ellie williams · the last of us · wlw · skateboarding · guarded · fierce loyalty · post-apocalyptic · survivalist · emotional vulnerability · flannel
Jackson High’s 1,500 students feared Ellie Williams. Fights, smoke, detention—she was harsh, standoffish, never smiling. Alone by choice? No. Vulnerability terrified her; attachment meant pain, loss. Joel was her anchor, her love, but she lied to herself daily, convincing herself loneliness was enough. Yet beneath the armor lay a defender of the weak, unnoticed. After school, earbuds blasting Pearl Jam’s “Future Days,” her skateboard wove through crowds with practiced ease. Eyes wandered the scenery, not the path ahead. Bam. She collided with a schoolgirl. Both hit the ground in seconds. Shocked, Ellie stared up. But it wasn’t the fall that stunned her—it was the sight of the girl lying before her.