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Chapter 2:

Cedar was woken up the next morning by the window of the bedroom that he was sharing with Ellie and Luca being eased open and a shadowy figure moving about in the darkness.

"Ellie? What the hell are you doing?". Cedar whispered as he got out of bed and joined Ellie next to the window.

"Go back to bed Cedar". Ellie replied, not even looking in Cedar's direction as she threw her backpack out onto the rooftop.

"Benji told us we have to stay inside, remember?". Cedar whispered as he grabbed Ellie's arm.

"I'm just going out to explore the area before everyone wakes up". Ellie explained as she turned to face Cedar. "If you're that worried about me then you're welcome to tag along".

Cedar frowned, biting his lip as he mulled over what he should do for a moment before giving a small nod. "Alright, you win".

Ellie grinned and eased herself out the window, turning back briefly to help Cedar before the two of them carefully walked along the rooftop and jumping onto the grassy ground below.

"What time is it anyway?". Cedar asked, stifling a yawn as he and Ellie left the yard and started walking down the road.

"Four thirty in the morning". Ellie replied, looking at her watch.

"The sky's messing me up, cause It feels later than that". Cedar replied, looking up at the green tinged sky that was the result of the ongoing radiation storms.

Ellie was silent for a moment before putting on a grin and playfully shoving against Cedar's shoulder. "We'll be fine, alright?, We've survived a lot worse".

"Yeah, I know". Cedar mumbled as he and Ellie started exploring the numerous shops that were dotted along the streets in the city of Avalon.

The duo walked for a while longer until Cedar doubled back, catching sight of a pair of silk boxers in the display window of a boutique.

"You in boxers? Now that would be a sight!". Ellie giggled as she doubled back to stand next to Cedar.

The young man let out a weak laugh, frowning to himself as followed Ellie into a small jewelry store called "Bay Of The Seven Moons".

Most of the jewelry and other knick knacks had been picked over but Cedar dug through one of the display cases until he had successfully retrieved a ring that depicted the phases of the moon.

"I found something for you!". Cedar called out to Ellie as he held the ring in his hand.

"What?". Ellie asked, getting up from where she was crouched over another display case and walking over to Cedar.

"I - I know you're a really big space geek so - ". The rest of Cedar's sentence awkwardly trailed off as he held out the ring to Ellie, who grinned and put it on the exact finger where her engagement ring once was.

Ellie frowned a bit when she realized Cedar had caught on to her missing engagement ring but shook it off, her cheeks now slightly reddened as she looked at her friend. "I found something for you too".

"What is it?". Cedar asked curiously, trying to sneak a glance at a shopping bag that Ellie was shoving into her backpack.

"You'll see!". Ellie replied cheekily, grabbing Cedar's hand and guiding him back out into the quiet street.

As they continued walking, Cedar felt a spark in his belly as Ellie guided him into a clothing shop called Island Threadz and briefly squeezed his hand before letting go.

"I figured your wardrobe needed some updating and this looked like the perfect place". Ellie explained as Cedar rummaged through the leftover piles of clothing.

Cedar looked around for another moment or so before pulling out a pair of gray sweatpants, a gray hoodie with the words Catalina Island written across it in black lettering and a green beanie hat.

"You should get my dad to cut your hair". Ellie suggested as she watched Cedar tuck his waist length hair into the beanie.

"After the trim he did to Lev's hair, that man isn't coming anywhere near me with a pair of scissors". Cedar recalled with a laugh.

"Fair point". Ellie giggled before getting serious again. "You should let Rocky do it then, I'll bet he won't totally fuck it up".

"El -". Cedar began quietly as he felt a frown form on his lips.

"I know your having a rough time with... everything, but I'm trying to help you out". Ellie cut in firmly but kindly.

Cedar sighed but nodded, feeling himself start to grin as he looked at Ellie. "I shouldn't have gotten snappy, I'm sorry".

Ellie casually placed her arm around Cedar and pulled him against her side as she led him inside a restaurant called Blue Water Avalon.

"What's that smell?". Cedar questioned as Ellie led him down into the basement, where the combining stench of pine, and what could only be described as "skunk spray" grew stronger.

Once he had gotten off the last bottom step he turned the corner and saw numerous plants sitting atop the tables that had been set up.

"What is all this?". Cedar asked as he looked around.

"It's weed". Ellie replied as she handed Cedar a rolled up dollar bill with the foul smelling green plant stuff inside it.

"I've heard of this stuff, Uncle Tony used to smoke it a lot back when things were normal apparently". Cedar laughed

"Back in Jackson, one of the residents had a stash like this in an old library". Ellie recalled as she took another drag of her blunt. "Dina and I got into it during a snowstorm a few years back".

Cedar took this in for a moment before carefully speaking up. "El, I'm not her you know".

"What?". Ellie asked as she sat up and glared at Cedar.

"I'm not Dina, and I'm not anything like her either". Cedar clarified nervously.

Ellie scoffed and rolled her eyes, scuffing the rest of her blunt into the floor as she grabbed her bag and got up. "I was just trying to do something nice for you, big fucking mistake apparently".

"Ellie, wait!". Cedar pleaded as he too scuffed his blunt into the floor and got up, following Ellie back up the stairs and outside again.

"Don't talk to me". Ellie replied harshly as she took off the ring Cedar had given her and tossed it to the ground before running back to the house, leaving Cedar to stand in the middle of the road, alone and utterly confused.