We're young and naive,
and your telling me that some day we will run off together,
i'm starting to think,
i'm stuck in a dream,
cause we're young and we don't know better
Couple of kids - Maggie Lindemann
(Anything in italics that isn't song lyrics are memories)
The Shelby's and the O'Connells were tight knit family friends, were you found a Shelby an O'Connell wouldn't be far behind. Both being peaky blinder families their children were brought up the same way tough and ,for the most part, very smart.So it was no surprise that their children grew up so close, especially Ella and John who had been best friends since they could talk.
As Ella got older though her and John began to hang around with the older boys which included; her brother Ryan, Tommy and Arthur all of which she loved dearly. Although Ella wasn't like most girls at the time, she tended to be rebellious not liking rules and being told what to do. Some may say she was feared by the people of Small Heath because of the boys she associated herself with some say it was because of her natural need to be heard in a world where women were told to be silent. Her outlook on love was grim, this was mainly due to her father leaving herself and her brother shortly after their mam died, leaving her to give up on the idea of love at all. Unknown to Ella ,however, one boy had been pining over her for years, the one boy who seemed to stiffen in the room when she or john spoke about her dates with other boys and seemed angry at her and everyone for days after hearing of them. Or hated seeing her upset or lonely, the boy who put everything into keeping her safe. However Ella was oblivious to Thomas's feelings even though everyone around her noticed and even pitied the boy, but they would never say it out loud. It didn't take long for Tommy to finally snap after witnessing her kiss another boy outside her door after a date; after scaring the boy of,and in between Ella's infuriated yelling, he shut her up wish a kiss which was reciprocated very quickly.
There is really nothing more to it they fell in love and no one could say they had seen a couple as happy as them, they were lost without each other but together they were a force to be reckoned with together. With her by his side he was stronger.
1914 - 6 months before the war
They had been together for a year now and were engaged - Ella had never been so in love with someone before.It was 8am ,Tommy had gotten up early to help his brothers on their busiest day. She did think it was odd that she woke up and he wasn't beside her, it had never happened before he never left without telling her. She didn't know what she would do without him he was her lifeline, her home she loved him so much it hurt, at this thought she got up with a sigh and curled her hair into elegant curls around her face, applied some lipstick, put on her dress and left to go to the market deciding she would meet up with them later that afternoon.
Later she found them at the Garrison, a sure place to find at least one of the blinder men but the air around them was as happy as it usually was, there were jokes,stories and plenty of drunk people . They sat in their private booth drinking their whiskey and exchanging laughs.
"I hope you've at least bought me a drink" she announced on her arrival, everyone looked up except Ryan which she found strange as he was usually happy to see his little sister but as she looked at him his melancholy mood seemed to get worse on her arrival. The other boys got up to greet her "what you drinking?" john asked, "its still early so give me something with tonic" she said with a huge smile, just being with these people (her family) made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. She went and sat with Tommy, who was more than happy to put his arm around her and kiss the top of her head as she did so "I've missed you" he whispered in her ear making goosebumps rise on her skin, he loved the effect he had on her "You saw me this morning" she chuckled in response "that's too long to be stuck with these lot without you" all he got in reply was a jokingly stern look. Her mood dropped as she glanced at her unusually silent brother who hadn't spared her a glance all night which was beginning to make a lump form in her throat. What she didn't know is what he was worried about was -in fact- about to blow up in his and Tommy's face.
