save me

WE'D REMEMBER TONIGHT FOR THE RESR OF OUR LIVES

Ellie was not pouting. She was definitely not pouting because movie night got interrupted by Joel's phone ringing incessantly. He glanced at it, saw the number, went pale, before he paused the movie and got up, leaving the room. So no, Ellie wasn't pouting. Because who the fuck was more important then movie night? She leaned her head back on the couch, waiting for Joel to come.

Which he did, ten minutes later. She definitely wasn't annoyed by then, nope. "Sorry about that kiddo," Joel said, taking his spot on the couch.

To get pay back, she didn't hesitate to turn around and lean down; using Joel's lap as a pillow. Not that he seemed to mind. "Who was it?"

Joel's fingers found her hair, running through it as it was the rare occasion of Ellie leaving her hair down. "It was my dad," he said. "He found out through Tommy that you were staying with me. He wanted to see if we wanted to visit him this weekend, we would go over there tomorrow."

Ellie looked up at him, surprised. "Oh, well...do you want to go?" She asked.

Joel raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. "Ellie, I'm asking you because I know that you and new people don't really mix so I'm fine with go or staying here."

Ellie shifted, looking away. "I'm fine with going."

"Okay, then we'll go," he said. And then he played the movie.

Ellie was not fine. She was panicking. What if Joel's dad didn't like him? What if she made a fool of herself? She fidgeted in her seat, unable to sit still.

"Alright, what are you bugging about?" Joel asked, glancing over at her. "You've been fidgety and unable to sit still for the past thirty minutes, so spill."
Of course Joel would realize that something was wrong, he seemed to speak fluent Ellie. She shifted, glancing at Joel. "What if they don't like me?"

Joel glanced at her, surprised. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked. "They are gonna love you. You'll see."

"But what if they don't? I know that I can be a little brass," she trailed off, glaring at Joel when he snorted.

"A little?" He teased. "Ellie, my dad's gonna love that about you. He's the same way, why do you think I act the way I do? I learned it from him."

"Okay but what if he ends up hating me because we're not bioloigically related?" she asked.

"He won't. He's going to fucking adore you," Joel told her. "Listen, do you trust me?"

"Of course, don't be fucking stupid," she scoffed. She figured her going to him instead of the police after him would've shown that.

"Then trust me when I say that my parents are going to love you," he said.

She slumped in her seat, looking out the window. "Okay."

"Okay," he said, glancing over at her. "Take a deep breath, we're almost there."

"Joel, why the fuck do your parents live in the middle of fucking nowhere? There's been nothing but grass and trees for past thirty minutes," she commented.

Joel barked out a laugh, not expecting her to make a comment on it. "My dad's pretty paranoid," he said. "Thus them living in the middle of 'fucking nowhere.'"

"Oh," she said. "Like the government is going to kill paranoid or aliens exist paranoid?"

"The first one," Joel told her.

"Oh," was all she said before she fell into a silence. She watched at the view flew past her before Joel turned down a long drive, following it until he approached a house with a car parked in the driveway. "Jesus, that's a giant fucking house."