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scribbledonausednapkin · 1 year

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7-Eleven (Ellie x Riley)

Summary: Little story about Ellie and Riley’s trip to 7-Eleven and how Ellie got her eyebrow scar

Warnings: None

Word Count: 5.6k

Cross-posted on AO3

Giggles enveloped the small pistachio colored room marked with some black gunk along the edges. Ellie bent over as her side was cramping from the unstoppable laughter. Riley was so fucking funny.

“Like Santa, come get your reindeer. Rudolph got out again!”

The young girl gasped in delight, more laughs coming up from her belly as she clutched the cotton fabric of her gray t-shirt. “Shit, it’s so funny it hurts,” Ellie cried. “Bethany’s face was so red, I thought she was going to explode!”

Riley nodded through her own amusement, chuckling. “The satisfaction I got from her dumb look was almost as good as punching her in the face.” Her smile was wide and bright even in the yellowy light from the lamp. Their backs were against the many cutouts and posters taped to the wall where Ellie’s twin bed was pushed into the corner of the small room. Ellie’s feet, covered by white socks, just hit the edge, but Riley’s calves beside them. Even though she had time to catch up, she felt she’d never be as tall as her best friend.

“God, one day I’m going to knock that smug look off her face,” Ellie said dreamily as she uncurled from her position brought on by her stitched side. She straightened her back, gazing up at the ugly off-white ceiling. In the corner above her bed she spotted a little friend making a web.

“No,” Riley said in a light tone, a smile on her lips, “she’s not worth another trip to the hole. If she bothers you, I’ll fuck her up for you.” Eliie turned and smiled, mouth slightly open in surprise. There was a tiny ball of heat in her chest that formed when her ears heard the protective declaration from the older girl beside her. These little genuine words of care were becoming more common lately, she wasn’t sure what to make of them. Maybe it was dumb and this was how Riley just expressed platonic affection. It was stupid to feel so giddy when she said stuff like that right? Yea, it was just a best friend thing. Anyway, Ellie would fuck up Bethany for Riley any day.

“Oh, wow, my protector,” Ellie feigned a high-pitched girly voice, bringing clasped hands up to her cheek. “What would I ever do without you?” She batted her lashes dramatically leaning back so Riley could get the full effect of her damsel in distress act.

“Don’t worry little lady, I’ll take care of big bad Rudolph for you,” Riley replied with a comically deep voice and a fist beating against her chest. Her silver bracelet shimmied with the rhythm of her thumping. Ellie buckled in cackles, unraveling until her hands found her knees. Riley softly padded Ellie’s back, laughing as well while gently kicking her legs.

“Ladies, lights out!” Laura, the floor supervisor, called out as she marched down the hall.

“Ladies, lights out,” Riley mocked and Ellie chuckled. “Don’t forget to turn off Bethany!” She whispered, though she cupped her hands as if she was shouting at Laura, whose footsteps trailed off behind the door.

Ellie fell over again, gasping, brown curls in a ponytail falling forward against her neck. Riley didn’t seem to notice, as she had entertained herself enough to warrant more unstoppable giggles. After a few moments they both recovered. Ellie looked at the clock, 10:02 pm.

“Well, should we go to bed? I mean, we do have exercises all day tomorrow because of that thing - Why are you looking at me like that?” Riley had a slight pout and raised eyebrows in disapproval. Her arms were crossed in front of a plain black t-shirt over which she had on her favorite baby blue, short-sleeved button up; as usual, it was not buttoned. “When did you become so boring?”

Ellie gaped, “I’m not boring! I’m just saying- like- oh, okay, what do you want to do?”

Riley looked over to the other wall not really looking at the pictures taped up next to the dresser, then locked eyes with Ellie. Ellie felt that familiar warmth again when their eyes met, her heart stopped just for a moment.

“Turn them off ladies,” a firm and steady tone cut through the room. Ellie jerked, dark eyes shooting to the door as she sprang up and quickly fumbled to turn off the lamp. Riley snickered again as she watched, absent of the same sense of urgency. The light was gone with the click of a switch, leaving only blue shadows from the window to mitigate the sudden darkness.

“Scaredy cat.”

Ellie scowled though she wasn’t sure her best friend could see her. She returned to her position against the wall, papers scratching as she adjusted for comfort; she cleared her throat as she settled. “You were saying?”

Riley’s face was obscured by the shadows, but they were still close enough for Ellie to make out her black eyes gazing at her. “I was saying, why do I always have to decide? I think it’s your turn to choose something,” Riley said commandingly. Ellie hummed at the challenge. It was true she often deferred to Riley, so she tried to think of something that wasn’t dull as shit.

“What about truth or dare?”

“Truth or dare?” Riley said, as if testing the words out on her tongue, “I like it. You first. Truth or dare?”

Ellie immediately regretted her decision. “Dare.”

Riley smiled. “I knew you’d choose that one.” She clicked her tongue, looking around the barely acceptable room with a pile of clothes on top of Ellie’s desk and Riley’s dirty socks strewn in front of the dresser. If Laura did a sweep tomorrow they were both going to fail. “I dare you to walk out into the hallway for thirty seconds.” Ellie’s eyes widened and they moved from Riley’s smirk to the plain brown door.

“Okay, are you going to count?”

“No, I thought Barbara would,” Riley retorted sarcastically.

Barbara was the friendly ghost that haunted their room, obviously. Maybe they could blame the mess on her.

“Barbara is a senile, I don’t trust her to count!” Ellie quietly jested.

After she checked the hallway was clear, Ellie stood in her faded jeans and white socks outside their door. It was almost pitch black, but the longer she stayed the more her eyes adjusted. It was a little suspenseful at first, but not that scary. The hall smelled slightly of bleach.

“30,” Ellie counted the last second out loud. She tried to jiggle the handle open, but it resisted. “What?” She whispered inaudibly to herself and then called her roommate’s name, “Riley?”

“That was too easy! Thirty more seconds!” She heard her whisper back through the door.

“What?! No!” Ellie half whispered, half yelled back, jerking the silver handle. The knob rattled and the noise caused Ellie to stop dead cold. She looked back down both ends of the hallway, but no one appeared. Her feet were planted firmly in place, and a chill ran up her spine, increasing her anxiety. Just then the door flew open and she was pulled by her shirt into the room. Eliie went stumbling forward, shocked.

“One minute. See I knew you could do it,” Riley said triumphantly.

Ellie shook her head, “Are you trying to get me caught?”

Riley just rolled her eyes, “Okay, scaredy cat, my turn.”

“I’m not- oh whatever. Truth or dare?”

Riley gave a knowing smile. “Dare.”

Ellie folded her arms, smirking, “I dare you to knock on Bethany's door.”

Riley lost her usual confidence for a moment, eyes widening. “That’s way more risky than yours was.”

“What, are you scared?” Ellie coyly taunted.

This brought back Riley’s usual assumed playful arrogance, “Of course not, just pointing out it’s a little unfair.”

“If you do it, I’ll choose dare next,” Ellie proposed.

“Sure, but you were going to choose dare anyway.”

Ellie wondered how she knew that, probably because truth was too boring. She couldn’t risk being accused of that again.

Riley tiptoed carefully down the darkened hall, then she turned to Ellie who waited at their cracked door. Her best friend’s head jerked between two doors across from each other.

“Which one?” She mouthed not so silently.

Ellie shrugged, she wasn’t sure.

“You mean you don’t know?” Riley whispered way too loudly.

“Shh!” Ellie held up a finger to her lips.

“Oh, fuck it,” Riley said exasperated, tossing her head back; she sprang up suddenly and knocked twice on the door to her right (barely loud enough for Ellie to hear) before sprinting back toward Ellie. Even though she wasn’t the one running, her heart was pounding as she opened the door wider for Riley to barrel through.

Riley came at full speed through the threshold, bracing herself against her bed so she could come to a sudden stop. The girls froze in their respective spots, silent, listening for any movement in the hall. Ellie crouched down with her ear as close as possible to the gap between the door and the floor; she felt Riley soon hovering beside her. She panted from her brief sprint, distracting Ellie from her mission.

Then a creak of a door and a tired “hello?” could be heard. Ellie held her breath and so did Riley, a moment of fear shared between them. Thankfully, the door snapped shut, the sound permeating the space before all fell silent again. Riley stood and Ellie followed.

“So? Was that Bethany?” Riley asked, her expression was unreadable in the murky shadows.

Ellie shrugged. “I honestly have no idea.”

They stared at each other for a beat, then the girls burst into laughter. Riley gently nudged Ellie’s shoulder. Ellie stiffened for a moment, eyes staring at the place where her friend’s palm made contact with her t-shirt.

“Okay, okay your turn. Truth or dare?” Riley steered them back to the activity. Ellie swallowed.

“Hmm, let me think about this. I don’t know, I mean I could go back on my word and say truth,” she said, smiling wide at Riley. It was hard to tell, but it looked like she rolled her eyes.

“But, I won’t - this time - dare.”

“I dare you to sneak out with me,” Riley replied immediately. She had that one locked and loaded.

Ellie looked at the clock - almost 11. “Yea okay, do you want to go to the park?”

Riley shook her head. “No, and since your first one was too easy this is a two part dare. The second part will be revealed once you complete the first part.” Her expression was stern, reminding Ellie of a teacher.

Ellie raised an eyebrow, both perfectly intact. “Steep terms, I think I need to check with my people first.”

Riley smirked, “I’m your people.”

Ellie’s heart jumped. “Okay, my people, what do you say?”

“I say you better get your ass out that window right now before I throw you out.”

Ellie chuckled, moving to the desk to grab a charcoal zip-up hoodie. She had never undressed from the day, so she was ready for the night’s excursion with little effort.

“Woah woah, such violence from the future of FEDRA. What would Laura say about that?”

“That’s not very nice ladies!” Riley used a ridiculously shrill voice to imitate Laura’s annoying scolding. Ellie laughed, standing up and making to put on her shoes, tinted gray along the bottom from dirt and mud.

—

“Okay, now will you tell me what the second part of the dare is?” Ellie half heartedly pleaded as they stalked down a dark alley. She shrugged her backpack higher on her shoulders, it kept slipping down due to the lightness - the only contents were their beaten to hell flashlights. It was damp though it hadn’t rained in a week and their footsteps splashed quietly when they made contact with the shallow muddy water. Ellie didn’t want to know what she stepped in, or why it smelled like burnt shit.

Riley’s head swiveled quickly, scanning her surroundings. Satisfied there was no one around she turned to her best friend. “Alright, so you know the 7-11 on the corner of Broad and First?”

Ellie’s brows knitted together, “Yeah…”

“You know they sell moonshine there?”

Ellie’s eyes widened. “No, Riley-“

“Come on, I know FEDRA’s schedule on that block. We left at eleven, so it’s probably, like, eleven fifteen at the most. They won’t be back for at least another forty-five minutes. We’ll be in and out before they even turn the corner.” Riley had her confident smirk that both excited and comforted Ellie, but the plan seemed sloppy at best.

“And are we supposed to just walk right in? I left my key to open all the doors in Boston on my desk,” Ellie pointed with her thumb over her shoulder, back toward the safety of their room. Not that she wanted to go back, she just wished she was as carefree as Riley was. She wished she didn’t always fear the worst.

“Won’t be a problem,” Riley tossed, “They trust FEDRA way too much,” Riley reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of bobby pins. Ellie had seen her work, so she didn’t doubt her capabilities.

“I’m surprised you didn’t pull them out of your hair,” she chuckled, trying to still the pounding in her chest.

“I told you this is a work of art,” she waved a hand over her blonde braids, pulled back with navy blue fabric. They had frayed with time, but remained secure in the complex tie.

Ellie smiled, she didn’t want to question Riley’s plan again, but she also really wanted to question it. Still, she trusted her and she had already agreed to the dare. She couldn’t back out now - it would be fine, it would be fun.

They slipped through another alley before coming to the back door of the drug store. Riley crouched, pulling out her bobby pins and getting to work. There was little to no light here and Riley refused Ellie’s flashlight offer - way too dangerous.

Ellie watched fascinated at how adroit Riley was; her adept hands angled the small metal ridges into multiple key holes, spinning and dipping until each unlocked with quiet clicks and pops. Finally she stood, a satisfied smile clear even in the black shadows; she pulled open the creaking grated door, only to reveal another door.

“Fuck,” Ellie whispered as she noticed a key pad. She knew they wouldn’t just have a few simple locks to secure the precious holdings.

“Don’t worry, I came prepared,” Riley smiled as she nimbly entered five numbers on the pad ending with the pound sign.

Ellie gaped, “What- How?”

“I waited outside last week, fucking idiot didn’t even notice me - what can I say, I’m a pro.”

Ellie thought back to when Riley had been “sick” and missed afternoon training last Thursday.

“I knew you weren’t sick!”

“You’re too easy sometimes,” Riley chirped as she pushed open the heavy door. “Which is great for surprises.”

Ellie blushed, embarrassed. “After you,” Riley adopted the manly voice from earlier, holding open the gray door. Ellie passed through, but quickly moved to the side to let Riley take the lead. As they made their way soundlessly through the maze of shelves to the alcohol section, Eliie took in her surroundings. Like most places in the city people actually used, it smelled overwhelmingly like bleach. The glass cases in the back held the girl’s target - shelves full of 8 oz and 16 oz bottles of moonshine. Riley’s fingers hooked around the sleek metal handle on the glass door and it opened with a suctioned pop. Frigid air rushed out, Ellie could feel it on her cheeks as Riley widened the space between the door and its frame. Ellie’s dark chocolate eyes darted around the dark and empty store, some anxiety warming her gut.

“Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to pick one?” It was meant to be spirited, but came out more biting.

Riley turned her head with irritating casualty toward Ellie, “Calm down scaredy cat, I want to make sure I get the right one.”

“How do you know which is the right one?” Ellie asked innocently, she had never had alcohol before.

“I don’t, just wanted to prove I’m in charge,” her companion smiled fully and grabbed an 8 oz bottle with a clink and shut the door, ending the production of cold air around them.

Ellie stuck out her tongue, hands on her hips. Riley made a show of dancing back down the aisle triumphantly. Her back was to Ellie, who watched silently as her best friend put one hand on her hip, the other holding the bottle and swaying back and forth.

“Yea, yea we get it, you're the big guy with the plans. Can we leave now?” Something was wrong, Ellie could feel it.

Riley spun around to face Ellie, a look of amusement could just be seen underneath the shadows. “Fine scaredy-”

Just then the street was lit up with bright lights, the outside was suddenly visible from their position, meaning they were visible from the street.

“Fuck,” Ellie breathed as she noticed how much light filtered through the large glass windows. Shadows of the black grates guarding the glass from shattering spread long into the store, overtaking both girls. “Down!” Ellie whisper-yelled as the sound of the FEDRA truck drew closer. They both fell to the floor with a soft smack, the loudest noise was the glass bottle clunking against the plastic tile. Riley brought it close to her chest, but Ellie faced the front of the store unable to see her best friend from her position.

They stayed still and silent while the large tank-like vehicle rumbled down the broken street. The treads of the enormous tires made a loud thudding sound as the black beast rattled away past the shop. Ellie thought for the first time about how dangerous this actually was, and unbelievably stupid.

When the coast was clear and Ellie was able to steady her breathing, they both stood. Each stared at the other blankly until they erupted into muffled giggles - they cupped their hands over their mouths because they weren’t that stupid. Wow, it should not have been this funny, but damn was FEDRA stupid as fuck sometimes. Riley made a little farewell wave in the direction the FEDRA truck had disappeared to.

“Bye bye bitches, you forgot something!” She gleefully whispered, swinging the bottle overhead. “Okay,” she became more serious as she turned her attention back to Ellie, “let’s get the hell out of here before they come back.” She handed Ellie the bottle, who placed it gingerly into her black backpack before zipping it up as slowly as possible (probably a ludicrous action considering all the noise they made with their mouths). Riley turned the corner to the back wall, but just as she did, a voice yelling from the street cut through the air. Both girls stopped dead, terror ripping through the pair.

Ellie turned to see the vague shadow of a FEDRA soldier pointing right at them through the window. They had people on the streets too? How had they missed that? Before she could even register the lurching of her stomach, Riley took off toward the back door and Ellie could feel nothing but the urge to follow. She flew at an uncontrollable speed down the tiny aisle and went to turn the corner just as Riley did. Unfortunately her pace and frantic energy was a deadly combination because she tripped as she made it to the end of the aisle, falling face first into the shelves she had been trying to avoid.

There was an horrifyingly loud crash as the shelves full of canned provisions went toppling over, one into the other. Ellie could only feel the pain in her forearms as she tried to brace herself in the half second before she was falling into the sharp edges of the shelf.

The next thing she knew she felt a grip on her upper arm as she lay crumpled on the ground. She yelled out thinking it was FEDRA capturing her, but Riley’s voice cut through the air, “Ellie we gotta go, now!” Ellie stumbled up, hands meeting aluminum cans and the metal ends of the shelves as she scrambled to her feet. There was no time to think or feel even though her head throbbed and her heart pounded in her ears. Something was wet on her right side of her face, but she couldn’t worry about that now.

The sounds of shouting thundered behind them as they came out the back door, Riley’s hand grasping extremely hard onto Ellie’s wrist. Stomping boots echoed out of the 7-11, but they didn’t take time to look back.

It was clear Riley knew where she was going as she led them down multiple back alleys. Eventually, Ellie began to recognize where they were. They didn’t hear anyone behind them, so they must have lost their pursuers - if there had been any. Ellie’s brain was clouded by pain and fear; her heart was clenched in anxiety even as their pace began to slow.

Finally, after several minutes of half jogging-half walking with Riley’s hand still strongly holding Ellie’s wrist, they made it to the park. There were only a few street lights that actually worked so it was mostly dark. On the edge both surveyed their surroundings, taking in patchy grass and rusted playground equipment.

“I think you can let go of me now, we’re in the clear,” Ellie finished her scan of the empty park and looked down at Riley’s firm hold on her arm.

“Oh yeah, right,” her partner in crime relinquished her arm and Ellie made a little show of rubbing her wrist.

“Damn, you got a vice grip.”

“Ellie, you’re bleeding,” Riley said as her eyes fell over her companion’s right side of her face. Ellie’s hand shot up to her eye and then slid up to her brow to find the source of the blood running down her jaw. “Fuck, I didn’t even feel that.”

“It’s all the adrenaline from being a badass,” Riley quipped. She was right, the rush had prevented her from feeling the sharp pain that now throbbed hot through Ellie’s brow.

“Yeah, real badass of me to fall into some dumb shelves,” Ellie sighed, feeling embarrassed. She gazed down at the soft grass where her old shoes were splattered with dew already. She wondered what time it was.

“No-” Riley made a face before taking on a victorious persona, “a badass who stole a bottle of liquor right under FEDRA’s nose.” She pulled the sleeve of her black hoodie over her hand and brought it up to wipe away the blood on Ellie’s face. The thick red liquid still trickled, but the once strong stream was gone.

Ellie snapped up, bewildered by her friend’s positivity. She was sure she had looked foolish having to be pulled up from the mess of shelves she created with her carelessness and then dragged down the street to her freedom. Riley came closer, wrapping her arm around Ellie’s shoulder.

“Come on, badass, let’s hit the swings.”

They found two acceptable seats with strong enough chains and started swaying lightly in their respective spots parallel to one another. Only a short moment was allowed for recovery before Riley came closer, scooting her legs under the dirt and holding them in place so her body was twisted to face Ellie’s. She gestured to Ellie’s backpack which her friend eagerly shrugged off and handed to the mastermind. Riley quickly unzipped the largest pouch and pulled out the moonshine. She uncapped the bottle, unscathed despite the chaotic journey from its home to the park swings. Then she spilled a little into her hand.

“What are you doing? We just risked our lives for that!” Ellie recoiled.

“And you injured yourself. Shut up and come here,” Riley replied. Ellie faced her, scooting her swing closer. Riley pressed her alcohol soaked fingers to Ellie’s wound, rubbing it in and trying to clear the blood away. Ellie winced from the burning. It left a lightly orange smear beside her right eye.

“Um, well, it’s not perfect, but I think it’s disinfected. We’ll clean you up when we get back.”

“Is it really bad?” Ellie asked, wincing again as the alcohol continued to sting her cut.

“Nah, scars are mysterious. And hot.” Riley smiled, and Ellie felt heat creep up her neck. Riley wasn’t saying she was hot of course, just that the scars were hot.

“Cool.”

“Yeah, Bethany will be so confused. We’ll tell her you got it in a bar brawl. She’ll be too scared to try and fight you again.”

Ellie snorted at the ridiculousness of the comment, “Well at least you won’t have to protect me anymore.”

Riley was silent for a moment. Eventually her dark eyes met Ellie’s. “You know I was kidding right? You could take her if you really wanted to.”

Ellie stared at the sincere expression Riley gave her, the lopsided smile and earnest eyes. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.” The truth was, Ellie didn’t know before Riley told her. She thought she could, but when Riley said it that’s when she knew she could.

“No need to thank me, in fact I think it’s time for your second dare.” Riley snapped back to playfulness in an instant.

Ellie gaped, “Wait. What? I thought stealing was the second part.”

“I never actually dared you to do that.”

Ellie thought back. Fuck, she was right.

“Shit. Okay, so, I guess that was what, just for fun?”

“Duh, plus if we didn’t do that I couldn’t dare you to drink this,” Riley handed Ellie the bottle before releasing her hold with her feet. The swing swung out horizontally as if a short forceful breeze had pushed her away.

“Oh, well, that’s easy,” Ellie replied, taking a swig of the clear liquid. Immediate regret. She gagged, spitting out the harsh drink. The taste was absolutely vile.

Riley giggled and swam back toward her, grabbing the bottle. “First time, huh?” She took a swig, making a disgusted grimace, but swallowing without much of a gag. Ellie refused to be embarrassed again, so she swung out hard toward Riley, snatching the bottle.

“Just getting a taste for it,” she sang before taking another swig. Heat swam through her veins, though it took all her effort not to gag again. Her cut throbbed a little, but she felt little pain as she and Riley began play-fighting for the bottle. They drank and swang, joking and laughing as they always did.

“You know, I feel like I could take on ten Rudolphs right now,” Ellie said as she handed the bottle back to Riley then moved her arms out to her sides to dramatically flex her biceps. Her head was swimming and her body was hot, but in a good way. In a free, she-could-do-anything kind of way.

“Yeah I bet. I’ll take Santa. The fat bastard won’t know what hit him,” Riley replied, throwing fists out in front of her, taking on the invisible enemy. Her long fingers gripped the neck of the bottle and a little bit of clear liquid spilled out. The moonshine was only a third of the way gone.

Ellie threw her head back with a chortle. “Can you believe kids used to really believe some fat guy in a red track suit brought them presents? Like all the kids too - all in one night!” Ellie swang a bit higher, feeling her stomach drop; it was a bit uncomfortable so she let her legs stay stiff out in front of her as the momentum of her push off slowed. Riley had yet to respond.

“Riley?” Ellie dug in her heels to come to a complete halt.

“Huh? Oh yeah, pretty stupid,” Riley sighed. Ellie’s eyes snapped to her friend who did not respond with the usual fanfare. She was staring at the bottle in her hand.

“What’s up?” Ellie swung over gently nudging her shoulder before letting the force swing her back. The rusted chains rattled in the quiet night. The movement felt excessively fluid under the waves of alcohol pulsing through Ellie’s body. She hadn’t had much, but it had been more than enough to feel the effects.

“Nothing, I,” Riley kept staring at the bottle. “I was just thinking about the last time I celebrated Christmas.”

“You celebrated Christmas?” Ellie said, a little shocked. She stilled the swing, eyes tracing Riley's profile.

“I mean, not really. My mom, she tried. She said she didn’t want me to live in a world where Christmas didn’t exist,” Riley switched the hand the bottle was in and brought her arm up closer to her face. Then Ellie realized her solemn friend wasn’t staring at the alcohol, but the little silver chain around her wrist. “She didn’t have much - I mean, we didn’t, but she still had this.” Riley moved her wrist lightly so the thin silver wristlet shook. There were a few little charms attached, silver though there clearly used to be some color over them. In the darkness she couldn’t make out their shapes, but she had seen it before: a butterfly, a high heel, a heart.

Ellie had never realized the deep meaning imbedded in the sterling silver.

“She gave that to you?” Ellie asked, feeling stupid. It was obvious that her mom had given Riley the bracelet, but Ellie didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah,” Riley sucked in a breath; harsh and quick. She swallowed. “She wanted me to have a present, this was hers when she was younger, it’s the only thing she had from before.” Even in the darkness Ellie could make out a tear trailing down her best friend’s face.

“She sounds amazing,” Ellie breathed out in leui of staying silent. She wasn’t the best at comforting people, even sober. She’d never had to really, never wanted to. Riley turned to her slightly with a sad smile, another tear following its predecessor.

“Yeah, she was.”

“I wish I could have met her.” Ellie didn’t know why she said it, but it was true. She would have loved to meet Riley’s mom. If she was anything like her daughter, she was definitely amazing.

“She would have liked you, I think,” Riley said, wiping her face. Ellie flushed and was glad the night was helping to hide it. “I miss her a lot.”

Ellie didn’t say anything. She couldn’t relate - she never knew her parents, so she didn’t know what it was to miss them.

“I just wonder sometimes,” Riley started, but then turned away and took a swig from the bottle. “Never mind.”

“No-“ Ellie said a bit louder than she wanted to. Riley jerked, surprised. “Sorry- I mean- Sorry that was loud.” Ellie scanned the park, not really taking in her surroundings. She took a breath, “I mean, tell me- you can tell me. Ugh.” Ellie stumbled over her words to Riley’s amusement.

“It’s nothing,” she replied, handing the bottle to Ellie. Her friend gratefully took it back and had another sip.

“Okay now you have to tell me.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Um, I don’t know. It’s stupid, but I just miss her so much - sometimes I wonder if anyone will ever miss me the same way, you know?”

Ellie felt her heart squeeze - she did know, but maybe not the way Riley meant it. She looked down at her dirt covered laces.

“Sorry! Ellie, sorry - I’m stupid.” Ellie jerked up to see a terrified Riley. “I totally forgot, I didn’t mean-“

“It’s fine,” Ellie said softly. “Sometimes I think it’s better - not having parents. There’s nothing to miss.”

Riley stayed silent, watching her friend. Ellie’s eyes stayed on her shoes as they scraped across the dust gathered underneath the swing.

“I’d miss you.”

Stupid, what a stupid thing to say. Ellie kicked her heel as heat rushed to her face. That’s not what Riley meant.

“I’d miss you too.”

Ellie met Riley’s eyes once more. They were glistening in the full light from the street, the whites an off-gray, the dark brown an unending black. Her pale pink smile was soft and genuine. Ellie felt her whole body warm with the words, and she held back tears threatening to break over her water lines. Alcohol had many effects it seemed.

“Cool,” Ellie barely said it, but when she did she felt another wave of hot embarrassment.

“Cool,” Riley echoed. “Now, hand over the bottle so I can forget we got all mushy.”

“You started it,” Ellie said with a chuckle, handing the bottle back to Riley.

After what felt like minutes, but also hours, they finally returned to their room. They flung themselves into their respective beds with little more than grunts of goodnight. They only had a few precious hours before they had to be up for all day drills, and Ellie could already feel a headache coming on. She curled up on her stiff mattress, head adjusting on the flat pillow and dared to glance over at Riley who was laying on her stomach already passed out, face facing the door. Blonde stray hairs had found their way through her navy headband, settling softly on her cheek while gray shadows fell over her closed lids. Ellie thought about their conversation on the swings, feeling that comforting warmth swim through her body at the thought of Riley whispering that she would miss Ellie too.

The headache was totally worth it.

#tlou #tlou ellie #tlou fanfiction #ellie x riley #tlou riley

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