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

Chapter 7: Ellie's Sleepover

Joel still has doubts about letting Ellie sleepover, especially without her aunt knowing about it. But for now, he doesn't have too much of a choice. The rain looked bad and he didn't want to let her stay in her home all alone. Joel was looking through the window again hoping for the rain to stop, but it was getting worse. There was a lot of thunder and lightning and the rain was getting heavier. Ellie was in the kitchen sending a test here to her aunt after she called her and didn't get any response. Ellie also insists on washing the dishes, even when Joel told her that she doesn't have too.

After a few minutes, Ellie put her phone in her pocket and walked out of the kitchen. "Okay, all set," Said Ellie while walking back into the living room. "I can't reach her, so I sent her a message, telling her that I will stay in a friend's house tonight."

Joel moves away from the window and looks at her. "I don't like that you are lying to your aunt about this."

"I didn't lie! I told her that it was raining and that I will spend the night at a friend's house, so I didn't lie, because you and I are friends now… right?"

"That is not the point. Did she even know that you don't have any friends?"

"Well, she thinks that I have a few from school."

"So you have been lying to her all this time?"

Ellie moves slowly to the fireplace. "I don't want her to worry about me not having friends." Ellie stays looking at the fire while she continues. "Besides, I like it that way. Not the lying thing, but me having no friends… well, I didn't mind that until now," she turned her head and looked at him.

Joel walked toward the place he put his bags early and grabbed one of the bags and put it on a small table. "You should not be lying about that, Ellie. If you don't want to have any friends it is okay, but you should not be lying to your aunt. I don't know why you two are not close, but you should be able to talk to her about all this stuff."

"Yeah, I know… it is sometimes hard to talk to her about things." Ellie turned around and put her hand behind her back and started to move one of her feet around. "So what we do now. Do you have any games? Or you want to sit in front of the fireplace and tell each other stories?"

Joel put some of the things he took to the lake and put them on the table. "No, I don't have any games. But it is getting late and I'm tired, so maybe it is good if we just go to sleep…" Joel realizes what he said, so he quickly looks at Ellie. "I... mean get some rest… separately… no like… in the same-" Joel starts to get nervous and his face starting to turn red.

Ellie smiled at that. "Don't worry Joel, I know what you mean. But it's still early, can we do something before that?"

"I'm really tired Ellie, and I want to rest." he put the bag away and grabbed some of the things he put on the table.

"Fine… but I'm not tired, so what do I do? You don't even have any tv in the house."

"Sorry about that, but I didn't think I would be having a visitor here and I don't watch tv anymore. Anyway, how are we going to do this? As you know I only have one bathroom, so you want to use it? I can take the couch if you want," said Joel while starting to walk away.

"No, it is okay. This is your house, I will take the couch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, besides you're bigger than me so sleeping on the couch is going to be more difficult for you," said Ellie with a smile.

"You should not worry about that, I slept in worse places… before," Joel quickly noticed that he was starting to talk about his personal life again, so he quickly changed the subject. "Okay, then, I will get you a pillow and a blanket, so you can be more comfortable on the couch." Say Joel walking toward his bedroom.

"Are you sure you want to go to sleep now? It is not even 9:00 pm yet," Ellie said aloud, so Joel can hear her from inside his room. "Y'know, I saw a few movies, when people do all kinds of things during a sleepover."

"Well, as I said before, I'm tired and this is not a movie," Joel replied from his bedroom. "So as soon as I get you the things you need to sleep, you can do whatever you want. It has been a long day and I just want to go to bed, " Ellie rolled her eyes and started to look around. Ellie was happy to be able to help Joel out. She has been working on the house with Joel for a few weeks, and the house looks better now.

She remembers how it was the first time she entered the house. "Hey, Joel... do you have something that I can wear for sleep? I like to take a shower, before going to sleep and I don't have any clothes with me."

Joel came out from his room with a pillow and a sheet. "Here, you can use this," He gives her the things for her to sleep. "I think I have some old pajamas somewhere in my room that you can use."

"Thank you!" say Ellie moving toward the couch.

Joel goes back to his room and starts looking for the clothes. In the meantime, Ellie put the pillow and sheet on the couch and went to the bathroom. Soon she was there, Ellie opened the water, then she sat on the top of the toilet and started to take her shoes and socks off. Ellie stays sitting on the toilet while waiting for Joel to bring something to wear and for the water to get warm.

After a few minutes, Joel came to the bathroom with some clothes and a towel. "Here, you can use this. And don't take too long, I want to take a shower too, so don't use all the hot water," he said then turned around.

"Yes sir," Soon Joel walks out of the bathroom and closes the door Ellie starts to take her clothes off.

Joel walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed a beer but remembered that Ellie was in the house so he probably should not be doing that. But since she was in the bathroom, he can take advantage of that. So he took the beer and opened it. Man what a day he said in a lower voice the start to drink the beer. Yeah, he has been trying to stop drinking but it has been so hard to do it. He needs it to keep his mind off. Lucky for him Ellie has been a good distraction so he has not been drinking that much. After he finished the beer, he walked into the living room and looked out through the window again.

He saw that it was still raining hard, so probably is going to rain all night. It rained a few times before but not like this. While he was watching the rain, he remembers the patch he did on the roof so he was hoping that he does a good job on that and it will hold. Joel started to look at the ceiling but so far everything was good. After that Joel went to the fireplace and sat in a chair in front of it and waited for Ellie to come out of the bathroom.

20 minutes later Ellie walked out of the bathroom into the living room, where she saw Joel sitting in front of the fireplace. "The bathroom is all yours," says Ellie as soon she gets close to Joel.

He turned his head and looked at her. He started to check the pajamas he gave to her and see that even though the shirt was too long for her, the pants it served well this time. "Oh, I can see that the pajamas work on you this time," says Joel while standing up.

Ellie moved her clothes to her side and looked down. "Yeah, the pants fix me this time."

Joel walked close to her. "Okay, I will take my shower now then go to bed. The couch is ready, so if you need anything else just call me… okay?" he started to walk toward the bathroom but Ellie made him stop.

"Joel!..."

Joel turned his head and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Thank you,"

Joel gave him a smile. "You don't need to thank me for this. Is still raining, so I am not going to-"

"I don't mean only for that. Thanks for giving me the best day ever. I had a good time with you- I mean fishing, so thank you," Ellie walked toward him and hugged him. Joel didn't know what to do about that, so after a few minutes, he hugged her back.

"You don't need to thank me for that either. I'm glad that you have a wonderful time," After a few minutes, Joel moved her away from him a little and looked into her eyes. He starts to feel that sensation again. Like he feels something strange inside of him every time Ellie hugs him or be close to him and he doesn't know why. "Okay kiddo, get some sleep and I will see you tomorrow...okay?" with that he let go of her and turned around. Joel walks toward his room, then comes out a few minutes later with some sleeping clothes and walks to the bathroom. He left Ellie alone in the living room, hoping she goes to sleep soon.

Ellie watches him go into the bathroom after he goes to his room and grabs some clothes. Then she turns around and walks toward the kitchen counter where she put her backpack after they have dinner.

She opened and put the clothes that she was wearing inside. As she doesn't bring any extra clothes, Ellie wasn't wearing any underwear underneath Joel's PJ. She feels strange, not only to be wearing Joel clothes, even if she already uses one of his t-shirts before. But he also is sleeping in his house.

After she finished, Ellie grabbed the backpack and her shoes and walked back to the living room. Ellie put her backpack on the side of the couch and sat there. For a moment she looked at the bathroom door and tried not to imagine what Joel was doing. After a few minutes, she turned around on the couch and moved the curtain that was behind her. One of the front windows was behind the couch, so after she moved the curtain to the side, she started to look outside.

She loves when it rains, but not much when it comes to thunder and lightning. Ellie starts to think about how much fun she has with Joel today. She never has this kind of fun with anybody before, not even her aunt. Somehow she feels safe with him and that makes her feel good. Ellie doesn't know why she feels this way, but she never felt like this before. It's like she doesn't want the summer to end so that she can spend more time with him. Ellie closes her eyes and thinks about Joel.

Yeah, he is way older than me, but I don't care about that, he is my friend now… my only friend. And he doesn't even look that old… no to me. Also, I have to admit that he is really handsome. Then she thought about how they touch sometimes, and how she feels when he hugged her. Ohhhh, he feels so warm every time we touch, I never felt that before. And sometimes I don't even want to get away from him, it is like he makes me feel wanted and loved. Ellie was taken out of her thoughts when she heard a door starting to open. Ellie quickly moved down and lay on the couch. She grabbed the blanket and put it over her body and turned to the side. She closes her eyes and pretends to be sleeping when she starts to feel Joel walking toward her.

Joel walks toward the living room soon after he gets out of the bathroom. He saw that the curtain was open and that Ellie was already on the couch all covered up. So he walked slowly toward the window and closed the curtain. Joel doesn't know if she was already sleeping or if she was faking it. But he wasn't going to encourage her to get up and start talking again or start asking questions.. So soon he closes the curtain, he starts to walk away trying not to make any sound.

After he was a little away from the couch, Joel stopped and turned around. Joel looks at the couch and watches her cover figures, but she doesn't move so he thought that she was really sleeping. He stayed there for a minute, not knowing why this girl has so much impact on him. Yeah, he impressed so many girls when he was young and popular at school. But all that ends when his parents die and he has to take care of Tommy.

But he is older now and broken, so what does this girl seem like in him that wanted to be with him all the time? Joel makes one last look to the couch, before moving the switch on the wall and turning out the light. All the house was dark now, except for the living room, which was illuminated by the fireplace. Good night… Ellie, He said in a lower voice before leaving Ellie in the living room.

Soon Joel entered his room, he closed the door and sat on his bed. Joel started to think about how things have changed in his life for the last month. He came here to be alone and be away from his annoying brother, that only reminded him of what he lost. But this girl has been changing his life a lot. Joel is not sure if it is in a good way. After a few minutes, he lay on the bed trying to stop thinking about Ellie and get some sleep.

( A few hours later )

Ellie was looking at the ceiling trying to get some sleep. She has been trying since Joel got out of the bathroom, but between thinking about him and the thunder and lighting she can't sleep. It's been a few hours since Joel goes to his room, but Ellie does not find any sleep after that. She has been turning around on the couch, but somehow she can't sleep. Ellie doesn't know if it is because of the rain or just because she is in another house. The couch is not helping either, it is not so bad but is not her bed. This wasn't the first time that she slept out of her house. She did it a few times in that old cabin, but all those times it wasn't raining or was a man close by. The house was dark except for the living room that was still illuminated by the fire in the fireplace.

Ellie looked at the fire, then to the ceiling again and for some reason, she can't stop thinking of Joel. Any time she closed her eyes, she saw him standing in front of her or getting an image of the time they're working together. I don't understand why I think so much about him all the time. I never felt like this before with anyone, so why do I feel like this now? Joel seems to be like a good person, even if I don't know much about him. He told me a few things about his past when he was younger. Also that he has a brother, but not much after that. So why do I feel so warm every time I come here or see him? Ellie tried to push those thoughts out of her head but was almost impossible.

Ellie stays on the couch for a little while but nothing she does makes her fall asleep. So after a little time, Ellie decided to get out of the couch and go to the kitchen. Soon after she went there, she grabbed a glass and put some water on it. After she drinks the water and put the glass on the sink, Ellie looks toward the small corridor that leads to Joel's room.

Ellie looked at it for a few minutes. Why do I have the urge to go there and see what he is doing? Is he awake? Nahhh, he is probably sleeping and I can't go there and knock in his door to find out… or I can? Ellie started to walk slowly toward the corridor and tried not to make any sound. After she walked for a minute or two, she stopped in front of Joel's room. The corridor was really dark since the light from the fireplace didn't get in there. Ellie was looking at the door and started to imagine Joel in the bed. What the hell am I doing? She said to herself while grabbing the knob of the door and starting to move it slowly. Without thinking much, Ellie starts to open the door slowly and try to look inside. Not even knowing why she was doing that.

Right now Ellie's heart is beating faster, and a lot of things start to pass through her mind. She was nervous, and her hands started shaking. The door was almost half-open when she stopped and before she could take a good look inside, a thunder sound woke her up from her trance. Ellie realizes what she just did. Open the door of a man's room, to check him out. Ellie felt so embarrassed that she closed the door quickly and leaned on the wall beside it. She closed her eyes and started breathing faster. What the hell am I doing, he is only my friend, so why do I just want to spy on him when he is sleeping? Ellie walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. She lowers her head and puts her hand to cover her face. Fuck! What is wrong with me? She said in a lower voice.

( Later in the morning )

Joel opened his eyes as soon as the sunlight entered through the window. He felt so tired that he did not want to get out of bed yet. But soon he remembers that Ellie was sleeping in his house and he needs to take her home, he starts to get out of bed. Joel was sleeping in a t-shirt and boxes, so he needs to change before he goes out of his room. He normally goes out like that and changes after he has some breakfast, but as Ellie is in the house he can't do that today. He can believe that he let Ellie convince him to stay, even with the heavy rain he could take her home. But he doesn't want her to sleep there alone, even if that is not his problem, he is starting to care for the girl. Joel shook his head and walked toward the window in his room and moved the curtain to the side and looked outside. The rain seems to be a stop for a while now, but he can see all the mud and some pools of water all over in his backyard.

After a few minutes, Joel closes the curtain and walks to his drawer and starts looking for some clean clothes to change. He looked at the small clock on the top of the drawer and saw that it was almost 10:00 am. Shit! I was going to take her home early in the morning. I guess that I overslept. He said in a lower voice. After he changed, Joel walked toward the door of his room and got out. The bathroom was almost in front of his room, so he got inside to brush his teeth before he went to the living room and see if Ellie was up. He stays in the bathroom for 5 minutes until he finishes.

After that, he walked out of the bathroom and started walking towards the living room. "Hey kiddo, I am going to make some breakfast, so you want some before I take you home?" Say Joel as soon as he entered the living room. But he was surprised when he looked at the couch and it was empty. Did she wake up early? He thought before he started to call her. "Hey, kiddo… where are you?" he continued, calling her while walking toward the kitchen. But she wasn't there either. Where does she go?

After Joel checked inside the house and didn't find her there, he opened the front door and started calling her again, but she didn't respond either. So he goes back inside and goes to the back door to check if she was in the backyard. But before he gets there, he notices that her backpack wasn't there either. Did she already go home?

Why didn't she wait for me to take her there? Joel started to say to himself. I just hope that she doesn't get in any trouble for staying here all night. Joel felt a little worried about that, but it was nothing he could do about it. He felt a little sad that she had not even said goodbye before going out, but he knows that she will show at his house again very soon. So he walked to the kitchen again and started to make some breakfast. I want to know why this girl is having so much effect on me…