Ellie sat at the table, her cheek resting in her hand as she picked at her lunch. The congealed grayish blob on her tray was about as appealing as a dinner date with a clicker. Actually, that was sounding better and better as she poked at the unidentified junk on her plate.

She was sitting alone. Her only real friend was Riley, and she hadn't appeared in the mess hall yet. Probably still in her upper level drills class. Ellie sighed and dropped her spork on the tray, glancing around the room. The mess hall was noisy; most kids were pretty rowdy during lunch period, until a soldier made an appearance, anyway.

Giving up on trying to eat, she pushed the brown tray away from her and stood, the bench scraping noisily on the floor. She dumped the uneaten mass into the garbage can and set the tray on top before heading for the door, her steps quick and light. She didn't want a soldier to stop her on the way to her room. Technically speaking, they weren't allowed in their rooms during the lunch hour.

She opened her door slowly, checking over her shoulder as she slipped inside. She released her breath as the door clicked shut. She leaned against the door, her eyes closed.

"'Bout time you showed up."

Ellie's eyes snapped open, alarm shooting down her spine. She reached for her pocket, a reflex she had developed ever since Marlene had given her the switchblade all those months ago. Her eyes rested on the intruder and she relaxed somewhat.

"Damnit Riley," she slid the knife back into her pocket. "What are you doing in here?"

The older girl shrugged, her lips quirking into a smirk. "I was in the neighborhood." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, okay." She walked forward and sat on her bed, next to her friend.

Riley's expression sobered somewhat. "Hey, what's up?" Ellie shrugged.

"Nothin'," she mumbled. Riley frowned.

"Bullshit," she bumped her shoulder into Ellie's lightly. "I know you better than that, punk."

Ellie smiled. "Yeah, guess you do." She leaned back into the mattress, throwing her arm over her eyes as she went.

"Well, listen, I got somethin' that'll cheer you up." She dragged her backpack closer to her and unzipped it, rummaged around for a minute before pulling a small lump out from the bottom. Ellie raised her arm, her interest piqued. "Here."

Ellie leaned forward slightly, resting on her elbows. She reached for the little package, her fingers brushing against Riley's as she did so. "What's this for?"

Riley smiled, her cheeks darkening a little. "You really think I don't know when your birthday is, you nerd?" Ellie's eyes widened, her fingers pausing in their exploration of the lumpy paper to look at the older girl.

"How the hell... I haven't told anyone."

"I got my ways," she said, a lopsided grin appearing on her face. She gestured at the lump in Ellie's hands. "Fucking open it!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," muttered Ellie, her fingers ripping through the simple brown paper. A second later, a single cassette tape slipped out of the torn wrapping, landing with a soft thump on Ellie's lap. A piece of dirty medical tape was stuck to the front, with 'Ellie's Mix' scrawled on it in messy letters.

"What the fuck?" She looked up, her eyes locking with Riley's. "How the hell did you -"

"Don't question my genius!" She reached for Ellie's backpack and stuck her hand in, pulled out the worn Walkman, and handed it to the red-headed girl. "Here."

Ellie slipped the tape into the player, unraveled the headphones, and, with a look from Riley, stuck them in her ears. She hit play and waited.

A catchy melody began playing and she smiled, her foot swaying to the beat as she listened.

People say,

We don't know,

What love is,

Or how to make it grow...

She felt her heart flutter as she listened to the lyrics. She looked at Riley again, who had been watching for her reaction. Her cheeks were dark again. "D'you like it?"

Ellie smiled, her eyes bright, and leaned over. "I love it." She wrapped her arm around Riley and rested her cheek on her shoulder, offering her one of the headphones. She felt her cheeks burn when Riley didn't shrug her away.

"Happy birthday, Ellie."

AN: lmao okay, I fucking love them. They are adorable and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong and that is that.

I don't usually do cute fluffy things so I am sorry if this is horrible.