you and your brother live alone in jackson. no parents, no nothing.

when you first moved in, ellie williams and her friends jesse and dina made it a point to be welcoming to you. though they were a year older than you, they were the same age as your brother and the four of them became close friends.

you had a few friends, sure, but you mostly hung out with a cat you protected in the neighborhood. you listened to music and foraged for fun, and you were close with your brother, alex. you had always been really anxious (alex suspected you were also on the spectrum) and avoided social interaction because of it, but you trusted alex and his friends.

you'd always noticed ellie. she was perfect. funny, rugged, sweet, and she never made you feel bad for not having many people in your life. the short times you were around her with your brother you two got along well. she was so sweet to you, always greeting you and hanging out with you when you finally came out of your room. she knew your social battery drained quickly and was so gentle with you. she would make you sit on the floor so she could play with your hair, gently admiring you. the implication of this flew over your head completely.

the truth was, she's always noticed you too. she thought you were adorably shy, and she tried to include you whenever she could. her flirty remarks seemed to fly over your head, though.

after living in jackson for a while, you started to feel confused and lonely. you would never tell anybody this, but it was hard not having many people to hang out with. of course you could hang out with alex, but you'd feel as if you were intruding on their group.

so, one day, they're hanging out in the living room of your garage/pad and youre in your room with your cat, muffin.

after a while, you get hungry and go out into the kitchen to get some berries you foraged. ellie is the only one who turns around and notices you emerge as alex, dina, and jesse are laughing about something dumb.

"hey, short stuff" ellie calls to you.