to the ends of the earth || ellie williams (book one)

twelve

As I came to consciousness, I rubbed my eyes and began to slowly scan my surroundings. I pulled myself to a slightly seated position, spotting Ellie sat in bed with her journal in her lap. She hadn't noticed that I'd woken up yet.

I watched the way her hair fell in front of her face, the way she sort of scrunched her brows as she focused on whatever she was writing. She turned her head to the side, double-taking before noticing that I'd woken up. She flipped her journal shut, placing it on her bedside table and spinning to face me.

"I got you some water," She said, nodding her head towards the glass on the coffee table, "Figured I'd just let you sleep for a while."

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Only 8. You weren't asleep for long," She responded.

I held my head on my hands, running my fingers through my hair before taking a deep breath to pull myself to my feet. I grabbed my jacket from the arm of the couch before slipping back into my shoes.

"So, you're just gonna leave like that?" Ellie asked as she stood up with folded arms, "Not even a thank you?"

"Thank you," I nodded before swinging the door open and making my way towards the front of the house.

I grabbed my bike and kicked off, making for the church so that I wouldn't miss the dance. I didn't want to disappoint Jesse or Dina, I knew they'd want me to be there after not seeing them for so long.

I left my bike at the side of the building, entering the hall and taking a deep breath upon arrival. Everything was as it once was, I smiled softly as I looked around the familiar building. I could see my father laughing with Tommy the night before we left, I could see Dina and I dancing the night away. I shook my head and headed to the makeshift bar to grab myself a drink.

"Woah, didn't expect to see you back here," Seth grunted as he poured me a drink, "How've you been?"

"Fine," I responded bluntly.

I didn't like Seth. My father didn't either - called him bigoted. I tried my best to be as friendly as I could be for the sake of the peace but I wasn't 16 years old anymore and scared of my own shadow. I could handle Seth.

I grabbed my drink from the bar and began to sip it lightly, smiling as Jesse accompanied me at my side.

"I hate these things," He sighed before taking a long swig of his drink.

"Tell me about it,"

"She's uh... putting on quite the show," He said, gesturing to Dina who was dancing in the middle of the floor with some guy I'd never seen before.

"Better go join her," I grinned, nudging his arm prompting him to go and dance with his girlfriend.

He complied, leaving his glass on the bar to join Dina on the dance floor. My attention was caught when the door swung open and Ellie walked in. She'd changed into a loose flannel, her hair tied back with the flyaways framing her face. Her sleeves were rolled up, exposing her now finished tattoo on her forearm. I tried my best to ignore her but she waltzed right over to me and grabbed me by my arm.

"Come on," she grunted, leading me out the back way and slamming the door behind us.

"You're hurting me, jeez. What're you doing?!" I half-yelled causing her to fold her arms over her chest.

"What am I doing? You fucking left for two years and didn't tell me? I didn't know if you were fucking dead!" She yelled back.

"I couldn't tell you. You'd have tried to stop me and it wasn't my choice!"

"I would've understood!"

"Oh, come on. Who're you you kiddin', Ellie?" I asked, lowering my tone before taking a seat on the steps.

"I would've understood," She responded, sitting down next to me but as far away as possible, "You told Dina."

"That's different, Ellie. You know it's different." I sighed, pulling my pack from my pocket and placing a cigarette between my lips.

As I fumbled for a light, Ellie pulled one from her pocket and leaned into me. She shielded the tip with one hand, using the other to light it before placing it back into her flannel pocket.

"It's been weird here without you," She muttered, "Real fuckin' weird."

"You need to catch me up on everything. I feel like I've missed so much."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing too interesting... are you planning on, you know, sticking around?" She asked nervously.

I turned to her for a few seconds before nodding softly. I'd been on the road now and I sure as hell wouldn't be leaving again anytime soon. I knew she'd find it hard to believe me but I was prepared to build her trust again.

"Yeah. We, uh, have a patrol tomorrow - with Jesse and Dina. I told Tommy I didn't want to be sitting around. I still want to do my bit. He said it'd be a good chance for us all to rekindle, I don't know." I shrugged, flicking my cigarette away once it'd gone out.

"Yeah," Ellie sighed, "Maybe."

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" I asked bluntly causing her to look away.

"I don't know. Maybe some day." She shrugged, "Depends if you disappear into the night again anytime soon."

I shook my head and looked to the ground, trying to contain my smile but I couldn't help it. Every time I was around her I felt giddy, like I had a stupid little school girl crush. I knew I still did. I spent every day that I was away thinking about her. Thinking about the way she kissed me - and touched me.

As I looked up again, I felt my head begin to spin. I hadn't even drank much but I felt the buzz. Maybe it was because my body wasn't used to it - I hadn't had a drop of alcohol in years. I smiled softly at Ellie, standing up and holding my hand out for her to grab.

"Come on, can't keep the party out here all night," I grinned.

She shook her head and took my hand, pulling herself to her feet so that we were practically chest to chest. I felt my breath hitch as she stood over me, her eyes locked on mine for what felt like a lifetime. She took a few steps back with a smirk and pushed open the door.

"After you,"