Work Text:
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
You lie wide awake in your bedroom, looking up at the roof. Your attempts to fall asleep have so far been nothing but failures. Snow falling to the ground is what your eyes can catch through the window. The world outside is quiet, everyone has gone to bed now. Well, everyone except you and someone else. The faint sound of footsteps outside your room informs you that somebody is also awake. Maybe your brother is up for a quick bathroom break? God, you really need to fall asleep now or you're going to be so exhausted tomorrow. The sound of someone gently padding across the wooden floor is coming closer. Almost as if the person is outside your room.
The sound stops and everything is quiet again. You turn around in the bed, facing the wall and close your eyes. Trying to think of something else to make your mind sleepy. One sheep, two sheep, three-
Your thoughts are interrupted by a new sound. The door to your room is opening, revealing someone standing in the doorway. You try to squint your eyes, but the darkness in the room is making it hard to see who’s standing in front of you.
“Hey dude”, a familiar voice whispers. The person in the doorway appears to be none other than your brother's best friend, Ellie. Your stomach makes a turn before you turn on your bedside lamp. “Is it okay if I come in?”. You nod and she closes the door, coming closer to you. What is she doing here, you think. A faint memory of your brother telling you about her staying overnight comes back to you. “Sorry, I can’t sleep and your brother snores really loud”, she giggles and now so do you. It really is a nightmare to sleep in the same room as your brother, his snore's loud as a chainsaw.
Yawning, you sit up in the bed. Patting the place next to you, giving her an invite to sit beside you. “Hi, Ellie”, you whisper shyly. It has been a long time since the last time you two talked. A long time since you had been alone with her like this, just the two of you.
“What’s up with you?”, she starts, “we don’t really talk as much now”. Tilting your head, you look at her, shrugging. Her lips form a smirk. “You're not avoiding me, right?”, she gives you a playful shove and you can feel a bunch of butterflies ganging up on you in your stomach. You can’t really say that you've been actively avoiding her. It's just that you may have developed a little, very embarrassing, crush on your brothers best friend. It’s not easy trying to get over someone that you see every other day, especially not at your own house.
Ellie looks around in your room and sees your desk, cluttered with papers and post-it notes. “School's been busy, huh?”. Yeah, that’s a good excuse. Thanks, Ellie.
“Well, you know. Senior year and all that. Haven’t really had that much free time “, you try to give her a convincing smile. School has really been beating your ass for the last couple of months, but that’s not the only reason for your absence in her life.
A faint laugh escapes her lips, trying to not wake your family up. “Oh, senior year. Remember those good ol’ times”. You snort at her attempt to sound all old and mighty.
“Ellie, that was only two years ago”, you whisper back and she hushes you, pretending to be annoyed. Beautiful and soft auburn hair falls onto her face. A small blow is released from her mouth to push it away. It doesn’t work and the string of hair falls back again. Her jawline-short hair exquisitely frames her face. Ellie really is a sight for sore eyes, no wonder you have developed feelings for her. Looking at her now, with cute tired eyes and sleepily messy hair, it seems like it’s been inevitable.
Another beautiful smile is formed on her lips. “Shh, let me be old”. Snorting again, you roll your eyes at her. Then she gives you a look again, more intently this time. Almost as if she’s wondering what is on your mind. “Can I”, she starts, “can I get into bed? It’s really cold in here”. Nodding, you feel a warmth creeping up your neck. Suddenly your room is not so cold anymore and before you can think about it anymore, she's sneaking under the duvet beside you. After feeling her body heat, you lay down next to her. Now, it feels like you have forgotten how to breathe. In and out. In and out. You hope she hasn’t noticed.
The sounds of her breathing calm you down though. Her presence is always filled with some form of confidence and solidness, making everyone else feel safe. That was one of the reasons you fell for her.
“Do you remember when we were little and played Mario Cart. How we always used to crush your brother”, Ellie laughs to herself. You hum, acknowledging her memory. When you were younger you didn’t have a lot of friends, so you always used to hang out with your brother and Ellie. It was always you three until you got older and things got different. Now you had your own friends and didn’t feel the same urge to hang out with your brother. Your long-lived crush on Ellie also contributed to your fallout.
“We should totally hand out again, it was so long ago and you are really cool”, her words interrupted your train of thought. Did she really want to hang out with you? You had always assumed that your liking of her, even as just a friend, was mostly one-sided. Who wanted to hang out with their best friend's younger sister?
“Yeah”, you start, “that would be nice”. It really would, you really missed having her in your life. “So what's going on with you, then?”. Small talk wasn’t really your thing but you really didn’t know what more to say. Her presence always made you kind of nervous and, at the same time it was easy to talk to her - you always wanted to make a good impression. Wanting to calculate your words carefully to sound more relaxed and cool than you really were.
Ellie shifts in the bed, facing you now. “What’s going on with me? Ehm, college is kinda a lot. Very fun but a lot of studying”. Of course it was a lot, Ellie was studying her second year of astrophysics at a nearby university. You could never imagine doing such a complex subject.
Looking up at the ceiling, you gather the courage to ask her something more. “What about your love life then?”. A smirk plasters on her lips.
“Wanna know if I’m dating anybody?”, her voice was lower now. A sharp breath is dragged into your mouth. You hope you didn’t sound desperate (even though you kind of were). There was one wish you had, one wish and that was that she wasn’t dating your brother. That would really crush you. Having her so close all the time but so far out of reach.
The darkness of the night makes your borders go down and you finally gather the confidence to ask. “Are you dating my brother?”, your words were quick and hectically but you hoped she heard you. You really didn’t want to repeat yourself.
“Am I dating who? Your brother? God, no!”, Ellie laughs, a very pleasing sound in your ears. “One, he’s gross and two, he’s not my type, at all”. She rolls her eyes, smiling at you. Do you dare to ask…
“What’s your type then?”. There it is. You exhale.
“Well, first of all, not a man”. What? Maybe you have a chance now. Stop it, of course you don’t. She’s far to cool and attractive for you. Ellie notices your changed facial expression and raises her eyebrows. “Oh, you didn’t know? You honestly couldn’t tell?”, you could sense a slight sprinkle of annoyance mixed with confusion in her voice.
“I guess not”, you mumble. “Well, are you dating anyone?”. Please say no. Please say no.
“No, but I might have my eyes on someone”, your breath hitches. “Wanna know who?”. You nod carefully, not wanting to seem too desperate. “Guess”. Thinking about it, you really have no idea. What girl could she be into? Since she said ‘guess’, it must be someone you know. Maybe that girl that she and your brother hang out with sometimes. What’s her name?
“So it’s not my brother”, she rolls her eyes, pretending to be disgusted. “That girl… whats her name. Dina?”, you ask.
“No, not Dina, she’s just a friend to me”, she bites her lip. “You really don’t have any more guesses?”. Shaking your head, she starts to speak again. “Well, it’s a girl that's maybe a little shy. Someone that doesn’t talk to me very often”. A pause. “Some one with a gross brother that lets me play Mario Cart with her”. What. Your mind is blank. What did she just say, could she mean…
“Me?”, you ask and Ellie smiles at you, nodding her head.
“Yeah, you. You didn’t know?”, another pretty laugh escapes her mouth. No, you really didn’t know. Would’ve never guessed. She looks at you again, trying to see if you return her feelings. Quickly, you smile back at her and she asks you: “Can I kiss you?”, and you nod, because of course she can.
“Yes please”, you plead and Ellie leans in, connecting your lips in a passionate kiss. You have never dared to dream about this and now it’s happening for real. Wow, her lips were really as soft as they looked. Then, it’s you who pulls away. “I like you too, Ellie”, you finally say. Wanting to confirm your feelings and not leave her hanging anymore.
“Good”, she kisses your cheek. “Can I take you out sometime?”, a oddly shy smile forms on her lips. You can’t help but giggle at her cute and flustered face.
“Of course, but only if you kiss me again”, her kiss and confession made you feel more confident with her than ever. Ellie smiles and obliges, not wasting any time to kiss you.
“Absolutely ma'am”.