Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.

A/N: I want to thank the people that are reading this story, I hope you like it. I really appreciate the review, so thankful for that too. Also for the favorite and follow. I still working on the following chapter so, for now, is going to a chapter for the week.

Chapter 2: The Little Neighbor

( Two weeks later )

After Joel went to town to get a few things done, and came back to finish unpacking. He needs to go back the next day, to buy a few more things to start the repair to the house. Also, have to buy a new fridge and some other furniture needed for the house. After two weeks of working on the house inside. Joel woke up early in the morning to start his work on the roof, lucky for him it didn't rain for the last two weeks, so he didn't have to deal with that until now.

After Joel had some breakfast, he went to the backyard of the house and started to cut the wooden boards that he was going to use to fix the hole in the kitchen roof and part of the living room. He was lucky that he didn't find any more holes in the rest of the house. After he finished cutting, he put the latter at the side of the house and started to get up the tools he was going to need. He used his hammer to take out the broken wooden boards and throw them down the roof. After he finishes with that part he gets down he grabs a few boards and goes up to the roof again and starts to put it the new ones. He was hammering the board when a voice came from the ground.

"Hey… you!... what the hell are you doing?"

With all the noise, Joel continued hammering, not hearing the person that it was trying to talk to him.

"Hey… you, the one on the roof?" said the person loader.

After a few minutes, Joel stopped and looked down. Then he saw a girl standing on the ground beside the latter looking at him.

Soon the girl saw that he noticed her, she asked again, "What are you doing up there? Did the owner hire you to fix it?"

Joel moves to the edge and looks at her. "And you are?"

Ellie rolls her eyes and gets frustrated about not finding an answer for this man. "You didn't answer my question," say the girl crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I know a few people around here and I have never seen you before. Besides, this house has been abandoned for a long time, so I will ask again. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Joel looked at her surprised that someone came here. "Do you always ask so many questions?" asked Joel while he moved to the latter and started to get down. Soon he was on the ground, he walked toward her. "Are you some kind of cop?

"No... but I walk around here a lot, so like to know who comes to life in this part of the town…

You never know what kind of people come to live here." the girl said in a harsh tone.

Joel smiles and looks at her with a grin on his face. He can't believe how this little girl can talk like this. "You're a little something, are you?" Joel moves toward the table where he has his tool.

"I'm not a little, I am 16 and you are still evading my question. Who are you and what you are doing in this house?"

Joel tries to stay relaxed. Her questioning started to get a little annoying. That is why he likes to be left alone and not talk to people. Joel gives her another look before he grabs a few more boards for the roof. "No, that all this is your business, but if you insist on knowing, I own this place now," Joel turned around and walked back to the adder. "Now if you finish with you questioning, I have a lot of work to do. So go back home, before your parents came looking for you,"

Ellie smiled, dropping as soon as she heard him say that. She only wants to know what he is doing here. So why does he have to be like that? "Ha, I have not even started… but it is good to have a new neighbor around here. And If you want to know, my parents are dead, so nobody is going to come to me."

Joel stops before he climbs up and turns his head to look at her. Now he feels like a jerk, he only wants to work in peace. But he doesn't have to treat her like that. "Look little girl I so-"

"Ellie…"

"Excuse me?" say Joel lowering the board to the ground.

"Ellie... My name is Ellie… not a little girl. Now, the polite thing to do is present yourself, so what is your name?" she said moving closer to him.

Joel shook his head and started to crush his beard with one hand. "Look… Ellie, I come here to be left alone… so if you don't mind I wanted to keep it that way. I'm so sorry about your parents, but if you don't mind I want to continue with my work."

Ellie gave him a strange look. " Well if you want to be left alone you came to the right town. Unfortunately for you, I live on the other side of the lake. So you will see me a lot."

Joel moves close to her and looks into her eyes. "Y'know, I can be a kid killer or a bank robber… someone that likes to do bad things… Nobody teaches you to not talk to strangers?"

Ellie looked at his face. She doesn't know why he tried to look bad, but she can't see any bad things about him. "Nahhh, I think you're a good person."

"And what makes you think that? you do not even know me."

"Well, I have a talent for that, y' know… For knowing people. It's like looking a person in their eyes, and I can tell if the person is good or not or if they are lying." Ellie was getting excited, she had not been talking with anyone like this in a long time, not even with her aunt. "Anyway… Like I said before, I live across the lake in that direction," she said pointing to the direction of the forest where the lake is.

Joel looked at the direction she pointed. "Go to the lake yesterday, and that is a little far from here, so what makes you walk all this distance?"

Ellie gave him a smile. "What can I say? I like to explore the forest on my own. Besides, it is not that far, is just like half an hour from my house to here, if you know the place of course."

"Alone!" said Joel with a surprised expression. "Is it not good for a girl to be walking alone in this woods. Are you not afraid that someone will see you alone out there and try to do something to you?"

"Nahhh… I have been living here for the last 5 years and I never have seen anyone try to do anything around here. Besides, I know how to take care of myself, so if one day someone tries anything, it is not going to end well for that person," She said with a smile on her face.

Joel gives her another look, no sure if a small girl like her can take down a full-grown man. "Well I'm not so sure about that, but if you said so… anyway, who is taking care of you? and are you not supposed to be in school or something too?"

"No, it is the summer dummy. School ended last week, so I have a lot of free time now…" Ellie put her hand on her waist. "Hey, maybe I can help you to fix this place. I can see that you have already started, but I can help you with the rest. This can be cool and maybe you-"

"Okay stop right there…" said Joel moving one hand up to stop her. "Are you crazy? Did I not just tell you that I want to be left alone?"

"Well… yeah, technically you said that you like to be alone. But you din;t say anything about me. Besides, who likes to be alone… well, I do some time, but it is not by choice.

Well, I think a girl like you is not supposed to be walking around in this forest or talking with strangers." Joel put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Okay, your time is up, so why you do not just go back to your house and let me continue with my work. That is already being delayed by you," Joel continued pushing her toward the forest where she pointed early.

Ellie was struggling to get away from his hand. Who does this guy think he is? "Y'know… you don't need to treat me this way. I just want to be friendly, and if you tell me your name, maybe we can be friends."

Joel Push her until they get to the end of his backyard and the start of the trees. "Sorry, girl, but I don't need or look for any friends. I just came here to have a quiet life, without anyone coming here to bother me." He moved his hand from her shoulders and turned around. "Now go home and never come back." Joel walked back to the wall of the house, grabbed the boards he needed and started to climb up the ladder.

Ellie turned around. "Hey at least tell me your name."

Joel continued moving up, without looking back. "I am not going to give you my name, so go home kid."

Ellie watches him while he climbs up the stairs and gets back to the roof. "Okay, I can see that you don't want to talk right now. So I will be back tomorrow, maybe you will be in a better mood. See you around, Lone Ranger," Ellie turned and started to walk into the woods.

Joel turned around and watched her walking away. "You don't need to come tomorrow or any other day… I mean it… girl," he said aloud just to make sure that she hears him.

"Yeah whatever you said, man. I will see you tomorrow... Lone Ranger," Ellie replied before she disappeared between the trees.

"NO YOU DON'T… AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!" yell Joel to the girl, but she was already gone. He turned back and started to work on the roof again. "Shit! What is wrong with that girl…?" he said in a low voice while continuing with his work.

Soon Ellie saw that the man was not looking in her direction, she hid behind a tree and looked at him while he returned to his work. She stays there for a few minutes looking at him. She doesn't know why, but for some reason, she finds this man interesting. Maybe this summer is not going to be as boring as I thought. Ellie says to herself before walking away from the place.

It was late in the afternoon when Joel finished with the roof. So after he finished he picked up his tools, got down from the roof and went inside the house. As he works all day, he starts to feel tired, so he decides to go to bed early. So before he goes to bed, he takes a hot shower and eats something. Soon he touches the bed, he falls asleep in no time.

( The next day )

Joel opened his eyes as soon as the light of the sun entered his room. He turned his head and looked at the clock that was on a table beside the bed. He the clock in the closet inside a box, it was a miracle that still works. The clock showed that it was 6:00 in the morning, so he turned away and closed his eyes again. He doesn't want to get out of bed that early, especially if he doesn't need to go to work. But he still needs to fix a few more things in the house, so he needs to continue with that. But that can wait for later, right now he needs a few more hours of sleep.

After he sleeps for 2 more hours, he gets out of the bed and goes to the bathroom. Soon he gets out, he goes back to his room and changes into his working clothes. When he finished, he got out of his room and walked into the kitchen to start making some coffee and something to eat before he started the day. But when he looks around he notices that he doesn't have anything to eat for breakfast. So while he waits for his coffee to be done, Joel Walt toward the back door to start preparing the things he needs for the day. Soon he opened the back door and stepped out onto the back porch. He up his arm and take a deep breath, taking the fresh breeze of the morning. Shit, I need to go later to the store and buy a- he was saying to himself when he gets interrupted.

"Good morning Lone Ranger hope you get a good night's sleep,"

Joel jumped to the side as soon as he hears the voice. Then he turned to the side and saw the girl from yesterday sitting in an old chair that he put there a few days ago. "What the hell!"

Ellie got up from the chair, as she looked at his reaction "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she said with a soft voice.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought that I was clear yesterday when I told you that you don't need to come back here." Say Joel walking into the backyard.

Ellie started following him "Yeah, you said that, but I thought that you said it because you're busy. So I do some thinking and decide to come over and see if you need some help. So that way we can start over and be good neighbors. So in a good fate, I bring you something," Ellie walked back to the parch and grabbed a gab there. Then come back to where Joel was and show him a plastic container with something in it. "Is a portion of the apple pie my aunt made yesterday. Don't worry is still good and I didn't put anything on it."

Joel looked at her with suspicious eyes. Yeah, he was a little hungry, and that pie for breakfast sounds delicious. But he wants this girl to go away and accepted is going to encourage her to stay or continue coming.

"I'm not hungry, so go back home and never come back here okay? I like my privacy and the last thing I need is people coming here to bother me," Then Joel starts walking toward the little shed the house has on the back.

Ellie takes a deep breath and calms herself. She only wants to know this man and maybe be his friend. So why is this man making things so difficult for her? So she put the vase with the pie on the table Joel had there and followed him. Soon she gets closer to him, she speaks again. "Why are you so rude? I just want to be a nice neighbor and help you. You don't have to be like that."

Joel does not even look at her, he just opens the shed door go inside and grabs his tools box. "I don't need to be nice to people if I don't want to, and if you don't like the way I'm, go home and never come back," he walked past her and put the box tools on the top of his working table. "Like I said yesterday, I have a lot of work to do, and I don't need some here bothers me."

Ellie walked to the table but didn't get too close to him. "Look I see what is going on here. You're just pushing me away because you think that I am just a kid. I don't know why you don't like people, but I already told you that I'm not a kid. I'm 16 and If you don't like kids that is fine, but it is not fair to treat me like that just because of that. I bet that if I was an older woman with a great body, you'd probably be fucking me by now," She said crossing her arms.

Joel stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Are you're mental or something? Did you know how bad that sounds?"

Ellie looked at him with her eyes wide open. He was right that sound better on her mind. She looked to the side, trying to avoid his look. Her face was all red, so she needed to think about what to say next. So after a few moments, she lowered her arm and looked back at him. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound that way. But I really want to be your, friend, not many people come here these days, so… I don't have anyone to talk to. Is going to be good, having some to talk," she said with a sad tone.

Now Joel feels a little bad for talking to her like that, she is just a kid. But maybe it was better for her to stay away from him. "Look kiddo, I'm sorry to talk to you like that, I do not want to be rude or anything, but you need to understand that I like to be alone. Besides, it is not normal for a young girl like you to want to be friends with an old man like me." Joel saw Ellie lower her head and looked to the ground without saying anything. "Don't feel sad, you don't do anything wrong, but I think that you can have more fun with kids your own age."

Ellie turns around and starts to walk away. "I don't have any friends my age. But don't worry I will let you alone from now on," then she ran away before Joel could have said anything.

Joel watched the girl get into the forest, without looking back. That made him feel really bad because she only tried to be nice to him. He probably makes the girl cry too. But maybe this was for the best. He came here to be alone with his pain and stay away from trouble. But that does not make him feel better. At that moment he hears the sound of the coffee maker, so that means that the coffee was ready.

Joel starts walking fast toward the back door, but before he gets there. He saw the plastic container with the pie that the girl brought to him at the working table. He stood and picked it up and started to look at it. Shit! He looks toward the forest but can't see the girl anywhere. So he takes a deep breath and walks inside the house.

Joel put the container on the counter where the coffee maker is and proceeded to serve the coffee into a cup. After that, he sat in the chair, he started to drink his coffee. He watches the pie for a while, he feels bad for wanting to eat it after he drove the girl away. But when his stomach starts to sound hungry, that guilt disappears.