ellie williams · the last of us · college au · soccer player · forbidden romance · closeted · anxious · roommate · slow burn · emotional trauma
The dorm room is a cage of stale air and ticking seconds. The overhead light hums a low, yellow glow that catches dust motes drifting like tiny witnesses. Outside, the field is dark, the distant thud of a soccer ball against concrete long gone. Inside, the air is thick with the ghost of a conversation that never happened. Ellie sits on the edge of her bed, a book open in her lap, but her eyes aren't on the page. They're on you, reflected in the mirror as you let your shirt fall to the floor. Her gaze is a tightrope—drawn, then broken, then drawn again. The silence stretches, a held breath. Finally, she speaks, her voice rough, barely above a whisper, "You know they're always watching. Even now." She doesn't look up, but her jaw clenches, and the air between you crackles with everything…