Chapter Two – New Beginnings
"Aw, shit..."
He'd fallen asleep.
The room was poorly lit by the daylight which found its way through the shutter gaps, not enough to hurt his tired eyes, but bright enough to light the bedroom which Ellis and Nick had commandeered the previous evening. The shotgun he'd fallen asleep with was still held to his chest, though his grip on it was relaxed. Had anything broken into the room during the night...
Shit. Nick was going to be so pissed at him.
He twisted his head to glance at the man asleep at his side, the two having shifted quite close in their sleep, probably seeking out body warmth unconsciously. After many a night passing out in fields with friends, Ellis was more than used to falling asleep with a foot of personal space, and wake up almost spooning the nearest living thing. Natural instinct, he supposed. It didn't bother him, though it did mean he had to be extra careful as he slowly pulled himself away from Nick and off the bed, taking extra care not to trip or catch himself on anything, as he did have a slight tendency towards clumsiness in the early mornings. Readjusting his hold on the pump-action shotgun in his arms, he stepped softly towards the bedroom door; an action that would have been easier in socks, though they'd all become accustomed to falling asleep with their shoes still firmly laced to their feet, just in case.
Nick stirred a little as the mechanic pulled open the door with a slight creak, but he merely shifted his weight and relaxed again, eyes still closed. Ellis couldn't help but smile ever so slightly at the image. It was strange to see Nick relax, his lips neutral instead of frowning or pulling a sarcastic smirk. It was almost a relief to see that the city slicker could relax, almost making Ellis feel less guilty about allowing the man a full night of uninterrupted sleep. He turned away finally, beginning to do a turn of the house, ensuring nothing had creeped on in during the night. Every door and window was still securely fastened, and nothing lurked in the corners of any rooms. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ellis was pleased to confirm in his mind that they were alone. He dropped the barrel of the gun down, and instead busied himself with making breakfast... if you can call opening a can of spaghetti-o's 'making breakfast'. Taking a spoon from one of the kitchen drawers, he settled himself down in the living room, sinking into an armchair and eating straight from the can.
"You didn't wake me up."
The voice behind him made him jump with a start, only barely keeping hold of the can, spoon clattering to the floor as his hand made an instinctive dart for the shotgun laid beside him. "Geez, Nick! Gotta warn a guy before you creep up on him like that, y'know! I could'a shot yew!"
Nick raised an eyebrow, casting his gaze over Ellis.
"Somehow, I doubt that."
The man had donned his white (or, more accurately, heavily stained white) jacket, and had a pistol in his hand. There was no doubt that, even if he had turned a gun onto him, Nick would have been able to incapacitate Ellis first. "You were meant to wake me up for my turn on watch," Nick persisted, bringing up the subject again. Ellis turned away, pulling his trucker cap more firmly onto his head as he leant down in his chair to grab the spoon from the floor, shotgun back on the armrest beside him.
"Yeah, well y' looked like yew could do with the extra rest."
"So you stayed up all night?"
"...Yep."
Ellis wasn't a great liar, and Nick was good at calling people out. His steely gaze was burning into the back of Ellis' head as the younger man coughed awkwardly, keeping his eyes on his canned breakfast as Nick circled around the back of the armchair to stand in front of him, folding his arms across his chest as he tried to catch Ellis' eye. "All night? You're looking pretty good for a guy that hasn't slept in over twenty-four hours, Overalls. You [i]sure[/i] you were up?"
Was there really any point in Nick asking, or Ellis bothering to lie? They both knew the truth. "I.. Well, it was so quiet like, an' I just kinda-"
"You fell asleep."
"...Yeah, y' could say that."
Nick gave an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he screwed his eyes up in clear frustration. "Look, I'm sorry, bro! I didn't mean to or nothin'. Was laid there one minute and the next, we got light comin' through the window. Ain't like I fell asleep on purpose."
"That's not the point, Ellis. Anything could have happened whilst we were out. You think this is a game? You think that just because we've made it this far, we're invincible now? Hell, kid, we're more at risk now than ever before."
The young Georgian gazed morosely at the floor, his appetite lost. Nick, of course, was right. He had every right to be pissed about it too, since it was his life on the line as well. The older man was quite able to continue this spiel for some time as well, prepared to take all his frustrations out verbally on the young man, knowing that he'd sit there and take it like he always did. Hell, Ellis put up with a lot of shit from everyone and rarely said a word against it, all in his desperation to be accepted and keep everyone happy. He was the perfect target for anyone's venting... and yet looking at him as he sat, meek and silent, chewing his lower lip as Nick cut into him, the gambler found his agitation quickly begin to ebb.
Kids like Ellis used to piss him off. Hell, he'd met enough of them in his time to be able to claim such a thing in earnest, and at first, Ellis too had got on his nerves like the royal pain-in-the-ass Nick had expected him to be. Over time, things changed, though he guessed that was inevitable after all they'd gone through. Ellis became... tolerable, he supposed was the best way to put it, and now? Now, he wasn't sure. He liked the kid, which was odd, as he rarely 'liked' anyone. While he'd never admit it, neither to himself nor anyone else, he could even go as far as saying that Ellis was probably the person he'd become closest to in a very long time. Sure, they didn't open up to each other much (or at least, Nick didn't. Ellis was more than happy to do so), and they didn't exactly act the way you'd expect close friends to do so, but the fact of the matter was that Nick would do almost anything to keep Ellis safe, and he knew the young man would do the same for him. If that wasn't friendship, then he didn't know what was.
"...There's a garage 'round the side of the house. I reckoned we could take a look, see if they've got a useable car in there."
The change of subject surprised Ellis, who'd fully expected at least ten minutes of angry retribution from Nick. He looked up at him, expression clearly confused before he slowly nodded. "Yeah, okay. We can do that," he replied, not entirely sure what had prompted Nick to drop the subject so suddenly. It wasn't like him, but Ellis wasn't about to complain about it. It was a welcome change, and one he'd happily like to see more often. "Just uh... lemme finish this up an' we'll go take a look."
Nick nodded, declining the offer of a can of breakfast for himself, and taking a seat in the second armchair a little across from Ellis's own. The mechanic continued to shovel down the remains of his cold breakfast, finishing up with a satisfied sigh, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Geez, he needed to shave, he realised as the stubble across his chin scratched against his hand. He'd never been the type to grow facial hair fast (a trait he would be playfully teased for amongst his friends) but it had been a good few weeks since a razor had even touched his skin, and he wasn't keen on it. "Might check the bathroom f' a razor before we do anythin' else," he mentioned as he placed the can down onto the small coffee table between his and Nick's seat, picking up the gun. The gambler absent-mindedly ran his fingers over his own cheek, nodding. "Not a bad idea, sport," he agreed, pushing himself to his feet and following Ellis through the house to the rather small bathroom, clearly not designed for two full-grown men to be in there at the same time.
Ellis opened the mirrored medicine cabinet over the sink, and the mix of items within it clearly showed that a couple had likely lived here once: women's toiletries mixed in amongst men's... including a couple of disposable razors and a can of shaving foam. "Bingo," the hick smiled, grabbing hold of the blades and passing one to Nick, both of them placing their firearms on the side of the bathtub as they awkwardly manoeuvred to stand side-by-side in front of the mirror.
It was the closest quarters the two had ever intentionally placed themselves in... and for some reason, it felt odd. Ellis's bare arms were brushing against the sleeves of Nick's jacket, and both men seemed to be making a very definite effort not to look at the contact, nor catch each other's gaze in the mirror in front of them as they foamed up and started shaving. Why did something as simple as standing closely next to Nick make him feel suddenly weird? Perhaps it was just a side-effect of their near-argument that morning, he told himself. Or just tiredness. Either way, he made sure to keep his eyes on nothing but himself as he shaved his face clean, nicking his face with the blade only a few times (which was good, for him!) compared to Nick, who not only finished in half the time but made a much smoother job of it. More practise, Ellis figured, and it was only after Nick had splashed his face clean and used one of the towels (not entirely clean, but certainly cleaner than anything else they had to hand!) to dry himself before leaving the bathroom that the mechanic felt his tense shoulders soften. He hadn't realised just how much his muscles had tightened in that short space of time.
It hadn't been an unpleasant tension, he mused as the blade continued to slowly run across his soapy skin, it was just... different. It was a sensation that he held some vague recollection of having felt in the past, though he couldn't pinpoint where or why. All he knew is that it wasn't a bad thing, and that was enough to make him smile past it, finishing up shaving and drying off his face. Observing his now smooth face in the mirror, ignoring the few spots of blood that were still blooming, he looked much better. Now for another few weeks before I can do that again, he thought to himself, and with that in mind he scooped up a half-empty shampoo bottle from around the edge of the bath tub, and turning the sink tap one once more, pulled off his shirt as he stooped down to wet his hair.
Nick was walking aimlessly around the living room, stopping at the window, curtains still pulled across, and pushed them aside slightly to peer outside, The street was blessedly deserted, something they should be especially thankful for what with Ellis falling asleep on the job. Nothing stirred in the street. Not even a breeze carried through the air, dragging along debris with it. For the first time in god only knew how long, everything seemed perfectly still. It was unnerving, in some respects, that the only sound he could hear was that of the tap running in the bathroom across the other side of the house, and his companion occasionally humming to himself. With only that to focus on, he was instantly aware of when the water shut off. He turned back from the window only when he heard footsteps pad into the room.
Ellis wondered why Nick was looking at him so unusually.
"My hair was a state. Probably attractin' zombies with the smell'a it," he explained as he rubbed the towel over the back of his head, soaking up water from the mess of short, loose curls. Nick fixed him with the peculiar gaze a little longer, before looking very quickly and pointedly away. "Yeah, good idea," was all he managed to get out, Ellis smiling in his half-sheepish manner as he turned to go back towards the bedroom to collect his stuff, before he was interrupted halfway through the door.
"Hey, El?"
"Mmm?"
"...You look good. That Zoey chick doesn't know what she's missing."
Ellis wasn't sure what to make of the comment, so settled with a simple "Thanks, bro," as reply, before disappearing through the doorway. Had a full night's sleep actually made Nick into a nicer guy? A guy who complimented him?
Weird.
