unbreakable heaven • awsten knight

1.30 first date

houston tx
may 2009

Ellie has been stressing out over what to wear all day.

Eventually, she feels like there's only one option left to help her decide— so, she calls her eldest sister, Elena.

She frowns when the call rings out and goes unanswered, until her phone begins buzzing again straight away.

"Hi, honey! Sorry I just missed you," Elena lets out a breath, "I was in the other room with Ava. She wouldn't lay down for her nap."

"Oh, that's okay," Ellie dismisses. "How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's all good," Elena tells her. "We miss you," she adds.

"I miss you, too," Ellie sighs. "Look, I— I need some help."

"What's up?" Elena's eyebrows dipped in slight concern and the change in her tone is clear.

"It's nothing bad, I just— I'm going on a date," Ellie says. "I can't figure out what to wear because he won't tell me where we're going."

"Okay," Elena nods, slowly, trying to suppress her smile. "Have you tried asking him for suggestions?" She suggests.

"No..." Ellie answers, pausing. "I don't want him to know that I'm freaking out in case he thinks I'm having second thoughts, because I'm definitely not, but I'm just—"

"Slow down," Elena interrupts, with a quiet laugh. "You seem to really like this boy," she observes.

"Yeah...A lot. Like, so much," Ellie finds herself blushing. "You'd really like him. He's such a gentleman all the time. Which is weird for teenage boy," she muses. "And he's actually like, my best friend. He plays music and I always go to his shows and he always comes to mine."

"You sound giddy," Elena teases, causing Ellie to groan.

"Don't make fun of me!" She protests. "I called you for help."

"Right, you're right. I'm sorry," Elena apologises, a sweet smile on her face. "Are you expecting anything over the top?"

"Not really," Ellie shakes her head. "We both put most of our money towards things for shows now, so...I'd be totally happy with doing whatever. I just don't know how much I need to impress him, you know?"

"I'm sure you don't need to impress him at all," Elena responds, easily. "It sounds like he's already into you. Don't go out of your way to play into something that isn't you. Just be you," she continues, sincerity dripped from her words. "Then, who knows, you might end up like me and Aster."

Ellie smiles, laughing off the comment, before heading over to her wardrobe.

She's always admired Elena's relationship. Aster has always been sweet to her, from the moment they met. He's a firm part of the family now and Ellie can only hope that she ends up with someone who slots so perfectly into her life the way that he does into Elena's.

She talks her sister through some outfit choices and she helps her to decide on a final one.

Ellie ends up telling her all about Awsten, gushing over how excited she is and her stress from earlier seems to fade away. She realises that she should probably call her sister more often.