Paper Hearts

14 | worthy

[ dedicated to grammatically as a sincere thank you for reading this story. a new reader always warms my heart so thank you so much for taking the time to give this story a chance <3 ]

PAPER HEARTS | 14

Ellie's first interaction with Isla was two months into her relationship with Micah. It was the first time he'd brought her back to their apartment for dinner, but it wasn't the first time Ellie had seen her. Isla didn't remember very well, but Ellie had met her at the same Christmas party where Micah had met her, and Isla had looked radiant as ever. Aside from thinking about how much she wanted to look like her, Ellie had also thought about what a great pair her and Micah would've made.

Fire and ice, she thought. He was one to get lost in the passion of a relationship and, from the way Isla handled herself, she seemed like the type to soothe in a necessary practicality. They contrasted each other perfectly - an idealist to a realist; a fierce desire turned growing love to an admiration turned undeniable attraction.

It was by no means an awkward dinner. While Ellie hadn't felt comfortable talking to begin with, Micah, as always, was the necessary extrovert in her life. He'd eased her into conversation, and Isla had carried it from there on out, telling tales of her childish rebellions while requesting stories about Ellie's academic tribulations. They were complete opposites, as it turned out. Isla had been an idiosyncratic problem child while Ellie had been the golden girl - nonetheless, both girls had grown up to represent some semblance of the same person.

It was half hour into dinner when Micah had to leave abruptly on some office work - something along the lines of a launch failure.

While Micah had offered to drop her home, Isla had politely declined, saying she wanted to spend a little more time with Ellie and, perhaps, get to know her. It took all of Ellie's self control to keep from beaming too much. Growing up, she hadn't been one to make or have many friends. Back in the day, she'd matched Isla's alleged quirkiness, but while hers was welcomed, most thought Ellie's eccentricities were odd. No matter how much she tried to change her behaviors to appeal to others, it seemed like the other kids were always one step ahead of her, changing what they did and what they liked before she could.

Naturally, she'd grown into a shell, and she'd never learned to break out of it. The fear of being rejected stayed with her, and that kept Ellie from going out and trying to meet new people, make new friends. She waited for them to come to her, and she'd come to realize that even if they didn't come, she was going to be alright. She'd been alright without many, if any, friends since her elementary years, and she figured she'd continue to be fine for as long as she needed. But, when someone did seem like they could be an unexpected friend, she never stopped her heart from swelling.

"So," Isla started. "I don't want you to think this will be the basis of our friendship - if you choose to be friends with me, that is. I don't want to force you or anything. But I have to ask - are you and Micah just friends or do you guys have a friends with benefits thing going?"

Ellie's eyebrows rose just as her poorly chewed tomato when down the wrong pipe. Isla panicked, scrambling for water and potentially the Heimlich maneuver as Ellie simultaneously laughed and choked. "Friends, Isla," she spluttered. "We're just friends."

She laughed, falling back in her seat. "Well, now that that's cleared up..."

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Ellie asked.

"I hope your definition of movie is equivalent to a chick flick."

Ellie smiled. "I think we're gonna get along very well."