Fight Club

Dina. Dina. Dina. Pretty, kind, warm, Dina. She spoke with the shorter girl for just the second time today, this interaction going much better than the last. Ellie had to stop herself from squeaking out of excitement in the middle of class. Dina fucking Cohen had asked Ellie to come to lunch with her tomorrow. 

As the last bell of the day rang and she pushed herself out of her seat and down the halls, out the doors, and onto the sidewalk, Dina occupied her mind.

She was so pretty. The word beautiful was an understatement. Maybe breathtaking was more accurate. 

But then all those wonderful thoughts came to an aching, halting stop. What would happen when she heard the rumors? No - she'd already heard them. She literally asked about them. What would happen when she eventually realized just how true those rumors were? She would never speak to Ellie again. She would regret ever reaching out to become her friend. 

And as Ellie approached her and Joel's small house, she made a decision. One that would surely save her from an oncoming heartbreak. Dina Cohen was to be avoided. It would only hurt them both in the end if Ellie stuck around. Who wants to be friends with a hooligan and savage like Ellie Williams, anyways?

-

The next day when lunch came around, Ellie tried to become invisible. Which was difficult, considering the whispers that followed her presence around the school like a virus. She kept her head down and hands in her pockets as she speedwalked through the school. Until she walked into a green wall. That was shorter than she was. And alive and breathing. And that green wall was not a green wall. It was Dina wearing a tight, evergreen long-sleeved shirt with tight black jeans. God, she was so pretty. And breathtaking. And wonderful. And too good for Ellie.

"Ellie? Where are you going? The cafeteria is in the complete opposite direction. Didn't someone give you a tour?" She asked the taller girl with a teasing, but kind tone. And that damned smile. 

"Right- no. I knew that," the girl rambled, desperately scraping her mind for a quick excuse, "but I have a.. Thing. A thing with Ms. Winters. For art." The redhead rubbed the back of her neck, desperately hoping her bullshit excuse was adequate.

"Really now? That's funny cause Ms. Winters is absent today. And you already passed her room about.. Five doors ago." Dina's grin only broadened and there was something in her eyes that Ellie could only describe as mischievous.

Ellie stuttered, her face only turning more red by the second.

"But," Dina started with a dramatic sigh "if you insist on dipping on my friends and I, then I'm dipping with you."

The next thing she knew, Ellie was being dragged down the hall with a small hand wrapped securely around her wrist.

"Hurry it up, Beanpole. I'd expect someone with such spider legs to be much faster when walking." Dina glanced back at Ellie, that same grin on her face. So much for avoiding her.

"Yeah, yeah. If i walked at my true speed, you'd be left in the dust with those stubby legs." Ellie retorted, blushing slightly at the sudden nickname.

Wonderful, breathtaking, beautiful Dina was almost holding her hand. Her hands were smooth and soft and Ellie couldn't help but feel a little self conscious about her larger, rougher, and calloused hands. Calloused and rough from her violent second life. And her junkie high school years. But this high school was a second chance. Maybe she could do her senior year right.

Dina must've noticed her sudden change in mood since she stopped to walk at Ellie's pace, silently linking their fingers. Dina Cohen was too touchy. And yet, she didn't pull her hand away.

"Come on, I know a nice place that's actually on campus. And it's pretty quiet there too. You look like the type of person who likes quiet." Dina rambled and it was then, that Ellie noticed, she seemed to be talking more to herself than to Ellie. But still, she found herself walking a bit faster to accommodate the shorter girl's adorable impatience. 

"Care to explain why you didn't go to lunch with us?" Dina loosened her tight grip around Ellie's hand as they walked through the building's doors.

"I told you. I had a thing with Mr. Barnett." Ellie spoke as confidently as she could. Until she realized her massive fuck up. It was gonna seem like she didn't want to be around Dina. And God, that was so far from the truth. Ellie wanted nothing more than to be around Dina.

"Oh? So it was Ms. Winters and now it's Mr. Barnett?"

Ellie could only offer a sheepish grin in response.

"You're a real mystery, Williams. And you're also lucky that I don't hold grudges. Sometimes." Dina spoke in a voice that was stern but teasing. And it made Ellie's heart flutter like a pining fool.

"..thanks?"

"You're welcome." She sounded way too self assured. "Where are you from? You're definitely not from Jackson."

The shorter girl led the pair down a sidewalk that was sparsely populated. She was right, it was quiet. Then she dragged Ellie to a wooden bench that faced a small forest.

"Boston."

"What town?"

"Brookline."

"You like it there? Miss it?"

"Nope."

They sat down on the singular bench and, much to Ellie's disappointment, Dina let go of her hand. The other girl turned and looked at Ellie very seriously. Ellie looked back.

"What is this? Some sort of interrogation?" She was starting to lose patience with the girl's seemingly endless stream of questions. If Dina picked up on Ellie's irritation, she didn't show it. She only grinned up at her.

"Actually, it is. So start answering, or I'll have to arrest you. My dad's a cop."

Ellie groaned. More than anything, she hated talking about herself. It made her feel overly self conscious.

"Fine. Repeat your question."

"Why don't you miss Boston?"

"Got a lot of bad memories there." She answered, purposely vague. Ellie was not about to go into her own personal trauma, especially not with some stranger. And this time, Dina picked up on her discomfort.

"Hm. Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Dina had a small smile on her face and the two went silent, turning to face the beautiful wilderness in front of them. 

The silence wasn't uncomfortable, nor was it awkward. It felt right. Dina seemed to feel that way as well, judging by the content look that plastered her features. And they were quiet for a long while, before Ellie finally spoke up again. She figured she should make it seem like she wanted the conversation as much as Dina did.

"Where are you from?" She glanced at Dina for a short moment, until their eyes met, then looked back to the treeline.

"New Mexico. Grew up there for most of my life with my sister, but my mom passed when I was fourteen. Then my dad made the quick decision to move. To start new. To leave the past in the past. That's what he said, at least."

Ellie wasn't expecting that. She wasn't sure if the surprise was evident on her face or not. But she felt as though, if only a little, she could relate to Dina. Her mom passed too.

"Oh. I'm uh-.. I'm sorry for your loss, Dina. Thanks for telling me." The green eyed girl reached over, giving Dina's knee a comforting squeeze before retracting her hand.

"What about you? Who do you live with?" This Dina girl really does ask a lot of questions.

"I live with my, uh.. Joel. My adoptive father."

"And what about your real parents? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, my mom is dead. And my dad," Ellie pauses, the slowly healing wound being ripped open again, "he's a junkie. I don't know where he is." 

Like father, like daughter.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I think lunch is almost over.. Thanks for talking with me, Ellie." She offered the taller girl a genuine smile, both moving to their feet.

"Thanks for letting me. Let me walk you to class?" Maybe it was a little too intimate for someone she just met, but Ellie couldn't find it in her to stop herself from asking.

"Sure." And then that smile came back. That smile that made Ellie feel like she was just swept off her feet. And she smiled back.