Work Text:
Waking up in the middle of the night had become the norm for Ellie.
Throughout her entire life, Ellie had considered herself a night owl, crawling beneath her covers and shutting her eyes while there was a chance that the sun was still out sounded like the most heinous crime known to man.
Who in the right state would choose to do that?
It didn't help that juggling two jobs,paying off college and spending hours of her days studying her dream profession. Meaning that the only free time she got to herself was the night, and there was no way in hell she was throwing that away for some extra sleep. Most nights she found herself locked in her bedroom brainstorming for upcoming ideas for whatever she had planned, or, in other cases—snuggling with Gabby on their bed while chatting about hopes and dreams for the future.
Ellie wrapped an arm around a sleeping Gabby, the brunette's chest constantly rising up and down with each gentle breath. The warmth of her girlfriend's touch calmed her racing heart as one question that’d repeatedly taunted her since Disventure Camp had ended clouded her mind.
What was Ellie Parker's future gonna look like?
If there was one thing Ellie learned about thinking about the future, it was that time didn’t play around for anyone; nothing could control it. The entity ripped flesh of bones and turned mountains into specks of dust, the dust particles coursing through the air and flowing around with the end destination in sight. Ellie knew better than most people that any second her life could drastically change in the blink of an eye.
When she signed the contract for Diventure Camp and competed for a million dollars, her life had taken a drastic change. No longer was she some lower-class nobody struggling to make ends meet, working a basic nine-to-five job in the middle of New York. Once she stepped foot into Camp Tipiskaw, she was suddenly thrown into the spotlight, every action she took being analyzed and criticized by her fellow contestants or people on the internet, dragging her name through the mud as everyone acted like she was the second coming of Satan.
Ellie breathed through her nose and stroked Gabby’s hair. She swore for a split second that she saw the faintest smile across her girlfriend's face. And then there was her, no matter how horrible her time was on Disventure Camp, the enemies she made, and some of the choices she’d taken.
At the end of the day, through thick and thin, Gabby was always there, comforting her and defending her whenever it seemed like the whole world had turned against her. She was like a shining star, a beacon of hope purifying all her fears and doubts about herself.
Ellie leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend's forehead, playing with a strand of her hair. How did she manage to find someone as kind and compassionate as Gabby? Nonetheless, those thoughts were sliced in half as a quiet giggle escaped Gabby’s mouth.
“E-Ellie…” Gabby murmured, her eyes squinting open. “What are you doing still awake,
Ellie hearskipped a beat, a bundle of nerves growing inside her. How could she be so reckless as to interrupt her sleeping girlfriend?
“L-Listen! I’d just woken up a couple of minutes ago and was struggling to get back to sleep, one thing led to another, and I couldn't get over how cute you were when you’re sleeping, and my intrusive thoughts got the better of me and -”
“Shush, it’s okay!” Gabby pressed a finger against Ellie’s lips, the warm touch of her finger tips easing away her worries.“If anything, Ellie, I’m glad you’ve woken me up. If it gives me the opportunity to spend more time with them, it's totally worth it.”
“So you’re not mad at me for interrupting your beauty sleep?”
Gabby giggled, a tinge of red appearing on her cheeks. “Stop being so silly, Ellie! You really think I’d be upset over that?”
Ellie let out a sigh of relief. “If I were you, I’d be a little miffed.”
“That’s because you’re a grumpy cat, Ellie. You always end up sleeping in late,” Gabby chuckled, wrapping her arms around Ellie and burying her face in her chest. “You’re always too sleepy to help me with cleaning the dishes or cooking meals in the morning.”
Ellie smirked, the vibration of Gabby’s voice reverberating off her chest, melting her heart.
“S-Stop Gabs, It tickles!” Ellie failed to suppress her laughter as she playfully pushed her girlfriend away, which caused Gabby to break into a fit of giggles. “By the way, with how hard I work, I deserve to have those lay-ins, you know?”
“Of course! You’re the one who’s working your but off to pay our bills!” Gabby beamed, though, her smile faltered as she rubbed her arm with a guilty look. “While I’m at home barely doing anything worth a damn…”
Ellie immediately rushed to Gabby’s aid and brought her into a hug; she knew the rain clouds that raged in Gabby’s head whenever the mention of work came up in their conversations from past experiences.
In their relationship, the mention of work had always proved to be a sore spot for the duo. Ellie hated seeing her girlfriend upset in any shape or form, especially when Gabby was trying her very darn best to get herself a job and flourish on her own. It was like they were living two separate lives, Ellie desperately wanting to cut down on her workload and get more time to herself, while Gabby wanted to get her foot into the work world. For Ellie, watching Gabby be handed rejection letters, and after rejection letters crushed her heart, how could it not? Her girlfriend was suffering right in front of her, and she couldn't do anything about it.
“Gabs, close your eyes and take a deep breath, alright?” Ellie murmured and tightened her embrace. “Whatever your mind is telling you is not true.”
“But what if those rain clouds are true?” Gabby said, her voice barely above a whisper as she avoided Ellie’s gaze. “What if I'm a useless nuisance who’s stopping you from achieving your future goals?”
“Gabs, please don’t put yourself down. Whenever I walk through the front door after work and see you there waiting for me on the sofa, it reminds me it’s worth living in the first place.”
“You’re only just saying that to make me feel happy,” Gabby said, hugging her knees and lowering her head. “You’re lying, Ellie. How can you be happy to see someone like me after work? While you’re at work, I barely do anything, minus cleaning the dishes and washing our clothes. What else do I do? You’re the one who’s putting the majority of the work into keeping us safe from getting evicted.”
“Gabs, it’s all in your head. As long as you’re doing your part, then I’ve got no issues with working harder than most if it means I can spend time with you.”
“Am I worth the hassle?”
“Look at me, Gabs,“ Ellie said with a firm tone, making her turn back to her. “Your mind is playing tricks on you. I’d never consider you a useless nuisance in my entire life.”
“If you say so…” Gabby murmured, not sparing a glance at her. “But why is it so hard to believe otherwise? Why does my mind keep tormenting me about being a failure? A burden? I’m scared, Ellie, about our future and what’s going to come of it if I don’t get a job to help pay the bills?”
Every problem they faced always rooted back to money.
Every problem in Ellie’s life in some shape or form resulted from money; that’s why she competed on Disventure Camp in the first place, to win three million dollars and achieve her lifelong dream of financial freedom and create her own fashion business.
But not everything turned out as she expected, did it?
Ellie found herself hugging the quilt, using it as some form of leverage to comfort her.
“You’ll land yourself a job in due time, Gabs. It’s bound to happen eventually”
“Hopefully…” Gabby said, hugging her knees and staring around the room. “It’s just that the thought of the future scares me, you know?”
“It scares me, too, Gabs. Before I accidentally woke you up, I was thinking about it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, our future is uncertain. Who knows what’s going to happen in the next couple of months? If someone told me a couple of years ago that I’d compete on some trashy reality TV and end up dating the greatest person in the universe, I’d think they're crazy.”
Gabby blushed, placing a hand on her cheek. “Greatest person in the universe? Do you really mean that, Ellie?”
Ellie offered her hands out for Gabby to take. “I mean it, Gabs, I’d never trade you for the world or three million dollars.”
A tear traced down Gabby’s cheek as she cracked a sheepish smile. “Oh, come here, you!” She puckered Ellie’s lips and kissed her on the mouth. Ellie closed her eyes and embraced the warmth of Gabby’s lips. It felt like her heart had melted into a million pieces. Being around Gabby was like wrapping a nice, cold blanket around herself while sitting next to a fireplace during winter.
The feeling was magical.
After a good minute, they pulled back from their kiss, staring into each other's eyes with loving gazes.
“Wow, Gabs… that kiss was magical.”
“Out of this universe magical if you ask me!” Gabby giggled, and Ellie playfully rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, out of this world.” Ellie chuckled, “You know, after that kiss, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to fall back asleep any time soon.”
“How about we make the most of our night and make ourselves some hot chocolate?"
“Anything that makes you happy makes you happy, Gabs.”
-
Ellie poured the milk into the saucepan and added some chopped bits of chocolate, stirring the pan and watching as the pool of milk over time morphed into a creamy brown texture. The sweet aroma of chocolate danced in the air. When she left her bedroom, she decided to throw on a pair of pajama bottoms and some stockings, the soft fabric hugging her thighs as she grabbed the pan and poured the hot chocolate into two pairs of cups, topping them off with some marshmallows.
She knew how much Gabby loved her marshmallows.
She found herself staring at marshmallows floating around in the chocolate like fish swimming in a pond. It was cathartic, in some strange way, how watching something as simple as a couple of marshmallows in a pool of chocolate could release so much stress. Maybe she was going crazy? She was sleep-deprived after all, or she thought so at the very least. But with how crazy her life had been in the past couple of years, juggling two jobs, working her ass off to move up in the fashion industry, and going to college, too.
Standing right here, in her own kitchen in the middle of the night, and having a moment to herself was something she never knew she needed until now. A simple break from all the chaos life brought and a moment of self-reflection.
The sound of rain pouring and the occasional thunderstrike created the perfect, serene atmosphere, an atmosphere that made her shoulders relax and the negative thoughts that occasionally flooded her mind disappear into the night sky.
Maybe Gabby was a secret genius for suggesting this idea?
Ellie grabbed the cups of hot chocolate and walked into the living room, where she found Gabby sprawled on the sofa, lying her head on the armchair with half-lidded eyes.
“You’re seriously the best girlfriend in the world for doing this!” Gabby cooed, sitting up and crossing her legs.
“Same goes to you too, here, take this,” Ellie said, handing her a cup and sitting beside her.
Gabby took a swing of the drink and let out a satisfied sigh. “Ah, this tastes so delicious!” Gabby said, eagerly drinking it and licking her lips. “It’s so creamy and sweet! It’s a warm, fuzzy hug dropped into a drink!”
“I’m glad you like it, Gabs.”
“Like it? No, I love it!”
“I put my heart and soul into this; I’m glad my efforts didn’t go to waste.” Ellie closed her eyes, chuckling to herself. When she re-opened them, she spotted Gabby pouring the hot chocolate down her throat with no end in sight. “Gabs? It’s called hot chocolate for a reason, you might…”
Gabby stopped drinking and pulled away the cup from her, only to reveal that her lips were covered in the creamy texture. “Oops, silly me! I might’ve gotten a little carried away, ahah…”
“You’re such a goof, let me help you clean that up.” Ellie grabbed a nearby napkin and whipped the chocolate off her girlfriend's face with a smile. “There, good as new. You look so much better without all the chocolate covering your mouth.”
“You have to admit, Ellie, when you’re drinking something that tastes this good, it's hard not to get a little carried away.”
Ellie tossed the murky napkin into the bin, her eyes darting to the untouched drink. “I’ll see if your words ring true.” She sipped on the cup and swallowed, a warm smile forming on her face. “Holy shit, Gabs, this really is good!”
“See! It’s so addictive, I could drink another cup of these.”
“Ten cups? I’m not sure about that, Gabs, you might end up vomiting from overconsumption."
“Maybe, but it’ll be worth it!”
“You’re saying that, but when you actually get it all down, you’ll start complaining about feeling sick.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right? I'll keep my hot chocolate levels low from now on!” Gabby immediately raised the cup close to her mouth and prepared for another sip, though she paused as she looked at the marshmallows floating inside it. “Hold on, I didn’t know you put marshmallows inside?”
Ellie rubbed the back of her head with a nervous smile. Why did she stop drinking it? “I thought they’d spice it up with a little bit of extra flavour, why do you not like them? I can take them out if-”
Gabby pressed a finger against Ellie’s lips with a grin. “I love the inclusion! By the way, you’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Oh, you know when you begin to ramble and overthink things,” Gabby said, resting the hot chocolate on the floor and putting her hands on Ellie’s knees with a sincere smile. “Honestly, it’s pretty cute, seeing you all flustered and worrying about me. It shows how much you care, not just for me, but for us.”
Ellie blushed and rested her hands on Gabby's thighs. “I guess I do have a habit of spewing nonsensical garbage whenever I’m nervous, don’t I?”
“You do, but don’t beat yourself up over it,” Gabby reassured her, leaning forward and looking around the room like someone was listening in on them. “Let’s keep this between you and me, but I find it really adorable when you start doing that.”
“You find my rambling adorable?”
“Yes! Seeing you, someone who's so serious and well put together, rambling away and acting like a total goof, unleashes my protective instincts! I don’t know how to explain it, but I just find it adorable…” Gabby's voice trailed, soft and gentle as she fiddled with her thumbs and glanced away from her girlfriend. “I know I sound like a major dummy at the moment, but it's true! I just love seeing the smile on your face after telling you that everything is going to be alright.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes and smirked. “So you’re saying that you love to play hero and swoop in to save the day?”
“That’s the perfect way to describe it!”
“Geez, Gabs, you really are perfect, aren’t you?”
“I-I’m nowhere close to perfect, Ellie.”
“Nah, if not, you’re not perfect, then you’re pretty close.” Ellie smiled and launched back on the sofa, drinking her cup of hot chocolate and letting out a contented sigh. Gabby joined her, leaning back and letting out a tired yawn, which Ellie found extremely adorable.
For what felt like an eternity, a comfortable silence reigned in the air as they stared out the window, the only sounds that graced their ears being the rain clattering against the window and them taking the occasional sip out of their cups.
Ellie yawned and checked the time, glancing at the clock on the wall.
The clock read 1:57 am.
She blinked before doing a double-take. Had she really been up for that long? It wasn’t out of the ordinary for her to stay up this late; she was a busy woman after all, and if there was any time of the day for her to pursue her personal goals without any distractions, it was times like these, no distractions, no work, nothing. Just here with a pen and paper, writing away until the brink of dawn or eventually succumbing to the allure of some rest.
Ellie glanced over to Gabby, who was dangling her feet on the edge of the sofa, seemingly caught up in her own little world.
“Gabs, can I ask you a question?”
Gabby flinched, the drink almost slipping out of her hand as she caught it at the last second. “G-Go right ahead!”
“When we were talking about the future earlier, and when you brought up that about struggling to get a job…” Ellie said, scratching the back of her head with an unsure look. “If you could choose, what job would you get?”
“Oh, that's a tricky question!” Gabby readjusted her position on the sofa, crossing her legs with a thoughtful expression. “When I was younger, my dream job was working at a zoo. It sounded like the perfect job for me, spending time with animals and other people who shared the same love for them.”
“So what changed?”
Gabby sighed and slouched against the sofa. “Before I competed on Disventure Camp, I decided to do some digging on how zoos really work. Turns out, most of the animals there are kind of put in there against their free will.”
“Like they’re caged up?”
“Yeah…” Gabby murmured, bringing her hands close to her face, “The animals there don’t have a choice on if they wanna spend their lives there or not, they’re forced into that kind of environment.
“But aren’t zoos made for animals to be taken care of?”
Gabby nodded. “Yes, but I feel like animals have the right to live in their natural habitat too. Imagine that one day you were at home, spending some quality time with me, then all of a sudden a bunch of people came in and took you away from me? How would that make you feel?”
Ellie narrowed her eyes and glared at her drink, a whirlwind of emotions swirling inside of her. “I’d be pissed off, there’s no way in hell that I’d allow some jackasses to separate us.”
“Exactly!” Gabby said, a crestfallen expression morphing on her face. “Then imagine that all of a sudden you’re placed in a random area, far away from home, and knowing absolutely no one while there’s a bunch of people staring at you?”
Ellie exhaled out of her nose, trying to release the bundle of nerves growing inside of her. Something didn’t sit right with her. It was like she was suffering from deja vu: Being far away from home, surrounded by people she didn’t even know, while people were watching her every move for the sake of their entertainment.
That all sounded way too familiar.
Wait a minute…
“Gabs, we’ve lived this life.”
“What do you mean?”
Ellie shuffled on the sofa, trying to articulate the right words to break the news. “Listen, Gabs, what I’m trying to say is that when we signed up to compete on Disventure Camp, once we stepped into Camp Tipiskaw for the first time, we experienced the pain those animals felt at the zoo,” She said, grabbing a hold of Gabby’s hands and giving her a concerned look. “Being far away from home, knowing absolutely nobody, and being in a completely new environment, we’ve experienced it firsthand on how that can affect someone's well-being.”
Gabby lowered her head with a dejected look. “Competing on that show brought the worst out of us… No, it brought the worst out of all of us, our friends and our enemies too.”
Ellie frowned; she never gave a second thought about the people she’d competed with on the show. Her fellow ex-contestants' personal problems never ceased to cross her mind. Why would it matter to her? At the end of the day, everyone besides Gabby was a pawn to her, an obstacle to earn the three million. All the friendships she threw away for a chance at the grand prize, so many friendships that could have been mended and fixed were tossed away like stepping stones for a chance to earn some cash, and what did that bring her in the end?
Nothing except being villainised as some heartless monster.
Ellie took a hitched breath, her throat tightening as she closed her eyes. Why was she allowing the opinion of some faceless people on the internet to get to her? They didn’t know her, the real Ellie Parker, not the person who competed and used every cheap tactic in the book for a chance of winning.
No, they never got to see the person after the cameras were not rolling, the real Ellie Parker, who had sacrificed so much, the person who had to work two jobs, worrying about landing herself in a good college, and trying to enter the fashion world. All of this, piling all these activities onto herself so that she could ensure the best future possible, putting her heart and soul into everything she does while allowing her girlfriend the time she needed to find herself a job.
And no one would ever know.
“It certainly brought the worst out of me,” Ellie grumbled in a self-loathing tone. “No wonder everyone thinks I’m a massive asshole.”
“Ellie, you’re nothing like that.”
“I’m pretty sure plenty of people would disagree with you, Gabs.”
A soft, gentle touch pressed against Eliie’s hands, the feeling of warmth causing her to bring her eyes to her girlfriend.
“Ellie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing's wrong, why do you ask”?
“Come on, Ellie, we both know that’s not true,” Gabby said, squeezing Ellie’s hands gently. “Please, tell me what’s upsetting you?
“I can’t, Gabs. It’s pathetic.”
“If it’s troubling you, then it’s the opposite of pathetic!” Gabby leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Just please tell me what’s troubling you?”
Ellie took a deep breath. It was either now or never.
“E-Everything Gabs,” Ellie choked on her breath, the floodgates opening as tears began trickling down her face. “I’m so fucking tired of all the shit I have to go through!”
Before Ellie could blink, she suddenly pulled herself from the sofa and into the middle of the kitchen. Grabby quickly reached and grabbed a couple of tissues from the counter, wiping the tears slowly falling down Ellie’s face. The lighting of the lightbulb highlights her facial features, making her look even more beautiful than she already is.
How did she manage to find the perfect girlfriend?
“E-Ellie, I’m sorry you're feeling this way. Is there any way I can help?”
Ellie let out a long, drawn-out sigh before blowing into her tissue. “I’m sorry, Gabs, for overreacting. I-It’s just that competing on Disventure Camp has changed my life drastically in such a short amount of time, I’m still struggling to process the fame.”
“Would you say competing on the show changed your life for the better?” Gabby asked, her voice quieter than a whisper.
“Gabs, you know that I’d never trade you in for the world, the answer is obvious Gabs,” Ellie cupped onto Gabby’s hands and squeezed them tight, her lips trembling while trying to articulate the perfect words to cleanse Gabby’s worries. “Yes it did change my life for the better, I love you too much to trade you away because of some faceless fucks telling me I’m massive bitch… Hold up, I mean-”
“No, no, keep talking! Just let it all out.”
“It’s pathetic, Gabs, because those negative comments have never bothered me until recently.” Ellie sighed, burying her face in her hands. “Before we were talking on our bed about the future, I was thinking about how much my life has changed. I used to be a nobody who blended in with the crowd. Now I can no longer live that life anymore. It's like all eyes are on me, judging my every move.”
“Ellie, nobody's judging you; plenty of people like you.”
Ellie revealed her face, the red puffiness in her eyes slowly fading away, as much as she wished Gabby was right, she knew deep down that her words weren’t true. “Say that to all of the people I've screwed over for the sake of the game.”
“Everyone has forgiven you, Ellie.”
“Explain to me Gabs how in the world people have forgiven me?”
“Listen, Ellie, everyone knows we weren’t and still aren’t in the best position when it comes to money… and that’s mostly because of me…” Gabby nervously chuckled.
Ellie sighed and wrapped her arms around Gabby, bringing her into a hug while she gently plaited Gabby's hair.
There she was at it again, blaming herself for all of their troubles.
“Stop blaming yourself, Gabs, we both know it’s not your fault,” Ellie said, her voice light as a feather. “But back to you, what were you saying?”
Gabby nodded. “Everyone understands that you were desperate to win if that meant you had to play a little dirty, right?”
“A little is an understatement. I literally went out of my way to take advantage of Jake's fucking insecurities on live TV by pushing Aiden onto Tom for the sake of progressing further in the game.”
Gabby rubbed her arm uncomfortably. “I wasn’t too fond of that game move either…”
“I’m not entirely proud of myself for that one either, looking back on it.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“To keep the villains' alliance safe,” Ellie said. “Jake was the perfect target, and unfortunately for him, I had to screw with his emotions, but I guess karma bit me in the ass in the end because that’s the reason why I got eliminated.”
Gabby slithered out of the hug and walked to the sink, pressing her shoulders against the counter and staring out of the window with a dejected look. “Thanks to Tess, I understand why she did it because you were beginning to lose your mind, but I wish that she kept you in the game. Aiden seriously didn’t need to get farther into game, James already won the previous season, why not keep the person who needed the money the most except the guy he didn’t need it at all?”
Ellie narrowed her eyes and joined Gabby, resting an arm on her shoulder while staring outside. She had to admit that the decision bothered her at first. Sure, she was losing herself in the game, but she needed that money more than she could imagine.
A thunderstrike flashed before their eyes, eliminating her thought. She hated to admit that Tess was right, but she was losing herself, delving deeper and pulling out the most underhanded tactics to win, but at what cost? The thought of how low she’d stoop to win scared her. She almost lost Gabby for lying about the villain's alliance, who knows what else she’d do to win.
Whatever it takes. That was her attitude to life, and what in some magical fairy tale she’d won the three million? Would she end up like Riya and lose everything?
At that point, what was even the point of winning? True love conquered all evil and fulfilled her with the utmost happiness.
In what universe would trading Gabby away for three million be worth it?
Ellie found herself stroking Gabby’s hand. “I was in the same boat, too, when I got eliminated. When Tess came to the motel, I made sure to give her a piece of my mind.” Ellie chuckled at the memory bitterly. “Let’s just say I might have said some harsh words to her if you catch my drift?”
Gabby gulped. “Nothing bad happened, right?”
“No, after ranting at her for being the worst friend ever, she managed to calm me down. She taught me that I was going down a dark path and saved me before it was too late.”
“Ellie, you’re strong, you’d be able to control yourself if you were taking things too far… right?”
“I thought so too, but when rewatching the show and talking to you, it’s easy to see where Tess was coming from. I was spiraling down a bad path.”
Gabby lowered her head and slammed the counter, a couple of plates banging together. “Only if I wasn’t such a mess up, you wouldn't have to -”
“Stoop so low? Gabs, I know what you’re going to say.”
“So you agree with me?”
“N-No, not at all! Your mind is lying to you, Gabs. We've been over this.”
Gabby closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. “Sorry, it’s just that listening to you talk about being eliminated brings back some horrible memories…”
Ellie wrapped an arm around Gabby and pulled her beside her. “Talking about that crappy show brings back horrible memories, too. Some that I’ll never be able to forget because dumbfucks on social media keep trying to hammer into my skull that I’m some heartless bitch who plays with people's emotions,” Ellie scowled, breathing out heavily, though her expression softened as terrifying thoughts crossed her mind. “But, it's just, what if they’re right? What if I’m all those things they say I am?”
“Ellie, do you believe what those people say about you is true?"
“No.”
“Then why are you allowing them to get the better of you?”
“I don’t know, it’s just when you keep seeing people say the same things over and over again about you, you begin to wonder if their words hold some merit?”
“Ellie, listen to me,” Gabby said, squeezing Ellie’s hands, her voice soft and sincere. “You’ve been nothing but an angel ever since we met each other. I don’t even know where I’d be right now if it weren’t for you,” She interlocked her fingers around Ellie’s and started fiddling with them, staring at her girlfriend with a warm smile. “You saved my life, Ellie. If it weren’t for you dating me and giving me a place to stay. I’d probably be homeless right now. Does that sound like something a horrible person would do?”
“Not in a million years, Gabs,” Ellie's lips curved into a smile. It was like a massive weight was lifted off her shoulders. Maybe she was just overthinking things? Maybe she was constantly checking her social media for the approval of others and was beginning to get into her head? “In fact, you being here right now, in this apartment with me, is all the proof that we need, don’t we?”
Gabby chuckled and brought her into a hug. “Totally, because, let’s face it, Ellie, people are always going to judge us one way or the other, but what matters at the end of the day is us valuing the people closest to us; those are the opinions that matter the most.
Ellie smiled at Gabby’s response. She was proud of her girlfriend; her girlfriend was surprisingly smart, which mattered the most. “That sounds awfully similar to what Hunter told Ally at the end of All Stars?”
“Because it’s true! We love you, Ellie! Not just me, but everyone does!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! Maybe one day we can reunite with a couple of old friends, how does that sound?”
“That sounds beautiful, Gabs.” Ellie placed her hands on Gabby’s face and kissed her on the lips, her soft and tender lips melting away her fears. Sure, she wasn’t perfect. Life wasn’t like what the cartoons she watched when she was younger promised her it would be. They weren’t simply good or bad guys. Humans were complex creatures who had their own motives and goals, but at the end of the day, no matter whether she was a millionaire or someone struggling to make ends meet. Through her time on reality TV, she did a couple of things, but one thing stuck out to her the most and that was what mattered the most is that she prioritized her relationship with the person she loved the most.
No amount of money could hold a candle to her relationship with Gabby, and with her being right beside her side, through thick and thin, and never being her own personal shining star.
Ellie knew from the bottom of her heart that the future was going to be alright.