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vitentia · 11 months

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SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY .lıllıl.

pairings ━━ best friend!ellie x oblivious!reader (no fem pronouns but female anatomy)

warnings ━━ swiftly solved miscommunication, fluff, mention of throwing up

synopsis ━━ PART 2 of BAGS ━━ after that game night at Ellie’s your friendship had been…awkward to say the least. you’d try to catch her in passing to say hello but she’d be so busy she would just give you a quick hello and keep walking. you just couldn’t understand why after all that talk about not leaving you alone, was she doing the opposite. but maybe it’s for the best, maybe you should start moving on.

playlist ━━ glue song by beabadoobee ft clario ,

“And we live in The United States of America, specifically right here in Wyoming which is a…”

“State!” The small children answered unanimously.

“Good job everyone! High fives all around.” You exclaimed, holding your hands down for the children to slap. A knock on wood caught your attention.

You looked up and saw Maria walking over to you, waving to the children sitting on the floors with a kind smile.

“Hey Maria.”

“Hey hun, can we talk for a second?” She gestured to a more secluded corner in the makeshift school room, you agreed and followed her nervously.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, of course not. I just wanted to let you know there’s been a switch, Cyrus is gonna take your patrol for this week so consider it a free day. Not many of those going around.”

Your mouth fell open. “But I thought I was supposed to do a double with Ellie.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, this was kind of a last minute switch so you’d be taking Cyrus’ place with Ellie next week for a supply run.” She suggested upon noticing your downturned expression.

“Yeah, sure.” You agreed solemnly. Maria rubbed your shoulder and walked back out the double doors, leaving you alone in your own self pity. Even though you were bitter about her ignoring you, you thought this new patrol pairing would give you the chance to confront her without talking yourself out of it, again. And now all that planning was spoiled.

Your misery was short cut by the children, as per usual.

“Bye bye teacher!”

Called out the children as they packed up their papers and pencils and ran out the doors, you called out a goodbye but by then they were all scattered out. You sighed to yourself before noticing one little boy still sitting in his floor spot and scribbling some doodles on his paper. Crouching beside him, you decided to start a conversation in that high pitched voice best used to talk to kids.

“Wow, this drawing is amazing, where do you learn how to do it?”

He smiled bashfully and continued his pencil coloring. “My sister showed me.”

“Is your sister coming to pick you up or would you like me to walk you home?”

He shook his head, his bowl cut hair swaying back and forth along with it. “Nu uh, my big sister is picking me up today. She draws really nice.”

“Mhm, well, how about we wait for you sister outside, yeah?” You proposed, holding your hand out for him to take and standing up with him.

Just then, rushed footsteps came barreling into the school room and a short haired, out of breath Asian girl comes into the room.

“Sorry I’m late!” She took a couple more breaths and held her hands on her knees. “Jesus, this school needs a bell or something.”

You chuckled at her and brought the boy over to the porch outside the school where she greeted him. “I’d rather not ring the dinner bell, Cat.”

She stood to her full height and brought the young boy under her arm, purposely messing up his hair. “Wassup lil man? Did ya learn anything?”

Despite her teasing, he excitedly looked up at her and showed her his drawing. “Yeah! I learned what a state is!”

“Oh yeah? What state are we in now?” She quizzed him

“Jackson!” He proclaimed proudly.

She raised her eyebrows up and looked at you. “Wow! You must’ve had an amazing teacher then, huh?”

You rolled your eyes and nudged her shoulder. “He does. Kids get confused sometimes.”

“Mhm, totally.” She nodded sarcastically. “Ready to get some grub, bud?”

“Yup!” He responded happily and looked up at you, “Aren’t you hungry, teacher?”

“Uh, yeah I think I need something to cheer me up.”

“Well then, let’s get a move on, people.” Cat clapped her hands together and placed one behind her brothers back to guide him in the right direction as you followed next to her.

A cool breeze whistling past you seemed like the only noise for a few minutes as you each decided who should speak first, you sighed to yourself, feeling melancholy as the thought of summer leaving earlier than you wanted passed you by.

“So, what’s got you down?” Cat spoke up first.

You looked up from the ground, surprised. “Oh, uh, I was supposed to be on patrol this week but Maria pushed it back.”

She made a funny face at you. “Wow, you might be the only person in Jackson who complains about not being on patrol and getting a day off.” You both chuckled lightly at her words but you couldn’t help how quickly your mind flashed Ellie’s face for a second.

“Not the only one.” You mumbled under your breath.

“Yeah, no, not the only one. You and Ellie love being outside these walls, I still don’t get why.” You flinched at her name coming out of her mouth, not expecting the girl to just speak about her ex so openly after their breakup.

“I guess I feel…stuck sometimes. I don’t know…” You shrugged, looking down at your feet as you reached the outside of the cafeteria.

“Well, hey, if you’re gonna feel trapped for having a day off you might as well enjoy the good food that comes with it, right?” She said in an attempt to cheer you up.

You held the door open for the two as your eyes drifted away, meeting a pair of familiar green ones that nearly froze time for a second. Ellie raised her hand to wave at you, a role you usually took on, and received a tight lipped smile from you before entering the cafeteria.

Guilt ate you up as you went to sit down but Cat drifted all your worries away while you spoke. She made hilariously dry jokes and you laughed at both the irony and the contorted faces her brother made when he found the joke stupid and for a minute, Ellie didn’t invade your mind.

It felt nice talking to someone other than your usual two friends and had you crossing your fingers for a chance to start a new chapter in your life. A chapter without you hopelessly pining after Ellie for your entire teenage years.

☼

By the time you stepped into the next week, you had managed to shove your feelings for Ellie down into a tight hole of dirt and misery in order to continue with your assignment. You barely slept the night before, too busy coming up with outrageous scenarios that would never happen and freaking out over the lingering thoughts of her lips on yours. None of it was good and all of it felt disastrous.

Your movement were sluggish and slow as you packed all the essential items you needed for the journey, purposely trying to avoid seeing her face earlier than necessary.

Unfortunately, that had an opposite effect.

“Hey.” Ellie greeted you with a small smile when you opened your front door. “You ready?”

You released the breath you held every time you saw her face and nodded, picking your bag up off the floor and walking out with her. The two of you walked in silence towards the stables for a minute, each wanting to speak first but neither having the balls to actually do so.

“Did…” you mentally cursed yourself for breaking the silence first, “did Maria tell you exactly where we’re going?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Ellie fumbled behind herself for the short pockets of her book bag before finally pulling out a neatly folded map. She opened the map to its full extent and leaned closer to you to point to your destination.

“Yellowstone National Park?” You read out carefully. “What kind of supplies are we gonna find in a…park?”

“A National park.” Ellie emphasized, stepping into the stables to greet Shimmer.

“Okay, what are we gonna find in a National park?” You questioned, reaching down to grab a rope and saddle for your horse until Ellie stopped you, her hands hovering over yours.

“Wait! Uh, Maria said only one horse for this supply run.”

“You’re joking.” You deadpanned.

She shrugged, “Sorry.”

Reluctantly agreeing, you following Ellie on the opposite side of Shimmer towards the front gates where patrol officers sat in their seats fighting sleep. The purple and gold hue that fell over Jackson from the quarter rising sun would’ve made you lull into a sleep, had it not been for the short brown haired girl that clogged your mind like a bad sinus infection.

You snagged an apple from a nearby bucket and shoved it in your pocket before snapping the patroller out of his sleep and announcing your leave. He called for others to open the gates as you took your seat behind Ellie on the horse, hesitantly wrapping your arms around her waist.

Again, silence overcame the two of you, begging to be addressed.

But for the first time in a long time, Ellie spoke first.

“I’m…I…” she sighed, seemingly frustrated.

“Take your time.” You said in a teasing tone.

“Shut the fuck up.” She snickered, giving you quick look over her shoulder before facing the open road once more. “I’m trying to apologize for…you know.”

“No, I don’t know.”

“Oh, fuck off, you’re really gonna milk this, aren’t you?”

You smiled happily and placed your chin on her shoulder. “I am.”

She rolled her eyes but continued. “I’m sorry for, you know, ignoring you these past few days, but in my defense I had very good reason.”

“Which is?”

“I can’t say.”

You clicked your teeth and lifted your head off of her, “Fuck you.”

Ellie chuckled under her breath and the three of you, including Shimmer, pushed forward on your trek. However, this time was different. There was no lingering sense of resentment on your end and no awkward tension on hers. It was rare you two argued or ever stopped talking for an extended period of time but when you did, it would only take mere minutes to rekindle what was there before.

Ellie hated communicating properly and you loved making her, it’s how you two flowed.

The trip there would only last a day but sitting behind Ellie on Shimmer, your eyes falling forward and your cheek leaning on her shoulder for support as you both swayed side to side was a time that you deemed immeasurable. If this was the only way you could have her, you’d treasure it. Ellie as a friend is better than going without her at all.

☼

“Morning sunshine.” Ellie said with a laugh after holding your nose closed and causing you to wake up with a sharp inhale.

“Oh ha ha, dick.” You huffed and kicked her in the leg.

“Ow! What the fuck?!” She cursed dramatically.

“Yeah, not so funny anymore, is it?” You laughed at her and got out of your sleeping bag, cracking your bones like a grandma and packing it all up again. “Where’d you put Shimmer?”

“In the garage because we,” she placed her hands on your shoulders and looked into your eyes, “are walking.”

Your excited smile dropped into a straight line, “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

You groaned and threw your down into your palm. “And how long are we walking for?”

She pretended to think, “Mhm, about three ho-“

“Three hours?!” You shouted, looking at her in shock.

“What? It’s nothing you haven’t done before.” She shrugged and bent down to throw your bag over her shoulder. “Besides, I let you sleep in and according that clock right there, it is about…9:30.” She pointed at a grandfather clock nearby.

You looked between her and the clock. “Do you even know how to read a clock?”

“Nope. Let’s go.”

You groaned but followed beside her through the wildlife, barely coming across any infected but managing to witness a few squirrels here and there scurry past you in a frenzy. Ultimately, you two ended up in front of what you assumed to be a ticketing or entrance area with flyers and brochures splayed out wildly.

“Welcome to Yellowstone National Park.” Ellie read the large sign and picked up one of the brochures still sitting neatly in a box, flipping it open and gathering an accent of sorts. “Let’s get a move-on, darlin’”

“Please tell me you’re not going to do that this whole time.”

She gave you an offended look, “What? You don’t appreciate some good lo’ southern hospitality?”

You stared at her for a second before shaking your head and walking ahead. “It’s neither southern nor hospitable. Think more…ear crushing?”

Her jaw dropped, “Oh you are mean. You are a mean mean girl, darlin’.” You giggled at her continuation but covered it up with a groan.

“I hate you.”

“Love ya, too, darlin’. As your tour guide today, I simply must inform you that these here waters are highly dangerous and some are even acidic enough to burn the flesh off that pretty little skin, and we certainly do not want that.” Ellie read off the brochure, tugging your ear in her direction to get your full attention.

You were lucky you’re out in the open or else your increased body temperature couldn’t be blamed on anything more than pure embarrassment and attraction.

“Ow! Bullshit, there’s no way it can burn off flesh. It’s just water.” You shrugged, pulling your head away from her and wearily looking over at the clear blue lake you were nearby.

“False! See here it says some hot springs can reach up to 198 degrees Fahrenheit, and I don’t know about you but I do not want to swim in that.” She pushed heavily into her fake southern accent and read off the brochure as if she needs glasses.

You snickered. “Surprised you can swim at all.”

She chose to ignore your comment and carry on with her little bit. “Here look, map says we’re approaching one right now.”

Ellie grabbed your hand without warning and pulled you in the direction of the boulders that surrounded the running lake to get a closer view. The lake spanned for miles in both directions and connected to a river, making its color crystal blue and giving it a smooth current.

“Are you sure this is a hot spring? Looks pretty normal to me.” You asked, leaning down to get a closer look but being weary of the boulders edge.

“Yeah look, says right here.” She pushed the brochure in your direction and when you turned your head in its direction, you felt an abrupt tug on your jeans.

Tripping over your own feet, your hands landed on Ellie’s shoulders as your legs entangled together, the only reason your remained upright being because of her. You nearly lost your breath, clutching her biceps in shock and a little bit of fear.

“Woah, careful there. Wouldn’t wanna fall in, darlin’.” She joked, your noses nearly touched until you registered her words and leaned back slightly.

“Didn’t you say this water is dangerously hot?” You whispered, unavoidably flickering your eyes between her green ones and her lips.

“I did.” She couldn’t fight back the mischievous smile that grew on her face as she took your moment of vulnerability and took a large step backwards with you in her arms.

Ellie tightened her arms around your waist as you stumbled into the water with her, the initial spike difference in temperature causing you take an unwanted breath in and sucking in a bunch of water. You pushed yourself off the rocky ground and swam up to the surface with Ellie right in front of you, holding you up by your waist as you choked out all the water in your lungs.

When it didn’t subside once you reached the top, Ellie grew concerned.

“Are you ok-“ before she could finish her question, her head was ruthlessly dunked underwater and water immediately sprung up her nose.

When she rose to the top, her hands never straying from their position, you two were in the same boat. Coughing and laughing.

“Okay, maybe I deserved that.” She said as rubbed the water out of her eyes.

“Maybe? You told me this water could kill me, you asshole.”

Ellie shrugged and drifted her hands lower, resting them under your thighs and pulling you higher up on her stomach, the water giving leeway to her skinny stature. If you were blushing, you wouldn’t know and you hoped she doesn’t either but you couldn’t help but avoid eye contact.

“I thought we were supposed to be on a supply run.” You mumbled, keeping your eyes trained on the soft water flowing by your bodies gently. The cold temperature turning warm from your furnace of a body.

“Actually, this is the reason.”

“What?”

Nervously, she dripped her lips under the water for a second before rising back up and holding her gaze onto your eyes. “The reason I’ve been so standoffish recently is because I was planning this whole trip.” Your jaw dropped. “After you told me about your bad experience at the lake I decided to do something better. For you. Give you a happier time to think about than that.”

She smiled but was met with a splash to the face

“Wh…why didn’t you tell me, you dick. I thought you were…I don’t even know, I thought you were flaking on me after I spilled my guts.” You rambled on but Ellie just laughed.

“That would defeat the purpose of a surprise, genius. Besides, this was supposed to happen later this week but then I saw you hanging my ex and I thought it’d be better to push it forward.”

You blinked, “What? What does Cat have to do with this?”

“She was taking your attention away from me, of course. Can’t have that.” Ellie joked, but you weren’t laughing.

Instead you unwrapped your arms from around her neck and let them fall loose around her shoulders.

“That’s not funny.” She gave you a confused look. “So, you admit you string me around like some lost puppy on purpose? And for what? Personal enjoyment?”

“Hang on, I-“

“Jesus Ellie, I-I’ve had a crush on your for, god knows how long questioning whether you were just naturally this nice or if you liked me back and-and, what? You just do this because you can? Because I let you?” You confessed accidentally, so caught up in your own anger you didn’t realize what you said.

Ellie called out your name and pushed you closer to her chest, making sure your eyes connected so you can see the seriousness in hers. “Hey, stop. That’s not what’s going on, like, at all. I don’t string you along just for fun, not that kind of fun anyways. I do like you, I like you and the love you show me. I like when you follow me around because it makes me feel special to you, I like when you do everything I say because maybe if somebody like you likes me, I can pretend I’m not as useless as I really am.”

“Woah-“

“And I like when you protect me from myself because I’m extremely self destructive and my whole life would fall apart if you don’t love me the way I love you.” She cut you off.

The lake water took a stand still, waiting for you answer as crowds of birds flew by in the sky above and called out to you below. For a minute, the whole world came to a stand still. Just you and Ellie, like always.

“Not as a friends?” You sniffled

She chuckled and looked down before meeting your eyes again, “Definitely not as friends. Unless you wanna be friends that do this.” Ellie tightened her grip around her thighs and waist and pressed her salty lips against yours, distracting herself so badly she nearly forgot to keep herself afloat.

You giggled at the water going up her nose again and how it forced her to pull away to cough. Your hands found purchase around her neck again. “No friends. Just you and me.”

“Anything you want darlin’.” She said in her terrible southern accent.

You rolled your eyes but laughed regardless. “Enough with the accent, I beg.”

“It’s good!”

“It is not!”

I tried to tag people but idk how tumblr works so here we are!👐

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