sparksqfly

[sparksqfly]

ummm... hi!

[sparksqfly]

⭒dancing with our hands tied ❆

"because i care about you, i cared about you for the past five years. i'll care about you every day of my life. i care about your well-being because i love you."

figure skating, enemies to lovers

synopsis: modern au , figure skating- after five years of hating ellie williams you are forced to get to know her better in a contest that is more important than how much you hate her or want to kiss her. but ellie always gets under your skin whether it's good or bad but now it's your turn to be professional.

auhor's note: originally this history was going to be published in the pride amount, but due to scheduling issues or priority to other stories i couldn't do it. you know how the deal is, there are several references to taylor swift and possibly mistakes in some parts since english is not my first language, thanks for reading <3

warnings!/about ths story: this is pure fluff, no angst or smut. just a cute story i came up with one day in class. there are mentions of reader wearing a dress and makeup but you can change it to your liking as there are all kinds of appearance options for ice skating competitions. speaking of which, this story is probably not the best representation of the sport but because i have never done it. sorry if any pros are reading this, i did my best. there is a scene of a man being a jerk and mentions of violence, caused by this man and the sport itself, joel is referred to as ellie's dad and ellie and reader are both 19.

wc: 7,8k (sorry)

you remembered when you hated ellie. it was that short and that clear. you were only 12 years old and had just started taking professional ice skating lessons. your mother was very strict and wanted you to excel at something, no matter what it was. so when you started watching ice skating competitions on television your mother didn't hesitate for a second to sign you up for professional lessons at the best ice skating center she could find.

"remember you always have to be the best, honey" said your mother giving you a kiss on the forehead the first day of your lessons. she left you in the hands of the coach, grabbed her bag and left. you wouldn't lie that was one of the first days you really felt anger towards her. she was the one who wanted you to do this stupid sport, because of her need for you to excel in something. "ok, y/n come with me to the track. let's get started straight up, we're here to help you." that was the first time you saw ellie, she was at the rink with another trainer. holding on but she looked ready to let go and start skating on her own. "that's it baby girl! very well done!" a gray-haired man with a grin from ear to ear admired her as he pointed to another "look how she does it!"

"she's ellie, it's only her third class and she looks like she's rocking it" you nodded. It was obvious that you, as a person who had been raised on the whole to excel at absolutely everything and be the best, didn't like that a little girl who had "three classes" seemed to excel at everything. especially since by the time your class time was over you had already fallen more than thirty times and, on the other side of the rink, ellie seemed happy and calm skating back and forth almost without falling.

over the next few years you continued to take lessons, and found that you were happy that your mother had been so insistent that you do it. you had developed a real passion for the sport and when you turned fifteen, you started to specialize in figure skating, you kept up all the things you had learned in your lessons over the last three years and you were lucky that everyone supported you and believed in you. another thing that had stayed with you was your rivalry with ellie, she had also specialized in figure skating and had obviously stayed in the same club as you, sometimes even having her training right after. "wassup muffin" ellie used to say to you whenever you left the rink to get her to come in, you hated her. that nickname had been born two years ago, from a day when trying to turn on the move with some new skates you had slipped, not seeing that ellie was right behind you and you had made her fall too. "testing if I was comfortable to land?" ellie teased you as you tried to get up recovering from the dizziness "fuck you elizabeth" you told her, trying to get her to understand that you weren't in the mood for that shit right now. ellie laughed even though she tried to hide it "what the fuck is your problem?" you turned around facing her, ellie was still lying on the floor, amused. "why elizabeth?" you rolled your eyes "it's your fucking name, isn't it?" "no, it's just ellie" you rolled your eyes again "whatever".

you went back to your trainer to continue your routine. "everything okay over there?" asked frank, looking over your shoulder at ellie "she's a fucking idiot, you know that" you said trying to completely remove the ice splattered in your hair. "she's a nice girl, she likes you" tried to convince you frank "i don't like her then, i can't stand her" you rolled your eyes. "ok, let's get back to what we were doing. ellie... can you not" sighed frank, when you wanted to turn around you felt ellie's hand around your shoulders playfully and she put her mouth close to one of your ears "since you were kind enough to give me a nickname, now i'll call you muffin, what do you think?" laughed ellie and smiled at you with all her teeth. "motherfucker..." you were really about to attack her when frank and ellie's trainer stood between the two of you, preventing any idiocy you could do. "you two have had enough, haven't you?" bill tried to tell ellie "don't worry, we're fine." ellie smiled and disappeared, propelling herself backwards on her skates.

it was weird to say, especially if you took into account the way that every time more than three minutes passed you ended up yelling at her, but you had fallen in love with her. it took you a long time to realize that this was what was happening with you. yes, you were jealous of her and she annoyed you. too much, but you wanted to kiss her and punch her face at the same time. maybe you wanted to kiss her more.

it was a secret you would take to your grave anyway. by the time you realized how much you were in love with her you hated each other and she was getting on your nerves. what were you going to do? tell her out of the blue "oh ellie, i know i yelled at you for two hours but i've liked you for years and iI’m madly in love with you. no." no.

besides that you knew you could never be together. it would be impossible for her to reciprocate and if you did, you were both partners. you were rivals, you had to be professional. she wasn't your friend, she was your competition and you had to be better than her.

now the 2022-2023 season was starting, you knew that your club was aspiring to be able to compete in a national olympics with its best skaters and you were happy about it. you headed to the gym, you knew you had to start training for the choreographies and that bill and frank who had been having fun last summer since they had gotten married and bought the center had a proposal to make to you. when you walked through the door you found several people, all acquaintances scattered around the gym and ellie in the background running on a treadmill with bill timing her. "hey princess" frank greeted you and you went to hug him. you hadn't seen him in almost a month since you couldn't complete the summer season due to an ankle injury that had really screwed you up. "frankie, it looks like you have some great news for today" he touched your shoulder affectionately. "god willing," he kissed your forehead and called everyone to gather around.

after a while everyone finally sat on the floor waiting for the news, ellie leaned against one of the walls with a bottle of water, she also had not been able to continue with the summer season because in a figure skating session with her partner she had hurt her eyebrow with the blade of her skate, it had left a noticeable scar on her left eyebrow. "ok, now that we are all together we have some good news to tell you" said frank "some of you know that our institution has had some problems with the people who moderate the competitions, but finally we have been able to recompose the negotiations and last year and we were able to send margarita to compete in the under fifteen years old competitions" frank pointed to the girl who looked at the others with a smile on her face. "this year we have a chance to compete in the major leagues!" he said with a big smile, everyone smiled and looked at him impressed, you knew that many years ago your ski center had stopped participating in competitions to focus on being a more local and community sport club, but it seems that now they wanted to do it again. "and who's going to do it?" asked one of the girls raising her hand.

bill stepped in front of the group, freeing frank from having to communicate the choices. "well, clearly we have an amazing and talented group but we think those who best represent our values are ellie and y/n" everyone seemed surprised but pleased with the choice. some even applauded. "congratulations girls, you will start your training tomorrow" said frank and you smiled at him. it looks like it's going to be a long season.

"yes i'm asking you in a good way to hold that fucking rope so i can finish this fucking exercise it's the only job you have williams" you yelled at ellie "i didn't fucking do it on purpose! you're taking this too personal" "how the fuck do you want me to take it, you fucking idiot? you almost made me fall, are you so scared of me that you want to knock me out of the competition with your bare hands?" "what the fuck are you insinuating y/n" shouted ellie, throwing the rope you were using to stretch your muscles to the floor "enough, both of you!" frank stepped between the two of you, it was already the fourth time this week. "did you hear what she just said? she's accusing me!" ellie said to him, looking at bill for support. "if the shoe fits..." you provoked her "y/n, please." you rolled your eyes and grabbed your bag "training's over, right?" frank sighed and nodded. without another word you left the gym and headed for the locker room.

you locked yourself in a bathroom cubicle for a while, trying to calm your thoughts. maybe you were going too far with all the rivalry you had with each other, besides now ellie wasn't even your rival, you were competing for the same thing. because you had insinuated that she wanted to hurt you on purpose, anyway, it didn't matter. it was better if you hurt her, that's what you wanted. you sighed, walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror to wash your face.

as you were drying your face you saw ellie walk into the bathroom. she had her training bag slung over her shoulder, she quickly set it on the floor and pulled out a box of cigarettes, lighting one and setting the box down roughly on the marble of the sink, it was her curt way of offering you in case you wanted one. you rolled your eyes and dipped your hands a little more to smooth your hair. "you're an idiot, you know that right?" ellie broke the silence "more than you i don't think so" you countered her. "see? you always react like that. i can't say a fucking word without you snapping back at me" really? she really going to say that like she didn't know how much it bothered you that since she came into your life there wasn't a single day that she didn't bother you? "don't play dumb, williams. it doesn’t look cute on you" "don't call me that" oh my god, she was insufferable "isn't that your fucking last name?" "call me ellie, we've known each other for more than five years" insisted ellie "oh yes, i’m going to call you ellie because clearly we are both best friends and i have incredible memories with you, right els?" you ironized looking at her "we could have been friends" sighed ellie. you grabbed your bag and headed for the exit, but not before nudging ellie with your shoulder. friends?! oh god, you really wanted to fucking kill her.

it was the opening day of the contest. the atmosphere was too tense but at the same time you were having fun. these things don't happen all the time so you wanted to enjoy it, you had gathered with some of your friends to drink beer and watch the pre-opening and the opening itself with the ceremony, the choreography and the announcement of all the participants and institutions. you didn't want to admit it to yourself but you were also looking forward to seeing ellie's participation in the opening choreography. you knew that she had given her blood sweat and tears to get it right, in the last weeks you had seen her several times sleeping in the corridors of the gym and in the corridors leading to the ice rink. yesterday had been one of those days, she was lying on a bench in the locker room with her skates on and leaning uncomfortably on the bench, you had found out that she had been proposed to participate in the opening with too little anticipation and that was why she had to stay extra hours. when you saw her sleeping on the bench a force greater than you insisted that you had to take care of her, so without making noise you went to a closet and grabbed a blanket with which you carefully covered her and then grabbed her skates and put them next to her but not before removing the remaining ice. another thing you would never admit to yourself was the time you spent admiring her face, looking at her eyebrows with her new scar, the beautiful freckles that decorated her cheeks, her perfect nose and how her hair perfectly framed her face.

"y/n look!" jesse's voice snapped you out of your reverie. you watched the television with a local news channel on. on it appeared ellie, positioning herself with a wall papered with brand logos and the contest logo behind her, she looked gorgeous. several microphones approached her, were they doing interviews?

"miss williams! how do you see yourself for the opening today?" asked a reporter "it's your first national competition, are you nervous?" asked another black haired guy "could you give us more details about your life as a skater" "how does it feel to be the first skater to appear in the contest after so many conflicts" ellie looked at bill and frank unfocused by the amount of questions and by the flashlights that were starting to shoot in her face. after a nod from her coaches she looked at the reporter who had asked the last question "it's an honor, we've all been dreaming about this for years and I love representing my club at the opening" ellie responded with a smile "do you see you and your partner as contenders for the big medal?" asked a reporter "i definitely trust us but i don't want to detract from the other amazing contenders that are here, we all did a great job" "and speaking of your partner, y/n, she's been at this for several years too. you think you're going to do better than her? do you consider it a victory to be you opening the ceremony and not her?" ellie felt anger coursing through her body, she frowned but forced herself to calm down before responding. "not at all. y/n is focused on her choreography full time and due to scheduling issues, it was more convenient for me to do it, but if she had done it she would absolutely have killed it too. y/n is an incredibly talented girl, we have known each other since we both started in this and this is absolutely not a competition for either of us, i admire her a lot as a professional and i am sure this is her first step to show the world her talent and life will give her many, many opportunities bigger than this one. besides, there is no need to create rivalries between women, we both support each other, and we are partners".

"now, that is a big dick energy" said jesse turning to look at you. ellie's answer also surprised you "she has a crush on you" dina said settling down on the couch and leaving a cut pizza on the table "dee- what the fuck" you asked quizzically "i've always told you, the way that girl talks about you and how she reacts to you, gives me no choice but to think she is in love with you" you rolled your eyes and cracked open a beer. "that was ellie williams, first female skater representative from jackson, wyoming. born in california, she moved to wyoming to pursue her dreams and today she will make her national competition debut at the opening act in just a few hours." said the reporter talking about ellie to make time before the commercials. "she was born in boston, you asshole." dina and jesse burst out laughing “you two are going to be the cutest couple when you stop being so scary.

you were already on your third beer when they finished interviewing all the fucking contestants and announced that the opening performance was about to start. "finally, my god" you said and settled back on the couch "this is what we're going to have to go through when you perform, honey" dina said mockingly.

the presentation began. various fireworks, smoke flares and fabric shows appeared on the screen, giving it an important artistic detail. some ice skaters came out to move around the rink, one of the girls came out in a costume with two long pieces of fabric, she was dressed as a swan. after several ice skaters performances, two boys came out doing a choreography with classical music, it looked like a tribute to romeo and juliet. like the audience, you were surprised that they were two men, it was not common in skating. "look who's back there" whispered Jesse in your ear. right in the shot where they were taking the choreography, ellie could be seen in the background. she was at the low door of the rink holding herself and watching for the other guys to finish.

"that was beautiful" said dina wiping away a tear. the choreography had really was beautiful. two other older skaters, winners of previous editions, had appeared near the end. pretending to be the parents of romeo and juliet they ended up separating them and both boys acted out the tragic death of the two. "shhh, y/n's girlfriend is about to come out" said Jesse and you laughed ironically, a little blushed.

they finally showed a close-up of ellie's face entering the rink. she looked intimidated but happy. she never wore makeup but at that moment she was wearing some blush, and some little glitter pebbles spaced across her eyes, highlighting her emerald, green eyes. "she's beautiful" said dina "she really is" you said, mesmerized by her eyes. you heard some giggles coming from behind you but you were concentrating on ellie's every move. they focused for a few seconds on the audience who were showing confused faces. finally, when they focused on the rink, you saw how they had divided it in two with a black tape. you found it strange since they almost always recommended not to alter the track in any way as a precaution but something told you that ellie's presentation was the last one.

you saw her, she had a full black suit, some very thin feathers and more shiny stones decorated her outfit. her partner, on the other hand, was wearing an outfit that simulated a dress, completely white and full of feathers. taylor swift's "don't blame me" started to play in the venue. ellie began to move gracefully. picking up boost and doing little jumps that her partner imitated to perfection. it was a sort of "mirror performance". when the chorus of the song broke. ellie performed a triple axel. that trick consisted of jumping and doing three spins in the air on your own axis. the challenge was to land well, given the amount of weight put on the skate blade, and ellie performed it to perfection. however, her partner did not, she fell on her hands when she lost her balance.

from that moment on, she could not keep track of ellie, who moved ethereally around the ice rink looking unreal. a few seconds before the song ended, both changed places on the rink. ellie stayed on the light side and finished her performance with a two-foot spin. both spun for the last seconds of the song but you couldn't take your eyes off of ellie. who was doing it faster and with more grace.

finally, when the song ended, they focused on ellie. who smiled incredibly happy. she looked beautiful with her hair disheveled by the movement and blushing from all the physical effort she had made, she bowed to the audience and applause broke out. a black rose fell at her feet and she picked it up, brought it to her face to smell it and then stared at the camera with the rose in her hands. so beautiful, how could she be real?

the next day, when you arrived at the venue where you were going to compete, everyone was talking about the girl from the last choreography. how it was the first time they had seen her and they were amazed. you, for your part, couldn't believe how many times you had re-watched her performance on youtube, you didn't exaggerate that it was the best you had seen in a long time and it seemed you were not the only one who thought so.

you knew that ellie skated very well but you had never been interested in seeing her on ice, you only saw her rehearsing on the floor at the gym but she had definitely exceeded your expectations. you were a professional and knew when it was time to put differences aside and congratulate your "competition" so on the way you had bought a small bouquet of roses, to congratulate her. maybe it was too impersonal, but you didn't know what she might like.

you looked for her for a while until you found her with her back turned, wearing a jacket and a light blue flannel underneath. she was talking to one of the contest judges, the judge was congratulating her. she was saying that her choreography had made her hair stand on end and that ellie was going to go far. you waited for them to finish talking and made time leaving your bag in the corner. you pulled out your skates and set them aside. "ok little one, you have been brilliant and it was a pleasure to see you. i'll leave you with your friend, she looks like she wants to talk to you" ellie turned around, disoriented and when she saw you she turned back to the woman "thank you ma'am, i really appreciate it. wait till you see her, i'm sure you'll be even more surprised" ellie smiled at her and the juror left the room. smiling at you.

"i know you probably didn't expect this from me but, i really loved your performance yesterday. you were stunning" you told her, you could feel yourself blushing and she smiled even more "you are right, i didn't expect this" ellie told you and you took out the roses you kept hidden behind your back "i brought you roses, if i would have been in the audience i would have totally thrown them to you because you were amazing" ellie looked incredulous but happy. she took the roses from your hands smiling at you, your hands touched hers for a brief moment. she was warm "thank you y/n, i'm sure i'll be the one throwing roses at you today, you're going to be amazing" she had always been so nice? maybe if you two could become friends.

"are you going to make me wait any longer?" a voice interrupted you and ellie. you quickly broke away from her and saw aaron, your partner for today's choreography. ellie turned around quizzically. "jesus, calm down i’m almost done" you said rolling your eyes and taking off your shoes to put on your skates. "hurry up, they're going to take away our rink," he snapped her fingers at you and before you could answer she disappeared out the door. ellie watched you as you laced up your skates and put the blade guard on it. "are you... are you okay?" ellie asked you, doubtful. you knew exactly what she meant. "i'm fine ellie, don't worry, he's just a little strict."

you two practiced the choreography several times, they didn't get to complete it because every time something went wrong you practiced it until it was right. just when you were about to start the choreography to make it complete, a girl from the staff came to tell them that the next couple was going to enter to practice "we just want to practice the last part of the choreography, could you leave the music for us? they can stretch for two minutes" the girl nodded and went to talk to the people who were coming in, who conveniently were Ellie and another guy. "all right, do your thing," the girl him them and left. you grabbed aaron by the forearm. "i think we'd better go with the second version of the choreography; i don't know if we're ready to do it" "if you don't try you'll never know" insisted aaron.

they played the song for the last time, you were a little intimidated by ellie's presence on the rink. you were worried about invading her personal space and not allowing time for her to get her choreography right. rihanna's "diamonds" playing on the speakers as the song of choice for your choreography. the first part of the choreography didn't involve many tricks, it was just synchronicity between the two of you and some flips where you had to hold on to aaron. it got more complicated when the song drop, it was slow but sure. aaron's task was to pick you up in his arms and turn with you and then launch you to the other side of the rink, you had to turn in the air and land correctly. the trick was that he would throw you close to one of the rink edges, making it easier for you to get up once you landed.

this time it was obvious that it was going to go wrong. you had been too disoriented from having to start the choreography in the middle, and in the spin with aaron you had been too dizzy. so much so that you couldn't make the turn properly, that said and done when your partner launched you couldn't make the spin, you managed to land well but not to slow down as you slammed into the low wall of the rink. you didn't hit hard, but it looked more violent than it was, and you did hit your head. before you knew it someone had come running to your aid. "hey, stay with me, hey focus on me" after your sight came back into focus you saw ellie helping you. she was holding a hand in yours and stroking your back slowly. "it's ok baby, i'm here, you're ok" you saw several people surrounding aaron, even ellie's partner. they all seemed to be scolding him. "fuck, my shoulder" ellie turned her attention to where you brought your hand. "let's get you some medical attention, ok? i'm going to get you up" you nodded and ellie ran your hand over his shoulder. you grabbed hold of her and tried to stand up but she wasted no time in grabbing you and pulling you up. With a little giddiness you hugged her. "joel! come help me" ellie called her father who was quickly with you. he helped you out of ellie's arms and with frank's help they pulled you off the runway. taking you to the infirmary. ellie was about to go until she remembered the reason you had to go to the infirmary.

without thinking for more than a second she went out to look for your partner, who was looking at all the people who were talking to him with some disbelief. "what the fuck is your problem? how could you neglect her like that?!" shouted ellie, pushing him against a wall. "it's her job to be prepared to do-" "it's your job to take care of her! you're nobody, understand?! you're just a complement to her, she's the real star here." aaron rolled his eyes "it was nothing, she was fine when they took her out" he tried to defend himself. ellie, wasting no time grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him against the wall again, making sure he hit his head. "you fucking asshole, i should slam your head right here so you can tell me if it hurts or not" "ellie!" bill's voice made her stop concentrating on your partner "that's enough, come here. let's discuss changes." ellie left the rink, but not before throwing aaron to the ground and with the blade of her skate, throwing all the ice that had come off the rink in his face. "if i see you near her again, and I swear to god i'll rip your fucking head off," ellie said with contempt and walked out of the rink.

"you have to be more careful," said bill as he walked with ellie off the rink. "you saw how he threw her too, he wasn't careful at all. he could have knocked her out, he could have broken her arm," ellie defended herself. the image of you slamming into the wall replayed in his head. how could he hold you so close and treat you with such carelessness? "i know, it bothers me too, but the day a camera catches you being like that, your career is over," bill tried to reason, but she quickly pushed that line of thought away as they reached the infirmary.

ellie saw you, sitting on one of the gurneys with an ice pack and couldn't help but be distressed, you looked so distressed. "let's give the girls a moment" said bill motioning for joel and frank to come out. when you two were alone, ellie looked back at you "how are you feeling?" "fine" you replied curtly, you hated looking vulnerable in front of ellie "i'm sorry about what happened, i know you might have wanted to talk to him but i couldn't stand still while-" "it's ok" you interrupted her. ellie frowned and looked at you. "what's wrong with you?" "nothing, williams leave me alone". ellie sighed heavily. "and we're back to square one" "leave me alone" you said and ellie looked at you again. "you didn't expect me to stand idly by while that idiot hurt you" "why do you care?!" you yelled at her. ellie's eyes widened in surprise, you hated what she did. that she treats you like a friend, like she trusts you, only to pretend after two days that nothing happened and make fun of you again. "what are you talking about?" ellie said and you got up from the gurney, leaving your ice pack there "why are you doing this?! why are you pretending to care about me?!" ellie grabbed your hands, holding your body to hers. "because i care about you, y/n i cared about you for the past five years. i'll care about you every day of my life. i care about your well-being because i love you."

you looked at her. what? "what did you just say?" it couldn't be, she was playing a joke on you? someone had gone to tell her that you liked her? it couldn't be, the only people who knew were dina and jesse and they didn't even have a way of contacting her "i love you, i fucking love you. i've been in love with you for five years. are you happy?" "don't play games with me williams, not with these things. please" you tried to pull away from her, but without wasting time, ellie grabbed you by the waist. "i'm not playing but i really don't know how to tell you anymore. since the first time i saw you enter the rink, five years ago, i fell in love with you" "you're kidding me, you're playing with me, you think i don't know you, ellie".

you tried to break free from his grip, urgently wanting to run out the door and run but ellie, without wasting a single second, pulled you closer to her and pressed his lips against yours. you immediately calmed down, trying to process everything that was happening. ellie slowly pulled away from you, paying attention to your every move. "i'm sorry... i" but before she could apologize any further it was your turn to pull her by the neck to kiss her deeper. getting drunk of her and feeling her perfume close to you, finally letting your hands caress her hair and stir it to your liking. when you broke away from the kiss you cradled her face in your hands pulling her close to you, admiring her perfect features, all her freckles and those beautiful green eyes "you... you do it too...?" ellie broke the silence pulling her face away a little to get a good look at you. "what?" you asked quizzically. what did he mean? "you love me too?" you laughed, so adorable. you grabbed her face again and leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead. you had wanted to do that for years. "yes I love you ellie, i don't know when the hate turned but it did, i'm so sorry for the times i was mean to you. i didn't know how to deal with everything that was happening to me" ellie shook her head and pulled you to her chest, hugging you.

the following days were frenetic. too frenetic. you had to adjust as a partner and as a couple. it turns out that earon, your partner had been expelled from the competition, the judge who had gone to congratulate ellie found the video where he threw you and together with other judges and members of the committee had decided that for the next four years he would not participate in the competition. on the other hand, ellie's partner had dropped out of the competition just because. you didn't know if someone had had a hand in it but according to ellie, he wasn't even that good. so Bill and Frank had juggled to create a new performance in such a short time.

and speaking of ellie, she really was a gentleman. She let you choose whatever song you wanted for the performance and when it came to choosing costumes she simply wanted to go toe to toe with you. "you pick whatever color and style you want baby, I'll manage to find a matching outfit." after that, she had even insisted on wearing all black and that you wear a bright yellow suit full of glitter. in the end it ruled out since they didn't get around to altering your outfit in time. and speaking of ellie as a skater, you couldn't believe what an amazing partner you had. the first time you saw her skate was at the opening. but she was so talented, you even dared to say that she was wasted in the opening performance because she had so much more to show. several times you were stunned before entering the rink watching her skate, do tricks, jumps and spins incredibly fast. the choreography that bill and frank had created for you was a mix of the individual choreographies you both had with your partners because you really didn't have much time. doing tricks with ellie was a breeze, much easier than with any male partner you had ever had. she always held on to you without letting go at any time, so the choreography was looking very impressive. you saw the whole thing filmed with professional cameras the night before you had to performed it. it was amazing how well you moved with ellie, how you both complemented each other perfectly, how neither of you looked wary of the other's movements and how your hands matched perfectly when you had to build momentum together. "ready for tomorrow?" asked frank as the five of you walked out of the enclosure together. you and ellie already changed into normal clothes. "don't make them nervous," bill scolded. "they're not allowed to be nervous," agreed joel. "but i am a little," you said and felt ellie's hand grab yours and caress it. joel looked back and smiled to himself, ellie had told you something about what he already knew but you weren't sure. "it is an honor for you, you are going to be the second same sex couple to perform. and the first both female couple to do so" right, the romeo and juliet boys had been the first. "we're going to live up to it," said ellie and squeezed your hand.

……………………………………………………………………..

"perfect" said one of the makeup artists who was doing your makeup for the competition. you got up from your chair and thanked them. when they finally left, you walked out of your hotel room and headed to ellie's room. you felt a little funny walking down the hallway in a bright red dress-suit, but you had to wear it to get used to it in a few hours. when you got to ellie's room her door was open and there were bill and frank helping her into the suit. she looked beautiful, she had a full body suit, black and red which matched her hair which by the way was slicked back with gel. again, she had no makeup on, just a few sparkly stones decorating her face. bill and frank went out, taking advantage of the fact that they had seen a contest coordinator. it turned out that in addition to being the first female couple in the competition, you and her were the last couple of all contest. "you look beautiful" you said to her, you had been admiring her for quite a while. "hey, that's my line" said ellie, a little blushing. "you look beautiful too, you look like a princess." you smiled goofily and moved even closer to her to kiss her. "i love you" you said in the middle of the kiss. it had become a habit for the two of you to say it to each other every five minutes. you two had spent so much time holding it in that now it was a necessity. "i love you too, you're going to be amazing."

on the way to the place, you were too nervous. you kept fiddling with your costume and needed to keep your hands busy with something. ellie seemed calmer since she had done it at the opening but you just couldn't take it anymore. "hey" said ellie softly taking your hands in hers. "you have nothing to be scared of, you're going to look amazing." you smiled at her, she was so sweet. "your line now shouldn't be "you look like you're pooped muffin?" williams?" even though you were already on good terms, you loved teasing her. "maybe so, but sometimes i like to vary the script" said ellie, teasing a little but at the same time leaning over to kiss you on the cheek. "girls..." called bill from the driver's seat. frank rolled his eyes but smiled at them "we're here anyway." some reporters were even waiting for you to come out, the worst of all is that your trainers had given you and ellie the order not to accept interviews before the presentation, to avoid forming controversy about the suspicious retirement of your two companions.

when you parked the car, ellie got out first, you found it strange until you saw how quickly she came to your door and opened it. you smiled at her but grabbed her hand anyway so you could get out. "let's go inside quickly, don't look back" she said in your ear and you listened. you got inside the place and ellie was still holding your hand. you saw that they had gone in alone as bill and frank had stayed behind to do the interviews. a man dressed in a suit led them to the dressing room, you could tell he didn't want to pressure them but he told them that in five minutes you had to leave. ellie thanked him and quickly took off her shoes to put on her skates. you imitated her, sitting next to her, your hands were shaking so she tied the laces of your skates. as you put on the blade guards you saw how ellie's skate had your initial written on the ankle. "really?" you asked teasingly, you thought it looked adorable anyway. "it's for good luck" mentioned ellie laughing. before leaving you gave her one last kiss. "i love you, you're going to be amazing" you smiled at her and together they left for the dance floor.

when you got to the dance floor and the audience you felt like you were about to throw up. before going out on the runway you two posed with bill and frank for the press. the flashes made you a little dazed but you were more nervous because of the amount of people who had their eyes on you. ellie posed with her dad, your mom hadn't come to see you but joel motioned for you to get in the picture with them. finally you both hugged your trainers and got ready to go to the rink. you took off their blade guards and went out to the track. you had a few seconds to test the ice before starting the choreography. ellie shot off to move on the ice and you tested your skates for landing as well as doing some quick spins to get used to the feeling and not get dizzy. finally you went to the center of the rink to meet up with ellie who looked you in the eye "are you ready?" she asked and you nodded. your girlfriend motioned to some people who responded with a thumbs up. "breathe" ellie ordered you and you did. those seconds before it started felt like forever, you guessed they must have been in commercial breaks. the lights went out and two huge spotlights shone on you. one to Ellie and one to you.

adele's "rolling in the deep" started to play on the rink. the first part of the choreography was pure coordination between the two of you. both of you had to be careful not to lose the tempo of the other at any moment. in the moment of the chorus, when the rhythm dropped, ellie grabbed you by the waist to start going faster. Finally, she carried you, turning you in the air so that you were on top of her, forming a perfect pose. several people applauded. you were already feeling more confident. the next step in the choreography was to do the trick that had gone wrong with aaron. ellie held you by the waist. "be careful." without another word, she launched you across the rink and you landed perfectly. the cheers and screams from the crowd intensified as you held on to ellie's shoulders and she held on to your waist for the last trick which to your surprise went perfectly. you two finished spinning just as the song ended. you heard screams from the crowd but you couldn't take your eyes off ellie who had you hugged tightly against her.

when you were finally able to separate your face from hers you both looked at the audience, you were surprised at how many people were standing, applauding the both of you. ellie grabbed your waist to hold you close to her and you both bowed to the audience. ellie broke away from you to get something that had been thrown at her. there were several things, even teddy bears. but Ellie came back with a cloth, you didn't know what it was until she unfurled it and you saw that it was a queer flag. the rainbow colors shone under the light she had pointed at it and not caring about the questioning looks from some people in the audience and the jury she wrapped herself in the flag, motherfucker she thought she was going to get in all the trouble by herself. before the applause ended, you tucked yourself under her arm wrapping yourself under the rainbow flag as well. ellie looked at you in surprise but smiled proudly for the pictures.

you were back in the rink. it had been 20 minutes since you and ellie finished the performance and the jury was deliberating. you had used that time to greet some of the couples in the contest and talk to the media. you hardly had time to do anything else. the scoreboard counted 30 seconds to go on the air and you looked at ellie, who intertwined her hand with yours. you couldn't take your eyes off her as they did the introduction of the program and how their judging system had been for choosing the winners. before they announced third place you looked at the small podium they had set up for the winners. someday.

"in third place we have..." said the announcer looking at the couples waiting on the rink. "noah and brandon representing foxborough, massachusetts!" everyone applauded, the boys from romeo and juliet. they deserved a higher place as they had done amazing. ellie clapped for the boys and you did the same as you watched them go to place their medals. "second place..." continued the presenter. you started to get nervous, did you have a chance of being in the top two? "sasha and ben! representing arlington, texas!" you were happy for them too. you knew they were friends that ellie had made while practicing for the opening performance. they were very nice and you knew they deserved it. you were surprised that they both went to hug ellie and you. "and in first place" you pulled yourself together, you felt a little defeated but you held out a little hope, you knew how unrealistic it would be to want to win first place in your first competition. "the winners of this seventh sixth edition of the contest, who will take home the gold medal to their hometown" come on you idiot, say it already. "representing jackson, wyoming. wllie and y/n!" you felt time stop for a second ellie looked at you, incredulous. "you did it" she said to you with wide eyes, it had been hard to hear her over all the applause. "we did it" you corrected her and grabbed her hand to lead her to the front.

as you were presented with your medals and you were given a bouquet of flowers, ellie seemed absent. she looked thoughtful but smiled at the sight of bill and frank crying. you felt like crying too, this was all thanks to them. though your anguish quickly evaporated when you saw joel with a beer and jumping up and down with ellie's uncle celebrating his victory. "ready girls?" asked one of the staff and led them to the top podium of the winners. ellie helped you up and smiled as they handed you the trophy, it was really beautiful. for the first picture she took the trophy with one hand and hugged you with the other. you grabbed your medal, showing it off and also hugging ellie. for the second picture, of just the two of you, ellie hugged you even tighter and just at the moment when the flashes went off to take the picture that would surely be on the front page of every newspaper in your hometown, she pulled you to her body and kissed you in front of all the ten thousand people that were there, fearless.

[sparksqfly]

Good night

[sparksqfly]

im working in something like this and i cant wait to publish it omg?!¡?¡!

[sparksqfly]

i think imma publish the royal au... i dont like the first 1k words but the rest is pretty fine, i actually enjoyed it while i was re-reading! im gonna think about it, also since i started working in that one ive been OBSESSED with royal ellie!!!

[sparksqfly]

i need a masterlist and a new layout asap

[sparksqfly]

i'm working on a royal au for ellie, and i'm liking how it's turning out, but i couldn't include much dialogue, so i'm not sure if i'll publish it. maybe i'll rewrite it because i really like the idea.

[sparksqfly]

just dropping by to show you this bc i think is cool: this is my ellie's fanfics folder, as you can see there are many, more than i thought there would be hahaha also you can actually see my two published fanfics "so much for summer love" and "speak now" there are some here that will never see the light of day but there are others that i would like to share someday!

[sparksqfly]

⭒❝Speak Now❞ ࿓

there's the silence, there's my last chance, i stand up with shaky hands, all eyes on me

synopsis: modern au - you're about to get married; you should be happy, but on your big day, all you can think about is that redhead you were in love with your whole life, who is now determined to disrupt everything just to win you back.

author's note: this is a short story to celebrate the release of "speak now (taylor's version)," which I am very happy and excited about! this story is literally inspired by the song "speak now," and it's a multiverse full of references to taylor swift and her lyrics bc i have her songs tattoed in my head hehehe, this references won't ruin your reading experience if you're not a fan. english is not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes i may have made. ty for readig <3

warnings!/about the story: the image is not intended to represent the reader; it's just there for aesthetic purposes. mentions of the reader wearing dresses. the reader is kinda forced to marry an idiot and be in a heterosexual relationship, and that mf is an idiot. joel is referred to as ellie's father, and both ellie and the reader are between 21 and 25 years old.

wc: 3,3k

what the fuck am I doing? you asked yourself looking at yourself in the mirror, you had possibly been doing it for two hours, or three. you came out of your trance when you saw your friend, dina came into the room where you were getting ready. you had asked the girls who had come to help you with your appearance to leave for a while because you wanted to have "your rituals before your big day" which so far had consisted of looking in the mirror, feeling like throwing up and being about to cry.

"hey sweetie," dina said closing the door behind herself. she was holding something white in her hands, you'd had enough of that color. she put it down on one of the couches that was somewhere in the room and dragged a chair over so she could sit in front of you. she gently caressed your cheek and grabbed your hands and looked at you. "you always look beautiful, but today you look stunning." you smiled at her, not wanting to reject her compliments, but you really didn't feel beautiful today, you felt even disgusted with yourself.

dina took your hands in hers and smiled at you, "i have some gifts for you," you sighed. "you don't have to give me anything, dee. there are already too many gifts, too many," you sighed. "ok but listen to me. I already know you got something new, the dress," you looked in the mirror again. when you went to buy the dress you were with dina and your sister, you were already not liking the idea of the wedding and you already felt uncomfortable surrounded by so much white. she had already shown up and you tried to make up for how wrong it felt to do what you were doing with the greatest traditions possible, buying the longest and most "princess-like" dress you could find, a dress that perfectly covered your tattoos, buying pink flowers and golden decorations because that's how it was supposed to be.

"not that tradition again," you joked. you were too sick of tradition. "i know, i know but you know how i am. look, i'll help you" dina without waiting a second longer, knelt in front of you and started trying to lift your dress. obviously, it was difficult for her because of the number of layers it had "fuck..." she cursed, and you couldn't help but laugh listening to her. she gently grabbed your ankle and showed you a small blue ribbon, you smiled at her, and she gently tied it to your ankle, just above your shoe. "something blue," she said with a little girlish smile. she sat back down, sat back down across from you and pulled a necklace out of her pocket, a delicate chain with a small paper airplane charm on it. she put it on and tucked it inside your dress "something borrowed?" you asked raising an eyebrow and dina denied, "something used". you nodded, finally dina pulled something out of her pocket. you froze in place and felt dizzy. "something borrowed" she said and showed you a bracelet. a bracelet you had seen a thousand times, a brown bracelet with three leather straps. two hands pointing to a turkish eye in the middle. her bracelet. the bracelet that ellie always wore on her tattooed arm and that you sometimes played with when she ran a hand across your shoulders, hugging you.

taking advantage of your trance, dina fastened ellie's bracelet on your wrist and smiled at you as you stood up "i know you will make the right decision and i will always be there to support you," she said and bent down to kiss your forehead. as quickly as she came she was gone. you looked in the mirror again, touching the bracelet as you did with ellie and as if you had called out to her she appeared through the door and closed it behind her. you saw her in the mirror and immediately turned around in disbelief. the last thing you expected was to see her, much less the way she was now, dressed in a suit and all dolled up. the last time you had seen her was two weeks ago, you had met for the last time, you had touched each other for the last time, you had memorized each other entirely and finally you had said goodbye with a last kiss. you hadn't had the courage to cross her name out of the wedding list, it pained you to even see her name.

"you don't know what I had to go through to get in here, it looks like your lovely future husband uninvited me" said ellie playing with her hands, "you look beautiful". really? was that really all she had to say? "ellie, what are you doing here?" you got up from your chair to stand in front of her. you watched as ellie admired your dress, as she carefully analyzed your face and after what seemed like an eternity she took courage to grab you by the waist and bring you to her. "don't do it" said ellie gluing her forehead to yours. "meet me behind the church, we can go wherever you want, we'll do whatever you want. but don't say yes" you sighed, ellie williams was begging you to stay with her, to run away with her.

"els, i can't be this kind of person," you didn't know if you were trying to convince yourself or her. "no, you're not the kind of girl who should be marrying an idiot." "els, please. i can't do this, i can't let him down like this. i can't let everyone down like this" ellie sighed heavily and cup your face in her hands "don't do this to yourself, don't do this to me. neither of us deserve it." you were about to burst into tears, your thoughts were starting to run through your head too fast. "ellie" you sighed but she shook her head "you need to hear me out. i'm sorry, i'm really sorry for not telling you when we were little, i was 14 and I knew absolutely nothing, i didn't want to lose the friendship we had because i was afraid i was confused. i'm sorry I didn't tell you in high school when we were both teenagers and I'm sorry I didn't tell you when we started getting closer. i was so scared but i really love you, i have loved you since you walked into my house that day with a book about dinosaurs for my birthday. and i still love you, i was too scared to tell you and I don't want to lose you."

in that moment you saw the weight that ellie seemed to be carrying disappear from her back. ellie, the 14 year old girl you gave a book about dinosaurs to when she turned fourteen because your parents wanted you to meet her since they were friends with her father. the girl you became inseparable with when you both entered high school and when you started to like her. the best memories of your life were with ellie by your side, you could always be yourself with her and you never had the arguments you had with john, your fiancé. ellie had always listened to you and had always made you a priority. "can you say something?" ellie brought you back to reality with her voice. "ellie..." you were about to speak when you heard footsteps approaching the room they were in and you opened your eyes in complete alarm when you heard your mother-in-law speak. "ellie, you have to go" you said grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her to the back door "y/n, what the fuck? " she asked unfocused "please, john's family is coming, they can't see you here" you followed her leading her to the back door and when you opened it you pulled her inside being careful not to make her fall "what-" ellie asked again and before she went on you gave her a quick peck, that made her calm down immediately "keep going up those stairs, you're going straight out to where the ceremony is being held. don't let anyone see you els, please" she seemed to understand immediately and you closed the door. what had you just done?

you turned around just to see your fiancé's family walk in. all dressed in pastel and with smiles which now made you uneasy. they were talking about how beautiful you looked, how happy they were with your union and fantasizing about how many children you would have. yeah, sure. as those hellish minutes passed all you could think about was ellie, she had confessed to you how long she had been in love with you and now you were thinking how obvious it was. you realized that you had spent half your life loving her without telling her and you were about to spend the rest of your life regretting not telling her. when john's family finally left you sighed and sat back in your chair stroking ellie's bracelet and at that moment you saw your fiancé walk in. you didn't feel anything when you saw him, you weren't even angry that he broke the tradition of not seeing you before the ceremony, it was just like him not to pay attention to you. you thought about how you had felt when you saw ellie walk in and how empty you felt now.

"you look beautiful" he said. "thank you" you sighed looking at him "what do you want?" "is that how you talk to your fiancé? you're not mad because i broke this stupid tradition of not seeing you, are you?" you sighed. you hated it when he was like that. "is that your little friend’s bracelet?" that comment made you put your hand on the bracelet defensively and you turned around "maybe, what if it is?" "that trinket doesn't go with the expensive dress my mom bought you" you didn't know if it was a joke but you felt too annoyed. "leave me alone, it's tradition and ellie gave it to me, it's something important for both of us" john just rolled his eyes and grabbed the door to leave "see you in a little while, wifey".

you were left alone in the room; the silence was deafening, and you began to rethink absolutely everything. you liked Ellie since you were little, she was the person you loved the most after your family and you had hurt her with thousands of cuts just because of your eagerness to please people with what you were supposed to do. but on the other hand if you decided to be selfish you would disappoint your fiancé's whole family. those people you really loved as well as they loved you and had paid for that whole wedding. tour family too, they were so happy for your engagement and on top of that they didn't even know you liked women. how could you call off your wedding being only a few minutes away to run away and tell them that yes, you liked women and you had been in love with your best friend for more than seven years.

there you were, with a bouquet of roses and several decorative plants adorning your bridal bouquet. as you looked at it you laughed to yourself thinking that one of the plants sticking out of the bouquet looked just like the plant ellie had tattooed on her forearm. "lover" by taylor swift was playing on the speakers, she was singing about always wanting to go where your person goes, about always being close and that was all you wanted with ellie. "you look beautiful" your father's voice made you turn around. he intertwined his arm with your free arm and you smiled at him, the guilt was eating you alive. "pa'" you called out to him and he turned around "yes honey?" "if anything happens today, i just wanted to say i'm sorry" he frowned but couldn't say anything as the song ended and that meant there were only seconds left before you had to walk down the aisle.

the doors opened and the organ began to play what now sounded like a death march. the doors you were standing in front of opened. the light blinded you for a brief moment and then you saw eyes. what felt like thousands of eyes on you watching for any movement and surely noticing your disgruntled expression. you started walking on the red carpet towards the altar where there was a priest, john and some friends. were you really going to humiliate him like that in front of so many people?

as you continued walking you started to look for some eyes. ellie's green eyes, which you couldn't find anywhere, made you want to cry again. it was possible that she had really gotten tired of the back and forth and you didn't blame her. she deserved to be happy with someone who always put her first. maybe it was for the best.

as you walked down the aisle the only glances that caught your attention were from dina and Jesse, your best friends. who were possibly the only ones who knew and that was what their eyes reflected. concern and sadness. dina even tried to force a smile but jesse couldn't. they knew you even better than you knew yourself.

your father let go of your arm and you handed one of your bridesmaids your bouquet of flowers. then, your father-in-law helped you up the aisle and you stood in front of john. he said something with his lips that you didn't even bother to understand. the wedding music stopped and the priest began to talk and talk about love and various things that you didn't pay attention to. you could only think about her because you didn't even want to look at the audience. you were terrified of what might happen in the next few minutes. had you really dodged a bullet or you just lost the love of your life?

john's expression changed and you quickly got back in tune with the priest's speech. did the vows already need to be said? when you heard what followed you felt like you were about to vomit. "if anyone wants to interrupt this union speak now or forever hold your peace". you looked at the audience completely scared even though you didn't know why. did you want her to show up? you heard the priest take a breath to speak again but another noise came even louder.

you heard footsteps and the wooden benches where the guests were sitting creak under someone's weight and finally behind jesse and dina's bench ellie came out and stood in the middle of the red carpet. her hands were shaking and everyone turned to look at her in complete silence. ellie was only looking at you and you at her. the horrified looks from everyone in the room increased when she uttered the single word "y/n" obviously the expectations of the guests had led them to believe that ellie was there for ojhn and not for you.

john grabbed one of your hands, the one with ellie's bracelet in it, and you looked at him for a second. what reaffirmed what you were about to do was that he didn't look sad, he looked angry. he was losing you and he wasn't even worried. you shook your head at him and he opened his eyes wide when he realized it, although only he did it. you saw your father-in-law signal to security to possibly get ellie out and with that signal you grabbed your dress and went down the small stairs. ellie's relieved face made you gasp but there was no time. you ran out and pushed the door with your body. you felt ellie's footsteps running hurriedly behind you. you turned to look at her for a second and saw her closing the door. you kept running towards the room where you were getting ready and ellie came in behind you closing the door.

"ellie" you called her and she ran to hug you burying her face between your neck and shoulder. you brought a hand to her hair and stroked it. "thank you" she said in an incredibly low tone of voice. you pulled away from her "so now what?" "we're leaving" ellie said looking all around and you nodded, you turned around showing her your back "take it off" you said decisively "what?" "fuck els, take off my dress. it's the only thing I bought it for and i can't go out like this" you quickly felt his hands on your back and how he unbuttoned it. you stepped out of the dress without bothering to grab it and obviating that you had no bra but it was ellie, she had seen you a thousand times. you grabbed the short satin dress you had for the party after the ceremony and put it on without thinking. you went to the door where you had dismissed your ellie a few minutes ago and motioned for her to come downstairs with you. ellie nodded and before you started downstairs she gave you her suit jacket so you wouldn't be so cold. she grabbed your hand and the two of you started down the stairs at a brisk pace.

once you two came out, turned into the street and you saw her car parked nearby. she squeezed your hand and they ran to the car. there were some guests on the street watching the show but ellie didn't even pay attention to them, she put a hand on your back and opened the passenger door of her car for you. you looked at her and got in, without wasting time she closed your door carefully and got into the driver's seat, she started the car and when you realized it, they had already turned the block and started on their way. "are you okay?" ellie asked you, putting a hand on your knee and caressing it. "what did i just do?" you wondered aloud to yourself. ellie looked concerned "you regretted it?" you turned to look at her. Her gaze shifted between your face and the road "no, I've never been more sure of anything in my life, it's just that this wasn't the way I would have liked things to go, neither for us nor for him" ellie nodded and continued stroking your leg "where do you want to go?" she asked and you smiled at her, she knew what that meant.

finally you arrived at ellie's house, where she lived with her father. you smiled as you walked through the door and ellie hugged your waist. many of your happiest memories were in that house, you had lost a lot of time but they were willing to make up for it. "ellie? is that you?" Joel's voice echoed from the kitchen. "yeah” ellie screamed in response. joel came out of the kitchen with a rag in his hands and his eyes widened as he saw you dressed in white and completely ready to get married. "well congratulations, he was an idiot." He said and as he came he left, heading to his room like a ghost.

you looked at Ellie and both burst out laughing. she carried you with her arms and took you to the living room sofa and laid you down on it and she got on top of you. you hugged her as she showered you with kisses "remember you asked me what you had just done? when we went out?" you nodded. "you had just run away from your wedding to your future wife" she joked and you hugged her again joining her lips and she hugged you too. that was the first thing you felt confident about all day. you had made the right choice.

[sparksqfly]

!!!!!

i- uh- i wanna- uh- kiss her stomach- and uh- *gulp* someone help me out here

[sparksqfly]

Taylor watching the I Can See You music video 🥹

[sparksqfly]

─ So much for summer love𓆝 part 3

are we out of the woods?

synopsis: modern au - you meet ellie during a school activity and start getting involved in an intense relationship. warnings! bad words, pet names? (princess, good girl etc), implied sex, teasing, lowkey mean!ellie and mean!reader. ellie and reader gets injured. soo much drama but happy ending author's note: this is the final official part of the story. Possibly sometime this week, i will publish an epilogue for this story because i have a couple of ideas to wrap it up. this part is quite long, and i apologize for that, but i hope you still enjoy it!. again, english is not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes i may have made. thank you for reading <3 about the story: joel is referred to as ellie's father. references to taylor swift and her music, the reader is a huge swiftie (this chapter is so out of the woods coded hehehhe). there is a big reference to taylor swift, but it speaks for itself :)

wc: 7,2k (im so sorry), taglist: @elliesinterlude @libr4sonsa @erikaar

"i think the guide closing this stage is my father," ellie said, turning around to look at you closely. "so, you have a cover story when you have to tell him that you broke a race limit with a blade," you tease her. "maybe, i was thinking of saying that I found it on the floor, but you're right, i don't have to give too many explanations," she said with a smirk. during what felt like an eternity in the forest, ellie had talked to you about her family. she had never known her mother, but she had given birth to her early, and it had always been joel and her with their two uncles. in that conversation, you had felt somewhat important. joel was one of the race guides who, as a father of a student, had helped the schools organize the outing, and you were his daughter's classmate. to some extent, you were important.

you snapped out of your imagination when you saw two men standing at the end of that stage of the race. Indeed, one of them was ellie's father. she was the one who handed him the collected objects. when she handed him the ribbon, joel simply said, "did you tie them again?" ellie nodded, and they continued looking at the objects as if nothing had happened. "okay, ladies, you can take some time to have lunch. It's around four-thirty in the afternoon, and you should be back by five. that way, you'll complete the final activity, and we can return by 7," he said, and you nodded, looking at him. "where can we eat?" you asked, hoping they wouldn't make you sit somewhere where some activity was going on. you had already dealt with many teenagers during the day. "you have a large part of the forest; there are some boundaries, but as long as you don't go too far to get lost, it's enough," he gave a stern look to his daughter, and she smiled back with arrogance. "understood, let's go eat," ellie said, smiling at you. joel moved aside to let them pass. "what? no money for lunch today, old man?" ellie said, putting a hand on your waist to guide you. "oh, sure! I'll give you 50 dollars to spend at the technological buffet in this forest," joel joked, and ellie laughed, throwing her head back. it was a beautiful sound. she should do it more often.

after a couple of minutes of both of you walking through the forest, ellie asked with a smile, "would you allow me to take you to a place for us to have lunch, princess?" her hand had held yours, and you were swinging them as you walked. "of course, babe, but keep in mind that i'm starving," you said, placing your hand on your stomach. it would start making noise any moment now.

it turned out that ellie knew the forest very well. much better than you could have expected. just before you sat down on the ground and asked ellie to pass you the lunch bag so you could sit on any fallen log to eat, she took your hand and led you away from where you were. when you looked up, you found yourself facing a beautiful river. it wasn't very large, and the water flowed calmly, almost silently. the shore was made of stones, and the trees seemed to have stopped growing in that part of the forest. as mundane as the place seemed, it looked like something out of one of the epic fantasy books you loved to read. "ellie..." you said, incredibly surprised by the beautiful landscape before your eyes. She smiled in response. "beautiful, isn't it?" "beautiful? oh my god, ellie, are you crazy? this is stunning!" she chuckled softly, with a sideways smile. she seemed extremely proud of herself for making you this happy. "i know, i used to come here with joel. I didn't think i'd remember the way, but look, it seems like i do," ellie said, sounding even prouder of herself. you took out your phone to take several photos. some just of the scenery, and when you turned around to take pictures of ellie, you saw her through your camera, taking a photo of you with her phone. immediately, you lowered your phone and covered your face with your hands, laughing at the situation and her beautiful concentrated expression while trying to take the picture.

instantly, arms wrapped around you, planting kisses on your hair amidst laughter. you looked up at ellie and nestled into her body, embracing her neck with your arms and bringing her lips close to yours, placing one of your hands on her nape. ellie deepened the kiss, and you let yourself go, partially opening your mouth to let her do as she pleased. after all, the two of you were truly alone, at least for the moment.

her lips parted in search of air, but ellie didn't stop there. she began kissing the right side of your face, leaving a trail of kisses from your forehead to your exposed collarbone due to the cut of your dress. her kisses continued descending where the fabric of your dress began, and you felt her sucking more on your skin with each kiss she left. as she approached your breasts, she started gently pressing your skin between her teeth. you felt her fingers play with the strap of your bra, which was visible due to your now disheveled dress. you were about to ask her to continue, to stop playing with you and lower that damn brassiere, when your stomach growled with hunger.

when you heard it, you held your breath at first, hoping that ellie hadn't noticed and that she would continue doing what she was doing just a second ago. but you knew her better than that. as soon as you released your breath, she burst into laughter as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. you huffed, "fuck off, williams," and she continued laughing like crazy. "baby, that was freaking adorable," she said, looking at you with a smile as she gave you a kiss on the cheek. "i'm starving, babe. you've been teasing me for hours. i'm dead hungry," you pouted playfully, making ellie laugh even more. before releasing you, she playfully bit your shoulder and readjusted your bra and dress to their original positions.

she bent down to rummage through her backpack, pulling out the same waterproof coat from earlier and looping it around your waist before tying it at the front. as she tied it, she pecked your lips and you responded with a more aggressive kiss, albeit with a smile. "so you don't stain that beautiful dress," you smiled at her and watched as she sat on a large rock, spreading her legs wide open. she gestured with her head for you to sit in front of her, and you complied. carefully, you sat on the ground, making sure not to touch the water too much, as you had a feeling you'd freeze if any part of your body came into contact with it. ellie took out the lunch bags, keeping one for herself and handing you the other. without hesitation, you opened it, revealing two halves of a sandwich inside and an apple. without thinking, you took a bite of your food and realized that they hadn't given you anything to drink until ellie pulled out a thermos flask of water from her backpack and offered it to you.

you ate in comfortable silence, finding it amusing how differently you and ellie ate. ellie consumed her sandwich silently and slowly, while you devoured yours quickly, as if it were about to disappear, barely taking a sip of water. "this is fucking amazing," you said with a mouthful, without lifting your head. you heard her laugh and looked into her eyes. she smiled and used her thumb to wipe off a bit of mayonnaise from the corner of your lips. you thought about giving her a napkin to clean her finger, but without thinking, she brought it to her mouth. You had a déjà vu of being on the bus with her as you felt your face blush violently at her gesture.

"do you have any music to play, babe?" ellie asked as she placed the first sandwich wrapper back into the bag they had been given. you noticed that she had removed the lettuce, which you found adorable. responding to her question, you nodded and took out your phone from your purse. you realized that you had no signal, probably because they were deep into the woods, so you simply played music from your downloaded songs. "isn't it strange that we haven't crossed any of those purple boundaries to get here? i mean, we've gone pretty far," you asked ellie as you placed your phone far from the water. she nodded. "yeah, it's weird, but i think it's because the others are too scared to venture out so far," ellie said. "anyway, we didn't go that far from where we started," she added, looking in the direction they had come from. you nodded, laughing.

you packed up the remaining bits of your sandwich in the bag and looked at the apple that had been at the bottom of the bag. With a mischievous smile, you looked at ellie. "what?" ellie asked, looking at you. your smile grew even wider. "you know, i actually don't like apples," you started rummaging through your bag for the candies you had packed earlier in the morning before leaving. ellie continued to look at you with a smile, and you pulled out three chocolates for her. with adoration in her eyes, she took them from your hands. "thank you," she said in a deep but relaxed voice. you took out some gummy worms from a small plastic bag deep in your bag. you ate a couple, buying time until ellie finished her chocolates, and then you grabbed one of the gummy worms. before she could even extend her hand, you moved the candy away from her. "come and get it," you said and promptly put it in your mouth, holding it with your teeth and slightly tilting your head forward to show it to her better. ellie seemed excited about the idea, just like you, as before you knew it, she was on top of you, her face inches away from yours, and her two arms planted on the ground behind you, keeping you in place.

in a matter of seconds ellie bit off a part of the worm and swallowed it in record time, you even thought he hadn't even chewed it. anyway you imitated her action by eating the candy extremely fast. still with the taste of that damn gummy in your mouth, ellie pounced on your lips, kissing them desperately. one of her hands that was resting on the floor went to your back, to pull you even closer to her and glue your bodies together.

after what felt like an eternity in her mouth, the redhead changed positions. she gently laid you down on the coastal stones and she positioned herself on top of you. before diving into your lips again, she caressed your hair and placed it on the ground "so pretty..." Ellie whispered through her teeth while she kept touching a strand of your hair that was on your cheek. she kissed you again desperately and moved one of her hands to the same place where she had been fiddling before, your collarbone and the strap of your bra. ellie pulled away from your lips to look at you "can i pull this down angel?" she asked, you saw her intertwine her fingers with the elastic of your bra. "mhm" you said in a nodding manner. ellie smiled sideways and released the elastic, allowing it to fall onto your skin. It made a sound that slightly startled you, and you felt a slight pain as it pressed against your skin.

"mmhm?" he mimicked your tone, using a high pitched voice "babe, I don't understand that dialect, come on. use your big girl words." bitch, you wanted her so bad and she knew it.  you blushed as you tried to formulate a coherent sentence to tell her that she could do whatever she wanted with you. "y-yes. y-you can pull it o-off." Ellie laughed tenderly at your stutter and gave you a kiss on the cheek and then pulled the dress you were wearing, including your bra, down below your shoulders. leaving your breasts completely uncovered. without missing a single moment he took one of them into his mouth, sucking it shamelessly and playing with your nipple between his teeth. causing you a fucking pleasurable pain. with his free hand she began to fiddle gently with the other one.

you on your side with one of your hands covered your mouth, you were already unable to contain your moans and gasps only with your lips. the refuge didn't last long, ellie withdrew the hand that had been on your tit to grab the hand you were covering your mouth with from your wrist. "come on, doll. let it out. we're in the middle of the woods all alone. who's going to hear you?" fuck, she was right. you were lying on the bank of a river with the girl of your dreams on top of you and you at her complete mercy. the thought that you were actually not far away from the crowded area and that anyone could appear at any moment made you even more excited. ellie let go of the tit she was touching to move on to the other one. giving it the same treatment as the other one. biting it and caressing it gently with her tongue.

she suddenly stopped paying attention to your breast and moved up to your mouth, kissing you until you were breathless, while continuing to caress you. sometimes your hair, other times parts of your body, she was driving you crazy. the music paused for a brief second, allowing you to hear the natural sounds of the forest. you heard a sound similar to a breaking branch and abruptly lifted your head, looking towards where it came from. if ellie wasn't on top of you, immobilizing you with her body, you would have stood up completely embarrassed at the thought of being discovered. you felt ellie gripping your chin and turning your face towards her. "eyes on me, baby," she said in a breath, staring at you intently. with her free hand, she began to caress your belly and abdomen from top to bottom. "i want you to feel comfortable," she said, smiling sideways. bitch. "y-yes, ellie. do whatever you want, but just do it," you were hopeless. you needed her right now. "what?" she said, laughing in your face. "yes! ellie, take me, damn it!" ellie seemed satisfied with that, and without waiting another second, she slipped her hand under your dress and inside your underwear.

slept for a long time after what had happened. as you remembered it, you smiled, and ellie turned to look at you again. "are you okay?" she asked, caressing the lower part of your back as you lifted your head from her neck. "better than ever," you smiled at her. "i think it's time to go," she said, sitting up straight. you didn't know how much time had passed, but it was probably longer than you should have taken for lunch. "right, do you think the others are worried?" you asked as you sat on the ground. you picked up your phone, which was a few steps away, and turned off the music that was still playing. taylor swift's "dress" was playing at that moment. you smiled internally as you heard the last line of the song before stopping it. "only bought this dress so you could take it off."

"ready, babe?" ellie asked you from behind. you put your phone in your bag, and she took hold of both of your hands to help you get up. you stood in front of her, only inches apart. ellie gave you a big smile. "what?" you asked her, feeling nervous. "what, els, you're scaring me." did you have something on your face? maybe dirt on your cheek? or in your hair? "you're the most beautiful girl i've ever seen," ellie responded, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. "you scared me!" you said, gently pushing her. she quickly returned to her place and held you by the waist, kissing your forehead. before you could protest, she grabbed your hand and started walking.

"are you sure you know how to get back?" you asked her. you couldn't help but notice how the sky was darkening, and the path you had taken on the way felt unfamiliar. it was curious how light could change a landscape so much. you felt like you had never been there, even though you had just been there a while ago. despite trusting ellie with your life, you were afraid that she might not navigate well or step on a bear trap, or that the forest animals might attack without the noise of the music to deter them. okay, you were being ridiculous. ellie probably knew this forest like the back of her hand. she had already told you there were no bear traps, and come on, she had a damn knife in her back pocket. perhaps it was the bear that should be afraid of crossing paths with her.

"princess?" ellie's voice snapped you out of your trance. "yes, els, sorry. i was lost in thought. what did you say?" she laughed and caressed your hand. "i was saying it's not a very difficult path. we just need to keep going straight until we reach a big tree, then turn right and walk for about five minutes. we should come across the racecourse." she spoke with concentration, looking at the trees. "sounds good," you said, stroking her hand back. you didn't want to distract her. "but wait," ellie suddenly stopped and crouched down to search for something in her backpack. you saw her pull out that damn waterproof coat again, but this time she helped you put it on and even closed it all the way up. "it's starting to get cold," she said, kissing the tip of your nose. you smiled foolishly, though you were worried about her getting cold on the way. "you're a superhuman and you don't get cold?" you teased her. "i have pretty good resistance, but don't worry. if i really get too cold, i can ask my dad for a jacket. you're my priority," she said, trying to sound serious, but you had already figured her out, especially with what she had just said. she was so sweet.

say that everything was going wrong was an understatement. the two of you had been walking through that damn forest for over an hour, and night had fallen a while ago. it was becoming increasingly difficult to see where you were heading. ellie seemed to be in a very bad mood and had been pacing around for a long while. you had the feeling that you two were just walking in circles in the forest for hours, but you had no idea how to break that cycle and find a way out.

ellie had let go of your hand fifteen minutes ago, although at that moment, she didn't seem as angry as she was now. her shoulders were tense, and you could hear her muttering curses under her breath. she made abrupt changes in direction without warning. not to mention the cold that had started to set in. ellie's coat kept you warm, but your legs trembled if you stayed still for too long. you couldn't ignore the slight pain that appeared in your chest when you saw ellie chattering her teeth and how her body trembled from the cold.

"els..." you called her with the sweetest voice you had, the last thing you wanted was to distract her, but you felt too selfish with her coat on while she shivered in the cold. "what?" ellie responded abruptly, as if you were bothering her, and that's exactly how you felt. "it's just that... it's freezing. do you want me to give you the coat for a while?" you asked. you were about to touch her shoulder to make her turn and look at you because she hadn't even done that. "what the hell are you saying? no, that's fucking stupid," the words came out of her mouth, sharp as a knife. and a wave of sadness flooded you, but at the same time, you felt a deep anger towards her in your chest. what the hell was wrong with her? she was the one who had put you both in this situation.

you quickly pushed those thoughts out of your head. you were letting yourself be carried away by your emotions and the exhaustion of the moment. it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't ellie's either. It was just how things had unfolded. "it's just that you're shivering, and this is your coat, and..." "oh my god, can you fucking shut up for one damn second?!" she exclaimed. she hadn't shouted at you, but it felt like she had. the anger in your chest grew even bigger, along with the urge to cry. you tried to calm yourself down, repeating what you had told yourself before, but before you could manage to calm down, ellie walked past you. "fucking move," she said. she didn't push you, but it made you feel even worse. the fact that she didn't even turn to look at you made it even worse. where was the girl who had made you blush on the bus hours ago, the one who couldn't go more than 5 minutes without holding your hand? for the first time, you felt alone in that forest and filled with anger.

"what the hell is wrong with you anyway?" you asked, furrowing your brow and using a voice you hadn't used with her until now, filled with anger and sadness. she turned around, also with a furrowed brow, her shoulders tense, and her hands clenched into fists. "i'm trying to guide us on the damn right path. maybe I would be on the right track if you weren't so damn annoying, you know?" she replied. you had never heard her so angry before. your blood boiled. "so this is how it's going to be, huh?" you asked, your voice rising, about to yell at her. "what the hell are you saying?" wllie asked, looking confused, but still as angry. "you fuck me once, and suddenly I'm a burden to you? is that really the kind of person you are, ellie?!" you accused, and you didn't take long to see the pain that appeared on her face. you suspected you had hit a sensitive spot. "no, y/n, it's not fucking like that. i just..." ellie tried to explain herself, but you simply couldn't bear it anymore. "yeah, but that's exactly what you're doing. I'm done with this, williams," you told her, and her face seemed a mix of sadness and anger. without thinking about what you were doing, you started walking in the opposite direction. "oh, perfect, go your own way. i don't even care about you anyway, right, y/n? fuck you," those last words hurt even more than the entire argument they had just had. "fuck you, williams. damn the moment you were assigned as my fucking partner," you said and continued on your way, walking quickly. you didn't even want her to try to follow you. in that moment, you hated her, and you were regretting everything, even though you knew it was just the anger of the moment. just like ellie probably felt.

when you realized it, you had been walking alone for 10 minutes, you understood the gravity of the situation. you were a girl, unarmed and alone in the middle of a forest filled with wild animals, and you didn't know how to navigate. you had only been thinking about ellie and the argument you both just had, how everything had crumbled in a second just because both of you were tired and in a bad mood. both of you had said things that you didn't truly mean under any circumstances. you knew ellie hadn't used you just for sex, but in the heat of the moment, that was the only thing that had come out to hurt her.

the desire to talk things out with ellie compelled you to continue on your path to find her and discuss what had happened, but you had no idea where she could have gone or where she was. so you decided to implement the only tip you remembered from those shitty tiktok videos you occasionally watched, where they recommended things to do in extreme situations. in this case, if you were lost in a forest, the advice was to find a river and follow it until you reached civilization. it seemed like a terrible idea, but it was the only one you had. you hugged your body, seeking more warmth in the coat and feeling ellie's scent on it. the urge to cry overwhelmed you; this coat was nothing like having her by your side. you thought about how much you would give to have her with you in this moment, and it made you even angrier that both of you were together when this started happening, but you had become too lost in anger and exhaustion to support each other.

somehow, you trusted your instincts that you were on the right path towards the river, so you continued on without looking back. you were terrified of encountering anything; your mind had taken it upon itself to scare you with the worst possible scenarios: ghosts, cults, vampires, wolves, foxes, men, men hunting, bear traps, and so on.

after what felt like hours of walking, you heard a noise. something like a voice. it could have been your imagination, but you swore it was a voice calling your name. you heard it from behind, so you started running in the opposite direction from where you were heading, hoping it wasn't just your mind playing tricks on you. you knew you shouldn't run, especially not in the darkness of a damn forest, but anxiety took over. you sprinted, trying to reach wherever that voice had come from. and as luck would have it, you stumbled on an uneven patch of ground.

for a moment, the pain from your ankle and the confusion were overwhelming. you knew you had twisted your ankle, and you didn't want to look at it. you also knew you had to get up and find a place to sit down at least before the injury got cold and you couldn't move. so that's what you did. you spotted a large fallen log and crawled towards it as best as you could. your whole body was in pain, and you felt exposed because a part of your dress had torn and you were damn dirty from all the dirt you had dragged along. you reached the log and sat down, realizing that you had absolutely nothing left but to pray that they find you quickly. you nestled your face in ellie's jacket, hiding the lower part of your face, and began to pray to be found soon. to be found by HER.

ellie:

fuck, I'm such a fucking idiot. i shouldn't have treated her like that. did she really think i was using her for a quick fuck? that i didn't feel anything for her? i'm an asshole. i had the most beautiful afternoon with her. with the girl of my dreams, and i ruined it just because i couldn't control my damn anger. i let her go, let her walk away from me, and i neglected her, letting her hate me for not shutting my fucking mouth.

ellie could only turn those thoughts over in her head. she couldn't stop regretting everything that had happened and the way she left you alone. it was cold, and you didn't have any food with you. she had taken the water and the other survival supplies. she had only left you a jacket that wasn't even enough for the cold in that forest. she quickly abandoned the mission of returning to the race site. it made no sense to go back to her student obligations when she had failed the only one she had, which was to protect you.

she began to wander around the places where she thought you might have gone. she thought maybe you would try to go back to the lake so she could find you, but right now, you hated her. why would you do that? she started running, trying to cover as much of the forest as possible. all she wanted was to find you; she would deal with returning to the race when she had you in her arms. lost in her thoughts, ellie didn't see the cluster of rocks on the ground. she stumbled over one of them and couldn't catch herself with her body before her head hit one of the rocks.

during the time she was unconscious, ellie couldn't say that she had dreamed anything. all she felt was cold, coldness, and distant voices. for some reason, images of what that day had been like kept repeating in her head. her packing her backpack for that stupid school excursion, getting in joel's car damn early to get to school before anyone else, when a grumpy teacher wrote a "27" on the back of her hand, being by your side all day, the way you looked at her, how nervous she was before she grab your chin for the first kiss, your smile when she complimented your dress, your face below hers, how your hair stretched on the rocks, the way you smiled at her while she touched you, you all over her by the river, and the overwhelming pain on your face when you argued.

"miss, miss, holy shit, it's one of them," she heard a male voice say, pulling her out of the dream. she felt herself being shaken from side to side and her face being touched. "hey, hey."

she abruptly opened her eyes, seeing the trees and the moon above her. in a second, a man appeared in her view, looking young and wearing a police uniform. "are you okay, miss?" another man asked, whose face she couldn't see. the buzzing in her ears was slowly fading away. "what? what happened?" ellie asked, her voice sounding hoarse, and her throat felt dry. "she's one of them, yes. look at the number on her hand." ellie slowly sat up with the help of the two men. "what happened?" she asked again, this time with a firmer voice. "it seems you got lost. you went out for lunch with your partner in the woods and never came back. it's been four hours since you went missing." that comment unleashed everything in ellie. "my partner, y/n. where is she? have you found her? she walked away from me, and i don't know where she went, but you have to find her. she's alone and knows nothing about survival. she was wearing a white dress and a brown jacket. you have to find her," ellie started explaining, her desperation growing with every thought crossing her mind.

"miss, listen to me. we need to get you back to where the school officials are. you lost consciousness, and we don't know what condition you're in. you need medical attention," one of the men explained. "i'm not leaving this damn place without her. she's under my responsibility," ellie said. her voice kept getting louder. "listen to me, miss. you weren't far from the race site. most likely, your friend couldn't have gone too far. we need you to come with us so we can take your statement. you are the most important piece in this," one of the men said. "besides, it's possible that by the time we get there, your friend has already been found," the other added.

after staring at both of them intensely for a few seconds, ellie agreed. they helped her to her feet and walked her toward where "the others were."

you didn't know how long you had been sitting there, probably not long, but you were starting to lose your mind. you felt colder with each passing moment, and the jacket was not enough. on top of that, ellie's perfume had faded from the coat, and you began to feel even more alone. you watched as your ankle started to swell from the impact, and you were incredibly thirsty. obviously, your phone wasn't working, and you had nothing in your bag except for candies.

just when you were feeling most hopeless, you saw your shadow begin to cast on the grass in front of you. you turned around in search of the light that was causing that shadow, and as you turned, all you saw was the blinding flash of a flashlight. "y/n?" a male voice asked from behind the flashlight. "y-yes, it's me," you said with some fear. they knew your name, they couldn't be here to harm you, right? "jesus, kid, we've been looking for you for hours." finally, the man turned off the flashlight and approached you. "joel, thank god," you said, looking at him. you were incredibly happy to see him; aside from ellie, he was the person you wanted to see the most. you knew he would take care of you; his daughter was just like him.

he approached you and noticed that you weren't moving. "is everything okay? are you hurt?" joel asked, getting closer to get a better look at you. "i think i sprained my ankle, it hurts a lot," you said, looking at him. we crouched down to your level; he was very tall, and you couldn't help but feel intimidated. he examined your ankle and nodded. "it's okay, let me help you. there are some men here wandering around. we can assist you together," joel said, and you nodded, trying to move your body while avoiding putting weight on your injured ankle to fight off the cold. "is that ellie's jacket?" joel asked with a smile. although he wasn't saying it accusingly, a huge anguish filled your chest. if you had stayed with ellie, maybe he would have found her by now. after all, his daughter was also missing. you couldn't hold back the tears, and you started crying. "oh, what happened, kiddo? is everything okay?" he asked, putting a hand on your shoulder to calm you down. "it's just that i was with her, and we got lost, and i left because i was very angry, and now i don't know where she is. i'm so sorry, joel," you said between sobs, sad for ellie, but you were also releasing all the anguish you had accumulated during those moments of being alone and desperate.

"its ok, y/n, ellie knows how to navigate this forest, and on the other hand, she knows how to make a scene," joel chuckled to himself. seeing your distressed expression, he continued. "hey, don't worry about her. be glad we found you, and in no time, we'll find ellie. yhey're searching the entire area." you nodded, and just then, another man arrived. alongside joel, they helped you to your feet, and you couldn't help but notice the resemblance between them. "guess what, old man? it seems they found ellie. she seemed to have fainted or something, but as always, that girl is ready for action. she's causing a commotion with the police," the other man said. joel chuckled and turned his gaze to you. "did you hear that, Y/N? I told you she'd be fine." you nodded with a smile. on one hand, you were happy that ellie was safe, but on the other hand, you were damn scared. she had fainted? would she be okay? you were desperate to see her and hold her, but you were terrified that she would still be angry with you.

after walking for a while with the help of the two men, you began to see flashing lights from ambulances and police cars. god, had you caused so much trouble? as the three of you got closer, you heard a voice that was all too familiar, and just as joel had described, causing a scene. perhaps he thought the same, as he chuckled softly as the girl's voice became more audible. finally, the three of you passed through some trees, and you could see the scene clearly. there were several police cars, an ambulance, and several people scattered around the clearing, and there was ellie, your ellie, yelling at a man in a suit and pointing her finger at him. you couldn't help but be taken aback when you saw her. she was covered in dirt, disheveled, and had a bit of blood trickling from her hairline down to her shirt. she had scratches on her cheek, a bruise on her chin, and a split lip. despite being impressed and scared to see her in such conditions, she remained the most beautiful girl in your eyes. your heart found solace in seeing that she was safe and able to stand.

"you're all fucking useless! how long have you been searching for us?! huh?! a whole damn hour and you still haven't found her?! you have one job, you fucking idiots!" she shouted at the man. she hadn't seen you yet but seeing her so worried about finding you from the outside made your heart melt. ellie, your ellie. how could you be so tender? joel and the other man asked one of the doctors where they could leave you to rest, and he pointed them to the edge of the open back of one of the ambulances where they could see the wounds on your leg. it surprised you that they noticed so quickly until you realized that you were noticeably limping on one of your legs. joel and his companion sat you down there, and you thanked them for their help. ellie signaled to you that she was going to talk to Ellie, and you nodded. you had started fidgeting with your fingers from the contained anxiety of seeing ellie so close and worried about you, but not knowing how to get her attention or what to do to talk to her.

you watched joel tap ellie on the shoulder, and she turned around as he pulled her towards him. she allowed it for a moment, her shoulders relaxing. It was freezing cold. how could she be wearing short sleeves? before you had time to process it, ellie turned around and saw you sitting in the ambulance. Without wasting a second, she approached you. not running, but at a fast pace, and she finally enveloped you in her arms. "baby," you heard her say once she had you in her arms. it was soft enough for only you to hear. "oh, ellie," you said. you took a moment to hold her tightly and feel her close. she let go of you to avoid hurting you and took a moment to look at you, caressing your face, and you knew she was brushing off some dirt. ellie was about to say something when a doctor appeared behind her and ordered her to "sit down already." you laughed. you knew ellie had probably refused medical attention before finding you. She sat down beside you and took your hand in hers. a police officer approached to give them a blanket, and ellie covered both of you with it. you looked at her, a bit overwhelmed by emotions, and rested your head on her shoulder. "i know, baby, i know," she said, stroking your lower back. it was clear that they had a lot to talk about, but they couldn't do it here, surrounded by doctors and ellie's father.

a doctor approached to talk to both of you. they had concluded that both of you should go to the hospital to be properly examined, especially ellie, who had a nasty bump on her head. your heart ached at the thought of her being unconscious and alone in the forest without anyone to help her, and she felt a pang in her stomach thinking about the pain and fear you must have felt being injured and alone in the woods. joel arrived and informed you that your parents had been notified and would meet you at the hospital. with the help of ellie, joel, and a couple of nurses, you were lifted onto the ambulance stretcher, and ellie stayed with you to go to the hospital in the same vehicle. you weren't sure if that was the procedure for someone who had lost consciousness from a head injury, but you didn't think ellie cared either way.

once they closed the ambulance with you on the stretcher and Ellie sitting on one of the benches at the sides, they left you alone for a while to retrieve documentation. ellie took your hand. "i shouldn't have spoken to you like that. it was immature of me, and i'm so sorry, y/n. i never wanted to hurt you. i just couldn't control my anger, and it's completely unjustifiable. i'm new to healthy relationships, and i want to learn for you. let's not let it happen again because i love you, and you're the most beautiful, intelligent, and kind girl i've ever known. you were never and will never be just a quick fling to me, and i'm so sorry for making you feel that way. i had the best day with you before this shit in the woods happened. i'm truly sorry for ruining it like this. can you forgive me?" ellie said, looking at you with puppy eyes while caressing your hand. "i love you too, ellie. forgive me as well. i didn't handle the situation well, and i hurt you too." your hand had moved to caress her cheek, and ellie turned her head to kiss it. both of you quickly pulled apart as the driver got into the vehicle to start driving.

ellie rested her head on your lap. it seemed like an uncomfortable position, but it wasn't for ellie. she just wanted to feel closer to you. you stroked her hair to relax her on your lap, and ellie smiled. she seemed like she was about to fall asleep. "we look like we just came out of a bad suspense movie," ellie said with her eyes closed. "of course, because we just escaped an extreme situation, and i'm still perfectly groomed and made up," you replied in an arrogant tone. ellie chuckled to herself. "your jokes are worse than mine," she said. "i know, baby," you replied, tucking one of her reddish locks behind her ear. "do you have any idea how quickly they're going to fire the person who assigned us as partners?" ellie opened her eyes, looked at you, and laughed again. "poor bastard, he lost his job and made me gain a beautiful girlfriend."

[sparksqfly]

i just realized that I published the second part of so much for summer love without adding tags. i hope people still get to read it. i'm sorry.

[sparksqfly]

─ So much for summer love𓆝 part 2

synopsis: modern au - you meet ellie during a school activity and start getting involved in an intense relationship. warnings! bad words, men being bothersome, pet names? (princess, good girl etc), author's note: i wanted to post this a long time ago, but my computer broke down. it was really stressful because i have all my university entrance papers and all my fanfics here, so that was terrifying. but it's all sorted now! this is the second part of the story, and i think there's only one more part left to publish unless you want me to do an epilogue or something. again, english is not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes i may have made. thank you for reading <3 about the story: joel is referred to as ellie's father. references to taylor swift and her music, the reader is a huge swiftie (just like the writer hehehe), references to jurassic park, ellie plays soccer. the next part is my favorite ;) i'm going to try to publish it before next week.

wc: 4k - part 1 - taglist: @elliesinterlude @libr4sonsa

you thought everyone would be pushing each other to be the first ones out once the order was given, but surprisingly, they were all in line in front of several people who didn't seem like teachers. you focused your attention on them and observed the bags they were distributing to the students in line, it seemed to be a requirement to start the race. ellie squeezed your hand before letting go, which surprised you. had you done something wrong? had you made her uncomfortable? before you could continue torturing your mind with questions, a teacher, whom you didn't know, so you assumed he was from another school, handed both of you a paper bag. "what our kind guides are giving you is your lunch, you can eat it at any time, but remember that you won't be given another one," mr. emery spoke again, he seemed very talkative today.

after a few minutes of talking, one of the guides who had given them the paper bags with their lunch passed behind ellie and gently squeezed her shoulder with his hand before moving away. that's when you connected the dots and realized that the man was the same one who had helped you and write your number on your hand, meaning he was ellie's father. you suppressed a smile, thinking that ellie had possibly become shy in front of her father, which is why she had let go. you sought her gaze and saw her kneeling on the ground, storing her lunch bag in her large backpack. "do you want me to keep yours, doll?" you smiled and crouched down to her level to hand her your bag more comfortably, taking the opportunity to briefly rest your hand on ellie's forearm, tracing her tattoo with the tips of your fingers. "thank you, darling," you said innocently, and smiled to yourself as you saw that now it was you who had made her blush, and you stood up victorious.

obviously, the victory didn't last long when you were pushed by what seemed like thousands of teenagers running wild to escape into the forest. once you regained stability, you looked at ellie, who seemed just as bewildered as you. she stood up, slinging the backpack over her shoulder, and grabbed your hand again. "looks like we're the last ones," she chuckled, puzzled, as she looked around. indeed, the designated area for searching those damn symbols on the trees was bigger than you had thought. so big that from the starting point of the race, there was no sign of a purple ribbon marking a boundary. "intimidating," you said, and you intertwined your fingers with ellie's even tighter. "at least you're with me, right?" ellie chuckled softly, and you looked at her with a silly grin on your face. "i'll skip that eccentric tone, williams," you squinted your eyes, gazing at her intently. she brought your fingers to her lips and planted a subtle kiss on them as she began walking into the forest with you.

you walked hand in hand for a while. you thought you would encounter several groups of noisy teenagers, but the truth was, you hadn't come across anyone along the way. "this may sound strange, but forests make me a little uncomfortable. i feel like i'm in some kind of glass jar where anyone can put anything inside," you thought she would give you a weird look, but surprisingly, she nodded her head. "it's like trying to imagine all," she said. as strange as it sounded, both of you seemed to feel even more at ease with each other after that moment of honesty. ellie mustered the courage to continue talking about the forest. she mentioned that since she was little, her father used to take her to forests. he believed in the importance of connecting with old-school methods, something you had also noticed. ellie had not taken out her phone at any point, not even to check the time. out of curiosity, you asked her if she had one, to which she responded, "of course I do. i like dinosaurs, but i don't want to be one." before she could even finish, you turned around, looking at her completely, "you like dinosaurs?!" she smiled and nodded at you. "a few kilometers from my house, when i was still a child, there was a dinosaur exhibition where they set up a display for children, and paleontologists came to give talks. i remember begging joel, my dad, to take me there," you widened your eyes as she spoke. "is it that natural science museum with a giant dna at the entrance?" you asked excitedly as you pulled out your phone. ellie thought for a few seconds before answering, "yeah..."

completely excited, you took out your phone from your bag and showed her a photo that your mother had sent you a few weeks ago, from that same exhibition where you were at 7 years old, posing with an older man who you remembered introduced himself as a famous paleontologist who had discovered several key fossil pieces for history. ellie's eyes widened, and she touched your hand to bring your phone closer to her face with a look of astonishment. "i also have a photo with that man! i remember joel thought he was dressed up as the doctor from the jurassic park movie, so he took a picture of me and my uncle with him," she said with excitement. "my father thought the same!" with a silly grin on your lips, you grabbed her face, holding her cheeks in your hands. "we both were in the same place, at the same time when we were kids, and we ended up being race partners 10 years later," you paused dramatically before continuing, seeing her smile. "do you believe in destiny?" she smiled even wider, put her hands on your hips, and gently pushed you backward, your back perfectly supported against a tree. "maybe i do now, sugar." you couldn't hide your smile, you were dying to kiss her at that moment. but as always happened with women, you were too cowardly. so you just kept looking into her beautiful eyes and lowered your hands to her neck, playing with the line of her jaw and the edge of her shirt.

you two stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, ellie continued to gaze at you with her green eyes while softly stroking your waist with her right thumb. a thousand thoughts raced through your mind all at once. you imagined countless scenarios where your lips met and stayed that way for hours, scenarios where you walked together hand in hand through your neighborhood, both sipping coffee at your favorite café, and spending evenings lying in your house talking for hours.

both of you let go when you heard the voices of approaching teenagers nearby. as you moved away from the tree, you noticed a paper hanging from a branch just above ellie's head. it was a caricature-like drawing of a house, and you quickly reached for your phone, only to realize that ellie had taken it and kept it in her back pocket to tease you. when she saw what had caught your attention, she handed it back to you, and you took a few steps back to capture a photo. zooming in, you perfectly captured the paper with the drawn symbol and the top of your companion's head. in the photo, only her auburn hair and curious eyes were visible. you showed her the photo, and you noticed a blush rising on her cheeks. "to me, that's not a symbol, it's a drawing," ellie said, taking your free hand and starting to walk aimlessly.

you walked together for about fifteen minutes, observing the forest. to be honest, you had never ventured far into any forest before, but this one had a special allure and to be honest with yourself, you loved that forest because it was just like the forest on the cover of one of your favorite albums, "folklore" by taylor twift.. the dirt floor was covered in dry leaves, falling due to the autumn season, and the trees were slender but towering. it would be unfair to say that you didn't come across any other drawings, as both of you were lost in each other, talking incessantly. ellie spotted another page, this time secured to a tree with a nail, and while she listened to you talk about a girl who almost became your girlfriend, she discreetly took out her phone from the small pocket of her backpack. "look, y/n! another paper," she said, pointing in the direction of the tree with her finger. when you turned, she took a photo, but the sound of her camera gave her away. you pretended to furrow your brow upon seeing her, but she smiled and showed you the photo where you appeared with your back turned, hair tied up to cover your face, looking at the paper that had a drawing of what seemed to be a duck, or at least that was what you were able to deduce. ellie turned the phone back to her. "so pretty," she said in a childish voice. you bit your lip, feeling embarrassed, and grabbed her hand to search for the next symbol.

"is this some kind of competition? to see who takes the photos?" ellie asked, this time she changed the position of her hands so that both of you could interlace your fingers. "it would have been fun, but i think it's only fair that both of us appear in the next photo," you stroked the back of her hand. "sounds fair," she said, turning her head to look for the last sheet, but you quickly spotted another one. this last one depicted two people, but as you guided ellie towards the last paper, you realized that none of these three drawings seemed to be related to each other, although you weren't going to take the school staff's attempts at organization too seriously. it had always been better to ignore their efforts.

you let go of ellie's hand and took out your phone to use the front camera. you looked at your reflection on the screen, you looked good. the little makeup you had applied hadn't smudged, and you still appeared well-groomed. you raised the arm holding the phone and gestured with your head for ellie to stand next to you in the photo. once she stood beside you, bending down a little to match your height, you pressed the capture button and told ellie that you would take another one. she nodded, and in the instant you took the photo, she quickly grabbed your chin, bringing her lips to yours. you felt weak, and with the few thoughts that remained, you turned off the screen of your phone and tucked it into your bra, eager to hold her by the shoulders and bring her closer to you. ellie clasped her hands behind your waist, embracing you.

you parted your lips and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear when she kissed you again.

you responded just as intensely while caressing her neck, releasing the tension of finally doing what you had planned since you got off that damn bus, which now seemed even more distant.

"hey, williams! how do you always manage to get the girls?" a male voice almost shouted, causing you to separate from ellie, even though that was the last thing you wanted to do at that moment. just to the right of both of you were three boys who were smiling, especially at you. you sighed with annoyance and lowered your head, hiding in ellie's neck. she let go of you and placed a hand on the back of your neck, further hiding you in her embrace. "go fuck yourself, jack. find someone who can put up with you and get the fuck out," ellie told him, but this time her voice was different from what you had heard throughout the afternoon. it was raspier and stronger, indicating that she was on guard.

immediately, the boys left, and you emerged from your refuge in ellie's body. you placed a hand on your face, trying to hide how flushed you were by the situation. ellie grabbed your wrist and moved your hand away from your face, looking at you with puppy eyes. "i'm sorry about that. if you're worried, they won't say anything. they don't even know you. they're just my soccer teammates, and they can be overly invasive. i don't even know why they say that; i haven't been seen with a girl in over a year, and i..." you smiled at how nervous she was and gave her a quick peck on the lips. she smiled, understanding what you meant. "i don't care, els. i love being seen with you. they just caught me by surprise and ruined our first kiss," you feigned distress, only to have ellie embrace you again and kiss you slowly once more.

she gave you another peck, hugging you around the waist, and you brought your hands to her hair, caressing it gently. "we should go show those damn photos before those idiots not only interrupt us again but also beat us to it," you said. she let go of you but placed her hands on your waist to guide you. as you followed ellie towards what you hoped was the exit of that first stage, you glanced at your phone, preparing the photos to show your teachers. clearly, the first one that appeared on your screen was the one of you kissing your companion. you stared at it for a while, admiring how beautiful it looked and how you could see ellie's hand gently pushing you towards her. "i look good in that photo, don't i?" Ellie mentioned with a half-smile, showing a hint of arrogance. "only because of the lovely girl you have by your side," you said as you lightly tapped her shoulder. before you could tap her again, she gently took your hand and brought it to her lips, giving it a brief kiss.

after walking for a while and continuing to talk about nonsensical things, you arrived at the exit point of the line, where two teachers you had never seen before were waiting. you assumed they were from another school. what caught your attention was that this time ellie hadn't let go of your hand when approaching them. "i assume you two have the photos ready to show us. and don't want any hints," you guessed that the teacher wanted to sound cool, but it actually came across as quite eerie. luckily, it was ellie who took charge of talking to him. "of course, we have them, sir" she said as she took out her phone to show the photo she had taken of you earlier with the sheet that had a duck drawn on it. you hurriedly took out your phone to show tllie's teacher the photo of the woman and the duck, being careful not to reveal the photo of the kiss.

"perfect! you've got everything. now you're going to enter the fun stage of this activity," your gaze met ellie's for a second, and she tried to suppress a smile. "with those three pictures you found, you're going to create a story! something short that fits on this sheet," she took out a small sheet of paper and a pencil from her backpack and handed them to you. "you have 5 minutes. you can go over there, where the cut logs are for sitting, and bring us a good one!" ellie smiled uncomfortably and took your hand, leading you to the designated spot.

"so... a story," ellie said, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and placing the paper on her lap. you remained standing and nodded. "we have a duck, a woman, and a house," you said, looking at the photos on your phone again. "right, we need to keep it brief," she said, tapping the paper with the pencil as if it were a drumstick. "we can say that this woman has a house in the countryside with her girlfriend, and they adopt a duck," you said with a smile. ellie laughed and wrote it down on the paper. "that's us!" "of course! with rufus, obviously," ellie nodded and continued to focus on the paper. "do you mind if we stay here until those 5 minutes are up?" you shook your head and prepared to sit down, but she stopped you and took out a waterproof jacket from her backpack to place it on the ground. she gestured for you to sit on the jacket. "it's a pretty dress," she excused herself.

if you had thought for 5 more seconds, you probably wouldn't have done what you did, but you took the paper and pencil from her lap and sat on her legs. she was surprised for a moment but quickly wrapped her arms around your waist. "i'm glad you liked it. i wore it to impress my partner," you said, placing a hand on her arm and caressing it. you were surprised when she rested her head on your back and relaxed. that's how you stayed for a few minutes until you heard the same teacher approaching again. you quickly stood up from her lap and handed him the folded sheet with the mini-story.

he looked at you a bit strangely, possibly because he had seen you quickly get up from ellie's lap and adjust your dress. you were thankful that he didn't say anything and simply tucked the paper into his pocket. amidst small laughs, ellie and you followed him back to the starting point of the second stage, your hand lightly and slowly brushing against ellie's. you saw her suppress a smile as if the touch of your two hands tickled her. "okay, ladies," ellie's teacher said, looking at both of them sternly. "we're going to give you a list of items that you'll have to find in this part of the forest. you can use your cell phones or bring those things with you. when you finish this stage, you can take a few minutes to have lunch and then resume the activities." mr. lee untied the purple ribbon that was tied to two trees to let them pass. ellie thanked him and nodded at you to go first, so you waited for her before continuing.

you were grateful that the moment you were out of the teachers' sight, she took your hand and intertwined her fingers with yours. even though you had only known her for a few hours, it felt wrong to walk through the forest without holding hands. "did you read what's on the list?" you asked, looking at her profile. She was focused on the sheet and nodded her head. "an object made by humans, something that shines, something that could be used in a survival situation, and something that reminds them of their school," ellie read and then looked at you. you returned a confused look and tiptoed to give her a kiss on the cheek. "i hope you have good eyesight, babe," you said, letting her guide you. she laughed and squeezed your hand, tucking the list into her pants pocket.

well... 20 minutes had passed, and they only had "an object that reminds them of school" left. you hadn't been very helpful in finding the previous items; ellie had found everything. except for "something shiny." thanks to your keen eye for shiny things, you had found a small necklace in the roots of a tree. ellie wiped the little pendant on her jeans to keep your dress from getting dirty, and they continued their search. ellie had found a slightly dented can that would work, and under a small rock, a medium-sized piece of rope, a bit covered in dirt, but she excused it, saying it would do. "and in a survival situation, why would you use a dirty rope?" you asked, raising an eyebrow. "it can be useful for setting up a camp, for a bonfire, and even for making weapons," she proudly replied. she had told you something about how her father considered it important to teach her survival skills and basic things to do in an emergency. "i would use it for something different," you said, gently nudging her with your shoulder. she looked at you, amazed by your sudden desire to make risqué jokes. "i'll let that one slide, princess. i don't want what that joke could imply to come true in this forest," ellie said. you blushed violently while laughing with your face hidden in her arm. She lowered her head to give you a kiss on the hair. 

they grabbed a small can that was somewhat dirty and dented but would still serve for what they needed, which for the moment was to find "something that reminds them of school."

"if what they wanted was to nourish my academic spirit with that rule, all they're achieving is making me want to stay and live in this forest and never go back to that damn school again," ellie muttered, letting herself fall onto a cut log and hiding her face in her hands, visibly exhausted. she looked up, gazing at the trees, but none of the competing pairs seemed to have found that object yet, or at least that's what they both believed. they had crossed paths with many people, and they all asked them the same question, "do you have any idea of what can be used as the object that represents the school?" both of them answered no, and the cycle repeated itself.

you knelt on the ground in front of ellie, resting your head on her lap as you closed your eyes for a moment, deep in thought. she took the opportunity to gently caress your hair, being careful not to mess it up. you smiled, feeling her hands glide over your scalp and touch the bun that held a portion of your hair back. "so pretty," ellie whispered to herself, and you finally lifted your head to look at her. she smiled at you, and with one hand, she softly caressed your jaw, making you feel like you could fall asleep with your head resting on her. "are you tired, princess?" ellie asked, raising your head slightly so you could meet her gaze. "actually, yes. my legs are a bit sore, and i'm hungry," you replied. she smiled at you and lifted you up with her. "let's finish this shit quickly so we can rest and eat," she said. you nodded and let ellie take your hand to guide you.

"okay, listen to me for a moment," ellie said after pausing with wide-open eyes and a lost look in her gaze. she continued, turning on her heels and looking at you with a smile. "you scare me," you said, seeing her so happy. "we cut a piece of the ribbon they use for boundaries," ellie almost shouted, her expression as if she had solved some incredibly complicated equation, and in that moment, at least, it felt like it. you sighed, "oh, come on, it's a great idea, or at least the only one we have," ellie said the last sentence, putting on her best puppy eyes, and you looked at her again. "look, it's a terrible and irresponsible idea. we could cause an accident or make others lose. we could even face some penalties," you said, explaining with your hands the consequences it could lead to. "but..." ellie interrupted you, "but I'm really hungry. go grab that damn ribbon," you said with exasperation. ellie laughed, possibly because she hadn't heard you curse until now. you gave her a little push to hurry her up.

obviously, the last thing you expected was for her to approach the ribbon and take out a knife from her pocket as if it were nothing. you watched as she tore the small piece of fabric disproportionately, leaving it frayed on both ends. since it was a long ribbon, ellie was still able to tie the two ends where she had cut it, recreating the boundary. "do you always carry knives on casual school outings?" you asked her as you delicately took the ribbon from her hands. "only when I have a damsel in distress as a companion," she said, smiling slyly. arrogant bitch, you really adored her.

[sparksqfly]

Lover and Reputation, my favorite sister duo

[sparksqfly]

─ So much for summer love𓆝

synopsis: modern au - you meet ellie during a school activity and start getting involved in an intense relationship.

warnings! bad words, low self-esteem, men being bothersome, etc.

author's note: it's actually terrifying to publish this here. i'm a very private person with my writing, but my friend told me I should share it, so i listened to her. english is not my first language, so please forgive any errors I may have made. i did my best <3

about the story: joel is referred to as ellie's father. references to taylor swift and her music, the reader is a huge swiftie (just like the writer hehehe). i have the entire story written, but i divided it into parts to make it less lengthy. If you like it, i will publish the remaining parts! thank you for reading.

wc: 4,5k (sorry)

a loud and familiar horn woke you up from your trance, jesse and dina. you looked at yourself in the mirror again to see if "you weren't trying too hard," sighed, and decided to leave your room. you realized it had taken you 2 hours to get ready and cursed yourself for being so indecisive when it came to putting together a damn outfit for a stupid school trip. although, on second thought, if there was something that had made you hesitate so much about what to wear that day, it was what ms. smith had said on friday in the last few minutes of class. "remember that this activity in the forest will be done in pairs, but not just any pair. it will be two people that the directors of both schools have decided to put together based on their academic performance and behavior within the school." great, now you couldn't spend the entire forest activity arm in arm with dina, gossiping about trivial things. instead, you would be spending the whole afternoon with a stranger that the 40-year-old administrators had decided you should be with.

you let out a sigh, coming out of your thoughts, and sent a message to jesse saying that you had lost track of time and to wait five minutes as you would be ready. didn't bother waiting for a response and threw your phone into a medium-sized white backpack along with some sanitizing wipes, band-aids, sunglasses, a hair tie, some money, your headphones, and some candies you had on your nightstand. didn't bother arranging everything neatly as you would if only you weren't in such a hurry. you slung the bag over your shoulder and glanced at yourself one last time in the mirror, looking at the curls you had struggled to create, and adjusted the small ribbon that held some of your hair back at the back of your head.

you rushed out of your room while grabbing your keys and a lip balm that was on the table, and bid rufus, your orange cat, a high-pitched goodbye. he would be somewhere in the house, but he didn't really care much about you leaving. you opened the door, briefly glancing back into your house, vaguely checking the mental checklist you had made the night before. you decided that if you had forgotten something, it wasn't important anyway because if it were, you would have remembered it by now.

you locked the door of your house and smiled as you saw dina holding onto jesse while leaning halfway out of the passenger window to greet you.

"y/n! over here!" shouted the black-haired girl as you stored the key in your messy bag on your shoulder. "please stop," sighed jesse with exasperation, watching his brown jacket crinkle from how tightly dina was gripping it.

amid laughter, you entered the car and sat in the back seat, placing your bag beside you. you looked at your friends and then leaned forward to form a three-way hug. "wow, looking pretty today," dina smiled, admiring your white dress. jesse lovingly took a strand of your hair and observed, "i've always wondered how you girls use heat styling tools on your hair, yet it never smells burnt."

dina and you exchanged glances before bursting into laughter at jesse's concentrated expression while analyzing your hair. you rested your head back on the seat and watched jesse start the car with his key. you had always loved that things were uncomplicated with them—they knew each other so well that sometimes not a single word needed to be spoken to feel comfortable.

after about 5 minutes of driving and heading towards the school, dina connected music to the stereo and settled in her seat to look at both of you. "are you excited to see who your travel partner will be?" dina asked, looking specifically at you. you sighed and glanced at your dress again. "i wish I could say no, but i spent all night thinking about what to wear today and what people will think of me," you admitted. "whoever you're paired with, i'm sure you'll get along well, unlike us, you're kind and fun," jesse said with what you called his "older brother aura." "you guys are fun... sometimes," you said, looking at them with a smirk. "thanks, and if you're both interested, on friday, as i was coming back from the bathroom to go home, i overheard the teachers talking about the pairs being of the same gender to avoid the things we couples do in the forest when we're alone," dina looked at you, and you returned her knowing gaze. "maybe you can find a beautiful girlfriend, y/n." jesse looked at you through the rearview mirror and smiled, "you read my mind, sir." dina looked at you accusingly again, and you laughed at their insistent looks focused on you. "to be honest, i would like to meet someone here, a girl. It sounds romantic."

"imagine it until it becomes real" dina said, winking at you and leaning back in her seat. she looked at the stereo with a smile on her face. "i love this song" she said as she dramatically raised the volume knob to "circles" by post malone. unexpectedly, jesse started singing the song in a comically off-key manner, and you burst into laughter, joining in with loud and off-key singing. you truly loved them.

after about 15 minutes of driving, you arrived at the school. the sidewalk was painfully crowded with people, but you could hardly recognize anyone from your class or the hallways. jesse parked the car a couple of blocks ahead, knowing how difficult it would be to get back to the car once everyone dispersed. you helped them unload their belongings and slung your small white backpack back onto your shoulder. that's when you realized it might have been a mistake to pack so few things in such a small bag. everyone else had large backpacks and even more belongings in huge tote bags. you sighed. what was the point of carrying so many things anyway? your teachers had made it clear that everything you would need for the trip, such as food, water, or even warm clothing if necessary, would be provided by the school and the guides.

you snapped back to reality, coming out of your thoughts as you walked behind your friends back to the school, trying to smooth out your dress with your hands. once you reached the school, you had a better view of what others were wearing, and you felt relieved to see several girls wearing skirts and dresses even shorter than yours, which reached just above your knees. however, it was slightly longer at the back, not long enough to touch your ankles or the top of your white converse sneakers anyway

you had to wait for about 15 minutes before the teachers decided to group them by schools into two separate groups. you watched as even more people arrived than when you had first glanced from jesse's car. you rested your head on dina's shoulder while a middle-aged man who introduced himself as mr. emery explained the first game of the day, this time to find their excursion partners. you caught some parts of his speech as you were somewhat far from the teachers, and the students seemed unable to stop talking for a second, including dina, who already seemed to have made friends with a short, blonde-haired girl. when mr. emery finished speaking, you quickly approached jesse.

"what did he say?" you asked urgently, your expression desperate to understand what had been said amidst the hurried movements and conversations of everyone present in the courtyard. he chuckled slightly at your desperate expression and the sight of the bustling crowd. "he said they're going to write a number assigned to each of us on our hand, and we have to find our partner in the crowd because the partner will have the same number" jesse replied. "that's ridiculous, it's only going to cause more chaos," dina chimed in, magically appearing behind your back. "dina! you scared the shit out of me!" you whispered, looking at your friend who smirked, before you could continue complaining about how terrifying it was to interact with people, your math teacher approached jesse and grabbed his fist, writing a medium-sized thirteen on the back of his hand and then left without saying a word. "obviously, i'm going to have great luck with my partner today" jesse joked, showing dina and you his number. dina laughed, and you smiled. "are you kidding me? it's number thirteen! taylor swift's number! i'm really jealous of you right now!" jesse let out a small laugh with adoration towards you and ruffled your hair slightly before going to the group from the neighboring school to assume, to look for his partner.

dina and you exchanged smiles, and a middle-aged man with gray hair and dark circles under his eyes called you by your last name, and you handed him your hand, indicating that it was you, seeing the permanent marker on his hand. he gave you a smile and, after checking a small grid on a sheet of paper, wrote a "27" on your hand, the same size as jesse's. you brought your hand closer to you and smiled at him. "wow, you're my daughter's partner" he smiled shyly, and you looked at him more closely, remembering his face in case his daughter physically resembled him. "she's a rather reserved girl, but I think you'll get along well" he said. "i hope so" you replied kindly, not having much else to say. He smiled at you and left. "getting to know the father-in-law?" dina startled you again, magically appearing behind you. you rolled your eyes. "you're unbearable" you said, laughing, and did the typical military salute that you knew she hated before going to look for your famous partner.

well... agonizing 15 minutes had passed (although if you were asked, you would swear it had been 30) looking for your partner. you had seen the hands of dozens of girls, but none seemed to have a 27 on the back of their hand. you were about to give up and approach a teacher to see if it was some sort of mistake on their part, considering that there were very few people left in the courtyard as most had already found their partners and boarded the bus. just when you were about to go talk to your math teacher, you saw a girl with auburn hair and a blue and white shirt leaning against one of the bus walls, you noticed that you hadn't seen her before in the crowd, and honestly, you had nothing to lose by trying one last time. any sense of embarrassment had vanished after talking to the tenth person who seemed to have your number, but in reality, it wasn't the right one. besides, this girl was really attractive and seemed kind, shy but friendly.

you approached her, who, despite having you in front of her, didn't pay much attention to you. you took advantage of that moment to look at her closely. she had a perfect profile with eyebrows that framed her face perfectly, a beautiful upturned nose, medium but full lips that seemed dry, and admirable green orbs that appeared like tourmalines of the same color in the light. only when you snapped out of your trance of admiring her did you realize that her eyes were fixed on you with an arched eyebrow, seeing that you had stayed still, lost in her appearance.

you cleared your throat before speaking to her, ignoring the warmth you felt rising in your cheeks and how flushed you must have been. oh my god. she was just a girl. why were you reacting like this? "could I see your number? i'm really looking for my partner, and i think you're the only one i haven't asked" you offered a smile as you spoke, and she just looked into your eyes with an expression you couldn't decipher. you expected some verbal response, but she only raised her fist slightly, and you had to gather courage for the next step: delicately took her hand and noticed a brief shiver from the girl as you touched her skin with the tips of your fingers. not wanting to make her uncomfortable, you carefully turned her hand and finally found the number 27 written on it.

you released her fist and with a smile, showed her your left hand where the same number was written. "we're partners" you smiled and adjusted your bag on your shoulder. "cool." you let pass what you suspected was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. nah, she didn't seem like that kind of person. "you have no idea how much i was looking for you, asked almost everyone" you said with excitement in your voice. She smiled slightly, noticing the emotion in your voice. "mind if we get on the bus?" you added a questioning tone at the end so that she would tell you her name. "ellie" she responded with a hint of a smile on her lips. "ellie, ah, wonderful!" you smiled back at her and were startled by the loud honk of the bus ahead. In a panic of being left behind, you grabbed ellie's hand, where her number was written, and joined it with yours, gently pulling her along as you started running towards the bus with her behind you.

you both boarded the bus, and you let go of her hand when the driver closed the door behind the two of you. you told your last name to the guide sitting in the front seat, moved forward to find an empty seat for both of you, and found one a little further ahead. you turned back and caught the last name ellie whispered to the woman, "williams, ellie williams, that's a nice name" you thought to yourself once you sat in the bus seat. you gestured to your companion with your head for her to sit next to you, and fortunately, she did.

before you could start a conversation, mr. emery stood up and began explaining the agenda for the day in the forest. Seeing that ellie was paying attention to what he was saying, you diverted your eyes from her to finally listen to an authority figure. "guys, you have to listen to me. we don't want to make this any longer for you. the proposal for today is a race" said the authority. Immediately, all the teenagers on the bus let out an "ohh" of disappointment, which was exactly what you thought too. had they been planning this for so long just for a long physical education class in the forest for five hours? you sighed and looked back at mr. emery, who was gesturing for everyone to let him continue with the explanation.

"i know what you're thinking, and don't worry, it's not what you kids believe. the race will consist of 3 stages of riddles, which will be explained better when you get there, but to give you an example, the first one will be to find three hidden symbols in different trees scattered in a section of the forest. once the duo has all the symbols noted down, they can move on to the next stage, which will also be a riddle." this time the reactions were mixed; you noticed some excited faces as well as some girls rolling their eyes and talking to their friends. on the other hand, ellie seemed interested in what had been told, even excited, you could say. you smiled as you observed her trying to hide her smile by pressing her lips together.

"i need you to listen to one last thing," mr. emery said, raising his hand and showing a purple ribbon. "this is the race boundary. you can't go beyond where this ribbon is located. it's a dangerous place, with traps for bears, big bears, wolves, and foxes. if you happen to encounter any of those and there's no teacher nearby, it's a BAD sign. you'll end up devoured by an animal and dead." you guessed the last part was sarcasm, although it didn't sound like it.

you paled at the mention of bears and traps so close to where you would be, until a voice snapped you out of your trance. "you don't actually think there are bears there, do you, pretty girl?" ellie said, looking at you with a sideways smile that disappeared when she realized you were genuinely scared. "hey, don't worry, there are no bears. he only says that to scare us and prevent us from crossing the boundaries." as she spoke, she placed a hand on your knee and gently moved it in circles. you smiled and placed your hand on top of hers, both "27" on top of each other. but before you could respond, your annoying classmates started playing horrible music at full volume and screaming while playing stupid games only they could understand. "oh, fuck me" you sighed heavily, looking at the white ceiling of the bus.

ellie, who had been looking back at your classmates, turned her gaze to you. "are they always like this?" she asked incredulously. "always" you replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed. ellie stood up to remove her (now that you could see it clearly) huge backpack from her lap and placed it under the seat. you took the opportunity to take out your earphones and phone from your bag, revealing a picture of rufus asleep on a book on your lock screen. ellie sat back down next to you, spreading her legs as you connected your earphones. you searched for the playlist you usually used to travel with jesse and dina (which was mainly taylor swift) and pressed shuffle. then you offered one of your headphones to ellie, who accepted with a smile, moving a little closer to you. In that moment, you thanked rufus, who had broken your airpods a week ago, leaving you with your wired headphones.

after about 10 minutes of the journey, you relaxed as ellie seemed to enjoy your music. you noticed her nodding her head to the rhythm, and you smiled. you wanted to rest your head on the bus window since you were extremely tired from waking up so early and staring at your reflection for so long. but just as you were about to close your eyes and finally get some rest, your classmates, of course, chose that moment to slam your window shut forcefully, startling you as you quickly lifted your head in alarm, while they burst into laughter, high-fiving each other. you sighed, trying not to look at them or ellie, feeling humiliated by the knowledge that they wouldn't take you seriously anyway. however, ellie seemed to have a different idea about how to act.

"hey! what the fuck is your problem with her?!" ellie stood up abruptly, slamming her hands firmly on the back of your seat. fortunately, not many people noticed what was happening amidst the loud music and shouts on the bus. ellie exchanged some harsh words with them, which you couldn't hear, and one of the guys stood up, touched your back, and apologized with his head down. you nodded slightly and turned to play the song again.

"sorry about that" ellie said, sitting back down beside you. "they're just a bunch of idiots. ond't let them get to you." you managed to smile gratefully at her before continuing your sentence.

"i'm glad you stood up for me. not many people do."

"well, I don't tolerate assholes" ellie replied with a hint of determination in her voice. "besides, we're going to have a great time on this race, and I won't let anyone ruin it for us."

her words brought a genuine smile to your face. perhaps this race wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all, especially with ellie by your side. as you leaned back in your seat, finally finding some peace, you silently thanked rufus again for breaking your airpods and bringing ellie into your life.

you offered ellie the headphone again, and she gently took it, her fingertips brushing against yours as she put it on. "do you want me to change the music?" you offered as you were about to turn off your phone screen to try and get some sleep. she shook her head. "i've never heard this music before, but it's pleasant. it goes well with the journey." you nodded with a smile. she couldn't possibly be real. She was so nice and attractive, and she called you "pretty girl"?! You blushed, replaying those words in your mind with her voice, and decided to strike up a conversation.

"so... is that your cat on your wallpaper?" you were surprised to see that she had initiated the conversation between the two of you. you quickly glanced at your phone, looking at the photo of rufus peacefully asleep on top of a stack of books. "yes, my cat. his name is rufus. my mom brought him home during christmas. he was tiny and on the streets. he's the devil incarnate in an orange cat. do you have any pets?" instantly, you wanted to cover your mouth for talking too much, fearing that you had overwhelmed ellie with information. but as if she had read your mind, she spoke up. "he looks adorable. and no, i don't have any pets. i'd love to have a cat. i really like them, even though they don't seem to like me."

"you get used to it. i don't think rufus thinks i'm cool anyway" you replied. "you look cool though, i mean, you seem nice. you had the courage to come and talk to me" she said with admiration. you looked at her with adoration, wishing you could talk to dina right now. how did you develop a crush so quickly on someone you had just met? "did you see me talking to all the girls to see if they had the number 27?" you blushed, remembering the embarrassment you had experienced approaching everyone to check. "i did! you looked really cute. you even made me feel sorry for you, so i approached stealthily. it was all planned" she laughed, her comment making you laugh as well. your cheeks were still flushed, but this time not from embarrassment, but from the girl in front of you, unabashedly flirting. "i'm glad you're my partner. i think we'll have a fun afternoon." "so be it," eillie opened her hand for a high-five, and you gladly obliged.

"can i ask you a question?" ellie inquired. "anything." "this may sound strange, but what's your name?" you paled, realizing that you had spent all that time with her without even telling her your name. you had held her hand and lent her your music, but you didn't even have the decency to introduce yourself. you stuttered for a few seconds before telling her your name and apologizing for forgetting to do so earlier. "y/n," ellie said your name aloud, as if testing it on her lips. "that's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." all the color that had disappeared from your face came rushing back in an even stronger blush. "stop it! you're turning me into a tomato if you keep making me blush." "you look really pretty like that, that's why i do it." finally, you rested your elbows on your lap and hid your face in your hands. a cute and kind girl saying all those things to you? you were truly weak. you heard ellie laugh behind you and looked at her, pretending to be annoyed. "come on, lift your head, love. we have a long day ahead." 'it's obvious,' you thought as you observed her face full of freckles. once you composed yourself, you put your headphone back on and finally gathered the courage to rest your head on ellie's shoulder to sleep. you felt a smile forming on her face, and after a few seconds, she rested her head on yours and placed her hand back on your knee

you woke up to the sound of excessively loud chatter. you opened your eyes, adjusting to the light, and realized where your head was. you slowly lifted your head and saw ellie's profile, still in the same position as when you fell asleep, but this time looking towards the bus exit, possibly waiting for everyone to fully disembark. before speaking to her, you noticed a somewhat red mark and distinct lines on the lower part of her cheek. you pondered for a few seconds what it could be and smiled when you realized it was the mark left by your hair when she rested her head on yours. you assumed that she had also fallen asleep in the same position you remembered, and your heart filled with joy at how quickly she had become comfortable with you.

before ellie realized that you had been staring at her profile, you touched her shoulder and with a smile asked if it was okay to get off now. she nodded and helped you pick up your earphones that had fallen to the floor during the journey. she grabbed her backpack and put it on her shoulder, starting to walk towards the bus door. you followed her while closing your backpack, and when you reached the stairs to descend, you noticed that slowly all the students were gathering around the teachers who were starting to organize themselves to give instructions. you looked back at the stairs and saw ellie standing on the grass, extending a hand to help you down. you took her hand and took the opportunity to get a better look at her forearm tattoo. though it seemed unfinished, it was undeniably beautiful. you wondered if she had drawn the design herself and decided to ask her later. as you approached the teachers, you thought ellie would let go of your hand, but she didn't. she continued to hold it gently as she guided you to a closer spot near the teachers to listen to the instructions.

once again, you got lost in your partner's appearance and missed the explanation. she seemed to realize the reason when you asked her to repeat what your teachers had said, and she blushed slightly. "they said there are more than 10 symbols carved into various trees in the area, and they want us to implement technology or something like that. so, when we move on to the next stage, we need to show them the photos we've taken of the symbols on the trees. we should have at least three to complete this part." as ellie narrated, you nodded slowly, trying not to get lost in her beautiful green eyes again. "understood. anything else?" ellie nodded her head. "to make sure we don't use the same photos as our classmates, we need to make it clear that the photo is ours. like having ourselves in the photo or using our hand to show the assigned number." you nodded again, and this time it was your turn to hold her hand and lead her to the starting point of the race.