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daddyslilchickenfingers2 · 4 months

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KINKTOBER (reuploaded)

Pegging (Matt)

Request: none but yall begged for me to bring it back lmao

Warnings: pegging obviously, sub!matt, best friends, bi reader, fingering(male), dual pleasure strap on, use of vibrator, slight edging, use of matty, mommy kink, whiny!matt, 0.2 seconds of matt sucking the strap, i think that’s all, lmk if i missed anything!

A/N: sorry this is a few days late, i’ve been super busy. tomorrow will be posted on time

Y/n’s pov

I was in the kitchen working on my MacBook when my best friend Matt came in and sat across from me. “Hey Matt.” I greeted him without looking up from my computer screen. “Um hi Y/n/n. Can I uh ask you like a really weird and personal question?” he asked. I was a bit confused but nonetheless nodded in agreement, “Sure I guess…” I said while clicking save and closed my laptop to give him my full attention. “I uh- I can’t ask you here, can we go to my room?” he stated nervously, only adding to my confusion.

We got into his room and Matt closed the door behind him, “So you know how you’re bi?” “Oh really, I am? I had no idea!” I replied sarcastically. “Not funny, but like you’re bi, obviously. I um, uh I-I know you have a strap-on…” he stuttered and trailed off. “If your question is why do I have it, I’m going to hit you for being dumb.” I joked, making Matt squirm uncomfortably, “Have you ever, you know, used it on a guy before?” he inquired nervously. “No… Why do you want to know about my sex life you weirdo?” I was suddenly getting a bit flustered because how the hell does Matt know I have a strap-on in the first place and why is he asking me about what I do with it?

“I- uh- I really like y-you and I have um- a fantasy involving you a-and I really want you to do it. Please don’t get mad.” he stated in a rushed tone, stuttering over a few words. I was beyond confused and a bit shocked, “That’s not how I expected this conversation to go. Um, okay, wow- what’s um… what’s this fantasy?” I asked curiously. Matt started to nervously pick at his nails and chew on his lip, avoiding eye contact with me as his cheeks turned pink. “Would you please dom me?” he asked, “And peg me…” he added, saying it so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him.

“What!? Matt are you sure? It’s probably gonna hurt, I’ve-I’ve never done that before. I’ve only ever used it to fuck a girls pussy.” I replied flustered and just as nervous as Matt. He finally looked at me with pleading eyes, “Please? I have lube and I’ve fingered myself before. I’ll be a good boy and listen, I promise!” he begged me. Looking at his face, I reluctantly agreed “I uh- okay, we can try it. I’m just scared I’m going to hurt you.” I told him softly. “You won’t hurt me, it’ll just be uncomfortable at first. I really want this, I’ve thought about it since we were 17. Can we do it tonight? Chris and Nick are going over to a friend’s house.” Matt said quickly, clearly excited that I agreed.

“Sure I guess, but I’m gonna want foreplay beforehand. And I’m probably gonna want to kiss you, like a lot.” I laughed as Matt’s cheeks turned a deep shade of pink again. He started looking down again nervously “Can I kiss you right now?” he asked softly, instead of answering I just tilted his head up and captured his lips in a short but sweet kiss. “Mhm, thank you.” he blurted out after, as I got up and made my way to the door. I sent him a wink before going to my own room where I pulled out my strap-on, which happened to be one for dual pleasure, meaning there was a vibrating dildo that went into me as well.

Even though it had already been cleaned after the last time I used it, I decided to clean it again anyway. I also decided I needed to ask Matt another question so I texted him to come to my room. I laid out a few sets of lingerie, that basically cover nothing, on my bed, but I wanted Matt to pick one anyway. “Um what did you need my help with?” he asked as he stepped into my room, closing the door. “I want you to pick which one you want me to wear tonight.” I said while pulling him over to my bed to look at what I had picked out. I stopped when I noticed Matt kept trying to cover his crotch with his hands, instantly knowing he was hard. “Are you hard right now Matty?” I teased, causing him to blush deeply.

“Only a little bit. I didn’t touch myself, I promise! I-I do have a vibrator in m-my ass though but it’s not on. I just wanted to edge myself so I could cum more later, ‘m sorry I didn’t a-ask.” he stuttered out, extremely flustered. “Do you have the remote?” I questioned as he was eyeing this one black set, which was mostly just straps. “Yes, and I want this one it’s really sexy.” he blurted out before blushing heavily. The one he picked out was a black leather bra and panties set with a grater belt, the bra was basically just an outline of one as it had nothing covering my tits. It did hold my them up nicely though, just like the panties, which were crotchless, and the garter made my ass look good.

“Can I have control of the vibrator until tonight? You think you can handle that without cumming?” I inquired, wanting to know how far I could take things with him. Matt dug into his pocket before pulling out the remote and handed it to me with an embarrassed smile. “I think I can as long as it’s not on 24/7.” he told me as he grabbed my hand and started nervously playing with the few rings I had on my fingers. “Can I ask you a serious question?” I asked Matt, resulting in him nodding. “I’m not judging you, I just want to know, but you don’t have to answer if you feel uncomfortable. Why do you want to be pegged so badly and like having things up your ass? I don’t care if you are, but are you like gay or bi?” I questioned, causing him to drop my hand.

Matt’s face turned a bright red and he had to clear his throat a couple of times before speaking. “N-No, I’m not gay or bi, I don’t find men attractive. I was just young and experimenting one day and figured out how to stimulate my prostate. I wanna get pegged because I’ve seen it on pornhub and it looks really hot.” he said softly. “Plus you’re someone I trust and if I’m being honest, you’re really attractive and you domming me would be the hottest fucking thing in the world to me.” he added, blushing heavily. “Noted. Thanks Matty, that’s all I needed.” I smiled at him before Nick conveniently called for him. This was the perfect time to start teasing him with the vibrator.

After putting the other two lingerie sets away, I walked out to the kitchen, pretending to go back to working on my laptop. I watched as Matt sat down next to Nick on the couch, pulling the small remote out of my pocket I pressed the + button, turning it on to 1, making Matt’s breath hitch a little. He looked up at me with pleading eyes to stop as he was talking to Nick but I turned it up again to 3, making him squirm a bit. “Matt, are you okay? You look uncomfortable and you’re not paying attention.” Nick asked, genuinely concerned.

Matt’s pov

I regret giving Y/n the remote to the vibrator now because I didn’t think she’d turn it on when I was talking to my fucking brother. I was fine when it was on level 1 but when she turned it up to 3 my brain went a bit foggy, I zoned out a little bit until Nick put his hand on my shoulder. “Matt, are you okay? You look uncomfortable and you’re not paying attention.” he asked, I quickly came up with an excuse. “Yeah I’m fine, my head just hurts a bit.” I lied, looking at Y/n and silently asking her to turn it off, which luckily for me, she did. After talking to Nick, I walked over to her, “Please don’t turn it on when I’m talking to my brother!” I pleaded, but that just made her turn it up to 5 while smirking.

“But doesn’t it feel good Matty?” she asked, I let out a whimper and nodded before walking back to the living room. This went on for the next two hours or so until Nick and Chris left, my boxers were soaked with precum and my dick was so hard. I was laying on my bed and I swear I almost came in my pants when Y/n walked in. She was wearing the lingerie set I picked out along with the strap-on, which was black and matched the set perfectly. The strap-on was definitely smaller than my dick, maybe 5 or 6 inches max, but that was good because I don’t think I could take one that’s upwards of 7 inches.

I started squirming as Y/n stood above me, looking down at me and telling me to get undressed. She already had me take the vibrator out like 15 minutes ago, not that it really mattered. “You’re already being such a good boy for me Matty.” she praised, making me whine a bit as her eyes raked over my body. “I’m ready for you to dom me.” I confessed, causing her to stop staring at my body and smile at me. “Where’s your lube at?” she asked me but I just got it for her instead, “Thank you handsome, can you lay on the bed for me?” she asked sweetly, knowing I was a bit nervous to get pegged and have sex with her in general.

Y/n’s pov

I know Matt said he wanted me to dom him, but I could visibly tell he was anxious and nervous so I was trying to be as gentle as I could with him. “Matty, if it’s too much or it hurts too bad let me know and we’ll stop and cuddle okay?” I said while moving some hair out of his eyes. “I promise I’ll say something.” he replied, “What do you wanna start with first babe?” I asked him, wanting to do things his way. “I want to makeout with you.” he giggled, I hovered over Matt and we started kissing slowly at first, then we started full-on making out. I was sucking on Matt’s tongue and he was letting out the prettiest whiny moans as I ran my hands up and down his sides.

Experimentally, I started ghosting my hands across his nipples, loving the whimper it pulled from him. I pulled back for just a second, “Does that feel good baby?” I questioned while rubbing my thumbs over his nipples before rolling them between my thumb and index finger. “Yeah but please more!” he whined, not making too much sense, “Please what baby? What do you want me to do?” I asked as I kissed all over his chest. “Want you to just peg me already. I’m ready mommy.” Matt squirmed. His eyes opened widely when he realized what he just said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mea-“ he started before I cut him off with a kiss.

“Don’t be impatient baby, mommy will fuck you when she’s ready.” I said sternly as I moved towards his aching cock. I discreetly turned my vibrator onto 2, not high enough to make me cum but just enough to get me more wet. His cock was already covered and dripping with precum, “This really gets you worked up, doesn’t it?” I teased as I grabbed the lube. I squeezed some onto my fingers and circled his puckered hole before slowly slipping one in. “Two fingers please, I can take it.” he whined, I added a second finger and Matt was right, he could indeed take it.

I started scissoring his hole opened before adding some more lube and a third finger causing Matt to whimper. “Too much?” I asked, not wanting to hurt him, “N-No just so full.” he panted out in response. I fingered Matt for a few more minutes until he grabbed my wrist and stopped me. “I-I think I’m ready mommy.” he said, looking up at me with those innocent blue eyes. “Are you sure?” I asked as I pulled my fingers out, wiping the rest of the lube off on my thigh. “Really sure, can- can I get it wet with my mouth and control your vibrator, please?” Matt asked nervously.

I handed him the remote and stood up, Matt quickly turned my toy up to 5 which caused me to squirm before he got on his knees. “You look good on your knees baby.” I complimented, making him blush heavily. “How do I um you know, suck dick?” Matt asked, his last two words barely above a whisper. “Well I’m not going to feel anything so you can just do whatever.” I explained, Matt nodded and started to suck on it lightly for a minute as I looked down at him.

He whined and stopped sucking, “I can’t wait, just use lube because I need it now!” he complained, desperately trying not to touch himself. “Okay, get back on the bed for me then.” I said while stroking the side of his face. Once Matt got back on the bed, I put some lube around his hole and onto the strap. “It might hurt baby, so tell me if you need to stop.” “Okay Y/n, please I need you so bad!” he whined. I placed the tip at Matt’s entrance and slowly pushed it in about half way.

Matt let out a choked sob as his hands tightly clenched the sheets and his face held a look of discomfort. “It’s okay Matty, you’re okay.” I soothed him, “P-Put the rest in.” he whimpered. I pushed in the rest of the way before stilling my movements again, not wanting to go too fast. Matt being the sneaky little shit he is, decided to turn my vibrator up to 7, I let out a loud moan as he did so. “Please move.” he groaned quietly, I started pumping at a slow pace as he started to groan a bit.

Even though I was feeling so much pleasure from the vibrator and I wanted nothing more than to start pounding into Matt, I stopped myself because I didn’t want to hurt him. “F-Faster mommy!” he loudly whined, I sped up my movements just a little bit, loving Matt’s whimpers and moans, “Feel good baby?” I panted out. “More! Need more!” he cried out, grabbing onto my shoulders, “Want me to go faster or harder?” I asked, wanting to clarify what he wanted.

“Both, please! Feels so goo—“ he cut himself off with an extremely loud moan as I started fucking into him rougher. “RIGHT THERE! FUCK MOMMY, D-DO THAT AGAIN!” he begged, bending his knees and putting his feet flat on the bed to arch his back more. Even with all the pleasure Matt was experiencing, he was still thinking about me, he turned up my vibrator to 10 which caused me to also join in on his loud moaning.

“Right here Matty? Is that where it feels good?” I asked breathlessly, “Yes! Yes! Please touch my cock, please! Please!” he needily moaned. I started rubbing his cock in rhythm with my thrust as we were both getting closer to the edge. “A-Are you close mommy?” “Very close baby, I just want you to cum first.” I told Matt, speeding up all my movements. “Choke me! Choke me tightly so I can please cum!” he whimpered.

I used my left hand to choke him and a couple seconds later, Matt was painting both our stomachs white with copious amounts of cum, cause me to cum as well and pulled out a him. “M-Matt, vibrator!” I cried for him to turn it off as I was getting overstimulated, “Sorry, sorry.” he apologized out of breath and turned it off my vibrator as I collapsed next to him on my back as we caught our breath.

I took off the strap and I was honestly just going to put it on the floor because I was too tired to clean it right now but Matt took it from me. He licked all my cum off the vibrating side before he put it on the floor and scooped his cum off of me. Matt stuck his fingers in his mouth to taste himself and moaned when I moved to lick the rest of his cum off his body. “You were such a good boy Matty, you did so well.” I praised him as I kissed his neck, sucking a minimal amount of hickies into the skin.

“Thank you Y/n/n, felt so good.” Matt blushed as I stood up to go take another shower “C’mon let’s go get cleaned up real quick.” I said while helping Matt up. I grabbed my clothes and strap-on as well as a pair of socks, boxers and a tshirt for Matt before we went to my room to take a quick shower. When we got out and got dressed we looked at the time to see Nick and Chris would be home soon. As to not be sus, we sat in the living to watch a movie and Matt was now extra clingy.

I’m not complaining, I think it’s cute, I enjoyed it. Matt had his head on my shoulder and I had an arm wrapped around his shoulders. I was playing with his hair when Nick and Chris walked back in and thankfully neither of them said anything. They probably just chalked it up to Matt feeling anxious about something and I comforted him. Both boys simply just plopped down on the couch to watch the movie with us until we all called it a night, Matt ended up sleeping in my room.

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minustwofingers · 1 year

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exoplanet part 7

pairing: ellie williams x fem!reader (she/her pronouns used)

series masterlist (read parts 1-6 here!)

summary: you’ve won the life lottery as one of the few people on earth with parents who gained admittance to the most prestigous safezone in the world after the outbreak. but after a lab accident sends you out to jackson, wyoming, real life hits you fast. it’s a good thing that a hot lesbian finds u. (lol). mean ellie at first, slowburn, enemies to friends to lovers, fem reader asf

warnings: stuck up awful rich people. mentions of: abortion (sowwy ** i can't write kids), homophobia, throwing up, general awful elitism, heavy drinking, implied minor character death, and we talk about stuff like unethical labor practices/basically slave labor. depictions of: violence, guns.

a/n: hey yall....sorry for taking literal months to write this. and sorry in advance for what you're about to read, since this is admittedly a little far removed from tlou. and i'm also sorry if this isn't what you guys are expecting—i know i made you wait a long time for this, so it was tough for me to finally get around to posting because i didn't want to disappoint anyone. also it was just sooo sad writing the last scene because i just didn't want it to end!! anywayyyy enjoy

wc: 14.6k (i know...i know...)

tags: @intrnetdoll @dazedshoon @lovecaraya @pctcr @sariyaflowr @loser-keiji @prettyplant0 @666findgod @sawaagyapong @rystarkov @buzzybuzzsposts @addisonnie @galacticstxrdust @elliesbabygirl @pinkazelma @ariianelle @lu002 @blairfox04 @sparkleswonderland @elliesflower @muthafuckingstargirl @elliewilliamsissubermommyoml @eviestevie-14 @quicksilversg1rl @guacala @crtcrp @overtrred28 @sugarqueencosmos @iriswalrus @chiao1209 @lovecaraya @thatgiraffefromtlou @alwayslongingforyou @thelastofshimmer

May 16th, 2029

Welcome to AskAI! Enter your questions below and I'll try my best to answer :)

How does Cordyceps spread?

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is mostly commonly spread between humans by the medium of bodily fluids, though this was not always the case. In the early stages of the outbreak, most carriers were infected by the presence of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis spores in flour from a Jakartan mill. It is still unclear how the contamination occurred.

Is saliva included in bodily fluids that carry Cordyceps?

Yes, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis can be spread through human saliva. Other bodily fluids include blood, feces, mucus, and semen.

So if someone were to kiss someone infected with Cordyceps, would that person be infected too?

Yes, because Ophiocordyceps unilateralis can be spread through human saliva.

How long would it take before seeing symptoms?

If Ophiocordyceps unilateralis spores were to be introduced to an individual via mouth-to-mouth transmission, the approximate incubation window has been recorded to be no longer than 8 hours.

How long would it take to be detected by a standard testing device?

Our testers would detect the presence of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis within an hour after exposure. Note that this only refers to the conditions outside of Terranova. There has never been a detected case of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis in Terranova’s history.

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One year later

“And there’s no way we can skip?”

“You know the rules.”

Dina rolled her eyes and sighed as you two stood at the door of your parents’ penthouse, waiting to knock. “Maybe if you went and I said that I was sick or something.”

“They’d know you were lying.”

“They’d probably be happy if I missed dinner.”

“I don’t know if happy is something they can be,” you said. You tried to make it light and joking, but it came out with the heaviness of truth. “Plus, they’re not exactly thrilled with me either.”

“Not exactly thrilled” was the understatement of the century. Ever since you’d come home with a pregnant outsider toting a gun and covered in dirt, your parents had convinced themselves that you’d somehow become corrupted over your time living outside.

But Dina had it way worse. Your parents were so scandalized by her rugged ways and the fact that she’d gotten pregnant out of wedlock that they’d nearly fainted upon realizing you were advocating for her Terranovan citizenship.

You both had had the good fortune of avoiding any further tense interactions with them for the last few months, but that morning you’d awoken to an email that contained an invitation to their home for dinner. It was noted that Dina had to attend.

So here you two were. Dressed in uncomfortable, stiff clothes and nervously twiddling your thumbs.

“You’re going to be fine,” you promised Dina. It sounded like a lie. “I’ll do most of the talking, okay?”

“If you say so.”

You rang the doorbell.

It took just a few moments before the door swung open.

“Hi Chris!” you greeted, plastering a smile on your face.

Your family housekeeper smiled back with a neutral warmth. She looked slightly thinner than you remembered when you saw her last just a few months ago. “Hello. Miss Dina, please remember to keep your shoes on this time.”

Dina flushed bright red. The last time she’d come over for dinner, she’d taken her shoes off and had been given a very stern lecture by your mother about how improper stockinged feet were for dinner. “Of course not, ma’am.”

You sent her an apologetic look and stepped inside.

“Your parents are in the sitting room,” Chris told you as she took your coats.

You thanked her.

“Why don’t they ever come up to greet us themselves?” Dina whispered to you.

You shrugged. “No clue. They just never have. They probably don’t want to have to take a break from whatever stimulating conversation they’re having about the country club happenings.”

She snorted. All of a sudden, you were overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for Dina and her spirit. After your family had essentially decided you were hopeless, family get-togethers had become torture. Dina was your lifeline.

As Chris had said, your parents were found lounging in the sitting room, your mother fanning herself with one hand and holding what looked to be a gin and tonic in the other, your father sitting across from her in a tastefully worn armchair.

“Girls,” your mother greeted. Her eyes looked flinty and flat. “How good of you to come. I was worried you’d lost your way.”

It was a classic Y/L/N insult for latecomers, but it was barely a minute past 6:30.

“The elevator wasn’t working,” you offered. “We had to take the stairs.”

“Hm. Well, come and sit. Petra can get you a drink.”

A tall girl who couldn’t have been much younger than you was standing at the other end of the room next to the bar. She had bright ginger hair that stood out starkly against the neutral beige of her uniform and a small, squatty nose. You’d never seen her before in your life.

“Is she new?” you asked.

“Who, Petra? Oh, I think so. It must’ve been…oh, I’m not sure. This March, I believe? What do you think, darling?”

“Around then.” The solid ice globe slid against the glass with a clink as your father answered, taking a long pull of his bourbon after.

“It’s nice to meet you,” said Dina politely.

Your mother let out a labored sigh. “Dear, I’m very glad to see you working on manners, but there’s no need to engage with the help.”

Dina didn’t answer, instead sending you a meaningful look.

“Well, not usually,” she continued. “Though it is appropriate to interact with them in matters that are considered strictly business. Take, for example, the fact that neither of you have managed to order a drink yet. Petra, come.”

You stared at your hands, folded tightly in your lap. If there was anything you hated more than your parents, it was how they treated the help. And, though you’d never say it out loud, you didn’t understand how two middle aged adults needed more than one full-time housekeeper on hand. Chris made sense. Petra was entirely unnecessary.

“We really don’t need anything,” you said to Petra when she was in front of you, looking rather pale. “But thank you.”

The tension in the air refused to dissipate, not even when you were relocated to the dining room and had the crutch of picking away at the three courses served to you.

Dina, having been thoroughly scolded by your mother the last time she dined with her, was clinical in choosing which utensil to use for each course.

Your mother babbled on and on about the country club and the book club. Your father occasionally butted in with a few dull, lifeless comments. There was something especially dead in his appearance, like he was running on zero sleep.

“You may be curious as to why I asked you two here today,” your mother said after the main course plates had been cleared. “First of all, I wanted to extend my congratulations to my daughter for graduating in just a few days.”

“Thank you,” you said stiffly.

“And more importantly—”

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

“—I wanted to announce that your father will finally be retiring,” she said. “He’s been working so hard for the last few years. Isn’t this wonderful?”

“That’s really great, Father,” you said, feigning a smile to hide your confusion. You hadn’t known that your father had even worked, much less hard enough to warrant a formal retirement.

“Thanks, dove,” he said.

“When’s your last day?” you pried, wondering if you could manage any more information out of him.

“This Friday.”

“Hm.” So much for that. You exchanged glances with Dina as Petra reappeared with a tray of small goblets filled with colorful globes of sorbet.

“You’ll both be expected to be in attendance at his retirement party,” Mother added. She was frowning deeper now.

“Even me?” said Dina.

“Yes.” She smiled tightly. “And please note that they’re unaware that we helped you through your…little problem. I can’t imagine why that would ever come up in conversation, but I would really prefer it didn’t.”

“Uh huh,” responded Dina, her eyes wide.

When Dina had arrived, your family had given her two options—have her child and give it up for adoption, or terminate the pregnancy then and there in secret. Refusing to comply would lead to your parents being entirely unwilling to sponsor her citizenship as it was far too unseemly to be an unmarried mother. Though it was clear your parents thought she was devastated by the prospect, she’d confided in you later that she hadn’t realized that that had been an option for her. She’d taken the second option without a second thought, telling you that she didn’t feel ready to be a mother.

The unfortunate part of it all was that your parents held this over her head on occasion, using it as leverage to make Dina feel like she owed them. Hence why she never felt entirely comfortable with telling them off.

That your parents had kept the abortion a secret was hardly a surprise. Abortion was one of those issues that no one liked to talk about. Though it wasn’t the hardest procedure to get, it was never publicly discussed. You’d never personally known of anyone who had gotten one before, but the clinic had been so full when you’d attended with Dina nearly a year ago that you were beginning to second guess that fact.

“Anyway,” said your mother lightly, “Darling, have you heard anything from the Thompsons recently?”

“Oh, no. I haven’t seen Richard in quite some time.”

“It’s funny you say that. Melanie was supposed to host the Garden Club party last week, and you’ll never believe what happened.”

“What, honey?” Your father stared dully at the tablecloth, entirely unengaged.

“When I stopped by, the rest of the girls were already there,” your mother said. “Just sitting out in front of her building looking very confused. I walked right up and asked what was going on—you know, now that I’m co-president, I need to keep things in order—”

“Yes, honey.”

“—And Angie tells me that they’ve been ringing her for ten minutes and she hasn't answered. I decided to give her a call, and straight to voicemail. So we all sat out there until it started raining. We never even got an apology text.”

“Oh,” said your father, looking a little more engaged. “Is that really?”

“Yes,” your mother said. The attention made her sit up straighter. “It absolutely was. It was incredibly inappropriate. I couldn’t believe it. And to think that she stole that hosting spot from me…”

“Do you know if she’s alright?” your father asked,

She shrugged. “I should hope not. That’s the only excuse she could have for what happened.”

“Hm.” Your father moved the melting sorbet around without clinking his spoon to the crystal. “It seems that quite a few of us have been dropping off the face of the Earth.”

“It must be because of the long winter,” you said diplomatically. “Too much darkness makes us all a little loony.”

Your mother raised a brow and hummed in assent. “I suppose so.”

“Is that why groceries are so expensive now?” you asked. It had become a new development. About 6 months after you and Dina had returned, the prices on the shelves had rocketed upwards.

“Something like that,” your father said vaguely.

“What does that mean?”

“Y/N,” your mother warned.

“It’s alright, dear,” your father said, waving his hand. “It’s really nothing interesting. Supplying this city has always had its challenges. This year just happens to be especially hard.”

“What kind of challenges?” pried Dina.

“Shipments are always difficult to orchestrate,” he said. “As is quality control. It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before. Prices will go back to usual within a few months. The pendulum always has to swing back.”

It was a saying he always used—the pendulum analogy.

Dessert wrapped up quickly. Your mother gave you the official date for your father’s retirement party and ironed out your graduation details, and before you knew it you and Dina were off into the night.

“Thank fucking god that’s over,” said Dina as you two trotted down the street to the metro.

“Tell me about it.” You zipped up your jacket to ward off the slight chill in the evening air. “I’m really sorry you had to deal with all of that. I appreciate you coming with me. I know they’re awful to you.”

“Well, they’ll be worse if I don’t go,” she responded, her eyes cloudy for a second. She was right. One misstep and they could have her citizenship and their financial sponsorship rescinded.

“True,” you conceded.

The metro was bustling with people as you and Dina hopped on to the yellow line that would take you to the university residences. It was modeled right after the Parisian metros, with its Art Nouveau signs and themed stops. There was only standing room, so you two clutched onto the stainless steel poles in the middle.

The doors made a groaning sound and a speaker crackled as the announcer came on.

“Doors closing. Please stand clear of the exits. This is an express train with service to University Park. Other stops include 25th Street and North Village. There will be no evening service to Rotingham.”

You and Dina seemed to come to an unspoken agreement to remain silent and process the hell that had been dinner with your parents as the train lurched forward into motion. You closed your eyes and would’ve rested your head against the handrail had it not been so gross.

The only fortunate thing about your parents was the fact that they were incredibly easy to get to, despite living on the other side of the city from the university. What would’ve normally taken 40 minutes with transfers was cut down to 15 with the use of an express train that ran right from the station outside of your apartment.

You had resolved to just sit in silence when the train came to a screeching halt.

Your eyes shot open, meeting Dina’s confused gaze.

The lights above flickered, then sputtered out to leave you in darkness.

There was a hushed silence amongst everyone in your train car.

“What’s going on?” Dina whispered to you.

“This happens sometimes,” you said quietly back, but it was sort of a lie. It wasn’t entirely uncommon for the lights to go out, but you’d never had it happen in tandem with a train stopping on the tracks before reaching a station. And especially not an express train…

The lights flickered on again, and there was a shared sense of relief as a few of the train’s occupants let out a shaky laugh.

“Thought we were going to have to walk!” said a ruddy looking old man sitting across from you. The car responded with polite chuckles.

“Apologies for the delay,” came a voice over the loudspeaker—a human voice, not an automated one. “There was a disturbance on the tracks that had to be dealt with. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Service will continue as usual.”

The train lurched back into movement, the dark walls of the tunnel moving past in a blur.

“That was weird,” Dina remarked once you two had gotten to your stop and were walking up to ground level.

“Yeah,” you said, frowning. “I didn’t want to tell you then because I didn’t want to freak you out, but normally express trains never stop, especially not at this time of night with less trains in service.”

“What qualifies as a disturbance on the tracks?”

“I have no clue,” you confessed. The sun was hovering just barely over the horizon, its last rays of light reflecting aggressively off of the skyscrapers in the distance from which you came. “Someone probably dropped something big like a suitcase onto the tracks and blocked the way. It happens.”

You were purposefully avoiding the elephant in the room—that it had probably been a person on the tracks. It wasn’t especially common—not nearly as common as you heard it was in places like New York before the outbreak—but it happened on occasion. Terranova wasn’t the best place for everyone.

“The Thompsons are Simon’s family, right?” Dina asked you. She had to raise her voice to be heard over the cheerful chatter of fellow university students socializing and drinking on the green next to the sidewalk.

“Yeah,” you said. You and Dina had occasionally hung out with Simon since returning. You noticed that Simon had really taken a liking to Dina, but neglected to mention it since his parents were actively attempting to arrange a marriage between him and some girl in the Art History program at your school. “Have you talked to him at all? I haven’t heard from him for a week or so.”

“Me neither.” Dina tightened the dark braid that fell over her shoulder as she walked, looking rather troubled. “I didn’t realize his parents were missing.”

“They’re probably fine,” you said. “I seriously wouldn’t worry about it. There’s nothing here that could hurt them.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I just forget that there’s no infected here sometimes. Like, tonight, I thought I was gonna have to start swinging on someone in the train when the power cut.”

“God, same.” You shivered. “It’s weird to know that we don’t have to worry about that anymore. But I think it’ll get easier with time.”

“Yeah,” said Dina, but she didn’t sound convinced. “Well, I’m going to text Simon and see if he’s alright. Or maybe call him. I’m sure he’ll know what happened.”

“Let me know what he says.” You’d ascended the steps up to your shared apartment and were slotting the key into the keyhole. “By the way, did I ever formally invite you to my graduation?”

“Not that I recall.” Dina followed you in and kicked her shoes off.

“Well, consider this your formal invitation,” you said, turning to grin at her. “It’s this Saturday. Be there or be square.”

“Will there be free food?”

“And anything you want to drink,” you told her, though you weren’t entirely sure of that fact. You’d only ever been to one graduation in your life, and that had been years before it was socially acceptable for you to drink anything beyond the odd glass of watered down wine—but you recalled a memory of particularly free-flowing champagne flutes being passed around.

“Consider me sold.”

You had to be going crazy. There was no way.

You entered the numbers back into the graphing software again. Then again. Then one more time, just to be sure you were seeing what you were seeing.

“Everything going alright over there?” asked old Professor Gunther, looking up from his grading and his steaming cup of tea.

“Um—” You blinked, hard, then looked back down at your calculations. “Professor, can you look at these for me? I think I must’ve made a mistake.”

“Of course, my dear.” He graciously accepted the notepad full of barely legible numbers that you came up to hand to him and adjusted the glasses on his face so he could squint more efficiently. “And what is this exactly?”

“I’ve been parsing through the data on that star—that K star you’d been watching for a while—and, um, I’ve noticed something.” Your voice shook nearly as much as your hand as you pointed to the scribbled numbers. “Can you, uh, graph these? And put them into a different program than StarBlast? And look at the spectra? It’s giving me what I think is—actually, I don’t know. You do it and I’ll show you what I got.”

“I’m confused about what you could have possibly done wrong,” he said, though he was already opening his own laptop and starting up a different program that you hadn’t used before because of how much you hated the GUI. “Did you try to parse it by hand to check?”

“Yes,” you said. “Horrible idea. Took me forever.”

“And you got the same result?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” He took off his glasses to wipe them off, then began typing in the data you’d emailed to him earlier for bookkeeping purposes. “Let me see what I have.”

The agonizing few minutes it took for him to enter him already had your mind spiraling with possibilities as the implications sunk in. If you were right—if this was right—everything was going to change in your field.

The spectra graph roared to life.

“Jesus Christ,” you heard your professor say. “Is this—”

“I think so,” you said. “I think so.”

What you two were looking at held more than one piece of crucial information. The first was nothing but basic calculations of a Doppler Shift that detected that there was a planet. Your calculations estimated its size at roughly the same as the Earth, with a similar orbital period and distance from its star that placed it in the habitable zone.

That wasn’t anything earth-shattering. There were plenty of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone, implying that if the conditions were right, there was an environment conducive to organic life.

What was, however, were the spectra emissions that you were staring at, slack-jawed and skin prickling.

“Methane,” you whispered. “And oxygen. And phosphine.”

And not just a little—enough that it suggested biological processes that could only occur with the presence of life.

“I think you should finish writing this report,” Professor Gunther finally said.

You froze. “What?”

He turned to you, his glasses sliding down his bulbous nose and a kind smile on his face. “I’ve made enough discoveries in my life. This one is yours to claim.”

You were overcome with so much gratitude that you launched yourself at him, throwing your arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Gunther good-naturedly patted your back with the enthusiasm of a grandfather being pestered by his grandchildren. “This is your moment. Take it.”

“Thank you,” you said, pulling back with tears welling up in your eyes. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

He smiled again. “It’s truly my pleasure. I feel lucky to have had a student like you.”

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to start crying.”

“We can’t have that,” he said, standing up and handing you back your sheet of calculations. “You have work to do.”

You settled back into your work across from him, nearly buzzing with excitement as you finished typing up your findings. It would be a long process for the study to actually be published—long, painful, and undoubtedly draining—but it would be so worth it. You’d be the one who discovered a planet that (most likely) harbored life. For the first time in history.

Though you wouldn’t be publishing a paper any time soon, you still had to log the planet into the “global” (not exactly global given that there was no other place on Earth with the same technology as Terranova) database. And with that meant giving it a name.

In that moment, it was like time froze as the cursor blinked in the box. There was nothing but the blood rushing in your head, the dull hum of the fluorescent lights above, and the slight stickiness of the leather desk chair beneath you.

You gulped. It was standard in the department to name planets after the astronomer that discovered them. You’d never had a planet named after you before. You’d only ever crunched numbers that Gunther had given to you to analyze spectra emissions. This was the first time you’d ever actually discovered something that hadn’t already been logged before it had landed on your desk.

And yet…

You closed your eyes. Suddenly you were back in the meadow at Jackson, tracing the wisps of the Milky Way with your finger as you and Ellie talked about the constellations. You saw the childish excitement on her normally stern features when she held the moon rock for the first time. You saw the wonder in her eyes when you told her a new space fact that she’d never heard before. That she’d never had the opportunity to learn before.

Your fingers moved before you could stop them, quickly tapping out the name “Ellie” into the box and hitting the enter button.

For the rest of the day, you regretted it. You tried not to think of her anymore. It was something that you’d promised yourself you wouldn’t do after you spent the entirety of last summer miserable and doing nothing but turning over the memories in your mind until Dina made you do something with her.

It was difficult. You wanted to put it in the past, because you couldn’t think about her without thinking about how she probably wasn’t even alive anymore. Which didn’t make any sense. Nothing ever made any sense about Ellie. Even before you predicted she’d been bitten, she’d already been behaving erratically—not packing her things, not saying a real goodbye to Joel, catching more food than their small group of three could possibly need near the end. It was like she knew that she wouldn’t be able to go.

Which didn’t make any sense, because why go all that way knowing that it was for nothing?

Which made you think about how bizarre she was before leaving. How sad she seemed when she told you that she was going, like even then she knew that it wouldn’t happen.

And you hadn’t gotten sick from her, even though you should have. She’d kissed you long after she would’ve been bitten. And you knew from your frantic research upon arriving that you should have tested positive when Simon checked.

So why hadn’t you? And why had she?

It was things like this that could keep you up for days if you weren’t careful. It was awful, but sometimes you liked to believe that she had really been sick and had died shortly after. You had a vision of her killing herself before fully turning, and even though it hurt to imagine it, it was the most humane end of them all. If she was dead, then maybe there was an afterlife, and maybe a piece of her was watching over you. Maybe she was still with you. Maybe she finally was able to rest.

You hoped that little piece of her had seen her name the first planet with life after her.

A tiny smile crept across your face, but inside you felt devastated. You were going to mourn her again all day, like you always did when something reminded you of her. And you were probably going to dream of her, of her stupid grin and the way her hair felt when it tickled your face.

Pull it together you thought glumly. You had to be normal for your father’s retirement party that night, and you had just under 4 hours to do so.

“Ugh,” you said, staring at your phone as you stood with Dina near the door, both of you dolled up and ready to go to the party.

“That’s how I feel too,” said Dina. “I’m going to kill myself if anyone brings up anything about how hard my childhood must’ve been and how I’m doing such a good job adjusting one more time.”

“Ha,” you said. “Mom just texted me to tell me that we need to stop by theirs first.”

“Why? Aren’t they already at the venue?”

“Yeah,” you responded, wrinkling your nose. “But apparently she forgot her gift for him—some vintage Rolex she got restored for him.”

“A vintage what?”

“Stupidly overpriced wristwatch,” you explained.

It took less time than usual to get to their building. Despite it being at peak busy hour, the platforms seemed eerily empty.

“Is there some holiday going on?” Dina asked, sitting across from you so that you both had your own row of seats.

“Oh, I’m such an idiot,” you said, clapping your forehead with your hand. “Of course there is. That’s why my father held his retirement party today. It’s the first day of this festival that goes all week.”

“What’s it for?”

“I honestly don’t know the background,” you admitted. “Most people just use it as an excuse to get incredibly drunk. I think it has something to do with the founding. It’s, like, the only time that public intoxication is okay.”

“Damn,” said Dina thoughtfully.

“The trains will probably fill up on our way back,” you said, sighing. “Hopefully it won’t be too bad. Worst comes to worst we can walk.”

“It gets that bad?”

“There’s hardly standing room,” you said, recalling the last festival you’d been around for—the summer before you’d been catapulted to Jackson. “And it just reeks of drunk people. And you have to be really careful, because I hear the custodial staff has to work overtime to clean up all the vomit.”

“Gross,” said Dina. “And here I was thinking that it was just all being proper and mannerly.”

“Everyone has their limits,” you said lightly.

The penthouse felt just as oppressive as when you came for dinners, like you were walking into the lair of a dragon who was coming back at any moment. Chris was gone—likely participating in the festival herself—but you were surprised to see the figure of Petra bent in a corner as you entered, dusting the top shelf of their bookcase.

You and Dina politely greeted her before ascending the steps to your father’s office.

“Why did your Mom put it in here?” Dina asked as you began shuffling through papers to find the box that your mother had described over text.

“My father doesn’t work in here all too often,” you said, opening a few drawers and seeing no trace of the green and gold box. “He just uses it to file away things.”

“What does he do?”

“I actually have no clue,” you confessed. “He doesn’t talk about it, and I don’t ask.”

“Do you want to see if we can find out?” Dina asked with a conspiratorial raise of her eyebrow as she motioned towards the filing cabinets. “Just a quick look. They’ll never know that we were here.”

You took a moment to consider. If Chris had answered the door to let you two in, you would’ve told her that you couldn’t, because she would definitely snitch if she knew. But she was nowhere to be seen, and Petra looked like she was busy enough downstairs.

“Sure. Why not.”

The first few cabinets held nothing interesting—just spending reports and copies of contracts that were written in legalese.

“It looks like he works with whoever supplies this place,” remarked Dina as you two skimmed the papers and saw records of contacts all over the continent, from the old continental US and South America, each detailing something boring about shipping dates and inventory.

But then came the third cabinet, with papers dated back before you were born with what looked like sketches of barren looking buildings and hand-scrawled notes.

“What are these?” you breathed, laying them out on the ground.

“I think…” Dina squinted. “I think that these might be manufacturing plants?”

“Oh?” You dug further around in the cabinet to see if you could find any further illuminating evidence.

“Yeah,” said Dina, staring as she began to flip through the pages already on the floor. “Holy shit, dude. This is…sort of messed up. Look at how small these living quarters are.”

You peered over her shoulder to see the architectural sketches of what looked to be more of what you imagined a prison to be. There were long bunks stacked on top of each other in what looked to be a never ending line, the mattresses barely even large enough to be considered twins.

Someone cleared their throat behind you, and you nearly leapt.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” said Petra. Her voice was low and raspy. You noted that it was the first time she’d ever spoken.

“Oh, uh—” You began to frantically gather the papers, hoping she hadn’t seen. Would she tell your parents? “Sorry if we disturbed your work. My parents, uh, they asked us to get something from—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted, holding up a hand. “I won’t say anything.”

“Thank you.” You stared up at her steely green eyes, wondering what had compelled her to approach you and Dina. “Um, is there anything we can do to help you?”

“Don’t drink the bourbon,” she said, so quickly that it seemed to fluster her.

“What? Why?”

“Just don’t do it,” she said again. “Better yet, don’t drink anything except for the water.”

“I’m sorry,” you said, feeling genuinely apologetic. “I’m not sure if I understand.”

Something crossed over Dina’s face, and suddenly something in her seemed to shift. Her features paled. She knew something you didn’t.

“I came from one of those places,” Petra said, motioning to the diagrams that you were staring at. “They’re not—they’re not somewhere you want to be. We all try our best to come here. That’s what they tell us, you know. Do well enough and you’ll get sent to where everyone gets to live a life of grandeur and luxury. But they barely send anyone, and when they do, they get shitty positions like this.”

Your breath caught in your throat as your understanding slowly grew. Of course. How had you been so stupid to think that wealthy people were ever going to have any of their kind work any real job?

“You two were the ones who came from outside, right?” Petra continued. When you two nodded, she crouched next to you. “And you were wondering what was going on with the prices?”

You nodded again, awestruck.

“Your Dad’s little spiel on it being about bad weather is bullshit,” she said, her words hard. “People are getting tired of this. They’re realizing they’re never getting out. You know what it’s like out there—it’s scary. It’s tiring. So many people get sick, so many die. So when people finally caught onto the fact that the work they’re doing is nothing but dressed up slavery and that their chances of getting out are basically zero, they start doing things to mess with the system.”

“Like contaminating the products?” Even as she said it, it seemed like Dina already knew the answer.

Petra just gave you two a long look.

“So that’s what he meant by quality control,” you said, the realization hitting you.

“Among other things.”

“How long do you think we have?” asked Dina.

“Not very long at all.”

“You guys can’t be serious,” you said, nervous laughter catching in your chest. “Do you seriously mean that Terranova isn’t going to be around for much longer? Is that what you’re saying?”

Petra shrugged and stood up. “Believe whatever you want. But from where I stand, it looks like there’s only two possible ways out of this situation. That is, unless you guys all become farmers.”

“I don’t think I’m following,” you said.

“Two options,” Petra said, sighing heavily. “Either we starve or we don’t. And the latter means taking a really big fucking chance on what we bring in.”

“But the system has worked for so long,” you said, more to yourself than anyone else.

“Too long,” she amended. “It was never sustainable. Maybe if you people had been okay with just eating native plants and wildlife. Maybe if you people were okay with changing your way of life. But no, you just had to have your fucking oranges from Florida and your coffee from South America.”

“Don’t lump me into this,” said Dina. “I just got here.”

Petra laughed, but it was a hard and sharp sound. “Well, chances are you won’t be here for long.”

“Hang on,” you said. “We’re still doing quality control inspections. The most likely scenario is that we’re going to have to cut down on imports—not that we’re about to go up in flames any minute.”

“I hope you’re right about that,” she said in that voice that told you that she thought that you definitely weren’t and didn’t see the point in arguing further. “Anyways, I’ve got to finish working so I can get home before dark. Be careful, okay?”

“You too,” you said. “And thanks for…not saying anything.”

It was a bit presumptuous considering that Petra hadn’t really given you any good reason beyond her word that she wouldn’t mention you lurking in your father’s cabinets, so you and Dina were thorough in carefully placing each file back into the correct place, just in case.

“Do you really think what she said is true?” you asked once you and Dina had located the watch and were on the metro once again.

Dina shrugged. “I mean, it makes sense.”

“Does it?”

“Look,” said Dina. “I know that this might be hard for you to hear, but I’m pretty sure this place lives off of what’s basically slave labor. If there’s any humanity left in the world, I would like to think that Terranova would eventually fall.”

You swallowed hard, then blinked. For a moment you thought you were going to throw up. “I never knew. I didn’t realize.”

“Of course you didn’t.” Dina’s voice was surprisingly patient. “You were a kid. But you’re not anymore, so it’s time to grow up and face the music.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t either.”

The two of you fell into a silence as the train sped past empty platforms bathed in shadows and you thought and thought and thought.

There was just too much happening today. First Gunther’s lab, then Ellie, now your entire worldview toppling.

As the train windows continued to blur the background of the tunnels and empty stations, your mind spun with reflections of your childhood—of you enjoying simple luxuries that you didn’t realize came at the expense of others. That you didn’t even think to ask about. You’d mindlessly trudged along, eating your exotic fruits and drinking your expensive tea and wearing clothes built from indulgent fabrics just because you could. Even when Dina had asked where the oranges came from all the way back in Jackson, you hadn’t let yourself wonder. You hadn’t let yourself consider the possibility that it was anything less than the sanitized fairyland that you’d been brought up in—perhaps because you knew all along.

And that made it even worse.

Dina seemed to understand, sending you a few glances without prodding.

“Do you think we need to leave?” you asked, your voice just barely a whisper.

“Us leaving isn’t going to do anything,” Dina said, like she’d been expecting it. “And how would we even do that? It’s not like we can just charter a helicopter again to drop us off back in Jackson.”

Something twisted inside of you. “Oh, God. You’re right. We couldn’t even leave if we tried.”

And you might have to try, a sinister voice inside you whispered. What if Petra was right about the contaminated products? What if they missed something when checking imports?

You’d never been taught how quickly the fungus spread in the original outbreak, and you knew little about the normal amount of time it would take any sort of disease to infect the entire population. But you did know how densely populated everything was. How reliant everything was on a few strictly maintained channels, like public transportation.

It wouldn’t be hard for it to all come crashing down, really. It would just take the right place at the right time and—

“Don’t freak out, Y/N.” Dina laid a hand on your shoulder. “We’ll figure something out if it comes to that.”

You smiled at her, grateful that you didn’t even have to put your words into thoughts. “But if we can’t leave, what do we do? It’s not like we can just sit by and do nothing.”

Dina pulled her bottom lip under her teeth, worrying it before answering. “I don’t really think that we have a choice. Right now, at least. I don’t know if there’s anything that just the two of us can do.”

“I’ll find more,” you said. “I’ll talk to my professors—my friends at university—Simon—”

“Do you think that we’re the only two that know about this?” asked Dina. “Because I really don’t. Maybe your friends don’t. But anyone in the military and anyone who was around when this was founded has got to know. They just don’t care enough.”

Something slowly iced over inside of you as the implications sunk in.

Gunther had probably known. No, scratch that—he definitely did. He was an academic who had been in his 30s when the world fell apart. Any adult would have asked the same questions that Dina had upon arrival.

“We’ll figure something out, I’m sure,” said Dina firmly. “Okay? Don’t worry.”

“Speaking of Simon,” you said, narrowing your eyes, “Did you ever get in touch with him? Is his family okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” said Dina. “He texted me back a bit ago. Said something about how he was just busy and that his family had been camping up in the mountains.”

You two faded into silence.

The retirement party came and went without much trouble. On the outside, at least. You were a mental wreck, barely able to keep it together as near strangers came up to you and expressed how much bigger you were since they’d seen you a decade and a half ago.

You noted with muted suspicion that Simon’s parents were nowhere to be seen amongst the crowd, not even by the lavishly decorated bar.

That night, you did dream of Ellie. It wasn’t the usual. Ellie wasn’t turning in front of you or bleeding or crying out in pain with a bite mark on her arm. She wasn’t yelling at you for failing her and letting her get bitten without even noticing. No; instead, she lay beside you in your meadow spot and talked to you.

And somehow that was so much worse.

“I named a planet after you,” you said, feeling hot tears pool at the seams of your eyes that you squeezed together to avoid sobbing. You knew you were dreaming. You always knew you were dreaming—seeing Ellie always seemed to prompt a degree of lucidity that was otherwise missing in your sleep.

“That’s really fucking sappy of you.”

“I miss you.” It came out like a compulsion, like you couldn’t stop it. “Are you here? Are you with me?”

“Y/N,” Ellie said, turning to look at you. The darkness made it difficult to see her whole face, but you could see the look of pity on her features in the gray-blue of the moonlight. “Of course I’m not here. Don’t be stupid. I’m dead.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re not. Like, if something happened.”

“Something did happen. I died.”

“Fuck you.”

She smiled sadly, and for a moment you thought her eyes looked more reflective than usual. “It’s not very helpful to think that way. And what can I tell you? I’m not even real.”

“I’d like you to try,” you whispered.

“Fine.” She sat up, pulling her legs into a lazy tangle as she looked at you. “What did you seriously expect, dude? You were never going to stay. I wasn’t going to go. If I hadn’t been bitten, I’m sure I would’ve orchestrated some way to get out of it. My family is back in Jackson. I liked you just fine, but you’re not my family. That shit’s deeper. Different.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. The sharp pain in your chest faded into a cold sense of familiarity. Then, because she wasn’t real and there was no reason to feel embarrassed about bearing your emotions:

“You feel more like family than anyone here.”

“Then that sounds like a you problem,” said Ellie, flatly. “I’m not gonna let you guilt trip me like this. Boo fucking hoo, you grew up richer than everyone else on Earth and had to deal with strict parents. Do you realize what actual, real problems are? What about the people who make your lifestyle possible, huh? What about them?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Then you’re fucking stupid.”

The tears were streaming freely down your face now. “I would do anything to be back with you. I wanted to stay. I miss you so much. I don’t know what to do with myself without you.”

“And I’m sorry you have to deal with that.”

“Will you just say that you miss me too? You don’t have to mean it. I just want—I just want to hear it.”

“I can’t miss you. I’m not around anymore.”

Ellie watched as you curled in on yourself and sobbed so hard you thought you were going to be sick.

“You’re so weak,” she said after a few minutes. There was no venom in her tone. It was as if she was merely relaying something as inconsequential as the weather to you. “All you do is expect other people to care for you.”

Not real. Not real. Not real you repeated to yourself in your mind with growing franticness.

She wasn’t real. None of this was real. Ellie was never that affectionate with you, but this was another level. This was something personal.

“You said that being weak isn’t bad.”

“And you said that you were going to make sure I was going to get to Terranova.”

“And it’s not my fault that you decided to go gallivanting alone in the woods.”

“You could’ve tried harder.”

“I did as much as I could.”

“Sure you did.”

You bolted awake. The hair at the nape of your neck was wet with the slick of sweat. For a moment, you let yourself catch your breath, reorient yourself in your surroundings.

Your room. You were in your dorm room, with your space posters and your books. Ellie hadn’t been here. She hadn’t said that. You were okay.

A blaring noise jarred you as you realized that your alarm had made you wake up. Your alarm, because it was graduation day and you needed to be ready for a full day of festivities.

“Fuck,” you muttered, scrubbing your face with you hands. The last thing you wanted to do after this was have to see your parents and pretend like you like them for appearances.

She's gone. She's gone. She's gone you repeated in your head like a mantra. It was over. You shouldn’t have named that stupid planet after her, because she was gone and she always would be.

It would only be a matter of time until your parents would start asking you about your dating life, you realized as you brushed your teeth over the shiny white basin of your sink, the minty bubbles making your lips tingle. They’d been willing to entertain your reasoning of wanting to focus on your studies while you were at university, but you knew they’d been looking for prospective engagements behind your back.

It took you longer than usual to get ready, your mind wandering as you lingered in different corners of your apartment. You kept the lights off, opting to let the cool, gray daylight from the gloomy clouds wash the surfaces of your room.

“Hey,” said Dina, appearing from her own room and leaning against the doorframe.

“Good morning,” you greeted blandly, your attention on the necklace that just wouldn’t clasp around your neck.

“Looking spiffy,” she said. “By the way, did Simon say anything to you?”

“No.” You paused and turned to her, a frown on her face. As far as you were concerned, you really had no reason to be in contact with Simon beyond the general pleasantries.

“He just called me,” said Dina. “He seemed—I dunno. Like, weirdly frantic. He was saying that we need to stop by his.”

“His” was inconveniently on the opposite side of the city, even further past your parents’ place.

“Why? Pretty far for a short jaunt.”

“He was really insistent,” pressed Dina. Her long black curls were unruly, her skin sallow in a way you hadn’t seen in a while. She hadn’t been sleeping as well recently, it seemed, just like you since you’d spoken to Petra. “Maybe we should just stop by.”

“Did he say anything about why?”

“I tried to ask,” said Dina, frowning. “But the call dropped.”

“I hate how horrible service is in your room,” you said.

“Me too. Anyway, are we gonna see him?”

You shrugged. “I guess. We have some time. I’ll text him too just to see what’s going on.”

Dina was ready in just a few minutes, pulling a light blue sweatshirt over her shirt and stepping into her shoes.

“You look soooo cute,” she said, pinching your cheeks. “My little grad.”

You rolled your eyes, but the size of your smile ruined it.

For once in your life, you noticed that the university green outside of your apartment was suspiciously empty.

“Quiet,” Dina noted as you made your way to the metro. “It’s eerie.”

“People were probably partying all night,” you said. “Celebrating graduation and whatnot. I imagine everyone’s sleeping off a hangover instead of having to get up at the crack of dawn to voyage across the city.”

Dina held up her hands. “Gee. Sorry.”

The train was a little more populated. Some older Terranovans had newspapers cracked as they licked their fingers to turn the page. The silent hum of the train lulled you into another soliloquy as the tunnel plunged you into darkness.

You had to stop thinking about Ellie. You needed to move on, as awful as it was. You’d named a planet after her. She’d be forever remembered in the stars, and that should be enough. You didn’t need to keep dragging her memory behind you like a corpse, because she was dead and she was never coming back and she was—

On the platform?

Your mouth dropped as the doors of the train slowly rolled open to reveal a short girl with shoulder length auburn hair slowly ambling towards the platform. She was wearing a pale green short sleeve that had some sort of edgy spatter pattern on it—something that was very Ellie-esque. But something wasn’t…

It took you one breath to notice that neither of her bare arms had any tattoos. It took you another to see that what you had initially assumed to be a pattern was actually blood-soaked fabric formed from red rivelets that trickled from a wound on her neck.

“Holy fuck,” you whispered, grabbing Dina’s hand. “Do you see—”

“Everybody run!” Dina screamed, leaping up from the train seat and dragging you with her as she bolted off the train and to the opposite exit.

The girl wailed and barrelled towards the train car, her eyes locking onto the nervous movement of the passengers. You froze. It was slowly becoming obvious that this wasn’t Ellie, from the slightly different set of her eyes to the unfamiliar button nose. But it was hard to not feel anything but sympathy for the monster before you. She was just a girl, probably younger than you.

“Fucking go, Y/N,” Dina snapped, yanking you harder and onto the platform just as Not-Ellie leapt onto one of the newspaper readers. “It’s not her.”

She didn’t need to tell you twice. In seconds you two had sprinted to the mouth of the stairs, feet pummeling against the pavement as the sounds of the carnage unfolding behind you followed.

You ran. You didn’t stop running, not even when the screams faded and you and Dina were blocks and blocks away, hidden in an alley. Not even when your lungs were so empty and sore that they felt like they were breaths away from breaking, not even when you were sure there was nothing left inside you.

Dina kept your pace, blindly following your lead as you darted in between streets and side alleys until you reached your parents’ apartment.

“Do you think there’s more?” you managed to whisper through heaving voices once you stood on the steps.

You and Dina hadn’t ran into anyone after the metro, undead or alive.

“Not here,” hissed Dina. “Inside first. Then we evaluate after we’re safer.”

For a moment, the phantom dread from your normal life spilled over and you were afraid of facing your parents. It was almost laughable—there were deranged infected hosts looking to eat your flesh roaming the streets, and you were worried about seeing your parents.

“I’d almost prefer out here, too,” said Dina, looking as if she’d read your mind.

The apartment complex was also empty and eerily quiet as you two ascended the steps. Dina had insisted that you took the stairs, pointing out that the elevator was far too risky.

“It might get stuck,” she’d whispered as she’d pulled you away from pressing the button. “Also—unnecessary noise.”

You nodded wordlessly, following her up the steps until you reached the top floor.

Still no one to be seen.

The spare key was still hidden under the flower pot, and the penthouse door swung open easily. You and Dina locked it behind you before dragging a small bookcase in front of it, piling on books until no one could physically break through.

“Sweep the apartment,” Dina said lowly, reaching over to grab the fireplace poker that was in the entryway. “Behind me until you get a weapon.”

For a few tense moments, you cowered behind Dina as she navigated you both into the dark, empty kitchen. Every breath that left your lips was shaky and uneven. Your fingers trembled around the handle of the butcher’s knife that you’d retrieved from the block.

Nothing was on the first floor.

Nothing on the second floor, either. There was no sign of your parents anywhere. By all accounts, it seemed that they’d just up and left for coffee. Which is probably what they’d done, given that your father had just retired and had nothing better to do.

“Fucking thank god,” you’d cried out once you’d swept the last room, collapsing onto the sitting room sofa. “Jesus Christ, Dina. What the fuck. I can’t believe I just—”

The words petered out as the adrenaline rush that had been keeping you at least someone composed dissipated, leaving you a shaking and inconsolable mess.

“We’re so lucky that we got out in time,” said Dina, her eyes blurry and unfocused.

You took a break from your crying to look at her. “What?”

“The doors close automatically,” she said flatly. “No motion sensor. If that girl had shown up any later—if we hadn’t noticed her in time—”

“We would’ve been stuck on the train with her,” you said, cold realization trickling into you. “Oh my god. That probably happened to the people on the train who weren’t quick enough.”

“Or didn’t know any better,” Dina added. “Didn’t you say that no one here really understands what the infection is? That it makes people hosts?”

Your heart dropped. “We’re so fucked. We need to get out.”

“Have a plane anywhere?”

“Oh, god, Simon,” you wailed. “He was probably—he must’ve known—his parents must have—”

“Let’s not dwell,” said Dina firmly, brushing her hands off on her pants. “Okay. Let’s take inventory of the situation. That girl likely wasn’t patient zero. Wherever she came from was around…8th street?”

You nodded.

“Right. 8th street, which is where the majority of non-student residential living spaces are. Chances are that if it wasn’t already, it’s all over that area. We came south, which is away from the most densely populated area and probably why we haven’t seen anyone else. We’re up high with what seems to be currently running water, no current activity in the building, and plenty of both perishable and nonperishable food.

“But this isn’t permanent. The power grid is going to fail soon, and plumbing is likely going to go next. And if we somehow make it long enough, any infected in the building are going to turn into clickers, and they’ll stop at nothing to get in. Our window is limited. If we wait to get out, they’re going to get stronger and grow in numbers. We need to play this right.”

“So what you’re saying is that if there’s any possible chance of escape,” you said, feeling the blood drain from your face, “That we need to take it.”

Dina nodded, her face hard.

“How long do you think we have until we have to make that choice?”

She winced. “Probably 2 hours ago. There’s likely enough infected scattered around the city after the metro incident that it’s all over now.”

Your stomach dropped.

“But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try,” said Dina. “It’s only going to get worse the longer we wait. So if that big fancy scientist brain of yours has any genius plans of how to get us out, please hurry it up and say so.”

“Well,” you said, your mouth dry as you brainstormed aloud, “We are at the southern tip of the city. We’re probably not all that far from the border. The problem would be getting across—and, of course, getting there in the first place. It’s designed to be deceptive so that raiders can’t find it.”

“We’re not going to cross the border,” said Dina. “We’re never getting across on foot unless it’s been destroyed. Simon told me about how it works. There’s quite literally zero chance unless we start tunneling underground.”

“So no crossing on foot,” you said weakly. “Noted. Well. Uh. Can you fly a plane?”

“Depends. Do you have one?”

You buried your face in your hands.

“Come on, Y/N. Think. There has to be another option.”

Another option. Another option. Think, think, think…

Scientist brain. Science.

Like your degree. Like the lab you’d been working in last year. Like the ill-fated experiment that you’d scrapped after the university cut funding for it after your accident.

Like the time that you’d actually succeeded in inventing teleportation, even if it was accidental.

Like the contraption that was likely gathering dust in an unlocked lab room just a few blocks away.

“Dina,” you said, “I’ve got it. But I need you to get me to Gunther’s lab.”

The only good thing about today was the fact that Gunther’s lab, which was normally an inconvenient train ride away from your apartment, was in fact within perfectly reasonable walking distance from your parents’.

There were many bad things, though. Namely the infected now roaming the streets. And the plumes of smoke rising in the distance, suggesting that the Terranovan authorities were attempting to quell the issue the old-fashioned way.

With two knives and a pistol in your hand (you’d never been more happy to see something actually useful in your father’s antique collection), you were at least feeling more prepared to slowly creep back down the staircase of the building and out onto the streets.

For the first two blocks, everything remained uneventful. You and Dina stuck close to the shadows, being careful not to speak, make any noise, or bump into anything noisy.

Then a girl that looked somewhat familiar to you came stumbling around the corner, cloudy orange saliva dripping from her ashen lips. She locked onto you and began to excitedly chitter, her jerky movements becoming more pointed as she started approaching.

“Knife,” Dina whispered, flicking your arm once she saw you raise your pistol. “Too loud.”

It was your first kill without the help of a bullet. As the blade slid across the throat of the girl, you realized where you recognized her from—she’d been one of the students you’d tutored back in high school. You’d always liked her. Her name had been Liesel, and she was one of your best pupils. She’d been so bright. You thought she’d end up skipping senior year and just coming with you to college.

Not anymore. You tried not to think too hard about the look you’d seen in her eyes right as you severed her carotid artery—something human, something cognisant. You couldn’t cope with what that implied.

Did Ellie look like that? No, surely not. It’d been over a year. She was likely a clicker by now, her freckled face entirely swallowed by the spore shards. But was she still in there, like Liesel had been?

The next ones were easier—random men whose eyes remained flat and flinty even as you sent them to their ends. By the time you and Dina had broken into Gunther’s lab, you were splattered in blood and assorted mystery fluids.

The sterile building was empty and deathly silent. Each step on the tiled floor echoed, the fluorescent lighting painfully bright.

“Are there any workers in here usually?” Dina asked, her voice low.

“Rarely,” you whispered back. “It’s normally totally empty beside me or Gunther.”

“I hope you’re right.”

A long screeching that sounded like it came from a few doors down made you freeze.

“Let’s move,” Dina said under her breath. “I don’t want to find out who that is.”

Gunther’s lab was nearly just as you remembered it. The only difference was the missing files on his desk, which suggested that he’d taken his work home with him.

As you’d hoped, the prototype you’d developed in your third year was under a white sheet, almost entirely untouched.

“This is what sent you to Jackson?” Dina whispered in wonder, her fingers hovering over the wires but not daring to touch.

In actuality, it was a very small contraption, just transistors and gates and wires that crossed over each other like veins. It had been intended for use on laboratory rats. It’d never been sized to people. But if this was your only shot…

“I can’t remember exactly what Gunther and I did to—”

Scratchhhhhh.

Your blood ran cold. Something was outside the door.

“I’ll cover it,” said Dina, her voice firm. Don’t worry.”

And you wouldn’t—not when there was one zombie against you and Dina, armed to the teeth.

“Uh, anyway—” You blinked as you stared down at the mess of wires. “Technically what happened was it short-circuit—”

Scratch scratch scratch

You gulped. “Um, like I was saying, it short—”

Scratchscratchscratchscratch

To punctuate the point, the door creaked and shifted.

Dina pressed her finger to her lips as she slowly crept over to the door, standing on her toes to look through the thin strip of plexiglass that ran across the top of the door.

For a moment, you thought that she’d frozen. Then she quietly stepped over to the desk, snatched the pen Gunther had lying around, and scribbled something onto it. She handed it to you, her finger still posed over her lips.

7 of them. All big. I think they followed us from the street.

Just as you finished reading it, the doorknob began to turn, back and forth and back and forth against the lock.

Dina pulled the note from your fingers to scribble something else out.

Don't say anything. Noise will send them into a feeding frenzy. Door won't hold long. Do whatever you need to fix it and get us out.

You nodded, your heart crawling in your throat. If you couldn’t figure out how to fix this in time…Gunther’s lab was on the 6th floor.

There were only 3 bullets in the pistol—you’d checked. And a kitchen knife was fine when you were out on the street facing one infected at a time, but 7 in an enclosed space was different.

You probably weren’t going to get out of here alive.

Not unless you pulled it together right now.

You pinched the bridge of your nose as you tried to run through all possible ways to recreate the conditions that had sent you to Jackson. You needed that special iridescent wire, which you could see shoved into the corner. You needed a power source. You needed a working circuit board.

You had all of it. You could do this.

SIlently, you retrieved the spool of wire and began reattaching it to the board in the pattern you vaguely recalled from your work.

The lights flickered above, and it was all you could do to keep yourself from swearing out loud.

The power needed to hold. It needed to hold for just one more minute, just for a moment while you finished configuring the—

Your hand knocked the spool to the floor.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The thudding started slower but crescendoed into the sound of groaning wood as the infected outside began to pound at the door.

Dina waved a slip of paper in front of you with wide eyes that said Hurry the FUCK up!.

You sent her a desperate look back. Your hands were shaking so hard that it was a miracle you were even able to feed the end of the wire through the pliers to snap off the end. You dug your nails into the protective sleeve at the end to expose the tip of the wire.

The door held just until you plugged the wire into the input.

As it hummed to life, sputtering and sparking and shimmering in the air, the lights flickered once, then plunged you into darkness as the sound of wood splintering came from the door.

Someone—it was probably you—screamed as a crowd came barrelling through the door, all hunched shoulders and gaping maws.

Then you grabbed the hand of Dina and felt yourself tumble into nothingness.

The sky was clear and bluebell blue above you when you came to, your back pressed uncomfortably against the sun-warmed earth. Every part of you ached like you’d just been run over, just like it had that day one year ago that started it all.

You didn’t need to look around to confirm—you were certain of where you were. You just knew it.

A groaning sound made you shoot up, clutching at the pistol in your hand.

Dina was sprawled on the ground next to you, rubbing her forehead with her hands.

“We did it,” you said, astonished. “We actually did it. We got out.”

“And you launched us out to Jackson.” Dina was sitting up now, looking around with wide eyes. “Jesus Christ. Are those things coming with us?”

“I don’t think so,” you said blandly. Your hands were still shaking, just as they had in the lab moments before.

The backpack you’d packed with supplies lay strewn on the ground, covered in the dust of the clearing.

“Are we—”

“I think so,” you said. “Funny how it sent us to the same place it sent me. I guess we’ll never figure out how, though.”

“Yeah.”

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you acclimated to the bright Wyoming sun, the warmth of the air against your skin.

Your heart lurched as the implications sunk in. Now that you couldn’t pretend like Jackson had been some sort of distant memory, you were going to mourn Ellie all over again whether you liked it or not.

“It’s going to be weird without her.” Dina was apparently on the same page.

You choked back the sob that came up, rubbing your eyes angrily. You would not cry right now, not when you had more important things to attend to.

“She really did love you, you know,” Dina continued, also apparently oblivious to the fact that you were just barely holding it together. “Even if she never said it. I’ve never seen her like that around anyone. I hope you haven’t been beating yourself up over what happened.”

You sent her a tight smile. It was odd, talking about Ellie like this with her. You’d never had before. It was one of those topics that you both knew to just avoid. “I just hope Joel is alright. I can’t imagine how difficult that would be—losing two daughters just like tha—”

A twig snapping in the woods sent you into silence, your hand drifting back down to your pistol as you spun around.

For a moment, all you could hear was the breath that hitched in both your and Dina’s throat. Then a girl with short brown hair burst through the tree line, her gun set on you.

“Ellie?” you gasped.

She fell still, mouth agape and eyebrows nearly touching her hairline.

“Ellie, what the fuck?” said Dina, recovering much quicker than you. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I—” Ellie dropped her pistol so it pointed to the ground, staring at Dina incredulously. “What are you doing here?” Then she rounded on you. “What did you do? You promised to stay in Terranova.”

You couldn’t answer. You were just so starstruck that all you could was stare, taking in everything about her. She was certainly Ellie—with her stupid little flashlight on her backpack strap and her fern tattoo and the perpetual grumpiness etched on her face. It was strange to think that you could have mistaken anyone else for her.

“Well?” she pressed, stepping closer, her mouth in a hard line.

“Terranova fell. It’s gone. I did what I had to do to get us out.” The words came out quietly. Then, without thinking: “You’re alive.”

“Long story,” said Ellie. “I think the scanner was defective.”

“That sounds like a pretty short story.”

She stared at you with an expression of such odd devastation that you felt your heart drop.

Dina jumped to her feet and launched herself at Ellie, throwing her arms around her neck and laughing hysterically. “I can’t believe it. I just—I just—you’re alive. I’m so glad you’re alive.”

Ellie, for her part, stood mostly still, awkwardly patting Dina on the back until she was released. “I’m glad you are, too.”

You tried not to feel jealous, but it was hard not to. Dina could jump into Ellie’s arms and tell her nice things like that without having to think twice because they’d always been friends. You did, because you weren’t sure if Ellie would want that anymore.

You didn’t try to touch her as she walked you and Dina back. She followed suit, not even trying to speak to you.

By the time you were walking through the walls of Jackson and waving to the gaping passerbys who were shocked at your return, you felt like you were going to be sick.

Ellie was alive. She’d never been dead, and you’d left her out here while you and Dina got to eat fancy Brazilian chocolates and Floridian oranges and artisanal bread. You’d been actively trying to forget her instead of trying to find her.

And now she was here, next to you. And she didn’t seem even remotely interested in you. But could you blame her? It had been a year. You’d left her to come back to Jackson all by herself. She didn’t have any reason to wait around for you. She’d probably found someone else. Or gotten back together with Cat.

And who were you to think that she’d even be interested in you if there wasn’t the guaranteed casualness from a definite end date?

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Joel appeared on the front porch as you and Dina approached with Ellie flanking you, his eyes wide.

“Joel!” you cried out, your angst briefly forgotten.

His eyes darted between the three of you, his face awash with shock. “Did ya just get sick of living there or something?”

You looked down and surveyed your outfit. You were clearly wearing something that was intended to be formal—a flowing graduation dress—but you were splattered with blood and viscous mystery substances and covered in a healthy layer of dirt. You’d clearly gone through some shit.

You were struggling to come up with a response other than “hey” when you were reminded of something you’d shoved into your bag while you’d been preparing to leave your parents’ penthouse.

Feeling smug that you’d managed to remember, you reached into your pack and fished around until you found what you were looking for.

“We just figured you’d be almost out of this by now,” you said dryly. The value-sized bag of coffee beans dangled from your fingers, its maroon packaging catching in the sun.

His face split into a wide grin as he shook his head in disbelief. “Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. I guess I’ve got to tell Tommy that we don’t have to ration anymore. C’mon, let’s get you settled.”

Joel insisted that you move back into your old room instead of the vacant cottage down the street, which was equal parts touching and equal parts terrifying. Ellie lingered by the doorway as you unpacked, disappearing down the hall when you finally lifted your head from your few belongings to say something to her.

You let out a long, labored exhale, dropping onto your bed and curling your knees up to your chest. You’d since changed and showered the dirt and blood off, shed your tattered graduation dress and left it gathered in the corner like a snake’s molt. The setting sun filtered through the curtains, turning the walls golden.

You didn’t know what to do. That you could even come back to Jackson had been a thought you hadn’t dared to consider until this morning, when there were no other options. That Ellie was still alive—well, you hadn’t had any time to strategize or plan for that one. You were still reeling from seeing her for the first time in a year, all summer freckles and flyaway hairs escaping from a loose hairband.

She’d looked even better than you’d remembered. There were certain parts of her that you realized you’d forgotten—like the scar on her eyebrow, the way her voice sounded. It made you feel nauseous, knowing that despite your best efforts, you hadn’t been able to keep the real Ellie alive in your head.

You’d already eaten something with Tommy and Maria, who had been insistent on hearing from you and Dina about the events in Terranova. Joel had left you to your own devices with instructions to see him tomorrow to figure out work after you’d had a decent rest, so there was really no reason to go roaming around hoping to run into Ellie.

But you really wanted to. You checked the clock again, seeing that it was already past 9. Dusk had already fallen upon Jackson, the setting sun now just a suggestion of a golden line on the horizon.

You had a feeling you knew where she was.

The meadow was just as lush and green as you remembered as your feet carried you across the grass. It seemed that really nothing had changed—except for the horses in the distance, where you could see a small foal beside a chestnut mare that you were pretty sure was Shimmer.

“Hi,” you said, settling down next to Ellie’s spot under the tree.

If she was surprised to see you, she didn’t show it. She just sighed and fiddled with the sleeve of her shirt.

“Hi.”

“I’m sorry for bothering you,” you said, keeping your eyes locked on the darkening sky. “I just wanted to come find you to tell you that I understand if you don’t—want me like that anymore. I’ll leave you alone if you want me to.”

Even when she took her time responding, you didn’t dare look her way.

“Is that what you want?” You couldn’t quite decipher the tone she’d used.

“Obviously not,” you said mildly. “I would never want that.”

“I wouldn’t either.”

Your breath caught in your throat, your gaze dropping to meet hers. You were just about to speak when—

“The scanner wasn’t defective,” said Ellie. Her voice was soft, her own eyes falling to look at her tattooed arm.

“Of course it was,” you said, feeling very confused as to why she was suddenly detouring into something so unrelated. “If it wasn’t, you’d be dead already.”

“I’ve been bitten twice.”

You blinked, sure you’d heard her incorrectly. “Sorry?”

“I’ve been bitten twice,” said Ellie again, this time with more conviction. “That’s why the scanner came back red. There was nothing wrong with it.”

“Then how…” Your words trailed off.

She didn’t let you ponder long. “I’m immune.”

Immune.

You closed your mouth—it’d been hanging open unceremoniously for a moment—and tried to fit this very startling fact in with everything else you knew about her. What did being immune mean? And why was she telling you now?

“You knew from the start that you couldn’t come with me to Terranova,” you realized aloud.

Ellie was gnawing at her bottom look as she looked back at you. You noted that she didn’t offer up any corrections.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” You couldn’t hide the hurt in your voice. “Why did you lie to me like that?”

“I found out that I was immune when I was back in Boston,” Ellie said, the words spilling out of her. “I was in this abandoned mall with my best friend—Riley. She told me she was leaving to be a Firefly, and I begged her to stay and kissed her and for a moment I was so sure that something was going to change between us—something for the better. But then…” She waved her tattooed arm in front of her. “We both got bit. I survived. She, obviously, did not.”

Something deep inside you twisted as you tried to imagine how traumatizing that must’ve been for someone that couldn’t have been older than 14.

“And so I thought that maybe, you were my chance to right what I’ve done wrong,” continued Ellie. Even though she wasn’t looking at you anymore, you could see the reflective sheen of tears in her eyes. “I’ve gotten to live while so many other people have died. I just can’t handle another. It’s not fair of me to keep someone here when there’s somewhere safer for them. It’s selfish, and I’ve been that enough.”

It was as if you’d found the last puzzle piece for the jigsaw of Ellie Williams. All this time, you’d been struggling in your attempts to understand why she was pushing you away—and why she changed her mind so suddenly.

Now you got it. Ellie had come into this knowing that she’d likely never see you again. She’d been betting on it, even. It was all some convoluted way for her to set things right in her head, for her to forgive herself for Riley and whoever else she’d lost.

“You could have told me,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper. “I would have understood.”

Ellie sent you a sad smile, shaking her head. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone that I’m immune. It’s one of those things that only Joel and Maria and Tommy know about. No one else. They’d fucking kill me if they found out you knew.”

“I’m really sorry.” The fabric of her t-shirt was soft under your fingers as you rested a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m really sorry for how much of an asshole I was to you,” said Ellie. You didn’t miss the way her eyes had widened when you’d reached out to touch her. “I didn’t want to be that way. I always wanted more. I just couldn’t handle having that, knowing that you were going to leave anyway. I thought it’d be easier for the both of us if you thought I was awful.”

“Didn’t work very well.”

“Clearly.”

“I forgive you,” you said, moving your hand so you could thread your fingers into the loose strands that she hadn’t pulled into that baby bun she always wore.

Instead of kissing you like you thought she might, she threw her arms around you and crushed herself against you, burying her face into your neck.

You held her there, feeling the way her frame trembled under the weight of a sob and tracing patterns across her back.

“I missed you,” you whispered, your chin rested atop her shoulder. “I thought about you every day.”

Ellie clung to you harder as you shifted.

“I’m really sorry,” she said again, muffled against your neck. “I’m sorry for everything.”

“I’m not.” You finally pulled away so that she had to look you in the eyes. Under the soft bath of moonlight, her green eyes glowed. “Terranova shouldn’t have existed in the first place. I’m glad that I got out. And I’m even more glad that it brought me back to you.”

Her hand found yours, your fingers tangling.

“I used to spend all my free time wondering what you were doing up North,” said Ellie. You felt her thumb brush across the top of your hand. “I thought that maybe if I imagined you happy, it’d be easier.”

“What did you think I was doing?”

The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Lots of studying, I assumed. And going to fancy events for rich people, eating all that expensive shit that the rest of the world can’t have.”

“Not far off,” you admitted. “But you missed how much time I’d spend wondering about you. I dreamt about you all the time. Sometimes I’d see people who looked similar to you and it’d ruin my whole day. I couldn’t believe that you were gone. I think that deep down I knew that you weren’t.”

She squeezed your hand. When you looked down at where you were touching, you noted how there wasn’t such a stark difference between you and her anymore. The doll fresh-out-of-the-box skin had disappeared in favor of scars and marks collected from your time in the real world.

“I really thought you’d be safe there,” said Ellie.

“You don’t need to worry about me like that anymore,” you told her, cupping her face with your free hand. Her eyelids fluttered half-closed as she leaned into the contact. “You’ve done enough. You can care about me without taking responsibility for everything bad that ever happens to me. You deserve to have something good without suffering because of it. I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

“Not anymore,” she agreed.

When you kissed her, it felt like coming home. There was something so achingly familiar in the slope of her neck, the slight chapped-ness of her lips, the almost silent click of her jaw as her mouth parted with a gasp as your hands twisted in her hair.

You weren’t quite sure how you managed a year without it.

The skin of her neck was just as soft as you remembered against your lips, her response just as reactive.

“What’s this?” you asked, pulling away to point at what looked like a small tattoo on the side of her neck. You hadn’t noticed it before—her hair had been covering it.

“Oh.” Ellie looked sheepish. “My free birthday tattoo from Cat. It’s the moon.”

“I see that,” you murmured, brushing her hair back more intentionally to get a better look at it. “Why that phase?”

“It’s the phase it would’ve been on the day we met,” said Ellie. She was bright red now. “Don’t fucking laugh. I know that it’s stupid. Shut up. Stop!”

You desperately tried to stop your giggles, schooling your face into something straight and no-nonsense.

“I spent so long wondering if you even liked me,” you told her. “And now you’ve gone and gotten a tattoo dedicated to me. I feel so validated.”

Ellie rolled her eyes.

“I have you beat, though,” you said, quieter now.

She looked back at you, her brows furrowed. “Huh?”

“When it comes to grand, stupid gestures,” you explained, your finger pointing up to the sky in the general area that you’d collected your data from. “There’s a planet named Ellie up there now.”

Her jaw dropped for just a moment. “You’re kidding.”

“No.” Now you were feeling slightly self-conscious.

“You would do something like that,” Ellie muttered, more to herself than anything. “A whole fucking planet.”

You let her drape an arm around you, pulling you into her until your head fit into the space between her shoulder and her chin.

“So,” Ellie said, and you could feel the words vibrate in her diaphragm, “What now?”

“What do you mean, what now?”

“I mean, what are you gonna do now that you’re stuck here with me for the foreseeable future?”

“Enjoy being stuck with you,” you said. “Maybe get a matching tattoo. Give you the piece of the meteorite I nabbed from the display case in my lab. But mostly spend my time bothering you.”

When she didn’t answer, you shifted so you could look up at her. She was already looking back, her eyes soft and the corners of her lips pulling into two dimples.

“Is that alright with you?’ you ventured.

Her arm tightened around you, fingers gently pressing into the flesh of your forearm like she still couldn’t quite believe you were there.

“You can be so fucking stupid sometimes,” she said. “I get a tattoo for you and you’re still asking if I want you around.”

“It’s been known for you to make rash decisions,” you offered dryly. “I didn’t want to jump to any assumptions.”

She rolled her eyes, still smiling down at you, eyes awash with the reflections of the stars above.

Slowly, you reached up and touched her face again, letting your fingers relearn her features, tracing the paths created by freckles—just like you had in her bed all those months ago.

But unlike last time, she didn’t stop you. She didn’t do anything except let you. There was something in her demeanor, something that was fragile and vulnerable and everything that you wanted her to be with you.

“Is this going to be enough for you?” she asked suddenly, her voice raw.

“What do you mean?” Your fingers paused and rested at her cheekbones.

“It’s just—” She blinked hard and cast her gaze up to the sky. “You grew up so differently than me. I’m not going to be able to give you that fancy Terranova life. Are you sure this is going to make you happy?”

“Yes.”

She looked at you, an eyebrow raised skeptically. Your hands moved to cup her face, fingers threading back into her hair.

“Don’t make that face,” you chided.

“I just find it really hard to believe.”

You took in a breath. Perhaps more elaboration was in order.

“I’ll put it like this,” you said. “I spent most of my life thinking I needed to be something extraordinary to be happy. I put so much time into trying to be special and nothing I did ever felt like it was enough. But then I met you, and one day I realized while I was here that I didn’t need that anymore. Just being around you makes me more content than I’ve ever been. I don’t want to be like what I was before. I would consider it my greatest success if I got to lead an ordinary life with you.”

You took her brief silence as an opportunity to press your lips to the corner of her mouth.

“Believe me now?” you asked.

Ellie nodded, leaning in to drop an affectionate kiss at the top of your nose.

And as you sat there, nestled into the warmth of her side and craning your head up to the sky, you’d never been more sure of yourself.

This would be more than enough.

final a/n: ok so some apologies are in order for this one! first of all, sorry for aborting jj lmao. i just couldn't envision doing light speed travel with a baby strapped to dina. big apologies for not including a final smut scene. i actually had one semi-drafted out because i wanted to write one where ellie bottomed bc i feel like it would really hammer in that she was finally choosing to be vulnerable, but the shift in the scene tone just didn't sit right with me. sometimes i write bonus scenes for big fics like this, so if there's enough interest i might write a short one shot of the scene i scrapped/other scenes that i also scrapped. also, speaking of things i scrapped: i had an alternate ending in mind where joel actually did die and ellie went on her seattle rampage + y/n realizes she's alive and tries to sneak out with dina to find her. i might end up writing that one too, depending on interest! anyway, thank you all for coming along on this journey with me so far! it's not totally over yet...the epilogue is still in the works! i appreciate hearing what you guys think of this and hope you all enjoyed !!!

also idk if this is important to bring up but i will say that i didn't realize the kind of message i'd be sending when i wrote a protagonist who's from a place like terranova—exoplanet isn't meant to be some sort of piece that makes you empathize with ignorant beneficiaries of slave labor...it's just the way it shook out and for that i'm sorry 😭

#ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x you #ellie williams imagine #ellie williams x oc #ellie williams x y/n

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stylezxsilvermoon · 28 days

Text

but I'd bet we'd have really good bed chem » chris s. smut

"come right on me, I mean camaraderie! see it in my mind let's fulfill the prophecy"

» chris smut one-shot based off of the storyline of "bed chem" by sabrina carpenter (in my opinion) (this may or may not turn into a series! let me know if you want more!)

wc: 4k (got carried away, oopsie)

warnings: 18+ content, youtuber relationships, oral (fem receiving), porn with plot, no use of y/n, poc friendly, fem pronouns, kinda teasing chris?? play mocking during sex, mutual friends of the triplets mentioned (they have a minor role)

this is my first chris smut (so pls be kind! feedback would be really nice!) and also I literally don't have Instagram so if the details were off use your imagination ☺️

a/n: yall i haven't written smut in literally forever, i'm more of a fantasy creative story writer so this is SO out of the realms of the comfort zone, but i'm all about pushing boundaries of my imagination so here ya go!

excerpt: sierra dawson is a bit of an it-girl, she's a popular youtuber/vlogger, all of her fans are all up in her dm's and comments begging her to meet chris sturniolo, and when an influencer party comes up hosted by one of their mutual friends, well she just has no reason to ignore the call from the universe pulling them together, right?

Sierra

The silence in the room is getting loud. And I mean, really loud, most likely because I never expected this to happen. I've just uploaded my latest video addressing the drama. It looks like any other youtuber's video, I'm sat on my bed, cross legged and looking into the camera. The video has been up for exactly 10 minutes and the comments are already flooding with more fuel to the fire. My editor and I are rewatching the video to watch for any mistakes or parts that may need to be addressed later, a deep frown settles across her face.

"I think you may need another video on this." She nods "I mean, everyone wants you together, it's crazy." She nods once more, almost coming to the final verdict that my youtube career might as well be screwed the fuck over because of a man. One singular man, Chris Sturniolo.

"I don't understand why everyone is so hooked on this! I mean, I've never even seen the guy in person." I say, my attention split between her puzzled face and ghosting over Chris' "follow" button on Instagram.

"It's fate, I suppose." She shrugs "But hey, your friend Jake is hosting a party at his and roommate's place, you should go." She says "Maybe that'll put all the rumors to rest, the triplets already said they were going." She says, and I stare, dumbfounded.

"Oh yeah, sure, because the answer to putting the rumors to rest is, to show up to a party I'm sure he'll be at?" I question, as if sniffing out the bullshit in her tone.

"Sierra, if you have to meet him, you might as well be at a place where you’ll know he’ll be, so everyone can stop fantasizing about it happening." She explains calmly "But it's up to you, don't just do it because of the fans."

I hear my own voice echo off of the laptop we're watching the video/live reacting to comments on.

"Guys, I'm not dating Chris Sturniolo, so quit asking!" I say in an exasperated tone, but it's all jokes, there's no real bite in my voice.

I'm mulling over my answer to alot of things at the moment, whether or not I will follow him back and become mutual, announce I'm going to this party, because I just know we're going to be doing content. And I'll be seen with him, which means edits, lots and lots of edits.

And I have to admit, he's not that bad looking either, and he seems like a nice guy, along with his brothers they seem pretty chill. So is it really lose/lose like I'm painting it out to be?

Either way, I bite the bullet and smash that follow button and watch my screen light up with comments within the next few hours. If I'm going to be in a fire-flamed flambe of chaos, I wanna be the one holding the kerosene. I click on Instagram and post my weekly photo dump and tap my screen with my nail as I figure out what I want to caption it. But I decide to just ride this train of chaos while it's here. Because regardless of the complications of attending the party, I am still excited to go, so I might as well show that.

see you there @.jakewebber, ready to party hard and see all of our friends, including someone...special👀

I sit and watch as the comment section quickly is filled with conspiracy theories on what my 'cryptic' message could have meant. And what the implications are on the current situation, especially all of the drama surrounding me. But, I see something that absolutely shocks me, after I scroll for a hot second, I see Chris comment that same eyeball emoji I had in the post with a question mark.

And my whole world just explodes in that very moment, but obviously I try to keep it cool, even in the midst of every social platform I'm on ripping their hair out at the notion of a single reply. But regardless, all of it is to implode ten-fold once the event actually comes around. I scroll through Chris' Instagram for a few moments. Based on this and the content I've seen of him and his brothers, he seems like a pretty nice guy. And god, is he attractive, very attractive, I try to keep a tiny smile from creeping onto my face at the notion of being deemed 'fated' to him by our fans and the prospect of meeting him later on today.

I'm starting to like the idea, like a lot.

Chris

Who is Sierra Dawson, you may ask?

Well, according to sturniolo nation she's 'meant to be' with me and we should definitely start dating 'just because they say so'. Which is a bit bullshit. But regardless, us meeting was inevitable, and besides, I've been seeing her everywhere. It's almost like a sign, which i almost hate in a way.

I'm walking into the party at Jake's when I see Sierra walking in as soon as get finished greeting Jake. And woah, she's even more beautiful in person, dark skin and bouncy curls, a total knockout.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the famous vlog girlie with the bad rep?" I tease as I walk over, and it's as if I automatically register in her mind as who I'm known as, which is good.

"Sierra," She says as she gives me a brief hug, which I respond to in kind as I give her a little side hug.

"So what's your reason for being here? The comments?" She teases a little bluntly, which I quickly begin to like.

"Pretty much, and Jake, and we're doing some content together obviously which is really exciting, I do enjoy a good collab." I nod as I look down at her, she's a bit shorter than me, but not abnormally so.

"Is that so? A collab you say, so would you say that we are..collabing?" She asks, teasing a bit more, which causes a smirk to break out like wildfire across my face, and a bit of a blush as a chaser.

Oh boy, great.

"At this moment, I'd say so." I nod, attempting to be at least a little professional, this is our first time meeting. "I'm a big fan of your work, you always come up with good content ideas, I'd love to be in one of your videos one day." I remark, already loving the energy between us.

"Oh my gosh shut up!" She laughs "I'm a huge fan of you too, you and your brothers are hilarious." She nods, her eyes lighting up at the notion.

It only takes a moment to see that for once, in this case, the fans were actually right.

"You free next week?" We both end up saying in unison, before laughing.

"I do recall you following me on insta, but I don't remember receiving a dm." She says snarky tone, almost as if she's almost unwilling to admit the fans were right.

"Oh, you don't recall, huh?" I repeat as I pull out my phone and flash her account in her face, pointing to the following button. Not willing to give in first either.

After a very comfortable stand-off, she ends up breaking and pulling out her phone and texting me on insta, little did I know, those three little words could mean so much more later on.

‘hey, wanna collab?’

“There, it’s official.” I say proudly, as I hold my phone in my hand as I replied ‘sure, since it seems like the fans want it so much. 😊’

Sierra

As the party went on, the large group of influencers began posting content for the party so each of our individual fanbases knew their faves were linking up and collaborating. The news spread like wildfire, as expected.

Nothing too crazy, Jake did his longform content, as did I. Did a couple TikTok’s, until I had an idea just then.

“Do a tiktok with me?” I asked Chris, which was sitting to my right on the big couch we all were sitting on, as he nodded.

“Course,” he said, scooting closer so we could both get in frame together, which caused me to be hyper-aware of the closeness the entire time. I could feel the fabric of his clothes against mine, which was a jean dress with a black chunky heel, and for Chris, a blue fresh love hoodie and some jeans. After I got over my irrational fear of closeness born out of this situation, we lip sang to ‘bed chem’ by Sabrina Carpenter.

After I’d posted it on my account, he looked at me with a peculiar look. “Don’t you think that song is a little…presumable?” He jokes, but with a little serious tint in his tone.

“Maybe?” I teased “I just felt like it matched the vibe of the situation, is it bad?” I ask, biting back the urge to just rage-quit and delete it before anyone could see, there was still time until-

Too late, my phone began buzzing in my hand, great.

“You’re in for a lot more conversations about us then.” He chuckled warmly as his palm found it’s home on my knee, at the end of my dress, just where the hem was. I fought the urge to melt into it.

I couldn’t explain it, everything felt so natural with him. It was almost as if fate really was pushing us together. And by fate, I mean the fans, but maybe…I assume because we’ve just both been seeing each other everywhere for a bit.

I look down at his palm, large and a little veiny and then back to his eyes, he looked for reassurance if the move was okay before I nodded discreetly and relaxed against the sofa.

“I’ve been seeing you everywhere lately, it’s safe to say you’re on my mind a lot.” He says after a moment of silence.

“Me too, seems like we can’t keep each other’s name out of our mouths, huh?” I say, which causes him to sport a lopsided prideful smirk. Insinuating a dirty joke in my words when there really wasn’t. But, if you squinted…. there perhaps was.

“I was not talking about that, I’m not saying you’re in my mouth- I mean.” I say before rolling my eyes at my mis-speak

“Sure,” he nods cooly “Let’s believe that Sierra.” He smirks again

“Don’t go marching off to the fans saying that shit.” I laughed a little, before we both begin laughing at the nightmare that’d cause.

“’Course not.” He nods, very serious but very toned down, the party isn’t all that highbrow. Very low brow and mellow, just some drinking and talking between mutual friends, and maybe…. more?

“Can you imagine? God we’d never hear the end of it.” I nod, as I unconsciously get closer, the heat of the moment drawing us closer.

As the party goes on, Chris and I continue to get a little too close for comfort, and the urge to do something with him grows closer by the second.

Until, finally, I break, shattering like glass.

“You think the fans were…right?” I gulp, speaking over the loud music, and Chris is only a hair away, staying close to me the entire party. Every time he gets up to talk to someone or his brothers, he returns right back to me. And despite everything, it sends a small thrill through me, like lightning.

God, I can’t actually want him, right?

“Hm?” He teases, inching closer and throwing an arm over my shoulder for extra affect, gazing at me with those blue eyes of his as I stare back, dumbfounded.

“They were…right, I think.” I say, as his face all of a sudden goes soft “You think so?” He says gently, before it twists into a mischievous smile.

God, he’s doing all the right things, all the right moves, it’s crazy. Is this what my fans were talking about? If so, thank the heavens above for all of this drama

⁕

The party goes on for a bit longer, until everyone gets a little too sloshed and it begins dying down. After several down-low comments to Chris, we’re both feeling a little wound up to say the least. Or at least I’m feeling the heat, more than anything. And the worst part is it’s the middle of August! Everyone’s heading out, as I make my way out, as I see Chris over to the side, waiting for me at the door.

It's almost already been established something is going down tonight, I just don’t know what. But I have a feeling I won’t be able to walk tomorrow, I’ll just have to do a sitting-down video for sure. Can’t let the fans see me limping…or maybe…no! Absolutely not! But the temptation is so strong, I can hardly resist it. All I know is that little devil on my shoulder looks a lot like Chris.

I’ve barely known him for a few hours, and I already want to jump his bones? I’m all about taking risks today, might as well keep the streak strong, right? But this isn’t just a follow or a text, this is real. But people take risks all the time? After all, as they say, don’t take the flight if it isn’t worth the fall.

“Hey.” He says, breathing smoothly into my ear as he walks me to my car, since it’s dusk dark outside.

“Hey.” I reply back, turning to face him, as his eyes are going haywire, up and down, behind me, to my face, to my tits. 3 key words; what. the. fuck.

“So, were the fans, right?” He asks as we stand against my car, watching everyone wave us goodbye as Matt stands dangling the keys to their van on his finger. From what I’m gathered Nick and Chris don’t know how to drive, and they certainly all came together.

“Yeah, they were, I think, we should try something. Don’t you agree?” I tease “After all, giving the audience what they want can’t be so wrong, right?” I smile slyly as I look him up and down, as he nods curtly. The unspoken conversation between us clear as day.

“I’m heading home with Sierra Matt, I’ll see you later.” Chris says to Matt as he gives him an odd look, overly uninterested because he’s sure he’ll be hearing it all later.

“Okay…” Matt says as he walks away and hops in the van, as he watches it drive away.

No going back now.

⁕

We make it there, and I give Chris a home-tour while I’m still at my wits. It takes the edge off of things and gives us some time to figure out whether this is about to happen or not. I head up to my bedroom, the place where I mainly film videos, the bed sheets are a plum purple and there’s a dream board above the bed. But, I’m sure he’s already seen it on his phone if he’s heard of me.

“Woah, behind the scenes.” He nods “Sierra’s studio…” he muses out loud, as I pat the bed, and he gives me a peculiar look.

“If you say so.” He says a tiny glint of excitement in his eyes.

The night turns into midnight, and our minds begin weary, and we begin to blur the line between proving the fans wrong and falling harder, for sure. In fact, I’m confused why we hadn’t met earlier, even.

We lay on my bed, our feet dangling off the bed, talking and talking for hours to get to know each other, even after the party. Everything still feels so much, I still feel the buzz of music in my ears, the pounce of the pavement against my heels.

“They were right.” He sighs, running a hand through his brown short hair, his earrings glittering as he moves his head in the slightest.

“Why do they always have to be right!” I groan, but there’s no real bite in my voice, just like the video, just like tonight.

I keep making choices I know will not lead to the rumors to an early grave, in fact it’s really leading them to a euphoric beginning of an everlasting life. Each comment, edit and rumor pumping life into the veins of something between us.

Usually, fans drive people apart, but tonight? I couldn’t feel closer.

“You like that they were right.” He smirks as he turns to me, looking me up and down.

“I do, I really do.” I nod, inching closer, as his hands clasp my waist all of a sudden, and the world’s feeling smaller than usual. The bed, that usually cascades for what feels like miles feels small and cramped with him in it.

“And I was right, wasn’t I?” He smirks, his lips creeping closer to my ear, pressing a kiss there.

“Is this really about being right?” I ask, gasping at the feeling.

“You started this.” He reminds me, maintaining that power over me, and I feel the sparks of chemistry in my veins like tiny fireworks.

“Did not.” I pout like a child, but there’s no use, I’m already wrong.

His head turns to me, stopping to make sure this is really what I want, seeing if I’ll defy him, defy what the fans had said about us. About what would happen.

“Oh, Sierra, you so did.” He nods, teasing further and further, reaching for the hem of my dress, testing the waters gently while remaining on the absolute edge of defying the fates that’s been set before us.

“Now what happens next, is up to you and me, not the fans.” He hums

“Of course I know that.” I scoff, pulling him closer gently and running my hands through his hair as he closes his eyes in bliss, and I take the chance of his eyes being closed as a sign of risks being taken.

I kiss him, he kisses back ever so gently, his lips coasting against mine like a California shoreline. Fizzing and bubbling with chemistry.

“Fuck,” he hisses, pulling me closer by my thigh, effectively parting my thighs as he slips between them. We kiss for a bit longer before he takes control, getting on top of me quickly, it’s like a flip switched between us.

“Gonna fuck you now, okay with that?” He smirks between kisses

“Yeah.” I breathe heavily as he nods against my lips, taking a moment to breathe as his lips drift down my neck as his hand finds my clothed core, rubbing over it like a mad man.

I yelp and attempt to close my legs, but he keeps them open.

“Ah-ah.” He tuts as he pulls away, I instantly sit up before I watch him take off his shirt, his toned body casting shadows against the dim-lit room. The crevices of his collarbones being explored by the shadows entices me.

In this time, he ever so gently gets my dress off, the Jean dress coasting on a smooth zipper, his hands down my back, grabbing and feeling until it’s off, and I’m in my bra and underwear. He whistles at the sight.

“Beautiful.” He smiles softly, continuing to rub my core as he returns to my parted legs. He dives in for a deep kiss, tongue and all. His hands are all over, mine are all over him too, all in his hair as I grind against his fingers.

“If you want me to do anything, gotta get these off hm?” He teases as I lift my hips as they come flying off within a split second.

“Good, very good, oh Sierra.” He muses, his voice breaking with emotion “the fans were right, I am going to destroy that cunt” he says, before I can even blink his lips are all over my clit as I gasp and my legs shake.

“Chris-“ I cry out, grabbing at the sheets as he works his fingers between my folds, stuffing them in my mouth before pushing them in my pussy.

“Mhm, yeah, what were you saying in that video?” He says between kissing and licking my pussy. “Guys I don’t like chris sturniolo!” He mocks as I’m eating it up like a flame does oxygen, his fingers working on my clit now as he’s circling around my hole, stars in my eyes.

“I didn’t say it like that.” I whine as his other hand goes up and shoves his fingers in my mouth.

“I don’t even know him! We could never happen!” he mocks again, a teasing glint in his voice “Oh Sierra, look at you eat those words.” He says, his voice muffled by my pussy as he eats it like he’s never ate in his entire life. His tongue flat licking over my pussy like a starved man, sucking from my clit like he’s desperate for air. And when I start getting close, he keeps up the teasing as I grasp at his hair.

“That’s it sweetheart, mhm, come for me.” He slurs, not pulling away until I’m over the edge.

“God you’re so! Gah!” I cry as I come apart on his tounge “Chris! Fuck!” I shout as I collapse against the bed, the orgasm wracking through me like a freight train. Chris keeps on rubbing on my clit like a mad man.

“Satisfied?” he asks, smug as ever. “You came all over my face, you’re gonna pay for that.” He remarks with that glint in his eye.

It’s clear to me that we’ve only just begun.

⁕

Chris

Within minutes I’m balls-deep inside Sierra Dawson. Which is something I never thought would be happening. Regardless, we’re both moaning like crazy people, fans be forgotten, bed shaking, earth quaking.

“H-holy shit.” I say, bottoming out again and again as I hit that special spot.

“Don’t say it.” She grits, still holding onto that bit of bratty attitude and resistance despite coming multiple times underneath me.

“Oh?” I tease as I suddenly stop “Say what?” I ask curiously, hands above my head in a uncaring manner, smug. “Could do this all day sweetheart.” I smirk

“Alright fine,” she remarks, and within a second I’m already back to it, and her back is arched off the bed. Kissing the hollows in her clammy skin that’s somehow frosty and flaming hot all at once. Must be that hot-n-cold attitude.

“Yeah…” I coo in her ear, biting it gently, slowing down just a bit. “Because I’m not inside of you right now, mhm?” I tease, tilting my head to meet her lips gently, kissing her slowly.

“Put some respect on my name next time you make one of those little videos huh?” I say in a snarky tone as I look in her little Bambi eyes, fluttering and filled with those fucked-out tears.

“God.” She says, throwing her head back, hiding her gaze from me as I snap her head right back, grabbing her pretty little face.

“Look at me sweet thing.” I say gently. We’re both close and we know it too, and within seconds I’m bursting inside of her and she’s coming perfectly on my cock, eyes wide and looking at me.

⁕

Sierra

After everything, and I mean everything I never expected that to happen. Or maybe I did, maybe it’s all in my head...

The next morning after Chris and I shower, roll around in bed talking each other’s ears off, we decide to film a Tiktok, maybe just because of the controversy, or we just wanna be little bitches to our fans.

We lip-sing to bed-chem once again, but this time a different line different time.

“Come right on me! I mean camaraderie!” I lip synch while looking in his eyes as he sings the back vocals “bet we’d have really good bed chem.”

And later on, after it’s posted, it’s clear the rumors is thriving and creating new theories on things we never even thought possible, or even true. Pregnancy, rebounds, covering for what happened last night at the party, since we were seen together and even more ridiculous fantasies.

But we see a special comment that catches our eye “they’re so cute together!”

We each like that one on our insta after we post some pictures together from my bed. Which can only mean one thing, to the fans at least, a collab. They may never know what we’re up too, and it’s a mystery for me too, even. I never expected things to take such a turn. But alas, Chris’ shirtless body in my bed sort of makes all the rumors worth it, even if they’re only just rumors.

Or are they?

a/n: yall I totally got carried away with this PLOT lord, but I had really alot of fun writing it, let me know if yall want a part 2? I feel like it's sort of open ended so I could do another sabrina carpenter short n sweet song one-shot for Sierra and Chris or make it a series? Whatever yall want to be honest! I like both ideas, I think I'd do Juno next if I did, but a part 2 to this storyline sounds kinda cool!

also yall sorry the smut was so bad😭 I never write smut like literally ever so that part of it was kind of short and I know that's the main part but I've literally never written chris before so I was freaking on writing him kinda accurately so..yeah

all the love, stylezxsilvermoon! (I'll add this to my masterlist later on and make a series masterlist if you guys end up wanting it!) I'll make a tag list for anyone that wants notifs for the next part if I make one? Umm I'm new to this LMFAO, comments, reblogs and likes are totally appreciated!

#mila's fics #chris sturniolo fics #chris sturniolo #chris sturniolo smut #chris sturniolo x you #sturniolo smut #sturniolo triplets smut #chris sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo x reader #bet we'd have really good bed chem -> chris fic #<- tag for later incase it becomes a series #mila wila's archive

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evildeadism · 11 months

Text

deadite 101

ash williams x f!reader

word count: 4.4k plot: reader is home alone whilst ash is at work, the night takes a turn when she is attacked by a deadite. ash comes home and fears the worst. (intended to be post aod ash but can be imagined as any era tbh!) warnings: canon typical violence and gore, descriptions of injury, hurt/comfort, angst, mentions of nsfw and nsfw jokes, fluff, soft! ash, mentions of getting high, use of petnames (its ash, what do you expect)

a/n: ash williams is my fave fictional character ever yall, like the love i have for that man is insane...anyways! hope the like 10 evil dead enjoyers on this app like this!!!

You had said goodbye to Ash in the late hours of the afternoon just before he had left for his evening shift at S-Mart. It was just like every other day, the two of you had fallen into a comfortable routine after moving in together.

Ash would work shifts at S-Mart, you would also work and the moments spent together were nothing short of bliss. Getting high at night together whilst spinning a record and the weekend lay-ins after spending the morning fucking each other was also rather heavenly. Date nights were a movie, or maybe a trip to the bar and it would normally end up with the two of you hot and heavy in the back of the delta, which would often continue in your shared bedroom at the apartment.

It may not have been a lot for some people, but for you and Ash? It was perfect. You were happy, he was happy. It was heavenly. Except, of course, for that night.

The apartment building was illuminated by dim lights as you read quietly, the wind howling outside, a few raindrops hitting the window every now and then. Quickly you threw a glance at the clock on the wall. It was 10pm, Ash would be back at any moment.

Settling your eyes back to the book, you nestled into the warm blanket that had bundled you up on the sofa, a small sigh of content slipped past your lips as you slowly sipped on the wine you had in your hand. It was the kind of cozy October nights you’d see in the movies and you couldn’t wait for Ash to get home to share the tranquil scene with him.

The sound of the door opening echoed through the apartment.

“Ash, I’m in here!” You called out without looking up, turning the page of your book.

Silence.

That was strange. He can usually never shut up when he first comes home from work, or ever for that matter.

“Ash?” You called out again.

Still no answer.

You were quiet for a moment, listening for any sign of Ash or any kind of movement. But there was nothing, the apartment was still. Eerily still.

Your eyebrows furrowed, slowly placing the book down on the coffee table beside you. An unsettling feeling pooled into your stomach. Pulling off the blanket covers, wine glass still in hand, you peered down the hallway directly at the front door. It was wide open. The light in the hallway outside of your apartment flickered erratically, but there was no one in the doorway.

Your mouth dried as you licked your lips. “Ash, I swear to god if this is some kind of joke, I will kill you” You called out again.

Silence.

Growing tired of this ridiculousness you marched to the door and slammed it shut. There was still no Ash to be seen anywhere.

“Fuck” You whispered, facing the door. The gravity of the situation hitting you all at once. Ash always begged you, practically drilled it into you to keep the door and windows locked at all times after what had happened to him at the cabin. And so you did, but you weren’t quite as careful as he was.

You hadn’t experienced what he had, didn’t have the upper hand of witnessing just how fucked up the dead could be. And of course you believed what he said had happened to him was the actual truth, his recurring nightmares, lack of a right hand and the look in his eyes as he very rarely recalled it was anything but fake.

But that was his experience not yours.

You reassured him time and time again that you were safe and always locked the doors but as time went on you had gotten sloppier, doubting the danger your boyfriend warned you of. Like tonight.

You had forgotten to lock the door after he left. And now there was someone in your house. You doubted that the villains Ash faced in that cabin those years ago were in your home but regardless, someone or something was.

The floorboards behind you squeaked ever so slightly, pulling you back to the present. At the sound your tear pricked eyes widened in horror as your breath became heavier and heavier by the second. Despite your brain screaming at you not to, slowly, oh so slowly you turned around.

A million things rushed through your mind, a murderer, thief and somewhere desperately in your mind you had hoped this was Ash pulling a stupid prank on you. But what you came face to face with was more horrifying than anything even the twisted of minds could’ve comprehended.

The person. No. Creature, in front of you looked like nothing short of a nightmare. Clothes ripped up and covered in dirt and blood, skin a pale and sickly gray peeling off and decaying in spots of blood and body matter, and the eyes? Oh the eyes, a terrifying striking white that pierced straight into you, through you. The wine glass you were holding fell through your now clammy and shaky hands, shattering into tiny pieces on the floor with a loud smash.

The, what once was a man, grinned slowly, baring its rotten and blood stained teeth. You tried to step back but your back met the door with a dull thud. A slight whimper escaped as you realized there was no clear way of escaping, not without a fight.

“No, Ashy slashy here to protect you” It spoke in a horrifyingly deep and monstrous tone, tilting its head at you, that terrifying grin still sporting its face.

Upon his words, your instincts finally kicked in, coming out of the paralysis that had held you still for so long and you instantly bolted to the left and into the kitchen, eyes immediately settling on the knife holder.

Always find a weapon first Ash had said to you once before, while giving you a cautionary 101 on killing a deadite This thing is not human, it is hardly gonna go down with just a kick in the nuts. You stretched your arm out leaping for the biggest butcher knife, fingers merely brushing the handle but the deadite was fast, too fast. A hand snaked around your calf and yanked you down with strength, your body slamming into the floor bringing the knives down with you, a large clatter to the floor. Without looking back you tried to reach for the knife closest to you on the ground but your leg was yanked harder, pulling you away from your only source of a weapon “No!” You cried out in fear.

Another hand sneaked around your other calf and the thing started to pull harder, pulling your body towards him. You screamed in terror. Panic swarming your brain, vision going foggy.

Was this it? You thought to yourself. A death so quick and so painful. Leaving your corpse here for Ash to find, another loss left for him to mourn as if his sister, ex-girlfriend and friends weren’t enough. Now at some point, you’re probably gonna go into panic mode, you won’t be able to see, hear or even think about anything except for the inevitable gruesome death that awaits you. Well, good news! Death is only inevitable if you let it be inevitable. Are you gonna go out without a fight? No! Well, maybe if you’re a pussy but if you’re anything like me, you’ll clear your head and there’ll only be one thing on your mind. Survival.

With a grunt and new found resolve you started to squirm out of its grasp fighting against its hold on you, arms reaching for the butcher knife. The deadite struggled against you as you heaved and writhed, slowly and slowly inching closer to your prize. Suddenly the deadite let go of your legs, without looking back or checking to see what it was doing you surged toward the knife until you felt something heavy on your back. With horror you realized, the deadite was crawling on top of you.

Paralyzed by fear, you stopped struggling and involuntarily started to hold your breath. Everything was a painful quiet except for the deadites' ragged breathing coming closer and closer. Does it even breathe? You thought to yourself but the thought quickly died as you felt its torso press into your back, its face slowly entering your peripheral vision, mere inches away from your face, so much so you could smell the dank repugnant smell of death and rotting rolling off of the corpse.

Slowly, as if not to disturb the deadite, you wiggled your fingers in search of the knife. Finally you brushed the handle and let out a breath of relief and victory but just as your hand gripped it, a much larger hand came down on your wrist and snapped it in the opposite direction. An ear piercing scream tore through you as waves of shock ebbed through your wrist, the deadites firm grasp still on your now limp hand as it laughed wickedly in your ear.

You shut your eyes in fear and whimpered quietly, tears rolling down your face. The deadite will corner you into a difficult position, but you can use this to your advantage, there is always a way out and if the deadite thinks it has you, its guard will be low. Now is the time to lay a blow to the sucker.

“Don’t cry, we’re just getting started'' It growled in your ear in that gravelly monstrous voice, followed by a low chuckle that sounded like the hordes of hell opening up. Gritting your teeth you prepared yourself for your attack, a guttural roar escaping you as you quickly lifted yourself up, using your working wrist and the limited body strength you had left and smacked your head into its chin.

It let go of its grasp on you and instantly your working hand grabbed the knife, you leapt to your feet, turning around to face the deadite that was staring you down, teeth bared angrily. It was pissed. But so were you.

There's only so much cat and mouse you can take before the anger starts, and that is when you know you have a fighting chance. “Let’s go, fucker” You spat at it, the monster grinned, evidently entertained by your new found courage. With an angry scream you charged at the deadite with the knife in hand. Instantly it caught you by the throat and started to squeeze, your eyes bulged out of your head in shock, desperate for breath and head turning lighter and lighter by the second.

Your vision was starting to dip and your body started to feel like it was melting away before in the corner of your eye you saw the glimmer of the knife. You looked back at the deadite with wild eyes and rammed the knife through the wrist that was held up to your throat. It screeched in response and finally dropped your neck, stumbling back.

Taking deep panicky gulps of breath, grateful to drink in the air you looked up cautiously at the deadite. Your hand ghosted over the throbbing on your neck, it was bound to be bruised soon. The deadite still had the knife embedded in its arm as it peered at you and a chill ran down your spine. In doubt, run.

You broke out into a sprint, eyes locking on the door but the deadite caught up, grabbing you forcefully by the hair and pulling you back, making you shriek in agony. It grabbed your waist and with a mighty strength, threw you down onto the shards of the broken wine glass scattered by the door. Glass shards pierced into your hands and arms catching your already injured wrist, scratching your cheek leaving a trail of crimson blood dripping down your face.

Groaning in pain you slowly shifted your body to turn around, the deadite loomed above you pulling the knife out of its arm with a sickly squelch and throwing it to the side with a heavy clang. Hand feeling around the sharp glass, body tired and in an excruciating pain you looked up with weary eyes. The deadite lunged forward.

Remember, ANYTHING can be a weapon. In one swift movement you grabbed a large shard of glass and rammed it into its neck. You grabbed another shard of glass and plunged it into its right eye. With a high pitched scream it backed away slowly, howling in pain.

Weakly, you stood up with a wince. Stumbling towards the countertop you grabbed a heavy wooden chopping board and stalked towards the deadite and with a battle cry, in one fellow swoop, knocked its head so hard, you were almost positive its head would roll off. The crack of its neck reverberated in the apartment and with a thud, its body fell to the floor motionless.

You stared down at the seemingly dead corpse, panting heavily. This one is important, trust me, the dead can play dead pretty well. You have to completely destroy the corpse, to pieces. You smashed the cutting board into the deadite again, and again, until if it wasn't for the slight remnant of a face, it didn’t even look like a body anymore.

Finally happy with your work you dropped the board onto the floor with a thick bang. You walked backwards and cradled your aching wrist, weary wide eyes never leaving the monster in front of you. And that, baby, is how you kill a deadite.

__________________________________________

Even before Ash had entered the apartment he knew something was up, he always knew when it came to the deadites, of course that didn’t mean he had quite expected the scene that layed in front of him.

His eyes widened in horror as he saw the deadite corpse lying in the hallway. He instantly rushed in, but the sound of something crunching under his shoes drew him to a halt. Confused, he looked down to find shards of glass covered in blood. Dropping his stuff right there and then he looked around the apartment frantically calling out your name. Stepping carefully around the deadite and inspecting the mush that was once a body, “Definitely dead” Ash murmured, his eyes fell on the discarded knife just a few feet away from the corpse, he swiftly picked it up, just in case. Ash called out your name again.

“Ash?” A voice quietly responded.

Ash whipped around, to find you huddled in the corner. Resisting the urge to rush over to you immediately, Ash slowly crept towards the corner you had hidden yourself in, he knew all too well that if that deadite was truly dead then there was a chance the kandarian demon had now possessed you. Despite his mind screaming to make sure you were okay, first, he had to make sure you were really, well, you.

He couldn’t quite see your face due to the dim lighting of the apartment, and the corner you had crept into was particularly dark. He very quietly said your name, slowly advancing. Finally you looked up. Your face, though streaked with blood and tears, was yours. Ash let out a breath of relief, quickly dropping the knife and instantly running to your side. Slowly he sank to your height

You looked up at him with wide eyes, full of relief. “Ash, thank god” You breathed. His eyes frantically scanned you looking for any injuries, they widened when finding your bent wrist, carefully he took hold of it and moved it towards him. You whimpered in pain. “Shh, shh, it’s okay” He said. “You’re safe”

Continuing his scan he found numerous cuts along your arms, some even with shards of glass nestled deeply into the wound. “You need to go to the hospital, baby”

“Ash,” You hoarsely whispered.

“Can you get up?”

“Ash-”

“These could get infected, we should go now”

“Ash!” You sharply called, finally gaining his attention. Ash looked up at you, eyes falling on your face, his gaze softened.

“Fuck,” He sighed, eyes tracing the cut on your face, his non-metal hand softly came up to your cheek, you nestled into his hand beyond relieved to feel his touch, to finally feel safe.

You swallowed dryly, casting your gaze behind your lover, and onto the dishevelled corpse “Is it…gone?”

Ash gently pulled your cheek back to face him, looking away from the deadite. “Yeah, It’s gone”

He sighed heavily, casting another glance behind him at the corpse. “How did it get in here?” He frantically asked. "I mean the door is always locked” Ash shook his head in confusion, turning back to you.

You looked down guiltily and gulped slowly. Fuck your throat still hurt from the deathgrip the deadite had on your neck.

Ash’s eyes narrowed at you. “The door was locked, right?”

You remained quiet, still refusing to meet his eyes. He said your name slowly, “Tell me you locked the door."

You bit your lip. “Ash, liste-”

He scoffed in disbelief, cutting you off, hand pulling away from your cheek. “You’ve gotta be shitting me”

“I’m sorry,” you muttered, still refusing to meet his eyes, instantly missing his touch on your skin.

“Why do you think I always say that crap? For fun?” He angrily asked, hand rubbing his eyes in frustration. “I say it so shit like this doesn’t happen!”

His voice grew louder and you flinched instinctively. Ash bit his tongue and shook his head regretfully. Both his hands took yours, carefully and gently held your broken wrist. “I’m sorry, I just-”

“I know, it's okay, I’m just jumpy” You said, cutting him off. “Every time I close my eyes or hear a slight noise I just think that thing is gonna come back and finish the job”

“It’s not gonna come back” He reassured you confidently.

You gave him a faint and tired smile while nodding. “You’re right anyways, I should’ve locked the door I just never y’know expected...” Your sentence died on your tongue you couldn’t even will the words out.

“I know” He responded, giving you that knowing look because of course he knew what it felt like. You looked into those brown doe eyes you had grown to love and find comfort in and felt your lip wobble ever so slightly, tears pricking at your eyes, you cast your gaze back down, not wanting to break and burst into tears.

But the tears were strong and a quiet sob escaped you.

“Hey, come on look at me” Ash said head bobbing to try and catch your eyes. You timidly looked up, and Ash swiped a tear away with his thumb. “Are you okay?”

You lifted an eyebrow at his words. “Yeah” He chuckled. “It’s a stupid question, I know” He threw his gaze behind him to the still deadite.

A faint smile played on his lip as he looked back at you. “You beat the crap out of it though”

You smiled back, sniffing ever so slightly. “Had a good teacher, I remembered all those tips”

“Damn right you did, What did you beat it with anyways?”

“A chopping board” You responded

He let out another amused chuckle. “That ought to do it”

“Well, I seem to remember someone telling me anything is a weapon”

Ash nodded proudly, “Atta girl”

You blushed softly at the endearment. Ash gave you a knowing smile, thumb slowly drawing circles on your skin. “It did, however, beat the crap out of you and there's no shame in that, I mean hey, I lost my hand to those bastards. But we need to go to the hospital”

You nodded. “I know can we, please, just sit a little, I just need a second”

He nodded timidly as the two of you sat, hands intertwined. “Hey, on the bright side I don’t seem so batshit crazy now do I?” Ash shrugged in a joking tone.

You let out a small laugh. “Ash, I’ll always think your crazy”

Ash smiled in response and the apartment fell silent again, another chill drawing down your spine. The stillness of the apartment was unsettling after the attack and you felt your heartbeat start to speed up, you needed to distract yourself before you had a full blown panic attack. You cleared your throat ever so slightly, “So, those things, that’s what you fought off back in the cabin?”

“Yeah,” Ash’s smile faltered ever so slightly.

You considered him for a moment and shook your head. “Just one of those fuckers nearly finished me off and yet you fought god knows how many and survived”

“Well, I don’t mean to brag but I am the king, sugar” Ash responded, a smug smirk appearing on his face.

You rolled your eyes playfully at him. You always knew Ash was strong, I mean physically of course he was built particularly well and from what he had told you he was a fucking god when it came to combat. But this put it in proportion, to have survived that many of those things takes something truly incredible in a person.

People would probably describe Ash as lucky for what he survived and he would most likely grunt in response and say some crap like, “Lucky? That’s one way of putting it”. Because it wasn’t luck to have lost his sister, his girlfriend and his friends all in one night. To have to live with the memory of their gruesome deaths, no, there was nothing lucky about that. Ash would never admit it because it made him feel weak but at the end of the day he was a victim and a survivor, and if survivors guilt was personified it would be personified in Ashley fucking Williams.

You peered at him slowly. “Ash?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, I mean, I know I’ve said it before but now that I..” Your sentence trailed off your mind still unable to process what had just happened. “You have no idea how glad and lucky I am to have met you, let alone be with you” You spoke quietly. “How glad I am that you lived, and that you’re here, with me”

Ash was never very good at being in touch with his emotions and you knew that but that didn’t mean he was immune to them, and you hadn’t noticed the slight shimmer in his eyes and the gulp of breath he took in. He blinked slowly for a while, and for one of the first times in his life he was speechless, you had hit something buried in the deep crevices of his mind and my god, did it feel strangely good. Quickly trying to recover himself he plastered on that obnoxious smirk that didn’t quite erase the gentle look in his eyes. “Hey, me too babe”

Awkwardly coughing, Ash’s eyes flickered down to your neck and his smirk dropped, jaw flexing and eyes widening again “Hey, what the fuck happened to your neck?”

Your hand flew out of his and instinctively brushed the stinging skin, you winced in pain.

“No, no” Ash pulled your hand away from your neck, taking soft grasp of it again, his eyes still focused on the blue-purple bruise forming across your neck. “Don’t touch it”

“Is it bad?” You asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern, panic rising.

Ash scoffed. “Uh, Yeah it’s bad, babe”. Noticing your worried face, he cleared his throat. “Nothing that won’t heal though, Uh don’t worry, just you know I wouldn’t recommend doing anything too strenuous with your throat”

You chuckled quietly. “Sorry, Ash, no blowjobs for a while”

Ash smiled at you but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. You cocked your head ever so slightly at him, a dirty joke that he didn't laugh at? Something was definitely up with him.

You watched him, the way his gaze lingered on your throat and wrist, the look in his eyes, it was the same look he had whenever he spoke about the cabin or his friends, his sister. You cleared your throat but the sensation made your already sore neck sting a little. “Ash, you know I’m gonna be okay, right?”

Ash lowered his head ever so slightly, ducking so he couldn’t meet your eyes. “I should have been here”

“Hey, come on that’s not fair to yourself”

He shook his head quietly.

“I mean I was the one who forgot to lock the door, you know, you were at work, as you should have been” You explained softly, his head remained hung.

“Ash, look at me” He reluctantly looked up, a tired look in his eyes. You tugged on his hand ever so slightly. “This is not the cabin, this is not your fault”

He blinked quickly, that strange sensation from earlier coming back. Ash’s thumb swept over your hand again as the two of you peered at each other. You both sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Ash finally stood up, offering you a hand. “Right, come on my little deadite slayer, you gotta go to the hospital”

You wanted to protest, not wanting to move at all but you knew he was right. Putting your non-injured hand in his he pulled you up, all the pain rushed through your body and you let out a cry. “Woah, come on, sugar, I got you” Ash reassured, an arm hooking around your waist so you could lean in to him as the two of you started to stumble to the door.

Ash came to a halt just as the two of you reached the deadite corpse. You looked up at him quizzically and he looked back at you softly as he nervously licked his lips. “You know that I-” He cleared his throat. “That I, well-”

Ash always struggled to say I love you, but you knew.

“Yeah, I know” A big smile erupted on your face. “Me too”

Ash nervously let out a huff of air before planting a kiss on the top of your head, you smiled to yourself before the two of you continued towards the door, carefully stepping over the deadite mess.

“Y’know for future reference, the shotguns in the closet” He said.

“And you couldn't have told me that while you were giving me one of your ‘deadite 101’ lectures?”

“Now that would’ve made it to too easy for you”

You rolled your eyes playfully, as he opened the door and gently guided you through. The door shut, leaving the horror of the night behind. Ash pulled you back into him, leaning against his chest, the two of you stumbling down the hall.

“So,” You cleared your throat, “When do I get to use the chainsaw?”

“Oh you’re not ready for that yet, kid”

#ash williams #evil dead #evil dead 2 #army of darkness #ash williams x reader #slashers x reader #the evil dead #ashley williams #ash vs evil dead #horror #ash williams imagine #80s horror #horror movies #slasher x reader #slasher community

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