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 thanks all the people that are reading this and like it. It is really a surprise for me, so thanks for the all the comments.

Now let's continue with the story, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4: Starting something new

"Wow… did you really eat it?"

"Yep… it was really good thanks… you can take the vase back after you eat lunch. Now follow me," Joel turned around and started walking toward the front door, but before entering he stopped and turned around. "Look, I don't know if it is okay for you to enter a stranger 's house, without the permission of your parents."

Ellie stopped in front of him. "Is okay… I still have my knife with me so if you try anything I will use it." She said with a smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah the knife… Y'know that it is illegal to carry a knife with you… right?"

"Well, I need something to protect myself… you know."

"I guess you're right. Just don't use it on me okay?" Joel turned around and opened the door. "Ladies first."

"Oh… thank you," even if she hadn't entered a stranger's house before, she feels good about this. Ellie likes the man from the beginning, and she feels happy that they passed their misunderstanding and maybe now they can be friends. "I can believe that you eat all the pie."

Ellie entered the house, followed by Joel. She starts to look around as soon Joel closes the door and walks toward the kitchen to continue with the cooking. He didn't want to tell her about eating the pie after all the shit he said to her. But now that things are cooler between them, if it feels good to tell her., "Okay this is going to take a little time, so do you want something to drink?" Say Joel looking at her from the kitchen.

Ellie was moving around looking at the place. "Okay, what do you have?"

Joel moved to the fridge and opened it. But see that he only has a few beers and a half carton of orange juice. Yeah, he needs to go to the store and buy a few more things. He wasn't expecting any visits, so now he doesn't have much to offer. "Sorry, I just have orange juice or water… what's going to be?"

"Juice is fine… thanks" She walked to the kitchen counter and sat in a chair there. "I have never seen a man cooking before. So I hope that I don't get poisoned with your cooking."

"Ouch! That hurt more than the kick," said Joel while putting the juice into a glass. He doesn't know why he feels so relaxed talking to this girl. He doesn't like to talk to anybody for a long period, but this feels okay to him.

Ellie looked at him and felt bad about it. "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't want to do that, I..just."

"Don't be sorry about it. Like you said I maybe deserve that."

Ellie smiles at that, then continue looking around the place. "Y'know, I have a confession to make. I entered this place a few times when I was 13 and started to explore the forest," she started as she was looking at the fireplace.

Joel looked at her with a surprised expression. "Really! That is trespassing Y'know. You can go to jell for that," he said in a mocking way.

"Well, no one came out when I called, so I went behind the house and found an unlocked window. I thought that someone was living here, so I went home. But I return a few days later and as not one answer my call I enter the house." Ellie stands up and walks through the living room. "I never see anyone come here after a few months, and when I get in the place looks like it was empty for a long time."

Joel continued looking at the girl. How she can be so calm in a stranger's house. "Well, you can't do that now. Because I will call the cops if I find you getting in through a window," he said with a humorous tone.

Ellie walked toward the kitchen again and sat in a stud that was in front of the kitchen counter. She put her hands on her cheeks and leaned forward while looking at Joel cooking. "Did you buy this place? I mean, like you will stay living here forever?"

Joel put some meat inside the stewpot that was on the stove already. And start cutting some vegetables. "Are you going back to detective mode?"

Ellie smiled at that. "Well, if we're going to be friends, we need to know each other no you think?"

Joel turned around quickly. "Hey, hold it right there. Who said anything about being friends. I just invite you to lunch as an apology for being a jerk. I don't really want this to be a routine."

Ellie leans back and looks at him seriously. "Really? I thought that we had a connection. Why don't you want us to be friends? Because I am 16? That is discrimination dude." Say Ellie while crossing her arm on her chest.

Joel walked at the counter and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm 40 years old and I don't think it is a good idea for us to be friends. Besides I don't want you, parents or anybody, around here to get the wrong idea, okay."

"What wrong ideas? Being friends with someone is not a bad thing. And I can be friends with whatever I want, there is no law against that. And if you worry about my parents, I don't have any. I live with my aunt, that works a lot and is not at home very often. Besides, I don't really care what other people would think about this, because it is not their business."

"Well, I do, because I don't want to go to jail if someone saw you coming here all the time. They may think that I am doing something to you and call the cops," said Joel with a firm voice.

She saw how Joel's face was getting red. So she decided to play him a little. "Ha, ha, ha… Really? What bad things will they think you will do to me?"

Joel turned around to avoid her staring. you know… things that… a man and…" he turned back a look at her. Then he saw her how she covered her mouth trying to hide her laugh. "You think this is funny?"

"Yes…" she said while laughing. "You can't even say sex… in front of me." She continued laughing. "Dude I 16 not a baby… we talk about all that in school. You don't have to be shy about it."

"Well, I'm glad that you find this amusing… but I don't want to go to jail for that."

"you don't need to worry about that, I am not going to think anything bad about you. And if you worry about other people, there's not a house close to this one in a few miles. So no one is going to see me coming here. Like I told you before I walk around here all the time and the closest house is Miss Jackson and she is like 80 years old, she doesn't even get out of her house much. She also called someone to deliver food and things from the town to her house. I know because I did it a few times myself."

Joel turned around and checked the food. "Anyway, it is not right for a 40 years old man to get closer to a 16 years old girl. Besides, I am sure that your aunt is not going to like that either."

"I don't think she will care much," she said while crossing her fingers together and leaning forward. Like I said before, she travels a lot.

Joel turned around and looked at her again. "She leaves you alone or left someone to take care of you?"

"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm a big girl, not a baby. I can take care of myself." Ellie leans back to the chair. She hates when people treat her like a little girl.

Joel used a spun to move the stew. "Anyway, why do you want to be friends with an old man? Don't you have any friends your age?"

"No," she said, turning her head to the side. "I already told you that I don't have any. Kids around here are so immature and dumb. They think I am weird because sometimes I'm smarter than them. They only like to talk about teenage things and I like to talk about adult things, so I prefer to be by myself."

Joel looked at her and started to feel bad for her. It is not good for a girl her age to feel like nobody cares about her. And don't have any friends? It's worse. But he needs to keep himself away from her. And to be honest, the last thing he needs right now is to get close to someone. "Well, the food is almost ready. So after you eat, you can go home. I have a lot of things to do, so is better if-"

"I can help!" she interrupted him. "If you don't want us to be friends then maybe I can do some work around here. I know how to clean, and this place needs some cleaning, no offense. I am good at organizing things. Also, I am good with my hands, so I can help you with your work too if you need some help with that too. I'm a fast learner, so you can teach me how you do things."

Joel laughed a little on that. "You don't give up, do you? You're a persistent girl, I can give you that."

Ellie stands up and starts to move around the living room. "Yeah, that is right mister. When I put my mind to something, there is no one who can stop me. Look, I never do anything important during the school summer, and sometimes it is so boring. My aunt travels a lot during the summer so I will spend most of the time alone at home. So I can use the distraction and if I get some money out of it that would be super too.

Joel starts to think, about how all that happens in a few days end into this? He came here to be alone. Yes, he promised his little girl to move on, to stop being the ass and start over again. But he wants to take his time. But now this girl came here and changed everything. Even if he doesn't want to, he can use a little help around here. But is it right for this girl to come to his house every day? And what people are going to think if someone sees her here or if her aunt knows about this and calls the cops? "I don't know kiddo, I don't think this will be a good idea. Besides, if I give you a job, you need to ask your aunt first."

She stops moving around and walks back to the counter. "Oh… c'mon looking at this place, I can help you and this could be a benefit for both of us. I will get some extra money and you can finish quickly. I am not going to be a problem, I just come here and do my job. I'm not going to bother you… much," she said the last part with a smile on her face. "What do you say... hmm?"

Joel shook his head and smiled. "I will think about, okay? And I can't promise you anything," Joel moved to the stove and tasted the food to see if it was ready.

"Yayyy... You would say yes in the end, I can promise you that. Now, I hope that the food is ready because I'm hungry!"

Soon after the food was done, Joel served Ellie a plate with the stew he made, by the time they finished, Ellie ate 3 plates of it.

After that Ellie says goodbye to Joel and goes back home with a smile on her face, knowing that tomorrow will be a new start for her. She was right about Joel, and even though he was a jerk at first he seems to be a good person. Joel on the other has to finish a few things until it gets dark and he calls the day. After he takes a shower and eats something, he goes to bed and falls to sleep.

( Next day)

Joel opened his eyes and looked at the clock, and saw that it was 8:00 am. He turned his head and looked at the ceiling. He still feels tired since he barely got any sleep. He spent part of the night thinking about the girl. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing by letting that girl come to his house. She seems like a nice girl, but something inside him is telling him that all this is probably going to end badly.

After a few minutes of thinking, Joel decides to get out of bed and continue with his work. So he sat on the edge of the bed and put on his house shoes. Then he stood up and walked toward the door and opened. He was walking toward the bathroom when he hears a knock at the door. Who the fuck is knocking at the door... at 8:10 am? I don't know anybody around here so who can be? he said to himself while walking toward the door. "Who is it?" he asked before it opened.

"Is me, your friendly neighborhood… Spider-Man… Nah… is just me Ellie"

Shit. He grabbed the knob of the door and opened it. "What are you doing here? And this early?"

Ellie put her hands on her back and started to move her upper body side to side "You said that I can come to work… remember?" Ellie looked at him and noticed that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts. She quickly changed her head and looked at his face. Her check started to get red.

"What do you mean about that? I never told you to come today, I remember telling you that I was going to think about it," says Joel looking at her until he noticed what he was wearing. "Holy shit… Sorry about this… just wait outside while I change," Joel quickly closed the door and ran toward his room.

Ellie moves away from the front porch and starts to walk around while looking at the trees waiting for Joel to come out. A few minutes later the front door opened again.

Ellie turned around and saw Joel walking out of the house with more decent clothes. "So when can we start?" she asked while getting closer to him.

Joel was surprised at how determined this girl was when she wanted something. And he is not sure if that is a good thing. He thinks most of the night about what to do with this girl, and now that she is here, he doesn't know what to do with her. "Look, I told you that I will think about it. I never tell you to come today," Joel watched her for a moment. She was wearing a red t-shirt with a yellow circle picture in the front. She also was wearing blue jeans and a baseball cap. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail that stuck out of the back of her hat.

"Ahhh, c'mon... I'm already here, so why don't we just try to do a little something as a test? And if you don't like my work, well you can fire me. What did you say?"

"Do you really want to do this... Are you?"

"Yessss. As I said, it is going to be a boring summer, so I prefer to do something to pass the time."

Joel gives her a look, then he put a grin on his face. "Okayyy, you're asking for it," Joel turned around and started walking. "Follow me."

Ellie follows him into the house. And soon she was in, she noticed that there were some empty beer cans on the floor and some dirty clothes everywhere. "Do you want me to clean the living room first?" she asked while watching Joel go to the kitchen and start looking for something.

"Maybe later, but first I need you to do something else." Ellie was curious now on what he wants her to do. Joel came back a few minutes later with a bucket in hand. "Come with me," he said as he passes beside her and continued walking toward the small corridor that took to his room and the bathroom. Soon he gets to the door in front of his room, he stops and passes the bucket to Ellie. "Here, you can start with this?" he said he opened the door of the bathroom.

Ellie grabbed the bucket and moved to the entrance of the bathroom. She opened her eyes wide when she saw the condition of the place. "Do you want me to clean this?" she asked, pointing inside the bathroom. "I don't even want to ask how you are using this… it looks like… shit!

"Well you said that you want me to give you a job, so if you do a good job here, I will let you know my decision today. But if you do not like to do it, you can go home and forget about all this," Joel was certain that this is going to make her run home and never come back here. He knows that kids don't like to do this kind of work, so maybe this was a better way to solve this than telling her to go home and never come back. "So what did you say? Are you ready to get your hands dirty?"

Ellie looked at the bathroom than at him. "Okay, I will do it. But if I find something gross in there I will charge you extra." She moves past him and enters the bathroom.

"Okay then," said Joel clapping his hand. "Call me if you need something or when you finish. I will be outside doing a few things," he turned around and walked away.

After Joel went out, Ellie put the bucket down and started to look at the place. It looks like Joel did some cleaning before but the place is still a mess and has some stains. I know what you're trying to do dude, but if you think that I get scared that easy you're making a mistake, mister. Ellie grabbed the cleaning things that Joel put in the bucket and started.

Joel was outside working with the truck motor since he tried to use it yesterday and it didn't start. After two hours working on that he found the problem and fixed it. Soon he finished he noticed that Ellie didn't come out of the house yet or at least he didn't see her running and screaming. So he decided to get back inside and see if she was still there.

Joel went into the house and walked to the bathroom and soon he got to the entrance, he saw her bending down on the bathtub with her back toward the door. He looked at her for a moment as her ass was moving with some rhythm. He also hears some mumble coming from her direction, then he noticed that she had some headphones on her ears.

Joel looked away from her and started to look at the place. Yeah, he cleans it a little when he moves in, to kill germs, but now the bathroom looks much better. "Nice work," he said while moving closer to her. He thought that this was going to scare the shit out of her, but he was wrong. He moves a little closer and touches her on the back. "Hey you did a nice-" he moved back when Ellie jumped at the touch.

"Ahhhh!..." She turned around and took her headphones off. "What the hell man, are you trying to scare the shit out of me?" Ellie stands up while watching Joel with his eyes wide open. She takes her gloves off and put them aside. "You should know, not to touch somebody when they're distracted."

"Sorry I don't mean to scare you, I just…" he said with his hands in front of him.

Ellie calms down and stands up. "Is okay I have already finished. Man this place was a disaster, I cleaned the best I could. The sink and the bathtub are fine. I give them a good clean and now they look better. But I think that you should change the toilet. The stain at the bottom is uncleanable, and it looks bad." she starts to tell him.

"Oh, thanks. I will add that later to my list of things to buy and fix," he said looking at the place. "I think you did a great job, is very impressive, I never thought that-"

"That girl like me will like to do this kind of job?" said Ellie while starting to pick up a few things.

"Yeah… No offense, but kids you age always like to hear music or be with boys or girls and do all those kinds of things they do. And left the housework to their parents."

Ellie finished gathering the cleaning things and put them back on the bucket. "Well, Lucky you, I don't do what other teen kids do. I don't like this much, but as my aunt is barely at home I have to do it back home. But it is better if you get paid for it," she passed him and walked out of the bathroom. Joel makes a last look at the bathroom, then follows her. Joel watches Ellie go out to the back and put the bucket on a wood table he has there. "Okay, I finish with that, so what can I do next?" She asked Joel soon after they got out of the house.

"Well, I don't think you would do it, so I don't have anything more for you. But you did a good job, so let me grab my wallet and pay you for that-"

"Are you kidding? Is not even noon and I can help you with other things," Joel looked at her, as she started to move around and pick up things from the ground and put them on the table he had there. "Do we have a deal, remember? If you like my work you would give me a summer job," she said looking at him. "I think that I did a good job with the bathroom, so am I hiring or not?" please say yes… please? She said to herself.

Joel looks at her not knowing what to say to that. Yes he makes a deal, and he can use a little help around, but having her here is going to complicate things. And even if he is getting some distraction with her, it is not appropriate to have a minor in his house. "Sorry kiddo, but hiring a minor is against the law. Besides, there is not much that you can do here anyway."

Ellie started walking and stopped in front of him. "That is stupid man, minor do those this kind of work all the time. And we have a deal, so it is not a good thing to break it, just because I'm a girl."

Joel doesn't know what to do now. Yes, he does not want her here because if people saw them together they would think that they are doing something wrong. He can see that this girl needs some attention too, and not having any friends is bad for her. He really wants to help her, but there is nothing he can do about it. Hire a minor is illegal without the permission of their parents.

"Look, it is not like I don't want to hire you because you're a girl... well in part it is, but that is not the main point here. The thing is that for me to hire you I need permission from your parents or the person in charge of you."

Okay, so what if I don't charge you, I mean if I work for you free you're not hiring me so it is not illegal if I do you a favor."

"Yeah, there is no law against that, but I can let you do things for free." Joel watched how Ellie put a sad expression and lowered her head. "Okay, let's do this. If you bring me a permission sign from your aunt authorizing you to work here, I can give you a few things to do… okay?"

"Yessss!" Ellie starts jumping on the excitement and runs toward him. She jumps at him and hugs him. "Thank you, thank you…thank you. You're not going to regret this, and I promise to do my best." said Ellie moving away from him.

This is not a yes yet. Remember you need to bring me that permit or I can't hire you."

"Oh, don't worry, I will bring that tomorrow. This is going to be cool, thanks. I'm sure you're not going to be sorry for it." she said with some excitement.

I think I already did kid, He said to himself. Then the girl hugged him again, but this time she didn't let go of him.