invisible string

three.

eyes widening, you quickly forced your phone out of your pocket to check the time.

in an hour.

"actually, i'm all done for the day!" you lied, plastering a smile onto your face.

ellie hummed, content.

"wanna take our notes and see if we can manage to find something edible at the dining hall?" ellie proposed, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows.

yes.

"sure," you agreed, brushing hair out of your face. a nervous habit.

the tell might've been easy, but ellie wasn't fazed.

"alright," she wound up, holding her arm out to gesture you to lead the way.

the way ellie fell in step with you made you smile, and your cheeks burned so much you could've been mistaken for having a fever.

the dining hall in question wasn't far, but you secretly hoped for a longer paced walk so you could sneak glances at the green eyed girl walking next to you.

─ ·𖥸· ── ·𖥸· 

walking with ellie on campus felt natural and comfortable. she was easy to talk to, thank god, and you could almost ignore the anxious pounding in your chest.

you looked down at your shoes a lot while you talked, or straight ahead at your pathing, missing the occasional glance from ellie.

looking at you sideways and smiling, her eyes refocused elsewhere when you raised your head.

while ellie spoke, and you weren't worried about what to do with your body or your hands or your facial expressions, you would allow yourself to get comfortable for a moment, focusing on the warmth of her voice.

though you felt nervous about the pressure of sitting with her again, less things to be distracted by, even navigating the dining hall felt not as mundane at ellie's side.

you walked together, doing a loop around the hall when nothing looked particularly appetizing, deciding to plate up with snacks to share instead. safe foods that couldn't be botched took up the space, like fries, loose veggies from a salad bar, and little pickings from a dessert table.

you got settled at a round table, food on one side and school stuff on the other. it was intimidating to be sitting across from ellie, and you felt like you didn't know where to look.

it was strange, how it felt so easy yet so hard at the same time.

feeling like you owed it after the texting situation, your brain nagged at you to start up a conversation first. you swiped through the pockets of your bag until your fingers landed on a pen.

"so... do you... need help with notes today?"

"hm?" ellie made a sound, half distracted, before her eyes grew in realization. "oh! notes. nah, i'm all good."

you nodded, keeping a firm grip on your pen just to give your hand something to do.

"thanks though," elle quickly added, genuine but quiet.

you nodded once more, lost for words but desperately clawing at your brain to try to come up with something natural. to fill the silence you tried something from the plate of food just as ellie began to speak once more.

"what are you gonna do after college?" she quipped.

"next question," you immediately denied, earning a short laugh from ellie.