Slowly learning that life is okay (GirlxGirl) [COMPLETE]

Ellie - I never dreamed I'd meet somebody like you

She put on a nice pair of jeans and a shirt before picking up a flannel and slipping into it. She wanted to look nice for Dina's birthday party, even though she had already seen her with her least flattering clothes.

Joel was sitting on the sofa drinking his coffee and reading a book when she passed him on her way through the door. He had his feet on top of the coffee table, a terrible habit, really.

"Give her my happy birthday wishes, Ellie," he said and she nodded, quickly tying her sneakers.

"Will do, old man," she picked her keys and he told her to take care before she nodded and closed the door behind her, running down to Jesse's car.

Jesse had offered to pick her up because Bonnie's house was quite far, really at the edges of Jackson, so she was carpooling with him and Lucas to get there. She felt like her home was close to Dina's, but Jesse's turning around to pick Lucas up first left her just a little lost.

"Did you guys get her something?" She asked, and they nodded. Lucas got her a book and Jesse bought her a box of fancy chocolate.

She nodded, feeling nervous about it. She held the poorly wrapped present in her hands, tapping her feet to the floor. What if Dina didn't like her present? It wasn't an expensive gift in any form, but it was cute. Or so she hoped.

Jesse parked the car and they got out. Bonnie's house was lit and she could faintly hear the music, the low bass getting carried to them. They walked up the steps together, and were immediately hit by the smell of alcohol and a lot of bodies packed together.

They walked around, looking for Dina. Ellie was familiar with most kids there now, and she nodded at some of them in her search. It was hot inside, but she endured it, making her way to the kitchen.

"Jesus, I almost thought I was at the wrong party," she said as she finally saw Dina, and the sound of her voice brought a smile to her lips. Dina walked to her, a red cup on her hand and the other on Ellie's arm as she kissed her lips.

"You guys were the slow ones," she shrugged, snaking her hand around Ellie's waist.

"Here, I got this for you," Ellie said, scratching the back of her neck as her skin grew hot. This was it. The moment of truth.

Dina took the wrapped paper from her hands, tearing through it to reveal a picture. It was both of them at the Halloween party as they danced outside. Emma had sent her the picture, though she didn't tell her when she took it. The quality was surprisingly good, and you could clearly see their happy faces through the makeup.

"Who took this!?" Dina asked, a huge grin on her face. She threw her arms around Ellie's neck, hugging her and kissing her, "thank you, babe."

"You're welcome," she kissed her once, letting her own hand rest on the small of Dina's back.

It was fun to be with her friends and celebrate Dina. She was bright, smiling and talking to everyone; and she looked beautiful too, her dark hair up in a ponytail and her light dress. She was the centre of Ellie's attention, pulling her eyes to her smaller frame every time she entered a room.

She looked really good with her hair up and Ellie was loving the way she could see her legs and the way the dress hugged her body...

Ellie sat on a table outside with Jesse, Emma and Lucas. Mike was inside with some other kids from the football team and Bonnie was doing shots with a girl from their Chemistry class. She drank from a red cup, the alcohol keeping her warm and relaxed.

'That's obviously not how it happened," Lucas said, his cheeks faintly red as Emma eyed him, a bad contained smile on her lips and a teasing glint on her eyes. "Plus, it's not my fault it was really hot and she didn't tell me the roller coaster was that fast."