Fight Club

Ellie grabbed the bag and hopped out of the truck, motioning for Dina to do the same as she walked around to the bed, popping the trunk.

"Ellie, this is.. actually really nice." Dina smiled as she followed Ellie, both girls moving to sit in the bed of the truck.

You're pretty nice too.

"Woah, don't get your hopes up. I'm still murdering you after this. I'm pretty sure there's a goddamn bump on the back of my head the size of Mt. Everest." 

Dina grinned, bumping her shoulder against Ellie's. The two ate in silence as the sun slowly lowered in the horizon and with that, the temperature also lowered. 

"El, I don't want to go home yet, but it's getting cold." Dina mumbled, hugging her arms to herself.

"Mhm," Ellie nodded, wrapping her arm around Dina's shoulders, "I have a flannel in the backseat, want me to grab it?"

"Yes, please." Dina murmured like a tired toddler who was forced to remember their manners as Ellie jumped from the bed and walked away to find the flannel.

Ellie came back a moment later, tossing the flannel into Dina's lap before sitting back down. She couldn't advert her eyes as Dina pulled it on, she looked absolutely stunning in it.

You look better in it than I do

"I know." Dina grinned, like all of her lost energy was just forced back into her body.

"Did I-"

"Yes."

Oh fuck.

Ellie's face turned a bright red and she groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Hey, El. What's happened to your hands? Your knuckles are always bruised when I see you." Dina asked with clear concern on her face as she turned to face Ellie, gently pulling the taller girl's hands from her face to examine them.

Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck think

"I just-.. Joel and I spar a lot together. Ya know, since it's getting so cold his dino bones can't handle it. Instead of doing uh, normal stuff outside." Ellie stumbled, hoping to every god that Dina would believe her shitty lie. In all actuality, that was only partly true. As winter comes, there are much less activities to focus yourself on so the fight club, Deeno's, gets a much larger audience so Ellie is forced to fight much more often for their entertainment.

"Hm. Okay." Dina nodded slowly. 

She doesn't believe me. I mean, who would? That was literally a horrible excuse. 

Ellie scooted up, now sitting with her back against the truck. A moment later, Dina followed and tucked herself comfortably under Ellie's arm.

"I don't want to lose you, El." She mumbled, grabbing Ellie's arm and pulling it over her shoulders.

The auburn girl stared ahead at the sun, mulling her words over.

"I don't want to lose you either." She glanced down at Dina, who was now tracing the lines of her fern tattoo quietly.

"What do they mean?"

"The tattoos?"

"Mhm."

That I'm an addict and I'm fucking ashamed of myself.

"Just thought they looked cool." She shrugs, hoping her second lie wasn't was obvious as the last. 

Dina hummed in acknowledgement, nodding slightly.

"Can I stay at your place tonight?" Dina asked, raising her head to look at Ellie.

No. I'm worried that I won't be able to stop myself from doing something I regret.

"Yeah, sure. No problem. You wanna head over now?"

"Mhm."

Ellie got up, pushing herself out of the truck then held a hand out for Dina to take.

"Come on, stupid. You look exhausted."  Ellie grinned when Dina took her hand and pulled her out of the truck.

-

The ride back to Ellie and Joel's house was quiet, the radio playing softly to fill an already comfortable silence.

"You're never getting this flannel back." Dina mumbled half asleep with her head against the window, clutching the shirt around her body as though it would disappear if she loosened her grip on it. 

And that was fine with Ellie. Even though it was two sizes too big for Dina and the sleeves hung past her finger tips, she still looked absolutely mesmerizing in it.

"That's okay. I have enough flannels anyways." Ellie smiled softly, turning the heat on.

Dina's breathing evened out and Ellie could tell she had fallen asleep. She glanced at the smaller girl, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Then, she pulled into their driveway, the lights in the window of the house glowing softly. She parked the truck and placed a gentle hand on Dina's shoulder.

"Hey, wake up. We're here." Ellie spoke softly, nudging her shoulder.

The sleepy girl rubbed her eyes, letting out an adorable yawn that Ellie only managed to hear because she opened Dina's door to let her out. But as always, Dina is a sucker for physical contact with Ellie. She stumbled out of the truck, swaying forward and wrapping her arounds firmly around Ellie's neck and burying her face into Ellie's neck.

She's so fucking cute. Oh my god. 

"Come on, D. You're shaking. Plenty of time to be clingy inside." Ellie slowly shrugged the girl off of her, intertwining their fingers and pulling her into the house.

"Joel! Dina's staying over tonight, okay?" She called to the man watching Tv on the couch but didn't wait for his answer before jogging up the stairs with a tired Dina not far behind.

"Uh huh. No monkey business, kiddo." He grumbled, shaking his head as he read his book.

"Joel!" Ellie scowled at him through her wall when they walked in her room, rolling her eyes.

"You, uh, need anything to change into?" Ellie asked as Dina's eyes wandered over her art covered walls in awe.

"Just sweatpants."

Ellie shuffled through her closet until she found an older pair that she'd grown out of, which would surely fit Dina. Dina took them with a smile and a 'thank you, Beanpole' before shuffling into the bathroom to change.

Ellie took her chance to change into her well-worn black tank top. In some places, the bottom was frayed and the color was a brownish color, indicating bleach had been splashed on it at one point. She also put basketball shorts on which belonged to Joel at one point, but she' been 'borrowing' them for at least a year now. 

By the time Ellie was done changing, Dina was too. The shorter girl walked back into the room, the sweatpants pooling around her ankles.

Is there really that big of a size difference?

"Those, uh, look a little big on you." Matched with the oversized flannel, Dina was practically drowning in fabric. 

-

That night with Dina curled up around her, Ellie dreamt of horrible things.

-

She was sitting at her desk drawing when her leg, usually firm on the ground to keep her hand steady, started bouncing up and down.  Then, her nose started to run. Ellie wiped her nose desperately, well aware of the incoming terror. 

Not again. I already fucking went through this. I can't do this again. 

Then the cold sweats started, her whole body shivered even though it must have been 100 degrees in that room. She dropped her pencil on the paper, which as she leaned forward to see it, was a morbid fucking drawing. She thought she was drawing a family of giraffes, but in all actuality, it was Ellie herself, laying on the ground in an alleyway with a needle half empty, sticking out of her forearm. She lacked pupils, her eyes rolled into her head.

That'll be me in a few fucking years, huh?

Her chair disappeared and suddenly Ellie was convulsing, her whole body shuddering intensely. Then beside her, a steel bowl appeared by her side and she saw Joel sitting at the edge of her bed and watching her silently, a blank expression on his face. 

She grabbed the bowl, vomiting an impossible amount of heroin needles up.

"I'm ashamed ta' even call you my daughter." He screamed and his voice seemed to come from everywhere at once and nowhere at all. 

I know, Joel.

-

David was on top of her, every movement agonizingly slow as he unzipped her old gray hoodie, belonging to her deceased best friend, Riley.   

A good kicked his body off of Ellie's roughly and he groaned loudly, crashing to the side.

"Are you all right, girl?" Joel's voice came and she looked up, smiling gratefully at Joel and started to get up, when an unseen force threw her back onto the ground.

"Good. My turn." Suddenly his face was David's, but his voice still Joel's

No no no no no no no

Pure terror crashed through Ellie as she struggled uselessly, Joel slowly kneeling down next to her and putting his hands on Ellie's shoulders with a sick grin that Joel would never make. 

-

"Ellie! Wake up!" A small hand shook Ellie' shoulder roughly and she sat up with a start and ready to fight whoever had touched her.

"Ellie. Jesus Christ. You were really fucking thrashing around." Dina's voice was heavy with sleep. Ellie felt horrible for waking the girl up.

"I just-.." She tried to catch her breath, "Sorry. I just have.. Really bad.. Nightmares." She barely managed through pants, her body slick with sweat and overheating. 

"It's okay. Let's, uh, let's go on a short walk to get you mind off of it, okay?" Dina rubbed circles on Ellie's back soothingly, grounding the girl.

Ellie started scratching her arm, uncontrollably. An old habit. Her short nails raked over the scars and the ink that covered them, slowly building pressure until red lines dragged down her arm.

"Ellie. Calm down. Okay? Just a nightmare." Dina used her other hand to grab Ellie's, intertwining their fingers in her lap.

It's not just a fucking nightmare. I'm an addict. This is fucking real. And I'm gonna drag you down with me. 

"Dina-.. I'm so sorry." She gasped, her arm numb.

"Don't apologize, El. Come on, let's just go for a little walk, okay?"

Walk me to my dealer.

"Okay." 

I need to get high. I just want to feel something.