Cigarettes || R+E

Chapter 5:

  "Damn, what's taking so long?" Rachel whispered to herself, frequently glancing at her watch. Soon enough, the library doors swung open, and Ellie proudly entered. She noticed the cigarette  poking out from between Rachel's lips and took it out herself, but not without shooting Rachel a dirty look. "You're in a library," she said. "Well, Hello to you, too, Shortie." Ellie rolled her eyes, "How long have you been here?" Rachel shrugged, "Couple hours." Ellie gasped, "You could have come over earlier!" Rachel shook her head, "No, it's fine... I needed a breather." Ellie sighed. She knew there was something Rachel wanted to get off her chest, but she also knew that Rachel wasn't the type to open up about stuff like that. "If you say so," she replied.

  Rachel hopped up from her seat, grabbing her backpack as they left. The two ventured to Ellie's house in almost complete silence. It wasn't until about five minutes after they left that Ellie spoke. "So... What do you do for fun?" she asked.

  Rachel thought for a moment, "...I like music." Ellie nodded her head, "What kind?" Rachel started babbling on about her favorite bands and music types. Ellie took this as an opportunity to get a good glimpse at Rachel's eyes, frequently glancing back in front of her to see where she's going. She noticed how dark Rachel's eyes were, she could only notice the color when the sun shined on them, causing vibrant strokes of caramel and chocolate to surround the pupils.

  Before they knew it, they were at Ellie's. Ellie dug her house key out of her front pocket and jiggled it in the keyhole before opening the door, revealing her father making a cup of coffee in the kitchen. "Hey, Ellie bear, who's this?" he asked with a warm smile. Rachel gave him a small wave.

  "Papa, this is Rachel. She's the one spending the night, tonight," Ellie informed. He nodded, "As long as you two don't burn the house down," he said with a short laugh at the end. Then, he continued, "Anyways, Ellie, remember to take the new meds the doctor prescribed." Ellie nodded, "Yes, Papa."

  "Wow, very clean," Rachel stated as the two girls entered the small bedroom. Ellie blushed a tad at the compliment, "Thanks, you can set your bag there." She pointed to the only empty corner in the room and sat down on the foot of her bed.

  "So, my papa is leaving for work at eight, then we'll have the house to ourselves all night. Whatcha wanna do?" Rachel pushed her glasses up. "I don't know Ellie bear, you tell me," she asked with a smirk.

Just then, there was a gentle knock of the door. "Come in," Ellie invited. Her father opened the door, "I'm leaving early tonight. You two be good and have fun, alright?" They nodded. "Love you, Papa," Ellie said, hugging her father. Ellie bear, I'm leaving! Have fun and stay safe! I love you!" "Okay Papa, Love you too!" Rachel smiled when Ellie's father kissed his daughter of the forehead. But her smile soon faded when she compared that her her and her father's relationship.

As soon as the door shut, Rachel stuffed her hand in her pocket, pulling out a pack. "Can I open your window?" she asked innocently, then opened it without waiting for a response. Ellie's eyes widened, "No, you can't smoke! It's not good for you- I thought I already told you that!"

Ellie stood up, trying to grab the pack from Rachel, who was teasingly holding it too high for the smaller girl. "Can't reach it?" she asked, with a smug grin. Ellie gave up with a frown. "Why do you even smoke?" she questioned, watching as Rachel quickly her mouth to give a smart response. "-And don't say, I don't know, Ellie quickly added and Rachel shut her mouth.

She pulled one out of the pack and lit it. "I guess it comforts me?" she said, sounding unsure. Ellie rose her eyebrows, "Anything you want to talk about?" Rachel exhaled a breath of smoke out the window, then faced Ellie, "It's... Not something you'd understand."

"Try me," Ellie said, trying to act as confident as possible. Rachel waved her hand and replied, "Don't feel like it." Ellie hummed in response. Awkward silence brought tension to the room before Rachel finally turned around to see Ellie staring at the floor. She blew out the cigarette and tapped it before setting it on the windowsill.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rachel asked, approaching the brunette. Ellie sighed, "I never really get to talk about this kinda stuff with the loser's club. They only like talking about personal stuff at sleepovers but.." Rachel cut her off, "It's not that I don't want to. I normally just don't have anyone to talk to. Billie isn't really the kinda person who'd open up easily." Ellie completely understood, though it still made her feel disconnected from Rachel.

"Let's go." Ellie shot her a confused glance, "Where?" Rachel rolled her eyes, "Just trust me, Ellie." She grabbed Ellie by the hand, leading her to the window and pulling her out. "Rach! What are yo-" Ellie resisted. "Ellie, If you fall, I'll catch you," Rachel said.

Butterflies began to form in Ellie's stomach as her cheeks warmed. "O-okay." Rachel noticed Ellie's sudden nervousness and laughed a little. Rachel climbed out first, so she could afterwards help Ellie up. Ellie slowly crawled through the window and took Rachel's hand.

The sky started to dim over Derry, making stars more visible as they sprinkled across the sky. Rachel was sprawled out on the roof, arms behind her head as a pillow. Ellie, however, was sitting up, hugging her knees and frequently glancing at the girl next to her.

She took notice of how Rachel's shirt was slightly revealing her stomach, and her slim figure- even the outline of her ribcage. "Rach?" Rachel turned and faced the girl, "Yea?" Ellie sighed, "When you say that you have nobody to talk to, does that mean you have never told anybody... Anything?"

Rachel thought of Harley. "Only one person, but that was a long time ago." Ellie nodded, then said, "It would make me feel better if you talked to me, y'know." Rachel was silent for a moment, then breathed out a breathy sigh, "Alright, only because you're hard to say no to," she joked with a wink.

Rachel looked up at the sky as her thoughts ran wild. "Where do I even begin?" she asked herself. Ellie tilted her head, "You seem sad, why?"

"I don't have a good home life. It affects school and socialization, too. My father doesn't want anything to do with me, my mom does, though. Father won't allow it, and-" Rachel paused, "I guess... I kinda got a little jealous of what you have. You know, with your dad." Ellie felt sorry for Rachel, "Does he talk to you?"

Rachel shrugged, "If yelling counts then... Yea." Ellie was silent. No response. Rachel sighed, 'that's it, I weirded her out, just like I do to everyone else,' she thought, and looked down at her toes. Ellie glanced at Rachel, "Does he hurt you?"