We're young and naive,
and your telling me that some day we will run off together,
i'm starting to think,
i'm stuck in a dream,
cause we're young and we don't know better
Couple of kids - Maggie Lindemann
(Anything in italics that isn't song lyrics are memories)
The Shelby's and the O'Connells were tight knit family friends, were you found a Shelby an O'Connell wouldn't be far behind. Both being peaky blinder families their children were brought up the same way tough and ,for the most part, very smart.So it was no surprise that their children grew up so close, especially Ella and John who had been best friends since they could talk.
As Ella got older though her and John began to hang around with the older boys which included; her brother Ryan, Tommy and Arthur all of which she loved dearly. Although Ella wasn't like most girls at the time, she tended to be rebellious not liking rules and being told what to do. Some may say she was feared by the people of Small Heath because of the boys she associated herself with some say it was because of her natural need to be heard in a world where women were told to be silent. Her outlook on love was grim, this was mainly due to her father leaving herself and her brother shortly after their mam died, leaving her to give up on the idea of love at all. Unknown to Ella ,however, one boy had been pining over her for years, the one boy who seemed to stiffen in the room when she or john spoke about her dates with other boys and seemed angry at her and everyone for days after hearing of them. Or hated seeing her upset or lonely, the boy who put everything into keeping her safe. However Ella was oblivious to Thomas's feelings even though everyone around her noticed and even pitied the boy, but they would never say it out loud. It didn't take long for Tommy to finally snap after witnessing her kiss another boy outside her door after a date; after scaring the boy of,and in between Ella's infuriated yelling, he shut her up wish a kiss which was reciprocated very quickly.
There is really nothing more to it they fell in love and no one could say they had seen a couple as happy as them, they were lost without each other but together they were a force to be reckoned with together. With her by his side he was stronger.
1914 - 6 months before the war
They had been together for a year now and were engaged - Ella had never been so in love with someone before.It was 8am ,Tommy had gotten up early to help his brothers on their busiest day. She did think it was odd that she woke up and he wasn't beside her, it had never happened before he never left without telling her. She didn't know what she would do without him he was her lifeline, her home she loved him so much it hurt, at this thought she got up with a sigh and curled her hair into elegant curls around her face, applied some lipstick, put on her dress and left to go to the market deciding she would meet up with them later that afternoon.
Later she found them at the Garrison, a sure place to find at least one of the blinder men but the air around them was as happy as it usually was, there were jokes,stories and plenty of drunk people . They sat in their private booth drinking their whiskey and exchanging laughs.
"I hope you've at least bought me a drink" she announced on her arrival, everyone looked up except Ryan which she found strange as he was usually happy to see his little sister but as she looked at him his melancholy mood seemed to get worse on her arrival. The other boys got up to greet her "what you drinking?" john asked, "its still early so give me something with tonic" she said with a huge smile, just being with these people (her family) made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. She went and sat with Tommy, who was more than happy to put his arm around her and kiss the top of her head as she did so "I've missed you" he whispered in her ear making goosebumps rise on her skin, he loved the effect he had on her "You saw me this morning" she chuckled in response "that's too long to be stuck with these lot without you" all he got in reply was a jokingly stern look. Her mood dropped as she glanced at her unusually silent brother who hadn't spared her a glance all night which was beginning to make a lump form in her throat. What she didn't know is what he was worried about was -in fact- about to blow up in his and Tommy's face.
After a couple of hours of drinking Ella leaned into Tommy to whisper "I need the loo, I will be back in a bit" Tommy nodded "Okay but hurry everyone is leaving soon,need me to come with you?" he replied, Ella just laughed "I've been going on my own for years now but thanks for the offer" he just pulled a face at her sarcasm and watched as she strutted out of the booth. Al eyes were on her as she made her way to the loo; the women wanted to be her and the men wanted her. They could look but never touch, maybe not even that if Tommy was around.
On entering the bathroom she heard the murmurings of a conversation as she walked into a stall "so was he good?" she heard a girl ask "a lady never kisses and tells Victoria" Ella laughed to herself at this - it was Lizzie Stark- and scolded herself for listening to their conversation but couldn't help but overhear the rest afterwards " Okay fine I will tell you but you've got to keep it quiet he doesn't want his girl finding out" Ella immediately felt pity for this nameless girl "okay okay, just tell my was Tommy good?" the other girl giggled. Ella later swore her heart stopped beating at that moment and hadn't started again since, she swore that it had shattered so much in her chest you couldn't even hear it beat anymore. "Let's just say i would go back to him without asking for payment" the girls squealed and Ella thought she would vomit right then and there with the bile rising in her throat. "I just feel sorry for Ella, imagine wasting all that time on a guy who didnt feel the same way" that was her breaking point she couldn't stand there and listen to it any longer. She didnt remember much about leaving her stall and arriving back at the booth, just Lizzie muttering "oh shit" at the sight of her tumbling from the door and a few trips on her way back.
As she opened the booth's doors she realised that only one soitary figure reminded, that figure being none other than the man who changed her forever. "You took a while everyone left- Elle are you okay?" he rushed the last part out at the sight of her lost look. "was she good?" was all she could reply while staring at on of the chairs like her life depended on it, Ella didnt know why she asked because she didn't want to know- in fact it would have brought her more pain than she was already feeling. "what?" Tommy asked, genuinely confused "was she worth it?" Ella continued to ask questions she didnt want the answer to. "was who worth it Ella?" Tommy was beginning to get annoyed at her lack of explanation "was she better than i was? did it make you feel alive? was she worth loosing me?" -and finally- "Was Lizzie Stark worth it?" Tommy felt the wind be knocked out of him as panic,regret and guilt filled every atom in him as he lookedd at her emotionless face, the only thing giving her away was the glazed eyes that stared back at him. A moment passed - silence- she took this as her answer "Goodbye Thomas" Ella replied as she took her silent heart with her as she left the Garrison.
Thomas Shelby stood there devastated, his heart breaking in his chest as a single tear fell from his eyes as he watched the only girl he had ever loved leave him and he knew he would never forgive himself. He loved her with all his heart and it broke it to think he had broken hers with
As she walked home in a numb daze she felt his lies come rushing back to her, to haunt her, to mock her...
"I love you Ella O'Connell and nothing will ever change that"
"Liar" she thought as the memory tore her apart in agony as she kept walking,
"When we are older" he whispered in her ear as they lay together and he played with her hair "I'm gong to marry you because your the best thing that's ever happened to me and I've never loved anyone more than i love you"
"liar" she thought still numb as she pushed her door open and entered into the house, walking upstairs and,on impulse, with nothing left to do began packing her things
"Marry me Elle"
The tears continued to stream down her face as she finished throwing things in her case. She couldn't stay here, her brother would let her stay with him she just had to find him as she hadn't seen much of him tonight and didn't know where he had gone after the Garrison as he had acted so distant from her all week, like something was wrong. But something was wrong, so completely and utterly devastating that she thought she was dying. It dawned on her then, Ryan's lack of eye contact and conversations had all been for a reason - he knew.
The betrayal doubled tenfold in her chest as she thought on the fact that the two people she loved most in this world had betrayed her.She needed to leave her and Tommy's house and Ryan was no longer an option, without him she was just excess weight to the blinders. So she took some money from the den (they would learn to live with it after what they had done to her), her clothes from the wardrobe, wrote John and Ryan a note each and left. But just before she closed the door she looked at her left hand and saw the engagement ring sat there on her ring finger, as if it didn't know what had just happened.With a sad smile she took it off, the the last reminder of him, and placed it on the table. Then she left.
Tommy didn't know how long he had been staring at the place she once stood but it must have been long enough for Harry to alert his brothers. "Tommy what are you still doing here? and where is Ella?" John asked "I don't know, she left" he replied in monotone "I'm gonna go and check on her okay" John told the others as he left to find Ella.
Once John had realized it didn't take long for him to rapidly inform everyone else, but after hours of looking there was no sign of her.
Tommy had arrived back to their house almost immediately after hearing john's news and after his rapid search and tear irking cries of her name the realization of what he had done hit him. It took him two days to notice the ring, he knew that ring represented so much to her and it truly showed him how much he broke her. At that moment he hated himself.He picked up the ring and walked out.
That was the last time anyone saw Ella.
Well that was for 4 years anyway.
Hey... so i know it has been a while and I may or may not have just changed the entire first half of the plot but I hated the original one so let me know what you think ahah.
UNEDITED