The Other Half // The Half of It - Netflix // Ellister / Assie Fanfic //

SmithCorona

I hope this chapter finds you well. There is so much more I can think of to what the relationship of all these 3 could possibly have.

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou

It has been weeks since Ellie left for Grinnell, and there are so much for me to sink in. For one, I got into an art school just nearby Squahamish, which is great. I wonder how Ellie is doing in Grinnell? I reached for my phone and opened up Ghost Messenger and scrolled down to the name ID SmithCorona. The thought of sending a message is making me nervous. Will she respond to any of my messages? "Aster, dinner is ready." Dad called out and I headed down to the dining room.

I have been building up the courage to tell my dad about who I really am and what Trig really means to me. The only reason why I have put up with Trig is because of what my family expects of me. All these feelings inside are to explode one day if I keep suppressing it, I must let it out somehow, one way or the other. "I'm queer" I mumbled just under my breath, my family looked towards me confused.

"What did you just say?" My dad asked with a slight anger in his tone. "What do you mean by queer?" he asks again now frustrated with my now silence. What do I say? What would Ellie say to handle a situation like this?

"Have you ever longed for someone to love you the way you want to be loved, dad?" I asked without thinking and continued on while my family stares at me "I have been suffocated in this love that you wanted me to be in, with Trig. You have always wanted this for me, but how about the love that I want? All these agony that I have bottled up, all these untold stories that I could never tell you because of how caught up you are with Trig's father." Speaking almost running out of breath.

Their faces now confused and clearly upset. "God will punish you, this is not right, you know this, Aster" he says now enraged by my taunting. I stood up from my chair, tears falling down my eyes. He does not support me, he will never accept me for who I am. All these criticism running through my head. "Aster! Come back here!" I heard my dad call for me right after I stormed off into my room, now laying in bed curled in my bed. "You could never be different" The voice of Ellie chimes through her head, feeling relief that at least someone understands her.

"Please be back soon, Ellie" I whispered before drifting off to sleep with tear stains across my face.

-

"At these moments, he always pauses and then there's a flashback to his previous life in the Shaolin monastery in China" Dr. Tyler continued his lecture about a popular movie show called Kung Fu where a refuge from China wanders the American West in the golden age.

If I were being honest, I would have expected this class to be much more poetic. I shuffled through my bag and took out a notebook and began to scribble some words out of boredom.

The way your eyes look right into mine,
The way you twirl your hair when you're reading.
The way you laugh busts out like you can't help yourself,
And stops being so perfect even just for a moment.

You have at least five different voices.
And I could live in an ocean of your thoughts,
And feel like you know,
Just really knows what I feel.

I knew that Aster and I left things off with so much things left unsaid. So much feelings left untouched and so much emotions left unfelt. I wonder how she is doing right now, maybe I should ask Paul?

I left the lecture hall and walked down the hallway to my dorm and dialed up Paul. "Hey, Grinnell, how are you?" he immediately says as he picked up the phone. "It's been interesting, if I must say. How are you, wuss?" I asked him mockingly remembering the time he sent me off at the train station.

"Everything has been great, some food critics wrote back and tried my recipe. It's all thanks to you Grinnell." He says excitedly "I miss you though, it's been quiet in Squahamish since you've left" He continues softly with a sad tone in his voice.

"Hey, cheer up wussy, I thought you would make it to Iowa before I did? Its been weeks Munsky, I'm waiting for my taco sausage." I said attempting to break the sadness on call. "How's dad?" I added, I miss dad so much and I hope that he is doing well. It has been so long since I saw him stood on his foot and did the things he loved to do. Since mom died, he has been agonizing every day and it hurt me seeing him that way.

"He is better than he was, he has actually been supportive of my sausages and been helping me find some great spices for it. He also has been wearing his uniform every day, looking forward for trains to pass by." He explains and it's great to hear that dad finally has the motivation to get back up from his old habits.

"By the way, Aster stopped going to church. I don't think that she is in good terms with her family right now and I heard that she moved out to college just nearby. I know it's wrong to ask you this but is it okay if I talked to her?" he continues, and the phone fell silent. I thought he knew that I liked Aster? Is he still going to try to woo her?

"Hey, hey, I never want to be the guy who stops loving someone for loving the way that they want to love. I respect you and I never want to destroy our friendship because of this." He rambles over the silence.

"It's okay Munsky, I know you are just trying to be a dear friend. Go for it." I told him confidently knowing that whatever Aster feels is up to her and there is no way over controlling that.

"Okay, Ellie. Take care alright? Come back soon, I will be looking after your dad." I sighed in relief and we said our goodbyes over the phone.

I lay in bed thinking about things that could have happened. Things that could have been said, but no way of showing it now. I scrolled through my phone and clicked on Ghost Messenger, DiegaRivero. Is it too soon to send her a message? I sit back up remembering the scribble I wrote during class. I decided to send it through the mail.

-

"Dear Aster Flores,

The way your eyes look right into mine,
The way you twirl your hair when you're reading.
The way you laugh busts out like you can't help yourself,
And stops being so perfect even just for a moment.

You have at least five different voices.
And I could live in an ocean of your thoughts,
And feel like you know,
Just really knows what I feel.

SmithCorona"

-

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A/N To whoever sees this, I hope that you enjoyed this bit. There is more to come, with a more complex relationship between them.