Happy Endings

17. time

"I'll search for what's in front of me and hope that I find something new."

☼

"Tell me something I don't know about you."

Her voice was soft and calm, something Kellin didn't understand possible given the circumstances. She was looking at him with her sleepy gaze, laying on her hospital bed, tubes on her wrist, the machine those were connected to beeping steadily.

Kellin closed the book he was reading and looked back at Ellie. The high bun she had put her hair in was starting to fall to the side, the shadows under her eyes a bit more prominent, and her cheeks just the tiniest bit rose. He noticed her chapped lips the most, though. So that's why he quickly got up and picked up the glass of water from the bedside table.

"I thought you were sleeping," he said as Ellie sat up so she could drink up. She did slowly, gulping and taking slow breaths. She squeezed his forearm gratefully.

"You didn't answer my question," she said next, laying back down on her fluffy pillows, and shooting him a daring look.

Kellin didn't know how that was relevant right now. "You should've told me you woke up."

Ellie shrugged. "I like watching you read. You get this crease here," she raised a finger to tap the spot between his eyebrows and smiled. Kellin couldn't help smiling too. "It's cute."

"You're cute," Kellin teased back, trying to hide a slight blush.

Ellie shook her head, "yeah, right. These are hot." She held up her wrist, signaling her IV tubing.

"Hottest thing I've ever seen," Kellin agreed with a grin of his own.

"Shut up," Ellie let out a laugh which provoked a fit of coughing. Kellin offered another drink of water, rubbing up her back as it calmed down.

"So..." She cleared her throat and looked at him again, smiling apologetically even though she didn't need to, evening her breathing and getting some tissues.

"So..." Kellin wondered while he helped her clean up.

Ellie rolled her eyes playfully. "Humor me, love of my life."

Kellin couldn't help feeling like lighting struck inside him anytime Ellie called him that. He was never going to get tired of it. Or stop getting caught by surprise when she said it out of nowhere. He wasn't sure what to reply with but still, he narrowed his eyes and pretended to be deep in thought.

"You already know everything about me," he said after a while.

Ellie hummed and turned to her side, so she was completely facing him. It took everything in Kellin not to climb up that bed and lay by her side. The doctors advised against it a while back which was stupid and frustrating and quite honestly, unfair. They didn't know what they took away from him at all.

"I'll tell you something about me then," she said, still looking into his eyes. She only looked away when she started to think about what secret to reveal. "When I was around 16, maybe 15, my mom signed me up for figure skating lessons."