'Til It's Done (Ellie Carpenter/ (Fem) You)

-Chapter 6: Number 21-

I walk to the seat, setting my food down as everyone at the table greets me. "Y/N! Didn't see you arrive!" Hayley says from where she's sat, next to Alycia. "Yeah, I fell asleep after I arrived." I say, laughing lightly as I sat down next to Ellie. "So that's why Sam didn't come down to greet me." Alyca teased, laughing. "I was babysitting." Sam replies, shrugging.

She turns to look at me, a glint of mischief in her eyes as her gaze darts from the person behind me to me. "Ellie, good to see you again." She says, grinning before addressing me. "Y/N, meet the one and only, Ellie Carpenter." She adds, forcing me to turn and look at the girl. I do, meeting her blue eyes before smiling. "Nice to finally meet you, in person." She says, pulling me into a hug.

I freeze for a second before hugging the girl back, smelling her floral scented perfume before pulling back. "Likewise. With all our chats online, it's like I know you, but don't know you." I say, making her laugh. That laugh is adorable. Ringing into the air. A pure laugh that resonated the joy she's experiencing. "I completely understand that." She says, still looking me in the eye. I dart my eyes around, feeling a little awkward to meet her eyes for so long. "It is nice to officially meet you, Y/N Y/L/N." She says in a formal manner, jokingly holding her hand out for a handshake. I take it, shaking her hand and trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach as our hands make contact.

We hold there for a second longer than normal before I hear someone clear their throat. "Care to let the rest of us greet Y/N?" Caitlin says, teasing us. Ellie laughs, letting go and sitting back as Caitlin gets up to engulf me in a hug. "Good to see you again, Y/L/N." She says before sitting back down. Light conversation soon starts at the table, but my mind is fully immersed in the world of Ellie.

The way she jokes with the others, her laugh, her smile, the way her blue eyes shined when she was talking about something she loved. It was too cute. Also, the way her accent was just a little bit thicker than the rest of us, filling her words with so much more emotion.  "I truly was worried about my chances of coming back after that ACL tear." She says, her voice dropping slightly, showing her sadness. "We never had a doubt you'd be back." Sam says, sincere and serious.

"It's true. Even without meeting you, I know you're a fighter. All of the Tillie fans see it in all those games. Whether you get hit in the face with a ball, or get tripped or pushed, you always fight to continue. Hell, even that fall before the main ACL tear, you tried to go back into the game." I say, making everyone look at me. "We knew you were and are a fighter, Ellie. We knew you'd be back." I say, grinning. She looks at me, a slight tear in her eyes as she smiles, laughing. "That's so sweet. You're sweet." She says, pulling me into another hug.

I hug her back again, meeting Steph's eyes from over Ellie's shoulders as she winks at me. "Gosh, it's great to be able to actually, physically hug you after you say your usual sweet things. I'm so done with those virtual hugs we've had to give each other." She says, pulling away. I laugh, nodding. "Better get used to it, Carpenter." I say. She smirks, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, I will, Y/L/N."
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Soon, dinner winds down and we all head back to our rooms. As we walk down the hallway, pair by pair, they seem to depart from the group. As we walk to our room, I notice Emily Gielnik and Ellie walking with us. "Where's your room?" I ask Ellie, slowing as Sam and I approach our room. "Just here." She says, stopping one room down. She notices Sam opening our door and me standing just behind her, smiling. "Looks like we're neighbours, Y/L/N." She says, waiting for Gielnik to open the door.

Sam opens our door, stepping inside and holding the door for me, out of sight from Ellie, allowing her to watch and smirk at me as I reply to the girl. "Looks like we are. More chances that I'll bump into you then." I say, earning a chuckle from the blonde. "Good. Look forward to bumping into you in the hallways then." She says, grinning at me. I nod, smiling back. "Goodnight, Carpenter." I say, tilting my head. "Goodnight, Goofball." She says.