invisible string

three.

"fair enough." the corners of her mouth turned upwards and you quickly mirrored ellie's expression, not able to help it.

"what do you like to do? outside of notes and studying, obviously," you asked, studying her curiously.

your heart ached to get to know her, to genuinely know her, and after sneaking glances at her during class throughout the semester, it felt nearly surreal to be engaging in a conversation with her now.

it was somehow simultaneously nothing you could've expected, and yet everything you would've hoped for.

ellie sighed, content, but you could've sworn she almost sounded shy as she answered your question.

"play guitar," she shrugged, as if she were trying to brush it off as a passing comment instead of a point in conversation.

"no shit? that's so cool," you gushed, genuinely impressed. in response, ellie's cheeks turned pink and she quickly looked down, picking at the food. in a matter of seconds she seemed relaxed instead of tense, the color leaving her cheeks as quickly as it appeared.

"i like it," ellie gave in with a sigh. "do you play?"

you shook your head in disappointment. "i wish," you responded wistfully.

"i could show you sometime," ellie offered.

the idea alone made your head spin, and you glanced down at where her hands were resting on the table. she had calluses on her fingers, and your eyes trailed from her fingertips to her tattoo. ellie pretended not to notice, and reached over to your side of the table. you froze momentarily but she grabbed your pad of sticky notes, blue, and set them down in front of her.

"i would be... a horrible student," you laughed, shaking your head at the idea.

"come on," ellie teased, wrinkling her nose as she stole your pen.

"i would love to learn," you enthused, trying not to focus on how quickly your heart was beating. "i just don't know how much you would like me by the time the lesson was over."

"yeah, alright," ellie mused, rolling her eyes with a grin.

every time she smiled you felt like you had accomplished something, and it made you wanting to chase that reaction even more.

study materials were ignored, placed on the table as a buffer that was quickly unnecessary and unneeded. the conversation felt effortless and you were on a high. you complimented ellie's tattoo to which she complimented your name, rolling it off of her tongue and you wished desperately to live inside of that moment.

"i like it," she said earnestly.

every bold statement was countered with a falter, a slip of the mask or a sheepish smile, but always quickly recovered.

you talked about your major and why you chose it, the reasoning sounding a lot like a very complicated guessing game, and ellie hummed along to show that she was listening while she got busy doodling something with your stolen pen.

after a moment she ripped the piece with the drawing away from the rest of the pad, proudly placing it in front of you.

on the blue paper was a drawing of a little dinosaur wearing a tiny hat.

"it's a hatosaur," ellie informed you, grinning at her own creation.

"i love it." you gave it a good look before you returned it back to ellie. the smile fell from her face and you were quick to explain yourself.

"you have to sign it," you pressed, and ellie laughed in agreement.

once the cursive letters of her name were under the drawing, it was back in your possession. you reached out for the post-its and ellie quickly handed them over, along with your pen. you smiled graciously and then placed your arm around the paper as a barrier.

"don't look," you warned ellie, which resulted in her stretching her neck to get a better look. you looked up at her, bewildered, trying your best to suppress your laughter as she sunk back deep into her seat.

"man, i would totally skip my next class if i could," ellie mumbled wistfully.

you finished your doodle, signed your name in tiny letters at the bottom, and removed the note from the stack so you could present it to ellie.

"ta-da, baby snoopy," you remarked.

"oh man," ellie breathed, looking at you quickly and then back to the doodle. "look at that little guy!"

"should've been an art major," you clicked your tongue, pretending to be disappointed in yourself.

"our talents are being wasted away," ellie agreed, picking up the picture you had made and holding it in front of herself. "i'm keeping this," she informed you.

"okay," you easily agreed. "i'm keeping your... hatosaur."

ellie stretched her arm out to you, her hand dangling by your face. you panicked before you realized what was intended and quickly saved yourself, shaking ellie's hand as a deal.

dropping her grin, ellie focused in on you earnestly.

"i don't want to go to class," she confided.

"i'm so very sorry," you copied her expression and ellie tapped her hands on the table.

"shit," she muttered begrudgingly. "i better go."

you nodded in understanding, slipping the drawing that ellie had made carefully into your pocket.

"really good studying today," you joked.

ellie smirked and rolled her eyes, and your heart soared. standing and clearing the table with final words of "see you in class," you headed off in one direction while ellie left in the other.

during your walk you didn't even notice the cold, or the fact that the comings of winter meant that the sun threatened to set much earlier in the evening. ellie's drawing in your pocket kept you company.

as soon as you arrived in your room, you carefully placed it on the wall next to the previous note. ellie was now on your wall two times, which didn't even begin to represent how often she was on your mind.

─ ·𖥸· ── ·

you waited exactly thirty five minutes until you entered ellie's phone number into your phone. this time, constructing a message came naturally to you.

hey! i had fun today. i hope your class goes well!

the thought still gave you butterflies, so you launched your phone across your bed as soon as your finger hit send. immediately after you winced and lunged for your phone, quickly sending another text clarifying who you were.

your phone vibrated shortly after, and the sight of ellie's name of your screen was a welcomed one. her response made your breath catch in your throat:

Uh, how'd you get my number...?

her second text came quickly after and you sighed in relief, trying to contain all of the emotions that were threatening to burst out of you at any given moment.

Kidding. It was fun, seriously. If only I didn't have class, ughhh...

you lock your phone and then unlock it again right away, staring at her words. words she typed out and sent to you, and you suddenly felt like the luckiest person in the world. 

➽──────────────❥ 

a/n : had to steal ellie's corny dinosaur joke from the second game, ofc