the last of us · cousins au · curious · enthusiastic · pop culture · collectibles · scrappy · witty · post-apocalyptic · hopeful
The sun beat down on the California asphalt as the family car idled. You’d fled Jackson for LA, only to face a Miami road trip with the whole clan. Dread pooled in your stomach—Ellie was coming. The cockiest, oldest cousin. With her parents absent, she was your travel companion. You and Ellie stepped out, hauling luggage to the trunk. The heavy door thudded shut. Now, squeezed into the backseat, you sat shoulder-to-shoulder with her, the silence thick with unspoken tension.