SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING AS I SHOULD HAVE. Life has been crazy since the start of this story back in summer. I hope to update more regularly! I LOVE Y'ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT THROUGH THIS HIATUS!
Also my documents were deleted as my break was so long, so I'm trying to continue up with this new...attempt.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)
"It's not fun being out of action." I remark, enduring my next day of being off my feet, and Ellie promptly shoves me. "You boob."

I stretch my leg, "Do you see this sexy thing? This sexy thing is obsolete. I cannot use it."

"You poor thing." Ellie teases me, and I turn to face her, her lips pursed. I glare at her and she cracks up.

"Let's return to the issue at hand." She remarks, and I roll my eyes, "And that'd be...?"

"You can't shoot a gun."

"It's not a big deal." I say in my defense, and we make eye contact before the two of us crack up. Ellie rolls onto her feet, heading back into the kitchen for the umpteenth time today, "You got any good food?"

"No, because you've eaten it all." This, despite how mean it sounds, is an accurate representation of what it's like hosting Ellie here because I'm too lazy to make more friends.

But I like Ellie. She's pretty chill, even for being a squirt. And she hates that nickname.

She comes back into the room with another apple, tossing it at me and narrowly missing my head, "Here."

"Why, thank you for your concern." And then the front door slams back with a jarring bang, and Mikey's voice rings out, "Avery returned the xBox early!"

"Boosh!" Ellie cries out, leaving me in the dust to go and check out the new equipment. I grab my crutches, shove them into my armpits, and hobble out to see them.

"Can we play Triple Phoenix now?" Her eagerness is hard to miss, and I smirk, "Cool your jets, squirt."

I don't want to elaborate on how exactly it happens, but somehow I end up on my ass with my crutches skillfully kicked out from under me.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)
It's only a few days later, when I've returned the crutches dutifully to Dr. Mundell, that Ellie and I stumble upon the rope swing, a quick creation inspired by a method of transportation in Triple Phoenix. Which is perhaps the best discovery we've made since trying to have leaping contests with the crutches.

"Can't I have a turn?" I whine, as she throws her head back and smiles for the countless time circling the tree. Then she pushes me with the toe of her rubber sole shoe as she passes by with a grin on her face, "Nope."

Sighing, I lean against another tree, and then use my final defense, grabbing the rope and digging my heels into the dirt. Ellie glances over, "Unfair."

"My turn." I nudge her with my hip and she hops off, walking to the waiting tree where either of us would wait and watch the other.

"Why don't we make another rope swing?" I suggest, and she shrugs. Then, the thought we've both occasionally had, is voiced, "I'm bored."

It's no lie. It's the heat, it's the quietness, it's the thumping of blood pounding in your veins from fear gone. Neither of us are really that chill with normalcy, even with me and all my experience here.

I guess it's a picture-perfect moment of "you don't know what you have until it's gone". Digging my feet into the dirt, I come to a stop, and her head snaps up, meeting eyes with me.

"So, what now?" She asks, and I bring a finger to my chin, pretending to think hard, "Swimming?"

"Nah."

"Triple Phoenix?"

"My eyes can't take anymore of its graphics."

"Horses...?" I say this with hesitancy. I hate horses...still, and Ellie seems to pick up on it, grinning, "Yeah, right, you with horses."

It's the world's oldest conversation, "So, then, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'm used to cities, not countries."

So we sit back to back under the shade of the waiting tree and Ellie blows a raspberry before offering, "Let's play Truth or Dare."

I can't see her face, but her tone suggests she's smiling. So I give a shrug, "Alrighty, then. Who goes first?"

"Me. So, Maria, what will it be? Truth...or dare?"

"Oh geez, that's a hard question. Let's go with truth."

"Have you had your first kiss yet?"

My face goes red, and my voice squeaks, "What's with that question?"

Ellie chuckles, and I roll my eyes, "That'd be a no. My turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you had your first kiss yet?"

"Yuppers."

"Oh, really? Who was it with?"

"Only one question per turn." Ellie says, turning to face me with one finger poised in remembrance of the rule. I nod, and then the game continues. Ellie reveals this boy named Riley, for whom she had her first kiss with. I, on the other hand, go through with embarrassing confessions one after the other. Neither of us have the guts to choose dare after spending so much time with the other.

Finally, as the sunset drifts into waning light, we roll onto our feet, dusting off our clothes from the dirt we've sat in for a good hour or so. Ellie has grown quiet since the confession about Riley, and I can't help myself, "So, what's it like, being in love?"

"Oh...it's nothing. You just love someone. That's all there is to it." Her tone and demeanor give me enough info to drop the conversation, and we walk back in silence to the town.
(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

I spend my days fixing up old skateboards and bikes and rollerblades with Mikey. Ellie comes by often, and we test our balance riding the equipment. For some reason I'm aces on wheels. Ellie and Mikey are left to scratch their heads as I take on skateboards and rollerblades and bikes with ease.

"School's going to be starting soon." I remark, as all three of us take a break. I had cracked open a can of peaches, and each one of us passed the can around, digging out juicy slices of the fruit.

Ellie swallows her bite of peach before grimacing, "Who needs school anyway?"

"Never know when the world is going to rebuild itself." Mikey points out, and Ellie pulls out the final slice of peach before tipping the can back, finishing up the juice entirely by herself.

"How exactly does the school system...'work'?" She asks incredulously, her doubtfulness shown by the use of air quotations.

"Let's see...usually it's split up by knowledge, not age level." I begin, and Mikey adds, "Did you attend school before coming here?"

"Military school in Boston. And let me tell you...that is intense." Ellie says. She shakes her head as if to emphasize her warning, "Take my word of advice. Never go to a military school."

"Will do." I agree, and then Mikey rolls onto his feet, "I'm gonna head inside. This heat is killing me."

"See ya." Ellie calls after him, and once he's out of earshot, "Do you like my brother?"

"What? No!" But I've gotten under her skin and I laugh, "Okay, don't be so touchy-feely about it. Hey, you can't blame me for asking."

"And what's your reasoning?"

"You had Riley." I whisper the name and draw it out, but Ellie only rolls her eyes, "You don't even know the first thing about Riley."

"I know his name." At this, she opens her mouth as if to correct me, but then quickly shuts it. I narrow my eyes, "Hardy-har-har. I get the last word."

"Oh, shut up." And we both laugh, until I hear a faint cry of, "Ellie!"

We both turn to see Joel walking towards us. He's a small figure now due to distance, but I roll onto my feet nonetheless. "I think someone's got to head home."

"Darn. We were just getting to a good part." But Ellie rises as well, and helps me stick all of our wheeled equipment back into the garage. Joel gives me a nod as he approaches the house, "Hello, Maria."

"Hi." And he raises his eyebrows, "Ellie here or no?"

"Here I am!" And Ellie emerges from the depths of the mess, grinning wildly. Joel glances back at me, and I notice the skateboard in Ellie's hands, "Are you just going to take that?"

"Maybe. I'll return it, I promise."

"I don't trust your promises."

"Good choice." Joel remarks, and I give a smile. Then he turns to face the two of us, "There's been some raiders making trouble for a while now. Tommy, Maria, and I are staying at the plant tonight to keep an eye on things. Ellie, you're sticking at Maria's place tonight."

"Hell no!" Her cry of indignation is hard to miss, with green eyes ablaze, "I'm not missing out on this action! I can shoot a gun!"

"I am more than aware of your capabilities." He speaks this with a steely tone and set face, then remarks, "I do not want to put you in harm's way. Last time I did," he pauses to face me with a grimace, "Maria ended on crutches for weeks."

"But that's her!"

I narrow my eyes, "Hey!"

"Please, Joel! Just give me a gun to shoot and I'm good to go! You won't even know I'm there!"

"Ellie-"

"One shot." She's practically pleading at this point. The boredom and placidness have gotten to her, and Joel sets her straight with a harsh look, "No more of this. You are staying here tonight and if you do go into the plant...you will be walking on some mighty thin ice."

Ellie finally relents, her eyes dropping to her shoes, blinking. Then she nods, attempting to assure her position. "Alright, then. I'll just stay here."

Joel takes note of me again, "Maria, is your mom alright with all this?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine."

"Tell her thanks for me." I give a nod to his request and he claps a hand on Ellie's shoulder, "Hey. There'll be other times."

"Sure there will be." And without warning, she turns and stalks back to the house, dropping the skateboard on the way, the clatter echoing in the street.

He turns back to me with a weary face, "Maria..."

"Say no more. I'll keep her in line." I grin, giving a two-finger salute.

"Thank you." Then he pauses, a hand brought to his chin in thought.

After a few moments of deep silence, "I need your help for something after this."

"Which would be?"

"To find a guitar."
(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

Ellie tries not to let the sulk show on her face as my mom makes chitchat during dinner. Rather, she looks...longing. As she watches my family interact, it's obvious she's holding else something back on her face and in her expression.

As we prepare for bed, "I'm sorry Joel wouldn't let you help to fight."

"He's been like that ever since we got here. Always protective of me."

I plump my pillow, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, yeah, but I mean...more so than usual." She lies on the bed Mikey dragged in, hand behind her head and gazing up at the ceiling.

"I'm sure there's a reason behind it."

She blows a raspberry, her tone almost dripping in sarcasm, "Yeah. I'm sure."

A knock at the door, and we both turn to look. Mom gives a smile, "I'm going to bed, girls. Goodnight to you both." She crosses the room to give me a kiss on the head and then, "Ellie, as long as you're here, you're considered family."

Ellie receives a kiss as well, and manages a mumbled, "Thank you."

"Don't make it too late." She warns, giving me a look as she steps out, closing the door behind her. I roll my eyes, "What exactly do I have to wake up for?"

But there's no answer to my question, and I turn to face Ellie for support. She's...smiling. She's got that weird look of longing in her eyes.

"My apologies if my mom's...odd."

"No." Her smile's gone now. "Your mom's pretty cool."

"Do you want a blanket?" I ask, and Ellie rolls onto her feet, "I guess...but I can grab one myself."

"Uh huh. Sit your ass back down."

"Demanding."

I take one off of the spare beds in Mikey's room, ignoring his look as I interrupt his game, "It's for Ellie."

"Whatever." He goes back to his virtual reality, and I leave with what I came for.

As I enter the room again, Ellie is sitting cross-legged on my bed, lamp turned on, flipping through pictures. That wouldn't be a problem, except they're my pictures.

"Can I help you with those?"

I startle her and she tries to look nonchalant after she jumps, "Oh, hi."

Then she grabs the scattered pictures and goes back to looking at them. I sit beside her and eye the one she's practically locked on.

It's the one of me and Mikey with the soldiers. Faded and worn by years past. That longing expression is there again.

"Is that...you?" She points to me, tucked in the nook of the soldier's arm, beaming happily. I chuckle, "Yeah. I was a pudgy little thing."

"Huh." She feigns surprise, then hands them back to me, not apologizing in the least for going through my things. Ah. Ellie.

"I'm pooped." Ellie remarks, taking a graceful tumble from my bed to the one beneath. She wraps herself up in the blanket and lays her head on the pillow, smacking her lips for emphasis. "Okay. Goodnight."

"'night." I murmur in reply, turning off the lamp and letting the darkness envelope me.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

I wake up with a dry throat, completely parched. Throwing my blankets back, I make my way to the door, only to get a glance at Ellie.

She's curled up in the blanket like it's her saving grace, wincing and cringing. It looks as if she's thrashing, but her actions fail her with the blanket cocooning her body.

"Ellie-" I turn the lamp on and crouch down by her bed, gripping her by the shoulders, "Ellie, wake up!"

I'm close enough to see now her eyes welling with hot tears, trailing down the sides of her face and plopping onto the blanket.

"David, don't-don't touch-" Her words are jumbled and twisted of choked-back cries.

"Ellie!" One final shake and her eyelids shoot open, the green set ablaze by the glow of the lamp. At first, her expression is one of disorientation, much like my own, then she sighs.

Rubbing her eyes, she manages to take me in for the first time, "Oh, hi."

"You okay?"

Her voice is still thick with tears, but she nods, yawning for emphasis, "Yeah, I'm...I'm fine."

The corners of Ellie's eyes betray her, welling up with salty tears despite her protests at being alright. But she says she's fine. Do I trust her? Of course. Do I know she's stubborn? Hell yeah.

I give a shrug and let go of her shoulders, "Okay then."

I've only turned off the lamp and hopped back into bed when she murmurs, "Wait." Her voice, plaintive like a child's and less like her own. So I tumble off my bed and onto hers like she demonstrated short hours before.

"What's going on?" I ask in a notch above a whisper. Ellie rubs her eyes with the palms of her hands, sniffling, "I just...had a bad dream. That's all."

"Are you really fine?"

We lock eye contact for a few seconds, my brown faced against her green, one of whom is rimmed with red and still pumping tears. Then her face crumples with a simple, "No."

That's all Ellie gets in before she breaks down into tears. I wrap my arms around her before I know what I'm doing, comforting someone who's been strong and steady for too damn long.

Her cries are silent, nothing but sniffling and the occasional hiccup, as told by the jostling I feel every so often. I give a squeeze, "There ain't no shame in crying, my friend."

At least that coaxes a laugh out of her, and Ellie pulls away, still rubbing her eyes. I don't ask about David. I don't want to pry.

"If it makes you feel any better...I get nightmares too." I murmur. She nods, and then, in a bashful tone, "Do you...um...mind if I-I sleep in your bed?" I can practically see how red her face is.

"Not really. But if I kick you off in the middle of the night, please know it wasn't intentional." I'm rewarded with another laugh, and she wraps her arms around her pillow, following me as we crawl back onto my bed.

It's obvious the bed isn't made for two, but at least we make it work, sleeping back to back.

"Maria?"

"Yeah?"

"When you get nightmares...what are they of?"

"Usually clickers. Or my family dying. And you?"

"Same things, I guess." That whole "David don't touch" thing begs to differ. But I don't voice my thoughts aloud.

After a few moments of silence, when her breathing's evened out a bit more, "I didn't tell you something about Riley."

"And what was that?" My tired tone is evident even to me. She rolls over to face me, and I open my eyes to meet hers. Ellie gives another hiccup, and then remarks, as smoothly as she can, "Riley's a girl."

Well then. "That it?"

She closes her eyes and yawns, tugging the blanket for a little more coverage, "Yup."

"Okay." I don't know what else to say. It's quiet for a bit more, until Ellie pierces the silence again, "Maria?"

"Yeah hun?" I'm so damn tired.

"Thanks."

But I smile, placing my hand underneath my pillow and burying my head in it, "You're welcome, Ellie."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Good morning, girls!" My mother throws the door back with a vigor, pulling back the curtains to let in light. I react quickly, shielding my eyes, "Yo! Captain Sunshine, please tone it down!"

But, per usual, she's out of the bedroom before I can say anything. I turn to face Ellie, who's still sleeping peaceful, her hands tucked close to her chest.

Is it too soon to pull a prank? Or too rude? I weigh these options silently, and before I can do anything her eyelids hazily drift open. Blinking hard, she yawns and pulls the blanket up over her head.

Well, at least we both like sleep. Another bonus, I suppose. Then I push the blanket away and she groans, "Noooo..." The shock of her words is lost with the simple fact I can barely hear them.

I laugh and roll onto my feet, pulling the blanket out with one fluid motion, "Get up!"

"You have a death wish." If looks could kill, I'd be dead. Ellie glares at me pointedly before rolling onto her stomach and stuffing her face into the mattress, "I am not a morning person."

"Lazy bum." I toss the blanket on her and Ellie makes a sound like a wounded animal in response, "HHHRRRRRNNNNGGGHHH."

"Don't make me tickle your feet." They stick out from the crumpled fabric like fence posts...hard to miss.

"You wouldn't dare."

I smirk, enjoying the testiness we're both showing, "Don't test me, squirt."

"I swear I will kick the shit outta you when I get off this bed, you dickhead."

"Try me!" And I tickle her feet and she kicks them and giggles in response and then the blanket falls off and she rolls over and eyes me, green eyes suddenly alert with her auburn hair strewn across her face, and I'm running for my life before I know it, dashing on the wooden floors with Ellie in hot pursuit of me, crying for the whole house to hear, "Get back here you little chickenshit!"