𝑩𝑨𝑫 𝑫𝑬𝑪𝑰𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺, 𝙟𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙨

𝟬𝟬𝟭. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟

(🪐)

THE NEWS REACHES ELLIE when she's asleep at her boyfriend's house. Bryson Roy, the charming alumni and former quarterback of South Beach High. He had invited her over to hang out for the first time in two weeks since he had been in South Carolina touring Clemson and working out with his new teammates.

However, instead of hours cuddling and watching their favorite sitcom, Ellie spent her night stressing over early admission applications and her college essay. Her goal was to also get into Clemson for sports medicine (Bryson already apart of the student body was a large motivator). But if all else failed, Ellie still needed to figure out exactly which schools she would apply for and take a deeper look into each of their programs.

Bryson had made several attempts to lure her away from her laptop (with offers ranging from fresh baked cookies all the way to sex), but they proved to be very unsuccessful.

So when he came back to his room to find his girlfriend passed out at the foot of his bed, laptop shut beside her, he figured the best possible solution was to not wake her. He knew his parents wouldn't mind— it was only Ellie after all. Bryson also knew that Erik and Nikki Spoelstra wouldn't mind either. They rather their daughter be with him than have her at home grumbling about school.

August Elaine, as he branded it, was a monster from hell. Her back to school anxiety showed itself, and Ellie would get noticeably jittery from time to time when the topic of returning was brought up. Especially in a time like now, when graduation was on the horizon. This was an Ellie— scratch that, Elaine— that he had never witnessed before. She now was August Elaine: University edition.

Bryson had witnessed her get mad at her younger brother for snatching up the last chicken nugget in a McDonald's meal that he bought for Santiago and Danté only. August Elaine was basically normal Ellie, but severely PMS-ing.

So while poor Ellie was indeed very asleep, her father called her up with an important offer.

Her phone rings four times before Bryson decides to pick it up for her. Ellie was certainly not a light sleeper, he's witnessed her sleep through several alarms when she would stay over before school. Sighing, he answers the call.

"Hey, Mr. Spo— Yes, it's Bryson."  Bryson rubs his forehead. "Your daughter's asleep for once. Yeah, I know. It's been like, three hours. I don't know if I want to wake her up." He sits himself beside her strewn out figure on the bed, placing a hand on her back and massaging it.

"You seriously want me to wake her up?" He listens to what Erik has to say. "Alright if it's that important..."

Putting down her phone for a beat, Bryson slides his hand up to her shoulder and shakes Ellie lightly

"Ellie, your dad's on the phone." He bends down to speak softly in her ear, his chin grazing the hair falling over the side of her head. "Ellie," Bryson says again.