Although Joel constantly reminded Ellie that she was still immature, there was no denying that there was a big change after their conversation on the cliff. The look in her eye said it all: she didn't believe his lies, but she accepted them just the same.

Making their way to Tommy's seemed like a good idea in the beginning, but now Joel wasn't so sure normalcy was their thing. Everyone greeted them with open arms, but this pseudo-community wasn't going to be enough for Ellie for long.

"Can't I just go hunting for an hour or two? Pleeease?" Ellie groaned as Joel chopped firewood for the communal kitchen stove. Everyone had to pitch in in the community, and Joel had volunteered to chop wood in the morning so that there would be some for the kitchen before breakfast.

"You know the rules: no hunting alone and no firearms for those under 18," Joel reminded her as salty sweat dripped down his face. At six o'clock in the morning, it was already turning out to be a warm day. By his estimation, it was going to be in the 90's pretty quick.

"But I can take my homemade bow and arrows, and Blake said he would go with me," Ellie reasoned. While Joel wanted to tell her no, her stubbornness was a force to be reckoned with.

"Who's Blake?" Joel asked with a sudden interest in their conversation.

"Oh, just a guy I work with down at the stables. He's been giving me some horseback riding lessons, too." Ellie was going for nonchalance but missed it completely and spiraled into poorly disguised lying.

"I thought you did just fine when you had to carry me on horseback for days. And don't think I didn't notice how you glossed over this new guy in your life." Joel smirked at Ellie as he did every time he knew she was lying.

"UUGGHH! It's just a hobby, and he's just a friend. A friend who is willing to take me hunting for a few hours after breakfast." Ellie's cheeks were colored a vibrant red from Joel's interrogation about Blake.

She wasn't sure how she felt about her new-found friend yet, but he was the only person she could stand at the moment. Right now, Joel was frustrating the heck out of her with his idiotic questions and slow-poke attitude.

"Tell him to see me before breakfast, and then maybe you two can set out for the hunting grounds we used last time. Nothing farther than that, you hear?" Joel warned.

"Yeah, yeah. Wouldn't want me to get eaten by a wild raccoon or pecked to death by the evil woodpeckers who live nearby. I hear they've formed their own secret club and everything," Ellie countered.

Even though she hated when Joel ragged on her to be safe, she secretly loved that he worried about her. Growing up, she didn't have that loving, protective father figure in her life, but Joel was slowly filling that empty space in her chest.

"Just get on out of here, and tell Tommy I'm on my way to help him look at the busted generator." Joel was surprised to hear that Ellie had made a friend; she hadn't mentioned anyone to him before, much less a boy. He'd have to get a good read on this one to see how close they really were. Although, he wasn't doing too well in the relationship department lately, so who knows how well he could get a read on this "Blake."

Joel just hoped that whoever he was, Ellie was happy and felt safe with him.

"So what did your old man say?" Blake asked with a mischievous look in his eye. With his closely-cropped brown hair and sparkling baby blues, he was easy on the eyes with adorable dimples every time he smiled. Which seemed to happen a lot when he was with Ellie.

"Shut up, Blake. He's not my dad, and he pretty much said yes," Ellie retorted. While Blake sometimes irritated her, there was no denying that he was a force for good in her life. With him around, it seemed easier to deal with all the crap in her life.

"What do you mean 'pretty much'?" Blake was worried that their day away wasn't going to happen. He really liked Ellie, and he was hoping to take this opportunity to express his feelings to her.

"Well, he wants to talk to you before breakfast before we go out, but I think that's just his grumpy way of showing he cares." While she appreciated Joel looking out for her, Ellie was growing tired of constantly seeking Joel's approval about everything.

She could barely take a walk outside without him asking her where she was going. Thinking back to the time she snuck out of their living quarters to meet Blake and practice her shooting, maybe Joel was right to keep an eye on her. Although, moving to Tommy's camp had been Joel's idea, and Ellie wasn't too thrilled with the strict lifestyle they now lived.

"Hey, I've got an idea. How about whoever gets the most kills today has to be the other person's servant for a week. Just to keep it interesting," Blake challenged.

"A week?! I can't even commit to completing stable duties for a week, and somehow you expect me to follow you around and obey you for a full seven days?" Ellie exclaimed. "Like that's going to happen. Plus, what exactly do you think we are going to find out there? It's not like there are hordes of deer frolicking around."

"Alright, we can change it to one day, and what about rabbits and birds? Those suckers seem to be everywhere," Blake fired back.

"You're on! Just don't get your hopes up too high. Rabbits are my specialty, and I intend on working you to the bone when I win, mister." Ellie, always up for a challenge, was especially keen to win this time. Being someone's slave means they have to do whatever their master says, right? Ellie was going to use this opportunity to embarrass the daylights out of Blake.

Looking at him now, her emotions were a mixture of attraction and fear of what their relationship might become. The last person she got close to, her best-friend-maybe-girlfriend Riley, was taken from her too soon, she thought with a shudder.

Thinking back on their kiss and they way they held each other before Riley went off the deep end, Ellie wasn't sure she was even over Riley completely. Could they have become something more? What-ifs and maybes plagued Ellie's mind, but she knew she would have to get over her one day.

Was she really ready to open herself back up to someone in that way? Ellie wasn't sure, but, one thing she was sure of, she was going to be late for breakfast if she didn't get her butt into gear.

Like now.