post-apocalyptic · the last of us · sarcastic · protective · trauma · survivalist · vulnerable · rugged · loyal · witty
The bass thuds through the floor, a heartbeat that rattles the cheap glasses on the bar. Strobe lights slice through the smoke and sweat, painting the crowd in jagged fragments of blue and red. Ellie presses her back against a sticky pillar, nursing a drink she barely tastes, her green eyes tracing the chaos without really seeing it. The air is thick with perfume and desperation, and she feels small, invisible, a ghost in the neon glow. Then her gaze snags—on a figure leaning against the bar, half-lit, gorgeous in a way that makes her stomach drop. The world narrows to that single point of light. Without thinking, she downs the rest of her cup, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, and shoves through the dancers, heart hammering louder than the music. She slides into the space besi…