unbreakable heaven • awsten knight

1.23 fifteen

houston tx
february 2009

As promised, Awsten goes to Ellie's house after his driving lesson.

He spots her sat at her bedroom window as he arrives; he feels a little giddy at the thought of her waiting there for him.

Awsten waves animatedly, in hopes that it'll catch her eye, in which he succeeds.

Ellie waves back, before hopping out of her spot and heading downstairs.

The front door is open before Awsten can even get to the porch, and he grins brightly as he steps inside, pulling Ellie into a swift hug.

"Hi," she giggles, as he nudges the door closed behind them, still holding her close.

"Hey," he sighs contently against her.

"How was your driving lesson?" Ellie asks, tilting her head back, just enough to look up at him.

Awsten tries to formulate a causal answer, among the loud thoughts of how badly he wants to kiss her right now.

Just a quick peck. It would be nonchalant, and would almost seem normal. He could do that if she was his girlfriend. God, he didn't realise how badly he wants that.

"Uh, yeah, it was good," he nods, shrugging it off, as he releases her from his hold.

"Glad you stopped being a scaredy-cat about it," Ellie wears a teasing smile, as she begins heading upstairs to her bedroom.

"Hey! I have valid reason to be scared, with those fucking posters that they put up," Awsten frowns, instinctively trailing behind her. "Besides, I'm only a couple weeks away from passing my test now. I think I've done pretty well for myself," he continues, and Ellie turns back to him to offer a proud smile.

"What did you want to show me, though?" Awsten questions, watching as she sits herself down on the floor, where her notebooks spread out, and her guitar is laid beside her.

"Some songs, maybe," Ellie shrugs. "If you want to hear them."

"Of course I want to hear them," Awsten tells her, softly.

He subtly peaks over at her open notebook that's laying on the floor, and Ellie slides it towards him.

"You can pick one that you want to hear," she suggest, pulling her guitar into her lap.

"You'll play whichever one I pick?" Awsten's eyes widen, happily, causing Ellie to feel like her heart is melting, as she nods in response. "Okay, so," his eyebrows dip together, as he flips through the pages. "I've already heard this one, right?" He points to the title at the top of the page, reading A Place In This World.

"Yeah, that was the one I played for you at the lake," Ellie smiles fondly at the memory.

Awsten's eyes scan the pages, and the lyrics on them, in awe and concentration.

"Ellie, these are amazing," he murmurs, his gaze glued to the notebook.

"Thank you," she blushes, leaning over when he seems to stay on a certain page.

"Oh, shit," Awsten lets out a small laugh. "Do you name drop someone in this one?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of," Ellie shrugs, sheepishly, noticing him reading the lyrics for Fifteen. "I was really undecided on whether to change it or not—"

"I think it's great," he cuts in, gently. "Can I hear this one?" Awsten ask, with a sweet smile, earning a nod.

Ellie shuffles comfortably, settling her guitar into her lap as she begins to play the song.

Awsten watches the way her fingers strum the guitar, quickly getting caught up in the sound of her voice when she begins to sing.

He wants to ask more questions this time around— he didn't get the chance to the last time she played him a song.

So, once it's over, he does— after complimenting her a million times over, of course.

"Can I ask what you wrote it about?" He requests, politely.

"Uh, so, I lived in Nashville for a little while— about a year, right before I moved here," Ellie begins to answer. "I got super close with this girl, and we became best friends."

"Abigail?" Awsten raises an eyebrow, referring to the name mentioned in the song, earning a nod.

"We both got asked out by these guys, who were a couple years older," she explains, with an amused laugh. "We went on our first dates, had our first kisses, and we both got really swept up in it all," Ellie lets out a short sigh. "I kind of came to my senses when we went on a second date. I'd just started writing more and my brain was starting to focus a lot more on that— I didn't want to throw everything away for a boy just yet," she continues. "But, Abigail ended up dating her guy for a few weeks. Until, he just changed his mind out of the blue," Ellie shrugs, with a sad, empathetic smile. "I wrote that about a week after we'd spend a night at her house, just crying it all out."

"They both sound like douchebags," Awsten mutters. "The guys, I mean," he adds, and Ellie wonders if she's picking up a hint of jealousy in his voice— surely not. "Do you still speak to Abigail?" Awsten asks, shifting the subject and lightening his tone.

"Uh, no," Ellie shakes her head. "We, uh— She turned out to be just as much of a douchebag, I guess," she laughs, dryly, but Awsten can tell there's some hurt behind it, causing him to frown.

"What happened?" He presses gently.

"So, uh, I started dating this guy a couple of months after all of that happened," Ellie starts. "He was my first ever boyfriend— only ever boyfriend, actually," she adds, unknowingly causing Awsten's interest to pique. "I thought it was going kind of well, but it didn't get very far, because I found out that he slept with Abigail."

"He what?" Awsten's eyes widen. "He cheated on you? At fifteen?"

"Well, I mean— they were both a year older than me," Ellie murmurs. "I don't know if that's why he did it, you know? Like, I was a little younger and didn't want to...go all the way, with anything," her gaze drops to the floor, as she ducks her head, feeling a little embarrassed by it all.

"Any reason to cheat is a stupid reason," Awsten tells her. "Nothing can justify it. I'm sorry they did that to you," his tone softens, as he leans closer to her.

"Thank you," Ellie smiles softly. "I've never even told anyone all of that," she lets out a watery laugh. "We broke up and I spent weeks not talking to anyone, because I felt so ashamed of it," Ellie explains. "Then I moved here with Mum and Dad, and didn't say a word to anyone. I probably wouldn't have been so willing to move here, if all of that hadn't happened," she admits.

"In that case, in the least fucked up way possible," Awsten begins, as she meets his eyes, "I'm kind of glad that happened," he says, slowly and carefully, his face twisting as the words fall from his mouth, causing Ellie to laugh.

"I know what you mean," she nods in agreement. "I'm kind of glad, too," Ellie adds, a small smile playing on her lips. "Plus, I got a fair few songs out of it."

"Really?" Awsten's eyes light up, returning his attention to the notebook again. "Can I hear some more?"

...