Christmas Drop #4
Here's the actual summary cause it wouldn't fit: Bouncing around in the system made Ellie an aloof kid. She was always afraid to get close to people because it only hurt more when she was forced to part with them. Even after finding her "permeant" home, old habits die hard but when she's forced to go to college with the same two teens from her town, she has a hard time avoiding them completely. She didn't owe them anything but a part of her still got irked when some party frat dude dissed one of the two. Next thing she knew, her temper won her a trip to the ER and some cabin in the middle of the woods.
Being the new kid in town was never easy. Ellie always found herself shying away from people, especially the kids her age, because she didn't want to get close to them. If she did, it would only hurt more when she was forced to part ways so that was how she lived her entire life as an orphan in the system. However, after being 'officially' adopted by Joel, this grumpy old soul, he promised that she wouldn't have to worry about that when they moved to Jackson.
The start of their relationship had been weird, to say the least. She was barely fourteen years old and Joel was working through his last year as a Navy Seal before retiring so they traveled a lot after the start of their arrangement. It wasn't until after they had made it to Jackson that he promised it would be different. It's been a year since they made this city their 'home' but Ellie still couldn't bring herself to open up to her peers. Thankfully, most kids backed off thanks to her cold attitude but there were these two particular kids that wouldn't leave her alone.
Dina and Jesse.
The two of them kept on coming on to her despite her protests and aloof personality. Ellie felt bad for them because she barely managed to come to the idea that Joel actually wasn't going to abandon her since they'd been stuck with one another for about two years now. That concept barely stuck with her so warming up to strangers, to 'friends,' wasn't something that was going to stick easily.
Fast forward a few years, Joel was kicking her out to go to college. He said something like 'think of your future' and 'think about what you want to do' and all that horrible mumbo jumbo. She was happy with her boring yet very secure lifestyle. It was comforting so the idea of being separated from Joel scared the shit out of her although she would never admit it out loud. She may have been eighteen now but that was a major step she didn't have the courage to do alone.
Better yet, Joel had shipped her off to UC fucking Santa Barbara.
Not only was it several fucking states away from Wyoming, in California, it was a place she had never been to. Better yet, that was where Dina and Jesse were going, meaning… she was stuck with those two.
That asshole.
She knew he had been done on purpose. Talk about getting her life thrown upside down and obviously, the two of them knew about Ellie's enrollment so they were up in her ass the first few months she started school but not as much as they had probably liked. She did a pretty good job at dodging and avoiding them. She kept to herself, went to straight class, and then went back into her dorm.
They couldn't bother her if she wasn't around from them to whisk away.
That was how she managed to avoid them for most of the semester. It wasn't until this stupid end-of-the-year party, which she somehow got dragged to begrudgingly, that sparked them to interact. Not on purpose per se but was the trigger that started their 'future relationship.' It all started when Ellie was sneaking off to a random corner and sipping on some shitty beer. She happened to hear some jocks talking trash and as much as she didn't give a shit, a certain name caught her attention.
Dina's.
They went on and on, rambling about some dumb shit that sounded ridiculous and tiresome but it wasn't until one of them insult Dina for rejecting him that made her snap. It wasn't her business. She shouldn't have cared. It was Dina's business and she was the one who would decide who she'd like to date or reject.
So, why did her body react first?
Why was she compelled to defend her not-friend Dina?
Well, for starters, those assholes were out of the line, and well… as much as Ellie would like to deny it, Dina was cute. Like really cute. That was probably why her body reacted before her brain could catch up. She physically couldn't stand someone badmouthing her not-friend like that because she wasn't some whore.
"What the fuck did you just say about Dina?"
Her own voice surprised her with how angry she sounded. She hadn't heard it sound like that since her early fights with Joel as a young teen but this was what started this whole mess. Next thing Ellie knew, her fist was coming into contact with this asshole's jaw and shortly after, she was fighting off his little possy of bitches and cowards. She managed to knock two of them down for the count but this third guy was showing to be a challenge.
The guy sounded pissed but so was Ellie. "Fucking bitch!"
"The fuck is your problem?" His other 'bro' shouted before the two of them came at her.
Biting down hard, Ellie headbutted the guy in front of her before kicking the next guy in his shin. They both grunted and yelled as Ellie spat out some blood. "Don't you fucking talk about her like that!"
They both looked confused and Ellie couldn't blame them. Hell, her behavior even shocked her.
A few more blows and punches were thrown but what killed the whole situation was when one of the dickwads blindsided Ellie out of nowhere. More specifically they smashed a fucking chair against her leg and well, let's just say intense pain shot up her right leg. That and the fact that the chair fucking broke into pieces. She managed to give the guy in front of her a good right hook, knocking him out before Ellie found herself slamming onto the floor. The two of them started wrestling it out, minding their own business, until someone called out to her.
"Ellie…?" That familiar voice called out as Ellie grunted before striking this asshole's face with her elbow. "Oh my god. Ellie!"
Ellie was in no situation to care for who was calling her name except before she knew it, someone, no, Dina, was smashing a glass bottle over this dude's head. Out of shock, Ellie's eyes popped open as she looked at her not-friend in disbelief at what she just did. Her jaw dropped before she mumbled out loud. "What the fuck?!"
Dina quickly moved around to pull Ellie out from under this guy. "Ellie, are you okay?" She looked shocked and worried before trying to get Ellie up on her feet which would have been nice except she vaguely remembered getting assaulted by fucking chair so it was screaming in pain.
"Ow fuck—" Ellie flinched before Dina caught most of her weight.
"Ellie?!" Dina's voice sounded so distraught before she quickly pulled her arm over her shoulders. When she looked down, her face grew pale. "Oh shit— we need to get you to a hospital."
Hissing in pain, Ellie tried breaking away from Dina. "I-I'm fine—"
"The hell you are!" Dina cut off, no, yelled at her, before staring at her leg. "Your leg is fucking bleeding El." She then shot the guys standing around them a sharp glare before dragging Ellie away. "Jesse!"
Oh fuck. Of course, Jesse was here too. Why wouldn't he?
"Jesse! Where are you? I need you!" Dina called out again as Ellie awkwardly limped to wherever they were headed.
Soon enough, Ellie spotted Jesse before ducking away in an attempt to hide.
"Jesse, where's your car?"
"Dina?" Jesse turned before shooting them a look. "Ellie? What's wrong? Why do you—"
"Where. Is. Your. Fucking. Car!"
Jesse made another face before he quickly noticed Ellie's leg. "Oh shit." He quickly ran over to grab Ellie's other arm and pulled it over his shoulder. "What the fuck happened?"
Ellie grunted in shame and embarrassment as her not-friends basically dragged her out of this party.
"I don't know. It got crowded in the back and when I went to check it out, Ellie was fucking fighting Mitchel and his group."
"What? Why?" Jesse made another face before looking down at Ellie.
Ellie didn't want to have anything to do with this conversation. She ended up clenching her jaw and looking down at the floor. She could feel the two of them digging holes in the back of her head but thankfully, they were right next to Jesse's truck.
"You got any first aid in here?" Dina asked, ignoring Ellie's silence, as she held her steady while Jesse unlocked the doors.
"I don't." Jesse huffed before opening the door and quickly rushing over to open the other one. Once he had it open, he climbed inside before gesturing at Dina to usher Ellie inside. The two of them were handling her like some fucking doll.
Ellie winced in pain as Dina gently pushed her inside before Jesse pulled her in by her armpits. "Ow— fuck. I'm fine you guys. You don't have to—"
They both cut her off at the same time.
"Shut up."
"Shut up."
Ellie flinched at their tone before watching them slam the doors shut and hopping into the front. Once they were buckled in, Jesse started the car before driving off. They drove in relative silence before Dina finally shot her a look before asking.
"So, are you going to tell us what happened?"
That made her shift uncomfortably.
Dina sighed before turning away. "I'll take that as a no." She then stared out the window before turning back around. "How's your leg?"
Scrunching her nose, Ellie glanced down at the bloody mess. She sighed before mumbling out loud. "Sorry about the cushion. It's probably going to stain."
"Ellie. Who cares about the fucking cushion!"
Jesse glanced into his rearview mirror before looking back at the street. "Did you at least fuck them up?"
"Jesse!" Dina shot him a look while Ellie snorted.
Alright, this wasn't her brightest moment but hey, she served them good for a one versus four. "You should have seen them."
"'Them?'" Jesse chuckled before grinning slightly. "Nice."
Dina was quick to punch his arm. "Jesse!"
"Ow, driving here Dee."
She rolled her eyes before settling in her seat. "You two are fucking ridiculous you know that."
Jesse just shrugged. "Well, if you're gonna get into a fight anyways, I hope you'll put up a good fight otherwise it'd suck if you just got your ass beat."
Dina was clearly unhappy but even so, Ellie couldn't help but smile a little. Something about their antics was… well, familiar, and that made Ellie feel at peace. She ended up closing her eyes before leaning back against the cushion. She vaguely heard them call out to her but she was too tired to open her eyes let alone respond. At some point, she heard Joel's name but that brought out the voice she didn't have.
"Don't… tell… Joel…"
She blacked out after that.
By the time Ellie woke up, she was somewhat drooling and leaning against something, no, rather someone's shoulder. She blinked a few times before regaining her senses and once she did, her eyes snapped open. She was leaning, and drooling, on Dina's shoulder. She jumped back so fast that her neck and spine cracked.
"Ow— fuck."
Dina's eyes widened as she reached over to support Elie. "Woah, watch it there. You just got patched up."
Ellie quickly swallowed before clearing her throat and wiping her mouth. She then observed her surroundings before asking. "Where's Jesse?"
"Handling paperwork," Dina responded with a shrug as she eyed Ellie cautiously. She then sighed before adding, "How are you feeling?"
As Ellie tried straightening herself, she suppressed a pained groan before huffing, "Like shit."
That made Dina snort. "Hm, I wonder why?"
Sighing at that, Ellie shifted in place before finally taking in her battered body. Her leg was in a fucking cast and she had bandages wrapped around her body here and there. She then eyed Dina before shying away. "How bad is it?"
Dina spared her a glance before answering. "The worst injury is your leg. It's fractured but other than that, just some bruises and whatnot."
"I see…" Ellie picked at her sweater, which was somewhat bloody, before asking again. "Does um… Joel know?"
An eyebrow went up before Dina laughed at her. "About the fight or that you got your ass handed to you?"
Ellie scoffed. "I did not get my ass handed to me!" She argued back before adding, "I'll have you know, they got their asses handed to them. By a girl." She then hmphed before crossing her arms."
Dina chuckled again before shooting her a teasing look. "Sure you did. Sure you did." However, before Ellie could retort, she cut her off. "By the way, me and Jesse and a few other friends are going to this cabin for winter break instead of going back to Jackson."
Her nose immediately scrunched. "Uhuh…"
"And, we were going to ask you later but now that we got you here and can't avoid us, you're invited."
An eyebrow twitched. "Oh, well I—"
"And, if you don't come with us to the cabin, I'm going to tell Joel you got into a fight and went to the ER for a fractured leg."
Ellie gasped in offense. "You wouldn't." She mentally cursed herself for thinking how cute Dina looked when she gave her that look.
"Hey, either you come with us for winter break or your phone will be ringing left and right with calls and texts you wished were from me or Jess." Dina had this smug look on her face that told Ellie that she knew that she had won.
She still couldn't help but scoff despite knowing her damned answer. "Are you… threatening me?"
Her shit-eating grin only grew. "I'm willing to compromise a little only if you tell me the reason why you got into a fight in the first place."
There was absolutely no way in hell Ellie was about to confess that she got into a fight because some asshole called Dina a whore. Her eyebrows furrowed because just thinking about that piece of shit made her furious. Who was he to say that? Albeit Ellie wasn't exactly close with Dina but she knew that she wasn't some whore!
A deep sigh left Ellie's lips. "Fine. I'll go."
Dina gave her the sexiest smirk out there. "Wise choice."
And just like that, about a week later, Ellie found herself stuck in Jesse's car as the three of them headed up to the mountains to some cabin. The others were taking another car to head up there so she was stuck with these two. Fun. Of course, it didn't help her that they tried their best to bring her into the conversation but Ellie ignored them by listening to music and doodling. She knew it was rude but they should have also known that she didn't want to come so, it was fair game however the ride ended up unexpectedly longer than Ellie thought.
It wasn't until an hour in that her point of interest changed. She went from sketching trees and mountains to sketching what was directly in front of her, Dina. Her fucking gay ass started sketching Dina because who else was she going to sketch right? Ellie couldn't help it. Her eyes were naturally drawn to Dina and before she knew it, by the time they arrived at their destination, several pages from her sketchbook were filled with drawings of Dina. She slammed it shut the moment the car was put into park and Dina turned around to speak.
"Looks like we're finally here."
"I guess." Ellie shoved her sketchbook into her bag before finally taking a look at the cabin. When she did, her eyes popped open. "Wihat the fuck? That's huge."
Dina got out first before opening Ellie's door. When they made eye contact, she gave her a playful bow. "After you."
Sighing at that, Ellie turned away to look at the car in the distance, ignoring how cute Dina was. She immediately frowned when she saw the number of people who were taking luggage in and out of the SUV.
"I thought you said it was just us and a handful of other people?" Ellie questioned before ignoring that Dina offered her a hand and 'gracefully' hopped out the door.
"It is a handful," Jesse answered as he opened the trunk and began unloading their car.
Doing a quick mental count, Ellie loosely counted the number of people before scowling. "Yeah, if you two fucking hands." She then stared at the group again before seeing one of the guys wave at them. She immediately turned away before spitting out, "How'd they even get everyone in that car? What are they, some clown show?"
Dina snorted before turning away and walking past Jesse to grab the cooler out of the trunk. Meanwhile, Jesse shot her a look before half-scolding. "Hey, play nice. They're good friends, nothing to worry about."
"You mean your friends." Ellie quickly shot before with an annoyed face.
Jesse dropped the case of beer back down into the trunk before staring at Ellie.
Ellie couldn't read his face that well but she did know that she was in the wrong. Eventually, she couldn't hold eye contact anymore before turning away. "You don't need me for this." She then started limping away toward the cabin, not without hearing Jesse's sigh.
The two of them may have lowered their voices but Ellie still heard them.
"This was a mistake Dee, I told you we shouldn't have pushed her."
Dina just scoffed lightly. "We promised Joel that we'd play nice with her. Besides, Ellie's…"
Unable to stand the sound of their voices, Ellie shoved her earbuds into her ears. Of course, Joel was fucking behind this like everything else in her life. Dina and Jesse didn't really want to be friends with her. They were just going along with others' promises or whatever the fuck they had planned out for her. It was a waste of their time. They should know better.
Ellie knew better.
She knew that people wouldn't want to befriend her in the first place so what was the point? This was a fucking bust and a waste of time. In her terms of record speed, she made it to the porch in decent time with that stupid clunky boot on her foot however when she did, she almost ran into someone who was just leaving. She forced herself to stop but thanks to her stupid leg, she fell backward.
"Fuck—"
"Oh shit—" That same person who she almost ran into reached out and caught her. "You good?"
Ellie's jaw clenched and she ignored the sharp pain shooting down her leg before making eye contact with who helped her and hell, she was fucking buff. Her mouth opened as this beefy gal pulled her upright. "Sure."
The girl with arms that could snap her in two gave her an up-and-down look.
When her eyes fell on her leg, Ellie ended up rolling her eyes before huffing out. "Fractured leg. A chair got smashed into it." When the girl's face narrowed, she added, "Frat party. A week ago."
"Ah." Her lips widened into an 'o' as if she remembered some detail. "So you're that girl who Mitchel's crowd."
An eyebrow twitched. Who the fuck was Mitchel? "Sure. You can say that."
This time, the beefy girl chuckled before offering her hand. "Nice, I'm Abby by the way."
Ellie breathed out a huff before reluctantly shaking her hand. "Ellie."
"Hey, Abby! Can you help me with this?" A voice called out close to their SUV.
The two of them turned to face the source before Abby released her hand. When she made eye contact with Ellie, she just shrugged. "Make yourself a home I guess." With that last statement, she made her way over to their car.
Ellie watched her walk off until Dina caught up to her with the cooler.
"Hey," Dina quickly greeted in a bubbly voice as she heaved the cooler onto the porch. "I see you met Abby."
Her green eyes trailed back to Abby for a second before she looked at Dina. Her mouth opened to say something but she didn't have to heart to so she turned away with her head hung low. She didn't want to see Dina's disappointed face. By the time everyone brought everything inside, Ellie was faced with a shit ton of new faces. Ones that were all eyes on her.
Jesse was the first to break the awkward silence. He cleared his throat before starting. "Everyone, this is Ellie. Ellie," he then gestured his arm outward. "Starting from the right, Nora, Abby, Owen, Mel, Jordan, Leah, Yara, and Lev."
Most of them waved accordingly and Ellie just nodded her head by the end of it. She could feel the silence oozing from everyone's pores and Dina somehow saved them all by clapping her hands together.
"Okay, now that we're all acquainted, I'm going to go crank on the generator." She then eyed Ellie, "Come with me?"
As much as Ellie wanted to say no, she wasn't going to reject her helping hand if that was what it was. "Sure."
"Right." Dina shot them all a curt smile before grabbing Ellie's hand. "We'll be back."
Dina gently pulled her away from the crowd and once they were outside, Ellie looked down to see that Dina was still holding her hand. She awkwardly didn't have the heart to pull away so she ignored it before striking up a reluctant conversation.
"You shouldn't have invited me."
That made Dina pause before she dropped Ellie's hand. "Oh, Ellie…"
"You saw how awkward everyone was."
She just sighed with a pitiful frown. "They just need to warm up to you that's all."
Ellie shook her head. "Not with me."
"Hey…" She started with a soft voice. "El, you gotta stop doing that to yourself."
"Do what?"
"That." Dina gestured at her as if that answered her question. "You're more than this."
Her face immediately scrunched. "And what do you know about me huh?" Ellie snapped as she awkwardly took a step closer to Dina. "What do you know about me?"
Her face was right up against Dina's and by chance, Dina took a step back but when she did, her foot sank into the wooden deck. "Oh shit—"
Ellie's eyes snapped open as her reflexes got the best of her. She reached out, trying to grab Dina's arm to stop her fall only to wince in pain thanks to her broken foot and rammed right into Dina. "Fuck—"
They both slammed onto the floor but what surprised them both was when their lips smashed into each other. Dina's eyes widened and she froze completely since Ellie had her pinned on the ground. When Ellie finally opened her eyes, she gasped when she saw Dina's face an inch away from hers before quickly pulling back. The moment she did, their lips parted with a wet pop. Ellie was the first to speak.
"Shit— fuck sorry—"
Ignoring her burning cheeks, Ellie tried pulling back but the moment she did, her leg got twisted into a bad position. She immediately yelped in pain before falling back down. Her fucking reflexes kicked in again to stop her face from smacking Dina's and she brought her hands up to brace her fall. Thankfully, she managed to stop their heads from colliding but when she noticed Dina cock an eyebrow as she glanced down, Ellie did the same. Her eyes followed Dina's and when she saw what Dina was seeing, her jaw dropped.
Her hands were fucking groping Dina's breasts.
"Fuck!"
Ellie twitched backward and her movement shifted Dina's body. She must have been in a bad position herself because the moment Ellie moved, Dina hissed in pain.
"Ow—fuck Ellie!"
"Shit—"
Ellie immediately froze in fear of hurting Dina but that only made her leg slip forward, right into Dina's crotch. Her thigh immediately rammed into her core and her body was even more flush against Dina's at this point. Right when Ellie was about to shift again, Dina immediately snapped her hand upward, stopping and grabbing Ellie by her shoulder.
"ELLIE! Stop. Moving. Around."
"But—"
Dina hissed at her again. "Relax, breathe in…" She waited a second for Ellie to do as she was told before continuing, "And out…" They repeated a few times before Dina finally asked, ignoring their compromising position. "Are you okay? Is your leg in any pain?" She flashed her a worried look and that almost made Ellie combust on the spot.
"Uh—" Ellie cleared her throat in an attempt to focus on anything else that wasn't how warm Dina's body felt against hers. "Y-Yeah? No— yes, no?"
Rolling her eyes, Dina lightly punched her arm. "Is that a yes or no?"
Ellie was still trying to process that she had Dina pinned to the floor and that her leg was right up Dina's crotch. "Uh… yes…?" When Dina shot her a look she winced in pain. "Ow— okay fuck. Maybe not?"
Dina sighed at that. "Come on dingus," she then patted her arm before awkwardly maneuvering them around.
They managed to get upright and untangle each other from their limbs before Dina stood up first. She then offered Ellie a hand and pulled her up. "How's your leg?"
When Ellie tried putting weight onto her leg, it gave out on her from the pain. "Fuck!" She limped and Dina quickly caught her.
"Here, come on, let's get you seated." Dina pulled Ellie's arm over her shoulder before helping over to the railing.
Ellie winced the entire way before once she was settled on the handrail, Dina squatted without hesitation to look at her leg. She gently touched her leg before lightly running her hand down the cast boot. Her eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration and Ellie's breath hitched. Dina was breathtaking which made Ellie suddenly very self-conscious when she remembered the sensation of her lips against her own. They were incredibly soft and her face burned at the thought.
"Well, I ain't no doctor but it looks fine." Dina looked up and Ellie immediately turned her head away.
"I mean, my leg is in a cast." Ellie shot back as her eyes flickered down for a second, noticing how cute Dina looked since her hair was out of place, before looking away again.
Dina sighed. "Let me know if the pain gets any worse. We'll have to drive you back to get it checked out…"
What? "No!" That came out more aggressive than she intended. When Dina shot her a look, Ellie cleared her throat. "I'm fine, we don't have to do that. I just need to chill for a second and I'll be good."
"..." Dina held this look before huffing. She then stood up before looking Ellie straight in the eyes. "Promise me you'll let me know?"
God, Ellie had a hard time holding eye contact. "Yeah. Sure."
Dina let out another sigh before turning around. "Wait here, I'll go start the generator."
"Sure, sounds good." Her voice may or may not have squeaked a little. Once Dina was a few steps away, Ellie rubbed her face in disbelief before mumbling to herself in a whisper. "Fuck… I did not just fucking kiss Dina…" Her face burned again as she touched her lips. She ran her fingers across it before quickly shaking her head and fanning her face.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Dina to come back and when she saw Ellie's face, worried washed over it. "Ellie? Are you okay?" Within seconds, she was brushing the back of her hand against Ellie's forehead.
Ellie was quick to slap away her hand. "I—" When she saw the hurt look on Dina's face, she flinched. "I'm fine. Let's just hurry up before they start wondering what's taking us so long." Without waiting for an answer, she started making her way back to the cabin.
Dina wasn't convinced and sighed before following after her. Once they were back inside, Jesse was quick to speak.
"Good timing, we were just deciding who's rooming with who."
Wait what? Ellie froze, she must have heard wrong.
Letting out a breath, Dina held out her hand to grab the key from Jesse. "Which room are we?"
'We?' No no no. She must have heard wrong. There was no way Ellie was going to—
"The second door on the right." Jesse confirmed before adding, "I already lugged up your and Ellie's luggage for ya."
"Thanks," Dina took the key before nodding her head upstairs as she looked at Ellie. "You comin'?"
Ellie was still processing what was happening. From what they had just said, that would mean that Ellie was going to be staying in the same room as Dina for this trip meaning she would head to be alone with her when they slept together. For a whole fucking three days.
Alone.
With Dina.
She was fucked.
"Come on Ellie, we should unpack our stuff. They can handle unpacking the food and supplies. I'll help you dress your wounds."
"Wha— I don't need—"
Dina gave her this look that made her somehow look hot as she pointed at her shoulder. When Ellie didn't follow her finger, Dina rolled her eyes and wiggled her finger downward. That's when Ellie sighed before looking down, there was red bleeding through her white T-shirt. Her eyes widened before she jumped back.
"Oh shit—"
"Yeah." Dina finally closed their gap and pulled Ellie toward their room.
"Wait, you're bleeding? What happened?" Jesse exclaimed as he a step toward her. He tried reaching out to Ellie but she was quick to brush him away.
"I'm fine."
Taking the hint, Dina's lips flattened before she ushered Ellie forward. "We're fine. There was a fucking hole in the floor in the back so we kinda fell through."
"Wait what? There's a hole?"
"Yeah, so it'd be nice if one of you boys could fix it."
Jordan, or so Ellie thought, raised his hand as tribute. "I got it."
"I'll come with you!" Some girl, who may have been Leah(?), said before dropping what she was doing and following after him.
"Oh brother," one of the girls said before rolling her eyes and picking up what Leah(?) put down. "Don't go frisking it up out there now."
Ellie made a face but she didn't see who that may have been since Dina helped her up the stupid stairs. After a moment, they were in their rooms and Dina unlocked their door before holding it open for Ellie.
"You alright?" Dina asked again before unbuttoning her jacket.
When Dina started shrugging it off her shoulders, Ellie turned away. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Dina took a breath as if she couldn't believe her ears before rolling her eyes. "I don't know, let's see…" She set down her jacket, leaving her in a snug T-shirt that showed off her curves all in a sinful way, before playfully noting, "I'm not the one that bled through my shirt?"
Grunting at that, Ellie limped over before sitting down on the bed. Her shoulder was one thing but her leg was the one that was throbbing and aching the most.
"Come here," Dina walked over and stood in front of Ellie before raising her hands. "Take it off."
"What?"
"Don't 'what' me Ellie, your shoulder. It's fucking bleeding." She then propped her hand on her hip before shooting her a hardened look. "Either you start taking your shirt off or I'll rip it off for you."
Fucking hell. Ellie sighed before giving in. "Fine."
"Good." She turned around before walking over to her bag to grab a first aid kit. By the time she was back in front of Ellie, she snorted as she watched her struggle to strip before reaching forward. "Here, let me help you."
"I'm fine." She winced before feeling like a helpless newborn when Dina carefully pulled her hoodie past her head. Once that was off, Dina reached down to lift her shirt but Ellie quickly grabbed her wrist before glaring at her.
In return, Dina rolled her eyes. "Calm down, I'm not trying to fuck you when you got a broken leg."
"Wha—"
Ellie's face heated up before she huffed when Dina pulled her shirt off. Okay. Now she was topless, excluding her sports bra, in front of Dina. Great. Everything's going great. Ellie could've sworn that Dina checked her out for a second before it was probably her imagination since she quickly started undoing her bandage. Sure enough, she was carefully tending to her wound with a concentrated face. As she did so, Ellie took this opportunity to observe Dina close up.
She looked more breathtaking than ever.
Her skin was lightly dusted with freckles, more than she thought from afar. Her baby hairs were more curly than most of her wavy hair. Her eyebrows were nice and full and her nose was just so fucking cute. And her lips. Her lips looked incredibly plump and warm and soft and… Ellie swallowed.
"You're staring."
"What— no I'm not!"
Dina shot her a shit-eating grin. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."
"I'm not—" Forcing herself to stop, Ellie took a deep breath through her nose. She then noticed that Dina was done treating her so she stood up, making Dina fall back, before making her way to her bag. She then angrily opened her bag before pulling out a random T-shirt. She grabbed a black one before awkwardly putting it on. "Why do you…"
Tilting her head to the side, Dina looked at her expectantly. "What was that?"
It took a second but once Ellie put on her shirt, her eyes lowered down at the flower. "Why do you try?"
"What do you mean?"
"Trying to be friendly." Ellie turned to face Dina. "Why do you keep trying? I'm not exactly the friendliest and I've been brushing you off since we were teens."
That brought a chuckle out of Dina's lips before she answered as if it was the most obvious thing out there. "Can't I want to be your friend?"
"But why?" Her nose scrunched. "I've been an ass to you our entire relationship or whatever you want to call it."
"Oh, so you're aware?"
Ellie immediately scoffed at that. "Shut up."
Dina grinned before tossing her a bone. "Because… I think you're worth it."
"The fuck does that mean?"
"As I said, I think you're worth it. I think you're worth my time and effort. Besides, I know a lot more about you than you think Ellie." There was something about Dina's tone that made her sound so confident and sure of herself that Ellie tensed.
Scoffing at her statement, Ellie scowled at her. "Do you now? You think you know me?"
"I do." Dina kept her head held high and unwavering. She eyed Ellie carefully before smirking at her. "I know a lot of things… like how you were sketching me in the car."
Ellie's jaw dropped.
What?
"And, for the record, I'd love to see them one day if that's okay with you. The least you can do for me since I was your free model."
"I—I don't know what you're talking about."
Dina just snorted. "Sure." She shook her head softly before nodding toward the door. "You want to grab a bite to eat? They've probably finished putting the stuff away." When Ellie didn't respond, she added, "Brought the stuff to make that favorite sandwich you like to."
Now that proclamation made Ellie distrust her. Even Joel didn't know her favorite combination so how would Dina know?
"You don't know my—"
"Chunky peanut butter, butter, honey, and dark hazelnut spread." Ellie's eyebrow twitched and her mouth opened before Dina cut her off. "With thick toast of course."
Ellie was dumbstruck to silence. How the fuck did she know? The chunky peanut butter and dark hazelnut spread were one thing but the butter, honey, and thick toast? How did she know? When she finally recovered from her shock, she eyed Dina suspiciously.
"What are you… my stalker?"
She just shrugged innocently. "I wouldn't say that." Wow, talk about smug. "Anyways, let's hurry on down before they devour all the fresh food. We brought enough to last but you never know."
Ellie still wanted to protest but after sitting in a car for a few hours, her stomach was throwing a protest. "Fine." She sighed heavily before dragging her leg across the room.
"Atta girl."
Dina held the door open for her but what really killed it for Ellie was that Dina had been the one to make her sandwich so, not only was it favorite, it was made by her. By her. By fucking Dina and for some reason, that tickled something inside of Ellie.
She hated that she had a damn crush on a straight girl.
Thankfully, the first night she spent at this cabin was bearable. She somewhat learned people's names so she was capable of placing a name with the right face. She also learned that there were too many fucking exes and people dating in this group. Including Dina.
Dina and Jesse had been dating on and off for a while but from what Ellie gathered, they'd probably get back together soon even if they claimed it was 'officially' over.
Abby and Owen had dated apparently as well but had a mutual breakup a few months ago. The real odd part was that Owen and Mel were dating now so that was kind of awkward. Ellie had a suspicion that Abby probably still liked Owen because she had caught her staring at him a few times.
The only couple that was fine and not weird was Jordan and Leah but they had started dating about a month ago so that explained why there wasn't trouble in paradise. Yet. They were still in their grossly cute and open PDA phase. It only made Ellie a little uncomfortable but for the most of it, the whole group didn't seem to mind that Ellie often went on her own and didn't her own things.
In fact, most of her time there was spent avoiding Dina, who obviously hung out with everyone else for most of it, by doing random boring things such as nature and animal observation and sketching. She found the best spot ever and she had to admit, being in the forest away from the city was nice. A nice change in tempo really. She was tired of avoiding and interacting with people.
College was draining.
It wasn't something she was fully gung ho about even if she had grown to like her classes. Night two was another fiasco. Ellie had just freshened up in the bathroom and came back to her room to a freshly showered Dina. A fucking freshly showered Dina. Ellie's jaw never dropped so fast.
"Oh hey loser, what took you so long?" Dina teased as she was in the middle of brushing out her wet hair.
Ellie gulped hard. "What's her face was in the bathroom." When Dina shot her a look, Ellie clarified. "Abby."
"Ah. She does take a while, she probably checks herself out in the mirror, to be honest." When Ellie snorted, Dina smiled. "So, where have you been disappearing to during the day?"
"What do you mean?" Ellie innocently asked as she propped herself onto her bed.
Dina's eye roll was starting to grow on Ellie. "Don't play dumb, you know what I mean. You got a fractured leg for god's sake so where do you disappear off to?"
Ah. Her so-called 'disappearance' was a skill that Ellie had honed over the years of being a loner. It wasn't difficult for her to sneak away without being unnoticed even at a cabin located in the middle of the woods with a decent number of people. She had her ways.
"Nowhere. How would you know I wasn't chilling in our room?"
"Cause I was looking for you dingus."
Ellie froze. Dina was looking for her. Dina. Looking for her. "And why would you do that?"
Dina ended up staring at her in silence. After a moment she mumbled something trust Ellie could have sworn was "You really don't know?" Before her face leveled out. She then smiled before leaning back on her bed as if she was seductively teasing her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Scoffing at that, Ellie rolled her eyes. "That's why I asked."
"Mmh, well, too bad. I'm not telling 'cause you're such a dunce."
"Wha— you're impossible."
"Hey, it's only fair. You won't tell me where you've been so I won't tell you why."
"That's—" Well, fuck. She had a point. Ellie grumbled a bit before mumbling, "Whatever…"
Dina giggled before shooting her this playful look. "I will find you tomorrow."
That made Ellie snort. "Sure you will."
"Is that a challenge I hear?"
"Maybe."
Dina only shook her head softly before boosting in a confident voice. "You're on then and when I find you, I want a reward."
"A reward? What for?"
"For being the best friend out there."
"You're ridiculous."
"Have you met you?"
For whatever reason, Ellie felt like she lost their so-called argument. She ended up grabbing her blanket before sliding under it. "Whatever."
"Good night Ellie." Dina practically sang in a light tune.
Ellie just grumbled. "Night."
As promised, the next morning came and well, as expected, Ellie disappeared in the woods without anyone noticing her departure. As she approached her spot, she took a seat before pulling out a little something special from her bag. Weed. She wasn't planning to outright use it but still brought it with her just in case her mood went south. Luckily… she didn't need to resort to such needs but she had brought it anyway. It was her last night here. Might as well, right?
Pursing her lips, Ellie looked left and right before checking the flow of the wind. She made sure it wasn't blowing in the direction of the cabin before pulling out her lighter. She then flicked the flint before lighting her join. After that, she took a deep puff before blowing out a long breath. A soft sigh left her lips as she leaned back on this bench. Her leg was stiff as usual but at least there happened to be a small bolder in front of her so that she could rest her leg on.
In the first place, it was by chance she found this spot on one of the mountain trails, a small resting area down a small hill with a nice view of the mountains and horizon. It was out of the way and a place easy to miss if you didn't keep your eyes open so the perfect place to hide. There was no way Dina would be able to find her so she smoked more of her joint in peace before closing her eyes. She enjoyed the serenity for an unknown amount of time before someone made her jump.
"I told you I'd find you." A voice called out in a smug tone.
"Oh shit—" Ellie flinched before turning her head around. "You fucking scared me."
Of course, it was Dina.
Dina shot her this cocky look as she walked over and made herself at home, sitting right next to Ellie as if she had been there since the beginning. "So this is where you've been hiding?" She then set down this six-pack of beer on the bench.
Ellie moved away her hand that was holding the joint out of reflex. She then turned away and blew out a small puff before facing Dina in disbelief. "How'd you find me?"
She just shrugged. "I have my ways." She then eyed Ellie before noting, "Is that weed?"
That made her twitch. "Uh…"
"And here I thought we were friends." Dina shot her an offended look before holding out her hand. When Ellie didn't take the cue and just shot her a confessed look, she expanded. "Sharing is caring."
"Oh—" Clearing her throat, Ellie handed Dina her half-smoked joint.
Dina smiled before taking it and inhaling a deep whiff, all while holding eye contact with her. Something about her eyes made Ellie uneasy because it made her think that Dina was flirting with her but there was no way that was possible. Right? Either way, Dina looked ridiculously breathtaking for no reason.
Eventually, Dina then breathed out before smiling at her. "How'd you find this place?"
"Mmh?" Ellie missed whatever she said because she was lost in taking in how cute her freckles looked.
Rolling her eyes playfully, Dina shot her a look. "I said, how'd you find this place?"
"Mmh…" Ellie turned away to pull herself together. She then smiled before responding, "With a bit of luck and skill."
"That so?"
"Mmhmmm."
Dina could help but smile again before passing back the joint. Once Ellie grabbed it, she finally addressed her six-pack of beer. "Want some?"
Ellie hesitated smoking the joint but the thought of sharing an indirect kiss with Dina won so she took a puff before replying. "Sure."
Grinning in victory, Dina grabbed one and opened it before passing to Ellie. After it was in her hand, she did the same and cracked one open for herself. She took a sip before looking out at the view. "This sure is nice."
Following in Dina's steps, Ellie took a sip of her beer too. "It is." Her eyes then trailed off to Dina's side profile and she observed her in awe before her eyes fell down to her lips. She then swallowed before drinking more of her beer and turning away when Dina looked her way.
"Say, I meant to ask you…" Ellie looked back her way and when she saw Dina's hesitation she nodded for her to continue. Dina smiled in return before continuing, "Why do you… push people away?"
Oh. Well that wasn't a question Ellie was expecting. She looked forward, playing with the can's tab before looking off in the distance. She knew the reason. She just hadn't said it out loud before but the way Dina was looking at her made something inside of her… give in.
"I just…" She sighed, "It's a force of habit."
"A habit?"
"Yeah, a habit. As you know…" She looked back at Dina, "Joel's not my biological dad." She paused for a second and continued when Dina gave her a nod. "And well, being an orphan in the system really sucked ass. I never stayed in one place for too long and it was hard making friends because when I did, I'd be relocated."
"Oh…" Ellie could see Dina's brain ticking and thankfully, she said it out loud for her. "So you're… afraid of getting close and then losing a friend?"
Ellie turned away. "I guess. Joel's the first one to keep me for so long. I still haven't gotten used to this whole… 'security thing' so friends are the last thing on my mind when I can barely wrap my head around the idea of 'family' or whatever the hell that is."
Dina hummed thoughtfully before pulling her eyes away from Ellie. She watched as a few birds flew by before commenting, "That makes sense I guess."
They ended up sitting in silence, drinking the beer that Dina brought. It wasn't until Ellie was basically three cans in, buzzed and high as fuck that she had the nerve to scratch the itch that was tickling the back of her head. She was holding onto her last joint between her fingers when she turned to face Dina. She then took a deep breath before nervously asking.
"Say, Dina…?"
Dina was pretty much equally buzzed and high as fuck as Ellie. "Hmm?"
"About earlier…" She paused for a second before noting it was technically earlier. "When we first arrived."
"Mmhmm?" Dina hummed again before turning to face Ellie.
"About when I uh… well, fell on you." She was barely even looking at Dina as she spoke but still couldn't help but turn away even more as she scratched her chin with her finger. "Sorry about that and the um… well… k-kiss."
Dina slowly blinked a few times as if she was processing Ellie's words before she snorted and laughed. "Ellie, that was sooooo not a kiss." She started snickering to herself again as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had heard.
Ellie scoffed at that. "It was." She insisted before stopping herself from spilling a secret by biting her lip. It was her first kiss.
Shooting her this look, Dina looked at her as if she had been challenged. Her eyes then flickered down to Ellie's lips before she looked back up at her eyes. "Ellie… that was not a kiss." She proclaimed with much oompfh.
"Uh, yes it was." Ellie insisted again.
"No it wasn't, it was hardly a peck on the lips El."
"Is that not what a kiss is?"
Dina rolled her eyes. "That's not the point."
Her response made Ellie roll her eyes. "You're making no sense."
"Stop being such a baby, don't tell me you've never kissed someone before." When Ellie didn't respond, Dina's eyes widened. "Oh shit, no way. Don't tell me I was…"
Ellie only cleared her throat before avoiding all eye contact. "Oh shut up."
"Oh Ellie…"
Great. Now she sounded pitiful.
"It's nothing Dina. Like you said, not a big deal."
Dina sighed. "That is not a good first kiss." She then inched a little closer to Ellie before expanding. "Like, our teeth fucking clattered."
Snorting at that, Ellie had to agree. "It did, I cut into my lip a little actually."
For some reason, Dina inched even closer to the point their legs were brushing against one another. "Well now you're making me feel bad." She eyed Ellie cautiously before daring, "I can… show you what a real one is like."
Ellie immediately scrunched her eyebrows. "What? How would you—" her eyes widened when she finally registered what Dina was implying. "Oh."
Dina just shrugged as she eyed Ellie's lips. "Only if you want of course."
"I uh…" Ellie couldn't help but eye Dina's lips as her heart began thundering in her chest. This was a bad idea but why did she want to say yes? She eventually gulped before nodding bashfully as her eyes wandered around. "S-Sure… why not?"
"Yeah?"
Ellie cleared her throat again. "Yeah."
Breathing out a soft breath, Dina started leaning in closer. Once she was a few inches away from Ellie's face, she reached up and cupped her cheek to turn Ellie her way. Now that they were properly facing each other, Dina eyed Ellie's lips before slowly leaning in. The entire time she did, Ellie felt her face burn as she bashfully observed Dina's face. Sure enough, Dina closed her eyes before pressing a soft kiss on her lips.
It only lasted a second but thankfully, Dina parted her lips before closing the gap again. They started kissing each other more passionately and Ellie found herself kissing Dina back. Their lips molded against each other and the more they kissed, the more heated and sloppy it grew. Ellie lost her breath and when Dina pulled back, their lips parted with a wet pop.
Dina rubbed Ellie's cheek with her thumb before running her hand down her neck. That left a trail of goosebumps in its wake and Dina eyed Ellie again carefully before closing their gap. This time, she pecked Ellie once before parting her lips and gently nibbling on her upper lip. She sucked ong it lightly before kissing Ellie in an open mouthed kiss.
Ellie let out her first unintentionally moan before pressing herself up against Dina. Their kisses were growing more feverish by the second and eventually, Ellie parted her lips. When she did, she felt Dina's tongue swipe against her lips. It surprised her at first but then she found herself opening her mouth and sucking her tongue. She was rewarded by a somewhat erotic moan from Dina before they got lost in a wet kiss. Ellie could taste the alcohol in her mouth that it mildly reminded her that they were both drunk and high as shit.
If it wasn't for that, there was no way that Dina would be kissing her like this. However, what shattered Ellie's illusion was when someone started calling out to them and by someone, of all the people it could have been, it was Jesse. Dina's fucking ex who she had been kissing.
"Dina? Ellie? Are you there?" Jesse called out a little too close to home.
Dina was the first to pull away with a wet pop. She then let go of Ellie's neck before turning around to respond. "Down here Jesse!"
Oh fuck. Ellie quickly turned away to fan her face. She then scooched away a few inches before covering her lips, not believing what they had done.
"Oh, there you are." Jesse responded the moment he was at the top of the ledge. " I was searching all over for you two. Abby and the others were wondering if you wanted to join the last barbeque. They're whipping out the ribeyes so it'll be the best one yet."
"Yeah sure, we'll be up in a sec then."
Jesse scrunched his nose when he noticed something. "Did you two finish that six-pack? More like, do I smell weed?"
Dina just chuckled with a shit eating grin. "Wouldn't you like to know."
He just rolled his eyes. "Whatever, be grateful I searched for you two instead of letting it go so hurry up.
Dina rolled her eyes before playfully saluting at him. "Yes sir!"
He groaned while shaking his head before walking off. Once he was out of sight, Dina turned and patted Ellie's leg. "Come on, let's go before they eat all the good stuff." She stood up first before gathering their trash.
Ellie was still in la la land, hung up on the fact that she kissed Dina, no, that Dina kissed her and how amazing it felt. How soft her lips felt against hers and how she kissed her in an proactive way. Her thoughts were running a cloud nine when Dina's voice finally brought her down from heaven.
"Ellie, you coming?"
She finally snapped out of her daze. "Y-Yeah. Coming." Ellie did her best to ignore how that kiss made her feel before getting up and limping her way back to the cabin. Next to Dina. When they made eye contact for the first time after getting interrupted by Jesse, Ellie blushed. She didn't know what that look Dina was giving her meant so what was she supposed to do?
What's the next step?