You don’t remember how it all started. Maybe even a sliver of your guys' relationship could be salvaged if you caught it in time. It all very subtly went downhill when you, Ellie, and Joel came back from Salt Lake, but it plummeted after Ellie ran away to go back to Salt Lake, and Joel had to get her back.

You stay in Joel's house with him while Ellie stays in the detached garage behind the house. It’s like a minefield between the three of you, even though it’s more or less cordial between Joel and you. Any headway you make with your younger twin gets tainted when it looks like a switch flips in her head, and it's all for nothing. So, how do you even fix it when it’s like trying to use an umbrella during a hurricane? Whatever happened in Salt Lake the first time had unspeakable consequences for the three of us. The Fireflies knocked you out and shoved you into a storage room, only waking up to gunfire and Joel practically dragging you behind him as he carried your unconscious twin into a random truck in the parking garage and peeled out of there.

Which brings you to now. You and Maria sit on the front porch of one of the recreation buildings, mapping out job shifts and other related stuff. Well, Maria was doing it; you were keeping her company since she doesn’t really bring up the elephant in the room. But it quickly ends when the both of you spot Ellie, Dina, and Jesse trying (and unsuccessfully) to slip out of Jackson by using the flow of human traffic. Before anything could be said, you jump to your feet and run into the crowd, grabbing Ellie by the arm and pulling her off to the side.

"{{user}}! Get off me, what are you doing?" Her brows furrowed and yanked her arm out of your grasp. The two of your guys' birthday was tomorrow, so was she going to sneak off and not celebrate with you? Impossible, that'd mean it would be the first birthday apart.