i just came up with this and i could DIE i feel smart. (i also haven’t done an ask on here in a FAT minute so sorry if i do it weird??) reader is a worker (camera, makeup, etc. just some sort of tech element) behind the scenes on the set for tlou and meets bella and they become friends and then more :)))) can be as short or long as you’d like!!
𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐘 - 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐒𝐄𝐘
pairing ; bella ramsey x fem!reader
summary ; when you had taken a summer job as a makeup artist for the up and coming show the last of us, you expected to make money—but you didn’t expect to find love.
content warnings ; swearing,
a/n ; i was SO excited to do this request omgomg, i might’ve gotten a little carried away and accidentally made this suuper long, part two is on the way!! i hope you enjoy this miniseries :)
p.s. also im still working to get my ask box in my bio, but requests are open and feel free to submit asks <3
you had always had a fascination with makeup—ever since you were little. whether it was practicing eyeshadow in your bedroom when you were eleven years old…or making a buck from your friends when they asked you to do makeup for the school dance.
eventually, as you matured, your talent matured with you. you were humble about your skills—always calling it a ‘simple minded hobby’, or ‘a way to relieve your stress’.
it was springtime, two weeks before summer vacation—you’d be starting college in the fall; and you were sitting at the kitchen table with your mother, going over potential internships to spend your summer.
“what about a makeup artist?” your mother commented, taking a sip of her orange juice. you looked at her blankly, before sighing.
“mom, i appreciate the idea—i really do…but come on—where would we even find somewhere that had makeup artist internships?”
“i found you a job as a makeup artist in canada,” your mom spoke up, sparking your interest as you looked up from your phone, “sure, it’s a little far away from home…but it’s good practice for college. plus, you’d be making a little money on the side, it’s a win-win situation.”
“in canada?” you asked, confused , “mom, what?”
“it’s for a new show, the last of us. an old friend of mine reached out, personally asked if you’d be interested.”
the last of us. the name sounded familiar. you shrugged, feeling flattered at the thought someone personally asked your mother if you’d be interested.
“sure,” you agreed, “that sounds fun.”
three weeks later, you, your backpack, and your suitcase had arrived in alberta, canada.
you were staying in a hotel room nearby the sets, and you couldn’t wait to get off your feet. you had ordered a shared-uber, trying to save as much money as you could. you’d be spending the entire summer here, and the point was to make money—not lose it.
you stood on the sidewalk as a black car drove up to you, as you read the license plate, recognizing the car as your uber. you piled your things into the trunk, stepping inside.
“y/n l/n?” the driver asked, and you nodded your head in confirmation.
“yup,” you said, “that’s me.”
“it’s nice to meet you,” the driver said. wow. this driver was much much friendlier than the ones at home.
“we’re waiting for the other rider, so hang tight and we’ll get you to your destination in no time.”
you thanked the driver, placing your headphones in your ears. you scrolled throughout your spotify playlists, ultimately deciding on the superache album by conan gray.
it wasn’t until minutes later when the other rider arrived, and your jaw dropped. you suddenly felt insecure in your airport fit—baggy sweats without makeup, messy hair finishing off your disheveled appearance.
the other rider was the most attractive person you had ever seen. their hair was short, down and mostly covered by a grey hat. they had on a casual pink t-shirt and black jeans. the driver helped them put their bags into the trunk besides yours, and before you knew it they were sliding into the seat next to you.
“hi,” you said, holding out your hand, “i’m y/n.”
the stranger smiled warmly, and it made you even more flustered, if that was even possible. god, you didn’t even know their name yet—you had to get a grip.
“i’m bella,” they said, a british accent as smooth as butter, “pleasure.”
you smiled back, taking out your airpods, placing them back into your case, hoping that your conversation with bella would extend.
“no way,” bella said seconds later, “you listen to conan gray, too?”
you looked at her and blinked.
“sorry—i wasn’t looking over your shoulder,” they quickly said, “i just saw a glance of the album cover, i’d recognize it anywhere.”
“no worries,” you assured. “i take it you’re a fan of him?”
bella nodded enthusiastically, “he’s only my favorite singer of all time.”
you bit your lip excitedly. canada was treating you well already.
“we have so much in common,” you chuckled out.
“that we do,” bella agreed, pausing, “so…are you here visiting friends?”
“no, i’m actually here for a job. i’m working as a makeup artist.” you said with a smile.
“me too! well—not a makeup artist, but i am here for work.”
“that’s so cool!” you gushed, “what do you do?”
“i’m an actor,” bella said.
your eyes widened. as if they couldn’t get any cooler.
a lack of sleep from the plane ride must’ve been catching up to you, as you hadn’t quite put two-and-two together.
still, you managed to stay awake, talking to bella throughout the entire duration of the car ride. bella was going to lunch to meet a few people, whereas you were going straight to your hotel.
bella had gotten on a phone call minutes before you arrived to your destination, making your goodbye rushed and awkward. you cursed out whoever was on the other end of the call.
it hadn’t been until you were halfway to the elevator of the hotel until you realized you had forgotten to get bella’s phone number.
you tried to forget about the mysterious bella as the night went on. you had taken a long nap as soon as you arrived to the hotel room—which helped get your mind off things, but the second you were awake, bella was on your mind.
how could you have been so stupid?
you had never met someone that was so easy to talk to before. you had never met someone as cute as bella either. they were the entire package and your forgetful-ass blew it.
still, life had to go on. you pushed aside your disappointment as you began to unpack and officially settle into your room, and you called your parents to alert them you arrived to the hotel safely.
the sun had begun to set, and you were halfway through unpacking. you had made a few calls between the makeup department in the last hour, and they had told you that you needed to bring your own makeup in to set tomorrow—just until the makeup the crew had ordered came in.
while you found the whole ordeal slightly unprofessional, you actually didn’t mind at all—and you were happy to provide. you were just a little annoyed that now you had to pack up all your makeup and bring it to set at 6 in the morning.
right. you had forgotten how early you had to be awake. the car ride was forty-five minutes away, since the set was basically in the middle of nowhere—and you wanted to be able to look nice and presentable.
if you wanted a shot at getting eight hours of sleep, you had to be asleep now.
you brushed your teeth and washed your face faster than you ever had before, and settled into your bed. you were out like a light, and the dreamy stranger from the car ride definitely didn’t appear in your dream.
you had slept through your alarm. on the first day.
it was 5:15 when you woke up, and you practically hopped out of bed in shock. screw getting ready for bed fast last night, you had gotten ready today at a record lightning speed.
you were calling yourself another uber as soon as you were dressed, deciding to do your makeup in the car. it was your strong suit, and you weren’t worried about not getting that done in time.
it was 5:30 when you got in your uber. you’d be at work at 6:15…fifteen minutes late, and you’d pray that you wouldn’t get fired before you even walked in.
maybe it was luck—maybe it was something else, but there was practically no traffic on the road since it was so early in the morning, making your arrival 5:57 a.m, not late.
you sighed a breath of relief as you entered the set, a yawn slipping past your lips. you’d make sure to find a time to grab coffee.
it took you a few minutes to find the makeup artist trailer, and when you did…you were in shock. there was a chair, a desk, and a mirror—with your name on it.
you barely had time to bask in the sheer excitement of it all before someone appeared behind you.
“hi,” a voice called out, making your tired figure jump as you turned around.
a woman stood before you. she was much older than you, with blonde curly hair, a warm smile on her face. this must’ve been brianna, your mother’s friend.
“you must be y/n. i’m brianna,” she introduced, “i’m technically your boss—but i don’t care about those kind of labels. i’m just here to help you get settled.”
you nodded and smiled at her, launching into a brief conversation. you learned that the last of us had started shooting a couple of weeks ago, but they had been shooting scenes with characters that you weren’t assigned to.
it was confusing, getting used to everything. it turned out that every makeup artist was assigned to a few specific characters. brianna did the makeup for the actors of joel, sarah, and tess. you were assigned to riley, maria, and ellie.
the actresses for riley and maria wouldn’t be shooting until the next month, so for now—you only had one actor to worry about. you didn’t know the actor who was playing ellie yet. you hadn’t checked your email giving you the names of everyone.
ellie was the main character of the show, you quickly learned. you had received a script of the basic information about the show last week, but you had yet to read it. you made a mental note to check it out when you got back to your hotel room.
like brianna said, the scenes that the show had started shooting hadn’t included ellie’s character yet, and it was the actress’ first day on set—making it yours, too.
everything brianna said felt surreal. you had a real job, and you were only 18. sure, this was temporary, but you promised yourself that this would be the best three months of your life.
as if on cue, you heard footsteps enter the van, and you knew it must’ve been one of the actors preparing to get their makeup done. by you.
you tried not to internally squeal, attempting to prepare yourself to meet whoever would walk through those doors.
you did not expect to see your mystery uber buddy, bella, walk through said doors.
“bella?” you said, as they turned their head towards you, a confused smile quickly making its way up to their face.
“y/n?” they replied back, “holy crap. i knew you were a makeup artist, but i didn’t put two-and-two together.”
“you said you were an actor! that should’ve been easier for me to figure out the details,” you spoke, and bella shrugged.
“both of our mistakes then, i guess,” they began, a small chuckle leaving their lips.
maybe fate had a plan for the two of you after all.
the next few weeks had been magical. you saw bella everyday, sometimes for hours at a time. they’d be the first face you saw in the morning and the last face you saw leaving set.
it was nice, having ‘quality time’—as they called it, when you did their makeup. it wasn’t too much, it never was, just little touch ups to make their skin look less oily on camera and small things like that. you didn’t think bella needed any makeup at all.
the longest part of the makeup process for ellie was her scar. you had to do the scar on bella’s eyebrow every morning. that was probably the hardest part. it wasn’t the fact that you had to do it perfectly each time—no, that was easy—it was the fact you had to get extremely close to bella’s face.
they’d always giggle when your noses accidentally brushed together, or if you guys would make eye contact when they opened their eyes—even though you told them not to.
“i can’t help it,” they’d say, “if a pretty girl’s face is right in front of mine, i’ve gotta sneak a peek,” bella was obviously joking—they always were, but that didn’t change the way your face would go beet red as you struggled to find a comeback to their words.
the flirty dynamic of you and bella’s friendship was developed early on. you were easily flustered, and bella was a natural flirt. it was like two missing pieces of a puzzle.
you had the same schedule as bella—since you were their makeup artist, and since you did, the two of you often spent your lunch break together.
there was a small diner near the set, where bella took you almost everyday. you always playfully argued who’d pay.
bella always won, as they had secretly snuck the waitress their credit card before you even got the chance to get out your wallet.
“bella,” you’d say, “you don’t have to do that.”
“think of it as a thank you.” they’d reply.
“for hanging out with me.”
“we have the same schedule.”
“yeah,” bella would sigh, “but no one is forcing you to be here. you could be anywhere else in the world, but you’re here. with me.”
that would always shut you up pretty quickly.
they had your order memorized—a grilled cheese sandwich and a vanilla milkshake. you had their order of avocado salad memorized too—their meals were easy to remember, as bella was one of the only vegans you knew.
you guys would talk the hour away, most times giggling back and forth about how you dreaded going back to work that afternoon.
but you never dreaded it. not really.
how could you, when your lips got to be inches away from bella’s as you painted on their scar?
you knew pretty early on that bella made you really fucking happy. they brought out a giddiness in you that no one else ever had, they took the weight off of your shoulders.
brianna would tease you everyday about it.
“you guys are so whipped for each other,” she’d say, after bella left the trailer to go film.
you’d blush as you put away the brushes that had been tracing bella’s skin only moments prior as you shook your head.
“no way,” you’d deny, “we’re just friends.”
brianna would laugh, just like she always did.
“friends don’t look at friends that way.”
and as much as you pretended to deny it, god, you hoped she was right.
