurt just by being around her by association.

Memories of Riley come to mind, and Ellie fights the lump that forms in her throat.

Dina is a good person. Dina is amazing. Dina is beautiful and she deserves the world. Ellie cannot fathom the idea of possibly ever being the one to hurt her.

Riley is the best example for this, she thinks. If it hadn’t been for Ellie maybe her friend would still be—

Nine… Ten.

Ellie shakes the thoughts and refocuses on her breathing.

She combs a hand through her shaggy hair in an attempt to make it seem presentable again. Unsatisfied with her efforts, she removes the hair tie altogether and knots the messy mop on her head up in a new ponytail.

Ellie inhales one last time before returning back outside.

She would have to work harder to keep Dina at arm’s length.

 

++

 

Back out in the light blue surroundings of the diner’s main area, Ellie spots Dina at their table smiling down at her phone. She takes this as an opportunity to sneak towards the cashier to pay for their meal. Ellie figures that the faster they get out of there, the faster they get back to her place to play her new friend a song, and the faster their day will come to an end.

After this, she can keep her distance from Dina, or at least try to limit their interactions to acquaintances who share a class together.

“You’re paying for your date?” Cat asks her with an impish smile on her face.

“She’s not my date. We’re literally just friends,” Ellie answers, hoping that her voice is firm enough to shut down Cat’s statement.

“There’s no way you’re just friends. Did you not see how she kept looking at you?” Cat places her hands on Ellie’s shoulders and slightly shakes her as if to wake her up from a delusion but Ellie doesn’t have the slightest clue what she’s on about, “I give you guys a week, and I bet you’ll be humping like bunnies soon enough.”

Ellie coughs uncomfortably and slides a couple of 20-dollar bills across the counter, she knows she’s overpaid but she wants out of this conversation as fast as possible.

“Good luck with that because nothing’s gonna happen because we’re just friends, barely friends even, so you know… nothing’s gonna happen,” Ellie escapes Cat’s grip to make her way back to Dina but her steps are slow, and she hears Cat’s last words.

“See, she’s got you stammering,” Cat smiles wide.

“No! I’m- I… Shut up!” Ellie turns around and takes longer strides.

“One week, Ellie! I give you one week!”

The cash register is on the other end of the diner from where their table is, but the whole place really isn’t that big, and it takes Ellie just under 20 steps to get back. Ellie hopes Dina hadn’t heard any of Cat’s jeers, she’s having a hard enough time trying to keep her distance from the girl. She isn’t sure she would be able to handle someone teasing her about her dating someone as brilliant as Dina, especially if the subject is the one doing the teasing.

Even so, Dina has a boyfriend. She probably wouldn’t even like Ellie that way. In fact, as far as Ellie knew, no one has liked her that way ever since she started college. So, Cat’s idea of Dina even having the slightest bit of attraction toward Ellie sounded ridiculous.

Thankfully, Dina still has her attention on her phone, the smile that Ellie had previously seen on her face was gone and now replaced with a look of concentration. Ellie watches Dina bite her lower lip, eyebrows tight on her forehead. Whatever has her mind occupied kept her oblivious to her surroundings. She hadn’t even heard Ellie approaching at all.

Ellie doesn’t know whether she should slide back in the booth or to poke Dina out of her trance. Neither option is ideal. Surprising Dina doesn’t sound fun and sitting back down would prevent her from keeping the day moving and get out of Bloaters.

She settles on speaking up instead, “Ready to go?”

Dina looks up at Ellie, a bright smile swaps the focused frown on her face, “You were gone for a while, did you go take a shit or something?”

“What?” Ellie gapes, “I— Of course I didn’t!”

Dina erupts in laughter at the way Ellie stumbles for words, “I’m just kidding. I saw you talking to Cat.”

Ellie moves aside when Dina grabs her purse and makes her way out of the booth. She leads them toward the exit, opening the door for Dina to pass through.

“Wait, we haven’t paid yet,” Dina tilts her head to the cashier, motioning Ellie to follow suit.

“Oh, it’s all good,” Ellie steps out of the door first, holding it open for Dina to follow her, “I already paid.”

“How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing.”

Dina walks in front of Ellie, she fumbles for the wallet in her purse, “No, seriously, Ellie. How much?”

Bearing witness to Dina’s graciousness makes Ellie forget about her plans for a quick getaway, the reason why she paid for them both. She quickly thinks of a cover story that would prevent Dina from feeling hurt that Ellie thought

“I kinda felt bad,” Ellie is surprised with how credible she sounds, lying has not always been her forte, “you missed your date that night.”

She softly nudges Dina forward to begin making their way back to her house. Ellie is surprised how easily the girl let herself be guided away.

“I missed my date, so you pay for my lunch? That makes no sense, Ellie. Unless…” a sly grin flashes on Dina’s face, “you took me on a date and you didn’t tell me about it?”

“NO!” Ellie yelps, a blush creeps up her neck, “I mean, not that you’re not, y’know… You’re really pretty and all but,” Ellie looks down to her feet and clears her throat. She knows she’s lost control of her mouth, “I, uh…anyway— It’s because Nora and Jade used you as a pawn for their evil plan to get me to sing. This was not a date. I promise I would never ask another guy’s girlfriend out. I swear!”

Dina’s silence confuses her. Ellie thinks she has finally done it, scared Dina off in the worst possible way. Sure, it made the plan to detach herself from the girl easier but making a fool of herself was never fun.

Looking stupid and stumbling around beautiful girls followed Ellie around just as fervently as trouble did. She hates it, this part of her life, how she was either the awkward one or the turbulent one or sometimes both.

Ellie fully expects them to walk back to her house in awkward silence. She thinks that maybe she had said too much, that she likely shouldn’t have let her mouth yap on about the Not-a-Date-Lunch-Date-Teasing. Dina probably thought she was too weird. This would not faze Ellie much at this point. She feels like falling into a hole to hide from Dina.

Much to her surprise, Dina steps closer to Ellie and places a hand on her shoulder much like Cat had just done inside the diner. The gesture brings an ounce of bravery for Ellie to glance back up at the girl, whose smile only widens when they lock eyes.

“So…” Dina starts, “While you were in the bathroom, Cat may have mentioned something about me being your date and—” she notices the way Ellie’s eyes bulge out, “don’t worry I told her we’re just friends. But I thought it was funny that, so far, two of your friends assumed we were on a date. I thought you’d find it funny too, but that’s a miscalculation on my part. Sorry if I freaked you out.”

Feeling Ellie’s shoulders relax under her touch, Dina takes the opportunity to loop their arms back together as they did on before. Ellie hates the way her body relaxes so easily around Dina. No one had ever had this effect on her before, not even Riley.

What a strange feeling, Ellie thought, to want to distance oneself from a person and simultaneously not want them to turn away either.

They start making their way back to her house, their steps much slower this time. There’s a shortcut that Ellie usually takes to shorten the journey, but Dina’s soft grip on her arm makes her brain fuzzy.

“Um, yeah, I didn’t freak out,” Dina pokes her side with her other hand, a knowing look on her face, and Ellie sighs, “okay, fine. I did a tiny bit. But it’s not your fault. Literally everyone I know likes to tease me about any new person I meet. You haven’t even met the worst of them yet.”

Ellie thinks of Abby, and Jesse, and Ben, and all the other people on her small list of friends that would not pass on the chance to rag her about Dina. She knows they would especially tease her about the way Ellie softens around the girl, or how she can’t seem to shut up, or how the other girl’s touch doesn’t make her visibly cringe in the slightest.

They walk about longer before one of them start talking again.

“For the record, it’s not like I was thrilled to go on the date, so it really isn’t a big deal.”

Ellie observes Dina and sees that she really doesn’t seem bothered about the other night at all.

“Oh? Do you mind if I ask why?” Ellie inwardly cringes, it seems that she has no control of what her mouth says. She quickly wonders if there are videos on YouTube that teach people how to sew their own mouths shut to prevent this kind of predicament.

Dina mulls the question over, “Well first of all, he’s not my boyfriend. We haven’t had that talk yet. And second, he moves a little too fast for me.

“Fast?” Ellie asks.

“Okay, picture this. He’s that guy on a speedboat in a lake where people are relaxing, and he’s racing everyone without realizing that there’s no race at all,” she looks at her expectantly, but Ellie can’t help

“That was a very specific analogy,” Ellie laughs uncomfortably, and she feels Dina loosen her hold on her arm, “what gave you that vibe about him?”

“On our second date he talks about his plans to get married young, and his goals for the future, which was normal talk for a date, you know?” Dina takes a deep breath and Ellie finds herself holding her breath for what’s about to come, “but then he asked me if I was opposed to having kids right after college. On. Our. Second. Date!”  

This time, Ellie’s laugh is far from uncomfortable. Her boisterous laughter brings on many curious onlookers their way. They stop walking, and Dina unlinks their arms allowing Ellie some space to let her laughter die down.

“We’ve been on a couple dates after that, but I really don’t like speedboats, you know?” Dina shrugs.

Ellie is still wheezing but she manages to respond, “Fuck. I feel like I should meet this guy. I’ve always wanted to meet a real-life psychopath.”

Dina jabs Ellie’s arm, and she’s shocked at the strength of the punch and winces a little, “Oh my God, he’s not a psychopath! He’s a good guy, he’s nice, perfect everything on paper. He is just very…” she tries to think of a word that doesn’t sound insulting, “He has a plan for everything in his life and I’m not even close to being ready what he wants.”

A lot has been revealed about Dina’s non-boyfriend and Ellie worries she may have asked too much, that she might have pushed the bounds of their acquaintanceship a little too hard with her incessant questions. Looking at Dina, though, she realizes that the other girl does not look the least bit pestered. In fact, Dina seems calm about the whole situation, as if skipping out on her date to play delivery woman for Nora was a lucky break. The kind that gave her a good excuse to escape her date.

Not knowing how to respond to Dina’s candor, Ellie attempts to lighten the mood, “I guess I should have paid for his lunch instead since he’s the one that got stood up.” This earns Ellie another jab on the exact same spot where Dina has previously hit her, “hey! You gotta stop with the hitting. I’m a sensitive being.”

Ellie rubs the pain in her arm, but she sees Dina have a hard time pretending to look angry, the smile on her face is a dead give away.

“I’ll pay for yours next time,” Dina crowed, “and he technically didn’t get stood up since I let him know about it. Plus, in Jade’s defense, I actually volunteered to drop by the gym instead of going on the date. If anything, I got to meet you in the end. So, everyone wins.”

“Except your boyfriend,” Ellie jeers.

Dina groans and looks up to the sky, “Ugh, he’s not my boyfriend!”

Feeling that she might have pushed Dina a bit too far and feeling so much bolder than she has ever been in her life, Ellie takes a step forward and loops her arm into Dina’s. She is shockingly glad that the gesture doesn’t terrify her as much as she thought it would.

“If everyone wins, what exactly did I win in this whole thing?” Ellie asks.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Dina tilts her head and gives Ellie a sideways glance, “you got to meet me!”

And those simple words as gentle and kind as they were offered, were enough to get Ellie reeling back into her anxiety, into the reality that was coming up.

The lighthearted banter, and the easiness of their time together has completely thrown Ellie off track. All thoughts of keeping her distance from the girl utterly flushed down in an invisible void.

She’s suddenly hit with the realization that has yet to play a song for Dina.

 

++

 

Their pace is quickened in time with the rapid nervous thumps of Ellie’s heartbeat. She is stiff for the rest of their walk, and if Dina sensed it a change in her mood, the girl didn’t mention it.

Despite the turmoil residing in Ellie’s thoughts, their conversation continued as fluidly as it had started. She learns that Dina has an older sister, who is at the tail end of her master’s degree program in Child Studies, and they share an apartment with a childhood friend of hers who also works at Clickers Café. Ellie also discovers that Jade is one of Dina’s first friends in college.

The web of mutual friends becomes clearer in Ellie’s mind. She admits to Dina that had it not been for Nora and Jade’s relationship, she probably would have never met Dina in the first place.

“That’s not true!” Dina argues, “didn’t you say you go to Clickers a lot? We must have crossed paths at some point.”

Ellie contemplates her statement and silently agrees that their paths had a tiny chance of converging in the past, “but that doesn’t mean we would have talked, or anything. If you haven’t noticed, I’m the friendliest looking person out there.”

Dina shrugs her off, “What are you talking about? You’re doing just fine now. I mean, you’re even cute when you’re a fumbling mess with words. So, I don’t see how it couldn’t have happened before. We totally could have been friends a long time ago.”

There’s a part of Ellie that wants to convince Dina that her theory of them meeting at an earlier time because of their mutual friends was debatable. There’s a reason why Ellie was able to count all her trusted friends with all the fingers in both hands, and that part of her mind wanted Dina to know exactly what kind of person she really was.

But the warmth in Dina’s voice was enough to have Ellie believing anything that came out of her mouth. Dina could have told her that the sky was actually green rather than its obvious blue shade, and despite Ellie’s expertise in all things relating to the sky, she would have believed every word.

As they approach the path leading up to the house, Ellie notices Dina eyeing the front yard.

“Um, let me just get my keys,” Ellie carefully shimmies her arms out of Dina’s and fishes her jacket pocket for her keys. She unlocks the door, pries it open, and steps inside.

She walks further into the entryway to let Dina come in behind her, but the girl looks distracted by something.

“Um… Come in?” Ellie offers thinking that Dina might have wanted a proper invitation before going inside.

“I think I’ve been in this house before,” she admits.

“Maybe a party? The guys threw an end of semester rager before the summer holidays. Maybe you were there?”

“Was there a bouncy house at that party?” Dina ask, finally stepping inside the house.

Ellie knows exactly which part Dina was talking about. She had taken an extra shift at the gym that night. She had just started the job and wanted to take as many shifts as possible in order to have the funds to move into the room she currently lived in now. The only information she had about the party was from stories of her friends.

The guys wanted to throw an epic party to celebrate   it would be remembered by anyone who attended, but their lack of ideas was baffling to Ellie. They only planned for age-old drinking games, music, and anything that was included at a regular college party. If she was being honest, their plans sounded pretty dull. Renting a bouncy house for the underused backyard was her idea. To this day, Ellie regrets not being able to get a few jumps in it before the rental was taken away.

“Yup, that one was here,” Ellie answers.

“I was here that night!” Dina exclaims, “see? I told you we could have met earlier. I’ve already been to your house.”

Ellie shakes her head and leads them to her room, “Pft, I didn’t even live here yet. We definitely would not have met then.”

 

++

 

Her room isn’t messy, and Ellie is glad she actually had the presence of mind to clean up the night before. She didn’t plan of having anyone over, but she needed something to do to quell her anxiety about having lunch with Dina. So, she tidied her room to the cleanest it has ever been since she moved in.

She nervously walks to the wall where her guitar was safely hanging. The limited space on the floor of the room forced her to buy a wall hook to hang the instrument. Joel always kept his guitars in their hardcases but even that wouldn’t have fit in the tiny space that was supposed to be her closet. She was pleased to find that keeping the guitar out in the open was actually great for spontaneous practice sessions, or unexpected

Ellie is hit with a surge of courage once the guitar in her hands. Any hint of nervousness was quickly washed away by the presence of the instrument. Teaching her how to play the guitar truly was one of the best gifts Joel had given Ellie.

She turns back around to face her guest and finds Dina studying her surroundings. Ellie follows her eyes and sees them looking at the collection of books haphazardly stacked in the corner of her room.

“I know I shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as we’re in an English class together, but holy shit you have a lot of books!”

Ellie hasn’t really noticed it before, but now that Dina stands next to the tower of books, she can’t help but agree with her. The stack is almost up to Dina’s waist, maybe it’s time Ellie invested in a real bookshelf to house her collection.

“It’s mostly textbooks and comic books, really,” Ellie sits on her bed, and encourages Dina to sit opposite her on the desk chair, “So, you ready to hear me sing like a dying whale?”

“Go ahead, Moby-Dick. Sing Captain Ahab your best whale song,” Dina grins and Ellie help but to smile back.

“Nerd,” Ellie jabs, and Dina playfully slaps her knee in mock offense.

Ellie thinks to play the first song that comes to mind. It’s one that focuses more on the instrument than the vocals, the chord pattern loops and.

Something in her gut tells her that it's the perfect song to play. She hopes Dina will like it.

She takes a deep breath before counting down under her breath.

3… 2… 1…

 

--

4:35 pm

Message from Savage:

Are you familiar with the smell of a skunk spray?

Savage: That’s what I choose for my fart. That way people will never suspect me of anything.

Savage: Now. Your turn. Farts!

 

4:40 pm

Savage: Wait, do ducks even fart?

 

Notes:

NEXT CHAPTER: Dina's POV of Ellie's singing. Dina goes home to a barrage of questions.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos. You are all in my heart.

Chapter 9: FRIENDS in CAPSLOCK

Summary:

Ellie sings for Dina.
Savage surprises Dr. Duck.

Notes:

HELLO! I am back! I apologize for the year-long wait (technically more than a year but still) 2021 was a shitty year for me, and I am back with a clearer head and more than enough motivation to continue this story.

I hate to leave things unfinished, so I am here with a plan to hopefully finish out this story by the end of this year. I'm not even sure if anyone out there is still interested in this fic, but I will keep updating it regardless.

WARNING: NO BETA!! I write and post before I chicken out and delete everything. Typos and mistakes might be edited later. re: probably not

**note that the italicized text conversation were taken from previous chapters to make Savage and Duck conversation flow better.**
***the song Ellie sings is "Never Going Back Again" by Fleetwood Mac***

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

Dina watches carefully as Ellie closes her eyes and slowly runs a palm across the length of the guitar. She notices the way Ellie handles the instrument, and the way she holds it unlike the other musicians she’s seen before. It’s as if the guitar suddenly becomes a part of her, like a dormant limb that only comes out when it’s needed.

Ellie takes a deep breath, her eyes open again looking toward her left hand, and begins placing her fingers in a shape on the strings. Dina braces herself for whatever Ellie is willing for her to witness.  She understands that this must be unusual for Ellie.

If any of their previous interactions were taken to consideration, Dina got the feeling that Ellie is the type of person who would rather keep to herself, regardless of any hidden talents and whatnot. Sure, she may have a whole pack of friends who would cheer her on for anything, as Dina had seen with Jade and Nora’s appreciation of Ellie. But the very obvious truth that Dina noticed about Ellie was that she was not the kind to let anyone encourage her for anything she did. She seemed to Dina like a wolf in a pack that would rather be and do her own thing.

So, yes, Dina understood that Ellie playing her a song, in the comfort and safety of her bedroom

The most important aspect of this whole situation was not the fact that Dina got a chance to see a part of Ellie’s brilliance. The best part of all this was that Ellie trusted her enough to let her see it. Dina quickly realizes this moment could become one of their shared core memories together.

Despite the fact that they had just barely met, it is clear to Dina that this could be the moment their budding friendship turns into something greater.

It’s amazing to Dina that someone who seems hellbent on detaching herself from others is willing to share a cherished and private hobby with her on such short notice.

A growing part of her hoped that whatever this tingly sensation she felt anytime she was with Ellie was reciprocated, and that made Dina all the more captivated by Ellie’s presence. Especially now that the other girl was in her zone, concentrating in her little bubble, and readying herself to sing her new friend a song.

Dina’s breath hitches the moment Ellie’s fingers start plucking a familiar tune on the guitar. It’s upbeat, it’s soft, and it’s melancholy all at the same time.

Ellie has her eyes closed and Dina is thankful for that. Dina could recognize this song anywhere. She’s heard it a thousand, maybe a million times. Except the memories attached to this song are not ones she is quite ready to share yet, and Dina is pleased with Ellie’s shyness for once. If she were honest with herself, the memories that come with this song are not ones she likes to relive at all.

Instead, she focuses on Ellie. How her fingers glide along the strings with ease. How her posture loosens the second she starts getting into the rhythm of the song. Dina notices the way Ellie’s right foot taps a gentle beat on the carpeted floor. The notes repeat on a loop, but Ellie manages to make each section unique like each verse has its own story to tell.

Dina has heard various versions of this song, from its original form to a choir rendition, and even to a pop-punk cover. But Ellie’s version is simply her new favourite. Dina doesn’t have a clue how Ellie manages to make an uplifting song about renewal and strength sound like a song fit for a funeral. Even more so confusing for Dina is how Ellie manipulates a depressing version of this song into something hopeful at the same time?

Ellie has Dina hooked, and the one singing has no idea that anything is happening from across her.

Dina stares at Ellie. She doesn’t mean to, but she can’t get her eyes to look anywhere else. Ellie’s soft voice has Dina entranced like a mermaid’s melody captures pirates at sea. She starts to understand Ellie’s hesitation to perform for strangers in a public setting. If anything, Dina kind of feels like she’s intruding on Ellie by witnessing her transform into a new person.

Someone with more confidence and bravado. Someone without a care in the world. Someone who probably forgot she has an audience with her.

Dina stays still on Ellie’s bed, daring not to make a sound for fear of being caught. She knows she’s not creeping, or stepping out of bounds, but something about this sudden change in Ellie has her intrigued. The woman in front of her is far from awkward. Gone is the girl who reluctantly shared her hot chocolate with her. Whoever this person was who was singing in front of her, Dina wanted to know every part of her.

Dina wanted to meet every version of Ellie there was. She’s met the shy blubbering girl who tripped over her words when she was teased. Then came the calm and composed musician that Dina was just introduced to. There was the loyal friend that Nora and Jade alluded to, and Dina was excited to meet any other ones she had yet to see.

Whatever there was to learn about Ellie, Dina wanted to know every single detail.  She wants to know her favourite songs, when Ellie started playing the guitar, or why she even picked the guitar. Dina wants to know her favourite color—it could be black, and Dina was sure Ellie would still find a way to make it look beautiful.  Dina wants to know how Ellie takes her morning coffee, or wait, does she even like coffee? Does she have siblings? What is she studying? What are her dreams?

It's a bit shocking, really, even for someone as sociable and outgoing as Dina, to be so intrigued by someone she spent less than a day with and want to know everything about them. At this point, Dina would accept any scrap of information she could get. Even the little things—the little details that others would find trivial and useless.

Dina realizes she wants to know all that Ellie is willing to give no matter how long it would take for Ellie to trust her completely. She could spend her whole life getting to know Ellie and every second spent would have been worth it.

There’s a knot in her gut that tells her that getting to know Ellie was a shot worth taking. Dina could get everything at a slow pace, or not know anything at all. And if she were to choose? Dina would choose the slow lane if it meant she got to befriend one of the most fascinating person she’d ever met.

She gets caught up in thinking up all kinds of questions she wants to ask Ellie that she doesn’t even notice the song ending.

“So… was that, okay?” Ellie asks once she finishes off the last note.

“You’re amazing,” Dina says, feeling the familiar warmth of her cheeks flushing. She tries to hide the blush, but her attempts only make Ellie blush too.

Just like a switch had been turned on, Ellie’s shyness came back in full swing.

“Oh, um…” Ellie runs a hand at the back of her neck, a nervous tick that Dina has picked up on, “I kinda expected you to mock me for sounding like a wailing banshee, or something.”

“No, seriously, Ellie. That was—you’re just fucking amazing. I can see why you’d wanna keep something like this a secret.”

“It’s not really a secret,” Ellie mumbles, but the growing tilt of her lip has Dina wondering what she’s about to say. “It’s not like I’m Clark Kent suddenly turned into Superman once I get a guitar in my hands or anything.”

That makes Dina scoff in surprise. There’s no malice in her reaction, only sheer disbelief in Ellie’s modesty. Dina had an urge to grab Ellie by the shoulders and tell her over and over how amazing she was until the truth got drilled into that stupidly cute, freckled face of hers. Except she doesn’t, because they’re still newly friends, and the last thing Dina wanted was to scare Ellie away with her awe.

“Some people know I play the guitar. I just happen not to do it in front of said people,” Ellie continued.

“Can I ask why you keep it to yourself?” Dina asks, and before letting Ellie respond she adds, “because I really mean it when I said you’re amazing. Ellie looks like she’s about to argue so Dina pushes on, “before you say anything, I don’t just say that to anyone. I’ve heard that song so many times, and every single one sounded like a boring copy of the original, but yours was something else. You made it sound like a whole new song, and that’s fucking talented.”

Ellie doesn’t say anything for a beat, she doesn’t even seem ready to answer Dina’s initial question. Dina bites her lip, watches as Ellie stares at something behind Dina with a faraway look in her eyes. Dina is left worrying that she may have said too much. What if her compliments were too much pressure on Ellie’s timid soul, and the words were just the right amount of shoving that could get Dina away from ever getting to know Ellie?

“I’m also not just saying that you’re great so that you play at the show. Because you really don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Dina reassures Ellie, and maybe she’s reassuring herself, she’s not sure which.

“Will you be there?” Ellie finally speaks up, her gaze intensely observing Dina, the moment so fierce that she can’t help but mirror the gesture. “At the open mic, I mean.”

For the first time in her life, Dina is the one stuttering a response. Ellie’s eyes haven’t left Dina’s the whole time, the intensity of their position making Dina lose all sense of confidence. What has this girl done to her?

“Um, like… to sing? Or like…” Dina clears her throat, attempting to compose herself, “like, will I be there to… for you?”

Her mind must be playing tricks, because she’s almost sure she sees Ellie grin and move closer to her. If this were any other situation, Dina was sure the other girl was going to kiss her.

Except Ellie doesn’t.

Their staring contest is broken when Ellie finally breaks contact and says, “this might sound weird as hell, but I really enjoyed playing for you.” Ellie shrugs her shoulders, “it’d be awesome if you came to watch, and be a familiar face in the audience and all.” Ellie grins, or maybe she always had that smirk on her face, but Dina finally notices that Ellie’s confidence was back, for how long she wasn’t sure. “And who knows, what if I end up liking playing in front of people as much as you liked watching me play for you?”

Dina gawks for a second, a bit confused as to how Ellie came to this decision so fast. One moment she seemed unable to accept Dina’s compliments, and the next she was determined to perform so long as Dina was there to watch.

And what exactly was happening? Was Dina wrong in thinking that Ellie was suddenly flirting with her? Or was her mind making up a situation that neither of them was ready for? Dina wasn’t sure what was happening, but one thing was certain, she must have said something right to have Ellie

Whatever she said next would have to be calculated. Her response couldn’t be too forward and couldn’t sound too disinterested either. Dina wanted Ellie to understand that she would be there for her in any way she wanted her to be. Without sounding too brazen, of course.

“I’m always there anyway, Ellie,” Dina replied, a smile forming on her lips as she continued on, “but know that this time I’ll be there for you.”

--

11:58 am

Savage: If you could choose what your farts smelled like, what scent would you choose?

12:02 pm

Savage: Was that weird?

Savage: I’ll let you know my scent if you let me know yours WINKYFACE

1:47 pm

Message from: Dr. Duck

Custom scented farts? Really, Savage?

4:35 pm

Message from Savage:

Are you familiar with the smell of a skunk spray?

Savage: That’s what I choose for my fart. That way people will never suspect me of anything.

Savage: Now. Your turn. Farts!

4:40 pm

Savage: Actually, do ducks even fart?

 

9:04 pm

Message from Dr. Duck:

I don’t even know how your brain works, bestie.

9:55pm

Savage: so I looked it up

Savage: birds lack something inside their tiny lil bodies and can’t actually fart

Savage: so if bird = no fart, and duck = bird, then duck = no fart

Savage: Good job! You’re officially fitting the stereotype that women don’t fart

10:10 pm

Dr. Duck: Did you really just spam me with facts regarding bird flatulence?

Dr. Duck: Sometimes I can’t with you, Savage. But since we’re besties, I can accept that you’re a weirdo.

Savage: I’m the finest of all weirdos, you best believe it WINKY WINK

Dr. Duck: FYI when we meet, I’ll eat all the beans and prove to you that women are very much capable of deadly flatulence.

 

11:36 pm

Savage: the fact that you keep saying flatulence makes YOU the bigger weirdo, Duck.

Dr. Duck: We’re besties, weirdos ‘til the end WINK WINK

11:48 pm

Dr. Duck: on a serious note, how was your day today?

 

12:59 am

Savage: surprisingly pleasant. yours?

Dr. Duck: I think I met my new best friend today.

 

1:17 am

Savage: you seem to have a lot of best friends, so yeah that kinda doesn’t surprise me lol

Dr. Duck: Let me rephrase that then. I think my met my person today.

1:22 am

Savage: I’m gonna pretend to know what that means and bid you goodnight.

Savage: sleep tight, my fartless duck friend.

Dr. Duck: YOU JUST CALLED ME YOUR FRIEND!

Dr. Duck: WE’RE FRIENDS!

Dr. Duck: GOODNIGHT MY DEAR SAVAGE. MY FRIEND <3 <3

 

1:39 am

Dr. Duck: I realize that may have been much and I apologize for all the screaming.

Dr. Duck: For real though, FRIENDS <3

Notes:

NEXT CHAPTER: Dina gets interrogated by Talia, and makes a realization. Short flashbacks referring to missing scene in this chapter. AND something else, i haven't decided whether to include it in ch.10 yet or not

Thank you for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos. (that is, if there is anyone out there still reading this lol)

Chapter 10: The same pair in different shades of dark

Summary:

A little backstory on Dina, courtesy of a nagging Talia.

Savage gets bored at work and pesters Duck.

Notes:

I cannot thank you guys enough for showing up and continuing this story with me. I'm happy to see that there are still so many of you who are willing to take the time to read my silly little story to the end.

Here we go with another Dina-centric chapter.

WARNING: No Beta and ZERO edits. I didn't even bother rereading this after I finished writing so we'll all get to read the mistakes and typos together.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

By the time Dina gets back home, it’s well past sundown and nearing nine in the evening. Her quick lunch with Ellie turned into a whole afternoon hangout that left the girl in a state of daze.

The concept of time always seemed to defy itself whenever she was around Ellie. It moved slower than a snail as they talked and joked, and even more when their eyes did that thing where they lock but they don’t realize they’re staring at each other. It almost moved fast in the sense that Ellie’s songs ended too quickly, or how the hot cocoa they shared seemed to be gone in what felt like two sips.

They spent hours together in a bubble where time felt like only a few minutes had passed.

Dina always wondered what those older folks in books and movies always talked about when they meet someone special. Is that what it feels like to genuinely enjoy someone else’s presence? The feeling of time slowing down, but only finding that it passes at its normal pace. Is this what it means when people say there isn’t enough time to get to know someone, because time contradicts itself in moments of… Something. Dina still isn’t truly sure she understands how time works when she’s with Ellie.

All she knows is that being with Ellie felt like a mixture of slow and fast times, overwhelming thoughts and peaceful moments, every little detail unfolded and sometimes nothing revealed at all. Being with Ellie feels like a combination of clashing concepts that shouldn’t work well together but end up making a beautiful cocoon of tranquility. Like a complicated puzzle magically completing itself even when the pieces don’t match.

Dina has yet to understand what this all means. What is it about Ellie that makes her so different from her other friends?

“It’s a school night, young lady! Where have you been?”

Dina jumps away from the door. She’s surprised to see her sister snuggled on the rightmost corner of the living room couch, the one closest to the reading lamp, with blanket draped over her legs. Talia has her glasses dangling at the tip of her nose and is wearing a mustard-colored cardigan over her button-down pajamas set. Sometimes, Dina wonders whether they really are only four years apart in age.

“Har. Har,” Dina rolls her eyes, “isn’t it past your bedtime, Bubbeh?”

“Oh, honey, with hips like mine, you wish I was your grandma,” Talia teases back. She earmarks her book and places it on the table next to her. Her eyes challenging Dina, who stood frozen by the door with a questioning look.

“That… makes no sense at all. You’re literally my sister,” Dina sighs in defeat. She slowly makes her way toward the living room, “seriously though, aren’t you usually in bed by now? Or at least getting ready for bed?”

Talia pats the empty seat next to hers, silently beckoning Dina to join her on the couch. “I was waiting for you. Thought you’d be home earlier, to be honest.”

Dina looks at the clock on the stove and notices that it is indeed much later than she thought she’d be home by. She plops herself on the opposite end of the couch and places her legs over Talia’s lap.

“I lost track of time. I haven’t even eaten dinner yet.”

“Are you hungry? I have Chinese leftovers from that place you really like if you want,” Talia offered.

Dina thinks it over but realizes that she isn’t the slightest bit hungry. The ginormous burger she had for lunch combined with the snacks she had at Ellie’s still sat heavily in her stomach.

“I’m good thanks,” just as she responds Dina feels her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She reaches around the grab it.

There’s a text from Ellie.

 

ELLIE: hope you made it home safe.

 

Dina tries to fight the familiar tug of her lips as they almost formed a smile. She wasn’t quite ready to face Talia’s questions if she had any. She clamps her lips tightly in a semi-frown, until a second message comes through.

 

ELLIE: thanks for hanging out with me today. i had fun

 

The smile wins, and Dina is left staring at her phone with a big grin on her face.

Talia pokes her feet, tickling Dina out of her trance.

“So,” Talia singsongs, somehow managing to make a single syllable in two, “are you going to tell me who’s got my baby sister smiling like a smitten kitten?”

Dina scoffs, “I’m not smitten!”

“So, you admit there is someone!” Talia smirks triumphantly.

“There’s no one. I mean,” Dina backtracks, feeling the need to correct herself, because the truth is that Ellie is far from being just no one. “It’s a friend.”

Talia throws her sister a knowing look, “I’ve known you since you were in the womb, Dina Bear. You can’t keep secrets from me.”

“She’s a friend of a friend,” Dina relents, “sort of. Remember Nora? She’s one of her friends. Or I think maybe she’s Jade’s friend too. I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure who this person is? I thought she was a friend.”

“Oh my God, you’re being annoying,” Dina sighs, pulls her legs to her chest and hides behind her hands.

Talia softens a little, sensing that Dina may be a tad more irritated than she lets on. She lets her sister recover and only speaks when Dina emerges out from her hands.

“What’s her name?” Talia asks gently. She’s done teasing Dina and simply wants to find out what’s happening.

“Ellie.”

“And she’s Nora and Jade’s friend?”

“Yup.”

“And you spent all day together because…” Talia nudges on, hoping that Dina opens up more.

So, Dina told her the story. Starting from the douchey musician who demanded payment for Open Mic Night. Followed by her friends scheming to get Ellie to play, only to find out that she had been used as a delivery person to follow through with their plan. The hot cocoa was worth it though. And the best part of that night was meeting Ellie (though she kept that bit of information to herself). She ends the story with the current day’s events. How they went out to lunch then went to Ellie’s with the pretense of helping her choose songs to sing for the show.

Talia understood it differently, though.

“What you’re telling me is that she serenaded you all afternoon,” Talia starts slowly choosing her words carefully so as not to provoke her sister. “And now you’re home smiling like a dork

“She didn’t serenade me!” Dina exclaims exasperation clear in her tone.

Ellie sang for you did she not?”

“She didn’t sing for me. She sang to me. There’s a difference.”

“Is there though?” Talia questions.

“I wanted to see if she could actually sing,” Dina admits.

“Okay,” Talia tries to reign in her teasing, but it is so hard to do when Dina looks like she’s about to implode with a confession. “Sounds to me that she didn’t have to sing, but she did it anyway. For you. Whether you like the sound of that, it seems like that’s what happened.”

Dina mulls her sister’s words over. When you put their so-called hangout in those words, it did sound like Ellie sang for her even though she had no obligation to do so. Nora’s seemingly shy friend, who prefers playing the guitar in private settings, had willingly and openly performed with Dina as her only audience.

Talia might be reading into it too much, but Dina couldn’t discount her argument. It did sound like Ellie serenaded Dina for the majority of the afternoon. But just the thought of something so grand, something with bigger implications made Dina all the more confused with her budding friendship with Ellie.

That is, if their connection could even be considered a “friendship”.

Either way, Dina wasn’t ready to admit any of these thoughts out loud. Especially not with her older sister’s prying eyes.

“Ellie didn’t sing the whole time. We also listened to songs that she said she could play for the show.”

Dina watches Talia’s lips twitch, sensing that a joke was inbound.

“Was it on speaker or did you share earphones,” Talia beams, “because then who got which ear and were you cuddled close to listen?”

“Jesus Christ,” Dina closes her eyes and shakes her head violently, “you’re making it sound so much than what it actually was. We were just hanging out, Tal. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Dina hates the way those words sounded as soon as she said them. Nothing more, nothing less. Because the truth is that being with Ellie was everything more, and never less. All the moments she’s had with Ellie so far, regardless of the little time they’d actually spent together, was worth it.

All the time spent together was far from less, and simply not enough.

Unbeknownst to Dina, Talia seems to be catching on to her thoughts without her ever voicing any of them aloud. It’s one of those older sibling superpowers that Dina has never been able to avoid.

“Do you remember when you were twelve, and there was that new girl in the neighbourhood across the street from us?” Talia asks.

“Kayla George?” A questioning frown appears on Dina’s face, “what does she have to do with anything?”

“Just hear me out, okay?” Talia sits herself to face Dina more comfortably like she’s about to reveal some juicy rumour. “I remember how you were when her family first moved in. You were so obsessed with her.”

“Was not!” Dina huffs out, “what is this, ghosts of tweens past or some shit?”

“Hush you and let me talk.” Talia waves a hand as if shushing her sister, “I’m not sure if you remember this, but it was so obvious how much you liked this girl. One week after her family moved in, and the two of you were instant friends.”

“We got put in the same homeroom and I was in charge of taking her around school that week. It was just your typical middle school forced friendship, Tal.”

“Except it wasn’t,” Talia insisted, “you’d barely been friends, but you already knew so much about her. You wouldn’t shut up about her, I remember bribing you with chocolate when it got to be too much.”

“I wasn’t that bad. She was new and I was curious,” Dina shrugs her shoulders.

“You probably didn’t know it at the time, but I was so sure you had a crush on our blonde little neighbour,” Talia waves her hands once again, more erratic this time, making Dina hold her reaction back. “One time, you came home from a sleepover at her place, and all you could talk about was how pretty her hair looked, and how perfect her nail polish was, you told me her favourite colors. The most telling for me at the time was how you suddenly liked Funyuns, because they were her favourite chips, even though I knew for a fact that just smelling those things made you gag.”

Dina sat stunned words don’t seem to come to her for any rebuttal of any sort. She hadn’t thought of Kayla George in years, and she sure as hell never thought she had a crush on the girl at the time either. Talia must have seen something else, but her sister wasn’t wrong either. Dina remembers being enthusiastic with her new friend, and they did spend quite a lot of time together. But Dina has no recollection whatsoever about ever having a crush on their neighbour.

“There was also that birthday party she invited you to,” Talia continues, “you just about tore your closet apart looking for, what was it you said?”

Dina remembers every single detail of this memory; their mama had grounded after Kayla’s birthday party for the mess she’d made in her room. That was the first of many times she’d clashed with her mother when she was younger.

“Right!” Talia says, unaware of the bedroom door opening behind her, “you said you needed the perfect outfit so that Kayla would think you were pretty too.”

Bonnie paddles out of her room with a fuzzy blanket over her shoulders, and an empty pot of coffee in hand. “What are you girls blabbing about over here? Y’all are so chatty, I can’t concentrate on my research paper anymore.”

Talia and Dina answer at the same time.

“Someone from middle school,” Dina sighs.

“Kayla George, Bonnie, do you remember her?” Talia wonders.

Bonnie rinses the pot in the sink and skips over to the couch where the sisters sat.

“The girl who stole my best friend in middle school. Hell yeah I remember her!” Bonnie huffs out and points an accusatory finger at Dina “this one pretty much ditched me all of 8th grade to hang out with Kayla until freshman year of high school when lil miss blondie got a boyfriend.”

“I did not ditch you, what the fuck?” Dina defends, “you had all those side activities your mom signed you up for. Plus, your parents hated me, remember? Oh, that Dina girl is nothing but trouble.

These memories were all said in jest, of course. Bonnie’s parents have long since warmed up to Dina, they even invite her over for Thanksgiving dinners, and family vacations. Her childhood friendship with Bonnie has surpassed childish behaviour and turned into something they both knew would last a lifetime. Having friends like that were rare, and Dina was grateful to have one in Bonnie.

“Wait a minute,” Talia interrupts them, “I want to know this from your perspective, Bon—”

“She thinks I had a crush on Kayla back in the day,” Dina speaks ahead of her sister, the roll of her eyes apparent from a mile away.

Bonnie’s brows scrunch together as she lets out a soft “Hm…”

“So, do you agree or am I just as crazy as Dina seems to think I am right now?” Talia crosses her arms patiently waiting for Bonnie’s response.

“Crazy is an understatement!” Dina blurts out.

“I mean… I can kind see it, sorry Dee.” Bonnie shrugs and adds more, “you looked at her like she was the main show at the fucking theatre. And you defended her even when she was the shallowest kid in the school. Then when she got a boyfriend, you started acting like something inside of you died.”

Dina sometimes hated how her best friend could be so dramatic. There was no way that was how the events unfolded.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit too deep of a description considering we were barely teenagers at the time?” Dina snatches the blanket from Talia’s lap and covers herself with it.

“That’s right!” Talia recalls, “I remember coming home to do laundry from college and I found you in your room staring at a pack of Funyuns with teary eyes. I thought you were going through a breakup.”

In all honesty, this wasn’t the first time that Dina had realized she was deeply attracted to her neighbour. She had a feeling that her fascination with the girl exceeded the bounds of friendship, but she had never considered it out loud before. Talia and Bonnie both seem to have picked up on her crushes, and Dina wished she had mentioned it to them a long time ago. Instead of being bombarded like she was right now.

“Kayla was her first girl crush though,” Bonnie tells Talia, who now looks more intrigued than ever. “Shawna Matthews. 10th Grade. Dina tutored her and every topic of conversation we had for months was Shawna this, Shawna that.”

“How come I’ve never heard about this?” Talia pokes Dina in the side earning her a glare from her sister.

“Because,” Bonnie persists, “Brett Jessup asked little Dina out on a date and Shawna was forgotten in the lost and found pile.”

Brett was Dina’s first real boyfriend. He was her first kiss, her first real date, her first everything, her first love. He was a nice kid from their small town, and a good memory of many firsts for Dina. They hadn’t lasted long once they parted ways for college. He got accepted to a school in Europe, and long distance was not something he was interested in.

What surprised Dina the most was how unaffected she was with their breakup. It was inevitable, and party predictable. She always considered their relationship as young love. The kind where the phrase “Nothing more, nothing less” actually fit.

Still, this trip down memory lane was confusing to Dina. She still had no idea why Talia mentioned any of this in the first place.

“Ok, as much as I like all this reminiscing, even as one-sided as it is, what was the point of all this, Tal?” Dina asks, a yawn escaping her mouth.

“I only really had the one example with Kayla George when I started, but now with Bonnie’s added information, I’m more sure of what I’m about to say.”

Talia scoots closer to Dina and grabs her hands, “I don’t care who you like Dina Bear. Girls or boys, as long as you’re happy then I’m happy. As you can see, I’ve never been bothered with your previous crushes, and I’m certainly not going to be bothered now with this new one.”

Dina looks over to Bonnie and finds herself mirroring her best friend’s confused look. What exactly is Talia on about?

“You like someone?” Bonnie repeated, her eyes still donning the same baffled expression, “do I know who it is?”

“No, it’s—” Dina explains but Talia’s voice beats her to it.

“You’ve always dated boys. Well, they're technically men now. But I’ve noticed that you never seem to be as passionately attracted to them as you are with women.”

Bonnie nods along with Talia’s words as if this wasn’t the first time they talked about this. “Hate to break it to you, babes, but Talia’s right. You weren’t even that sad when Brett broke things off with you. It took you what… Three days to get over him? And you were together for two years.”

Dina knows it was unusual, but regardless of how juvenile their relationship always felt to her, she remembers feeling something deep for the boy, “I did love him, though.”

“I never doubted that,” Talia reassures her, “you both made a cute couple. Uncle Eugene was sure you’d marry him at some point.”

“He did?” Dina and Bonnie both say, clear surprise in their tone as they spoke.

“Mhm… But Aunt Linda shut him down and said she had a feeling you wouldn’t feel the same way.”

“Aunt Linda?”

Dina shakes her head, unable to comprehend the words coming out of her sister’s mouth. Did every single person in her life seem to have an opinion on her romantic life? Her aunt, much like her father, was a lot stricter than her uncle. The woman, as modern as she could be, is a stickler for rules and tradition. She might not have been as devout as her parents once were but letting go of old traditions was difficult after having grown up in a religious household.

Hearing that her aunt had a position on her past relationship was a bit of a surprise. Even more so that she seemed to get a sense that her relationship with Brett wouldn’t go past high school. On the other hand, her uncle was a little less shocking to hear about—though the thought still amazed her. He’s not the most outspoken kind of man when it came to raising his wife’s nieces, but he was always the more laid back of the two. If anything, finding out that her quiet uncle even had an ounce of thought that Brett was the one for her—well, the whole thing was a bit jarring.

“Damn, does your family make a hobby of gossip about Dina’s love life or something?” Bonnie laughs.

“I mean…” Talia looks sheepish for once, and Dina wonders what more there could be that she had yet to learn about. “Talking about Dina Bear with Aunt Linda took their focus away from me not being married yet. So the easiest way to get them off my back was talk about you.”

“Great,” Dina gives a humourless laugh, “so what, you just talked about how I always crushed on girls and dated guys?”

Bonnie laughs at them, especially when Talia looks horrified out of her mind.

“No! Not exactly like that. I don’t think Aunt Linda ever noticed you looking at girls to be honest. She’s always just thought you were a natural outgoing and friendly young woman.”

There it goes again. Dina is astounded by how easy it is for her sister to mention her attraction to girls like it wasn’t a big deal, like it didn’t go against their religion at all. She wonders if it would have been as natural and nonchalant as now had she’d opened up about this when they were younger.

And had she always been this obvious with her crushes before? Was it obvious to Ellie too?

“We’re getting off track again! My point is—”

Dina stops her with a smack to the shoulder, “hey! You still have to tell me all about your talks with Aunt Linda. You owe me that since I so graciously let you have me as your main topic.”

“You were being gossiped about and you didn’t even know it,” Bonnie chuckles and Dina groans.

“Fine. I’ll tell you every little detail we talked about and answer any questions you have. But let me get to this Ellie person first.”

“Wait…Nora’s Ellie, Ellie?” Bonnie asks, and if her realization wasn’t enough for Talia she adds, “The one Jade said was a hot babe who sings and plays the guitar. That Ellie?”

If it were possible for Dina to groan even louder, the grumble that came out of her certainly got close to it.

“Hot babe? Dina didn’t mention that,” the knowing smirk that appears on Talia’s face is infuriating, but Dina didn’t have the energy to refute the comment anymore. “That adds even more reason to why I think you should ask her out.”

“We’re talking about the same Ellie, right?” Bonnie repeats, but Dina ignores her in the same way she ignores the heat rising to her cheeks.

That’s another conversation she was yet to have. Bonnie didn’t know she had lunch with the infamous Ellie that day.

“What is happening right now?” Dina murmurs under her breath, the comment loud enough for the other women to hear.

“All I’m saying is,” Talia says in the most relaxing voice she could muster, “what if you gave dating women a shot? You’re always dating men that you’re not completely interested in. Like, you’ve been on several dates with this Jesse kid, and you’ve barely mentioned him to me at all. You go on one lunch with Ellie, and you’re smiling at your phone and blushing non-stop every time her name comes up.”

The room goes quiet for a few beats. Dina can feel both Talia and Bonnie’s eyes without even looking.

She’d never considered going out with women before. Sure, women always fascinated Dina in ways that men never seemed to accomplish, but the idea of dating them hasn’t crossed her mind before.

She thinks back to a moment in Ellie’s room. The one right before Ellie agreed to perform at the show. The one when their eyes locked for a quick and infinite moment. The one when she thought Ellie inched closer and closer and close enough to kiss her.

Dina thinks back and realize that she really wouldn’t have minded. That no matter how impulsive it would have been, kissing Ellie in that moment could have been something special.

Except she still had Jesse to think about. The poor man was already thinking of life after college with Dina while she was busy thinking about the possibility of kissing a girl she’d only met twice this week.

Bonnie breaks the silence with another question that would surely convince Talia even more of her suggestion, “didn’t you reschedule a date with J the night you delivered those hot cocoas for Jade at the gym?”

Dina was right. Talia knows that was the night she met Ellie, and that she’d spent it until the girl’s shift ended. She’d just told her that story almost an hour ago when the interrogation first started.

“Wait is that when you met Ellie?” Bonnie looks like the gears in her brain have finally caught up to the conversation. Talia nods with a big smile on her face, making Dina want to curl herself inside the blanket that covered her. “Yeah, okay. I’m on Talia’s side with this one. Dina, come on, let’s be real for a second. You haven’t been excited to go on dates with Jesse for a while now. You just need gently let him down and go for the hot babe with the guitar!”

“Nope,” Dina stands up and makes her way to her room. She flips them off on her way there and cries out, “I’m done for tonight. You guys are insane!”

Just as she closes her door, she hears muffled laughter along with Bonnie’s last bit of, “I’m Team Ellie from now on. Team Hot Guitar Babe!”  

The truth is that Dina was far from being done for the night. She’d spend the rest of her night revisiting moments and stolen glances in Ellie’s room. She’d think back on how easy it was to be around her, and how conversation flowed seamlessly between them. It’s like they’d been friends forever, when in reality they’ve spent less than a day’s worth of hours together.

She takes her phone out of her pocket to finally send Ellie a text back.

 

DINA: Hey, sorry for the late text. I got home a while back and my sister wanted to chat.

DINA: I had a lot of fun with you too.

 

She looks at her last message and wonders if she should say the next thing on her mind. Dina hopes it isn’t too forward for Ellie.

 

DINA: We should hang out again some time.

 

As she types the words out, she realizes that she wants so much more than just hanging out with Ellie. She wants to spend time with her, even if it means not doing anything at all. Dina wants to be around Ellie, just to have those seamless conversations.

Dina hates to admit when her sister is right, but tonight was one of the times when Talia used her sibling powers in the right direction.

A date might be too much for Ellie right now, heck it was still a lot to digest for Dina. She wants to spend more time getting to know Ellie before she jumped for something without having read the situation properly. She wants to get a feel for Ellie first, to see if the other girl would even give hints for anything more between them. So, she asks for a hang out first. She wants to take small steps before making a leap that could perhaps hinder her chance at having a friend like Ellie first.

Because if none of the feelings were reciprocated, then at least she would still get to keep Ellie as a friend instead.

But when she presses the ‘Send’ button, Dina tries to ignore the pang of anxiety in her gut, and hopes that Ellie feels the same way too.

 

---

 

 

 

8:04 am

Savage: Well fuck a duck, I shot myself in the foot with that one huh?

Savage: WAIT NO

Savage: No duck fucking here. I would like to send apologies to your species

8:13 am

Savage: What I meant to say is congratulations! You’ve moved up in the friendship levels

Savage: Even if it was an accident

Savage: But wtv I guess we can be friends now

 

 

 

9:15 am

Dr. Duck: Good morning, FRIEND!!!!!!

Dr. Duck: I will take this promotion, accidental or not.

Dr. Duck: I have to say, you’re making the quest to become your new best friend especially easy, Savage.

9:27 am

Savage: Good luck with that

Savage: I bet you wouldn’t even be able to tell which one I am in class tomorrow

 

 

 

10:47 am

Dr. Duck: Bold of you to assume I’d even look for you

Savage: Isn’t that what you did last class?

Dr. Duck: I did that because I thought you were a dude. There’s only 20 or so of them in our class

Dr. Duck: But if you really are a girl, that’s gonna be harder to find.

Dr. Duck: There’s what? 60 something female students? I can’t look at every single one AND pay attention to the lecture. That’s pretty much impossible.

10:55 am

Savage: How about I give you a hint?

Savage: Would you still look for me?

 

 

 

11:28 am

Dr. Duck: Speaking of class. Don’t you have any today? You’re chattier than usual today.

11:33 am

Savage: I made a class free Monday schedule this year. But alas, my boss found out and put me in for Monday shifts, so I’m at work right now.

Savage: And bored as hell

Savage: Entertain me, Ducky

11:42 am

Savage: Nothing?

Savage: No entertainment for me I guess

12:01 pm

Savage: Shit, nvm you’re probably in class lol

Savage: My bad

 

 

 

1:34 pm

Dr. Duck: You know, for someone who made a big deal about spamming those first days we talked, you sure do a whole lotta spammin’ yourself

1:45 pm

Savage: Only when I’m bored

 

 

 

3:13 pm

Dr. Duck: How much longer do you have to work for?

Dr. Duck: Are you still bored?

3:22 pm

Savage: I’m about to leave right now actually

Dr. Duck: OOOH Do you work on campus??? What if I see you right now?

Savage: Not this again…

Savage: My lips are sealed Ducky

Savage: You won’t get any revealing information outta me

Dr. Duck: Just thought I’d try again. Maybe one day you’ll slip up and I get to meet you

 

 

 

8:29 pm

Dr. Duck: Funny how you won’t tell me if you work on campus but you were so eager to give me a hint about you for tomorrow

Dr. Duck: WINK WINK

Dr. Duck: Where’s my hint, Savage? Don’t think for a second that I would just brush past that lil tidbit

 

 

 

10:06 pm

Savage: You have quite the memory there Dr. Duck

Savage: I actually forgot I said that earlier

Savage: I had to scroll up to see if you were tricking me for info again

10:14 pm

Dr. Duck: So???

Dr. Duck: Hint?????

10:17 pm

Savage: FINE

Savage: Umm…

Savage: Can I get a hint about you too?

Savage: An eye for an eye?

10:33 pm

Dr. Duck: You know what, why not? It’s not like you’re actively looking for me too anyway LOL

Dr. Duck: You go first though since it was your idea in the first place.

10:51 pm

Savage: My hint is… I like wearing only one type of shoe. I have the same pair in different shades of dark

Savage: Now your turn

 

 

 

11:09 pm

Dr. Duck: For a second there I thought you were gonna be all vague and stupid, but you actually gave a pretty good hint.

Dr. Duck: My turn? I guess…

Dr. Duck: I like to keep my hair up in classes.

 

 

 

12:02 am

Savage: Welp that’s entirely unhelpful.

Savage: But I guess that will have to do

Savage: And now I’ll make sure not to look at anyone’s hair in case you’re looking

12:04 am

Dr. Duck: In that case, if you see some girl looking at people’s shoes then that’s me!

Dr. Duck: Hope to see you in class tomorrow WINK WINK

12:07 am

Savage: I hope that doesn’t happen

Savage: AGGRESSIVE POKING

 

---

Text message received on Monday at 7:59 am

ELLIE: I’d really like that actually

ELLIE: Just as long as I don’t have to sing every time we meet up though :)

Notes:

If you're reading this, that means you read the whole thing.

THANK YOU for reading, and make sure to let me know if you liked it in the comments! <3 I'll try to respond when I find the time.

Ellie-centric content coming up in the next chapter.

Chapter 11: In a pineapple under the sea

Summary:

Sunday afternoon singing sesh: Ellie's POV

Notes:

Here's a chapter that wasn't supposed to be but ended up happening because of a plot hole in CH 9 that bothered me so much I ended up writing this.
So here's my way of fixing it.
If you didn't think there was a plot hole, then you da best and here's an extra chapter for you.
ALSO: I wrote this under the influence of painkillers because of a neck nerve issue thing, so if the chapter sounds all over the place, I blame that.

WARNING: No Beta and ZERO edits.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

[SUNDAY]

 

Ellie slowly opens her eyes when she strums the final chords on the guitar.

The first thing she sees is the faraway look on Dina’s hazel brown eyes, and Ellie wonders exactly when the other girl’s thoughts began drifting away. There’s something peculiar and addicting in the way Dina looks at her that made Ellie want to sing more songs for the other girl.

Though Dina’s mind may have been elsewhere, her eyes shone with so much emotion that Ellie couldn’t dare look away. Moments like this, the silent ones filled with implied and unspoken feelings, are normally the ones that Ellie stays away from. They’re the ones that Ellie has managed to easily stray far away from, right up until the day she met Dina. She was perfectly fine on her own, keeping people at arm’s length and never letting anyone too close.

The logic was simple. The less people you have around you, the less people there are to hurt and disappoint. Ellie believes it’s the only way to protect other people. If trouble always finds its way to her, then the least she could do is to not drag others with her.

Except Ellie forgot her self-imposed rules when a certain brown-eyed girl sat on her bed girl with an adoring look in her eyes. How could she possibly distance herself from someone like Dina? Someone who makes her feel the most comfortable she’s ever been in her life. In less than a day, Dina made Ellie feel like there is more to her life than hurting other people.  

On a regular day, Ellie would be reminded of the day that forced her to follow such strict rules. She would be flooded with memories of Riley’s accident, the pitying looks people gave her, and the snide comments from others who didn’t completely know the story. But most of all, she would hear Mrs. Abel’s voice as clear in her mind as the day she heard it the first time, “Your girl only brings trouble where she goes, Miller. She didn’t have to bring my daughter down with her”.

The words would echo in her mind until Ellie made herself as small and invisible as she could get.

Less people meant less hurt. No Ellie around, meant no trouble for others.

But not today.

It’s clear that Dina’s presence turned Ellie’s plans upside down.

For the first time in almost three years, none of those thoughts bombard Ellie’s mind like they used to. All she can see is Dina, sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at her like she was the last person on Earth who would ever hurt another. And Ellie feels a tug in her chest, like a string pulling her to Dina, encouraging her believe that she’s worth more than what she is.

So, she lets it happen. Ellie lets herself absorb the moment. She takes in every detail of Dina she can before the silent bubble bursts. Ellie examines Dina’s hair, how even with her hair down, there are strands that curl to her eyes away from the rest. She sees how Dina’s lips are slightly parted, her breaths in a calm rhythm, that simultaneously calms Ellie as well.

There’s a sudden urge to tuck the loose strands behind Dina’s ear, Ellie feels the urge to breathe in tandem with Dina’s breaths. For now, though, she only lets herself be. Just like Dina: silently waiting. She hasn’t felt this light and free in so long, and there’s tightness in her gut that tells her that the moment could end at any moment.

Ellie would do anything—she would give everything she had— just to have Dina look at her like that again.

Singing for Dina did not feel as awkward as she imagined it would be. Instead, Ellie felt like she was always meant to sing for her, like every stroke of her fingers against the metal strings of her guitar had a purpose beyond making meaningful noise. Her voice flowed out of her so easily it felt like someone else was singing instead.

What happened after is what brought all the awkwardness back into the room.

It happens after Dina tells her she’s amazing, compliments are still hard for Ellie to take, and most times she would brush them off, but this time she believes them. Something about Dina and the softness of her voice makes Ellie want to believe everything she says.

Then Dina asks why she hides this part of herself from others. The answer isn’t simple, but it isn’t complicated either. Playing the guitar started off as a hobby she could share with Joel, he taught her how to play, and the memory will always be ingrained in her brain. As the years went on, playing the guitar turned into something more meaningful, like a way for Ellie to wind down when her emotions got to be too much, and the only healthy method to express herself (other than talking it out, of course) was the sing.

She never once thought she could play for others, let alone have anyone willingly want to sit and listen to her.

But here was Dina, with her focus entirely on Ellie as she played a simple, repetitive song that barely showed her skills on the instrument. And somehow, Dina thought she was amazing. The first time Ellie has heard it being said about her and believing it at the same time. If this is the reaction she got from a simple song, then Ellie wouldn’t mind playing it again, or play something else, something different and longer.

She doesn’t care who was there to watch, so long as Dina was there to listen.

“Will you be there?” Ellie asks softly, her eyes shifting to Dina’s.

Dina responds, but Ellie doesn’t register them. All she can see is Dina’s eyes shifting from her eyes down to her lips, and back up again. This makes Ellie grin.

There’s a second where Ellie feels her body inching closer, and she could have sworn seeing Dina do the same. Another second passes or less, she’s not sure, but Ellie is convinced they were close enough to kiss. “How wild would it be,” she thought, “if I actually kissed her right now?”

The thought makes her pause and assess their position. One look at Dina, how she’s slowly angling her head to the side, clears Ellie’s uncertainty. Dina is most definitely leaning in closer to her, too. The intensity in their stare, the way neither of them seem willing to break the moment—all of it brings a shiver down Ellie’s spine.

Ellie can’t help but to shift her eyes down to Dina’s lips, they’re much closer than she realized. Another inch forward and Ellie swears she could be close enough to feel Dina’s choppy breath on her lips.

What if Dina was the one to kiss her? What then? The idea spins around her mind, there is no way a girl like Dina would be interested in her, but damn, how insane would that be?

The gravity of the situation becomes too much, but Ellie refuses to let it go. She leans back into her chair and opts for some honesty instead of feeding her sudden inhibitions.

“I really enjoyed playing for you,” Ellie admits, hoping Dina understands how much she means that. “It’d be awesome if you came to watch and be a familiar face in the audience and all.” Ellie imagines a small stage, a spotlight bright on Dina as the only important audience in the crowd. It’s a silly thought, but it makes her smile anyway. She decides on taking advantage of her newly found confidence and adds, “and who knows, what if I end up liking playing in front of people as much as you liked watching me play for you?”

For the first time all afternoon, Dina looks taken aback, and Ellie doesn’t fault her for it. Up until now, Ellie held herself from saying anything that might be too forward, but she couldn’t ignore the confidence the guitar always gave her. Adding Dina’s earnest compliments and encouragement on top of that, and the way everything about this girl grounds her to the moment, Ellie could no longer find a reason to keep herself at bay.

“I’m always there anyway,” Dina assures her. Her tone is heartfelt and leaves no room for doubt, “but know that his time I’ll be there for you.”

Ellie returns Dina’s bright smile, unable to control the way her lips curl up on their own. She realizes how embarrassing she must look from how easy this girl manages to pry a smile from her. It took Joel at least two months to get as little as a smirk from Ellie after Riley’s accident. Dina doesn’t even have to do anything, and Ellie finds herself smiling anyway.

They don’t talk for a moment, both studying the other in their own way. Their bodies begin inching closer again, both more aware this time. The realization a bit too real for Ellie.

She clears her throat and jumps from her seat, guitar still in hand. “So,” she yelps out, causing Dina to startle a little, “what songs do you suggest?”

Dina sits up straighter at the sudden change of subject, “a lot of people sing their own songs. Do you have any?”

Ellie blushes. She has written songs before, but never any that were shared with others. If she were ever to, she thinks she could only stomach sharing them with Dina. But at an open mic event? Definitely not.

“Um… I mean, like…” Ellie starts, not wanting to lie, but not feeling up to disclose another secret quite yet.

Dina picks up on her hesitation and says, “other people have done covers too! There were some really bad A Capella duos, but most of the others were decent. One time this girl just came with a mini harp, did a whole medieval set, and whistled her harmonies. It was ridiculous. So, anything is good, really.”

The image of a girl dressed in a Shakespearean costume comes to mind, was she supposed to pick a theme? The only fitting theme that would make sense for her is space, but Space Oddity and Rocket Man are too popular for her liking.

Ellie’s response must come too late, and Dina speaks again, “what other songs do you know by heart?”

“Oh! That’s an easier question,” Ellie responds, “wait a sec.”

She puts the guitar back on its hook on the wall and reaches around her desk to look for her journal. The notebook was tightly lodged between several stacked Savage Starlight issues. As she yanks the thing out, the pile collapses off her desk. Ellie groans and places the journal on the bed next to Dina. She bends down to the floor and starts gathering the fallen books.

“That’s a big collection you got there,” Dina teases as she picks up a couple issues to help Ellie tidy the mess. She reads one of the titles in her hands, “Savage Starlight and The Curse of Yundoone.” Dina reads the title of the other book, “Savage Starlight: The Time War” she looks at Ellie who carefully places the books back on a new stack on her desk, “are these the comics Nora said she’d pay you with? Is the blonde woman the wild starfish?”

“Yes and no," Ellie shakes her head, "Nora always gets the name wrong and the blonde is not a starfish,” Dina’s eyes widen which makes Ellie laugh, “did you really think, like, looking at me and all, that my type of books would be about starfish?”

“Hey! People can like whatever they want. I used to like SpongeBob and he lives—”

“In a pineapple under the sea?”

Ellie’s laugh gets louder, infecting Dina to chuckle along with her. It amazes Ellie how something as silly as a SpongeBob reference can get her to share some laughs with Dina. Everything with this girl feels lighter and easier, and Ellie can’t help but to let herself love every minute of it.

“I’ve never heard of these, to be honest,” Dina admits, still flipping through the books she has in hand.

“I don’t know anyone who loves this series as much as I do. Most of my friends are either into sports, or food. People say I’m the nerd in friend groups. Nora being one of them.” Ellie shrugs like it's an identity that she's come to accept.

“Well, pretty soon you’ll be the rock star of the group,” Dina winks and Ellie feels her cheeks heat up.

Ellie gently grabs the books from Dina and puts them on the top of the new pile. She takes the journal, sits on the floor by the foot of the bed and pats the space to her left for Dina to join her.

“Rock star, huh? Maybe let’s wait until after the show to see if people will think so too.”

“Who cares what they think? At least for me, you’re a rock star first, then a nerd second,” Dina nudges their shoulders together, the contact sending tingles up Ellie’s arm.

It’s hard for her to read sometimes, whether Dina is flirting with her or if she’s just this friendly with everyone. Whatever the reason behind Dina’s actions, Ellie decides that she would just have to spend more time with her to figure things out.  

The thought is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying, but one thing Ellie is sure of, is that she’s excited to find out if her feelings are mutual. And if Dina’s feelings were not on par with Ellie’s, then at least she would have gained a great friend in Dina.

“Speaking of the show,” Ellie rummages through the pages of her journal. She offers Dina the book when she finally lands on a page with a list, “these are the songs I can play without needing to look for chords.”

Ellie watches Dina as she reads through the page, and wonders if she recognizes any of the songs on the list. There are many more songs by Fleetwood Mac on there, mostly from the Rumours album. There’s also that one Jim Croce song that makes Ellie think about time travel, but also isn’t about time travel at all. Joel’s all-time favourite songs are there too since they’re the first songs he taught her.

“How the hell do you sing Take on Me with an acoustic guitar? Isn’t that like a super upbeat song?” Dina asks, a little bewildered.

Of all the songs on the list, Ellie didn’t think Dina would ask about that one, “I mean, I can show you?”

Dina thinks it over and says, “nope! I choose that song. For the show. I wanna see how you do that one the night of. Surprise me.”

Ellie brings a leg up and lays her head on it. She could sing the song for Dina right now if she asked, but if she wanted to be surprised, then so be it. She wouldn’t mind waiting another week to show Dina that song. She also wouldn’t mind if Dina asked her to sing every song she had on that list either.

“I’ll even dedicate that one specifically for you, if you want.”

Dina turns her head to face her and bites her bottom lip. She looks straight into Ellie’s eyes and waits until Ellie returns the gaze before saying, “I can’t wait.”

 

 

 

Notes:

If you're reading this, that means you read the whole thing and I love you big time.

THANK YOU for reading, and make sure to let me know if you liked it in the comments! <3

NEXT CHAPTER: Ellie and Dina in class. and more

ps. I may or may not be thinking of getting a beta for this story. thoughts?

Chapter 12: Strawberry Ice-Cream Person

Summary:

Ellie and Dina sit next to each other in class.

Savage and Duck entries and chaotic chat

Notes:

This is probably one of my fav chapters.

WARNING: No Beta and VERY minimal edits.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Ellie’s not sure what to expect when she gets to class on Tuesday. She hasn’t shared a class with a friend since senior year of high school, and all her friends at college aren’t in any of hers. Abby never fails to remind her how she’s the smartest one their friend group, Jesse’s smarts don’t require him to go anywhere near a science building, and the rest of her roommates are either close to graduating or dropouts working in fancy restaurant kitchens.

College for Ellie had consisted of lectures and lab hours and studies completely separate from her social life, the latter taking the least amount of her time. Once she started working at the campus gym, time for friends lessened even more. And if Abby and Nora didn’t work in the same place, or if Ellie hadn’t decided to move in with Jesse, she was sure she’d be even more of a hermit than she already was.

So, having a friend in a college class? This is all new territory.

The auditorium’s double doors never looked so daunting before, and Ellie stares them down before pushing them open, skateboard tucked under her arm. She examines the room to look for Dina, silently beating herself up for not texting first to ask where they would sit. Her worries are squashed when she spots a familiar face in the back of the class—Dina’s excited arms flail about as she beckons Ellie over.

She was hard to miss, Dina’s erratic movements were a little too cheerful for an 8:00 am lecture.

Hoping that panic wasn’t evident on her face, Ellie made her way over to Dina, who opted for seats in the back of the hall. She settles down on the empty chair to Dina’s left and secures her skateboard to her backpack before greeting her new friend with a shy, “Hey.”

“Hey you. Thought you’d get here before me,” Dina smiles at her, almost instantly wiping the nerves away from Ellie.

“Ah. I smashed the snooze button too many times.”

That was a lie. Ellie had woken up two hours before her alarm giving her a total of three hours of sleep. She was too anxious to meet with Dina again, her thoughts running miles and preventing her from getting a full night’s rest.

“Of course, you did.”

Ellie begins preparing for the class by getting her notebook and pen out. She’s in the middle of writing the date when Dina pokes her in the side.

“Do you always wear the same clothes?”

 “What’s wrong with my clothes?” Ellie looks down to check what she’s wearing suddenly feeling self-conscious. She’s got her daily outfit on: a random graphic tee under her favourite blue-grey flannel paired with the only set of clean jeans she has out of the laundry pile.

Dina’s eyes widen, “nothing! You look cute!” She clears her throat, “I— I mean you look great. I mean…” Ellie blushes at that, a little confused as to what made Dina stutter, “it’s just that I’m pretty sure you wore the exact same combination in different colors the other day.”

“Oh,” Ellie responds, not sure what to say.

“Sorry if I sounded harsh.”

“No—no worries. I don’t usually get comments about my clothes, is all.”

“It suits you,” Dina straightens in her seat, seeming to rid herself of the momentary shyness. “The whole grunge vibe. It’s totally you.”

“Thanks,” Ellie mumbles, her voice timid as she spoke.

Dina opens her mouth again to speak but is cut off by Professor Burnham’s booming monotone voice greeting the class. Ellie turns her attention to him thinking the small talk was finished but Dina scoots her chair closer to hers.

Every inch of their arms touch on the table, and if Ellie wasn’t wearing long sleeves, she was sure Dina would see the goosebumps rise on her arms.

Ellie feels Dina’s breath in her ear as she whispers, “how was your Monday?”

It takes all of her not to move in the slightest. A slight turn of her head and Ellie’s sure their faces would be close enough for their lips to touch. How does she always get herself in situations like these with Dina?

She waits for Dina to lean back a little before responding. Ellie notices a smirk forming on the other girl’s lips—had she felt Ellie stiffen up when she got closer? Her suspicions are solidified when Dina gives her a challenging look.

Ellie can’t tell what’s happening for sure but decides to play along anyway. She leans as close as she can to Dina’s ear, lips millimeters away from the other girl’s earlobes and whispers, “worked all day, studied all night.”

The grin on Dina’s face widens, she looks shocked that Ellie mirrored her actions. She returns back to Ellie’s ear and says more than whispers, “sounds fun.”

This time Dina retreats back faster but keeps her eyes on her. Once Ellie returns the gaze, Dina gives her a wink and Ellie fights her eyebrows from shooting upwards.

She thinks on what to say next, careful to tread lightly but willing to keep the game going. She clears her throat a little louder than intended but the sound makes the girl in front of them turn back with a glare.

Maybe their whispers weren’t as quiet as they thought because their classmate shushes them with a scowl on her face which makes Dina scoot her chair back away from Ellie.

Both of them avoiding each other unwilling to acknowledge the evident blush on their faces from getting shushed by another student.

After a moment of silence, or more specifically when Dina finally tunes in to the class and begins taking notes, Ellie watches as another girl in front of them runs a hand through her hair and maneuvers it to tie up in a loose bun. The motion reminds her of the clue her project partner had given her: she wears her hair up in class.

Being seated deep in the back corner of the auditorium gave Ellie a perfect view of her classmates. From what she could see, there was an array of hairstyles ranging from ponytails, high and low buns, beanie-covered heads, and even a few guys donning suspiciously perfect manbuns. And from the look of multiple empty seats in the room, it was clear that not every single student even showed up for today’s lecture.

It was practically impossible for Ellie to figure out who her partner is from one simple clue unless Duck specified how she preferred to style her hair.

Ellie loses track of the day’s lesson as she inspects every single one of her classmates in an attempt to eliminate those who didn’t fit Duck’s description. Duck has been persistent about being a girl, making her investigation a little easier. Ellie rules out the manbuns, despite her doubts on whether Duck has been fooling her, taking the boys out of the equation reduces the amount of people she has to account for.

Too focused on her quest to find uncover Duck’s identity, Ellie gets startled once again when Dina nudges her by the shoulder and slides her a piece of paper with the words:  What are you looking for?

Ellie internally scolds herself for having been caught. She shuffles in her seat and sees Dina with a questioning look in her eyes.

Note passing. Ellie can’t believe that it’s taken until her second year of university to get her first ever note passed in a class. Riley was more of a texter back in high school, so Ellie’s experience with secret messages consisted of hiding her phone under the table.

She’s not sure what to do with Dina’s note. Was she supposed to respond in the open space left under the first message? Or would a shrug be enough of an answer for Dina? What was she even meant to say, anyway? Oh, I’m looking for my pen pal, didn’t sound like a good enough answer— it didn’t sound sane.

Instead, she goes for the comedic route, leans closer into Dina’s space once again to whisper in her ear, “I thought I saw a ghost.” Ellie ignores the fact that joking about seeing a ghost is so much worse than admitting to looking for her project partner.

The feeble joke gets the intended reaction from Dina anyway, who quietly laughs, shakes her head in disbelief and turns her focus back to face the front of the class. Ellie sighs in relief, content with her idiotic attempt at a diversion.

Looking for Duck would require more subtlety next time. She would also have to find a way to dig in for more clues.

For now, she’d have to put her focus back to listen to the day’s lesson.

 

---

 

From: elSavage
To: NotYourD
Subject: Week 3 Entry 3

No food entries from me this week. I hope this isn’t too shocking of an entry, but I’m realizing things and I don’t want to say them out loud yet, and the best way for me to get them off my chest is to write them to you. You, being the only impartial friend who doesn’t personally know me, makes for a great outlet for me to release.

Anyway, here goes.

I’ve been floating for a long time, just letting things pass me by without a second look. I look forward and up to the place where I thought I belonged, focused on the only thing that could protect others from myself. But I met someone the other day. She makes me feel like I can trust the ground, like I can let my feet walk toward something new and familiar at the same time. It’s crazy how she could make me hold her hand take me somewhere new, and I would let her.

Maybe I don’t need to drift anymore, maybe I can enjoy these moments and let myself have something bright. Maybe I can start living again.

Hope I didn’t make our correspondence awkward by getting all deep and serious.

Sincerely,
elSavage

 

From: NotYourD
To: elSavage
Subject: Re: Week 3 Entry 3

No awkward reactions from me, Savage.

My guess is you don’t want feedback, but I can’t stop myself from saying I’m happy for you. I’m glad the person you met gave you a new spark. It’s always great news to hear when people get out of a rut and find purpose again. Safe to say I don’t blame you, Savage. I’m starting to understand why these entries can be useful in a way. Which is actually a great idea and I’ll try it out too. I’m going through something myself and why not just vent to you instead of my friends, especially since they’re the ones I need to talk about.

The two friends in question are my roommates. One is related to me and the other might as well be. The former is my first best friend and the latter my second. That’s a way for me to explain how close they are to me; and as clear as I can get to describe them without revealing too much of myself.

They cornered me the other night, ambushed me with their opinions of me. The bombardment wasn’t welcome, obviously, but the truth is I learned a lot about myself. Except I wish it was the other way around. Me figuring things out myself then confessing my truth to them.  Wishful thinking though, because I was so far inside the Narnia closet that I was nowhere near admitting anything to myself. Without my friends being butting in the way they did, I would’ve taken too long and probably lost someone special.

Which is where the confusion comes for me. I’m grateful for their aggressive observance, but I’m upset at the way things came about. I can’t tell if I’m more pissed off at them for not being able to shut up, or at myself for not being brave enough to get there first.

None of this probably makes sense to you, Savage. In fact, I’m still trying to make it make sense to me too.

Sincerely perplexed,
NotYourD

 

---

 

8:17 pm

Message from Dr. Duck:

What do you call it when Batman gets hurt?

8:20 pm

Savage: OOH you’re in a joking mood

Savage: I like it

Dr. Duck: Thought I’d ease the tension.

Dr. Duck: We got all serious in the emails…

Savage: It’s a Batman pun, I already know the answer

Savage: And are my eyes deceiving me? Are YOU the one deflecting for a change?

 

8:39 pm

Dr. Duck: If you knew the answer why not just say it?

Dr. Duck: Aren’t you supposed to be the King of stupid jokes?

Savage: Aren’t you usually the Queen of probing information out of others?

Savage: Oh and the answer is Bruised Wayne obviously

Savage: Since when did we switch roles btw?

Dr. Duck: YOU sent the serious email first!!!

Dr. Duck: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Duck: You had a positive life altering revelation, but me? I have pesky-and-well-meaning friends who get me all confused so yeah I guess I’m UGH

 

8:42 pm

Savage: Fine

Savage: I’m not great with sentimental shit

Savage: But I feel the urge to ask you, now that we’re friends…

Savage: Are you ok?

Dr. Duck: I can’t tell if you’re mocking me or genuinely asking

Savage: IM SERIOUS

Savage: Your email was beyond chaotic and you sound torn about something

Savage: So I guess what I’m saying is I’m here if you wanna talk

 

10:04 pm

Dr. Duck: My friends are convinced I like this person I just met

Savage: What’s wrong with liking someone new? Do you normally not like new people?

Dr. Duck: Nooooo

Dr. Duck: Like as in…

Dr. Duck: You know

Savage: OH as in you like someone other than your boyfriend?

Savage: Does that mean you finally dumped the creep?

 

10:35 pm

Dr. Duck: FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME

Dr. Duck: I do NOT have a boyfriend. We went out on a few dates, he didn’t ask for my hand in marriage.

Savage: Ok!!! I fold

Savage: What wrong with you liking someone else?

Dr. Duck: I don’t know how to explain it

Savage: Try me.

 

10:48 pm

Dr. Duck: OH I GOT IT

Dr. Duck: I went my whole life thinking I only liked chocolate ice-cream

Savage: Oh yay. I love ice-cream! My favourite is anything that has brownie bits in them

Dr. Duck: SHUSH let me finish!

Savage: Sorry go ahead

Dr. Duck: So I like chocolate ice-cream, and other flavours were just ok to me. But my friends say I’ve been obviously liking strawberry ice-cream for just as long and that I should reconsider my favourite flavour because I apparently had mine wrong all along.

Dr. Duck: What I’m saying is, the fact that my friends know me more than I know myself is a little terrifying

 

10:56 pm

Savage: I’m so confused right now

Dr. Duck: Oh my fucking god.

Savage: Is your current not-a-boyfriend chocolate ice-cream and the new person is strawberry?

Dr. Duck: You DO understand

Dr. Duck: What’s so confusing then???

Savage: Wait, lemme go get some ice-cream quickly. This talk got me hungry

11:09 pm

Savage: I’m confused because who are you mad at? Your friends or yourself?

Dr. Duck: That’s exactly what’s got me so messed up

Dr. Duck: I love my friends. I like that they’re there for me. But I guess I wasn’t ready to face my strawberry feelings, and I wish I was the one who approached them instead of the other way around you know?

Dr. Duck: I wish I got the chance to say “hey guys, I think I’m into strawberry ice-cream too”

 

11:17 pm

Savage: So just to clear things up

Savage: You’re not actually talking about ice-cream flavours right?

Dr. Duck: FFS SAVAGE

Dr. Duck: I was just making an allusion!

Savage: Just had to make sure! Sheesh calm down

Savage: Have a cone, cool off.

Dr. Duck: I’m rolling my eyes. I hope you feel my disdain for your untimely sarcasm

Savage: Shut up, you fucking love my sarcasm… FRIEND

 

11:58 pm

Savage: On a serious note, I hope you feel better about your confusion soon

Savage: And if your friends are right, I vote for you to dump creepy chocolate dude and go for the strawberry-flavoured mystery person

Dr. Duck: So far everyone around me seems to be team strawberry so you’re definitely on par to be another pesky friend.

Savage: Well there’s nothing wrong with liking new things

Savage: And if this strawberry person ends up being a nice person, then you’ve levelled up and away from chocolate!

 

12:11 am

Dr. Duck: I really wanna say something mushy like “thanks, savage” but I can’t because of your username.

Savage: What’s wrong with my name?

Dr. Duck: It sounds so stupid to keep calling you Savage. Like you’re some wild Tarzan type of person, but then you go and say things like “I’m here if you wanna talk” and it’s like

Dr. Duck: Tarzan wasn’t known to be mushy and serious and shit

Dr. Duck: Plus, I don’t even know what your name is supposed to mean

 

12:17 am

Savage: I CANT STOP FUCKING LAUGHING

Savage: Are you saying you’ve been not taking me seriously THIS WHOLE TIME because my username gave off Tarzan vibes??

Dr. Duck: I mean… YEAH?????

Savage: FUCK that’s amazing

 

12:32 am

Dr. Duck: So? Are you gonna explain the name orrrrr

Savage: It’s after the best ever graphic novel series in the entire fucking world

Savage: Savage Starlight

Savage: You should look it up. It’s fucking amazing. I swear my entire life on it

 

---

Dina reads, reads, and re-reads Savage’s most recent message. She isn’t sure if she’s reading it right.

Savage’s username comes from the very same comic book series that Ellie has piles of in her room. Could this really just be a coincidence? Could there really be another person in their class who is just as obsessed with Savage Starlight as Ellie is?

Or is it possible that Ellie has been her mystery pen pal all along?

Notes:

If you're reading this, that means you read the whole thing and I love you big time.

THANK YOU for reading, and make sure to let me know if you liked it in the comments! <3

NEXT CHAPTER: Dina tries to figure out her pen pal

ps. I decided on no beta and to continue the chaotic mess of writing and posting right away.

Chapter 13: SOS: Dina Meltdown

Summary:

Dina's thoughts on Savage and Ellie perhaps being the same person

Notes:

Short chapter to prepare us for the big reveal.

Sorry for the delay everyone. I haven't had much motivation to do this thing called life that people do. I am starting myself on a new routine and hopefully the next chapter will be written soon.

WARNING: No Beta and ZERO edits, probably lots of typos. may or may not edit later, who knows...

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Dina stares at her phone, eyes widening with each passing second.

This had to be a coincidence, right?

And if it was, what kind of coincidence was this?

Dina had gone her whole life never hearing about the Savage Starlight comic book series to suddenly have it come up in a span of less than a week.

How big of a fanbase could a comic book series have? Or, specifically, a series not as widely known as Superman, Spiderman, or some other superhero-man people have been reading since the beginning of comic books.

A loud thump is heard when Dina drops her cellphone on the textbook under her arms on the dining table. She swiftly gathers her belongings off the table and onto her left arm and clutches her bag with her right hand. She ignores how messy the papers and half-open textbooks hang onto her and dismisses how she’s never been so careless with her school things before this very moment.

Dina had to get to her laptop, to her room quickly, but she still had the decency to not leave the apartment’s common area is disarray.

So, she trudges the hallway to her bedroom, with the books and papers and her bag barely hanging off her arms. Once in her own space, she drops the stuff in a pile by her bed, closes the door with a soft click, and dives for the laptop on her bed.

She opens Google and searches for Savage Starlight.

Dina’s not sure what she expects to find, but she wants to know how popular this series is before making assumptions about Ellie and Savage being the same person.

It had to be a coincidence. Two people liking the same thing wasn’t out of the norm. It’s completely possible for Ellie and Savage to both like the same series and still be different people. There was no way Ellie and Savage are the same person. Right?

Dina clicks on the first link on the search results: a Wikipedia page about the series. Apparently the first issue of Savage Starlight came out online without grabbing any significant attention, and the few issues after it were the same. It wasn’t until the first volume of issues was published when the series began to grow a following, selling over 77,000 copies on release.

Dina read more articles after that, including interviews with the author and the illustrator, and book review websites. She tried to understand the world of comic books but only came out more overwhelmed with all the new jargon thrown at her. She learned that volumes were the published collection of multiple issues that were normally released on a weekly basis. That in itself was confusing, Dina didn’t know that comic books actually had different release dates for issues and volumes, and if she were being honest, she couldn’t even tell the difference between the varying publishing dates. She also learned that unlike your typical work of fiction, where an author is solely credited for a novel, most comic books had an author and an illustrator who worked in tandem to create their art.

It was hard for Dina to understand the grandeur of comic books, even more so to try and determine of the popularity of a series compared to another. She was more familiar with the Billboard 100, or Box Office records. The simple fact of 77,000 copies sold for a first volume of a series flew right over her head. Sure, it wasn’t as big as the Marvel heroes, but Dina could still assume that it had enough fans to be known in the world of comic books.

After spending a good hour scrolling through the blackhole that was the world of Dr. Daniela Star and the evil Travelers, Dina closes her laptop feeling more dumbfounded than when she started the search.

In the end, Dina couldn’t determine whether Savage Starlight was big enough of a series to have two clearly very avid fans share the same Creative Writing class in a small-town college. But Dina couldn’t let go of the fact that reading comic books was still considered as a niche hobby in comparison to watching movies, after all.

There was still a big possibility that Ellie and Savage were the same person.

Dina hops off her bed and fishes her cellphone out of the pile of books on the floor.

What if there had been clues in their conversations all along? They’d been corresponding more than they needed to for their project, and Dina felt like she knew Savage well enough after texting each other almost everyday since the start of the course.

Dina tears a blank page out of her notebook and begins a list of comparisons between Ellie and Savage.

She writes the first similarity on the list in big bold letters: 1. BOTH FANS OF SAVAGE STARLIGHT.

Dina taps her pen on the paper and thinks about other parallels between the two. She thinks back on what little time she’d spent with Ellie and starts comparing more from there. Ellie had brought her to a space-themed diner, and upon scrolling further into her conversation with Savage, Dina noticed multiple space-themed questions from her partner. Dina remembers her partner asking her about living in Mars, and while Ellie hadn’t shown to be as fascinated with outer space as her partner, it was still a likeness not to be ignored. Which brought the second point to her list: 2. Both like space (maybe).

She added the last bit in parentheses on account of not having it confirmed by Ellie. But the nagging in Dina’s brain couldn’t let go of it. People didn’t just go to space-themed diners if they weren’t space enthusiasts, right?

Dina jolts up from her perch on the bed when she remembers an important bit of information that she knows about Savage. Whoever her partner was, her initials are E.W. Ellie’s name starts with an E.

Dina’s hands shake at the realization. Now this was an even bigger coincidence than both of her classmates liking Savage Starlight.

At this point, Dina begins to stop thinking any of this was a coincidence. The little bit of evidence she had gathered all pointed to Ellie being Savage, and vice versa.

Dina throws the pen on her bed and closes her hands in a fist to prevent them from shaking even more.

Can this be possible? Dina thinks, Can Ellie and Savage be the same person? Have I been talking to Ellie everyday this whole time?

Dina covers her face with the palms of her hands and groans in frustration. The list of comparisons long forgotten as a new and more important issue popped up in her head.

If Savage was indeed Ellie, then that meant that Ellie had unknowingly had access to Dina’s thought process regarding her crush on her new friend, which just happened to be Ellie herself.

There’s a knock on her door that Dina doesn’t hear. Her hands still cover her face as she lets herself plop on the bed face first.

“What the actual fuck?” Dina groans out louder into her mattress.

She only notices the other person in her room when a voice speaks.

“Um… Is everything okay in here?”

As if electrified by the intrusion, Dina rolls off the bed and stumbles back onto her feet. She straightens her rumpled clothes and runs a hand through her tangled hair.

“Bonnie!” Dina exclaims.

“Dina!” Bonnie matches her tone but with a teasing lilt to her voice.

“What’s up?” Dina asks acting as if nothing was out of the norm.

“You’ve been making really weird noises in here, I thought you were dying.” Bonnie tilts her head and ignores Dina’s white lie. She inspects Dina with squinty eyes and says, “you don’t look like you’re dying, but are you having a Dina Meltdown?”

“No!” Dina says too quickly, and after hearing the pitch of her voice she says once more, “No meltdowns. I promise.”

Dina attempts a smile to placate her friend, but it only comes out as a confused grimace. By the look on Bonnie’s face, Dina can tell that her friend doesn’t buy it. They are both familiar with each other’s tells, but they also both know when or when not to push, so Dina is thankful when Bonnie lets it go.

“Okay then.” Bonnie responds, “Well, I’m cramming all night in my room if you need me.”

 Dina lets out a huge puff of air once the door closes behind Bonnie.

Bonnie’s interruption had actually managed to get Dina to slightly calm down from her near spiralling session. At least a little bit.

Dina was quick to assume that Ellie and Savage were the same person but now with a clearer mind, she realized there were still lots of aspects that separates the two apart.

For one, Dina doesn’t know Ellie’s last name. There are so many variations of names that could come with the initials E.W. For example, there was Emma Watson, one of Dina’s first celebrity crushes after watching the Harry Potter movie series with her sister. There was also Elijah Wood, the child actor who played lots of creepy characters in movies at the beginning of his career.

Dina was slightly relieved by the idea that Ellie could have a completely different last name. There are literally so many surnames in the world, and Ellie’s could start with a different letter. And Dina had never noticed Ellie flip the class’s sign-in sheet, where surnames starting with letters P to Z were.

Dina’s name was on the back of the sheet, what with her last name starting with the letter S. But then again, she didn’t go further than her name to read the other names after signing the sheet. She’d never taken notice of the names past her own. There was never a need to.

But was there one now? Dina wondered. Is finding out whether Savage shares the same identity as Ellie enough of a need to look past her name on the attendance sheet?

Sure, it may have sounded like a good reason, but Dina wonders if she really needs to find out her partner’s true identity.

Because what exactly would it mean to her if Ellie was Savage?

Dina thinks that she couldn’t go on writing to her partner with a genuine mindset if she knew for a fact that Savage was Ellie. Dina couldn’t stomach the idea that Ellie would be talking to her under the guise of Savage without knowing that Dina knew who she truly was.

Especially now that she had finally accepted her growing feelings for Ellie. Dina wouldn’t feel right knowing something so important without having to tell Ellie the truth.

And how would Ellie even react, Dina wonders.

There have been multiple occasions where Savage mentioned a sense of paranoia, and although Ellie hasn’t shown any feeling of the sort, if the two were the same person, would Ellie feel less inclined to get to know Dina?

Would their interactions lessen? Would Ellie think less of her if she found out that Dina had done way more research than necessary in order to unveil her project partner’s true identity?

Dina hates the uncertainty that this new revelation has brought to her.

She suddenly feels a deep disdain for Savage Starlight and the turmoil it started in Dina’s mind.

So, Dina decides to share the news with Ellie when she sees her next on Thursday in class.

It was the only thing she could think to do to prevent herself from going crazy. If Ellie was Savage, then Dina hoped they could get past the awkward situation and laugh it off. If Ellie turned out not to be Savage, then none is lost, and everything can go back to normal.

---

The next morning, Dina grabs her phone to send Ellie a text before her nerves prevent her from following through with her plan.

DINA: Good morning, Ellie. =)
DINA: Wanna grab coffee before class starts on Thursday? I wanted to ask you something.

Just like that, the message was sent.

Dina couldn’t back out now without having looking and sounding suspicious. Ellie would want to know why her text was so ambiguous, and to be honest, Dina’s mind was too chaotic to make up a good excuse to cover for her.

They will both find out on Thursday if Ellie and Savage were the same person.

Notes:

fun fact: this story was originally only 14 chapters long. we're at 13 chapters now and nowhere close to finishing the story!

THANK YOU ALL for reading, and make sure to let me know if you liked it in the comments! Or tell me if you didn't like it, that works too lol

Next Chapter: Dina finds out Ellie's last name

Chapter 14: Baby Miller and Ms. Sandoval sit by a fountain

Summary:

Dina and Ellie discover things about each other.

Notes:

The act of life-ing has been difficult, but writing this chapter was not. I had fun with this one!

WARNING: No Beta, unless you count Grammarly... I didn't re-read to edit so if there's a plot hole, it will be fixed in the next few days

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

 

 

-9:45 am-

ELLIE: hi there
ELLIE: im not much of a coffee person
ELLIE: but i could go for a pastry or a sandwich or a muffin
ELLIE: any food really

-9:52 am-

DINA: Why am I not surprised that you’ll get food instead?
DINA: Apart from class I’m pretty sure you’re eating something every time we get together lol

-9:54 am-
ELLIE: what can I say? I’m a growing kid =P
ELLIE: what did you wanna ask me btw? Everything good?

 

Dina mulls over Ellie’s question. She hadn’t considered Ellie would ask what Dina wanted to talk about, and in hindsight, she now realizes she probably shouldn’t have mentioned wanting to ask Ellie something.

‘I think you’re my pen pal partner in class. I think I’ve been telling you I’m crushing on you’ doesn’t sound like something that should be said over text. At least not the first part, the second part, Dina still wasn’t sure if she was completely ready to admit that to Ellie quite yet.

Especially not someone Dina now regarded as a friend.

Sure, she and Ellie hadn’t spent that much time altogether, but there was something sneaky and dishonest about talking to Savage knowing that she really was Ellie. What if she learned something personal about Ellie through Savage, something that Ellie wouldn’t have shared with Dina?

Dina would rather learn about Ellie as herself, where neither of them are under an anonymous penname corresponding through a class project.

Dina felt a tightness in her stomach whenever she thought about possibly knowing Savage’s identity without telling Ellie– that is, if Savage really was Ellie. Something about it felt deceitful, and she hated it.

So Dina responds as vaguely as she can:

 

 

 

-10:04 am-

DINA: It’s just a class thing, no biggie.
DINA: And what if I wanted to see you before class for once?

She and Ellie had been playful since they met—sometimes even flirtatious if Dina could admit that to herself. And Dina thought that adding a bit of levity in her response might take Ellie away from asking any more questions.

Ellie replies back with a winky emoji which calms Dina down a bit.

In truth, Dina still had to plan out exactly how to bring the topic up with Ellie on Thursday. She had barely slept the night before, having spent most of it adding more to the list of comparisons between Ellie and Savage.

The final product was a single page with four points:

  1. BOTH FANS OF SAVAGE STARLIGHT
  2. Both like space (maybe)
  3. Savage is helping a friend and needs to do something embarrassing. Ellie is doing Nora a favour for the open mic (inconclusive, but highly suspiciously similar crises)
  4. Savage wears “different shades of dark” shoes. Ellie wears the same combination clothes (still have to confirm on Ellie’s shoes)

Dina thought the list looked pathetic and overreaching. There were only four points and only one fact was technically confirmed, while the others were mere speculations. But Speculations or not, these were enough for her to draw suspicions that Ellie and Savage were the same person.

At least it was enough evidence for Dina to feel her gut being pulled apart in the insides every time she thought about it.

Though her attraction towards knowing every little detail there was to learn about Ellie grew stronger by the day, Dina wanted to discover all these things the natural way. She wanted to spend time with her in person, whether they be eating together, studying, or simply hanging out—Dina wanted to know Ellie without the guise of Duck and Savage.

She had to get the truth out before it drove her to madness.

And once the masks were off and once Dina finally confessed her suspicions to Ellie, a different set of anxiety hung over Dina.

Would telling Ellie the truth put a stop to their budding friendship?

Would Ellie, who seemed to finally be getting comfortable around Dina, revert back to the reserved and defensive girl whom she had accidentally smacked with her backpack?

The thought worried Dina. She couldn’t imagine losing Ellie after already having met her.

Dina hadn’t ever met anyone like Ellie, and she wasn’t ready to lose touch with her anymore.

This spurred Dina to start a new list. This one was the PROS and CONS of having Ellie and Savage be the same person. She wanted this second list to possibly persuade Ellie that the idea of her unmasking Savage might not be as awkward as it sounds.

On the PROS side, Dina wrote in neat lettering:

  • We already talk daily
  • We are almost always on the same vibe
  • We both like dad jokes, I’m a dad, remember?
  • I am closer to winning the best friend challenge
  • We both know more things about each other, and we don’t have to repeat them
  • I like Ellie (a lot)
  • A LOT
  • Hoping Savage was talking about meeting me when she mentioned meeting a girl who makes her want to live again
  • Remind Ellie that I am still Dina even with Duck as a nickname (and remind her that she is the one who named me Duck)

On the CONS side, the words are messier, as if Dina physically had to force herself to write them down:

  • Ellie will never talk to me again
  • Ellie will think I’m a creep AND a stalker, which Savage already thinks Duck is
  • Everything will be awkward
  • Ellie will stay away from me
  • I will never see Ellie again
  • We will both fail the class
  • Savage isn’t Ellie and I am a complete fool

Writing all the CONS down on paper only succeeded in withdrawing some courage away from Dina to talk to Ellie. She had already decided on telling her, but seeing her doubts written down in her own handwriting made the negative reactions more palpable than the positive ones.

She notices how the points in her PROS list are mostly her hopes on what could happen, while the CONS list numerated all the different ways that could go wrong with the reveal.

Dina barely sleeps a wink that night. All the different thoughts, bright and dark, swirled around her until she tossed her sheets off with her feet and turned toward the window to see the beginnings of sunrise.

She doesn’t respond to Savage’s last message.

Dina couldn’t do it, not until she cleared the air with Ellie.

---

[THURSDAY]

They plan to meet an hour before class instead.

Ellie suggests meeting Dina at a coffee cart by the campus quad. The quad is an area at their school that has four big sections of grass where you could see a fountain with an obnoxious metallic structure in the middle. First-time visitors to their campus might think that the structure is something out of Soviet Russia when it’s just a crude version of their school logo.

Save for the eyesore in the middle, Dina quite likes the quad. Come Springtime, when the trees begin to flower again, the grass would fill with lounging students enjoying some downtime. Dina doesn’t normally come here during the colder seasons, so she’s surprised to learn that there was, in fact, a coffee cart by the fountain this time of the year.

By the time Dina gets there, she spots an already growing line of people queuing up to get their orders placed. Ellie had mentioned how this coffee cart is the only one on campus that serves pastries and sandwiches, and other easy-grab food to go on their menu.

She eyes the people gathered around to see if Ellie had already arrived but ends up not having to look further when she notices Ellie zooming towards her on a skateboard.

Dina’s heart starts thundering at Ellie’s arrival. She’s planned out what to say and hopes it will all come out smoothly, but the nerves remind her how awkward and complicated the outcome can also be.

“Hey Dina,” Ellie’s out of breath but the smile she gives Dina is enough to calm her nerves. “I’m not late, am I?”

“Nope, I just got here myself,” Dina says. She points toward Ellie’s board and asks, “Do you always come to school on your skateboard?”

“Yeah. I figured since I don’t live too far, I might as well save the gas money.” Ellie shrugs, “Plus the ride helps me wake up in the mornings for early classes.”

Dina thinks it was a smart move on Ellie’s part; if she hadn’t had Talia helping her out financially, she’s sure that she too would have done anything to save extra money when she could.

“Well, if you ever feel lazy you could always call me up for a ride.”

Ellie makes her way to the back of the line and beckons Dina over, “Yeah? What’s the catch though?”

“Why does there always have to be a catch with you?” Dina shakes her head and pokes Ellie on the side, “What if I just like hanging out with you?”

Ellie squints at Dina but ends up blushing all the same, “Are you offering to be my own personal Uber driver for free?”

“How about you buy me a cup of cocoa, and we can talk about the free rides after?” Dina wiggles her eyebrows making Ellie laugh out loud.

They settle on a bench near the fountain after Ellie buys their order (two hot cocoas and three different pastries that she insisted they share). Dina’s nerves come back by the shake of her hands as she lifts the cup to her lips, which was fortunately unnoticed by Ellie who ripped the paper bag and placed the pastries in a line between them.

Dina wants to get it over with, she wants to rip the band-aid open and finally clear the air with Ellie. Every chance she thinks is the right moment. Her mouth seems to disagree and ends up saying something else.

“So, how come you knew that this cart even sold food?” Dina asks. Her hands haven’t calmed a bit, but Ellie is still preoccupied with carefully splitting the three sweet breads in half.

“Abby, you met her at the gym that first time.” Dina still looks confused, so Ellie continues, “She’s the big one with the braids. Abby is always trying to get me to work out with her and even calls me a string bean, you’ll remember her once you see her again.”

She wasn’t sure before, but once Ellie described the braids, Dina was certain of who she was referring to. Dina remembered being intimidated by the girl’s size but softened once they got to talking. The night she met Abby was the same night she met Ellie, and frankly, she’s surprised to even remember meeting anyone other than Ellie that night.

 Ellie pauses to wipe the crumbs off her fingers before picking up and taking a bite off half of a croissant. “Anyway, so we’ve known each other almost forever. She grew up around the college. Her dad’s been a prof here for years. When I got here, she pretty much took me to all her favourite places. This cart was one of them.”

“Oh wow, so you’re childhood best friends?” Dina takes the other half of the croissant and dips it in her drink. Ellie watches her with as much attention as she had given the food when she laid them all out.

“Something like that. She lived around here, but I lived with my dad a couple of hours away in Jackson.” Dina’s eyes widen. She coughs out harshly, almost choking on the bread she had just taken a bite of. Ellie offers her a napkin and immediately pats her back softly, “Holy shit, are you okay?”

Dina takes a calming breath but spits out anyway, “You’re from Jackson?”

“Not originally, but yeah. I’ve lived there the longest so I might as well be from there.”

“That’s…” Dina shakes her head, “That’s insane ‘cause I’m from Jackson too!”

Ellie gapes at her in a way that Dina’s sure is similar to the look she’s giving back. The food between them is long forgotten, as the two girls continue eyeing each other.

Ellie’s first to break the silence, “How the fuck have we never met before? Jackson’s not a big town…”

“I-I can’t even- like…”

There aren’t many times in memory when Dina remembers being so caught off guard but realizing that she and Ellie come from the same town and also share mutual friends without having ever crossed paths is on top of the list.

“What school did you go to?” Ellie carefully sips on her cup.

“Mountain Prep,” Dina responds easily. It’s much easier to answer factual information over the philosophical ones that revolved around the web of similarities that she and Ellie shared.

“Ah, that explains it.” Ellie’s shoulders relax, “You’re a private school kid.”

“Not by choice!”

“Isn’t going to private school literally a choice?”

“I meant it wasn’t my choice to go. My grandfather was the one that made the decision. If I had a say I would have totally been fine with going to Jackson High.”

“That’s where I went,” Ellie shrugs, “Nothing special about it.”

“Maybe it would have been if I went there.” Dina winks making Ellie let out a belly laugh.

“You’re so fucking full of yourself.” Ellie lightly pushes Dina off balance.

“Can I just say, there have been so many instances for us to meet, and we end up only doing so because of a stupid Creative Writing class?” Dina muses out loud as she picks up the other half of the apple strudel that Ellie’s just wolfed down in two bites. Before taking a bite out of hers, she asks, “Are you majoring in English Lit?”

Ellie chuckles and makes Dina wonder what could be so funny about a simple question. “The funny thing is I wasn’t even supposed to take this course. The Graphic Lit class was full and Creative Writing as an elective sounded easier than some random Philosophy class.”

Dina slaps a hand to cover her mouth to prevent her from shouting out in laughter as well, “I took Graphic Lit last semester!”

“Ok, that’s it. I’m creeped out.” Ellie covers her face with the neck of her shirt but laughs along with Dina, who’s now shaking with laughter. “Correct me if I’m wrong but so far, we’re both from Jackson,” Dina nods, “we both go to Clickers all the time and we know Nora and Jade.”

“Clickers! I forgot about that for a sec,” Dina exclaims.

“You also went to that house party at my house before I moved in, then we pretty much end up taking the same English electives,” Ellie escapes from under her shirt, “I want to say what a coincidence, but honestly how the hell have we never met before?”

All this talk of coincidences spurs Dina to mention Savage to Ellie. It’s like the topic was meant to be brought up, and Dina finally gets the courage to speak up about it. Not only were Dina and Ellie bound to have met at some point in their lives, considering how intertwined their lives seemed to be, but she also had yet to confess the other coincidence that she may have figured out. It’s time for Dina to tell Ellie that she thinks they’re partners in the anonymous journaling project.

She’s ready to come out as Duck and to properly introduce herself to Savage in person.

“So, there’s another—”

 “Well, well! If it isn’t my favourite Miller!” A loud, familiar voice booms out from behind Dina, interfering her from continuing her train of thought. “Baby Miller! You don’t come to visit me anymore.”

‘Miller? Who is Miller?’ Dina wondered.

From the look of recognition in Ellie’s eyes, and the girl’s sudden need to retreat into herself, Dina slowly connected the dots but found it hard to believe what her ears had heard.

“Jerry, please don’t call me that in public,” Ellie groans but stands up to give the man a strong hug.

Dina looks up and is surprised to see, Dr. Anderson, her Anatomy professor, embracing Ellie in what can only be described as a fatherly bear-hug.

A slew of questions invades Dina’s thoughts. Like, how does Ellie know the school’s most influential professor in the Department of Medicine? And how did they get close enough for Ellie to call him by name and for him to give her a nickname?

The small world that Dina and Ellie had just uncovered suddenly feels even smaller.

“I’ve called you that since you were little, why would I change now?” Dr. Anderson lets Ellie go and pats her on the shoulder. When he looks over her and notices Dina sitting with Ellie’s things, he finally greets her. “Ms. Sandoval, I’m surprised to see you with a delinquent like Ellie Miller.”

“I’m not a delinquent!” Ellie scoffs.

Dina stands up to shake her professor’s hand, “Good morning, Dr. Anderson. It’s good to see you too.”

She tries to wrap her mind around the banter that her professor and Ellie seem to have, let alone the fact that he had called her Ellie Miller.

Was she just saved from a false suspicion? Is Ellie not Savage?

This small interaction surely proved it. Savage’s initials are E.W. Ellie’s last name starts with the letter M.

A part of Dina is relieved to have been spared from the humiliation that would have come from bringing up Savage with Ellie, especially with all the lists and research she had done to sway her hunch.

Another part of her is disappointed. The heaviness in her gut is hard to ignore. She had been excited to share the news with Ellie. She was starting to get used to the idea that she had been talking to Ellie all along.

“Delinquent or not, you better not be corrupting my best student, Miller. Dina is the brightest I’ve seen in years.” Dr. Anderson beams in Dina’s way, and Dina forces a smile through it.

Such a compliment would have given her a swell of pride on any other day. But after learning that Ellie’s last name does not start with a W, all Dina could feel was a sense of longing. An empty kind of longing that felt real and surreal at the same time.

Because for as anxious as she was to think that Savage and Ellie were the same person, there was a part of her that truly believed her suspicions and started acknowledging the reality of it.

Is this what Christian kids felt like when they found out that Santa wasn’t real? If so, Dina finally understood their short-lived grief, but she was sure that this one wouldn’t leave her for some time.

Notes:

If you're reading this then YOU'RE AWESOME and ILY <3

THANK YOU for reading, and make sure to let me know if you liked it in the comments! Tell me what you think is gonna happen next!

Next Chapter: Same day but in class. Ellie wonders why Dina's suddenly acting weird

Chapter 15: Small-town girls and Pennywise

Summary:

Continuation of the previous chapter but in Ellie's POV.
Ellie worries about Duck.
Jesse and Ellie talk at home.

NO BETA. Grammarly is my only beta.

Notes:

Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been busy lately (which is a nice change).
I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I've had the draft sitting in my files for almost 3 months so I'm hoping parts of it don't feel disjointed after only finishing it today after so long.

I hope you all enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Ellie has never seen Dina act like this before—self-conscious, timid, and jumpy as if the littlest movement from Ellie could make Dina scatter at any moment.

Dina’s nervous energy is oozing out in heaps through the erratic tapping of her feet and how she can’t decide whether to put her hands in her pockets or not. Ellie suspects that the other girl is either unaware she’s doing it or doesn’t realize that Ellie notices her anxious demeanor. It’s not often that Ellie takes the initiative to lead a conversation with Dina, but sensing the other girl’s nervous energy, she decides to take charge.

In doing so, Ellie feels a knot in her stomach. Dina was the one who asked to meet up early for a talk, but without her usual charm and inclination to tease Ellie, something felt odd about their early morning meet-up. Whatever it was that Dina wanted to ask Ellie obviously agitated her, and in turn made Ellie’s insides churn.

It doesn’t matter though because Ellie is a self-proclaimed professional in deflecting conversation. So, despite the worry spewing in her mind, she wills herself to at least make conversation with Dina to lift her spirits.

Much to Ellie’s surprise, her deflection uncovers many similarities between her and Dina. Ellie wondered how it was possible for them to both live in a town as small as Jackson and never once met until Dina mentioned attending Mountain Prep.

Dina’s high school was the one that smart overachieving students from Jackson High wanted to transfer to. Graduating from that kind of school pretty much ensured a golden ticket to an Ivy League school. But just like prep schools in movies and tv shows, Ellie always viewed the place as something fictional, where uniformed kids got picked up by their chauffeurs, lunches were cooked by hired chefs, and security guards in black suits watched the perimeter.

Some kids dreamt of going to Mountain Prep, but others like Ellie only ever thought of it as something like Hogwarts, a far-away school where the special kids go—or, in this case, where the privileged rich kids in town studied.

In all her years living in Jackson, Dina’s the first person she’s befriended that attended that school. The only other times she’s been in the vicinity of Mountain Prep students were during school-related activities, like going to Jesse’s soccer games.

Not meeting Dina in high school makes sense in the end, they led very different lives.

Ellie can only assume that Dina’s life was probably far from the one she lived with Joel. If she wasn’t in school or with her friends, Ellie normally spent her time at the auto shop with Joel or helping out at Tommy and Maria’s farm.

What kind of things did Dina do around Jackson? Ellie imagines her teenage self crossing paths with an equally younger Dina, and wonders if they would have been friends then too.

Ellie has so many questions. With all the coincidences Dina starts pointing out about them, she wants to know where Dina hung out in Jackson—if they were the same spots Jesse and Riley brought her to or whether they went to the same house parties in senior year—what if they had met then?

Ellie readies herself to ask Dina the questions flooding her mind, but one look at Dina stops her from doing so. She watches as Dina begins to look nervous again, maybe it’s time for her to find out why Dina asked to see her so early in the morning.

Ellie readies herself again, this time for a different reason, preparing to face whatever it is that Dina wanted to say.

Until Jerry Anderson appears, and the moment breaks Dina’s resolve.

Not only does Ellie flinch from Jerry’s sudden interruption, but she also cringes upon hearing the name he’s called her by.

Baby Miller.

The damn nickname that Ellie wishes disappeared from Jerry’s repertoire.

Having a close relationship with one of the university’s most esteemed professors is something Ellie has never really been able to grasp until she attended the school he teaches at. The medical field knows him as Dr. Anderson, a distinguished neurologist whose innovative surgeries are being taught all over the world. But for Ellie, he’s always just been Jerry, a close family friend, and Abby’s goofball of a dad who treated Ellie like a second daughter.

If it weren’t for Jerry, Ellie’s sure she would have never gotten the scholarship that she has now. She can’t easily put into words how grateful she is for the time he took to help her embrace academics. While she had always turned to Joel for hands-on work and advice with anything concerning her life, Jerry was the one who guided her into pursuing her dreams of working at SpaceX or NASA by applying to universities and scholarships. Had it not been for him, Ellie thinks she would have ended up wasting her time at home in a small-town community college.

When it was time for Ellie to choose which school to attend from the big pile of acceptance letters she had received at the end of senior year, she opted to go for the school closest to home instead of one in another state. She wanted to be a driving distance away from Joel, and though she may not voice it aloud, having Jerry be a part of the university’s faculty came with its advantages. Ellie gets to have homecooked meals on weekends without doing the two-hour drive to Jackson if she wanted to, she gets to have an academic advisor without needing to ask a random professor for advice, and she sometimes gets to sit on his big leather desk chair in his office for a glass of whiskey for a chat with him and Abby.

Small-town girls can have big dreams and still want to be near home after all.

What Ellie doesn’t like, however, are the times when Jerry treats her like a child visiting a parent on campus instead of a regular college student who happens to attend the school he works at. Most specifically, she hates it when Jerry calls her by that embarrassing nickname so loudly in public, especially in front of Dina. She much preferred it when he called her Lil Ellie instead of Baby Miller.

Something about being called “baby” in public by a parental figure made Ellie want to run, hide, shrivel up and never show her face on campus again.

What’s worse is how Ellie knows that Dina’s heard the name and will probably tease her for it. Having spent enough time with Dina, it’s easy for Ellie to know how their dynamic works by now. Ellie would say something she thinks is a normal thing to say, and Dina would get that glint in her eyes paired with a knowing smile that means some poking is to be had. No, this doesn’t embarrass Ellie one bit. She honestly loves seeing Dina’s smirk aimed at her, and sometimes finds herself saying ridiculous things just so she can see that look on Dina’s face.

Ellie won’t admit that, though. She’ll enjoy these secret looks and the playful teasing for as long as she can. She remembers Dina missing a date the first night they met, and Ellie would have to settle with the crumbs of moments she gets with Dina before she gets sick of Ellie and runs back to her boyfriend.

At least that’s what Ellie assumes. Dina may have been openly playful and touchy with Ellie since they met, which is something she would immediately assume as flirting if she was sure the other girl was also gay. But Ellie isn’t even sure if Dina is gay; she isn’t even sure if Dina has been flirting with her at all. For all she knows, she could have been misreading the whole situation. Ellie’s crush could have led her to believe that Dina was the slightest bit interested in her.

Ellie wants to shut the thoughts down. She wants to stay in this bubble for as long as she can before it bursts and disappears. But some thoughts are harder to tamper down. Like how Dina is just friendly and probably doesn’t like her that way, or how Dina probably has a boyfriend and has never looked at Ellie the same way she looks at her.

The wishful part of her hopes that Dina feels the same way, that Dina has been flirting with her this whole time, and that none of their interactions were created by Ellie’s imagination. She hopes that whatever it was that Dina wanted to ask her this morning confirmed her wishes.

But the thing about wishful thinking is that they mostly remain wishful. They seldom become real.

“So,” Jerry squints his eyes at Ellie and scratches his unshaven chin, “Abby tells me you’ve got a singing gig this Friday. Why did I hear about this from you?”

Some wishes are attainable, and some can even be controlled, but one thing that Ellie knows she can’t control is how Abby always tells her father everything.

Ellie suddenly decides she regrets telling Abby about the Open Mic night.

“It’s not a gig,” Ellie groans. She’s lost count of how many times she’s groaned when talking about this stupid show. “I’m doing a friend a favour. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s more than just a favour, the girls at the café did all sorts of bribing just to get you to play, and you accepted to help without even wanting the bribe. So, the truth in all this is that you’re a great friend who happens to have a great voice willing to help her friends in a tight position.” Dina

Jerry looks between Ellie and Dina with a curious look on his face. Ellie can hear the cogwheels turning in his brain and has a feeling that he’ll tell Abby about his encounter with Ellie and her mysterious new lady friend. The Andersons always seem to love teasing Ellie when it comes to her dating life.

“Well, whatever it is, I’ll be there to record a video for your old man. I’m sure he’d love to see proof that you’re trying new things.”

Ellie’s eyes bulge out, “please don’t tell Joel about this! He doesn’t know I’m doing this and he’s gonna want to drive up to watch and like… um… he doesn’t—”

Dina, who has now moved closer to Ellie seems to sense her apprehension and comes to the rescue, “You know what Dr. Anderson, it’s a very small venue and the show starts late at night. I don’t think it would be a great environment for older folk to come to the show.” Ellie feels Dina squeeze her elbow which instantly calms her.

“I am willing to ignore the offending old folk remark, Ms. Sandoval if you promise to take a video of Ellie for me and her old man since I assume you will be there to watch.”

“That’s a deal, sir.” Dina holds out her hand and Jerry is amused to shake it.

It’s hard for Ellie to read their facial expressions, but what she can see is how they both have the same maniacal-looking smirk on their faces.

In the end, Ellie’s not sure if she’s thankful for Dina’s rescue. She’s not quite sure what sort of deal Jerry and Dina shook hands for.

The moment doesn’t last too long, because something shifts in Jerry and his behavior swiftly changes.

“Ellie. Ms. Sandoval. It was a pleasure to see both of you, but I am now late for a meeting with my TA. Time always goes by fast with you, kiddo.” Jerry ruffles Ellie’s hair and he speeds off toward the school’s med school building.

Ellie busies herself by fixing her hair while Dina looks at her with wonder.

“I can’t believe Dr. Anderson calls you Baby Miller and kiddo.” Dina laughs and pokes Ellie in the stomach.

Something is jarring about hearing that stupid nickname in Dina’s voice.

There’s been an obvious transformation from the nervous Dina that Ellie met with earlier, to the Dina that Ellie is now faced with—someone more akin to the Dina that she was first introduced to—full of glee and playful jabs.

“How the hell do you know Dr. Anderson, by the way? I mean, the most influential doctor on campus calls you Baby Miller… who are you, Ellie?”

“Ugh, no! Please. I hate that name,” Ellie finally speaks up. “Remember how we were talking about Abby a few minutes ago? Well, Jerry’s her dad.”

Dina gawks at Ellie, an unbelieving tint in her eyes. Ellie finds it amusing and cute whenever Dina looks surprised. Her mouth always parts slowly open, her eyes don’t bulge out like others’ do but her eyebrows shoot up high. Ellie would never say these things out loud though, she’ll keep the details of Dina’s facial expressions to herself.

“Abby? The Abby from the gym is Dr. Anderson’s daughter?”

“Yup, our dads are both military vets, and we sorta just blended over the years. Kind of like family friends, but closer to being family than friends.” Ellie explains it the way she’s always explained her relationship with the Andersons, a recited abridged account of how they truly met.

Ellie omits the part about Jerry technically knowing her mom first.

She and Joel had met the Andersons at a local U.S. veterans’ event where Jerry approached Ellie saying she reminded him of a soldier in his unit and asked if she was related to Lieutenant Anna Williams. Never having met anyone from her mother’s past before, Ellie immediately answered and spent most of the event asking Jerry questions about her mother.

It was a surprise to both Ellie and Joel that she was eager to converse with practical strangers about aspects of her past that they normally didn’t talk about. But curiosity grappled Ellie in a vice and put her reservations set aside for that whole day.

She was glad for that momentary lapse in her social routine because she gained more people to add to her circle, into the small group of people that she considered family.

“I’m learning so much about you right now but, I have to be honest,” Dina says in a voice that sounds like a suspect confessing to a heinous crime.

“Ok, what’s up?” Ellie waits patiently, not sure what Dina has in mind.

“Out of all the things you just said, I can’t wrap my mind around how Dr. Anderson’s daughter is a muscular giant.” Dina hides her face behind her hands with her eyes poking out between her fingers to gauge Ellie’s reaction.

Ellie can’t help but laugh. She hadn’t expected that to be what stuck with Dina. In all honesty, Ellie was bracing herself for questions about her mother or Joel but knowing that Dina could only think about Abby and her relation to her father was enough to amuse her.

Ellie laughs the loudest she’s ever had around Dina, drawing attention to some people around the quad. Ellie gets so lost in laughter that she misses the way Dina slowly emerges out of her hands to laugh along with her, a certain twinkle in her eyes that could be interpreted as admiration.

Once calm enough to catch her breath, Ellie finally says, “Holy shit, don’t ever let Abby hear you say that.”


“I’d have to hang out with Abby more to do that, but consider it noted.” Dina softly smiles at Ellie, something she will never get used to having aimed at her.

Ellie feels a familiar warmth spread on her cheeks and makes to move back toward the fountain to hide her growing blush. She busies herself by gathering the mess from their pastries and moves to throw it in a nearby garbage bin. When she turns back around, Dina looks to have kept her eyes glued on Ellie.

This doesn’t help Ellie from suppressing her blush away. She rubs the back of her neck and attempts to make conversation with Dina once again.

“So, you’re a med student?”

“Biochemistry, actually.” Dina shrugs like it’s an easier field than medicine.

“I thought Jerry was an anatomy professor?” Ellie asks. She doesn’t understand why a chemistry student would need to take an anatomy class.

“He is. I’m just taking his class as an elective.”

Ellie finds it intriguing how Dina talks about taking anatomy class as an elective like it’s similar to taking a film course for fun. She’s gradually becoming aware of how smart Dina seems to be.

“Aren’t electives supposed to be fun? Why are you taking anatomy as an elective? Were you a secretly smart popular girl in high school?” The questions burst out of Ellie and she’s relieved to see that Dina doesn’t find her curiosity as an intrusion.

Unlike Ellie’s normally reserved attitude, Dina looks as if she enjoys the questions and happily answers them.

“I don’t remember ever saying I was popular in high school,” Dina reflects.

Ellie gives her a knowing look, head tilting to the side waiting for Dina to relent. Something about the way Dina carries herself screams “popular girl”, and Ellie can spot her kind from a mile away.

Dina, on the other hand, doesn’t take Ellie’s bait and proposes a challenge instead, “Define popular.”

Ellie thinks back to her high school days. She pictures the group of kids who thought they were better than everyone but when she thinks about them they weren’t popular, they were just mean. But other kids like Jesse flocked to all the different cliques and could sit and hang out with whomever they wanted.

“I guess, everyone was either your friend or wanted to be you, the teachers loved you, you could sit anywhere at the cafeteria, and everyone welcomed you, you didn’t need to join clubs, you were automatically part of them. That sort of thing.”

Ellie gestures to Dina, waving her arm as if to show that she has just described her in detail.

“Ok, I yield. Most of those apply to me, but I never thought I was popular.”

“That’s what a popular girl would say!” Ellie exclaims like she’s won something. “Something about you just gives off that vibe, the secret brainiac popular girl.”

 “I was on the Honor Roll too so that wasn’t a secret either, so you technically got that part wrong. Mountain Prep was more into the academic side anyway, there weren’t popular kids and cliques like you see on TV.”

Ellie quickly remembers a new bit of information that she learned about Dina that morning, something that could explain her nonchalant sentiment on taking a highly complex course as an elective.

“Right, sorry. I forgot you’re a private school kid. Everyone there must be some level of smart, right?”

“You’d be surprised to know the number of dumbasses whose parents donate thousands to the school just so their kid gets to stay.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” Ellie wiggles her eyebrows.

Dina smacks Ellie’s arm for that comment, and Ellie yelps a feigned injury. “Weren’t you just talking about how smart I am? Come on, Baby Miller. Keep up.”

“No, no. You can’t call me that. Only Jerry ever calls me that, and I really, really hate it.”

“What should I call you then?” Dina asks, her tone showing that she is taking this challenge to heart.

Ellie thinks she’s imagining it, but she’s almost sure Dina’s voice lowers when she asks the question. She can’t help the hint of red that colors her cheeks once again. That’s twice in a short amount of time that Ellie finds herself blushing—a feat only Dina seems capable of achieving.

“J-just Ellie is fine,” she stutters out. Ellie’s not sure if she can handle whatever nickname Dina comes up with for her.

Dina could call her something stupid like Trash Bag, or something like Guitar Girl, and Ellie knows she will immediately melt in a puddle of giddiness. Even the internal mention of being giddy around Dina doesn’t scare her like it normally would.

“Nope, if someone out there gets to call you Baby Miller, I want to give you a nickname that reminds you of me.”

Ellie audibly gulps and asks, “Like what?”

Dina visibly becomes nervous too, Ellie notices the way Dina plays with the bracelet on her wrist.

“I’m not sure yet,” Dina starts, “maybe once I spend more time with you, something fitting could pop up.”

Caught with a random surge of confidence Ellie says, “What time do you finish today?”

“My last lab finishes at 3:45. Why?”

“I was thinking we could hang out more just like you said. That way you can come up with a name for me before the day end. I finish work early tonight and we can brainstorm names together so I get to veto the shitty ones.”

Dina gets quiet and frowns which makes Ellie think she’s overstepped somehow.

“I mean… we don’t have to. I don’t need a new name, y’know. I just thought it’d be fun—” Ellie hates how easy it is for her to revert to a bumbling mess.

Before Ellie knows it, Dina has a calming hand on her arm again accompanied by that soft smile that she has yet to get used to.

“No, Ellie. I think that’s a great idea,” Ellie almost returns the smile until Dina’s begins to falter, “but I have to call a rain check on your offer. I have plans with someone later that I can’t keep putting off.”

Dina’s gaze wanders off for a moment, the gesture so bizarre it returns a wave of anxiety to Ellie.

“Hey, no. Don’t worry about it. You don’t even have to give me a new name. Ellie’s one hundred percent fine.”

“Don’t back out on me Baby Miller,” Ellie hates how that stupid name sounds adorable when Dina’s the one that’s saying it, “sorry, I know you hate that one. Would you prefer Ellie Belly? Jelly Ellie?”

Ellie has to restrain herself from barking out a laugh, what comes out of her instead is a nasty-sounding snort when she tries to cover it up with faux indignation.

“Is it too late to retract my offer? You know the words don’t have to rhyme with my name, right?”

Dina waves Ellie’s questions away and continues to name variations of silly names as they start to make their way to class.

Ellie doesn’t hate the idea of getting a name that only Dina gets to use for her. Had it been anyone else, Ellie wouldn’t have been so easily swayed to relent.

But since Dina was the one to ask, Ellie finds herself willing to melt her icy exterior ready to embrace some long-awaited warmth.

---

The rest of the day end up being unexciting for Ellie, which she expected seeing as the best part of her day started and finished in the morning.

Her morning English course with Dina was the only one that felt like it finished in a breeze in comparison to the rest of her schedule. She spent most of her time in lectures either watching every single minute tick past on her watch or reminiscing about the breakfast chat with Dina that morning.

Having thoughts of Dina flooding her mind was the perfect distraction to keep her alert and awake through what seemed to be a boring day.

It wasn’t until her shift at work that she noticed something different in her routine: Duck hasn’t messaged her in a long time since the start of their project for class.

Seeing that there weren’t any incoming clients entering the gym, Ellie pulls out her phone to check the message thread Duck.

The last message was from Ellie on Tuesday night when they started talking about Savage Starlight after Duck mentioned having relationship problems. Duck hasn’t sent any messages since and given her partner’s tendency to carry discussions beyond their project, Ellie worries that Duck’s relationship issues might be affecting her worse than what was implied in their messages.

She hadn’t looked around class that morning to look for her partner, and Ellie hadn’t taken the time to see if any of her classmates wore their hair up in a bun that day. All she had in mind was how Dina sat closer to her that day, unlike in previous classes. Or how Dina kept passing her notes with silly names that rhymed with her name.

Ellie has been so preoccupied with her crush that she has completely forgotten to check up on Duck.

Would it even be okay for her to check up on Duck? Ellie feels a tinge of stupidity upon realizing that she’s feeling guilty for not worrying enough about an anonymous person from her class, whose identity is completely unknown to her.

Ellie decides then that she’s allowed to have her distractions. Dina should be in her mind more than Duck, considering that she has met and interacted with Dina in person. This project doesn’t require them to build an emotional attachment to this project, and it’s her fault for spending so much of her time messaging her partner outside the required journal entries in the first place. Duck is still so much of a mystery to Ellie, that she feels the need to separate her real life and her project partner.

It's been a long time since Ellie has felt a growing crush on someone and she doesn’t feel capable enough to manage her feelings while helping Duck with their issues at the same time.

But the problem for Ellie is that she’s grown used to getting random messages from her project partner. Her friends barely text her—ignoring the fact that Ellie is horrible at replying—so they’ve taken the habit of dragging her along to whatever get-together is happening.

Getting messages from Duck has become such a regular part of her day that Ellie can’t help but worry about this mystery person.

No matter how much separation Ellie feels she needs to draw, she can’t stop herself from sending Duck a quick message.

 

7:18 pm

Savage: Hey Duck

Savage: Haven’t heard from you in a while. Are you good?

Ellie hopes that Duck sends back a quick reply to stop her worries and prove that they were unnecessary in the first place.

An hour passes without a message.

Ellie’s anticipation worsens in the second hour when her phone still shows no sign of Duck’s well-being.

Something doesn’t feel right, and Ellie hopes she gets answers soon before she has to inform their professor that her partner has gone missing.

One of Dina’s nicknames comes to mind when Ellie realizes how stupid that conversation with her professor sounds.

Silly Ellie goes on a curious hunt to find her missing mystery pen pal.

---

When Ellie gets home, she’s surprised to find Jesse sprawled out face down on her bed.

She loudly clears her throat and says, “Uh, good evening to you too, Jess.”

Jesse turns his head toward her; his face is marked with lines from the sheets on her bed. How long has he been laying on her bed instead of his room seven steps away from Ellie’s?

“Ellie! I’ve been waiting for you,” Jesse’s voice is scratchy but the dejected tone in his voice is clear. “I am such an idiot.”

He groans before Ellie could ask what’s happened. Jesse sits up on the edge of her bed while Ellie moves further into her room to lean on her desk.

“Deen broke up with me,” Jesse swipes his long scraggly hair out of his face, which is when Ellie notices that her friend doesn’t look sad at all.

Ellie will never admit it to Jesse, but she sort of suspected that this would happen when the girl ditched him on the night he was to ask her to be his girlfriend. This ‘Deen’ girl, hasn’t contacted Jesse since then, she never even took him out on the make-up date she assured him with.

Ellie has had her doubts about this girl from then on and hoped that Jesse would be the one to break it off first instead of the other way around. It even seemed to Ellie that Jesse had already lost interest in this girl. He’s been talking non-stop about the Starbucks barista who always remembers his order.

Jesse may be her closest and oldest friend, but Ellie always found it hard to sympathize with his indecisive approach to dating. He may be the kind of person to plan out his life perfectly down to a T, but he could never keep the same girl around longer than the length of his hair.

Ellie is used to this pattern. Jesse dates a girl for a while until it doesn’t work out and another girl makes an appearance that suddenly takes all his time and attention. She wonders if this is finally the time Jesse reflects on his actions and admits how idiotic his dating patterns look.

“That makes you an idiot how?” Ellie attempts to maintain her voice level, trying not to show Jesse how they’ve done this routine a hundred times.

“I should have broken up with her a long time ago. I kinda knew she wasn’t feeling us, and she said that today. And I’m such an idiot!” Jesse exclaims loudly enough for Ellie to flinch. She wants to tell him to calm down but Jesse talks ahead of her, “we haven’t talked in ages so I forgot about Deen and started going out with Paula, you know the coffee girl I told you about? And we hit it off and it’s been great and… I can’t believe I forgot about Deen! So, when she called to talk today I was pumping myself up to break up with her, but she beat me to it. So, then I started laughing,” Jesse laughs uncomfortably, which makes Ellie chuckle too. “I literally laughed at her, Ellie. Like a fucking idiot. She’s breaking up with me, or whatever it is since we weren’t even officially together, and then I’m there laughing my ass off and she looked so confused, El. It’s the most embarrassing day of my fucking life.”

Ellie laughs at Jesse’s story. The story ended up being more entertaining than she had expected.

“Then what did she do?” she asks through labored breaths.

“Well, at the end of her speech she said we were better off as friends, but when I finally stopped laughing all she said was ‘Nice. Bye’ and then she left. So now I don’t know if we’re still friends or if she thinks I’m some deranged guy she went on a few dates with.”

Jesse finally gets off her bed and begins stretching his arms out. Ellie thinks he’s finished telling his story, but his eyes bug out in shock.  

“Holy shit, you never even got to meet her!”

“I’d say I dodged a bullet then,” Ellie says.

“No, I mean. It didn’t work out between us, but now to think of it she totally would have been your type, dude.” Jesse spots Ellie’s phone peeking out of her pocket and makes a move to grab it, “Here let me put her number on your phone and you can meet her.”

Ellie immediately slaps her phone out of his hand causing it to fall to the floor. She hauls him out of her room and calls out in the most commanding voice she could use.

“Get out of here, Jess. I don’t want your leftovers. Especially not after you gave her the best Pennywise impression of your life. Goodnight. Sleep tight. Dream of clowns.”

She closes the door on his face and hates that she saw a growing smirk form on his lips. Ellie knows that Jesse still has something to say and is proven when she hears his muffled voice through the door.

“Trust me, El. I bet I found your soulmate, and I’ll make sure you meet one day.”

 

 

 

Notes:

If you get to this point, that means you finished reading.

If that's the case then THANK YOU for reading YOU'RE AWESOME and ILY <3.

Please make sure to let me know if you liked it in the comments!

Next chapter: Savage finally hears back from Duck

Chapter 16: Flashbacks and Father Time

Summary:

A little Ellie backstory, and a wild Joel appears.

Notes:

Apologies for the delay. Time flies fast when you're busy.
I noticed lots of new readers since the show's premiere so WELCOME new readers!

This chapter was meant to have the performance but I decided to give that its own chapter.

[[NO BETA further edits will be made later. maybe.]]

(completely unrelated to this story, but who else here misses Orion's Belt? Where art thou annabananagames??? )

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

[10 years ago]

 

What was meant to be a 35-hour drive turned into a two-week cross-country road trip. Joel took advantage of Ellie’s summer vacation to take her on a trip to their new home in Jackson instead of simply taking a day by plane to make the trip.

Ellie was excited to take a flight to go to Jackson. It would have been her first time on an airplane, and the idea of being closer to the earth’s atmosphere was so mind-blowing to her that she began having dreams where she zipped through the sky, flying all over the country.

It wasn’t until Joel showed his plan for the road trip ahead that Ellie considered the trip by car worth missing the plane ride for. Joel had planned a few detours to visit a few more states on their way instead of the straight three-day trip.

Ellie had never been out of Boston; she had never even got to venture out of the city—never having the opportunity to go around Massachusetts at all. All of her foster placements before meeting Joel were within Boston’s city limits. There were even times when she was sent to group homes, and those all in the downtown area as well.

Suffice it to say that Ellie was just as excited to go on an elongated road trip across the country as she was to ride an airplane.

Joel had planned for her to see so many things all at once, allowing her to not only finally getting out of Boston, but seeing other cities, and national parks on one trip.

Upon Joel’s suggestion, Ellie researched their route to find quirky detours they could visit on their way. She found an interesting place in Illinois that boasted about having big things in a small town. They claimed to have the world’s largest mailbox and rocking chair, as well as a supersized pencil. The description on the website looked so outrageous that Ellie had to go see the sculptures with her own eyes.

Ellie would also get to experience camping the proper way for the first time. Joel promised to teach her how to pitch a tent, catch fish for dinner, and other camping things that she only ever got to imagine. The most exciting part for her was getting to experience sleeping under a sky full of bight stars unpolluted by city lights. This is an activity that always felt dull and muted under in the limited views of city skylines. Excited isn’t enough of a word to describe how stoked she is to see how bright the stars can look at night in the wild.

The trip was a success. It was everything Joel had promised, and even more than what Ellie expected. The long journey cemented their newly formed father-daughter relationship in way that Ellie could never explain to an outsider.

By the time they arrived in Jackson, they were so close that no one would believe that Ellie’s adoption papers were only formally signed less than a month ago. The only thing left to do was to officially meet Joel’s infamous little brother Tommy, and his wife Maria in person. They’d talked over FaceTime several times—them more than Ellie, but enough times that they acquainted with one another easily.

Ellie worried that their new proximity might feel awkward at first, but once the door to their farmhouse opened wide, Maria and Tommy immediately enfolded her with the warmest of hugs before she could even get to say hello. Joel stood by feigning hurt that his little brother ignored his presence, but the shine in his eyes only showed pride and adoration, as if this reunion was the last step to completing his family.

They arrived late in the afternoon, but the excitement of the homecoming was seeping out of them all. Much to Joel’s surprise, Tommy had been the one tasked with cooking dinner while Maria took Ellie and Joel around the farm’s property for a tour. Having only ever lived in the city, Ellie loved seeing all the different kinds of animals they had on land. There was a barn with cows, sheep, and goats, and a decently sized chicken coop in the next building. Her favourite part were the horses, half a dozen of them with their own pens in a separate barn. Seeing her so enamoured with them, Maria promised to teach her how to ride once she and Joel got settled in their new home.

There were so many things to be excited about that Ellie couldn’t wrap her head around everything.

Joel’s massive yawns after dinner are what finally urged everyone to head to bed. She and Joel would be staying at the farm for a few days to recuperate some energy before they made the move to their new house. The house wasn’t actually a new house, it’s Tommy’s old place from before he married Maria and moved into the farm with her. He kept the place rented out instead of selling it, and it became the best solution for Joel and Ellie to move into when they were looking to move out of Boston.

It's the perfect place for them too. It’s a simple single-level, two bedroom house in a family neighborhood with a high school within walking distance, and the downtown area only a twenty minute ride away.

It’s the kind of house Ellie could only dream of having back when she was still in the foster care system. Now that some of her dreams were becoming a reality, her emotions were keeping her keyed up and unable to sleep.

Ellie should have been tired, their last driving stretch was their longest, after all. But her senses were still buzzing with so much excitement that sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.

She’s a long way from the only place she’s ever known, but the first few hours spent in Jackson already felt safer. It already felt like a place she could finally call home.

Being in a new place meant she could start over – no one in this town knows who she is, what she’s been through, and why she has a hyphenated last name different from Joel’s and the rest of the Millers.

Being in a new place offered her a clean slate with so many possibilities. She would be going to a new school after the summer, she would be moving into a real house, with her own bedroom, and family to call if she ever needed help.

Ellie is grateful for all of what Joel has given and keeps giving her. She never thought that the grumpy old man that Marlene abandoned her with would be the one to give her hope for a better future, and be the one to make her dreams of having a family come true.

Done with tossing and turning in the guest room that she was given, Ellie decides to go downstairs for a cup of warm milk. She hopes that warm liquid will be the solution to calm her chaotic emotions.

Ellie tiptoes around the hallway, quietly making her way to the staircase. She stops by Joel’s room to press her ear on his door, sighing in relief when she hears his light snores echoing around the room. She knows Joel wouldn’t leave her, but there are nights when she wakes up in the middle of the night and suddenly feels the need to check that he’s still there.

Once downstairs, she shuffles around the kitchen looking for a mug to pour her milk into. Ellie fumbles with the microwave’s buttons and waits by the counter for her cup of milk to finish warming. She slides her new out of her pocket and decides to watch a short video while she waits.

Thirty minutes later, she still on the kitchen counter, mug empty but still watching videos on YouTube. She had fallen in the rabbit hole of suggested videos, one video after another, not even realizing when the Savage Starlight highlight videos turned into a documentary of old-timey guitarists playing old style blues and country songs. The movement of their hands are fascinating. How can these people make six strings attached to a piece of wood sound so colorful?

Her eyes are laser-focused on the performances shown in the documentary. She watches as a man in a pixelated video glides his fingers through the strings, the movements look exaggerated and precise all at once. It’s aggressive and gentle and the resulting sounds are fascinating.

Ellie is finally distracted away from the excitement of the day, but her mind now awoken to a new discovery: The wonders of the guitar. Of course, she knows what guitars are, she just didn’t know they could make these types of sounds.

Ellie’s so fixated on the movements on the screen that she doesn’t even notice when Joel is suddenly next to her, a gentle hand on her shoulder and just barely stopping her from yelping out in surprise.

“What are you doing up so late, kiddo?”

If anybody else called her kiddo, Ellie would surely have given them hell for it, but she likes how endearing it sounds when Joel’s the one that says it.

“Can’t sleep,” she responds.

Joel raises his eyebrows in question when a yawn escapes her mouth.

Couldn’t sleep,” Ellie corrects herself.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re watching…” Joel looks down at the video on her phone, “Chet Atkins? How on earth do you know about Chet Atkins?”

Ellie scrunches her nose, the answer to the question is confusing to her too. With her eyes still glued to the tiny screen of her phone, she replies, “Dunno, old man. Hey, do you… um,” she finally looks up at Joel when the song ends, “do you know how to play the guitar?”

Joel leans on the counter next to her, there’s a twinkle in his eyes that Ellie is too tired to decode.

“Sure do!” He smiles.

“Man, that’s so cool!” Ellie whispers a whoop.

None of her previous foster placements had any instruments of any kind. Most of those families only wanted the cheque for their own benefit, never really using it for the child they were meant to foster.

Ellie shrinks into her seat deep in thought. She briefly wonders if asking Joel to teach her to play the guitar is asking too much after all that he’s already given her. She opens and closes her mouth before she gains the confidence to just ask him the question.

“I know you already do a lot for me but, do you think…” Ellie sheepishly looks toward Joel, suddenly feeling as small as when they first met. She loses conviction when the anxious feeling overtakes her.

“Of course, I’ll teach you how to play the guitar, kiddo. If that’s what you want.” Joel reassures her. It’s amazing how fast he’s able to read her now.

“Really?” Ellie perks up. “Are you sure it’s not too much?”

Joel smiles as he stands up and puts a comforting hand on her back, “Nothing’s ever too much for you, kiddo.”

Ellie wraps her arms around him in a tight embrace, “you really are the best dad, old man.”

 

Later when she’s no longer tossing and turning in bed, Ellie can’t hold the smile that paints her face.

Pretty soon, she will be horse-riding, and guitar-playing, and going to a new school in a new town in a homely home all thanks to her new family.

All thanks to her new dad, Joel Miller.

 

[Present – FRIDAY]

After catching up with Jesse, Ellie was so keyed up with nerves that she’d spent Thursday night laying awake in bed letting her mind run wild with worst-case scenarios involving her performance at the open mic night.

So when Friday came, Ellie planned to keep herself as busy as she could. She attended her classes as usual, but that had only taken a few hours of her day. She wishes she had planned the day more efficiently to keep her mind at bay. Ellie regrets not reserving a time slot for some lab time to brainstorm for an upcoming project, that would have certainly kept the nervous thoughts from flooding her mind.

By lunchtime, she was left to spend her time at home, what with all of her friends busy with their own schedules, and no other plan in sight to distract the rampant thoughts from emerging into the surface.

Ellie is sat in the kitchen tinkering with a fun little side project she’s wanted to try for a long time. She has a small silicone heat pad mat laid out on the counter, a soldering iron heated to the appropriate temperature, and an Arduino circuit board in front of her. She’s always wanted to make a fingerprint lock for her bedroom door, and this project seemed challenging enough to keep her busy until the hours prior to the open mic night.

But she should have predicted the strength of her anxious thoughts, and how they could barge in without permission.

What if she tripped on her way to the stage? Would there even be a stage? She had only ever heard of Clickers open mic night shows as being low-key and relaxed but had never actually asked what the layout of the place would look like.

What kind of people performed at these things anyway? What if she wasn’t good enough to play amongst legitimately talented people? She’s just a girl with a guitar, after all—mostly self taught after Joel’s introductory lessons, and certainly zero technical knowledge of music theory.

Ellie wishes she’d asked these things before agreeing to do the show. She spent most of her childhood being told where to go and what to do, never knowing what adults around her had planned for her. It was only when she met Joel when she learned that she could ask. Ellie was lucky to learn that Joel—at least, once he’d softened up to her— had always wanted to make sure that Ellie was comfortable and aware of things concerning her own well-being.

Ellie would never say it aloud, and she’s hesitant to even think about it, but her biggest worry is disappointing all of her friends, most specifically she’s worried about Dina having a bad reaction to whatever outcome her performance will have.

Her friends have hyped her up so much that Ellie worries that she won’t be able to live up to the expectation. It’s bad enough that Ellie doesn’t believe she’s as good as her friends make her sound, but now she’s also worried about whether Dina would still want to hang out with her even if she sounds like a stray banshee in a derelict forest.

Ellie’s grip on the soldering iron tightens with every new thought that comes. She’s not sure what prompted her to think it was a good idea to be handling a heated object when her mind isn’t in the right headspace. Fortunately, she at least had the foresight to not have a hot soldering iron on her wooden desk in her room. The last thing she needed on top of her anxiety was to accidentally set fire to her home. What she hadn’t accounted for, however, is how reckless it actually is to be holding a heated metallic rod when her mind was inundated with unrestrained thoughts.

This was proven when Ellie’s phone rings and makes her jolt and fumble with the soldering iron, almost burning herself with it when she attempts to catch it with her right hand.

She curses whoever called and startled her but relaxes when she sees the name of the caller on her phone.

“Hey Joel, what’s up?” She answers and carefully places the soldering iron on the silicone mat.

Ellie hears a gruff in response, a sound that she knows means Joel is displeased. With what, she’s not sure.

“So, you do know who I am still,” he grumbles, and Ellie can picture the frown he gives her when she does something he doesn’t like. “I was wonderin’ since you don’t call your old man anymore.”

Ellie laughs which makes Joel grunt even louder. She’s grown used to his antics by now to know that he wasn’t actually mad, Joel may look rough on the surface, but he can get dramatic when he wants to.

“What are you on, Joel, didn’t we just talk the other day?” Ellie places her phone down and puts the call on speaker to keep fiddling with the circuit board.

Joel tsks, and Ellie suddenly wonders whether he’s actually being serious.

“Last time we talked was when you just moved into the new place.” Ellie looks at her calendar app and realizes that Joel’s right. It’s been a couple weeks since they’d properly talked and had indeed accidentally neglected him. “Y’know, ever since you’ve been ignorin’ me, I’m startin’ to hear things about you from other people. Real funny things.”

That gets Ellie more confused than worried.

“What? Who the hell is talking about me in Jackson?”

Ellie can’t figure out who else in that small town would talk about her to Joel other than Tommy, Maria, and Jesse. She hadn’t talked to the other Millers since the semester had started, and she can’t imagine Jesse calling Joel just to talk about her.

“See, it’s a funny story. Mrs. Shin needed help fixin’ their garage door. You know how she is, always askin’ me for help now with you and Jesse gone, and Robin out on business travel. I always forget how much of a chatterbox she is, she’s such a small woman.”

Ellie sighs, for such a normally direct person, Joel’s stories tended to get longwinded and off-track, “are you getting to the point soon or…”

“She said somethin’ about you doin’ a gig over there at some coffee place! I thought you was pulling my leg, but she showed me a flyer with your name on it.”

Ellie gawks at this information. How did news of the open mic get all the way to Jackson, and why did she not know about a flyer being passed around?

The only person she knows with direct contact to Mrs. Shin is Jesse. He’s such a mama’s boy that no secret is left hidden from his mom. But the real question here is how Jesse found out that she ended up agreeing to do the show. He’d asked her about it way before Dina did, mentioning something about how he’d ask her even though he knows she’ll refuse.

Ellie never told Jesse that her mind was changed. Doing so would require explaining how she got convinced to do the show in the first place. She would have to confess how she met a girl whose personality captivated her so much that she’d do anything that girl asked her to. Ellie would have to explain the Dina situation to Jesse, and she wasn’t ready to face that yet.

 “Ellie, are you still there? I don’t hear anything’,” Joel’s tone has changed. It’s softer instead of reprimanding.

“Um, yeah. I’m here.” Ellie gives up on the circuit board and gets up to unplug the soldering iron. Everything around her seemed to be intent on reminding her of her upcoming show, there was no point trying to distract herself from it anymore.

“I know Mrs. Shin is a character, but she also ain’t a gossip. Is it true, then?”

Ellie moves to lay on the couch, the day’s mental gymnastics finally catching up to her and leaving her exhausted.

“Yeah,” Ellie gives in. It seemed pointless to lie knowing that word has already spread, she can save the remainder of her energy owning up to her secrets. “It’s tomorrow night.”

There’s a huff on Joel’s side, and Ellie wishes she could see his reaction. It’s when he replies when she figures it out—the slight disappointment in his voice that makes her stomach twist in knots.

“Why didn’t you tell me, kiddo?”

“I didn’t want to make a big deal of it,” she surprises herself to hear her own voice sounding more sheepish than exasperated. “I’m just helping a friend out in a tight situation. You’re the one who was always nagging me about helping friends and all that shit.”

 “What do you mean it’s nothing? I know you, baby girl. Aren’t you shittin’ yourself scared right now? Remember when me and Tommy couldn’t get ya to play the guitar out of your room for years until one day you decided it was time and sang Christmas songs for Maria. And that was for family, not a crowd full of whosits!”

“Well, yeah. I only did ‘cause Maria said she wanted something Christmassy instead of your sad country cowboy shit. Plus, Maria makes all the yummy food, so we had to keep her happy.”

“Ha! You talk as if the country songs weren’t the ones that got you hooked on the guitar in the first place.” Joel’s light laughter finally brings a smile on Ellie’s face. It’s the first smile she’s had since the flood of anxiety took over her mind.

“I still wish I’d heard about it from you instead, kiddo.” Joel sighs, the quiet tone of his voice makes Ellie feel like she’s let him down.

“I’m sorry,” she finally relents. “I really didn’t mean to hide anything from you. I was hoping it’d be a one and done sort of thing, no need to tell anyone and shit. Fuck, I didn’t even tell Jesse.”

The call goes quiet on Joel’s end, and Ellie wonders if it got disconnected. It’s not until she hears another one of his sighs that reassures her otherwise.

Ellie hates keeping things from Joel, at least when she’s able to. She used to have a harder time keeping secrets from him. Not only was he always so observant, but he also had a knack for reading Ellie without her saying anything.

There was that time in high school when she had first met Riley. Joel figured out that she was crushing on her friend before she even realised it herself. Moving away from home for college certainly changed all that. The distance and Ellie’s busy schedule made it harder for them to talk on a regular basis. Most of their conversations consisted of quick catchups and sporadic text messages during the week.

This semester was her toughest yet. Ellie’s weekly schedule doubled in size when she began working at the campus gym. Her weekly calls with Joel became less regular, and Ellie only just realizes how much the change may have impacted Joel.

Ellie berates herself for not even realizing that she hadn’t called Joel in almost a month. She never wanted to be the kind of person who loses contact with their parent the moment they left home for college.

“Mrs. Shin told me to send you good luck for your show, I must’ve looked like a headless mule—I had no idea what she was on about. She gives me this look sometimes, like I ain’t givin’ you enough parentin’. That woman can be scary as all hell.”

Ellie rolls her eyes at Joel’s extreme albeit false description of Jesse’s mom, but she reads into what Joel’s really trying to say: he doesn’t like being told something about Ellie that he had no idea about, especially something that catches him off guard.

“Jesse’s mom is literally he nicest person on our street, I doubt she gives you looks, Joel.”

“Easy for you to say when you’re not on the receiving end of her scary eyes.” Joel chuckles, and if it wasn’t for that, Ellie would believe his fear of Mrs. Shin’s

There’s another lull after that. The two simply enjoying being in a call with each other. Ellie realizes she missed just talking nonsense with Joel.

“Enough about me,” Joel sighs again. “How are you feeling about it then?”

“Hm?” Ellie loses herself thinking of ways to apologize for accidentally ignoring Joel for so long that she frankly has no idea what he’s asking about.

“The damn gig, kiddo!” Joel sounds exasperated, thinking that Ellie is brushing him off again.

“Oh, right. What about it?”

“Well, aren’t you nervous? You never wanted to participate in those talent shows at your school. If I’m being honest, I’m surprised you’re doing a show out there.”

Ellie has had the whole day to think of how she feels about the open mic night. Saying that she’s nervous doesn’t sound like the right thing to describe how she’s feeling. She decides to give Joel an average kind of answer instead.

“I mean, I’m not sweating it, but I’m not chill about it either.” She shrugs and hopes that Joel understands what she’s saying between the lines.

Joel chuckles again and Ellie can tell that he immediately figured out what she’s saying even if it didn’t sound clear to her either. “You never did like the spotlight, kiddo. I’m not surprised you feel that way.”

Ellie exhales at his response. It’s exactly how she feels about this whole thing.

She’s never had a problem with playing the guitar, the problem was having an audience to watch her do so.

“I can hear the gears turnin’ in you smart lil’ brain, Ellie. Stop worryin’. I’m sure you’ll blow them away, baby girl.”

Joel’s words bring a smile to Ellie’s face. She knows he can’t see it, but she has a feeling that he knows the calming effect it’s had on her.

She should have known that Joel would know just exactly what she needed to hear to calm her down.

She should have called him in the first place, should have told him about the show when she agreed to it.

“Thanks, Joel. I really needed that.”

 

Notes:

THANK YOU FOR READING!
Let me know if you liked it in the comments!

Next Chapter: Savage hears back from Duck, Dina's Friday

Chapter 17: What's stopping you?

Summary:

Confessions and sister talks

Notes:

Hey everyone! I love that many of you are discovering this story years after the first chapter was published. Welcome and thank you for joining ♥

 

No Beta. Barely reviewed. All typos and mistakes are mine (obvs)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

[SATURDAY]

3:11 am

Message from Dr. Duck:

When is a door no longer a door?

3:26 am

Savage: Hello to you too but…

Savage: Do you know what time it is?????

Duck: I am aware

Savage: How do you go awol for days and randomly message again at 3am?

Duck: Are you saying you missed me?

3:38 am

Savage: You’re putting words in my mouth!

Savage: Or in this case my fingers

Duck: Your fingers?

Savage: Fuck NO that sounds gross nvm

Duck: WINK WINK

Savage: OMG I’ll go dig myself a grave now

Duck: Nooooo come back!

3:50 am

Duck: So, how’s life down in the grave, bestie?

Savage: Not quiet enough

Duck: Got space for me? I can’t sleep

4:18 am

Savage: Is everything ok?

Savage: Like

Savage: You being awake, does that have anything to do with you disappearing for a few days?

Savage: You’re normally the talker

---

Dina puts her phone facedown on her chest.

She’s been laying in bed waiting for sleep to come, trying and failing to do so by switching positions. A half hour later, she ends up aimlessly switching between apps on her phone instead.

When she starts reading old messages, Dina’s reminded that she hadn’t messaged Savage since the start of her near-obsessive analysis between Savage and Ellie.

The truth is Dina wasn’t sure what to expect. She was hoping Savage wouldn’t notice her absence but should’ve known better considering Savage’s previous hints of paranoia concerning her date the other night. One of the things Dina has noticed about her partner is that they are a highly perceptive person who also cares about her well-being despite the anonymous concept of their project.

Suffice it to say that the one thing Dina shouldn’t have expected any less from Savage. Of course, her partner would notice that something was off. They’ve developed a somewhat regular train of messages since the start of the project and that’s with Dina initiating the majority of the conversations. Silence on her part would most definitely have been an obvious indication to Savage that something was out of order.

Another thing that Dina wasn’t prepared for was how disappointed she’d be upon finding out that Ellie wasn’t Savage. Most of her mental pep talks were directed toward how she would feel if Ellie did turn out to be Savage. Dina was so nervous to confess her hunches with Ellie that she hadn’t fully considered how she’d feel if the outcome wasn’t positive.

She was excited at the prospect of having Savage and Ellie being the same person. Especially after talking to Ellie and finding out that their lives pretty much orbited around the same people and places. Dina was excited to share all of this with Ellie, for them to experience the madness of how interwoven their lives seemed to be.

Except that the rollercoaster of emotions that she felt during it all went on a downward spiral when Dina learned of Ellie’s last name. All she’s left with now is an emptiness she doesn’t fully understand. Without anyone to talk about it with, Dina is the only one left reeling over the disappointing end to her search. There was no satisfaction, her disappointment felt wrong, and the end to her hunt didn’t feel final at all.

She had spent the last couple of days comparing and analysing every detail she’s learned about Ellie and Savage, the gears in her mind on a constant loop nagging her about how many things about Ellie and Savage were simply too coincidental.

What Dina should be feeling after all of this disappointment is exhaustion—and maybe a little pathetic considering the idiotic nature of her pursuit. Instead, all she feels is the hollowness of coming up empty, of having spent so much energy in something she was almost getting sure about only for her confidence to get obliterated by an accidental announcement.

Her inquiry may have ended fruitless, but there is a persistent tug in her heart that keeps reminding her that her investigation wasn’t for naught. There is something there—Dina’s not sure what it is—but the steady twisting in her gut is almost enough encouragement for her to continue the quest on finding out why Savage reminds her so much of Ellie.

The need to know the truth runs parallel with her incessant need to protect herself from the shame of obsessing over a simple theory. It’s not like Dina had stalked Ellie on social media or gone out of her way to snoop deeper to prove her point. Dina kept her research within the confines of the likeness between Ellie and Savage—nothing more that would make her actions look cunning to an outsider.

Nevertheless, Dina hates feeling like she’s pried into Ellie’s life without her knowing. Like she schemed her way into getting to know more about Ellie through the guise of their anonymous discussions.  

Ellie’s last name may have been proof enough that she’s not Savage, and Ellie might never discover how Dina suspected how they could have been partners for their class project. And that’s totally fine, because Dina would only get additional mortification if Ellie reacted poorly to her story.

Savage, on the other hand, is directly involved with Dina’s little quest. The whole purpose of her investigation revolved around uncovering Savage’s real identity.

The least Dina can do is tell Savage the truth. This way, she can be honest with her partner to keep up the candid disposition with which Dina has chosen to interact with Savage, and coming clean can lift some of the guilt off of her shoulders.

At this point she has nothing to lose, and no reason to be nervous. Because as far as Dina knows, Savage is nowhere near figuring out her identity. They both remain anonymous to each other, and she could finally have someone to discuss how silly her obsessive pursuit was.

The only worry for Dina here is that she hopes the story doesn’t make her partner retreat back to their hesitant attitude. She had finally gotten Savage to open up and the last thing Dina wants is to lose the progress she had with her new friend.

Now all Dina has is the hope that coming clean will bring humour to the situation instead of the icky feeling she’s had since the start of her mission. She hopes that this restart can let her forget the momentary unhinged obsession she had with Ellie and her anonymous partner.

--

4:27 am

Duck: Honest truth time?

Savage: Is there even such a thing as dishonest truth?

Savage: If something is true then how can it be false?

Duck: Is this really the time to contemplate the truths of the universe, Savage?

Savage: DUDE

Savage: Sorry. You’re right. Tell me your honest truth.

Savage: My ears are open. I never close them

Duck: Omg are you always like this when you don’t sleep?

Savage: I AM OPEN

Savage: Come on! You tell me your truth. I promise to shut up

--

Dina huffs out a quiet laugh and scoots up on the bed into a sitting position. She’d forgotten how irritating her partner was but also detects how much she missed talking nonsense with Savage. She doesn’t know why she’s so nervous to tell Savage what she’s been doing. Her hands tremble as she begins typing out her next message.

--

4:34 am

Duck: I met someone from our class

Duck: You both said things that were very similar so…

Duck: I thought she was you

--

Dina holds her breath as she sends the message. The seconds feel like they tick faster than usual.

A minute passes and there is still no reply from Savage.

The three dots appear and disappear on the screen twice before it stops completely. Seeing Savage’s hesitation unfold in real time doesn’t help settle Dina’s growing anxiety.

Another minute goes and it feels like it’s been ages.

She tries to ignore the irrational thoughts out of her mind; the ones telling her that Savage will react with hostility by telling Dina off for acting like she’s a Sherlock Holmes impersonator on a hunt to expose Houdini’s greatest secrets. What if Savage stops their project and report her to their professor for trying to uncover her identity when Dina shouldn’t have been probing in the first place. That’s not to say that Dina wasn’t doing anything outrageously horrible to unmask her partner, but it certainly feels like she has.

Dina forces herself to listen to the more sensible voice in her mind instead, the one that reminds her that time doesn’t warp just because she’s anxious. In fact, the clock shows that it’s only been a few minutes since her last message. Consequently, also letting her know exactly how late it already is. It being almost five in the morning means Dina has had zero winks of sleep, and that she will probably witness the upcoming Saturday sunrise.

It’s only three minutes later when Savage finally responds, but to Dina it felt like hours of agonizing silence.

--

4:37 am  

Savage: So…

Savage: Does that mean you finally believe me when I say I’m a girl?

Duck: What?

Savage: You said you thought SHE was me

Savage: Therefore…

Savage: Ergo…

Savage: Thereupon…

--

Dina scoffs. She can’t believe she worried so much about how Savage would react only for her partner to focus on something else entirely. Does Savage really not care that she came so close to figuring out who she is?

--

Duck: Are you using a fucking thesaurus right now??

Savage: What finally sold you?

Savage: Was it my talk of flowers?

--

4:49 am

Savage: Duck?

Duck: So you don’t mind that I got close to finding out who you are?

Savage: It’s kinda funny for me actually

Savage: You still don’t know who I am

Savage: AND you finally believe I’m a girl

--

Dina understands it from Savage’s point of view now. Looking at it from a different perspective, Dina hadn’t actually been close, because regardless of how much energy she put into comparing Ellie and Savage, Dina is still as far from knowing who the real person behind Savage is as she was in the beginning of their project.

--

4:57 am

Duck: To be fair I thought SHE was you, not that YOU were her

Savage: That is literally the same thing!

Savage: If you vice-versa your statement, it still holds the same truth

Duck: Are you always this philosophical late at night?

Savage: Is it still considered nighttime when it’s almost dawn?

Savage: Is a chair still a chair when it’s missing a leg?

Savage: How many legs can it lose before it become a stool?

Duck: The more you speak the more you’re proving my point

 

5:05 am

Savage: How are you sure she’s not me?

Duck: Different last names

Savage: Except you don’t know my name…

Duck: Did you forget again that I know your initials?

Savage: FUCK

Savage: The damn school email

Savage: What’s her name then?

--

Dina contemplates telling Savage all about Ellie but decides otherwise seeing that Savage knowing Ellie’s name would come to no use. There’s no good reason for Savage to know.

--

Duck: What would it serve you to know her name?

Savage: I dunno. I could look her up? Try and see if I think she’s kinda like me maybe?

Savage: What about her made you think we’re alike anyway?

--

This Dina could answer. There’s no need for her to hide facts about two people don’t know about each other. She feels more comfortable sharing this with Savage than disclosing Ellie’s name to someone whose name she still didn’t even know.

--

Duck: It was when you geeked out about Savage Starlight. She’s also a big fan

Savage: OH I get it

Savage: We both like comic books, so we must be the same person?

Duck: It’s obviously not just that!!!

Duck: There’s other things too. It’s hard to explain since you don’t know her

Savage: You technically don’t know me either…

Duck: We’ve been talking every day, do you seriously still consider me a stranger at this point?

Savage: Nah you’re right. You did level up in the friendship department the other day

Duck: See! Well the vibes I got from you and her were a lot of the same so I just thought

Duck: And her last name is different from whatever your W is so I’m clearly wrong

Savage: Yeah different names would end it huh

Savage: OH HEY

Savage: What if your friend has two last names?

Savage: Like I know someone who has a hyphenated last name but I know for a fact that the admission department operates on an old computing system that only accepts the first name of the two.

Duck: I… Didn’t actually think of that????

Duck: No scratch that

Duck: I didn’t KNOW that

Savage: Yeah it’s an actual thing. My friend doesn’t know if her legal name is gonna show on her diploma or if it’s the wrong name the system accepted

Duck: Exactly how old is the school’s system?

Savage: Old enough not to accept hyphenated names I guess

Duck: Well… Shit

Duck: That kinda sucks for your friend

Savage: Sucks for my friend but isn’t it good news for you?

Duck: How is it good news for me? I thought she was you, are you saying you have two last names?

Savage: I thought we were talking about your friend

Duck: YEAH! My friend who I thought was you and was making me go crazy thinking I was being creepy getting to know shit about her through you!

 

5:17 am

Savage: I’m

Savage: SO confused right now

Duck: Actually me too

Duck: It’s pretty late so that might be why

Savage: Should we attempt the relaxing activity that people call sleeping?

Duck: Yeah, I think I guess we should try to get at least a few hours of sleep

Duck: Night Savage!

Savage: Goodnight :)

--

Dina closes the messaging app and puts her phone down on her nightstand. She releases a long heave of breath she wasn’t aware she was holding in. Savage’s mention of the hyphenated names only added more to her confusion about Ellie.

In fact, Savage never confirmed whether she had a double surname as well, because what other reason would there be for Savage to mention hyphenated names if she didn’t have one too? And why did she go so far to explain the glitch in the school’s system. Sure, she mentioned her friend having the problem, but Savage had once used the excuse of having a friend in a crisis when she was in fact talking about herself.

As much as Savage wants to believe that they don’t know much about each other yet, Dina would easily challenge a hundred dollar bet to prove otherwise.

Except that talking to Savage didn’t calm the cogs in Dina’s mind from turning. Savage tends to circle around Dina’s questions, refusing to give her a straight answer. Instead of feeling the satisfaction of coming clean to her partner, Dina is only left even more confused than before.

The conversation only resulted in adding more questions into Dina’s already long list of coinciding similarities between Savage and Ellie. Like, she still doesn’t know whether Savage has a hyphenated surname, and she now wonders if Ellie has one too.

Savage could still be Ellie, and her investigation doesn’t feel complete in any way.

And even if her need to know the truth has only resulted in keeping her more exhausted than she needs to be, Dina refuses to give up on finding out why Savage reminds her so much of Ellie.

 

--

It’s hours later—a little past eleven in the morning—when Dina finally opens her eyes. The whiff of burnt toast wafts through the air, making her nose scrunch from the unpleasant odor.

Talia must be home from her night shift at the hospital. It’s only when her older sister does long hours at work when something goes haywire in the kitchen. It’s a mystery how her sister manages to drive herself home safely from the hospital but loses the simple knowledge of how to use kitchen appliances when she gets home from work.

Dina quickly wears a hoodie on top of her pajamas and gets out of the door before her sister burns their apartment to ashes.

When she gets to the kitchen, there’s a small pile of crispy black toast on the counter as proof that multiple attempts were had before she awoke. Dina doesn’t stop to count how many there were, but she sees enough charred slices to make plenty of charcoal flavoured croutons. She rushes to the toaster and softly nudges her sister away from it before Talia can waste any more bread.

“Tal! What the hell, I can smell the smoke all the way in my room,” Dina scolds.

Talia shrugs and goes around Dina to put more bread in the machine. There’s a tired slur in her speech when her sister speaks, “but ‘am hungry.”

Dina shoos her sister toward the dining table, “go sit. I’ll make your toast. I don’t want to end up homeless just ‘cause your tired ass can’t can’t sleep before eating.”

Talia follows Dina’s stern command and sits on the first chair she reaches. Her hands prop her head up on the table, and Dina tries not to laugh at how helpless her sister looks. “With butter and honey, please, Honey.”

“Got it. Honey with honey,” Dina replies with a smirk.

“Butter first! Then honey! Like I used to make for you when you were a tiny little shit. Now you’re a slightly bigger little shit.”

“Hush you. The little shit is making your toast, be nice to her.” Dina shakes her head and smiles.

She knows Talia doesn’t hold any malice in her words, Dina actually likes these moments when Talia lets loose—despite the fact that overwhelming weariness is usually what sparks these occasions. Talia spent the majority of her teenage years boxed in the older sister role after their parents died. She took her role so seriously that Dina misses the time when they could just be young together.

Since then, Talia has embraced being a caretaker so much so that she barely ever lets others take care of her. When Dina gets an opportunity to make honey toast for her sister once in a while, she’ll take it. No matter what names Talia calls her by.

Dina hears a light snore coming from the table while she spreads butter on a perfectly browned toast. She considers just letting her sister sleep, but she knows that once she wakes and sees the snack, Talia would rather eat before going to bed.

Dina carefully places the plate on the table and wakes up Talia with a gentle hand to the shoulder.

Talia jerks up in surprise anyway, and Dina laughs at the ruffled mess that is her sister’s hair.

“Promise you’ll go to bed once you eat?” Dina asks.

Talia nods and her hummed response turns into a satisfied moan as she takes the first bite of her toast. Her energy seems to refresh after every bite. It’s when she starts on the second slice when she finally takes a good look at Dina.

“Dina Bear, you look just like zombie interns at the hospital. Are you okay?” Talia uses her free hand to feel Dina’s forehead with the back of her hand.

The moments when Dina gets to take care of Talia are always short, so Dina’s not surprised when this time isn’t any different.

“I’m fine.” Dina waves Talia’s hand away, “I just had a hard time sleeping last night. That’s all.”

Talia narrows her eyes at Dina as she takes a big bite out of the last toast. Dina knows that Talia can read her without saying anything out loud. She could do the same to her sister, but Dina hasn’t always been as accurate with her guesses like her sister has in the past.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Talia asks.

Dina assumes that her sister can probably sense the apprehension seeping out of her. She has so many things she wants to talk to her sister about, but Talia looked like she was about to use their dining table as a bed just minutes ago. Talia should be getting to bed once she’s done eating, and Dina feels like the reason for her lack of sleep is trivial in comparison to her sister’s excuse.

Dina couldn’t sleep because of the whole Savage and Ellie situation, whereas her sister is tired because she took the night shift at the Psych department of the university’s hospital. The two shouldn’t even be compared on the same scale of exhaustion, and for that reason, Dina would rather her sister get some rest instead of listening to her dilemma.

But Talia has never been the type to let Dina easily go. Talia would rather lose days of sleep if it meant she listened to whatever was giving her little sister trouble.

Talia finishes eating her toast and surprises Dina when she’s taken by the arm and lead into Talia’s bedroom.

Dina watches by the closed door as her sister shuts the curtains closed and hops under the sheets on her bed. Talia motions for Dina to lie next to her, and like the obedient sister she’s always been, Dina does as she’s told. They’re both comfortably laying on their sides facing each other when Talia begins the talk.

“Does it have anything to do with tonight?” Talia asks. There’s a grogginess to her voice that shows her exhaustion, but her tone is firm.

“What about tonight?” Dina trails.

Talia pinches Dina on the side causing her to yelp in shock.

“Don’t be coy. You know I know what tonight is.”

Dina breathes deeply and wonders what kind of superpowers God gave older sisters to be all-knowing beings. So she relents, “yeah it’s kind of about tonight.”

“And is it about a certain person who will be performing tonight?” Talia wiggles her eyebrows when she knows she’s getting closer to the truth.

“Ugh! If you’re so sure about knowing everything, why don’t you just say her name?” Dina hides her face on the pillow in frustration.

“So, it is about Ellie, then?”

Dina’s response is muffled. “Yup.”

“What happened with Ellie?” Talia pushes on.

Dina shrugs, and for once Talia misunderstands her reaction.

“Did Ellie do something bad?” Talia’s voice loses all indication of sleepiness and is replaced with shocked outrage. “Did she do something to hurt you? Because I swear to God, Dina. If that girl did something I’m whooping her ass to another planet.”

“Whoa, no!” Dina hurries out a reply. “No, Tal. She didn’t do anything wrong.” Talia relaxes again, but Dina can see how her sister’s fatigue is causing Talia’s emotions to erratically shift from zero to a hundred in a second’s pace. “There’s literally nothing wrong with Ellie. We hung out before class on Thursday and we found out some stuff about each other. Like, Tal, she’s from Jackson too.” Talia’s eyes widen in shock and Dina can’t help but to mirror the sentiment. “I know right? And there’s more too.”

Dina proceeds to recount her Thursday morning with Ellie. She tells her sister about all the different ways she and Ellie lived closer to each other than they realized. How their lives, were lived parallel to the other and how there could have been so many occasions for them to meet under multiple different circumstances. Dina mentions how they shared mutual friends, and how despite knowing the same people and visiting the same coffee shop on campus they still hadn’t met.

Until the English class that both of them just happened to take.

Dina doesn’t mention how any of this relates to Savage, thought. Talia doesn’t need to know how she thought Ellie was her anonymous partner for the English project. Talia may be able to read Dina as easily as an open book, but that doesn’t mean that Dina is willing to immediately divulge all the details of her life to her sister.

What slips past Dina’s attempt to keep some details secret from sister is how Ellie had asked her to spend more time together to know more about each other. The story is out before she could retract the words back into her mouth.

“She asked you out on a date?” Talia’s smug little smile makes Dina want to hide under the blankets.

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t ask me out on a date, Tal. It was more like she wanted to spend more time to get to know each other, and maybe find out what other coincidences we shared.”

“But you wanted her to ask you out…”

Dina casts her eyes away from Talia’s gaze. She had been so preoccupied with the whole Savage thing that she hadn’t let herself process her time with Ellie. It’s only in this moment that Dina allows her mind to read between Ellie’s words—was Ellie dropping hints? Is it possible that Ellie had actually asked her out on a date?

Dina can’t wrap her head around it all. There’s just too much to process all at once.

Savage.

Ellie.

Everything else in between.

Every other thing she has yet to see.

But with the idea now planted in the forefront of her mind, Dina realizes that, yes, she does want to go on a date with Ellie. Yes, she would have loved for Ellie to have asked her out on a date.

But she can’t help to think she missed the moment. Will another come soon?

“You really like her, don’t you?” Talia brushes a strand of hair off of Dina’s face.

Dina doesn’t trust that her voice won’t shake is she replies. She nods instead.

She more than likes Ellie. She wants to know everything there is to know about her. Dina wants to learn every minute detail Ellie is willing to share, even if it’s something as small as knowing what her favourite color is. Dina wants to be around her, she thinks about Ellie all the time anyway, and Dina would prefer being with her than away from her.

“Why don’t you be the one to ask her out then?” Talia says. The steady prodding should be irritating but Dina likes that she’s not the one voicing what she can’t say out loud.

She doesn’t trust that her voice won’t shake if she opens her mouth.

“I-” She tries, but her voice cracks as predicted. “I’ve never… you know…” Dina waves a hand around as if the motion would make Talia understand better.

“You’ve dated before. I don’t get what you’re trying to not say.” Talia pulls the covers up to her chin to cover a big yawn.

Maybe the exhaustion is catching up to her sister and Dina can finally get some reprieve from the weight of their discussion.

“I mean I’ve never been the one to ask. I’ve never asked someone out before.”

It’s true.

All of the times Dina has been on a date is because a guy had asked her out. Dina is instantly embarrassed at the realization.

How had she gone all her life without asking someone else out on a date? She thinks back to high school and blames Mountain Prep for not following the traditional American school experience. They didn’t do school dances in the gym; instead, they hosted Galas and fundraisers in lavish hotels. Dina never got to do the Sadie Hawkins tradition of having girls be the one to ask boys to the school dance.

But even without this sexist and very antiquated tradition, Dina beats herself up for not already having done so considering she lives in a modern society where inherent traditions are no longer the norm.

Plus, the dating scene is not new to Dina. She’s been a willing participant to many dates in the past and the routine should come naturally to her.

Except it doesn’t. Not with Ellie

Why does everything feel different with Ellie?

Dina must have said that last part out loud, because Talia refutes the same words back at her.

“Why does everything have to feel different with Ellie? What’s stopping you this time around?” Talia seems content with that because she gives Dina a knowing look and closes her eyes to sleep.

Dina doesn’t stay with Talia long after her sister falls asleep.

She moves back in the confines of her room where she lays on her own bed and takes some time to contemplate what her sister had said.

Why exactly did it feel different with Ellie?

Dina isn’t sure. She’s not even sure if she’s ready to dissect the why in the question.

But the more she thinks about it the more she is convinced of one thing.

There’s always a first time for everything, and tonight seems like a good time to ask Ellie out on a date.

 

Notes:

I've had lots of motivation to write lately, so the next update should come sooner than usual.

Thank you for reading! 💗

Let me know if you liked it!

NEXT CHAPTER: Dina goes to a show 😏

Chapter 18: My Kazoo

Summary:

there's some singing 👀

Notes:

Hey everyone! Here's a long awaited chapter

Sorry for any mistakes and typos. I tried to review the draft but I kept getting distracted.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Dina gets to Clickers Café in record time. What would have normally been a fifteen-minute walk from her apartment only took just above five minutes to complete. Her stride resembled more like a jog and less like a leisurely stroll and if she looked like she was participating in a race, she didn’t care.

Excitement flutters in her stomach at the thought of seeing Ellie again. It feels like it’s been ages since she had last seen her even though it’s only been a couple days later. Their last text exchange was even more recent, just as Dina was making her way out of her apartment.

Ellie had responded with a simple “see you there!” which is what had started the flutters in the first place.

That morning, after her talk in Talia’s room, Dina had offered to pick up Ellie from her place, wondering how Ellie would ride her skateboard to Clickers with a guitar case on her back. She wondered whether guitar cases could even be worn like a backpack. The image conjured up by Dina’s brain of Ellie balancing clumsily on her skateboard while wrangling a solid guitar-shaped case in her arms looked ridiculous and couldn’t fathom not offering the girl a ride to the café.

She was surprised to hear that Ellie would be driving herself to town. Which then sparked a different set of questions in her mind about what kind of car Ellie would have. Is she sedan kind of girl? Or more of a second-hand hatchback type? Dina can also see Ellie driving an older clunkier model of a Jeep, lots of teenagers in Jackson drove those to go camping. But Dina has to remind herself that the teenagers she knew in high school came from well-off families who bought them brand new Wranglers and Hummers for their sixteenth birthdays. There was a kid from her school that was gifted an Audi before he even passed his learner’s permit—it was safe to say that Dina’s high school experience was a wholly different one to most of the kids in the country.

Dina always felt like an outcast when it came to comparing her friends’ shiny new possessions with her own upbringing. Sure, her grandparents paid for her school tuition, but she and her sister lived a fairly middle-class life at her aunt and uncle’s ranch after their parents passed away. She was more used to riding her childhood horse, Japan, around the property and mostly relied on Talia and her friends for a ride. Dina hadn’t gotten a car until she graduated high school and bought a ten-year-old sedan from a neighbour.

As Dina made it closer and closer to Clickers, she looked around at the cars parked nearby and wondered if one of those were Ellie’s.

She’s shaken out of her observation when she notices the crowd gathered on the sidewalk waiting to enter the café. Unlike regular hours, Open Mic nights at Clickers required buying an entry ticket of $10 which came with one free beverage of choice and a slice of whatever baked goods were ordered for the occasion. Dina waves at Nora, who’s been tasked with tending the ticket sales at the entrance and makes her way to the end of the queue to wait her turn, but Nora stops her before she can take a step forward.

“Dina! You’re finally here. Go inside and make sure Jade doesn’t scare Ellie,” Nora says.

The person on the front of the queue scoffs and spits out, “how come she doesn’t she get to pay?”

Nora stands up to face the crabby customer. “She’s a VIF, a very important friend, who saved the show from happening. Did you guarantee us a final performer for tonight?” The young man gulps at Nora’s tone and shakes his head no. “That’s what I thought. It’s $10 for Grumpy, and free drinks for Dina.”

Dina, surprised by Nora’s generosity, asks, “uh… are you sure? I’ve always paid before.”

“Jade’s rules. Not mine.” Nora simply shrugs and bustles Dina into the café with a quick wave of her hands. “Now shoo! Ellie saved you a seat in the back.”

Dina blushes at the mention of Ellie having saved her a seat and quickly turns her face away to keep Nora from seeing her reaction. She goes through the door and scans the place in search of Ellie’s distinctly auburn hair.

After a quick glance around Clickers, Dina sees a makeshift spotlight made up of two elevated desk lamps pointed to the area where the stool and microphone are placed by the left wall of the café. Tables and chairs have all been rearranged behind the lamps to face the lit-up area.

The configuration is always the same, the only difference now is the amplifier attached to the microphone with an extra wire for anyone who wishes to connect a guitar. Dina guesses this is a new purchase made by Jade paid with the funds from the previous events. Nora’s aunt hasn’t offered them money from the café to sustain Jade’s project. From what Dina hears from Nora, Aunt Francine is still waiting for the event to sustain itself before moving around the café’s finances to endorse Open Mic nights into becoming a regular event.

There’s an overall buzz around the café. Every person in attendance is there for the same reasons, to either watch and enjoy the upcoming acts, or preparing to perform for the night’s show.

She spots Jade first coming out of the employees’ room. She is holding a Yeti tumbler in one hand and a gift-wrapped item in the other. Dina follows her friend’s path and realizes that Jade is on her way to Ellie’s table.

The table Ellie chooses is one tucked in the back corner of the room closest to the ordering counter and furthest from the staging area. It’s not where Dina would have chosen to sit, she would have gladly sat front and center to get a close look at the performances—especially Ellie this time— but she happily saunters over toward Ellie’s table anyway.

Jade gets there before Dina, in time for the latter to see Ellie take a swig at whatever liquid was in the tumbler that she was given. When Dina finally reaches, Ellie begins coughing after a big gulp, wide-eyed shock directed towards Jade.

Ellie’s whispered response is harsh but not unkind, “did you spike my drink?”

Jade winks and leans over an equally whispered answer only loud enough for their table to hear. “It’s a special version of Aunt Francine’s hot cocoa.”

“The frat bro date rape version? A little warning woulda been nice,” Ellie grumbles.

“What? I didn’t think you’d mind,” Jade refutes, “you said it yourself. You don’t sing for us unless you’re under the influence.”

Dina pipes up to make her appearance known, “I’m with Ellie on this one,” she settles down on the chair right next to Ellie’s and continues, “a little heads up wouldn’t hurt anyone, but an unexpected boozy drink can do damage.”

Dina doesn’t miss the way Ellie’s lips tug upwards upon her arrival. The gesture gives Dina a jolt of confidence and leans in to give Ellie a one-armed hug.

“Hey, Superstar. Are you ready to sing your heart out?”

“I wasn’t, but I am now,” Ellie says and returns the hug despite the awkward angle.

Their gazes meet with mirroring smiles, both seeming to forget the third person with them.

Jade clears her throat to get their attention back to her and Dina turns around just in time to see their friend’s squinty sharp-eyed look.

“Okay! Well… I didn’t know I was third wheeling you guys.” Jade’s words make Ellie stiffen, which in turn forces Dina to retreat further back into her own chair. “Anyway, here’s your comic book as promised.”

Jade slides the gift-wrapped item towards Ellie, the wrapper now extravagantly useless since Jade revealed what was inside.

“I told you, you didn’t have to,” Ellie grumbles but eagerly opens the gift, nonetheless. The gleam in her eyes from seeing the newly opened book completely contradicts her previous sentiment.

“Shut up, you know for a fact Nora’s aunt will chop our heads off if she finds out we don’t pay her precious Ellie for playing.” Dina sees Ellie about to argue but a gasp and the sound of glass breaking takes away Jade’s attention. “I gotta go. Enjoy your drink. Dina, Bonnie should be coming by with yours. It’s on me.”

“It better not be spiked either!”

Jade shrugs off Dina’s reaction with a wink and swiftly heads over to the counter to help with the rush of orders and to clean up the shards off the floor.

Now without their friend’s scrutinizing looks, Dina finally gets a chance to examine Ellie more candidly.

At first glance, Ellie looked calm and collected, out on a Friday night relaxing at a café waiting for the night’s show to commence. But upon closer inspection, Dina feels (more than sees) the erratic up and down bounce of Ellie’s leg next to hers. Ellie’s hands have a slight tremble as she places her newly acquired comic book down on the table.

Dina finally grasps how terrifyingly nervous Ellie must be. Using whatever is left of the confidence she had a few minutes ago, Dina gently places a hand on Ellie’s leg in hopes that the gesture helps soothe her nerves.

Instead, Dina feels the muscles in Ellie’s thigh go taut under her palm and hears a sharp gasp next to her.

In retrospect, this is the first time she’s touching Ellie in a comforting way and Dina almost regrets doing so until she feels Ellie relax under her palm.

“You still don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, you know,” Dina says. The light chuckle that comes out of Ellie encourages her to continue, “I can always try and make a scene as a distraction while you go and make an escape.”

“Nah,” Ellie sighs. “I’m already here. Jade actually got me the right book. I might as well tough it out and just deal with it.”

Dina nods in understanding. She glances down at the book and isn’t surprised to see the words Savage Starlight written across the cover in bight bold-coloured letters.

“You have a lot of these, huh?” Dina points at the book. “I noticed your collection in your room that one time.”

The change in topic seems to brighten Ellie’s spirits and for once Ellie’s chattier than Dina’s ever seen her.

“Have you ever read these?”

Dina shakes her head no.

Ellie gawks at her like she’s a newly landed alien on Earth. “Well, shit. You’ve got to try one day. I swear they’re not childish. Nora and them don’t get it. The stories are really intriguing if you’re into space travel, time travel, multi-dimensional universe travel, all the sci-fi travelling, actually.”

“Oh yeah? That’s a lot of travelling.” Dina can’t help but to laugh at Ellie’s rambling. She’s never really been one to read science fiction stories, let alone in comic book form, but if the requirement to getting closer to Ellie is by giving her recommendation a try, then Dina is all for it.

“Well, yeah. Sort of. It’s more than traveling. The best part is that the main character is a female doctor who’s regarded as a superhero. And if I’m being honest, we don’t have enough female representation in the superhero industry.”

Dina seems to have found Ellie’s favourite topic of discussion and she finds that she wouldn’t mind spending forever hearing Ellie talk about the things she loves.

“You’ll have to lend me one of yours then,” Dina suggests and Ellie smiles wide in response.

“For real?” Ellie asks. When Dina nods, Ellie goes on again. “Damn, I say you’d have to start from the very first issue and try to catch up to this,” Ellie points at the one on the table, “but that might take forever.”

“How about I start with your favourite, and if it’s too confusing then I’ll let you know.”

There’s a beat of silence between them as Ellie gives her advice some thought. Dina didn’t think this would give her such a difficult time to decide and almost tells her that she doesn’t mind starting the series from the beginning. But Dina is delighted by the scrunch of Ellie’s eyebrows, and the way that the other girl is earnestly giving the issue some deep thought.

Dina decides that Ellie’s cute this way. All serious and passionate at the same time, talking about a hobby that has probably taken years of dedication. She wonders if she’ll ever get the chance to talk to Ellie about her love for movies one day. Would Ellie find her as endearing as she does when her turn comes?

The thought reminds Dina of her plan to ask Ellie out after tonight’s event. The nerves she had prior to arriving at the café are gone. Seeing Ellie’s enthusiasm with her favourite comic book and seeing her reaction to Dina wanting to give it a try only fuels her need to ask Ellie soon.

Dina might burst, otherwise. Or the words might burst out of her. Either way, Dina wants to do this right and decides on asking her now.

“Do you have plans after you finish here tonight?” Dina asks.

“Ooh, that’s a great idea!” Ellie exclaims, and Dina’s a little confused on what she means. “I was just going home after, so if you want, we can choose which book you can borrow together.”

“I…” Dina doesn’t know how to respond. She hadn’t considered that Ellie was still focused on lending her a book. Her thoughts are jumbled but she quickly recovers when she realizes that she could ask Ellie on a date in a more private area, like Ellie’s room, instead of the completely packed café they are currently in. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Perfect! It’s a date then.” Dina gulps down a gasp as she's not sure if Ellie realizes what she’d just said, because Ellie just smiles wide and takes a chug of her drink. She coughs again and says, “fuck! I forgot this had rum in it.”

Meanwhile, Ellie’s words run on repeat in Dina’s head.

It’s a date.

A date.

What was a date? Did Ellie mean for them meeting at her house as a date, or was she just saying it like the off-hand phrase people say when they’ve confirmed a meeting of sorts.

Dina’s not sure. She’s not sure what Ellie means, she’s not sure that Ellie even realized she said the words. She’s not sure what just happened.

What she’s sure of, instead, is that whatever Ellie meant, Dina will be asking Ellie out on a date before their night ends.

While Ellie is busy grabbing a napkin to wipe chocolate from her lips, Dina notices Bonnie making her way toward their table with a tray in hand.

“Hey Chika. Long time no see,” Bonnie jokes.

“I literally saw you this morning,” Dina rolls her eyes.

“You must be Ellie. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Bonne gives Dina a wiggle of her brows, earning a quick kick to the shin from Dina under the table. “Ow!— Sorry, must’ve stepped on my own toes. I’m Bonnie. Dina’s best friend.”

“Bonnie…” Ellie says in a careful tone. “Is that short for anything?”

“Bonita, actually. Is Ellie short for anything?” Bonnie retorts back.

“Nope. Just Ellie.”

“Well, just Ellie, did you know,” Bonnie sets the tray on the table and sits on the empty chair across from them, “that Dina’s name is short for Bernadina?”

Ellie’s eyes bulge out with intrigue.

The reaction makes Bonnie laugh loud enough for some patrons to look in their direction.

“Wait? Is it actually?” Ellie asks.

“Fuck, no!” Dina shakes her head with fervent dread. She can’t believe Bonnie’s teasing her like this in front of Ellie, she’d never done this before with any of the guys she’s dated in the past. “I’d say I’m just Dina too, but I’m technically legally Adinah on my birth certificate. With an H in the end. It’s Hebrew for delicate, and Bonnie’s full of shit.”

Dina tries to shove Bonnie out of the chair, but Bonnie’s quick to get up before she gets a chance to.

“I’m keeping your tea if you keep bullying me, miss delicate.” Bonnie tuts and pretends to move the tray away from their table but sets a plate of goodies in front of Ellie. “I have cookies and brownies for Ellie from Jade.”

“I don’t get cookies?” Dina pouts at the plate full of desserts clearly meant for more than just one person.

“I don’t know,” Bonnie says in feigned innocence. “You’ll have to ask Ellie if you can share like Lady and the Tramp style.”

Ellie chokes out a laugh, “which of us is the tramp?”

Bonnie makes a show of thinking about the question deeply. She smirks toward Dina before she gives Ellie and answer, “you tell me. Which of you is the lady in the relationship?”

Ellie’s cheeks immediately redden, and telling by the heat rising up Dina’s neck, she has a feeling her cheeks are just as tinged as Ellie’s.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Dina scoffs. “I think I heard someone calling for you, actually. Bye, Bonnie!”

Bonnie leaves the two with a smirk on her face. Dina will have a talk with her best friend when she gets home later. Why is everyone suddenly hellbent on embarrassing her in front of Ellie?

Neither of them continues the conversation after Bonnie leaves. Ellie quietly takes sips of her drink, hiding behind the large cup, while Dina settles for blowing the heat off of her hot tea.

Dina is desperate to break the tension, to get back the easygoing talk they had before Bonnie came and made the air uncomfortable for them to breathe in. She doesn’t get to say anything because Jade finally goes to the makeshift stage and speaks on the microphone.

The show is about to start, and Ellie’s leg begins its wild bounce once again.

Dina tries watches the performances with as much attention as she normally did in the past. But having Ellie be so close in proximity brings forth a different aura to the event. She keeps stealing glances at Ellie, sometimes even catching the other girl already looking back at her.

The stifled tension Dina felt earlier has dissipated. They’re both simply enjoying their time together, watching others put on a show for the crowd to savour. Dina’s not sure how or when it started, but being with Ellie now no longer felt like she was diving headfirst into a black hole. What she feels instead is a sense of familiarity, of comfort and calm, like finally being home after a grueling day at work.

There are four acts before Ellie’s set. The first is a long and aggressive spoken word poem about the deterioration of the earth’s wellbeing. Jade abruptly stops the presentation midway through another verse when the girl attempted to remove her clothes to make a point about the global warming.

Jade had to apologize to the crowd, promising that the next month’s show will have better vetting of the performances.

The second act is a young duo playing covers of popular songs on the fiddle and the banjo. It’s just the perfect type of entertainment to liven up the show after a disturbing first act. The third in the show is a sock puppet comedian who manages to make the entirety of the audience to laugh at their silly (and very vulgar) show. The fourth is a simpler one, just a guy on a keyboard who claimed he could make a song out of any words thrown at him. He started a simple tune on his keyboard and asked the crowd the supply him with random words. True to his word, he effectively composed songs made from the words people gave him. It would have been more impressive if it hadn’t been for some people in the audience supplying him with indecent words.

As the keyboardist began concluding his act. Dina could no longer feel Ellie’s bouncing leg next to her, instead she was sat next to a stiffened version of her friend. There’s a far-off look to Ellie’s eyes as if she’s been hypnotized into another reality.

“Hey,” Dina starts, “I’m right here. If you need anything just look over here. Okay?”

With Ellie’s attention seemingly out of the café, Dina didn’t think her words would be heard at all.

Ellie surprisingly responds, “thanks, Dina.”

Jade calls for Ellie to come up next, she’s introduced as “Miller” to the audience, something Dina has to ask Ellie about later. She makes a longer introduction this time, telling people about how the next and final performance is special because her friend is doing her a favour. People politely clap as Ellie makes her way to the front. Dina hadn’t even noticed Ellie’s guitar, already propped up on a stand in the back of the makeshift stage.

Ellie sits on a stool in the center. She plugs in her acoustic guitar to the amplifier and adjusts the microphone to a decent height. She clears her throat straight into the microphone, surprising herself when she hears herself echoed through the speakers.

“Shit, sorry about that. I don’t usually have an audience when I sing in the shower, ya know?” Ellie jokes which make several people laugh along with her. “So, if I haven’t made it obvious by now, I’m a concert virgin.”

The crowd laughs again, and Dina is awed by the way Ellie manages to charm everyone despite her awkward demeanor. It’s one of the reasons why she’s been drawn to Ellie herself.

There’s a loud exaggerated throat clearing coming from the darkened side of the stage. Dina assumes it’s Jade trying to get Ellie to actually start her set. She’s the last one for the night, after all. Some people are looking antsy to get home, and some are mostly entertained by Ellie’s humor-filled start.

“Oops, the boss wants me to start. But just so y’all know, this is the first time I’m playing in front of a crowd this big, so please be gentle with me.” Ellie shrugs her shoulders. Any trace of the leg-bouncing girl from mere moments ago has been replaced with this cool and easygoing person.

Dina wonders if Ellie had some bravado hidden in her pocket this whole time, or if she’s just really good at masking her discomfort in front of a large group of people.

“I’ll be playing songs that remind me of people in my life.”

Dina immediately recognizes the first song that Ellie plays. It’s the one Ellie sang to her for the first time. Ellie slips on a note in the intro fingerpicking, and her eyes shoot up in horror and looks for Dina in the crowd. She continues on with the song as if the mishap never happened. Only this time her gaze is locked onto Dina’s.

And just like that, it’s like they’re alone in Ellie’s room again. Ellie playing her guitar, Dina listening with rapt attention. Everything around them blurs, all Dina can see is Ellie under the spotlight, all she can hear is Ellie’s voice, all she can feel is the fire in Ellie’s gaze burning all her focus into her.

Even in a room full of people, Ellie has the ability to make her feel like she’s the only one present, like she’s the only one that matters. It’s unclear whether it’s because Dina told her to look for her if she was nervous. But there’s a certain look in Ellie’s gaze that makes Dina feel like she’s the only one in the room, like they’re the only two people in attendance at Clickers Café.

Dina doesn’t know when the song ends. She doesn’t know how long she’d been staring at Ellie without even realizing that Ellie had started singing the second song.

This song is just as hauntingly beautiful as the last. Ellie mimics Jim Croce’s guitar style perfectly, but paired with her soulful voice, no one would ever believe that the song she’s singing is meant to be about finding joy in true love.

The way Ellie sings it, though, Dina almost believes that it’s the opposite, that love is meant to be grieved instead of relished.

Ellie breaks their gaze after finishing the second song to sneak a sip of her drink and talk to the crowd once more.

On the other end of the café, Dina is still in a dream-like haze, entirely content with keeping her attention fully focused on Ellie.

Her trance is broken when she hears someone sit on a chair next to hers. It’s Bonnie, who pokes her on the side to grab her attention with a knowing look in her eyes. Dina can only shrug her best friend’s nudges to her obvious infatuation, no longer feeling the need to hide her feelings.

Dina finally looks around at the other customers in the café. She’s glad to see that everyone is just as entranced with Ellie as she is. Everyone looks charmed with Ellie’s performance, but none are as spellbound as Dina feels.

Her eyes land on Ellie again, and Dina’s chest warms when she sees Ellie obviously searching for her before starting her next song. The fire in Dina’s chest spurs her even more to ask Ellie out on a date.

When their eyes finally lock once again, Ellie starts picking the strings for the introduction of a song that Dina isn’t familiar with.

The song is hypnotizing. It’s repetitive and melancholy. Dina listens intently to the lyrics that Ellie sings.

Don’t you think you oughta rest
Don’t you think you oughta lay your head down
Don’t you think you you wanna sleep
Don't you think you oughta lay your head your head down tonight

There’s a shift in the song when the words start picking up some speed. Ellie’s left foot begins tapping along to the new beat. Dina sees some heads bobbing along with the beat, this must be a popular song she hasn’t heard before.

Just the like beginning of the song, the outro slows down in measure and is just as hypnotizing. The lyrics are repetitive, but sound more and more desperate the longer it lasts. There’s a moment in between when Ellie stops singing and switches to whistling along with her strumming, Dina assumes it to be a guitar solo from the original song. Ellie’s creativity shines through with it.

At some point, Ellie sings the same words over and over.

All those yesterdays, all those yesterdays
All those yesterdays, all those yesterdays

Dina will have to look up for this song later. Ellie’s rendition is mesmerizing, and she wonders if the original song is just as riveting. She thinks it’s impossible, Ellie’s version will probably be her favourite.

A strong applause rises when Ellie flicks the last strum and lets the sound reverberate around the store. There’s a sheepish smile curling up on Ellie’s face, and Dina feels a tingle in her body as her senses engulf with pride for Ellie.

The buzz in the café is intoxicating. Everyone is enjoying Ellie’s set, and Ellie seems to be enjoying her time as well.

“Thanks everyone! I have one final song for you tonight and I promise you can go home after.” Ellie reaches over the neck of the guitar to retune it for the next song. When she finishes, she pats her side to grab something in her pockets. “This last song calls for a trombone, but I obviously don’t have one with me. Who am I kidding? I don’t even know how to play the trombone. Anyway, this lil thing will have to do.”

There’s a string of laughter as Ellie reveals a kazoo from her pocket. The laughter continues when Ellie tapes the small tube-like instrument on her guitar right above the strings. The audience calms down when Ellie positions her fingers in preparation for the first chords.

The tune of this song is immediately jollier than the previous songs. It’s also simpler than the ones before it. There’s no complex plucking, only a rhythmic strumming played along with plain and straightforward lyrics.

Dina doesn’t know this song either, the people and the crowd are just as oblivious as she is. But the same still goes as it has for Ellie’s performance. Everyone single person inside Clickers Café is immersed with Ellie.

The kazoo makes its entrance in the song after the first verse finishes. There’s a few chuckles across the room as Ellie strums on the guitar in tandem with intense blowing on the kazoo. She does that throughout what Dina presumes is the chorus of the song. Ellie shuffles between singing a line and blowing a melody on the small instrument.

The song is short. Much shorter than the previous ones. The simplicity of the song is disregarded due to Ellie’s surprising and amusing use of the kazoo.

This is another song that Dina will have to look for later. She wonders how Ellie’s use of the kazoo compares to the original’s version with the trombone. Can a kazoo really be used in place of a trombone?

Dina’s brought back to Ellie’s performance when the final lyrics are belted out. Ellie’s eyes are closed as it comes to an end.

‘Cause I’m happy here
Yes I’m happy here
I sleep well alone now
I sleep well alone now

The same line is repeated a few more times, gradually getting stronger and intense as the song comes to a descent.

The kazoo is the last thing that’s heard even after Ellie strums the final chords.

Everyone stays silent and still as they relish the fading echo of the sounds. Dina is not the only one captivated by Ellie’s last performance.

It’s only moments later when the first claps sound out around the café. The applause is louder than it has been the whole night. People have stood up to cheer on the bashful girl, still sitting with wide eyed shock on her face.

Dina is in awe of the standing ovation in honor of Ellie. A first in Clickers Open Mic Night history, but she’s not surprised in the least. Ellie was phenomenal. She quite literally took a nerve wracking situation into a memorable performance for everyone in attendance.

The smile that takes over Dina’s lips is full of pride and joy. The happiness she’s feeling for Ellie is justified, and all Dina wants to do is run up to her friend to engulf her in hug that she hopes carries out all the emotions she’s feeling for the girl.

Dina’s feet automatically bring her over toward Ellie. Her ears buzz with excitement at the idea of finally congratulating Ellie after such a successful performance.

The clapping starts to decrease, except for an obnoxiously loud whooping cheer coming from the entrance of the café. Dina looks over to find the source and stops in her tracks when she recognizes who it is.

Jesse is here, holding his phone horizontally as if he was recording the moment on video. Ellie has noticed him too; Dina can’t decipher the look that’s appeared on Ellie’s face.

Dina watches as Jesse approaches Ellie, his phone still recording, and Ellie shoving the phone away from her face. Dina can’t make out the words they’re saying to each other. Ellie looks peeved, but not the angry kind. Jesse’s excitement is revealed through his flailing arms, and the huge smile on his face shows that he looks just as proud of Ellie as Dina had been.

There’s a thrum in Dina’s ears as she hears the heavy and oppressive echo of her own beating heart. She watches Jesse give Ellie a big hug, Ellie is reluctant to return it, but their actions look practiced. Like that’s how they always greet each other, like old friends seeing each other after only being apart for a few hours.

How do Jesse and Ellie know each other?

Of all the coincidences and parallels that Dina has with Ellie, this one is by far the most uncomfortable of them all.

 

 

Notes:

THANK YOU FOR READING!
Let me know if you like it! <3

---
Ellie's songs in order of performance:
"Never Going Back Again" - Fleetwood Mac
"Time in a Bottle" - Jim Croce
"All Those Yesterdays" - Pearl Jam
"Scott Pilgrim vs. My GPA" - Mom Jeans (kazoo cover inspired by Sincere Engineer)

Chapter 19: Your friend is my friend and we're all friends

Summary:

Previously: Ellie performs at open mic night. Dina wants to ask her out. Jesse makes an appearance.

THIS CHAPTER: friends here and there are yours and mine and ours.

Notes:

NO BETA

mistakes and typos may be edited later

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Dina’s legs feel like lead as she gets closer to Jesse and Ellie.

Her body doesn’t feel like her own.

Dina’s eyes are glued toward them, watching the pair with intense confusion. Judging by the way Jesse and Ellie act around each other, Dina easily assumes they’re friends of sorts. Jesse’s showing Ellie something on his phone, the latter giving Jesse a whack on the shoulder. Whatever the video was, Ellie clearly did not approve of it. Ellie groans audibly loud enough for Dina to hear from where she is.

Except, Dina’s not too far from them anymore, it only feels like it because of the wild thumping of her heart, and the incessant ringing in her ears.

She begins to hear part of their conversation when she’s a mere three steps away.

“I swear he practically demanded me to take a video. Don’t blame the messenger, man!” Jesse exclaims.

“You’re not a messenger! You’re the willing participant that pressed record on your phone and stood there pointing the thing at me! Why didn’t you just tell Joel you forgot?” Ellie shakes her head so violently that Dina thinks it might rip off from her shoulders.

“Dude. It’s Joel. The man could beat The Rock in a wrestling match if he really wanted. He might be your dad but he’s intimidating.”

“Joel’s a bigger softie than he looks, and you are just a big wuss.” Ellie sighs like she’s already lost this battle.

“Who’s Joel?” Dina asks when she’s too close to hide from them.

“Dina!” Ellie says.

“Deen?” Jesse cries out in shock. “I’m such an idiot. Of course, you’d be here.”

Ellie looks at Jesse and Dina, her eyes darting back and forth. She gives them both a look of bewilderment, similar to the one Dina wore on her face moments ago.

Dina smiles and gulps down her nerves. “Hey, J. How are you?”

She doesn’t move forward to give him a hug like she normally would. They technically only broke up just a few days ago, and with a visibly confused Ellie in proximity, a hug didn’t feel like the right move for the moment.

But, Jesse, oblivious to the growing tension between Ellie and Dina, makes a move to approach Dina with wide open arms. This hug resembles the one he gave Ellie earlier: big, open, and friendly. Although Dina’s not sure that Ellie will interpret it as a friendly hug, she still returns the greeting with a quick one-handed pat on Jesse’s back, and swiftly takes a step back and closer to Ellie right after.

Her legs still feel heavy, her arms feel like jelly. Dina no longer has control of her own limbs now that she’s stuck between the two people who represent different stages of her life.

These are the two people she never would have guessed already knew each other.

It’s hard for Dina to imagine how such an energetic person like Jesse will know the likes of the chill-tempered Ellie.

Jesse’s the kind of person who thrives being in the middle of chaos at parties, talking to every single person, and gets excited at the prospect of meeting new people. Dina remembers him being the center of attention a few months back at the party with the bouncy house. Being one of the hosts, he made it a point to stay by the front door to welcome people as they came in. He even manned the drinks station at some point, making sure people were well taken care of, and greeting everyone with a warmth that opened up random bursts of conversation. By the end of the night, Dina was sure that everyone knew who Jesse was.

Dina remembers her time with Jesse to be as fun and exciting experience, but equally exhausting to be constantly surrounded by so much energy.

Ellie, on the other hand, appeared more restrained when it came to people. Their first encounter was a prime example of that. Sure, Ellie’s steely reaction to first meeting Dina as the one who accidentally knocked a bag to her head was completely valid. But once the connection of having mutual friends had been made, Ellie hadn’t ever given Dina the impression that Ellie had a secret meanness deep in her bones.

Ellie’s kindness toward her friends, and the fact that she would even do something that brings her discomfort to appease her friends is the thing that has drawn Dina so much to Ellie.

Jesse was like the kid who excitedly collected all his eggs in one basket at an Easter Egg Hunt, while Ellie carefully picked and chose which eggs to add to her basket.

Their differences couldn’t be more apparent to Dina.

Ellie is more careful and wary of her choices, whereas Jesse jumps at the next possible opportunity.

Dina is too busy wondering how these two wholly different people know each other that she barely hears Ellie ask her a question.

“You’re Deen?” Ellie says. The deadpan look in her eyes makes it hard for Dina to gauge her reaction.

Dina has to swallow the groan that automatically comes out of her when she hears that name. Hearing that god-awful nickname come out from Ellie’s gentle voice feels like sandpaper being scratched in her mouth. Dina never had the chance to tell Jesse, but she never actually liked it when her called her Deen.

She doesn’t get a chance to correct it this time around, either, because Jesse reminds her of his presence.

“Yeah!” he exclaims, “this is Deen! Dina, this is my best friend, Ellie. The one I told you could play the guitar.” Jesse points to Ellie with a beaming smile.

“I thought your best friend’s name was Al, with an A.” Dina cocks her head to the side silently wondering if she’d misremembered the name.

“Oh, you mean El? I call her El, sometimes. El as in, Ellie, as in short for Eleanor.” Jesse chuckles and flinches when Ellie makes a show to hit him again.

“That’s not my name.” Ellie huffs out, “and I’m not your best friend. How many times are we gonna go through this Jess?”

Jesse ignores her and continues the conversation with Dina. “Elizabeth here will never admit it, but she is most definitely my best friend. She just has issues with,” He leans a little closer to Dina and whispers the next words loudly, “labels.”

Ellie sighs and “Never been an Elizabeth.”

“Whatever you say, Eloise.”

“Seriously dude, how do you not know my name by now?”

Dina watches them in awe as they breeze through their banter with ease. It’s clear to her now exactly how close Jesse and Ellie are.

They’re acting like friends who’ve known each other their whole lives. Dina believes Jesse when he says they’re best friends regardless of the number of times Ellie keeps shutting him down.

It’s the first time that Dina sees Ellie totally comfortable with someone else. The pang in her chest reminds her that she wishes Ellie acted around her the same way she acts around Jesse.

Dina loves seeing Ellie being playful, and how adorable she looks when she’s being teased.

Dina wishes she could take part in their banter. Dina wishes she could kiss the adorable little frown off of Ellie’s irritated face as Jesse keeps jabbing her with mirthless taunts.

Dina wonders if she should still ask Ellie out on a date with this new information she’s come to learn.

Would Ellie even want to date her, now that she knows Dina and her best friend have dated before? Of all the mutual connections they seem to be having, Jesse is the common denominator that has the potential to hinder Dina’s plan to ask Ellie out.

“I thought your name wasn’t short for anything.” Dina adds on.

“See, Jesse? You should take a page out of Dina’s book. Looks like she knows me better than you do.”

Ellie flashes Dina a toothy grin, and Dina has to tamper the shivers that flood her body when Ellie wraps an arm around Dina’s shoulders.

They’re so close Dina can feel Ellie’s warmth immediately soften her nervous energy.

Ellie is oblivious to Dina’s rapidly increasing bashfulness, but Jesse looks like he’s caught on to something.

“Sooo,” Jesse lengthens the single syllable into an elongated singsong word, “how do you two know each other?”

Ellie takes her arm back to gesture it between her and Dina, who feels a sudden cold absence from the change of proximity.

Ellie and Dina answer at the same time.

“We-” Ellie says.

“It’s a funny story actually,” Dina starts.

Ellie coughs loudly and continues on, “We’re just in the same English class. That’s all.” Ellie quickly interrupts her.

Something changes with Ellie once the attention has been turned to how she and Dina know each other. Despite being three feet away from her, Dina can practically feel Ellie squirm.

Dina can’t figure out why Ellie wouldn’t want Jesse to know how they met. The start to their story still makes her smile in the most random moments. Like, when she’s brushing her teeth before bed and gets a reminder of how her bag accidentally hitting Ellie’s head has led them to a wild journey of discovered coincidences.

There’s no way a story like that can be simply described as “just being in the same English class” as Ellie per Ellie’s portrayal.

Is it possible that Dina had misread the situation as an amazing tale of happenstance due to her ongoing crush on Ellie?

“The only thing funny about that is that Ellie actually made a new friend for once! And without me.” Jesse continues on with his light jibes toward Ellie, but Dina can’t help herself but be protective over her.

Something about the way Jesse described Ellie rubbed Dina off the wrong way.

“Ellie’s kind of great actually,” Dina says, “she didn’t want to come tonight, but she did the show anyway to help Jade.” Dina places a hand on Ellie’s shoulder to emphasize her pride. “And knowing us, I’m sure she definitely wouldn’t have needed your help for us to meet anyway.”

Dina doesn’t regret saying anything. But, given the shock in Ellie’s wide eyes and Jesse’s slack-jawed surprise, Dina suddenly feels a wave of guilt thinking she may have dramatized a situation that was light in nature.

Was her tone too harsh? Were her words too sharp? She doesn’t really care that Jesse and Ellie seem to like teasing each other. All Dina wanted to do is tell Jesse that Ellie doesn’t need him around to be likeable.

In an attempt to bring some levity back into their conversation, Dina tries and fails to get Bonnie’s attention to join their circle. Bonnie’s too busy cleaning up tables to pay notice anything else.

“Ellie is great,” Jesse says in a tone so serious that makes Dina feel like she’s a child reprimanded by an adult. “I mean sure, she tries to camouflage with the walls at parties a little too much, but I’m always going to be the first in line to tell people they’re missing out by not knowing her.”

“Yeesh!” Ellie finally speaks up. “This whole sap fest is making me wanna puke.”

“Pfft, shut up and take the compliment like a normal fucking person.” Jesse pokes Ellie on the side, making Ellie slap his fingers away.

Just like that, the two friends are back to their banter and Dina is left to watch them.

Dina feels at ease knowing that she hadn’t dampened the mood. She stands by watching them with wonder at how fast Jesse and Ellie turn things back around to humour.

It’s only when Jesse says he has to go pick his car up at a friend’s house that Dina and Ellie finally get a chance to talk.

Dina stands on the side of the makeshift stage to let Ellie pack her guitar into its case.

“I know you hate compliments, but can I just say what a freaking great show you put on tonight,” Dina says.

To her delight, Ellie doesn’t dismiss the praise like she had earlier. Instead, Dina gets a shy smile out of Ellie.

“You promise you’re not just saying that to be nice?”

Dina scoffs lightly in response. “As a frequent audience member of this particular show, I can confidently say that you were probably the best performer Clickers has ever had on Open Mic Night.”

“Ooh, high praise from the queen of Open Mic Night herself. I’ll take that as a win.” Ellie’s smile is more confident this time.

It’s then that Dina realizes she has her own version of banter with Ellie, and the recognition stirs a wild fluttering in her chest.

“High praise is only given to those who deserve it.” Dina winks at Ellie which makes them both laugh.

“Many thanks for all the acclaim, my queen, but I can only take so much before I dissolve into a puddle of mush.” Ellie makes a show of an awkward bow in front of her.

The whole act is so endearing that Dina feels the giddiness of it all taking over her body.

Dina is surprised that Ellie has kept along with their silly conversation, but more than anything, she’s been stuck on the fact that Ellie has called her my queen.

She clears her throat in an attempt to compose herself before speaking again. “Well let’s not have the best bard in town transform into pulp then. How about we go to your place so you can show me the world of Savage Starlight?”

Ellie brightens at the mention of the comic book. Dina thinks she could spend a lifetime seeing Ellie smile.

“Are you sure it’s not too late?” Ellie bites her lip in worry.

“Nah,” Dina shrugs. “I usually spend Sundays sleeping in and chilling when I have nothing to do. Unless you have something tomorrow, then I don’t want to keep you up either.”

Ellie’s shaking her head before Dina even manages to finish her sentence. Taking that as an answer from Ellie, Dina loops her left arm around Ellie’s right and leads them to Jade to say their goodbyes.

Nora eyes them with suspicion when they approach them, and Dina can see Jade silently communicating with her girlfriend through her eyes. There’s no way for Dina to properly interpret the odd signage, but she has a strong feeling it has something to do with how Ellie and Dina move around the café in seemingly comfortable ease.

Bonnie, on the other hand, has no problem being subtle with the wiggle of her eyebrows. Dina is relived to see that Ellie doesn’t seem to think Bonnie’s ridiculously obvious nudging has anything to do with them leaving together with their arms linked.

If anything, Ellie looks amused and proves it when she says, “your friend’s kinda funny, isn’t she?”

“If your definition of funny means weird, then that’s exactly what Bonnie is.” She replies.

Once on the street, Ellie leads them to the left of the café, where Dina assumes she parked her car. It’s the direction where Dina walked earlier on her way to the café, which means that Ellie unknowingly had driven past Dina’s apartment building.

In fact, by the time Ellie stops in front of a vintage-looking pickup truck and unlinked their arms, Dina realizes Ellie had parked only a few blocks away from her apartment.

“You see that white building with the green awning by the entrance?” She asks Ellie.

“Yeah,” Ellie answers, “you know someone who lives there or something?”

“That’s my building!” Dina confesses.

“Damn, isn’t that place super expensive? I thought only faculty could afford to live in a place with a literal doorman and a lobby.” Ellie spurts out, the surprise clear in her voice. “But honestly, after knowing you went to private school, that building checks out for you.”

“You’re never letting go of the private school thing are you?” Dina grins. “And for the record, I don’t even know how much rent costs in the building. My grandparents own the building so my sister and I only pay for utilities.”

“Whoa. Even more reason for me to keep putting the private school card on you! I hope my car isn’t too peasant-like for your majesty.”

Dina gives Ellie’s car a quick glance. It’s an old sky-blue pick-up truck with white accents, and despite it looking closer to vintage than second hand, Dina can see that the car is clearly well taken care of.

Something about it actually looks familiar. Her Uncle Eugene had a car like this hidden in the back of their ranch, but if memory serves her correctly, her uncle’s pick-up was a dust covered old clanky thing that was missing an engine and was far from being used.

Ellie’s car evidently has the engine that her uncle was lacking. The interior has a soft brown leather cushion, unlike the black and molding cloth version that her uncle never cleaned and dusted. Everything about Ellie’s car looks new except for the older vintage make and model of the vehicle.

Dina doesn’t let Ellie’s playful jabs get to her. She decides to up her game by slowly approaching Ellie with long purposeful strides.

“Are you challenging me, Ellie? Because I can do lots of things to prove that I’m not some porcelain princess living with a butler.”

They’re so close now that Dina can see Ellie gulp, and fumble with the guitar case that she’s been trying to place in the backseat.

“Oh, um… I- you-” Ellie’s stuttering breaks Dina’s resolve lets the bubbling laugh come out of her.

“Honestly, Ellie, I could’ve piggybacked while you rode your skateboard, and I still would’ve enjoyed it.” Dina says.

Feeling bold in her closeness with Ellie, their eyes mere inches apart and their breaths mingling in the small space, Dina helps herself for quick peck on Ellie’s cheek.

The flush that paints Ellie’s face right after is what gives Dina the courage to follow on with her plan.

She will be asking Ellie out on a date before the night ends.

“Come on,” Dina beckons Ellie out of her daze. “Show me your Savage Starlight collection.”

Notes:

THANK YOU FOR READING!
Let me know if you like it! <3

NaNoWriMo has me in a writing mood so the next update will come sooner than normal 👀
---
BIG thank you to the new readers who find this silly story and read the whole thing in one go. y'all are the mvps
BIGGER BIGGEST thank you to the readers who have tolerated my infrequent updates for the last 3 years. y'all are my faves.

Chapter 20: Deen is Dina. Dina is Deen

Summary:

Previously: Dina in shambles

This chapter: Ellie in shambles

Notes:

TWO UPDATES IN ONE WEEK !!! this hasn't happened since the first few chapters were posted

NO BETA, NO REVIEWS

mistake and typos may or may not be edited later

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

If Ellie was ever asked to describe how she felt the night she sang at the Clickers Open Mic Night, she wouldn’t be able to answer with a single defining word.

Performing in front of an audience turned out to be more of a fulfilling experience than she shit-show she thought it would be. Years later, when she’s reminded of that night, people still have to convince her that the crowd loved her performance.

She didn’t stumble or trip like she predicted, her voice didn’t crack while she sang like it did when she showered, and most importantly she didn’t make a fool of herself in front of Dina.

Dina said she was great, but Ellie’s not sure if that means she liked it.

Ellie wondered if there was even a way to subtly ask if she did alright, when the person whose attention she desired already told her she was great.

At some point it felt like the crowd was gone, like Ellie was left alone to sing Dina song after song in an emptied, darkened café. It felt like they were back in Ellie’s room, showing Dina that she could indeed play the guitar and sing decently enough to fill a set at the show.

Ellie is rouse from the floaty exhilarating trance once her set ended and a roaring whoop filled the room. The loudest being, Jesse, who she had seen standing by the door, holding his phone horizontally.

Her smile faltered at the realization. Why was Jesse there, and was he recording her?

That’s when she started feeling disoriented. She’s never hung out with Jesse and Nora in the same space before. Ellie had kept her friendships separate with Jesse and his pack on one side, and Ellie and Abby’s group on another side. College was the catalyst that gave her the opportunity to branch away from Jesse, a feat that she had blissfully kept private to herself.

The people that she’s met through Jesse normally called her Jesse’s friend, but within her circle of Abby, Nora, and Jade, Ellie is just known as their dorky friend who liked comic books and constantly talked about space nerd things.

Ellie appreciated that Jesse had always wanted to include her in all the activities he was interested in, but most of the time Ellie simply preferred a quiet night in drinking and hanging out with her smaller group of friends.

To Jesse’s credit, though, the boy was too kind and pure to have ever noticed whether Ellie acted differently around certain groups of people. He had always assumed that being childhood friends meant enjoying all same things they once shared when they were younger. Ellie had a feeling that Jesse assumed she was content to follow him wherever he went—just like when they were kids, just like when Ellie first moved to Jackson and Jesse became her first friend in town.

Jesse was too kind-hearted, and because of that, Ellie didn’t have the courage to burst his happy little bubble. Because of that she’s never bothered to outright tell him how awkward she felt around his friends, especially around the swarm of people he loved being the center of.

Which is why she had kept her friendships separate in the first place, and it was never much of an issue before until now, when her worlds collided in the most unexpected of ways.

With the show way past being over, the crowd had converted to a chattering mess of mingling people. Ellie noticed people approach some of the other performers to congratulate them, and she was glad that the only person to do so for her was Jesse instead of some stranger.

Even if his presence had rattled her emotions.

The shock soon blended into anger when Ellie learned that Jesse’s surprise appearance was caused by Joel. The idea that Joel had conspired a plan to get Jesse to bombard Ellie with a surprise recording of her performance felt slightly unnerving.

Since when had Joel and Jesse started talking about Ellie behind her back? As far as Ellie knew, Jesse had only ever regarded Joel as her scary dad that he only conversed with when she was around as a buffer. She can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for Jesse to get orders from Joel out of the blue. Jesse claimed he wasn’t bothered by Joel’s commands—save for the small panic he got when he saw the words “Mr. Joel” flashing on his cellphone.

Ellie is grateful for her friendship with Jesse, regardless—his was the loudest cheer, after all—because no matter what random thing Ellie was up to, Jesse would always be the first and biggest supporter in the room (aside from Joel, that is).

The biggest shock of the night was when Dina had come sauntering towards them with an undecipherable expression on her face. It wasn’t until Jesse called her Deen that Ellie began to connect the dots.

Deen is Dina.

The stupidly named girl that Ellie wished bad things upon for standing up Jesse turned out to be Dina.

Which meant… No, Ellie can’t have been the reason why Jesse was stood up on the night he was supposed to ask her to be his girlfriend. Was she?

Ellie’s brain goes numb at the thought. If there was a button to troubleshoot her damn brain on demand, she would have pressed it in a flash.

There was so much happening all at once. The unbearable rollercoaster of feelings to Ellie had to endure in such a short amount of time made her want to pause time to be able to digest everything happening then.

Exactly how small was their world that the most notable parts of their lives seemed to be so intertwined? What other thing was Ellie going to find that she probably shared with Dina? This had to be the final surprise, right?

Ellie shouldn’t be shocked. They should be at the point when discovering more coincidences between them becomes something to laugh about. Her mind had begged her to find humour in the situation, but her body had other plans. Her limbs stiffened in response to the anxiety overtaking her body.

For some reason, Dina had chosen to stand right next to her after hugging Jesse in greeting. Ellie had to force her body to loosen up at their closeness, she hoped neither Dina nor Jesse noticed the shift in her demeanor.

She smiled through Jesse’s teasing. He called her by the wrong names like he usually did, and she played along with him just like when they were younger. This time around, their little game was controlled with as much feigned enthusiasm she could gather. Ellie hoped that her forced act was good enough to deter her friends from seeing anything other than the sheer distress that she felt inside.

Was the night she met Dina really the same night Jesse was stood up on his date?

The thought ran on a loop as she smiled through gritted teeth, her jaw straining in the process. She managed to keep the façade, and her brain had nearly shut down entirely when her body moved of its own accord. Before Ellie knew it, she had an arm slung over Dina’s shoulders. For a split-second Ellie wondered whether Dina could feel her body shake from the tension that she’d been fighting hard to contain.

It was a relief to find that no one seemed to notice anything. And Ellie was kind of proud that she hadn’t flat out fainted in front of everyone.

Even more so when Jesse had asked how they knew each other. Which caused another wave of panic so strong that Ellie felt the need to instantly detach herself from Dina. Ellie couldn’t have Jesse learn that she was the reason that Deen had never showed up on their date.

Fuck. Dina is Deen.

Ellie hated herself to have unknowingly caused her friend’s breakup—even if it was accidental.

Dina was quick to answer Jesse by mentioning how their story had funny start, and Ellie thinks so too. It was a great story, and everything that came after was funny, but she couldn’t have Jesse know these details yet. Or maybe never at all if that was possible.

“We’re just in the same English class. That’s all,” Ellie had blurted out faster than Usain Bolt’s reaction time to start a race.

Heating up from the panic of the situation, Ellie couldn’t bear to look Dina in the eyes. Ellie didn’t need to see to know that Dina had been startled by her quick dismissal of their story.

As usual, unaware of things that had nothing to do with him, a quality that usually annoyed Ellie but was grateful for at the time, Jesse started making a joke that Ellie has heard too often to take seriously.

Not aware of the old running joke, Dina had misinterpreted it a serious jab at Ellie and quickly shot down Jesse’s dumb joke.

Ellie had looked straight into Dina’s eyes then. Dina’s tone had made Jesse recoil, and Ellie’s admiration for Dina grew stronger despite the conflict in her mind.

No one had ever protested on her behalf whenever Jesse joked about her social life, not even Ellie, herself, had ever bothered to argue against him on the topic. Ellie had simply acknowledged that she and Jesse moved through people differently.

Jesse had always joked about being the only reason Ellie managed to have friends in high school. And though that may have be true at first, Ellie took pride in the fact that she had befriended Riley all on her own.

Ellie was confident enough with herself that she knew she could make friends without Jesse’s help. She was pretty sure Jesse knew it too, which is why she had always let his jokes slide. He’d done this too many times for it to have any lasting effects, but Dina obviously wasn’t as used to Jesse’s idiotic jokes as Ellie was.

Ellie could tell that Dina’s reaction had not only stunned Jesse, but also herself. Dina squared her shoulders as Jesse shrank, while Ellie was far too surprised by Dina’s words to say anything.

The following silence was all a blur for Ellie. Her mind was too busy repeating words in Dina’s voice: “Ellie’s kind of great actually.”

“Ellie’s great.”

Hearing it said out loud should have felt exciting, but the thought only confused Ellie more.

Did Dina like her like Ellie liked her?

Whatever was happening, whatever feelings she felt, and whatever she thought Dina felt for her didn’t matter.

Because Deen is Dina.

Dina is Deen.

Ellie must stamp away the stupid crush she had on Jesse’s ex. She couldn’t be having feelings for Jesse’s ex. Wasn’t there some universally known and unspoken rule about not falling for a friend’s ex?

Ellie didn’t want to end up on Reddit’s Am I the Asshole page.

Now that she knew who Dina was to Jesse, she couldn’t ever let her feelings be known.

The awkward silence was broken by Jesse’s softened tone. He had voiced his own version of praise for Ellie, and the whole thing was so sentimental that she had to immediately stop it before things got more embarrassing for her.

They were quickly back to joking around again and Ellie was glad that they were able to sweep through the uncomfortable moment like it never happened.

It was only when Jesse left when the stifled air between Ellie and Dina became easier to breathe.

Dina looked more comfortable, and that alone was enough to calm the tension in Ellie’s body.

Dina had repeated her comment about Ellie being great in a voice so tender that Ellie can’t help but believe her. The shock of the truth still brings a tingle to Ellie’s nerves, but after already having heard and panicked about it earlier, she was able to respond in jest.

It pleased Ellie to find Dina easily inclined to play along with her antics as much as Jesse was. But the interaction with Dina was a wholly different experience.

She was aware that her friendly teasing with Dina sometimes felt borderline flirtatious. Like every word shared between them was laden with hidden messages, like an understanding that whatever it was going on with them was more than just a friendly interaction.

Riding the high of joking around with Dina, Ellie’s mouth embarrassed her by blurting out something silly like calling Dina “my queen”.

Dina’s silence was difficult to read, and if it wasn’t for the sly grin growing on her lips, Ellie would have immediately apologized for making Dina uncomfortable in any way.

And when Dina mentioned Savage Starlight and going to Ellie’s house to borrow a copy, Ellie hadn’t bothered to hide the upward curve of her lips. This girl always managed to leave Ellie dumbfounded.

Dina seemed to have a genuine interest in the topic, or maybe she had an interested in the things Ellie liked. No matter the intent, the outcome was the same.

Ellie would always end up smiling was so big it would hurt her cheeks.

 

-----

 

Like the sun shining bright on a newly tornado ravaged town, the energy of the night flips from chaotic to peaceful.

By the time they make it to Ellie’s house, the start of the night feels like an eternity ago.

The emotional barrage that Ellie felt at the café is replaced by an airy calmness when she’s left alone with Dina in her room. Ellie can’t speak for Dina, but she is certainly more relaxed now in comparison to the events that unfolded at Clickers.

They settle in her room with ease. Ellie going straight to her desk, while Dina made herself comfortable on Ellie’s bed.

She carefully skims through the pile of Savage Starlight books on her desk wondering which one would pique Dina’s interest. She need one that wasn’t heavy with the learned lingo, that would surely confused a new reader. Ellie had to choose a volume that was easy to follow. It doesn’t take her long to figure out which ones Dina could start with. She picks out three for Dina to choose from, carefully sliding them out from under the tower of books.

Once ready to present them, Ellie realizes how quiet Dina had been the whole time. Was she so focused on choosing the perfect book that she hadn’t noticed Dina falling sleep?

Ellie turns around and finds Dina fully awake, watching her with a soft smile and a glint in her eyes.

Dina seems much more relaxed too, and Ellie bites her lip when she realizes how cute Dina looks lazing on her bed.

Open Mic Night may have ended a while ago, but Ellie had a feeling that her night with Dina was far from over.

Notes:

THANK YOU GUYS FOR READING
let me know if you liked it!

next chapter: more ellie.

Chapter 21: Sleep on the bed

Summary:

Dina and Ellie and Daniela Star

Notes:

Edits maybe later maybe not

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Do I have something on my face?”

The question is so random that it makes Ellie cock her head to the side.

“Huh?”

“You’re kind of staring…”

“Oh!” Ellie chokes out a laugh, “No, you… Um… I thought you fell asleep.”

The smile on Dina’s face grows playful.

“Is that an invitation for a sleepover?” The teasing tone of Dina’s voice is so obvious, but Ellie feels her cheeks heat up anyway.

Dina, seemingly amused by Ellie, softly laughs and pats the space next to her on the bed. “Come on, show me the books you chose.”

Ellie eyes Dina on her bed noting how comfortable she looks. Dina is the first girl to share this bed with Ellie ever since she moved into this house for the semester. In fact, it’s the first time she’s had a girl on her bed since Riley because Ellie’s been actively avoiding dating. She couldn’t bear the idea of putting someone else through the same kind of shit that Riley had to deal with for being with her. For that reason, Ellie has put all of her attention in her studies to have the best chance of being recruited by either NASA, SpaceX, or JPL after graduation. The further she is from the people she cares about, the safer they can be—at least that’s what Riley’s mom had told her.

Suffice it to say that having a girl on her bed was the opposite of that—even more so when the girl in question is in the ranks of someone like Dina.

Dina is on a whole other level of attractive that Ellie has ever imagined, having Dina on her bed is something Ellie would have never believed ever happening to her.

Ellie fiddles with the books as she wonders the logistics of sitting on her bed, because, exactly how close is she meant to sit next to Dina? In her haste to figure out how much space she should leave between them, Ellie almost fumbles the books right onto Dina’s lap instead of the space in front of them. She ends up awkwardly dropping them in the most ungraceful way possible, and it’s only when Ellie has finally made herself comfortable cross-legged next to Dina that she notices the playful smirk that hasn’t left Dina’s face.

She doesn’t even have to wonder whether Dina is amused by how nervous she is.

“Right, I got three,” Ellie says.

“You have three favourites?” Dina asks as she lifts one to examine.

“Kind of… It’s my favourite Savage series,” Ellie explains.

The scrunch of Dina’s brows show obvious confusion and Ellie realizes that she has to clarify what she means.

“So, the thing with Savage Starlight is that it doesn’t follow one on-going storyline. It’s more like a series of adventures.”

“Like Doctor Who?”

“You know Doctor Who?” Ellie doesn’t even try to mask her surprise; her jaw hangs open as she waits for Dina’s response.

Dina gives a dramatic gasp as she feigns offense, nudging her right shoulder with Ellie’s. “Excuse me! I’m no stranger to science fiction.”

“I guess you just didn’t look the type,” Ellie shrugs.

“And what type am I supposed to look like?” Dina’s brows shoot up in a way that looks like she’s challenging Ellie.

With her jaw still hung, Ellie stutters out, “y-you’re pre—” Ellie clears her throat. “You’re a nice type of person, like totally… I didn’t mean—like… science fiction is for everyone! Science is fun! I just didn’t-”

Dina’s growing laughter breaks Ellie’s rambling.

“Oh my god, you’re so easy to tease,” Dina smiles.

Ellie can feel her cheeks heat up again. This seems to be a regular occurrence whenever she’s with Dina.

“I’m gonna shut up now,” Ellie says.

When Dina’s laughter dies down, she angles herself so she’s facing Ellie. She’s giving Ellie the softest look that Ellie’s ever seen, and says, “my dad watched the series as a kid. He introduced it to me when BBC released the new season in 2011. My sister didn’t get into it as much as she like Star Trek. That one was our mom’s favourite. I think my whole family is a bunch of nerds, actually.”

“That’s so cool,” Ellie beams, genuinely impressed. “My dad’s more of a Curtis and Viper kind of guy. He falls asleep when a movie or a show doesn’t have explosions and car chases.”

Ellie remembers the first time Joel had shown her Curtis and Viper for their movie nights. She had never seen him be so excited about a movie before, and she later learned that Tommy got just as passionate about it when she mentioned not understanding what the big deal was. In the end, Ellie accepted her defeat when the Miller brothers teamed up to make Ellie watch the entirety of the Curtis and Viper movie franchise. As much as Ellie didn’t like the movies, she loved seeing the rare moments when Joel let loose and got excited about something.

“Your dad not into sci-fi?” Dina asks.

Ellie chuckles and shakes her head, “nah. He says all the wishy-washy jargon flies over his head. And I’m willing to bet that the moon crashing into earth has a higher chance of happening than Joel staying awake through the first ten minutes of a Doctor Who episode.”

“Joel?”

“Oh, yeah. Joel’s my dad.” Ellie says it so matter of fact in a way that makes Dina’s confusion intensify.

“You call your dad by his first name?” Dina talks slowly as if carefully choosing her words.

“Right… So, I’m adopted,” Ellie admits sheepishly. She still gets awkward whenever she has to explain this to new people. “I call him Joel, but I normally just refer to him as my dad, so it doesn’t get confusing.”

Dina nods but gets quiet. The last time Ellie has gotten a negative reaction from people finding out about her adoption was way back in middle school when some kid said she didn’t have a real family. She had retaliated by punching him, and Jesse tackled the kid’s friend who was about to jump Ellie. That was also the first school suspension that she and Jesse had shared together.

Ellie bites her lip in anticipation for Dina’s response. She has a feeling that Dina won’t react negatively about it, but people generally begin acting weird around her whenever she reveals being adopted.

“That explains a lot then,” Dina says.

“Explains what?” Ellie questions.

“It explains why you’re a huge nerd and your dad is an explosion afficionado. It takes something special to unite different people to others.”

Dina’s kindness doesn’t surprise Ellie, but she’s taken aback by how her response sounds so sincerely nonchalant that makes her take a pause. She’s always thought that she and Joel were the same person with wholly different interests, but Dina makes it sound like her adoption was the special conduit that brought them together.  

 “That’s kinda nice. I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Ellie grins, lost in thought.

Dina smiles back at her, and they stay that way for a while, comfortably eying each other for longer than either of them intended.

“So,” Dina starts, “tell me about those Savage Starlight adventures.”

Ellie picks up the first volume of the series. “This story basically follows Dr. Daniela Star while she tries to finish mankind’s first fast-than-light vessel. That’s the series before this one, right after she escapes Titan and gets recruited by—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Dina interrupts her. “Are you spoiling the whole thing for me right now?”

“Not really?” Ellie stops and wonders if she’s said anything remotely related to the series she’s holding in her hands. “I’m just giving you the low-down on what happened before the Peril on Golom series.”

“Which is that one,” Dina points to the books laid out between them.

“Yup! These are the first three parts of the Peril on Golom series.”

“Okay. Give me those before you tell me the whole story,” Dina takes the books away from Ellie’s grasp and stacks them on the corner of the bed.

“I was just telling you the background story for context!”

“Is it relevant to the ones you gave me?”

“Well… I guess… Am I allowed to at least tell you the basics so that you’re not too confused when you start reading?”

Dina peers at Ellie with mock suspicion and asks, “how will I know you won’t be ruining the magic of Savage Starlight?”

Ellie understands Dina’s request, but she knows that the Golom series don’t start with any sort of prologue. It’s not something that can be read as a standalone story without having read what happened before.

“I have an idea,” Ellie says, moving off the bed to grab her laptop from the desk. “Scoot up by the pillows with me. I’ll show you one of the best of the best introductory videos on YouTube about the world of Dr. Daniela Star.”

“Promise it’s spoiler-free?”

“I promise!” Ellie holds up her right hand to prove her seriousness.

Dina nods and begins shimmying her way up toward her. Ellie watches as Dina fluffs up one of the pillows before resting her head on it—the action is so casual; it almost feels like this is something she and Dina do frequently instead of it being the first time.

“Okay, Baby Miller. Show me this video.”

Ellie groans as she registers what Dina’s called her. “Ugh, there won’t be a video if you call me that again.”

The smug glint on Dina’s eyes somehow incites a flutter in Ellie’s abdomen. The smirk that hasn’t left Dina’s face all night is still there, and Ellie can’t help but to feel enamored by this woman.

Ellie doesn’t understand why a woman as beautiful and confident as Dina is in her bed, and—she thinks—is openly flirting with her.

“Fine. Do you prefer I call you Baby then?” Dina asks coyly.

Ellie splutters out a strangled cough, or maybe she was clearing her throat, she’s not sure what’s happening anymore. The video on her computer starts playing, and Ellie thinks she must have accidentally pressed it while she was composing herself.

Ellie glues her eyes to the screen and hopes that Dina doesn’t notice that her cheeks have gone bright red (Ellie can feel the heat radiating from her face, there’s no way she isn’t blushing right now).

Thankfully, Dina has gone quiet, and Elie assumes she has started watching along with her. When Ellie turns her head to make sure, she finds Dina staring back at her biting her lip in an attempt to hold in a laugh. Ellie feels a sudden urge for the need to kiss the smirk off of Dina’s face.

The thought startles her, so she decides to keep feigning innocence.

“Are you watching?” Ellie asks her.

Dina is still looking at her with a funny look but nods anyway.

The video continues playing on the screen, but all Ellie can feel is the warmth coming from Dina’s body. There’s no space left between them: their shoulders are pressed against one another, their feet are touching, and the hands between them are so close they might as well be holding hands.

But Ellie keeps her left palm tightly against the mattress. Despite Dina’s verbal advances, and no matter how much her hand itches to hold Dina’s hand, Ellie doesn’t want to do anything that might make Dina uncomfortable.

As a result, Ellie tries to keep her limbs to herself by not moving from her position. She lays as statue-like as possible without making it look like she’s trying to look like a statue. She uses her free-er right arm to keep the pretense by using it to hold the laptop steadily on her lap.

Dina, it seems, doesn’t have the same reservations. On Ellie’s left, Dina shifts her position so she’s laying on her side. Her head is closer to being perched on Ellie’s shoulder than it is on the borrowed pillow. Her head is so close Ellie can smell the fragrance of the shampoo used on Dina’s hair: lavender and something fruity—Ellie can’t tell.

Ellie tries to keep her focus back on the video. She tries to listen to the story about Daniela Star’s time on Ganymede, and the research facility she worked in. All things she Ellie can recite comfortably with a gun to her head. She tries to focus on the visuals in the video, how it shows the evolution of Daniela Star from scientist to superhero.

Until she notices, almost halfway through the twenty-something minute video, the deep even breaths coming from her left.

Dina has fallen asleep next to her.

Dina looks peaceful and cute, and the sight is so adorable that Ellie doesn’t have the heart to wake her.

Ellie lets the video finish while she decided what to do. Should she stay in bed with Dina?

The thought of sleeping on the couch in the common living room makes Ellie shudder. That thing has been the victim of too many spills from alcohol and other mysterious substances, it’s the last place Ellie would ever want to fall asleep on.

When the video ends, Ellie closes the laptop and puts it back on the desk.

Ellie carefully nudges Dina (who doesn’t show signs of waking) to make sure she’s under the covers. Without contemplating it any further Ellie decides to just sleep in her own bed.

It just so happens that there’s someone next to her.

Someone who happens to take residence in Ellie’s thoughts since the first day they met.

Someone that Ellie knows she’s growing a massive crush on.

Ellie lays on her side facing a serenely slumbering Dina. She swipes a fallen strand of hair from Dina’s face and feels her eyes droop before she can even second guess what she’s doing.

The last thing she remembers hearing before repose overtakes is her own voice saying, “goodnight Dina.”

Notes:

THANK YOU FOR READING!!
let me know if you liked it <3

next chapter: dina the next day