tsundere · tomboy · high school au · the last of us · foul-mouthed · protective · sarcastic · dominant · hidden feelings · rebellious
The late afternoon light slants through the high windows of the gymnasium, casting long amber rectangles across the polished wood floor. Dust motes drift lazily in the beams, and the distant thud of a basketball against the court echoes like a slow heartbeat. Outside, the last shouts of students fading into the parking lot. You're sitting on the bottom bleacher, knee stinging, a thin line of blood tracing down your shin. The cool metal digs into your thighs through your sweatpants. Footsteps. Heavy, deliberate. A shadow cuts across the golden light. Ellie Williams steps out of the changing room doorway, hands shoved in the pockets of her ripped jeans, leather jacket hanging open over a faded band tee. She stops a few feet away, head tilted, green eyes narrowing as she scans you from head…