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The first time Ellie Williams sees you, she forgets the lyrics to her own song.

Not part of the song.

Not a dramatic pause.

Actually forgets them.

She’s standing under blinding white stage lights at a tiny underground venue in Seattle, guitar hanging low against her ripped black jeans, halfway through the second verse when you walk in carrying a bass case over your shoulder.

Ellie stares.

Misses the cue entirely.

Jesse, currently dying behind the drum set, yells, “ELLIE.”

Ellie jolts back into the song like nothing happened.

After the set, she corners Dina immediately.

“Who the hell was that?”

Dina smirks. “The bassist I told you about.”

“The hot one?”

“There was only one bassist mentioned, Ellie.”

Ellie runs both hands through her hair. “Holy shit.”

“You’re staring already.”

“I’m appreciating artistically.”

“You almost passed away onstage.”

Ellie ignores her completely because you’re walking toward them now.

Up close, you’re worse somehow.

Leather jacket. Rings on your fingers. Smudged eyeliner from carrying equipment around all day. Pretty in a way that makes Ellie feel suddenly and irrationally violent toward every other person in the room for existing near you.

Dina introduces you.

Ellie shakes your hand and nearly combusts.

“You play?” you ask her.

Ellie tries to answer normally.

Instead she says, “Yeah. Horribly.”

Dina bursts out laughing immediately.

You smile though. “Couldn’t have been that bad. Crowd seemed into it.”

Ellie would later describe this moment as the exact point her life got ruined.

—

Three years later, the band is one of the biggest rock groups in the world.

Which is still insane to Ellie.

Sold-out tours.

Festival headlines.

Millions of fans online making edits of the two of you to songs about yearning.

The band’s name — Static Hearts — is plastered across billboards in cities Ellie never thought she’d even visit.

And somehow the internet is even more obsessed with your relationship than the music itself.

Because Ellie is catastrophically in love with you.

And unfortunately for her reputation, she cannot hide it to save her life.

—

“Ellie,” Jesse says slowly, “you’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“You’re staring.”

Ellie blinks from across the backstage dressing room.

You’re sitting on the couch scrolling through your phone while a stylist fixes tiny tears in your stage outfit. Your hair’s still damp from rehearsal, curls messy around your face.

Ellie’s been staring for five uninterrupted minutes.

“She looks good,” Ellie says defensively.

“You looked at her like a medieval knight seeing heaven.”

Dina snorts into her coffee.

Ellie flips both of them off.

You glance up finally. “What’re they bullying you about?”

“Nothing,” Ellie says immediately.

“They’re saying you’re obsessed with me again?” you guess.

Ellie points accusingly. “See? You make it sound evil.”

You grin lazily from the couch. “Baby, you are obsessed with me.”

The word baby nearly kills Ellie on impact.

Dina physically watches her short-circuit.

“Oh my god,” she mutters. “You’re actually hopeless.”

Ellie ignores her because you’re walking over now.

Close enough for Ellie to smell your perfume mixed with cigarette smoke and stage makeup.

“You nervous?” you ask softly.

Tonight’s concert is the biggest one of the tour. Nearly eighty thousand people packed into a stadium in Los Angeles.

Ellie shrugs. “Nah.”

“You’ve retied your flannel three times.”

“…Okay maybe a little.”

You laugh quietly and fix the collar of her leather jacket for her.

Ellie stares at your hands the entire time like she’s in a trance.

“You know,” you murmur, “for someone who performs in front of thousands of people every night, you get weirdly shy around me.”

Ellie leans closer immediately. “Not shy.”

“No?”

“Nah.” Her eyes flick down briefly to your lips. “Just distracted.”

Your eyebrows lift.

“Jesus Christ,” Jesse groans from across the room. “Get a room.”

“You’re jealous because nobody looks at you like this,” Ellie fires back instantly.

“Correct,” Dina says. “Because if someone did I’d file a restraining order.”

You laugh so hard you nearly spill your drink.

Ellie watches you laugh with the dumbest lovesick expression imaginable.

Dina notices.

Again.

“Ellie.”

“What?”

“You literally look like you want to write poetry about them.”

Ellie shrugs. “Maybe I do.”

Your face heats immediately.

“Oh my god,” you mutter.

Ellie grins triumphantly now that she’s embarrassed you back.

“That’s right.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And yet.” Ellie hooks a finger through one of your belt loops casually, tugging you closer. “You keep dating me.”

—

Onstage, Ellie gets worse.

She claims she performs better when you’re around her.

The rest of the band claims she becomes completely unbearable.

During shows she’s constantly touching you somehow.

Hands sliding against your waist when you pass each other.

Grinning at you across the stage during guitar solos.

Changing lyrics just to make you laugh.

Fans lose their minds every single time.

Especially because Ellie looks at you like the crowd doesn’t even exist.

Tonight is no different.

The stadium lights flash gold and red while thousands of people scream the lyrics back at the stage.

You’re midway through a bassline when Ellie walks over during the bridge of the song.

She’s sweaty, hair sticking to her forehead slightly, guitar hanging against her chest.

And staring at you.

Again.

You shake your head, laughing breathlessly into your mic. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

The crowd immediately erupts.

Ellie smirks.

“Can’t help it.”

“Ellie.”

“What? You’re hot.”

The screaming somehow gets louder.

You nearly miss your cue laughing.

“Play your guitar, loser.”

“Yes ma’am.”

But even while stepping backward toward her mic stand, Ellie keeps her eyes on you.

Completely gone.

Completely in love.

—

Later that night, after the concert ends and adrenaline finally starts fading, the two of you sneak up to the roof of the hotel.

It’s quiet up there.

No cameras.

No fans.

Just city lights stretching endlessly below.

You sit on the edge beside Ellie while she smokes lazily, her free hand resting on your thigh automatically.

“You killed it tonight,” you tell her.

Ellie hums. “You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.”

She glances over sideways. “You know you looked insanely hot during that last song, right?”

“There she is.”

“What?”

“The obsession.”

Ellie grins, smoke curling around her in the cold night air. “You say obsession like it’s a bad thing.”

“You watched me from across the stage for an entire song.”

“You wore those pants on purpose.”

You gasp dramatically. “Victim blaming.”

Ellie laughs loudly, head tipping back.

God, you love her laugh.

You move closer until your knees press together.

Ellie’s expression softens instantly.

There’s always this moment with her.

After the flirting and teasing and chaos.

A quieter version of Ellie underneath all of it.

One who looks at you like she still can’t believe you’re real.

“You know what sucks?” she says softly.

“What?”

“I had all these plans about being cool when I got famous.”

You smile slightly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Thought I’d be mysterious. Dangerous.” She snorts. “Instead I’m publicly in love with my girlfriend like a loser.”

You lean in closer. “Publicly?”

“Tragically.”

“Embarrassing.”

“Horrific.”

You kiss her before she can keep talking.

Ellie immediately melts into it.

One hand slides against your jaw while the other tightens instinctively around your thigh.

Even after years together, kissing you still affects her like it’s the first time.

You pull back barely enough to whisper, “You know the internet’s gonna lose it when they see the clips from tonight.”

Ellie groans dramatically against your mouth. “I know.”

“You literally called me hot in front of eighty thousand people.”

“You are hot.”

You laugh softly.

Ellie kisses you again before murmuring, “See? This is your fault.”

“How exactly?”

“You walk around looking like that and expect me to act normal?”

“You’ve never acted normal a day in your life.”

“That’s true.”

Then she smiles against your lips.

Warm.

Crooked.

Completely gone for you.

“Good thing you like me anyway.”

—

The internet notices everything.

That’s the first rule of fame.

Every glance. Every touch. Every tiny expression caught in blurry backstage photos or shaky fan videos posted at two in the morning.

And Ellie Williams, unfortunately, is terrible at hiding how in love she is with you.

Not subtle about it either.

At all.

There are compilation videos online titled things like “8 Minutes of Ellie Williams Looking at Her Girlfriend Like She Hung the Moon.”

Another one called “Ellie Williams Being Down Horrendous for 9 Minutes Straight.”

Your favorite is the one with three million likes simply titled:

she’s actually insane.

Ellie pretends she hates them.

Secretly, she watches every single one.

—

“Absolutely not.”

You look up from the hotel bed to find Ellie staring at your phone in horror.

“What?”

“You cannot post that.”

You glance down at the photo again.

It’s cute.

Ellie’s asleep during the tour bus ride, face pressed against your shoulder, mouth slightly open, one arm wrapped around your waist possessively even while unconscious.

“You look adorable.”

“I look dead.”

“You always look dead.”

“Wow.” Ellie clutches her chest dramatically. “And to think I write songs about you.”

“You write songs about me because you’re obsessed with me.”

Ellie immediately points at you from across the room. “See? You admit it now.”

“Everyone admits it.”

Dina walks past the open hotel room door at the exact wrong moment.

“Admits what?”

“That Ellie’s obsessed with me.”

Dina doesn’t even hesitate. “Yeah obviously.”

Ellie groans loudly and throws a pillow at her.

Dina catches it effortlessly. “You looked at them during the entire fourth song last night.”

“It was an emotional song.”

“You were performing Angry at the World.”

Ellie pauses.

“…It can still be emotional.”

You burst out laughing while Dina disappears down the hallway cackling.

Ellie flops face-first onto the bed beside you with a long suffering sigh.

“I’m bullied in my own band.”

You grin and brush your fingers through her messy auburn hair.

“Poor baby.”

Ellie immediately melts under your touch despite trying to stay dramatic.

“You’re not helping.”

“You like when I touch your hair.”

“…Maybe.”

“Obsessed.”

“Shut up.”

But she’s smiling into the mattress.

—

Touring with Ellie is chaos.

Not the bad kind though.

The loud, messy kind that somehow becomes comforting after a while.

Late-night airport runs in sweatpants and sunglasses.

Tiny diners at one a.m. after shows because Ellie gets “post-concert hunger.”

Arguments over what music to play on the bus even though Ellie always wins eventually.

And constant flirting.

Constant.

It gets worse when Ellie’s tired because exhaustion completely destroys whatever filter she normally has.

Tonight the band’s crowded into the back lounge of the tour bus while Jesse attempts to teach Dina poker.

You’re curled up sideways on the couch scrolling through your phone when Ellie walks in fresh from the shower.

Your brain short-circuits slightly.

Black sweatpants hanging low on her hips. Damp curls. Gray tank top showing off tattooed arms still glistening faintly with water.

Ellie notices you staring instantly.

Her grin appears immediately.

“Well hello to you too.”

You don’t even look embarrassed.

“You look hot.”

Jesse slams his cards down. “I’m begging you two to experience shame.”

“No,” Ellie answers instantly.

Then she walks directly over to you and wedges herself between your legs on the couch like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Your hands settle automatically on her waist.

Ellie practically purrs at the contact.

Dina watches with disgust. “You’re both actually revolting.”

“You’re jealous,” Ellie says.

“I’m single by choice now after witnessing this relationship.”

Ellie ignores her completely because you’re tracing your fingers lightly over the tattoo on her forearm.

Her breathing changes instantly.

Tiny thing.

Barely noticeable.

But you know her too well.

“You tired?” you ask quietly.

Ellie leans her forehead against yours. “Mhm.”

“You played hard tonight.”

You feel her grin against your skin. “Careful.”

“What?”

“You keep talking like that and I’m kissing you in front of everyone.”

Jesse immediately stands up. “I’m leaving before this becomes emotionally damaging.”

Dina follows him out instantly.

“Cowards,” Ellie mutters.

The second they disappear, Ellie turns back toward you with the most lovesick expression imaginable.

“You know what your problem is?”

You smile softly. “What?”

“You look too pretty after concerts.”

“That sounds fake.”

“No seriously.” Ellie gestures vaguely. “The adrenaline and the eyeliner and the whole…” She squints like she physically cannot explain it. “Everything.”

You laugh quietly. “You’re so gone for me.”

Fight Night chapter 3 on Ao3 has been released.

Fight Night is a tlou fanfic- Ellie x Reader. Ellie is a famous mma fighter and you’re a journalist who’s put on the case. Find out who Ellie really is. That means spending every second with her, watching her, talking to her. Ellie is infamous for hating reporters and people who ask too many questions. But you’re different. And unlocks a part of you that you haven’t seen in a long time.

fight night link

Ｐａｒｔ Ｆｉｖｅ

wc: 10k

“Ellie you don’t mean that. You’re drunk.” You pulled her glass away from her and shook your head at the bartender, signaling him to cut her off. 

“I mean it Y/N. I really do.” She slumped in her stool and reached out for your hair and stroked it. You didn’t want her to stop, but you knew if she were sober she wouldn’t want this. So you pulled her hand back down away from your face. 

“Yeah okay. Thank you Ellie. We need to get you out of here.” Her flushed cheeks made her look so innocent. If you knew nothing about her you would never guess she was a fighter who brutally knocked people out in the ring. 

“No, I'm fine.” She giggled as she said it. She was a cute drunk. 

“You’re clearly not.” She slumped over again and this time you had to reach out to steady her back up. “And you’re a lightweight. That kicked in really fast.” You laughed, still holding her up slightly. 

“Hey! This is just really strong.” She blinked at you, her eyes bloodshot. You couldn’t tell if it was from her exhaustion or the whiskey. Maybe both. 

“Ellie, you’re not fine.” 

The bartender slid a water across the bar like he’d seen this exact situation a thousand times. You took it without breaking eye contact with Ellie.

She looked at it like it was insulting.

“I don’t need—” She pushed it away from her. You pushed it back.

“Yes, you do.”

She made a pouting face and ultimately took a sip. “You’re bossy.” 

She downed the water almost as fast as she drank the whiskey. You laughed a little under your breath at her comment. “So I’ve been told.” 

You watched her sip on her water, her eyes struggling to focus on one thing. You kept your hands ready to catch her if she leaned a little bit too far one way, but she never did. She finally regained focus in her eyes only when she looked at you. 

“I meant what I said by the way. About the kiss.” She rested her chin on her hand which was now propped up on the bar. 

You sighed, you knew she would never really say this stuff to you. No matter how bad you wanted her to. “I know Ellie. I know.” 

Her eyes scanned your face. “You know, when I first saw you I was annoyed. I thought you were gonna be just like the others.” She adjusted in her seat. Her feet swung back and forth as she spoke. “But you’re not. You’ve made me feel happy again for the first time in months.” She smiled at the thought. 

You just shook your head. “Ellie..” You looked at her waiting for her to take it all back. Say she was kidding. But she never did. You wanted her to kiss you so bad in this moment. And maybe if you had let the moment go on she would have. But you stood up. “Let’s go. It’s getting late.” It really wasn’t. It was only 9:30 but Ellie was so wasted that time didn’t matter. 

“Early.” Ellie muttered under her breath. 

“It’s 9:30. It's not that early.” She looked up at you as the words left your mouth, making an annoyed face. 

“Early.” She said a little louder this time, but still soft. 

“C’mon Ellie. You need some water, sleep and probably food.” You left a few bills on the bar for the bartender before you reached for her hand and helped her up. 

“Woah.” She mumbled as she fell into you. 

“I’ve got you.” You let her lean into you as you walked. 

“I know.” 

That did something to your chest, you felt it tighten, but you ignored it. 

Thankfully Amy wasn’t still at the door or else you would have been bombarded with question after question. You were good at asking them, not answering them. 

Once you were outside you led Ellie to her car. You tugged at the passenger side door but it was locked. “Keys?” You turned to Ellie who was now leaning against the car. 

“Oh here.” She reached into her pocket but couldn’t manage to get them to come out. 

You rolled your eyes, acting annoyed but you really thought she was kind of cute. “Move please.” You dragged her hand out of her pocket and reached in yourself grabbing the keys. 

Ellie laughed. “You reached into my pants!” She leaned but caught herself on the side of the car. Still laughing at the situation. 

You couldn’t help but giggle a little at her stupidity. You clicked the unlock button on the keys and opened the door for Ellie. “Get in please.” You raised your eyebrow at her. 

“You’re not driving my car!” She objected. 

“I have to! I’m not letting you drive. Plus, you can trust me. I’m a good driver.” You grabbed her arm and led her to the passenger side door. “Now, get in.” 

She didn’t argue it anymore, she got in and strapped herself in, crossing her arms.

You got in the driver's side and started the car. The engine revved and the air conditioning started pumping. Ellie’s already messy hair danced in the air conditioning. Her cheeks started returning to their normal color. 

“You good?” You pulled out of the spot and got onto the highway. 

“I don’t feel that good.” She rested her head on the window. You tried to avoid anything in the road that would make the car jump causing her head to bounce up and hit the window. 

“Okay well your house is about 30 minutes away.” You made the address in on your phone. 

She whined. “No, I don't feel good. I don’t like the car.” 

“Okay. I have an idea.” You ignored the directions on your phone and drove left instead of right. Five minutes later you pulled up outside of your building. “We’re here.” 

Ellie had closed her eyes, not falling asleep though. “Where is here?” She opened her eyes and tried to rub the red out of them. 

“My house.” You smiled and got out of the car, Ellie did the same. She looked up at the big building. 

“Woah. You live here?” She seemed surprised, but not at the same time. 

You nodded and led her inside. She leaned on you on the elevator ride up. You didn’t mind. Obviously. You scanned your key card in the elevator which allowed you to enter your penthouse on the top floor. When the doors opened, so did Ellie’s eyes. 

“No way this is where you live. I’m too drunk for this.” You pulled her out of the elevator by her still bandaged wrist. 

“Yes way.” You looked around your place. A huge open floor plan with a little sunken living room in the middle of it. Your bed room and guest bedroom to the right, kitchen to the left. Everything was white marble, perfectly clean. 

You flicked the light on and dragged Ellie to the couch. “Stay here. Don’t fall asleep. I’m gonna get you some water and something to eat.” 

Ellie flopped onto the couch, kicking off her tennis shoes as she did so. “This place feels like a museum.” She continued to look around in shock. 

You laughed under your breath. “Deffintly not a museum.” 

“It’s just way too clean..” She leaned her head back onto the couch like she couldn’t hold it up anymore. 

“Maybe you’re just messy.” You were in the kitchen but if you spoke at the right tone the echo carried your voice all the way to Ellie. You buttered a piece of bread for Ellie and toasted it. Perfect drunk food to settle her stomach. And it was about all you had. You brought it to her with a glass of water, setting it on the table and sitting next to her on the couch. 

She sat up and took a small bite. 

“No, I’m just artistic.” She said with a mouthful. 

You laughed. “Right.” 

She choked on her toast a little but washed it down with a quick sip of water. “Are you trying to poison me?!” She joked, but sounded serious at the same time. 

“If I wanted to poison you I would have given you another whiskey.” You held your stomach from how hard you were laughing. 

Ellie gave you an annoyed look, but it turned into a smile and she couldn’t help but laugh. She finished up her toast and glass of water as you watched, worried she might choke again. But she didn’t. When she was done she leaned back onto the couch. You pulled a blanket over the two of you, keeping your distance. 

“You really live here alone?” Ellie’s voice echoed off the empty walls. 

“Yeah?” You said it like a question. 

“That’s insane.” She let out an airy laugh. 

“What why?” 

“It’s just so quiet. What do you even do besides work?” 

You let that sink in. You realized she was right. You occasionally went out to see Amy but that was about it.

You looked at your desk next to your bedroom, the only surface in the whole place that looked lived in. This was the first time you’ve sat on your couch in months. You realized you didn’t really have an answer. 

“You’re lonely aren’t you?” She didn’t ask it in a judgemental way. She asked like she already knew the answer. 

“I’m not-” You couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t a lie. 

“I just like things quieter. It’s easier this way.” You pulled your legs up onto the couch and crossed them. 

“Easier, how?” Her knee brushed yours under the blanket sending a message up your legs and into your stomach. But you didn’t move it away. 

Once again you couldn’t think of an answer. “I- I don’t know. I guess I’ve just never lived any other way. At least not for a long time.” 

Ellie looked at you, like really looked at you. She looked like she wanted to ask more, like she had so many questions. But instead of asking she just sighed. “I know what you mean.” 

“Are you lonely?” You didn’t mean to over step but you couldn’t handle all the pressure being on you. 

You thought Ellie would toss the question aside but instead she answered. “I mean everyone is sometimes. But for the most part I would say no. Everyone is either scared of me or wants to be my best friend. Jesse is my best friend. He’s my coach's son so he’s around a lot.” 

“Why do you act so awful in front of the press?” You didn’t mean to rapid fire questions. It was just second nature to you. You just needed to know all the answers. Not for the article, you just wanted to know everything about her. 

She exhaled. “We’re you just getting me drunk so I would answer your questions?” 

You panicked. “What?! No I swear!” But before you could go on, Ellie laughed. 

“Fuck you!” You joked. “You scared me.” 

“I know.” She leaned her head back laughing. “That was kind of the point. But I think that’s enough questions for tonight. My head is killing me.” 

“Yeah.. I’m sorry.” You looked down again. You both sat in silence for a beat. Until Ellie broke it. “Water.” Was all she said. 

“You already-” 

“More. Please.” 

You laughed and grabbed her glass to fill it more. When you came back and handed it to her she grabbed it and chugged it all down. “Thank you.” She laughed as she put her empty glass down. 

She readjusted on the couch and leaned back, putting her head on the arm rest. You were still sitting criss cross, looking down at her. She held her hands up and winced as she moved them. 

“They hurt?” 

She nodded. “But it’s fine. They’ll be better tomorrow.” 

“I’ll rewrap them tomorrow. I don’t know if you should practice however…” 

“I have a fight the day after tomorrow. I don’t have time for a break.” She sighed. “Don’t worry about me okay?” 

“I can’t help it.” You confessed. 

Ellie, still clearly drunk, just smiled as her cheeks lit up. You liked seeing her like this. Happy. It was different from anything you’ve seen on TV about her. 

“You probably need to go to sleep. I have a guest room right over there.” You pointed to the room next to yours. 

Ellie didn’t seem happy with what you said about the guest room. But she hopped off the couch and made her way over there, not before turning around though. “Wait.” She looked back at you, still sitting on the couch. “Can you come in with me? I’m not done talking to you yet.” 

You turned away from her to hide your smile. “Yeah sure.” Was all you could manage. Being in a bedroom with Ellie Wiliams was not on your bucket list. 

You followed her in there and pulled the covers back, allowing her to climb into bed, you followed her. You both sat on separate sides, making it a point to not touch. 

“This is weird.” Ellie finally broke the silence. 

“You’re drunk in my house. Everything about this is weird.” 

Ellie snorted and rolled over to face you, you did the same. You were still in your work pants and tank top, but you didn’t want to get out of bed for a second. You were scared you were gonna come back and Ellie would be gone. Like it was all just a dream. 

“Are you tired?” She asked you. 

“Not really. You?” “No.” She replied. “You know, I never talk this much.” 

You giggled. “I’ve noticed.” 

“Well at least not to anyone I don’t trust.” She added. 

“You trust me?” Her words surprised you. 

“I mean, I guess I do. I’ve never felt so connected to anyone so fast.” She scooted a little closer to you. 

“Yeah.. I haven’t either.” You noticed her moving closer, but you just stayed still. 

“I have a question, It’s okay if you don’t want to answer though.” 

“Go ahead.” You held your breath, scared of what she was going to say. 

“I think you like girls. I mean I kissed you and you didn’t pull away. So I wanted to ask if you’ve ever dated anyone before. Guy or girl.” She asked it so casually, but this was the question you’ve been scared of.

“I- um.” You couldn’t get the words out. 

“Hey it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me right now.” She said softly and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to, I don't know, make sure I wasn’t reading any of this wrong.” 

“Reading what is wrong?” You asked her barely before she finished speaking. 

“Us.” Ellie looked like she regretted it right as she said it. “Fuck I mean, like. Shit.” She didn’t even know how to cover up what she just said. 

You laughed a little, mostly to hide your disappointment. You knew it wouldn’t be like this when you woke up in the morning. Ellie would go back to being the same girl who left you stranded in the locker room after pinning you against the wall. She would probably forget all of this happened. 

“I mean.. I do like girls.” Your own words shocked you. “But there is no us. You’re just drunk.” 

Ellie rolled over. “Okay. Keep telling yourself that.” 

You rolled over and stared at the dimly lit wall thinking to yourself, What am I doing? Before clicking the switch on the lamp and trying to sleep. 

The next morning when you woke up and rolled over Ellie was gone. It’s what you expected. But what you didn’t expect was the smell of coffee coming from your kitchen. You removed your legs from under the covers and rubbed your eyes. When you looked over you saw Ellie’s red hoodie laying on the bed. You peeked to make sure your door was shut before you took off your work tank top and bra and slipped the hoodie on over your shoulders. 

You got out of the bed and opened the door. You heard footsteps coming from your kitchen which you assumed was Ellie. You tipped over to your bedroom and into your closest. Grabbing a pair of shorts from the drawer. Before you left you looked into the mirror and smoothed out your hair. 

When you entered the kitchen you saw Ellie sitting on a stool at the island, two cups of steaming coffee sat in front of her. 

“Look who finally decided to wake up.” She smiled.

What was going on? 

You walked over to her and grabbed one of the mugs. “Why are you so chipper this morning?” 

“That was the first good night of sleep I’ve gotten in months.” She admitted. 

You froze for a second before sitting down across from her. The hoodie sleeves swallowed your hands, and Ellie noticed immediately. Her eyes flicked down to the oversized red fabric, then back up to your face.

A slow grin spread across her lips. “You stole my hoodie.”

You looked down at yourself like you’d forgotten you were wearing it. “You left it in the room.”

“Yeah,” she said, dragging her coffee toward herself. “So?”

You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your drink, trying to ignore how warm your face suddenly felt. “It was cold.”

“Mhm.” Ellie leaned her cheek against her fist. “Looks better on you anyway.”

You nearly choked on the coffee.

Ellie laughed softly, but this morning it sounded different. Less messy. Less filtered. She remembered everything. You could tell.

That realization made your stomach twist.

“You remember last night?” you asked carefully.

“All of it.” She took a sip of coffee without breaking eye contact with you. “Unfortunately.”

You looked down at your mug. “Oh.”

“Why ‘oh’?” Ellie frowned a little. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“I just figured you’d wake up regretting everything you said.”

Ellie stared at you for a long moment. The apartment was quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator and the rain tapping softly against the huge windows behind her. Finally, she sighed. “You really think that little of yourself?”

The question caught you off guard.

“What?”

“You keep acting like there’s no possible way I could actually like you.” She spoke casually, but there was something frustrated underneath it. “Every time I say something real you blame it on the alcohol.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it again. Because she was right.

Ellie sat her mug down gently. “Yeah, I was drunk. But drunk people don’t magically invent feelings out of nowhere.”

Your chest tightened. “I just didn’t think you could ever like me.” 

Ellie laughed and picked her coffee up. Taking a sip before speaking again. “And why is that?” 

“Because you’re you! And I’m just me..” You looked down, embarrassed. 

“We’re not that different, you know. Last night I could tell you wanted to kiss me. And I.. wanted to kiss you too… I remember everything.” She admitted. 

You once again, almost choked on your coffee. “No you didn’t. No you don’t.” 

She smirked, eyeing you. “And you know what else I remember?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.” 

“You saying there’s no us.”

You swallowed hard. 

Ellie tilted her head slightly. “You really believe that?”  

She moved closer. You could smell the faint scent of whiskey from last night mixed with her shampoo. 

“I don’t know. I barely know you Ellie. This could be a really bad idea.” 

“I know I know. But I haven’t felt like this in ages. I haven’t been able to sleep without nightmares for months. But with you next to me… I slept peacefully. I don’t know what you do to me and I don’t know if it’s good or bad. But whatever it is I’m gonna hold on to it as long as I can. As long as you let me.” Her voice dropped. She was serious. You couldn’t believe it. 

“But if you want me to go away, I will.” She added. 

You swallowed hard. “You don’t even know me.”

Ellie looked back at you immediately. “That’s not true.”

“Yes it is.”

“No.” Her voice stayed calm. “I know you hide when you’re uncomfortable. I know you overthink literally everything.” A small smile tugged at her mouth. “I know you pretend to be confident when you’re actually freaking out.”

You rolled your eyes weakly. “Wow. Cool. Love that for me.”

“And,” Ellie continued like you hadn’t interrupted, “I know you stayed up half the night making sure I didn’t throw up or crack my head open.” You did. You turned over countless times to see if she was okay. If she was still next to you.

“That’s just basic human decency.”

“Nah.” Ellie shook her head. “Most people would’ve called me an Uber and gone to bed.”

You looked away because she was being too sincere again. She noticed.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” she asked softly.

“Get what?”

“That I like you.”

The words hit you hard.

Not because they were surprising, but because she kept saying them like they were obvious.

You laughed nervously under your breath. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is simple.”

“It can’t be.”

“Why not?”

Because people don’t usually stay. You stared down into your coffee before mumbling, “People don’t usually mean stuff like this.”

Ellie’s expression shifted slightly then. Softer. Understanding. “Someone really messed you up, huh?”

“You have no idea.” You scoffed. 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

You tapped your phone screen and it lit up, 8am. “Don’t you have training? For the fight tomorrow?” 

She held up her bandaged hands. “I’m fighting Abby, that girl from the ring the other day. I win every time. It’ll be a breeze. I don’t need to worry about it.” The truth was she just didn’t want to focus on anything apart from you. For the first time since she started fighting, something else was on her mind. 

“Ellie, you can’t just go into a fight unprepared.” 

“You think I’m unprepared?” She flexed her muscles which made you laugh. 

“You’re so full of yourself.” 

She shrugged, a smile pulling at her lips. 

“I don’t know where to start…” You mumbled. You haven’t seen your best friend, your first and only girlfriend, since you still had acne and glasses. 

“Anywhere. From the beginning?” She leaned in waiting for you to tell her more. 

“I was in uh highschool and I had this friend, my best friend.” You took a sip of your coffee. Ellie listened intensely. “We became more than friends, sneaking around making out and then she asked me to be her girlfriend and of course I said yes. She told her whole family. But I stayed quiet. My parents were so obsessed with things being perfect. I guess that explains all of this.” You motioned to your bare penthouse. 

“It’s really clean.” Ellie said. 

“Yeah..” You looked around the place that you call home, even though it never felt like home. 

“But it kind of feels like no one lives here.” She added. 

“I know…” You adjusted in your seat before continuing. “I was so happy with her. I finally felt like myself. But one day, we were in my room and my mom walked in. She saw us kissing and that was it. She kicked my girlfriend out and I never saw her again. We moved a week later to here in Seattle.” You sighed, the memories all coming back. 

“My mom set me up with countless guys, but none of them felt real. I haven’t really been with anyone since. Besides random drunken hook ups and all.” You smiled a little at that, the memories not being so bad. 

Ellie nodded. “I’m sorry that happened to you.. That’s horrible.” 

“Yeah, but it was a long time ago.” You finished your coffee. 

“Sounds like it still affects you.” 

“Maybe, but I’ve learned to manage .” 

Ellie looked down for a second, jaw tightening slightly.

“I think I would actually lose my mind if someone tried to decide who I was allowed to love. Men are so gross.” She made a face. 

“Tell me about it.” 

You just looked at each other for a second before you quietly said. “You say that but.. You don’t love fighting anymore, but you still do it. Who’s deciding that?” 

Ellie looked at you like she had just been hit, right in the heart. Her jaw worked once like she was chewing on the question instead of answering it right away.

“That’s…” she started, then stopped. Her eyes flicked away from you for the first time in a while. You didn’t push. Didn’t fill the space. 

She exhaled slowly through her nose. “That’s not the same.”

You tilted your head slightly. “Isn’t it?”

Ellie let out a short laugh, but it didn’t have any humor in it. “Yeah, okay. You’re gonna psychoanalyze me now?”

“I’m not trying to—” You paused, then softened your voice. “I’m just asking.”

That made her look back at you again. Really look. And whatever she saw there made her expression shift. Less defensive, more honest in a way that looked almost uncomfortable on her.

“I do it because I have to,” she said finally.

You didn’t respond immediately. Ellie kept going anyway, like if she stopped she’d lose the thread.

“It’s not about wanting it. It’s about…” She gestured vaguely with her bandaged hand. “Everything. Expectations. People already think I’m supposed to be a certain way. Sponsors, coaches, the press, everyone already decided who I am.” She paused, then added more quietly, “If I stop, I don’t know what I am without it.” That last part hung there longer than anything else.

You felt it settle in your chest.

Ellie swallowed and tried to recover a bit of her usual edge, but it came out weaker than she probably meant. “So yeah,” she said. “I get your point. But it’s not like I chose this life because I’m thrilled about it.”

You nodded slowly. “I didn’t mean it like an accusation,” you said.

“I know.” She leaned back against the counter again, but she didn’t fully relax. “It just hit weird.”

You hesitated. “Maybe one day.. You can just stop. Maybe then you’d be able to sleep at night. Maybe then you could be.. Happy.” You didn’t mean to assume that she wasn’t. You just didn’t know how else to say it. 

She huffed out a dry laugh. “Yeah right. Then what would I have left?” 

You stared at her blankly. Not knowing what to say. 

“I spent years building a life that didn’t feel like mine.” 

“Then you can build a new one.” You spoke a little too optimistically. 

She smiled. “I like you.” 

The words came out so easily for her. Like they didn’t carry the same weight they did for you.

You blinked at her. “That’s your response to that?”

Ellie’s smile lingered, a little crooked, a little tired at the edges. “What?” she said. “It’s true.”

You shook your head slightly, still trying to recover from the sudden shift. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I.”

That made you pause.

Because she wasn’t teasing anymore.

Not really.

You each finished your coffee and you picked up the mugs and ran them under the sink cleaning them. Before scrubbing them with some soap and leaving them out to dry. 

“You know you don’t have to do that.” Ellie stood up from her stool and made her way over to you. 

“Do what?” You said a little nervously. 

“Be so perfect.” She closed the space between you two. 

“I’m far from perfect.” You laughed sarcastically.

“You’re wrong. You seem pretty perfect to me.” She flashed you that smile and your stomach did flips. 

“I think you’re put together in a way that makes people assume you don’t need anything.”

You looked at her. “And you think I need something?”

Ellie didn’t hesitate this time. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I think you do.”

“And what is it that I need?” You tried to sound flirty but it failed, it’s been awhile. 

“Something new in your life, something messy.” She spoke very softly.

“And you’re offering that to me?” You moved closer this time.

“I guess I am.”

You moved even close, but before you could speak Ellie broke the tension. “Only if you stop acting weird every time I compliment you or say I like you.” 

You gasped dramatically. “I’m not weird!”

Ellie raised her eyebrow. “Okay maybe I am a little weird.” You gave in and smiled. 

“Maybe?” 

You giggled. “Okay. A lot weird.” 

“There she is.” Ellie smiled wide, looking at you like she was proud. 

You led her to your room to change your clothes, and lend her something to wear. 

Your room looked like the rest of your penthouse, bare. All besides the fluffy pink blanket on your bed which Ellie eyed immediately and picked up. “Oh look, some personality!” She joked. 

“Put that down! Come here!” She tossed the blanket back on the bed and followed you into your massive closest. “Okay my comfy clothes are over here.” You walked back to the left corner and pointed to a dresser. 

“Jesus. How many clothes do you have?” You winked. “Not enough.” 

She rolled her eyes and started looking through the drawers. She chose a pair of black adidas sweatpants and an oversized band tee of The Smiths. She told you to turn around so she could change, so you did. 

Once she was done you made your way over to the right corner of your closet and picked out a black tube top and black pencil skirt. 

“That’s your idea of an outfit for a casual day?” She grabbed the tube top from you and analyzed it. 

You snatched it back. “Yes! It’s cute. Now turn around and shut up!” 

Ellie put her hands up in defense. “Okay okay, do your things.” She turned around.

You slipped into your outfit and tapped Ellie’s shoulder. She turned around slowly, her hands still up. 

“Damn okay.” She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. 

“What happened to the big bad Ellie Williams who hated reporters?” 

Ellie let out a short laugh, but it came out a little quieter than usual.

“Hey,” she said, pointing at you loosely. “I don’t hate reporters. I hate when they ask stupid questions.”

“Okay fair.” You admitted. 

You walked to the front of your closet and started rummaging through your shoes.

Ellie was standing in your closet doorway, leaning against the frame now, watching you like she didn’t quite know what to do with her hands.

Which was new. For her.

“What?” you asked, catching her staring.

“Nothing,” she said too fast.

You didn’t believe her. “Doesn’t seem like nothing.”

Ellie shrugged, pushing off the doorframe and stepping a little closer again. “You just… clean up nice, that’s all.”

Something in your chest did a small, embarrassing flip.

You tried to play it off. “That’s a very professional compliment, Ellie.”

“Shut up.”

You smiled.

You walked past her out of the closet and into your room, expecting her to follow.

She did, but slowly. Like she was still thinking about you in the doorway.

“By the way,” she said, breaking the silence, “I don’t hate your pink blanket.”

You glanced back at her, amused. “Liar.”

“I’m serious.”

“You literally called it the only personality I have in this place.”

Ellie smirked. “Yeah. It’s growing on me.”

You shook your head, smiling despite yourself, and sat on the edge of your bed.

Ellie stayed standing for a second longer than necessary. Then she finally sat beside you, but carefully. Like she was still figuring out where she was allowed to be.

The air between you shifted, quieter now that the teasing settled.

“You nervous again?” she asked, softer.

You huffed a small laugh. “A little.”

“Why?”

You hesitated. Then admitted it honestly, barely above a whisper. “Because this feels like it could actually mean something.”

Ellie went still. The teasing disappeared from her face completely.

When she spoke again, her voice was low.. “It already does.”

For a second, neither of you moved. 

It wasn’t awkward. It was just… heavy in a way that made everything else feel far away. Even the city noise outside your windows seemed muted.

You looked at Ellie like you were trying to figure out if she realized what she’d just said.

She did.

That was the problem.

Her eyes stayed on you, steady but softer now, like she wasn’t backing out of it even a little.

You swallowed. “Ellie…”

“Yeah?” she answered, quiet.

You searched for something safe to say. Something that wouldn’t tip you over whatever line this was. But nothing safe came.

So you said the honest thing instead. “You say stuff like that like it’s not scary.”

A small breath left her nose, almost a laugh, but not quite.

“It is scary,” she admitted.

That made you look at her a little more closely.

Ellie leaned back on her hands, staring forward for a second instead of at you.

“I just… don’t usually say it,” she added. “So when I do, I mean it.”

Your chest tightened. You shifted slightly on the bed, knees brushing the edge of her thigh without meaning to move closer, but neither of you pulled away.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” you confessed.

Ellie turned her head back toward you. “That’s fine,” she said immediately. Like she’d already decided that part didn’t matter.

You let out a breath. “It doesn’t feel fine.”

“Yeah,” she nodded once. “I get that.”

A pause.

Then she tilted her head slightly, studying you again, not like a fighter sizing someone up, but like she was actually trying to understand you.

“You’re waiting for it to go wrong,” she said softly.

It wasn’t a question. Your silence answered it anyway.

Ellie didn’t push. Didn’t press. She just nodded like that confirmed something she already suspected.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

You frowned a little. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” She shifted closer, but still careful, still giving you space. “Then we go slow.”

That word settled differently than everything else.

Slow..

Your voice came out smaller than you meant it to. “You really think that’s possible?”

Ellie’s gaze didn’t waver.

“With you?” she said. “Yeah.”

That did it.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just enough that your shoulders finally dropped a fraction, like your body had been holding something it didn’t realize was there.

Ellie noticed immediately. A small, almost relieved smile tugged at her mouth.

“There,” she murmured.

“What?”

“You just relaxed.”

You blinked at her. “I didn’t—”

“You did.”

You opened your mouth to argue again, then stopped because she was right.

And Ellie, for once, didn’t look like she was trying to win anything.

She just looked like she had already won.

You spent the rest of the day in your room binge watching Love Island season 6, Ellie stayed close but never fully invaded.

“You know technically I’m working right now.” You realized. “Like I’m getting paid to do this.” You laughed. 

Ellie glanced at you from where she was half-reclined against your headboard, your pink blanket now very clearly claimed as her territory.

“Wow,” she said flatly. “Must be nice. I get punched for a living.”

You laughed, tossing a pillow lightly at her.

She caught it without even looking, which made your stomach do a flip for some reason. She tucked the pillow behind her instead, making herself even more comfortable like she lived there.

“You’re distracted,” she said.

“I mean you are sitting in my bed wearing my clothes. It’s kinda hard to not be distracted.” 

She laughed and you both went back to watching the show. 

A few minutes later Ellie’s leg shifted over and touched yours. Your stomach did the flip again but instead of ignoring it this time, you scooted your whole body closer to yours. You felt her tense up at first, and then ease. She moved her arm so it was resting behind your shoulder. 

You couldn’t help but think how your mom would react if she saw this. You cuddled in bed with a famous lesbain MMA fighter. You laughed at the thought which got Ellie’s attention. 

“What? You want me to move or something?” A little bit of panic rested behind her voice. 

“No no I was just thinking.” 

Ellie rubbed your shoulder a little, her bandages barely holding on anymore. 

“Get up.” You commanded. 

“What why? I’m comfy.” She protested. When you tried to get up she pulled you back on to the bed by your waist. 

You laughed hard. “Ellie!” 

She moved so she was looking down at you, her hand resting on your waist. “What!” 

You tried to get up again but she stopped you. “We need to change your bandages.” 

“Oh.” She pulled her hand from your waist and examined them. She groaned. “Fine, but only because they’re basically disintegrating.”

You both got up and you led her to your bathroom. “Sit.” You put the toilet seat down and pointed at it. 

“Okay okay you’re the boss.” She sat down. 

You opened your medicine cabinet and pulled out your first aid kit, removing the gauze and tape from it. “Give me your hands.”

You carefully unwrapped the old bandages, revealing the cuts that were trying to heal. Dried blood rested in the crevices. You frowned and ran the sink. 

“What?” She asked a little playfully. 

“They didn’t get much better and you have a fight tomorrow.” 

“You’re cute. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry.” She smiled up at you from where she was sitting. 

You ran a wash cloth under the warm water and brought it to her hands. You dabbed the dried blood until it all came up and set the wash cloth down. Ellie didn’t take her eyes off of your hands. 

“You should’ve been a nurse or something, maybe even a doctor.” 

You laughed, unraveling the gauze. “Yeah right, as if I’m smart enough for that.” 

“I’m sure you’re smart.” She teased. 

You cut the gauze and started to wrap it around her left hand. “Then I would have never met you.” 

“You’re right. Journalist it is .”

You let out a small laugh, shaking your head as you finished wrapping the gauze around her hand. “Wow,” you said. “So I’m only acceptable as a journalist if it leads me directly to you?”

Ellie smirked. “Exactly.”

You glanced up at her. “That’s insane.”

“That’s strategic.”

“Uh-huh.”

You taped the end of the bandage down carefully, making sure it wasn’t too tight. Ellie watched you the entire time like she was studying something way more interesting than her own hands.

“We haven’t eaten yet today.” Ellie realized. 

You winced at the thought of food. Every time you’ve eaten recently you’ve just thrown it up. 

“Oh.. yeah.” 

“You wanna get something? I can order it.” She suggested. 

“You can get something for yourself.” You deflected. 

Ellie was frowning now. “You need to eat, you know.” 

You stood up from where you were kneeling. “I know..” 

Ellie stood up too. “Hey..” She said it so softly. 

You interrupted her. “I’m fine.” And you walked out of the bathroom back to your bed.

Ellie followed. “I’m not trying to fight, but you’re shutting down on me.” 

“I’m not I just- I don’t feel like dealing with food right now.” 

Ellie nodded slowly. “Okay..”

That surprised you. You looked up at her. “Okay?” You questioned. 

“Yeah okay. We don’t have to make it a whole thing.” She lowered herself on to the bed and closer to you. “But I’m gonna stay with you until I see you eat something. Until I know you’re okay.” 

“Ellie, you’re gonna have to leave at some point. You have to go home. You’re fighting tomorrow.” You didn’t move back. She was standing so close. 

“Not if you don’t eat.” She smirked. “Then you’re stuck with me.”

You sighed and tried to smile. “Thank you for trying Ellie, but me and food don’t do well together.” 

Ellie didn’t move back, but she also didn’t close the distance either. She just stayed where she was, steady. “Can I ask you a question?” 

You hesitated, “Depends.” 

She shrugged. “Fair.” Then softly she asked. “Has it always been like that? You know, with food?” 

Your jaw tightened and you looked away. “It’s not- It’s really not that big of a deal.” 

Ellie’s voice stayed soft. “It sounds like it is.” 

You felt your chest tighten. “I don’t like how it makes me feel.”

Ellie nodded once, like that was enough information for now. That’s the thing about Ellie, she doesn’t push. “Okay.” Was all she said. “I’m not gonna force you to do anything, but I am going to care. Wether you like it or not. You are the first good thing that has happened to me in a long time.” 

You pause. You think about all the fights that she has won, all the medals and trophies, but yet she says you’re the only thing that has made her happy. You felt your heart grow inside your chest. This is the first day that you’ve spent apart from your notebook, and you’re starting to feel like your old self again.

You smiled at Ellie, she smiled back. She finally closed the distance between the two of you and leaned in closely, her lips just inches away from yours. “Can I?” She whispered as she asked, her voice shaking a little.

All you could do was nod. 

“Say it, say you want me to kiss you.” 

“I want you to kiss me. Please.” 

So she did. She leaned in and softly pressed her lips to yours. In an instant you were under her, your hands were moving down her muscular back and pulling at her shirt which made Ellie moan into your mouth. 

She kissed down your neck, placing soft bites on your collarbone. Her breath was hot, her hands were needy. You haven’t been touched or wanted like this in a long time. You forgot how good it felt. 

But before things could escalate any farther you shoved her off of you. She pulled back with a concerned look on her face. “What? Did I do something? Are you okay?” She backed up, giving you space. 

You sat up, your hand running through your hair. “Yes, I-I’m sorry.. I just haven’t been touched in a long time.. Not by someone who really wanted me.” The drunken hook ups didn’t matter to you, it didn’t matter what they thought of you. But Ellie? You cared what she thought of you. You were scared  she wouldn’t like what she found. 

Ellie let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god.” 

You looked at her, confused. “What?” 

“No I just thought I did something wrong, or you didn’t like kissing me, or you realized you were straight.” She let out a breathy laugh. 

You couldn’t help but crack a little smile, despite the thoughts going on in your head making you want to rip all your hair out. 

“Ew no. And I definitely liked kissing you. That was the problem.” You covered your already exposed tummy by crossing your arms. 

Ellie looked at you like she finally got it. The food, the way you were acting. “Oh.” She muttered. 

You silently sat there, just looking at her, waiting for her to say something. 

Finally she said, “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” 

Your voice jumped up. “No no!! It’s not that I don’t want to. I want to. I want to really badly. But it’s not that simple. I don’t want you to do this with me and then realize I’m not what you wanted.”

Ellie looked at you, her shoulders losing all the previous tension. “You know I don’t do this with people right? I don’t let them come this close. I wouldn’t just abandon you. I’m doing this because I really want this.” She reached out for your hand, running her fingers along your palm. 

You couldn’t help but blush. The feeling was indescribable. You haven’t felt like this since highschool. Ellie layed back down next to do. “Come here, we don’t have to do anything right now. This is enough.” She pulled you close and held you. You closed your eyes and drifted to sleep. 

When you woke up Ellie was still asleep. You didn’t want to wake her because of what she’s told you about her nightmares. So you carefully slipped out of her arms and tipped over to the kitchen where your phone was. It was 7pm, you guys had napped for three hours. You weren’t complaining, Ellie needed the sleep and you probably did too. But your stomach complained. It hurt like it was an empty void, begging to be filled. 

You thought about opening the fridge but you couldn’t bring yourself to. You hadn’t eaten in a few days without throwing most of it up. The feeling you got after you ate, when your stomach felt like it was expanding, you felt so guilty. You would run to the bathroom and touch the back of your throat until all the food came up. 

But you were so hungry, you had to eat something. You rummaged through your fridge and cabinets looking for something that you’d be able to get down. You found some leftover chicken salad in your fridge from when you made the girls at the firm sandwiches last week. 

You opened it and grabbed a silver fork. You set it down in front of you and just stared at it. The smell was enough to make you sick. But your stomach was begging for it.

You dug the fork in and picked up a mouthful, you placed it in your mouth and struggled to chew. Not because it tasted bad, but because of how it was making you feel. You liked it, your body liked it. And you hated yourself for that. 

But you couldn’t stop, you were so hungry. You stood there in the dim light of your kitchen eating bites and bites of the chicken salad. 

You finished the rest of the container. You sat down on the stool and told yourself that you were going to keep this down. You weren’t going to throw it up, you were going to give your body what it wanted, what it needed. 

But a few minutes passed and you felt your stomach expand, the feeling you despised. You tried to ignore it, but the tears came. The thoughts came. You felt disgusting. You hopped to your feet and sprinted to the hallway bathroom, shoving your fingers down your throat as hard as you could. Tears streaming down your face. The food came up. Your stomach felt betrayed, but anything was better than what it felt like full. You were crying loudly now, sitting by the toilet in the dark bathroom with your arms wrapped around your knees. 

You hardly heard the sound of the door swinging open over the sound of your crying. 

But you could feel the bandaged hands that move your hair out of your face and pull you in. 

You cried against Ellie’s chest and she just let you until you calmed down. Once you could breathe normally again and wiped your now slowly falling tears away, that’s when Ellie spoke. “Hey I’ve got you.” 

You leaned into her chest, the sound of her heartbeat calming you down. “I-I’m sorry I” 

“Shh, you don’t need to say sorry.” She wrapped her hands around your head, pulling you in even closer. 

“I didn’t want you to see me like this.” Tears still streaming down your face. Your stomach felt like it was eating itself. 

“Shh you don’t have to talk about it.” 

You sat like that in her arms for a few minutes. The only sounds being your sniffles and her soft voice telling you that’s it’s gonna be okay. 

No one in this whole world knew about your battle with food, apart from your mom but she was the one who influenced this. 

When you finally finished crying you sat up. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this.. into my mess..” 

Ellie’s voice was careful. “I chose to be here.” 

“But you didn’t know I was such a wreck!” Your voice croaked, your throat was still sore. 

“But I know now. And I’m not planning on leaving.” She held you a little tighter. “We’ll figure this out okay?” 

She sounded so determined. You imagined this is how her thoughts sounded in the ring. Her voice told you that she wasn’t going to give up. 

“Now, you’re gonna wash up and then we’ll go back to bed okay?” She lifted you up off you floor. You wiped your eyes and then your mouth, drying your face. 

You ran your hand under the warm sink water and splashed it on your face. “I need to brush my teeth.” You covered your mouth as you spoke. 

Ellie laughed a little and grabbed your hand, taking you back to your bedroom and into your bathroom where your toothbrush lives. 

While you brushed your teeth Ellie didn’t take her eyes off of you once. She leaned on the wall, arms crossed. Her hair was a mess from the nap, still in her half up half down that she had it in from this morning, but it was falling out completely. 

When you were done brushing your teeth you turned to her and sighed. “If you wanna leave now I get it” 

Ellie just smiled. “I think you’re the mess I need in my life.” 

Your stomach did the thing. Another 360. She was the only person who could make it do that. 

You enter your bedroom and crawl back in bed. 

Ellie gets in next to you and pulls you close. “You okay?” She moves your damp hair out of your face. 

“Getting there.” 

Ellie smiled which made you feel even better. “I hate to bring it back up, but I gotta eat. I have my fight tomorrow night. Is it okay if I order something?” She looked at you with concern in her eyes, like she was scared you were gonna break. 

“Yeah go ahead.” You shrugged. You were okay with food if you weren’t eating it. Most of the time. You just got an overwhelming feeling of disgust, but mostly jealousy. 

Ellie took her phone out of her pocket and opened Doordash. She got herself a salad and some chicken tenders. 

While you waited for it to arrive you continued to just lay in bed together and watch Love Island. Her fingers drew small circles on your arm. 

You were nervous about tomorrow. You had to go back to being her journalist, chasing her around the arena. You liked it better this way, you felt free. No responsibilities, no expectations, no pressure. You just wanted it to be like this forever. 

When Ellie’s food arrived it was 8pm. Ellie groaned dramatically when her phone buzzed with the delivery notification.

“Don’t make me move,” she muttered into your shoulder.

You laughed quietly. “You’re the one who ordered it.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think this far ahead.” 

You sat up. “Here I’ll get it for you.”

She pinned you down to the bed by your wrist. “Nope. Stay here.”

You let out a startled laugh as your back hit the mattress again. “Ellie!”

She grinned, still holding your wrist above your head for a second longer than necessary. 

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And you were just crying like twenty minutes ago,” she said softly, the teasing easing a little. “I’m not making you play doorman.”

Your expression shifted at that. Ellie noticed immediately and loosened her grip, her thumb brushing lightly over your wrist before letting go completely.

“Hey,” she murmured. “That wasn’t meant to make you feel bad.”

“I know.” You looked up at her. “You just keep… taking care of me.”

Ellie’s face softened in a way that made your chest ache.

“Well yeah,” she said quietly, like it was obvious. “Someone should.”

Before you could respond, she leaned down quickly and pressed a short kiss to your forehead. “So stay,” she added. “I’ll survive the dangerous journey to the front door.”

You rolled your eyes, but smiled anyway as she finally climbed off the bed. You watched her disappear down the hallway, hearing her mumble a tired “thank you” to the delivery guy before the door shut again.

A minute later she came back carrying the bag in one hand and two drinks in the other. “Mission accomplished,” she announced proudly.

“Wow. You made it back alive.”

“Barely.”

She dropped back onto the bed beside you, immediately reclaiming her spot against your side like she belonged there now.

“You got me a drink?” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask.. Is that okay?” 

You smiled. “Thank you.” 

“Can I tell you something?” She propped her face up with her hand, looking at you. 

“Go ahead.” 

“When I first saw you I knew this was going to be dangerous. You had on that little white skirt and I just thought fuck I’m screwed.” 

You laughed, “When I first saw you I thought he we go. Is she gonna punch me?” SHe shoved your shoulder a little. 

“Hey! I’m not that mean!” 

“No, you’re not mean at all.” You slowly ran your hand down her face which made her physically melt.

She opened her salad and started eating, taking an occasional bite of a chicken tender. While she ate you just stared at the TV. You couldn’t look. She had a perfect body. Hell she had abs, and she was still eating all of that. It filled you with envy. 

“How long do you have to write this article?” She swallowed her final bite. 

“I mean I have access to you for a year, Legally I’m allowed to invade your personal space for 6 months, The other 6 months I’m supposed to spend writing the article, interviewing you, getting whatever I need.” You watched her set the rest of the food down on the bedside table, you felt instant relief. 

“Access to me? That’s what they call it?” She made a face. 

“Yeah… I don’t know, it's kind of weird huh? I never really thought about it. Normally the people love to be followed and talked about.” 

Ellie let out a quiet laugh at that. “Trust me,” she muttered, “most famous people are lying.”

You looked over at her.

She shrugged. “People like attention when they control it.”

The room went quieter for a second. You watched her mess with the corner of the takeout bag absentmindedly, her expression softer now than the one she wore in interviews.

“You really hate it that much?” you asked carefully.

Ellie looked at you for a moment before answering honestly. “I hate feeling watched all the time.” Her voice stayed calm, but there was something exhausted underneath it. “Like every bad mood, every mistake, every person I stand next to becomes a headline.”

Your stomach tightened slightly at that.

Because tomorrow, that person standing next to her would be you. Almost like she could read your mind, Ellie looked over again and nudged your leg lightly with hers.

“Hey,” she said quietly. “Don’t start spiraling.”

“I’m not.”

“You literally have your nervous face on right now.”

You frowned. “I do not have a nervous face.”

“You absolutely do.” You rolled your eyes, but your smile gave you away.

Ellie smiled too, then her expression softened again. “I know tomorrow’s gonna be weird,” she admitted. “You’ll probably have cameras shoved in your face just for standing next to me.”

“Occupational hazard,” you joked weakly.

Ellie didn’t laugh this time. “That’s the part I hate,” she said quietly. “Because you’re not just my journalist anymore. At least it doesn’t feel like it.”  The sincerity in her voice caught you off guard again.

You looked down at your hands. You also knew that you were more than that. You didn’t know what to say, so you just placed a soft kiss on her cheek and laid your head on her chest.

Ellie stared at you for a second before tightening her arms around you.

“See?” she murmured. “I’m screwed.”

You laughed quietly against her shirt.

For a while neither of you said anything. The TV played quietly in the background, forgotten. Ellie’s fingers traced absentminded patterns along your side while you listened to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. It felt dangerous how comfortable it was.

Eventually, you tilted your head up slightly to look at her. “You should probably go home tonight,” you said carefully.

Ellie’s hand stopped moving immediately. “What?” she asked.

“You have a fight tomorrow,” you explained softly. “You should get actual rest. Your own bed, your training stuff… all that.”

Ellie stared at you for a second like you’d suggested something ridiculous. “I am getting actual rest,” she said.

You smiled a little. “Ellie—”

“No, seriously.” She shifted slightly so she could look down at you properly. “I slept more here last night than I have in weeks. I wasn’t lying when I said that this morning” The teasing was gone from her voice again. She meant it.

You swallowed. “Still,” you said quietly, “I don’t wanna mess up your routine or something.”

Ellie snorted softly. “My routine is nightmares and energy drinks.”

You frowned immediately. “That’s not funny.”

A small smile pulled at her mouth anyway. “Kinda was.”

You gave her a look.

Ellie sighed dramatically before pulling you a little closer again. “Look,” she said softer this time, “I know I should probably go home.”

“But?”

“But…” Her thumb brushed slowly against your arm. “I think I’ll sleep better if I’m here.”

Your chest tightened painfully at how honest she sounded. “With me?” you asked before you could stop yourself.

Ellie looked down at you like the answer was obvious. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “With you.”

Silence settled between you again, but it wasn’t awkward. Just full.

You looked back down at her chest, trying to hide how much those words affected you.

Ellie noticed anyway.

She always seemed to notice.

“So unless you want me gone,” she murmured, “I’m staying.”

You curled a little closer into her without answering out loud.

Ellie smiled against the top of your head. “Thought so.”

The room settled into silence after that, the TV still playing quietly in the background while rain tapped against the windows. You could feel sleep starting to pull at you already.

Ellie must’ve felt it too because after a minute she reached over for her phone on the nightstand.

“What are you doing?” you asked softly.

“Setting an alarm before I forget.” She squinted at the screen brightness. “Coach already thinks I’m irresponsible.”

“You are irresponsible.”

“True.” She yawned. “But I’m trying to be slightly less irresponsible tomorrow.”

You smiled as she typed something into her phone. “What time?”

“Six thirty.”

You groaned immediately. “That’s disgusting.”

“I know.” Ellie tossed the phone back down dramatically. “Fighters are oppressed.”

You laughed quietly and finally pushed yourself upright. “I’m changing before bed.”

Ellie looked up at you and then immediately away again like she suddenly remembered you were a real person and not just a very comfortable pillow.

It made you smile. “You okay?” you teased.

“Yep.”

“You looked away really fast.”

“No I didn’t.”

“You literally did.”

Ellie rubbed the back of her neck. “Can you not make this harder for me?” That made you laugh harder.

You walked over to your dresser while Ellie stayed sitting against the headboard, trying very hard to look respectful and not awkward. Though it was hard when all she could think about was you changing. 

“Relax,” you said over your shoulder. “I’m not kicking you out.”

“I know.” She smiled a little. “Still trying to be normal about this.”

“You? Normal?” You grabbed an oversized sleep shirt from your drawer. “Impossible.”

Ellie gasped dramatically. “That’s so mean.”

You shook your head smiling and changed quickly into your sleep clothes before turning back toward the bed.

Ellie looked up at you and visibly softened.

“What?” you asked suspiciously.

“Nothing.”

“Ellie.”

She just awkwardly laughed and covered her face with a pillow.

You climbed back into bed beside her and Ellie immediately moved closer without even thinking about it anymore. Her arm slid around your waist naturally now, like she’d already memorized where you fit against her.

“You nervous for tomorrow?” you asked quietly.

Ellie was silent for a second.

“Not about the fight.”

You tilted your head up slightly to look at her.

“The cameras though,” she admitted. “People are probably gonna start asking questions.”

Your stomach twisted a little.

Ellie noticed immediately and pulled you a little closer.

“Hey,” she murmured. “I won’t let them be awful to you.”

You looked at her. “You can’t really control paparazzi.”

A tired smile pulled at her mouth. “No. But I can make them scared of me.”

You laughed softly. “That’s concerning.”

“It’s effective.”

You shook your head, smiling against her shoulder.

After a minute Ellie leaned down slightly, pressing a soft kiss against your forehead.

“Get some sleep, journalist.”

You closed your eyes, your fingers curling lightly into the fabric of her shirt. “Goodnight, Ellie.”

“Night baby.”

synopsis: Ellie is your girlfriend and she surprises you with a camping trip

wc: 1.2k

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ellie had been weird all week.

Not bad weird. Just… suspiciously secretive.

Every time you asked what she was planning for the weekend, she’d smirk and say, “You’ll see,” like she was the coolest person alive. Which only made you more nervous because Ellie’s ideas usually landed somewhere between romantic and mildly concerning.

So when she showed up outside your place Saturday morning with an old backpack thrown over one shoulder and a duffel bag in the truck bed, you immediately narrowed your eyes.

“What did you do?”

Ellie blinked innocently. “Why do you always assume I did something?”

“Because you look guilty.”

“I look hot.”

“That too.”

Her grin spread instantly.

“C’mon,” she said, reaching for your hand. “Trust me.”

That should’ve been your first mistake.

Three hours later, you were deep in the middle of nowhere bouncing down a dirt road while Ellie sang horribly off-key to an old cassette tape.

“You don’t know the words,” you complained.

“I know the vibe.”

“The vibe is terrible.”

Ellie gasped dramatically. “You’re so mean to me.”

“You deserve it.”

She reached over blindly until her hand found your thigh, squeezing once before leaving it there while she drove. The gesture felt absentminded, natural. Like she didn’t even realize she was doing it anymore.

That was the thing about dating Ellie.

She loved you constantly.

Not loudly. Not in giant speeches or over-the-top gestures. But in the quiet little habits she’d built around you. Pulling you closer in her sleep. Giving you the last bite of food without mentioning it. Resting her hand on the small of your back whenever crowds got too overwhelming.

It was everywhere if you paid attention.

Eventually the trees opened into a clearing beside a lake.

The water reflected the late afternoon sky perfectly, soft blue broken only by ripples near the shore. Pine trees surrounded the campsite on all sides, tall enough to make the entire place feel hidden from the rest of the world.

Ellie killed the engine and looked over at you expectantly.

“Well?”

You climbed out slowly, taking in the view.

The air smelled cold and earthy, like rain and pine needles. Somewhere nearby birds chirped lazily while the lake water brushed against the rocks.

“You picked this?” you asked.

Ellie leaned against the truck with a smug little shrug. “Pretty good, right?”

You looked back at her.

The sunlight caught in her hair, turning the auburn strands almost gold around the edges. She looked unfairly pretty standing there trying to act casual about the fact she’d clearly spent days planning this.

Your chest softened instantly.

“You’re annoying,” you decided.

Ellie laughed. “That means you like it.”

Unfortunately, she was right.

—

Setting up the tent turned into an argument almost immediately.

“You put the poles in backwards.”

“I absolutely did not.”

“The entire thing is leaning, Ellie.”

“It’s rustic.”

“It looks haunted.”

Ellie snorted so hard she nearly dropped the tent stakes.

“Baby, relax.”

“I am relaxed.”

“You threatened the tent.”

“Because it’s testing me.”

She laughed again—that loud, messy laugh that always made you smile even when you were trying not to.

Eventually, after way too much bickering and one near-collapse of the entire tent, you got everything set up.

Barely.

The inside looked cozy at least. Ellie had packed extra blankets, lanterns, and enough snacks to survive an apocalypse.

“You packed six bags of chips,” you pointed out.

“In case of emergencies.”

“That’s not what emergencies are.”

“You don’t know my life.”

You shook your head, smiling despite yourself.

By the time the sun started setting, Ellie had managed to get a fire going near the lake. Orange flames flickered against the darkening sky while you sat together on an old blanket wrapped in hoodies.

The temperature dropped fast once night hit.

You scooted closer automatically.

Ellie noticed immediately and lifted one arm so you could tuck yourself against her side without either of you needing to say anything.

Comfort with Ellie always came easy.

“You cold?” she asked quietly.

“A little.”

Without a word, she tugged you fully into her lap and wrapped both arms around your waist.

“There,” she murmured against your shoulder. “Problem solved.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“But you’re warm now.”

You couldn’t argue with that.

For a while, you both just sat there watching the fire crackle.

The woods around you buzzed softly with crickets and rustling leaves. Somewhere deeper in the trees an owl called out once before everything fell quiet again.

It felt far away from everything else.

No Jackson. No people. No responsibilities.

Just you and Ellie and the sound of the lake moving beside you.

“You know,” Ellie said suddenly, “I almost canceled this.”

You looked up. “Why?”

She shrugged, staring at the fire. “Didn’t know if it was stupid.”

“Camping?”

“Trying this hard,” she admitted.

That caught you off guard.

Ellie usually acted fearless about everything, but moments like this slipped through sometimes. Tiny flashes of uncertainty she tried to hide behind jokes.

You turned slightly in her lap so you could see her better.

“You planned all this for me?”

She avoided eye contact immediately. “Maybe.”

Your heart melted a little.

“Ellie.”

“What?”

“That’s ridiculously cute.”

She groaned loudly. “Don’t call me cute.”

“You packed matching mugs.”

“They were on sale.”

“You packed my favorite candy.”

“Coincidence.”

“You remembered my extra hoodie because you knew I’d forget one.”

Ellie’s cheeks turned pink almost instantly.

“Okay, shut up.”

You laughed softly and grabbed her face with both hands before kissing her.

Ellie melted into it immediately.

She always kissed you like she’d been waiting all day to do it again. One hand sliding up your back while the other tightened against your waist instinctively, pulling you closer until there wasn’t space left between either of you.

When you finally pulled away, she chased after another quick kiss.

Then another.

“You’re clingy,” you whispered.

“You love it.”

True.

Her forehead rested against yours while the firelight flickered across her freckles.

For a second neither of you spoke.

Then Ellie quietly said, “I think about you all the time, you know.”

Your stomach flipped.

“What?”

“I do.” She smiled a little to herself. “Like… constantly. It’s actually embarrassing.”

You laughed softly. “Good. Suffer.”

“I’m serious.” Her thumb brushed across your hip absentmindedly. “Sometimes I’ll just be doing something random and think, ‘I gotta show her this.’ Or I hear a song and wonder if you’d like it. Or I see strawberry Pop-Tarts and think about how weirdly obsessed you are with them.”

“They’re good.”

“They’re disgusting.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Probably.”

You smiled, but your chest ached in that warm overwhelming way Ellie always caused.

Nobody had ever loved you so openly before.

Like it was easy.

Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You’re staring again,” Ellie murmured.

“Can you blame me?”

A slow grin spread across her face. “Nah.”

The fire crackled lower beside you while the stars slowly appeared overhead through gaps in the trees.

Ellie leaned back against the blanket, tugging you down with her until you were half laying on top of her chest.

“You hear that?” she asked quietly.

You listened.

The lake. Wind through branches. Her heartbeat beneath your ear.

“That’s the sound of me winning,” Ellie whispered.

You laughed immediately. “Oh my god.”

“I’m serious. Pretty girl in my arms? Girlfriend willingly stranded in the woods with me? Huge victory.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“And yet,” she said smugly, kissing the top of your head, “you’re obsessed with me.”

Maybe you were.

Ｐａｒｔ Ｆｏｕｒ

This is the best one so far. Trust me.

30 minutes. You’ve been watching Ellie punch the same bag for 30 minutes. 35 minutes. It’s been 35 minutes since Ellie kissed you. 

After the kiss Ellie left you alone in her locker room. You stood there for a minute straight re-living everything that had happened. You taping her hand, to her kissing you against the locker, to be interrupted, and to Ellie leaving you alone and vulnerable. 

You felt weirdly betrayed. Ellie didn’t owe anything to you. You had only briefly met her for the first time yesterday. But in between then and now you realized Ellie wasn’t who you thought she was. 

Before leaving the locker room you looked in the mirror. And for the first time, you saw yourself. You didn’t see the burnt out journalist who was chasing big stories. You didn’t see the girl who always had her notebook open writing about other people but not knowing herself. Not the girl who could barely eat out of fear of gaining a singular pound.

You just saw you. And it scared you. 

You hadn’t seen this version of yourself since high school. Since you were secretly dating your best friend, finding out who you were. Secretly kissing her under the bleachers and behind the curtain of the auditorium. You hadn’t seen your true self since the day your mom found you on top of her in your bedroom and you never got to see her again. From that day you hid yourself behind a mask. From the mask your mom made you put on. You never told anyone you liked girls. You just secretly kissed them at clubs when you were drunk. You hadn’t been this real with anyone since high school. And it was terrifying. 

There was a version of you that existed before all of this. Before the journalism voice, before the careful distance you kept from everyone, before you learned how to turn your own life into something observational instead of something lived. You used to feel things directly. Not through layers. Not through analysis. Directly.

And Ellie.. Ellie had cracked something open. Not gently. Not safely.

Just enough that you could feel it again.

That was the problem. Because feeling it meant remembering. Remembering all the good and all the bad that came with it. You quickly recognized yourself in her proximity. In the way she looked at you like she didn’t trust the space in between you two. And even though you were scared, this was the most alive you’ve felt in years. 

You swallowed hard, looking away from the mirror like it might answer back.

You left before you could think too much about it.

Now 35 minutes later you’re still here. Still watching Ellie. Still listening to the bag snap under her fist like she was trying to erase it from existence. 

She didn’t look at you once. She didn’t look away from the bag once. Not when her tape began to tear or her healing cuts started to tear open. Not even when her coach came over and told her to slow down. Not even when you came up to her. “Ellie, you need to ease up your fist are bleeding.” 

“I’m fine.” She continued to strike. 

“Ellie stop!” You tugged at her shoulders. She didn’t stop. 

“Don’t touch me, please.” 

You didn’t let go. “Ellie, c’mon. Calm down.” 

She stopped. She leaned her forehead on the bag and sighed. “You can’t just touch me like that. You know what it does.” Blood turned the white tape on her hands red. Sweat ran down her face. She looked so tired.

You let go, trusting that she wouldn’t start beating the bag up again. “You need a break.”

“I have a fight in two days, I can’t have a break.” Her head was still on the bag, you stood next to her. She still felt your touch lingering on her shoulders. 

You stood next to her looking at the reopened wounds on her hands. “You're gonna tear them open again.” You couldn’t help but reach out and grab her hands, making her face you.

“They’re already open. It doesn’t matter.” She kept her head down but didn’t pull away, despite what she said about you touching her.

You ran your fingers over her hands like you did in the locker room before the kiss. “That doesn’t mean keep going until they get worse.” 

“Why are you still here? You’re not getting anything for your article. Nothing that I would want you to write about anyways.”

“Ellie I said that you were gonna write this together and I meant it. I’m here to understand how to write about the real you.”

Her eyes flick to yours. “Well this is the real me. I’m broken, I’m hurt and mad at the world. No one wants to know the real me. Just go home and write the article everyone is expecting you to write. The one about the ‘ruthless Ellie Williams’. The one about the girl that won’t let anyone get too close.” 

“No Ellie. Because none of that is true.” Your still holding her hands in yours, but she suddenly pulls away. 

“You don’t know me! You met me yesterday!” 

But before she can finish you yell, “Yeah and you already kissed me!” 

She doesn’t know what to say. She looks at you, looks away and then looks back. The fierceness in her voice has all faded, “I didn’t mean to do that.. Well I did but I shouldn’t have. I’m fucked up enough. You don’t deserve to get dragged down with me. You have a perfect life, a perfect job, good money. I’m just gonna wreck you like I wreck everything else.”

You scoff “You have no idea.” 

Her body stiffens. “What does that mean?”

You exhale, shaking your head slightly. “You think you’re the only person in the world who’s messed up.” 

The punching bag creaks as it swings slightly. “I didn’t say that.” She says defensively.

“You kind of did.”

Silence. A beat. 

Ellie drops her hands down to her sides. “You don’t know what I do to people.” Her voice is quieter now. Less sharp, more honest. 

“Then tell me Ellie.”

She just shakes her head and runs her bloody hands through her hair. “No.” Her hands are now running down her face. “Because you’ll look at me differently.”

You tilt your head slightly. “I already do.”

That makes her stop completely. The gym noise feels distant again. Like it’s just the two of you inside something sealed off from everyone else.

Ellie’s eyes flicker across your face, searching for something. Judgment, fear, disgust.

She doesn’t find it. And that seems to unsettle her more than anything else. She can’t say anything.

“You kissed me Ellie. You already let me in no matter how much you try to deny it. You don’t get to pretend I’m some stranger outside of your life anymore.” 

“But I don’t know how to be around people without ruining them.” She looks at the ground. 

“When was the last time you let someone in?” The question was real, it wasn’t rehearsed like all the others, you asked it because you really wanted to know the answer.

“A long time ago, and it didn’t end well.” 

“Do you want to tell me about it?” You want to know her past, you want to know who or what has hurt her. 

She sighs, “I’m too sober for this.”

You smile, an idea forming in your mind. “You wanna go get some drinks and talk about it. I know a spot with good whiskey.”

She can’t help but crack a small smile back. It only lasts a second but you swear you saw it. “I guess so. But if the whiskey isn’t as good as you say then I’m keeping my lips sealed.”

“Fair warning, I don’t lie about alcohol. Let’s go get you cleaned up,” You nod your head down to her hands. “Then we’ll go.” 

You find yourself back in Ellie’s locker room at the sink sitting on the counter while you watch Ellie rinse the blood off. She winced as the warm water ran through her cuts. “Fuck, this hurts.” She tosses her head back in pain. 

“I told you to stop punching the bag sooner, but you didn’t listen.” You give her a smug smile. At this moment you forgot why you were there in the first place. You forgot you were supposed to be observing, pen and notebook in hand. It wasn’t like this with Dina. All you had to do was ask questions and she would happily answer. You had journals full of stories about Dina, that’s how you wrote the most successful article of your life. 

“Oh fuck off!” Ellie laughs a little. It was a pure laugh, a laugh of joy. And it was beautiful coming from her lips. 

You reached over and turned the sink off. “Here, give me your hands.” Ellie put her hands out for you. She stepped in between your spread legs that were dangling off the counter. The sudden shift of proximity spiked your anxiety. You felt your heartbeat increase and you heated up. 

You put all those feelings aside and dabbed her wounds with a damp paper towel, then a dry one. After her hands were all dry you bandaged them up so the wounds could heal.

Ellie looked up at you, her face just inches away from yours. “Thank you.” She said softly. 

You gaze at her for a second too long. You had to keep your distance. For now at least. You shoved her chest back a little, moving her a few steps back so you could hop off the counter. “Here.” You took off her hoodie. “I don’t want to be wearing a hoodie at the bar.” You swung your hair over your shoulder dramatically. “I’m too pretty for that.” 

Ellie let out a real laugh once again, taking the hoodie from you. “Well then I’ll wear it.” She put it over her shoulders and pulled it down over her white tank top.

You gave Ellie the directions to the bar and she drove there obediently. You talked about the songs on the radio during the quick drive, disagreeing about whether Taylor Swift was good or not.

When you arrived you stepped out of the car, waiting for Ellie to get out but she didn’t. You opened the door and popped your head back in the car. “What are you doing? Are you coming?” 

“Shh! Is the paparazzi out there? I have a fight in two days they’re gonna be all over me.” She spoke quietly, with an ounce of panic in your voice. 

You giggled. “Ellie, you don’t know about this place?” You looked up at the small dive bar. 

“No? Why would I?” 

“This is where all the famous people hide out in Seattle. There’s no paparazzi. I promise.” You knew this from when you were with Dina and she brought you here when she had a three day music festival in Seattle. She wanted to show you her favorite bar but you left it out of the article. First of all, it was irrelevant to the article, second of all, you didn’t want to expose the place, you knew how crazy the paparazzi could be once they get their hands on something.

“Aren’t you basically paparazzi? Journalist? Is that not like the same thing? How do you know about this place?” She kept her head low behind the steering wheel dramatically.

“Come on. Trust me. I’ll tell you once we’re inside.” You shut the door and waited for her to get out. 

She finally opened the door and stepped out, looking around like someone was out to get her. 

“Let’s go!” You went ahead of her inside and she ultimately followed. 

The place was so cute. It was covered in posters of bands and the famous people who come here religiously. There was blue lighting and music coming from all around. You became a usual as soon after Dina took you here. Normally they only allowed famous faces in, but they let you slide every time. 

“Y/N!” Amy the hostess shouted over the music. “You haven’t come in forever, I missed you!” She pounced from behind the stand and gave you a hug. 

You laughed and wrapped your arms around her. You and Amy have had some long drunken nights in this place. Laughing and crying. She has become one of your closest friends. 

As she was ranting about all the people who came in today Ellie walked in. Once Amy saw her she went silent. Which is rare for her, she was always talking about something. A beat of silence passed before she leaned in close to your ear and whispered. “Okay don’t look now but Ellie Williams just walked in.” 

Ellie walked up behind you and awkwardly stood there, looking around. “Uh Y/N?” Ellie asked, her hands tucked into her pockets. 

Amy gasped. “What!?” She dramatically threw her hands over her mouth. “You bitch! You didn’t tell me you- Oh my god! Ellie!”

“Uh hi?” Ellie laughed nervously. 

You smiled. “Amy this is Ellie, Ellie this is Amy, she’s like my best friend.” 

“Oh hey Amy.” Ellie waved. 

“Hi!! Y/N you didn’t tell me you were friends with THE Ellie Williams!” 

Ellie scoffed. “Friends? Right.” 

You blushed. You knew she didn’t mean what you were thinking, but you couldn’t help but imagine it. 

“I’m doing an article on her. You know, like the one I did with Dina.” 

“Ohhhhh.” Amy dragged on the word. “So not friends?” She winked. Amy was the only person in the world who knew about you and your best friend in high school. She knew you liked girls. That and she’s seen you drunkenly kiss a few in the bar on late nights. 

“Okay okay.” You end the conversation quickly. “We’re gonna go sit at the bar.” You nodded towards the bar at Ellie and began to make your way over there. Ellie went ahead of you and you followed. You looked back at Amy and she mouthed Call me later!! And you and you silently laughed. 

You both sat down on the barstools and ordered a whiskey. You didn’t like whiskey all that much, but for some reason you wanted Ellie to think you did. 

“Did you say you did an article on Dina? Like the pop princess?” The drinks were placed in front of you and Ellie grabbed the glass with her bandage hand and knocked back a sip. 

You took a small sip of yours and couldn’t help but make a face. “Yeah, she was cool. But she was all about herself. You know, wanting everyone to know how awesome and successful she was.” 

“Man, I hate people like that.” Ellie cocks her eye brow. “You said the whiskey here was good.” 

You immediately panicked. “Do you not like it?!”

She laughs, God you could listen to that forever. “No no! It’s great but you don’t seem to like it.” 

You tried to act offended. “I do! What do you mean!” You took a big sip and struggled to swallow it. “See!” 

Ellie made a face. “Yeah let’s get you something else. You want a rum and coke? You seem like that kind of girl.” 

You nodded and slid the almost full glass over to Ellie. She called over the bartender and ordered your drink. Once it came you took a sip and it was a relief. 

“Why did you even order a whiskey?” She started sipping on the left overs from your glass. 

“Because you like it.” You shrugged. 

She laughed. “You don’t need to try to impress me. You already have.”

You can’t help but blush. This is it, Ellie was your weakness. 

“You wanted to know about the last time I let someone in?” 

You were surprised you didn’t have to bring it up first. You nodded, but before she could tell you, you added. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I’m two glasses into whiskey, I might as well.” She put her second empty glass down and signed to the bartender for another. You wanted to tell her to slow down but you knew it was gonna be hard for her to talk about, so you let her keep drinking. 

She fiddled with the bandage as she explained. “I had this girlfriend, my best friend… Kat.” The name rang a bell but you couldn’t put a finger on it yet. “She was a fighter too, like me, so we trained together. We worked out together. And when the lights went down at night we.. Well, we were lovers. She was my everything and I was hers.” She took another big sip of her new drink. You had hardly touched yours. 

“But we had to fight against each other often. It started to impact our relationship but we acted like everything was fine.” Another sip. “But we loved each other so it didn’t matter.” You listened to her, watched her lips move. “She started getting into my head before fights.” Ellie huffed out a humorless laugh. “I’d look across the ring and all I could think about was hurting her.” Her jaw tightened. “And she’d look at me like she was thinking the same thing.”

You watched her thumb rub against the rim of the glass.“One night we fought for a title qualifier.” She paused. “The biggest fight either of us had at that point.” The music around you blurred into the background.

“I knocked her out.” It hit you. Kat Lopez. She was just as big as Ellie in the MMA world. You remembered that fight where Ellie knocked her out. You never knew they were romantic. They sure didn’t act like it in the ring.

Your chest tightened. Ellie laughed softly again, but there was nothing happy in it. “Crowd went insane. My coach was celebrating. Everyone kept telling me how brutal it was, how impressive it was.” She stared down into her drink. “And I remember just standing there staring at her on the mat thinking… I think I just ruined the best thing I’ve ever had.”

You swallowed hard. “What happened after?”

“She woke up hating me.”

“I don’t think she hated you.”

“She did.” Ellie’s answer came too fast. Too practiced. Like she’d repeated it to herself a thousand times. “Or maybe she hated what we became.” The bartender passed by and Ellie immediately motioned for another whiskey before she’d even finished the current one.

You frowned slightly. “Slow down.” She ignored that completely.

“We kept trying after that,” Ellie continued. “But everything got ugly. Every conversation turned into competition. Every argument turned into who sacrificed more for fighting.” She shook her head. “Eventually she told me she couldn’t tell where the fighter ended and where I began anymore.”

Your heart ached a little at that. “And maybe she was right.” Ellie finally looked at you then. Really looked at you. “Because I don’t know either.”

The honesty in her voice caught you off guard. For a second neither of you spoke. Then quietly, you asked, “Do you still love her?”

Ellie blinked like she hadn’t expected the question. “No,” she said eventually. “Not like that.” But there was grief in her face. Not romantic grief. Just… grief. Like mourning a version of herself she could never get back.

You traced your finger around the condensation on your glass. “That’s not ruining someone, Ellie.”

Her eyebrows pulled together. “What?”

“You didn’t ruin her. You were two people under pressure, trying to survive something difficult.” You looked up at her. “That’s different.” 

She just sighed. “It didn’t feel different. I haven’t been the same since. Hell, I don't even like fighting anymore. It’s just.. Something that I do.” 

You think for a moment about journaling. Do you even like it anymore? Or do you just do it because everyone tells you that you’re good at it. 

“You know what the worst part is?” Ellie’s words began to slur.

“What?” You finished your first glass but asked for water next, Ellie was beginning to worry you and you wanted to be sober enough for her.

“I liked kissing you more than I ever liked kissing her. It felt.. Natural with you. I don’t know how to explain it.” 

Fuck. She’s wasted. 

Some soft Ellie Williams head cannons for if she had a crush on you!!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ She would remember all the little things. Like what restaurant you said you liked and didn’t like. One time you were hanging out with Ellie, Dina, and Jesse, and Dina suggested going to a restaurant downtown but Ellie chimed in immediately and said “Y/n doesn’t like it there, let’s go to the one across town.” She only knew you didn’t like it from the one time you said their pasta made you sick.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ She doesn’t like when other people drive you. She only feels safe when she’s driving you. So when other people are driving she constantly texts you asking if you’re okay.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ She would stare at you while you’re not looking but the second you look she would look away immediately and act like she wasn’t looking. But after a few seconds she would look back at you to see if you were still looking or not.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ When you guys go out to eat you always take her fries. She acts so annoyed and tells you to get your own. But eventually she just started ordering extra fries.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ She started carrying your stuff like your bag, your drink, your jacket. The first time she did it she just shrugged and said “you looked uncomfortable”

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ One time when Ellie was driving you home you fell asleep. When you woke up an hour later you were parked outside of your house. Ellie sat there for an hour because she didn’t want to wake you.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ She’d get weirdly competitive for your attention. Not in a weird way but one time Jesse said something that made you laugh and she chimed in trying to be 10 times funnier.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ If you ever said “this reminds me of you” she would treasure it forever. A sticker, a song, no matter what it was.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ One time you told her your hands were cold at a fire pit when your friends so she held them. From now on when you guys are outside at night she reaches for your hands.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ She would pretend to hate taking pictures but her camera roll would secretly be filled with pictures of you.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ If you complimented something she wore she would start wearing it all the time. You said you liked her flannel, now it’s her favorite.

Synopsis ੈ✩‧₊˚ You meet Ellie at the record store she works at, it only picks up from there

!! ੈ✩‧₊˚ soft ellie, fluff, wlw

wc ੈ✩‧₊˚ 1.8k

The first time Ellie sees you, you’re sitting on the floor of the record store with your back against the “M” section, headphones crooked over your ears and a stack of CDs in your lap like you’re building a shrine.

She almost trips over you.

“Jesus—”

You look up fast, pulling one side of the headphones down. “Sorry.”

Your voice is soft. Sleepy, almost. Like you’ve been there awhile.

Ellie stares for half a second too long.

You’re wearing an oversized hoodie with the sleeves pulled over your hands, one knee bent up to your chest. There’s a silver ring on your finger that catches the fluorescent light when you move.

Behind the counter, Dina snorts.

“Maybe use your eyes, Williams.”

Ellie flips her off without looking away from you.

“Maybe don’t put customers on the fucking floor.”

You hide a smile.

Ellie notices that too.

That becomes the problem.

—

She sees you again three days later.

And then again the next week.

You always come in near closing. Always wander the aisles slowly like you’re trying to kill time instead of shop. Sometimes you buy something. Sometimes you don’t.

Ellie learns things accidentally.

You hate when stores are crowded.

You always drift toward the older music section.

You tap your fingers against your leg when you’re thinking.

You mouth lyrics silently when songs play overhead.

And every single time she talks to you, you get this tiny crease between your brows like you’re trying very hard not to smile.

It drives her insane.

“You know her name yet?” Dina asks one night.

Ellie is reorganizing vinyls aggressively enough to bend one.

“No.”

“You’ve been staring at her for like three weeks.”

“I have not.”

“You literally stopped mid-conversation yesterday because she walked in.”

Ellie glares.

Dina grins wider.

“You’re cooked.”

—

Your name is learned by accident too.

You leave your card at the register one night.

Ellie notices because your ID is tucked behind it.

She shouldn’t look.

She definitely shouldn’t memorize it.

But she does.

And then she feels weirdly guilty about it for the rest of the night.

The next evening, when you come back looking mildly panicked, Ellie already has the card in her pocket.

“You lose something?”

You blink at her.

“Oh my god.”

Your shoulders drop instantly in relief. “Yeah, actually.”

Ellie holds it out between two fingers. “Lucky me.”

Your fingers brush hers taking it back.

It’s quick.

Barely anything.

Still, Ellie feels it all the way down her spine.

“Thanks,” you say quietly.

“Yeah.”

You hesitate instead of leaving.

Ellie tries not to look too interested in that.

“You like Phoebe Bridgers?” you ask suddenly.

Ellie glances toward the CD in your hand.

“Uh. Yeah.”

“You made a face.”

“I did not.”

“You did.”

“I always look like this.”

You laugh before you can stop yourself.

It hits Ellie like a truck.

God.

She’d do literally anything to hear that again.

—

After that, talking to you becomes easy in the dangerous kind of way.

Like slipping into warm water.

You come in and lean against the counter while Ellie checks inventory. Ellie starts setting albums aside because she thinks you’d like them. You recommend books she’s never heard of. She pretends not to care and then reads every single one.

Some nights Dina leaves the two of you alone on purpose.

Traitor.

“You know,” you say one evening, tracing absent circles into the countertop, “you were terrifying when I first met you.”

Ellie nearly chokes on her drink.

“What?”

“You looked at me like you wanted to kill me.”

“I looked at you because you were sitting on the floor like a cryptid.”

You grin.

“There it is.”

“There what is?”

“The smile you do before you insult me.”

Ellie stares.

You stare back.

For one suspended second, neither of you moves.

Then the bell above the door jingles and the moment breaks apart.

Ellie hates whoever walked in immediately.

—

By October, you have her number.

By November, you’re texting every day.

Ellie learns your habits in fragments.

You send voice messages instead of typing when you’re tired.

You stay up too late.

You overthink literally everything.

You listen to sad music when you’re happy because, according to you, “it feels more cinematic.”

Ellie thinks that sentence alone explains why she likes you so much.

Then one night you text her at 1:14 AM.

can’t sleep

Ellie responds immediately.

skill issue

You reply with:

i’m outside ur apartment

Ellie sits straight up in bed.

what???

A second later:

look out the window idiot

Ellie rushes to the window so fast she nearly eats shit on a pile of clothes.

You’re standing under the streetlamp in a hoodie, hands shoved into the pockets, looking up at her apartment with a grin.

Ellie opens the window.

“The fuck are you doing?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“So your solution was stalking me?”

“Wanted milkshakes.”

Ellie stares down at you for a long moment before laughing helplessly into her hand.

“Give me ten minutes.”

—

The diner is almost empty.

You sit across from each other in a cracked vinyl booth at nearly two in the morning while rain taps softly against the windows.

Your foot brushes hers under the table.

Neither of you moves away.

Ellie watches you stir whipped cream into your milkshake absently.

“You ever think,” you murmur, “that maybe everyone’s pretending to know what they’re doing?”

“Yeah,” Ellie says. “Constantly.”

You hum softly.

“I think you’re less scary now.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“You are.” You smile lazily at her. “You’re actually kinda nice.”

Ellie points her straw at you.

“Don’t spread that around.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

The waitress refills your fries.

You steal half of Ellie’s without asking.

Ellie lets you.

That’s when she realizes she’s in serious trouble.

—

Winter comes hard and fast.

You start spending more time at Ellie’s apartment than your own.

At first it’s accidental.

Movie nights that run too late.

Rainstorms.

“Too tired to drive.”

Then suddenly your charger is always plugged into her wall.

Your shoes end up by the door.

One of your hoodies gets mixed into Ellie’s laundry and she catches herself holding it for a second too long because it smells like you.

Which is.

Humiliating.

“You like her bad,” Jesse says one night.

Ellie groans.

“You too?”

“You look at her like she invented music.”

“I do not.”

Jesse raises an eyebrow.

Across the room, you’re sitting cross-legged on Ellie’s couch arguing with Dina about whether some horror movie ending was symbolic or stupid.

You catch Ellie looking.

Smile automatically.

Ellie’s chest physically hurts.

“Oh,” Jesse says, wincing. “Wow. You’re done for.”

—

The thing is—

Ellie doesn’t know when it stops being casual.

Maybe it’s the night you fall asleep on her shoulder halfway through a movie and she doesn’t move for two hours because she doesn’t want to wake you.

Maybe it’s when you call her after having a terrible day just because “your voice makes me feel less insane.”

Maybe it’s the way her apartment starts feeling empty whenever you leave.

Whatever it is, it scares her.

Because Ellie knows herself.

Knows how badly she wants things.

Knows how terrifying it feels to care this much.

So naturally—

She starts pulling away.

Not completely.

Just enough.

Taking longer to text back.

Making excuses when you ask to hang out.

Acting distracted even when all she can think about is you.

And you notice.

Of course you notice.

One night, sitting on the hood of her car outside your apartment building, you finally ask:

“Did I do something?”

Ellie looks over too quickly.

“What?”

“You’ve been weird.”

Cold air curls between you.

Your expression is careful in that awful way people get when they’re trying not to seem hurt.

“I just…” You shrug once. “If you don’t wanna do this anymore, that’s okay. I just wanna know.”

Ellie’s stomach drops violently.

“No.”

“Then what?”

She opens her mouth.

Nothing comes out.

Because the truth sounds pathetic.

The truth is:

I like you so much it makes me nervous.

The truth is:

Every time you touch me, I think about it for hours afterward.

The truth is:

I’m terrified you’ll realize I matter less to you than you matter to me.

Instead she says, “I don’t know.”

You go quiet.

That’s worse.

Ellie would honestly rather you yelled at her.

“You know,” you say softly after a minute, “you don’t have to act like you care less than you do all the time.”

Ellie freezes.

You stare ahead at the city lights instead of at her.

“It’s okay if things matter to you.”

Something in her chest cracks open a little.

“Who says they matter?”

You finally look at her then.

And Ellie has genuinely never seen anyone look at her like that before.

Like she’s something fragile being handled carefully.

“Ellie.”

Just her name in your voice almost kills her.

“You matter to me,” you say quietly. “A lot.”

Ellie looks down immediately because she can’t survive eye contact right now.

Her hands shake slightly.

You notice that too.

You always notice everything.

“Oh,” you murmur.

Ellie laughs once under her breath, nervous and broken around the edges.

“Yeah. Oh.”

A beat passes.

Then another.

“So,” you say carefully, “are we finally gonna talk about the fact that we’ve basically been in love with each other for months or—”

Ellie kisses you before you can finish the sentence.

It’s messy because she nearly misses your mouth the first time.

You laugh against her lips.

Ellie feels it.

Actually feels your smile.

Then your hand slides into her jacket, curling lightly against her waist, and suddenly she can’t think at all.

You kiss like you’ve both been waiting.

Like all those almost-moments finally snapped.

Ellie cups your jaw carefully, thumb brushing your cheek.

You kiss her harder immediately.

“Jesus,” Ellie breathes.

You grin against her mouth. “You’re blushing.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

Yeah.

That’s the problem.

—

Afterward, everything changes.

And somehow nothing does.

You still steal her fries.

Still fall asleep on her couch.

Still send her dumb videos at three in the morning.

Except now Ellie gets to kiss you whenever she wants.

Which turns out to be constantly.

She kisses you in grocery store aisles.

In parking lots.

Against kitchen counters while pasta boils over because neither of you are paying attention.

You kiss her like you mean it every time too.

Slow when she’s tired.

Smiling when she’s grumpy.

Soft little absent kisses against her shoulder while she plays guitar.

It wrecks her.

One rainy afternoon, Ellie’s lying across the couch with her head in your lap while you play with her hair.

The apartment smells like coffee and wet pavement drifting through the cracked window.

“You know what’s embarrassing?” Ellie mumbles.

“What?”

“I thought you hated me when we first met.”

You laugh softly.

“Ellie, you stared at me like this the entire time.”

You imitate her intense expression horribly.

Ellie snorts.

“I was trying to figure you out.”

“Sure.”

“I was!”

You smile down at her.

Warm. Fond. Devastating.

“Well,” you murmur, brushing hair from her forehead, “you took long enough.”

Ellie reaches up, pulling you down into another kiss just because she can.

And because now she’s allowed to.

synopsis: Ellie is your best friend and you guys have secretly liked each other for a long time, and one night while you guys are drinking you confess and it leads to more.

!! a little bit of smut, wlw

wc: 1.3k

Ellie had always been your best friend in the worst possible way—like she lived too close to your heart and acted like she didn’t notice.

She showed up uninvited with takeout when you had a bad day. You let her steal your hoodies like it was a tax she refused to pay. She leaned into you on couches, shoulders pressed together like it was the most natural thing in the world, like it meant nothing at all.

It always meant something to you.

And you were pretty sure it meant something to her too.

But neither of you ever said it.

Tonight, it was different.

Some cheap alcohol, a messy apartment, music too low to matter. You and Ellie on the floor because the couch was “too far away” and neither of you wanted to move. Your knee was touching hers. It had been for a while.

Ellie laughed at something you said, head tipping back slightly. “You’re so full of it.”

“You like it,” you shot back, too fast.

That made her pause—just a fraction too long.

Then she smirked like she was trying to cover something up. “I tolerate it.”

You huffed a laugh, leaning your head back against the wall. “Liar.”

Silence settled in again, but it wasn’t empty. It was thick. Familiar. Dangerous.

Ellie swirled the drink in her hand, staring at it like it had answers. “Do you ever think about… stupid stuff?” she asked.

“You mean like you pretending you don’t like me?” you said without thinking.

The air shifted.

Ellie went still.

“…What?” she asked, quieter now.

Your stomach dropped a little, but you were already too far in to take it back. “Come on. You’re literally the worst liar I’ve ever met.”

She scoffed, but it didn’t land. “I don’t— I’m not—”

“You are,” you interrupted softly. “Ellie.”

That was the first time you said her name like that tonight.

Not joking. Not casual.

Her eyes flicked up to yours.

And something in her expression cracked.

“You think I don’t notice you?” she said finally, voice low. “You think I just… hang around you for fun?”

Your breath caught.

Ellie laughed once, but it wasn’t funny. “I come over when you don’t even ask. I stay when I should leave. I—” She stopped, jaw tightening like she hated that she was saying it out loud. “I don’t do that with people.”

Your heart was pounding too loud.

“You could’ve said something,” you whispered.

“Yeah?” she shot back, softer now. “And what if I was wrong? What if I ruined this?”

That word—this—hung between you.

You looked at her properly then. Really looked.

Messy hair, flushed cheeks from alcohol, eyes that kept flicking down to your mouth like she didn’t mean to.

“You’re not wrong,” you said.

Silence again.

But this one felt like falling.

Ellie shifted closer without fully thinking about it, like her body made the decision before her mind could stop it. “Say it again,” she murmured.

“What?”

“That I’m not wrong.”

So you did.

“I like you,” you said quietly. “A lot. I just thought I was imagining it.”

Her breath hitched, and for once she didn’t hide it.

“Yeah,” Ellie said, voice barely there. “Me too.”

That was it.

No dramatic moment. No big confession speech.

Just both of you finally admitting what had been sitting in every glance, every shared silence, every almost-touch.

Ellie set her drink down carefully like it mattered. Then she reached for you—slow, giving you time to pull away.

You didn’t.

Her hand found your wrist first, then your fingers, like she was memorizing the fact you were real and close and choosing her back.

“Can I kiss you?” she asked, even though her hand was already shaking a little.

You nodded.

She kissed you hard. She reached her other hand up to your face so she was practically holding you up.

The kiss went on, and it didn’t stop. You climbed on top of her lap, you both still on the floor.

“Fuck, you don’t know how long i’ve wanted this.” Ellie could hardly get the words out between kisses.

“I know” You kissed down her neck. “I want you so bad.”

You knew you were drunk, you knew Ellie was too. But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t the alcohol talking, you thought about Ellie every second of everyday. You knew she was different around you, you just thought it was because you were best friends.

Suddenly Ellie slips you off her lap and lays you down so your back is on the floor. You don’t know where her sudden confidence came from but you weren’t mad about it.

You were wearing small pj shorts with a black thong underneath, and soon, Ellie would figure that out.

Ellie kissed down your neck, down your stomach, lifting up your tank top to expose your soft sensitive skin. She ran her tongue over it, stopping occasionally to bite and suck, marking you as hers.

She made her way in between your thighs. Kissing all your sensitive spots, like she’s already explored your body. Her hands were running all over you, memorizing every single curve.

You let out a whimper, you needed her closer. Ellie reacted to your noise by giving you what you wanted. She pressed her finger up against your shorts, feeling your wetness through them.

“Baby..you’re so ready for me.” She pressed up harder against you. You could feel the warmth of her touch and it made you want her even more.

“Can I?” She gripped the waist band of your shorts. You nodded. “Hips up babe.” You obeyed her and let her slip your shorts off. Leaving you in just your black lacy thong.

“Holy shit. You’re even more beautiful than I imagined” She placed a soft kiss on the font of your thong. You ran your hand through her hair as she explored you.

“Ellie. Touch me” You demanded. You couldn’t take it any longer.

“So needy.. You’re gonna have to beg for it” She lightly rubbed your clit through your panties.

“Ellie.. I need you so bad. Please please please.” You begged. You were louder than you expected. You said it so desperately. And it worked. Ellie pulled your panties to the side and slipped a finger in.

You gasped and pulled her hair a little “Fuck!” You moaned. “Fuck fuck fuck, yeah” You pleaded.

Ellie moved her fingers in and out of you slowly, savoring every moment. She lowered her head. “I need to taste you” And before you knew it her tongue was on you. She was moving so fast, you’ve never felt anything like her before. Her free hand was cupping your breast, teasing your nipple through your shirt.

“Ellie.. I-I’m gonna!” You threw your head backwards “Ellie!” You finished and panted trying to catch your breath. Ellie crawled on top of you and gave you soft kisses.

“You’re so fucking perfect. You did so good for me.”

You smiled and kissed her. Still out of breath.

You flipped so you were laying in her arms, your thong soaked and clit still sensitive. You felt it every time you moved. You laid there for a few seconds, you were both still super drunk.

“Ellie?” You looked up at her.

“Yeah?” She tucked some of your hair behind your ear and kissed it lightly.

“You’re not gonna regret this in this morning are you? When we’re sober?”

She pulled back from the kiss on your ear. “Are you crazy?” She laughed. “I’ve liked you since freshman year. We’re 19 now.. i’ve liked you for 5 years. There’s no way I could ever regret you. The only thing I regret is not doing that sooner. Hell i mean.. I think I’m in love with you.” She blushed, the alcohol still fueling her confidence.

All you could do was smile. “I love you too Ellie, so much”

Relationship .𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Wife Ellie x Reader

Summary .𖥔 ݁ ˖ » You wake up sick one morning and your wife Ellie takes care of you

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ a quick writing of soft ellie .𖥔 ݁ ˖

You wake up already feeling wrong. Heavy limbs, sore throat, everything a little too loud and too bright.

You roll over and go to cuddle Ellie, but instead you sit up and cough.

Ellie notices before you even say anything.

“Hey,” she says, quieter than usual, sitting up a bit straighter. “You okay?”

You try to brush it off, but she’s already reaching over, pressing the back of her hand to your forehead. Her expression changes immediately—subtle, but sharp enough that you catch it.

“You’re sick,” she decides like it’s not up for debate.

“I’m fine,” you mumble.

Ellie just huffs, like she’s heard that before. “Yeah. Sure.”

She’s up before you can argue again. Water first. Then a damp cloth. Then she’s pulling extra blankets over you like she’s building a barrier between you and the rest of the world.

She doesn’t make a big deal out of it, doesn’t turn it into something dramatic. That’s not her style. But she stays close the entire time—shoulder pressed to yours, hand occasionally checking your temperature like she forgot she already did it.

“You don’t have to stay,” you say later, while you guys are cuddling in bed watching Netflix, your voice scratchy.

Ellie looks at you like that’s the dumbest thing she’s heard all day.

“Yeah,” she says. “I do. I got you baby.”

And she doesn’t leave.

Not once.

Once it’s lunch time Ellie orders soup. She gets you your favorite and gets herself chicken noodle.

When it arrives she brings it to bed room and sets it down. “How you feeling babe?” She sits down at the edge of the bed.

You sit up a little and sniffle. “I’m feeling better, mostly because you’re taking care of me.”

She leans in to kiss you but you stop her. “Ellie!! I’m sick!”

Ellie Williams Head cannons

Xx Nors

✽ Ellie looks at pictures of you when she misses you

✽ Ellie acts sarcastic constantly but when she realizes you’re upset her whole mood shifts. At a party one time she was joking with her friends but when she realized you were crying after you spilled a drink on yourself she came over to you and helped you clean yourself up and stayed with you for the rest of the night

✽ She steals your hoodies and will say she didn’t while she’s wearing them

✽ She says she’s not clingy but she always has to be touching you in some way, like hooking her finger with yours, resting her head on your shoulder, resting her knee on yours

✽ She’d teach you guitar and act frustrated but she secretly thought it was cute that you were struggling. But when you got a chord right she would melt and tell you how proud she is

✽ Her way of flirting is teasing you, so when she’s not teasing you it means you’re making her really nervous. When you guys first met she was so confident but when you called her pretty she got super nervous

✽ She gets softer at night when she’s sleepy. She always wants to cuddle under the covers

✽ She’d make fun of pet names at first but then accidentally call you one, one time you guys were sitting on the porch with Joel and she slipped up and called you honey

✽ When she gets jealous she tries not to show it but she starts getting protective. Whenever you’re talking to anyone who isn’t her at a party she comes up from behind you and grabs your waist

✽ When you’re cold she pretends she’s giving you her jacket just because you’re “complaining” but she actually just cares

CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO

CLICK HERE FOR PART THREE

If you wanna show my ao3 some love but part 3 is not on there yet

Ｐａｒｔ Ｔｈｒｅｅ

Notes- This chapter picks up some tension, strap in!! Also check out my AO3 for longer chapters, I will be posting less constantly on there but when the whole story is finished it will be easier to read once it's on there. Let me know your thought about this part!! I'm so excited to keep writing.

Summary of chapter- You get to know Ellie on a deeper level, and without meaning to, you let her in too. Following her on a day of training turns into a day filled with tension.

Part Two

Ellie drove like she fought. One hand on the wheel, jaw tight, always looking three steps ahead. Apart from when she would occasionally glance at you. 

You both didn’t speak much on the way to Ellie’s house. You didn’t need to. The silence wasn’t empty.. it was heavy, like it was holding something in place that neither of you were ready to touch yet. 

You sat with your hands folded in your lap, trying not to think about how different she looked like this. No gym, no crowds, no reason to be anything but herself. And somehow, this version of her felt more intense than the one in the ring. 

You pulled up to a large building (not any bigger than yours) that was white and tall. Ellie parked her car in the dim parking garage on the first floor of the building. She pulled into the spot slightly aggressive, it made you jump in your seat a little. She seemed like she was trying to snap herself out of whatever silence had followed you both on the whole drive. 

The engine cut off but neither of you moved. Ellie kept her hand on the wheel and her eyes looking forward. Then, she finally exhaled. She breathed like she’s been holding her breath since the locker room. “We’re here.” She said it flatly. Like she was telling herself, not you. 

You followed her through the building, through the elevator, and up to her door. 

As Ellie unlocked the door, she knew immediately she was making a big mistake. Having you this close to her. She couldn’t let her guard down. She just couldn’t. Not again. 

When you walked in you expected to see a blank canvas. Just white walls and black bed sheets. But to your surprise the place looked lived in. She had a wall covered in records, and a guitar sitting on a stand next to a lived-in arm chair. 

She had hoodies thrown in a few spots, empty cups on her table like she’s had company recently, for some reason you wanted to ask who was over more than the questions you were supposed to be asking. But you stayed quiet. 

Ellie threw her keys in a little bowl next to the door. Then she just stood there, like she forgot you were over. “Shit sorry” She snapped back into reality. “Don’t um.. don’t touch anything that looks important.” She eyed her records as she said it.

You smiled a little, Ellie Williams has a soft spot for music.

“Noted.” 

You suddenly feel filled with awkwardness again. You don’t know whether to speak or stay silent. Whether to sit or stand. Ellie seems like a stranger in her own home. So you took this as an opportunity to start asking your questions. “Do you normally train alone?” Ellie’s eyes darted to you. 

“I want you to ask me real questions.” Ellie finally seems human again. She moves over to her kitchen so you follow. 

“Okay then, why did you bring me here?” You put your purse with your journal in it down on the counter. You want to show Ellie that you’re not just here to exploit her. You wouldn’t have gone to her house if you were. Before this morning you really sort of hated her. You thought she was someone completely different. 

She looked at you, something unreadable flickering in her eyes.“I don’t know yet,” she said finally.A pause. Her jaw tightened.“I keep telling myself you’re not like the others… but that’s what they all are at first.”She glanced away, like she regretted saying even that much.“You’re not here for me. You’re here for a story.”Her voice dropped a little. “And I’m not just that.”

You don’t know what to say at first. So you both stand there in silence, letting Ellie’s words hang in the air before you finally respond. 

“I get why you’d think that,” you said quietly, “But I didn’t come here because someone told me to write about you,” You swallowed and looked up at her, “I came because I thought I knew who you were.. But I was wrong.” 

Ellie looks like she’s been punched. But not the kind she’s used to. Everyone always wants something out of her. They’re always taking something from her. Letting her guard down with you was never an option, but she can’t help herself. She takes a step closer. “Y/N…” She’s talking so low it’s almost hard to hear her. 

“Ellie…” She reaches out for your face and cups your cheek slightly. 

“Fuck.” She drops her hand. “You have to stop doing this.” She takes a step back and runs her hand over her face. “You’re doing this for the story. And I keep forgetting that, you keep making me forget that!” She turns away from you completely. 

“Ellie..” Is all you can say. You’re still lingering in the daze she put you in when she touched you. 

“No Y/N, let’s just forget that happened.. Okay?” 

All you can do is nod. You normally always have a snarky comeback. But now? You can’t even manage to get words out. 

She starts to open up her cabinets and look through them until she pulls out a box of dry spaghetti. “Lunch?” She says it like nothing just happened. Like it didn’t affect her. 

You play with the bracelets on your arm, “Yeah sure.” You find a seat on one of the stools at her kitchen island, close to the stove where she was beginning to boil water. 

You sat and watched her move, it was nothing like you’ve ever seen from her before. It was gentle and soft. Every time you’ve seen Ellie moving before this it was violent. But now she seemed calm, almost vulnerable . 

You decided to get up and look around while Ellie was busy. Even though she told you not to touch anything, you reached down and ran your hand over the hoodie she had draped over her arm chair. It was red and had a dark stain on the sleeve. Suddenly you heard her voice from behind you, “You can wear it, if you’re cold or whatever.” 

You look down at your outfit. A professional tank top with your dress pants. You picked up the hoodie and placed it over your head. “Thank you.” It smelled like whiskey. You didn’t take Ellie as a drinker, since she always had to be in perfect shape for fighting. Strange. You realized that you really didn’t know her at all. 

“Ignore the stain.. I wore it the other night.” She walked back to the kitchen leaving you alone once again in the living room. You walked over to the big black case next to the tv. There. You found the alcohol. Bottles and bottles of nothing but whiskey. 

You made your way back to the kitchen, holding one of the hall empty bottles. “Your drink of choice?” She turned and looked at you. 

“Yeah..” She poured the pasta in the boiling water. 

“Didn’t take you for much of a drinker.” 

“We all have our weaknesses.” She sounded defeated as she said it. 

“How often do you drink?” You put the bottle down next to your purse and sit down on a stool, looking at her, waiting for an answer. 

She dodges it at first, but then says “Only when I lose. Or win. Same thing really.” 

You sigh, “Ellie, that's not normal.” You hesitate, “You don’t talk like someone who’s okay. You make everything sound like it’s hurting you, even winning.” 

Ellie reacts sharper, more volatile—but still controlled.Her hand hits the counter a little harder than necessary. “Stop,” she says immediately. Not loud. Just sharp. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She turns slightly toward you, eyes locked. “You think I want it to be like that? You think I choose it?” Then she breaks eye contact first. “…Just drop it.”. 

You sit in silence once again as she finishes making the food, placing a bowl in front of you. She sets down a bowl for herself next to you and sits down. She begins eating like the previous conversation never happened, while you just stare at the food. 

“You gonna eat?” She had the fork up to her mouth as she asked, swallowing her bite. 

“Yeah sorry I’m just..” You look down at the food. Food has always been hard for you. You always tell yourself you can just run on coffee and you’ll never have to eat. You’ll never have to look at yourself in the mirror again and tell yourself that you shouldn’t have eaten. 

Ellie puts her fork down, her eyes softening. “Did you have breakfast at least?” 

You don’t answer. 

“Okay well I’m not your mom, I’m not going to force you to eat or anything.” But she doesn’t pick her fork back up either. 

“Is that why you do this? Journaling? So you don’t have to face yourself? So you can live through others?” She doesn’t say it with rude intent. She just says it like she recognizes something familiar in you. She picks her fork up, but slower this time, almost guilty. You realized her hands were shaking while holding the fork, you couldn’t help but notice the bruises and scrapes on her hands, but you ignored it.  

“That’s not why I do it..” You say it quieter than you intended, you didn’t want to seem weak. Especially not in front of someone so strong. “It’s just easier to understand other people than it is to understand myself.” 

This makes Ellie’s movements pause, she nods slightly, like she hates that she understands what you mean. 

Ellie finishes her food while you sit in jealously. How can she eat that? And so easily, she didn’t even have to give it a second thought. While you were deep in thought Ellie’s phone buzzed. 

“Shit,” She picked up her phone, it was her alarm for afternoon training. She gets up without cleaning up her bowl and pushes her chair in. “I’ve got training. You coming?” 

You snap out of whatever trance you were in. “Do you want me to come?” You looked up at her from your chair. 

She shrugged, “I mean, aren’t you supposed to?” 

“I guess so.” 

“Cool, let’s go.” Ellie grabbed her keys and started to head out the door. You grabbed your stuff and followed. 

The car ride there was quiet, it would be silent besides the faint music from the radio playing. Ellie sat back, her left hand on the wheel and her right laying on the center console. You had your hands in your lap, trying not to think about the situation you were in. You’ve been with Ellie all day and barely had anything written down in your journal beside all the unanswered questions you wrote down.

You arrived at the training facility and followed Ellie inside, keeping your distance. You ended up back in the same locker room from earlier this morning. 

Ellie put her bag down and got her tape out, “I’m gonna hit up the punching bag again, I was soft in my last fight. It didn’t feel like a win. I still felt weak.” 

You watched her start to unravel the tape and try to wrap it around her hands, but they were shaking so much that she was struggling. Without thinking you made your way over to her and grabbed the tape. “Here, put your hand out.” 

She obeyed, putting her right hand out for you. You began taping, just how you used to do your brothers, it was like second nature. You wrapped it around her forearm and made your way down to her hands. Wrapping it around her thumb and her palm. 

Ellie watched you, “How do you know how to do this?” she never took her eyes off your hands.

You smiled at the thought, “my brother used to fight, he was good at it. I always helped him get ready.” You finished up her right hand and reached for her left and began to wrap once again. 

“You’re good at this, I didn’t take you as someone that was into fighting, you seem so.. Professional.” 

“Like you said, we all have our weaknesses, our soft spot, fighting was mine. Not me fighting of course. But being around all of this, it brings me comfort.” You look up at Ellie, you had just finished wrapping her hand, but you didn’t want to let you, and Ellie didn’t pull away either. 

“Are you really different from the others? Or are you just telling me that?” She doesn’t take her eyes away from yours. 

You forget to answer, you are blinded by her. She’s pretty up close. Her soft freckles, her green eyes. You knew you shouldn’t be thinking like this but you couldn't help it. 

“Oh Ellie, I’m not like anyone you’ve ever met.” You don’t know where the sudden confidence came from, but it felt natural to say. 

She doesn’t pull away immediately. Instead, she studies you for a second longer. “…You shouldn’t say things like that,” she says quietly. But her voice isn’t warning you. It’s more like she’s warning herself.

“Do you want me to stop talking to you like this?” You run your fingers over her hand. 

She stayed quiet, still looking at you. Her breathing hitched as you moved your hand. 

“I didn’t think so.” 

She looked at your lips, then back up at your eyes. “I’m gonna hate myself for this.”

Before you know it Ellie’s lips come crashing into yours. Her hands cup your face, you feel the rough tape on your face, but somehow it all feels soft. You kiss her back, even harder, you knew it was wrong. You knew you were supposed to hate her, but you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t help that you wanted her. 

She backed you into one of the lockers, pinning your back down. She moved her hands from your face down to your hips. “Fuck” She muttered under her breath. 

“Ellie..” She started to kiss down your neck, it was like she needed you. And for a second you forgot about everything. You forgot Ellie was the infamous MMA fighter who made people cry. She couldn’t be that person, it was in this moment that you realized it was all a mask. This was the real Ellie, and you liked it. You liked the real Ellie. 

Her hands tugged at her red hoodie that was still on you. You started to let her take it off, but a bang at the door. 

“Ellie!” 

You both backed up immediately. You pulled the hoodie back down and smoothed out your hair, wiping the traces of kisses and bites she left on your neck. Leaving no evidence, like she was never there. Ellie cleared her throat. “Yeah?” She called back. 

“You got the training room for an hour, kid, you better get going.” You heard the footsteps, then heard them disappear. 

“Fuck okay.” She started for the door, leaving you standing there. 

“Wait,” You called to her and she turned around. “Where are you going?” You had a little bit of pleading in your voice. 

I POSTED MY STORY ON AO3!!! wow that was so confusing to use LOL

It’s called FIGHT NIGHT by noracolby on there please go show it some love!!

FIGHT NIGHT on Ao3

xx Nors

Part one

HI everyone. I woke up this morning so excited to write part two to this LOL. I love this already and hope you guys do too!! Please leave comments I love to talk!! xx Nors

The heavy thud of fists against a punching bag echoed through the training room like a heartbeat. Fast. Violent. Relentless. Sweat clung to the air so thick it felt hard to breathe. You stood near the doorway with your journal pressed against your chest, watching Ellie Williams tear into the bag like it had personally betrayed her. Everyone else in the gym avoided looking at her for too long. Coaches walked around her. Fighters kept their distance. But Ellie didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she did, and preferred it that way. 

No one looked at her, besides you. 

Unlike all the other fighters at the facility, Ellie didn’t have a trainer with her. She was alone. She had her own routine. She prided herself in rising to the top the way she did. She did it all on her own. 

You sat on a bench lining the white walls of her training room, which closely resembled a hospital. It was eerie, you felt trapped the second you walked in there. You crossed your legs, leaned back, and opened your journal. You carefully wrote down what you were seeing. Your pen glided on the paper taking notes of Ellie’s every move. The way she would wipe her sweat with just her left forearm, keeping her whole right arm constantly ready to strike. The way her feet bounced back and force in rhythm, like she was trying to keep up. The little grunts that escaped her mouth when she hit hard enough. 

What was she thinking?

Her hair was lazily falling in front of her face. But she didn’t care. Ellie Williams never seemed to care about anything. 

Right before she started her training, she turned on her speaker, opened spotify, and gave you her phone. Picking music in front of other people has to be one of the most nerve racking things on the planet. So instead of playing something you liked, you pressed shuffle on her playlist titled “Training”. I mean it seemed fitting enough, since she was you know, training and all. 

The first song that came on was not what you had expected. It wasn’t rap or anything of the sort, it was actually the opposite. A familiar melody filled the room Behind Blue Eyes by The Who. The song you only listen to after a hard day at work. A song you only listen to when you feel like you’re drowning. But Ellie? Ellie was using the song as anger fuel. Before setting her phone down you scrolled through the whole playlist, you felt invasive, but again, isn’t that basically your job? 

All the songs weren’t hype songs. Not a single one. All of them were… borderline sad. Or had a depressing message. 

Interesting. Your pen danced on the paper.

By the time Ellie walked away from the punching bag she was covered in sweat. Her face was full of hate but there has only been a few times where it hasn’t been.  “Let’s go.” 

She turned off the speaker and snatched it up. She walked out of the room, toweling hanging around her neck and as you followed closely behind her, you couldn’t help but notice her back. The muscles moved like waves in water every time she stepped. You knew she was strong, but it was a whole new perspective seeing it up close.

Damn.

No what the fuck Y/N!!! You knew you shouldn’t be thinking like this, but something about her made you forget yourself for a second. 

Ellie had noticed you slow and glazed behind her shoulder, ‘You coming or what?” Her voice was rough from exhaustion. 

You blinked, bringing yourself back, you looked down at your purse like you had just stopped to adjust your purse strap for a second. “I’m coming.” 

Ellie smirked faintly to herself before continuing down the hallway. 

She leads you through the gym once again, silently. 

As you both move through the gym you notice other fighters looking at you both. Like they were confused Ellie had company. The coaches around them either gave weird judgmental looks, or looks of jealousy because the fighter their fighter would never be like Ellie Williams. 

You break the silence, “So Ellie, do you come here every morning to train?” You open up your journal and click your pen ready for her response.

Nothing. She just keeps walking like you never even said anything. 

Oookay. You got this. She’s just… difficult, you tell yourself that at least. 

You put the journal and pen back into your bag. You have a feeling if you want to get through to her that you’re going to have to have a different approach. You can’t make it feel like you’re just a nosy reporter. You have to make her feel like she can open up to you, make her want to open up to you. So you match her silence, for now. 

You follow her down a very narrow hallway, where could this possibly be taking us?

The hallway forces you to walk closer to her. Too close. Still, not as close as you once were in her locker room. But this, pretty close. 

All the sudden Ellie stops, causing you to almost crash into her shoulder. But before you can she grabs your wrist and stops you. More silence. But this time it’s different. It’s slower. 

She looks down at your hand which she is practically holding, and so do you. Her knuckles are bruised, the tape on her hands is barely holding on anymore exposing her skin beneath. You notice that her hand is shaking. And just as your eyes grow concerned she pulls away. 

“You always stare this much or am I special?” She laughs a little at her own joke. 

You should fire something back, show her what you’re made of. But instead your words betray you. “I mean, you’re kind of hard not to stare at.” 

Y/N!? WHY DID YOU SAY THAT

You try to hide your slightly embarrassed expression by clearing your throat and checking your watch. Ellie just scoffs and continues walking, you follow. 

But before you guys can even go a few feet from where you were ellie stops once again and turns around. “Don’t do that okay?” 

You stop, slightly caught off guard. “Do what?” You cross your arms. Trying to seem intimidating but you’re actually super embarrassed. 

“Act like I’m interesting.” She turns away, but you can see the pain in her eyes, like she’s used to things like this happening to her. 

“Ellie I don’t have to act. I think you’re just used to people not looking at you close enough. You push them away before they even get the chance to know you.” 

Ellie avoids eye contact, “Yeah?” She shifts her jaw like she’s holding her tongue back from saying something she doesn’t want to. “You talk a lot for someone who’s supposed to be observing. Her eyes, she finally looks at you. Your mouth can’t form words. “So stay focused, you might miss something important if you’re too busy trying to figure me out.” 

Before you can answer a coach calls “Williams! You have Tech Sparing with Abby!”

She rolls her eyes. “There’s an observatory deck at the end of this hallway and up the stairs. You'll be able to see everything from there.” She then walks away leaving you to find your own way around. 

Ellie didn’t like this new feeling. She didn’t like how she didn’t mind having you around. She wanted more than anything to scream at you like she does all the other reporters. But there was something about you. The way you looked so fragile but spoke so confidently. She couldn’t imagine hurting you like the other reporters either. She actually thought it was kind of cute the way you snapped back at her. Any normal reporter would be a hundred questions in by now. You had asked two and didn’t even care that you didn’t get an answer. 

Ellie did want an article written on her. To show the world she’s not just some beast like they portray her as. She was human, she felt things just like everyone else did. But every time she read a draft that a reporter made on her it was complete bullshit. They would talk about how Ellie is a “killer” and how she’s brutal. And maybe she was all of those things in the ring, but that’s what she was told she was supposed to be. That’s what the people want. She had a feeling things could be different with you. 

Up on the observatory deck you were alone. You decided to call Taylor to tell her how it was going as you waited for Ellie and this Abby woman to enter the ring. 

The phone rang twice before she picked up. “Hey girl!! How’s it going?” You could hear her typing on her computer in the back, sipping coffee, in fact you could almost smell it through the phone. 

“Um you know, I mean she’s still Ellie Williams so there's that.” You looked down at your nails, the fresh white polish had already begun chipping. 

“C’mon babe. Are you kidding, give me more than that. You’re at her training session! No other journalist has ever made it that far!” 

“I mean yeah it’s cool. I haven't gotten through to her yet. Though I am trying. I’m planning on sticking with her throughout her whole day, I mean if she’ll let me. Speaking of what’s next on her schedule?” You hear faint footsteps and echoes of voices from down where the ring was. You peaked and saw a muscular woman, long blonde hair, braided. She wasn’t nearly as cool looking as Ellie, you assumed this was Abby. 

“She has nothing untl this afternoon.” Taylor gasps, “Listen babe I’ve got to go! Keep me posted okay?” Before you can answer she hangs up. 

You lean up on the balcony and look down. There she is, Ellie. She changed her clothes, she’s now wearing a white sports bra and some longer sports instead of sweatpants. 

Fuck. Abs. You assumed she would have abs because you know, she’s a fighter and all. But not like this. She had scars lining her stomach, which was kind of hot?

No no no!! You can’t be thinking like this. 

Her hands are wrapped in new tape, while Abby is wearing light gloves. Ellie crawls over the walls of the ring and enters it. Her hair is now pulled back into a new messy bun. She looks.. Unbothered. Like she didn’t even try to put herself together but still she looks like she knows what she’s doing. Abby on the other hand looked like she tried too hard. She’s wearing a muscle tank top and shorter shorts than Ellie’s. She looks cleaned up, polished. Her hair is pulled back perfectly. 

The coach is explaining some stuff about fighting to them as you write some of it down. You know quite a lot about fighting since your brother grew up fighting. He never made it big though, he got addicted to popping pills fresh out of high school and you haven't seen him since. But being around all this stuff makes you think of him. He would love this. You wonder if he knows who Ellie is, if he’s a fan. 

As your mind comes back to reality you notice that the sparring is about to begin. Right before it does however, Ellie’s eye flick up at yours. Your pen stops moving on the paper, It was only a second, but it felt like she looked right at you. 

No no. Of course she didn’t she’s Ellie fucking Williams. She’s too caught up in her own world to even give a shit about you. She's just.. Focused. You look back down at your journal and try to write.

But while she’s moving and she’s fighting, you can’t focus on anything but her. The way those muscles move, the sounds you can hear from all the way up here coming out of her mouth. How weak she’s making Abby look though Abby is way more muscular and buff than her. 

The sparring goes on for 20 more minutes and you don’t look away from Ellie once. LIke seriously you forgot to write anything down. You were mesmerized. 

When Ellie and Abby walked out of the ring and down their desnoated hallways you made your way back dwon the stairs. You assumed Ellie would be in her locker room so you navigated your way through the facility by yourself to find it. It took a few wrong trunks but you finally made it to the door. You knocked, hopefully this time you wouldn’t be locked out. 

The door handle moved slightly and Ellie revealed herself opening it. 

“Uh hi” You spoke, you didn’t mean to say it so powerlessly, but you did. 

“Hey..” Ellie rubbed the back of her neck. 

Neither of you moved. The sounds coming from the hallway were almost silent now. All that was left was just the sound of your unsteady breathing. 

You break the tension, as you always do and pull out your journal. “I uh I have a few questions for you before we head out.” It sounds less confident than you intended it to, yet you still clicked your pen. 

Ellie sighs, “Not right now please.” But instead of shutting you out, she shuts the door behind you both, allowing you into her space.

Ellie’s eyes flick over you. Not like before though. This time it’s slower. Like she’s really looking. “You watched the whole thing.” A true statement coming from her mouth. 

“Yeah.. I didn’t expect it to be like that.” You said too much. You slipped. You showed your vulnerability. So you try to save it. “Well I mean I waas observing obviously. I took tons of notes for the article.” You scoff. But it doesn’t convince Ellie. 

“Mk, sure.” She looks away. “You seem surprised.” 

You shrug. You don’t know what to say. Of course you’re surprised. No one told you Ellie Williams was so gentle like this! You feel like you’re going crazy.   

“Not surprised.. I just didn’t expect you to be so structured.” 

Ellie tilts her head slightly. “You’re doing it again Y/N, talking like you're already writing.” You can’t help it, you blush. 

Ellie notices and you can see a small smirk tugging at her lips. “People always expect it to be worse than it is,” She pauses, “Or better.” 

You don’t get your notebook out, but you ask “Which do you think it is? Worse or better?” The first question you’ve ever asked without your journal, you didn’t want it for the article, you wanted it for yourself. 

Ellie chews on her lip, thinking, She walks past you to the sink to unwrap her tape. “It depends who’s watching.” She turns to look at you. “Right?” 

Butterflies. You feel your stomach do a flip. Ellie moves closer, “You should probably leave before this gets too hard for you Y/N” She uses her finger to move your chin upwards facing her. 

For a second you forgot what breathing felt like. Her fingers under your chin didn’t feel forceful, they felt careful. Like she was deciding something. 

“Ellie..” Was all you could utter, it was just above a whisper. 

“Yeah.” Ellie looks at your lips, and her eyes trace the lines of your face. “This is what I mean Y/N, you’re not like the other reporters are you?” 

You smile slightly, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you Ellie Williams, you’ve never met someone like me. I’m not just a dumb reporter. I’m here to get to know you, that's why I’m good at what I do.” 

Ellie suddenly drops your chin, eyes tearing away from your face. “You’re going to ruin your own article if you keep looking at me like that, keep talking to me in that voice.” She continues to unwrap the tape from around her hands. 

“I’m not looking at you in any way!” A lie, you know it, and so does she. 

“You are, you know you are.” 

A sudden knock at the door. “Ellie!! Someone’s here to talk to you!” She lets out a sigh. 

“You should go..” You look at the floor as you say it. 

“Y/N?” Ellie opens the door to leave as she says it. “Stay okay? This will only be a few minutes.” She begins to leave but then turns around again, “Don’t write me like everyone else okay?” Then she finally shuts the door behind her. 

You stand there, breathless. Don’t write me like everyone else. Her words burned the back of your head. You stood in the same spot the whole time she was gone. You were in a dazed state of thought when the doorhandle clicked again. You didn’t even know how long you were standing there for. 

“You stayed?” Ellie tried her best not to show any excitement. 

“I stayed..” You told yourself man than her.