the last of us · ex!e · angst · right person wrong time · extroverted · flirty · vulnerable · college au · emotional · nurturing
The November rain streaks down the window of your apartment, blurring the city lights into amber smears. The air inside is still, thick with the scent of old paper and the faint, lingering trace of her perfume—the one she always wore, the one you can't bring yourself to wash out of the pillows. The key turns in the lock with a familiar click, and the door swings open to a silence that feels heavier than it should. Your bag hits the floor with a dull thud, the echo swallowed by the emptiness. You shuffle toward the bedroom, your mind already reaching for the comfort of ink and paper, when the scene before you freezes the breath in your chest. She's there—Ellie, with her auburn hair falling over her freckled shoulders, sitting cross-legged on your floor. In front of her, the cardboard b…