This is for @Lluviagrubio! I'm sorry it took forever, I was in Nashville and concerts and yeah. I love you!
You sighed as you stared up at the black sky. Stars dotted the clear view, the moon shining around you. "Hail the stars, for they are God's careless splatters," your mother always said. You remembered a lot of things she said, and the fact that you would probably never hear her again tugged at your heart in all the wrong ways. You glanced at the figure sitting beside you, a shotgun in his lap. Ellis. One of your only friends in the Hell on Earth that you had been thrown into. Okay, so you had started to crush on the guy, and hard. But, you wouldn't say a word. The last thing you needed was an awkward relationship in the damn zombie apocalypse. For once, Ellis didn't adorn a grin that you loved or ramble on with his adorable Southern drawl. And you hated that. He had wanted to cheer the group up with some ridiculous story of his, but Nick, of course, shot him down almost immediately. Once he had retired to the roof to take watch while the others slept, you took the courtesy of getting in Nick's face and saying a rather colorful variety of threats. Afterwards, you went after Ellis, only to find him on the roof of the safe house. And you stayed there. Neither of you said a word as you stared at the sky. He was busy looking out for any Infected. After another long moment of silence, you huffed out a sigh. You sat up and turned to face your friend, crossing your legs. Ellis turned his gaze to you, and he almost perked up at the soft smile you only gave him. Almost. You stared at him, (e/c) orbs swimming in hidden emotions as you desperately searched for a way to make him laugh again.
"Wanna tell me a story?"
Ellis froze at your words, his green eyes going wide. He never thought he'd hear those words again in the rest of his life.
"What?"
You shrugged a bit, shifting your gaze to your boots as you picked at the dirt and blood caked in the bottoms.
"I just figured that Nick and them always shoot ya down, and you'd wanna tell one. I'm here to listen to you, ya know."
You looked back up at Ellis to see a huge grin adorn his lips. Good Lord, he looked like a little kid on Christmas. And it made you smile all the more. He seemed to perk up instantly, shifting excitedly in his place.
"Well, I remember this one time me and my buddy Keith decided to make fireworks! Now, I don't know nothing 'bout chemistry, but Keith thought that gas burns, right? Third degree burns on 90% of his body!"
Ellis continued with his story, and you listened intently. You loved his stories. He got so excited when he talked about his past. It was incredible. You laughed when he said something funny and smiled when his eyes would glitter in amusement or excitement. Ellis smiled too, considering he didn't even have to ask if you were paying attention. It was written all over your face. Your gorgeous, slightly dirty and cut up face. Honestly, he thought it just made you look better. In fact, he was so focused on your features and you on his stories that you didn't notice a Smoker that had wandered by the safe house. At least, not until it was too late. You were just laughing at something Keith had done when you felt something wrap around your shoulders and neck. Something thin and slick. Sure enough, it took only a second for the thing around you to tighten and you to be pulled towards the pavement below. You let out a strangled scream as your body collided with the hard ground, feeling the burns on your (s/c) skin as you were dragged towards the Smoker. It took Ellis half a second to notice what was happening when he grabbed the shotgun that was previously in his lap.
"(Y/n)!"
You desperately tore at the thing's tongue that was wrapped around you as you gasped for air. It had an awful good hold on your throat. The safe house door burst open just as Ellis had jumped down from the roof.
"Get this...thing off me..!"
You gasped for air as you felt the Smoker start to claw at your skin. Rochelle was ready to shoot it, although Ellis got there first. He practically blew the Infected's head off, sending smoke in every direction. The grip on your neck loosened as you coughed. You tried to bring air to your heaving lungs as you tore the Smoker's limp tongue from your frame. Rochelle, Coach, and Nick lowered their guns as Ellis dropped his, running to make sure you were alive. He resisted the urge to cough in the smoke as he immediately dropped to his knees beside you.
"(N/n)? You alright?"
You nodded a bit as you waved at the smoke that still hung in air. You hurt like a son of a bitch, and you were torn up decently good, but you were alive. Ellis quickly grabbed you and simply held you, getting blood all over his front and arms, but he couldn't care. You were a bit surprised as he kissed the top of your head, burying a hand in your (h/c) hair.
"Thought I'd lost ya, girl."
You smiled a bit despite the pain you were in.
"Can't get rid of me that easy, El."
The man didn't even acknowledge the use of his nickname as he picked you up and headed back to the safe house. Rochelle smiled at you, Coach doing the same as Ellis passed by with you. Nick even smiled a bit, but he refused to let you see it for more than half a second.
"Nice shot, Overalls."
You noticed Ellis's smile grow as he started to patch you up. Perhaps he could start telling you his stories inside the safe house.
