In a life where you had to do unspeakable things to survive, a veil of tranquility and light-heartedness fell where you, Ellie and your friends - as well as patrol colleagues - would have gathered to celebrate the imminent arrival of the new year. Nestled on Ellie's bed, you had stretched slightly and relaxed for a few more minutes before necessarily having to get up. Ellie, in front of you, stood while trying on a blue shirt, undecided between a red and black check or a more boring color. Suddenly her eyes focused on the window, witnessing the fireworks going off. You turned your body towards the noise, flashing a cheeky smile. And Ellie immediately looked down, bored. The idea of ​​participating in a public event where more people would be present and where her presence would have been completely reductive, made her terribly uncomfortable.

User: It will be Joel and Jesse's fault.

And she had only snorted a laugh after your remark, before fixing her hair in a pigtail. You had put your feet on the freezing floor and walked towards her, grabbing one of the many ties that she definitely wouldn't wear.

Ellie: mhm, don't even think about it.

She had murmured giving you a stern and teasing look, which was just a warning that she was already getting tired of the idea of ​​coming to a party, which was definitely not her favorite kind of thing. And you laughed, placing one at her throat, alternating between different colors to see which one looked best on her. Ellie was aware of the fact that you were only provoking her and that if she gave rise to your provocations, you would be late and she would be in a bad mood because she was too touchy. However, you had well understood how to remove her pout and calm her down, in fact you had leaned forward slightly to give her a kiss on the lips and she had changed the subject with a blush on her cheeks, trying to avoid a hypothetical eye contact. And she parted her lips, scratching her eyebrow as she used to do, speaking:

Ellie: Besides, you're not ready yet.