krikanalo: Thanks! Hope you enjoy!

DarkerLights: Haha, yeah your thoughts mirrored Ellie's :)

maximumgirl33: Here's the next chapter!

AnimeWolfGirl16: Glad you enjoy it!


Chapter 2: Explosive Surprises

"Where exactly are we going Joel?" Ellie's bewildered voice made him look behind him, seeing her with a confused expression on her face.

"You'll see," was his only answer, and he heard her sigh from behind him.

"It'd better be good; I think my feet need to rest," she mumbled. He didn't glance back at her this time.

"Trust me, we're almost there."

Another frustrated sigh made him almost want to tell her the reason they were walking further away from Tommy's, but he couldn't.

That would ruin the surprise, he thought, knowing that Ellie would enjoy it better if she didn't know what was going to happen.

"It's just up here," he pointed to a hill up ahead where a grove of trees were. Ellie didn't comment, and his thoughts wandered back to earlier that day.

"Everyone understand?" Tommy asked, getting several nods from the workers in the room, Joel included.

The workers dispersed from their 'meeting', and Joel walked towards Tommy, hoping there was some way he could help.

Tommy seemed to sense this and led him over towards the pile of explosives that was now being packaged.

"I have no idea where you ever find this stuff," he muttered, shaking his head in slight amusement.

"Yeah, I never would have thought we would see these again, but I think everyone is going to enjoy it," Tommy answered, setting about to work. Joel did the same, knowing they only had limited time to be able to get the surprise running.

"I don't think Ellie's ever seen fireworks before," Joel commented as he worked, "They didn't do that sort of thing back in Boston."

"She's going to enjoy it then," Tommy said, glancing over at him. He nodded, wanting to keep it a surprise.

"Would it be alright if we head out to the hill for this?" he asked, knowing his plan wouldn't work if Tommy didn't let them go.

"To watch them?" his brother questioned, and he nodded, "I don't see why not. The bandits haven't given us any trouble, and no Infected have been seen either. Just be careful."

Joel nodded again, already thinking through what had to be done.

Joel sighed as he was almost up the hill. If Ellie didn't hurry, they were going to be late.

His mind wandered, giving him the surprise of his life when something tackled him from behind and shoved him to the ground. At first he thought a lone bandit had found them, or maybe a Runner, but he relaxed at what he heard next.

"Joel, get down! The bandits are coming back!" Ellie shouted as she tackled into him, sounding completely serious as a loud explosion went off.

"Ellie what are you-?" he started to ask, but turned around and saw a burst of color slowly disappear into the sky.

The surprise had already started, although Ellie didn't know this. She stared at the colors with slight confusion as she glanced over at him.

"What should we do?" she asked, and by the look on her face he knew she wanted to head back to Tommy's to help defend against the 'attack'.

"Keep walking," he instructed, wanting to laugh at her somewhat disbelieving glance.

"We're not going to help?" she asked, increasing her pace a bit. He glanced over at her, trying not to smile.

"We'll have a better view from on top of the hill," he stated, and she gave him a glare.

"By the time we get up the hill, the bandits will have broken in," she argued, and he almost gave in to explaining about the fireworks; almost being the key word.

"We're almost there," was the only thing he could think to say, which was true since they were only a few steps away from a tree that was on the hill.

He sat down when he got to the tree, leaning against it and watching Ellie. She was standing a few feet away, a frown on her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confusion and slight annoyance on her face, "Aren't we going to help?"

Joel shook his head, deciding to start explaining.

"Come sit down," he said, patting the ground beside him, "I'll explain what's going on."

Ellie seemed like she was going to argue, but another colorful explosion seemed to change her mind; she scrambled over to where he was and leaned against his shoulder, still not completely relaxed.

"Have you ever seen fireworks?" he asked, and when she shook her head he continued, "I figured as much."

He took a deep breath, letting a small laugh slip when she jolted at another firework being set off.

"What you see there is fireworks."

"Fireworks?" she repeated the foreign word as she stared at the sky, a mixture of curiosity and awe in her eyes.

"They're harmless unless you're standing too close," he explained, "They are essentially explosives that are colored and set off at a time of celebration."

"Is today one of those days?" she asked, glancing over at him quickly before her gaze returned to the sky. He smiled when he realized that she didn't want to miss anything.

"Yes," he answered with a nod, "remember our talk about holidays?"

Ellie nodded at his question, remembrance filling her eyes as she was recalling everything that they had talked about.

"Back before the outbreak, people used to set off fireworks for different holidays," he started to explain, remembering the events like it was yesterday as he listed some, "New Year's Eve, the Fourth of July, Valentine's Day…"

He trailed off, deciding to just enjoy the fireworks unless she wanted to know more. She stayed silent, completely engrossed in staring at the colorful explosions. He knew she would ask questions later, but for now she was silent.

Time wore on as the fireworks continued, and the two of them stayed silent. Ellie had finally relaxed, leaning into his shoulder as she watched the fireworks. She had stopped being surprised when they were set off, and it seemed like she actually was expecting them.

Loud explosions were set off at once, lighting up the sky before everything was quiet. They sat there for a few moments, and he glanced over to see Ellie blinking.

"There are imprints when I close my eyes," she stated, and then stopped after a moment, "Are they all done?"

"Yeah, that was the grand finale," he said, standing up and stretching. The event made him smile, feeling a sense of normality for once.

"Did you know that they were going to be set off?" she asked, standing up as well. He nodded, and she seemed to ponder something for a moment. He started to walk down the hill, knowing she would follow.

"Hey," Ellie said, grabbing his attention as she caught up to him, "Thanks."

He smiled, nodding his head as he continued walking with her beside him.

"You're welcome," he answered, knowing what was coming when Ellie took a deep breath.

"So…" she started hesitantly but then went into 'question mode', "When do you think the next fireworks will be?"

"When we get back to the dam, I'll ask Tommy if he has any spare calendars, and we can mark down the dates, deal?"

"Deal," she answered, smiling at him as they walked back to Tommy's under the night sky.


I know that this chapter was a bit shorter, but I didn't exactly know how else to expand it. Did you get the Fourth of July reference? I know that Joel started listing a lot of holidays, but I figured it would be sometime during the summer that this would happen (considering it's been a few days since Chapter 1 and they could swim then). When Joel mentioned his and Ellie's talk about holidays, it was referencing my other fanfiction "Unexpected Gifts" (just in case you haven't read it). I might do another chapter, depends on if I get any more ideas. Reviews do help though!

-AnimeWolfGirl9