It was very late now, and everyone was gonna call it a night. They dropped the boys off at the hotel that they were staying in before going to Astrid's place to sleep.

Ellie, along with Klaus and Astrid, walked into the flat, tired and full from their dinner. Astrid pecked her cousin on the cheek, before heading up the stairs into her room. Ellie fell onto the couch, putting her feet up as she yawned tiredly.

    " Tired?" Klaus asked her.

" Isn't everybody?" She replied." It was pretty eventful... today..."

    " For you." He said, going into the kitchen to grab a bottle of beer." I mean yeah they're musicians, but they aren't that special. They're our friends, not yours."

" Yeah I know." Ellie rolled her eyes while she crossed her arms.

  " Then, why did they know who you were? And why did you just run away when you walked in??"

" I-I just know them from somewhere, I don't know." She shrugged.

   " Where?" He popped open the bottle and took a sip, furrowing his brows.

" Why do you need to know??" She raised her voice.

   " Am I or am I not your boyfriend? I think I have the right to know where you know them from!" He also raised his voice, sounding firm.

" I don't want to tell you! It's not a big deal where I know them from!" She was frustrated at him for prying at her.

" Are you keeping something from me?" He placed his bottle down on the coffee table, frowning as he pursed his lips.

   " Of course not!" Ellie stood up and walked towards him. She fixed a strand of hair that fell in his face." Darling... I wouldn't want to do anything to upset you."

Klaus closed his eyes and moved her hand away. He stepped away and rubbed his face.
" I'm sorry... I'm sorry. Today, my mood wasn't the greatest. When I saw a connection between you guys, I just over thought everything and..."

" Shush."

" Wha-"

Ellie placed her finger on his lips. " We were old friends. We knew each other for a bit, until things started to not work out. We stopped talking and I moved away. The end."

" What? That's it?"

  " Yeah, I mean what else do you want to hear?" Ellie was walking away, heading towards the stairs.

" Maybe some details, but overall, nothing. I was just expecting a bit more." He said, following her.

" Yeah well, I'm tired. Maybe another time." She went into the room and grabbed her towel.

-----

Ellie finished showering and got dressed in a night gown, while Klaus was already sleeping in bed. He snored softly, while she slipped on her night cap and tucked in stray hairs. She walked towards the bed, pulling the covers out as she scooted herself into Klaus's arms.

Klaus smiled as he felt Ellie close to him. He pulled the blanket over the two of them and nuzzled his face close to her ear. She turned the light off before finally shutting her eyes.

" I love you, Elizabeth... Good night, my love." He whispered softly in her ear, pecking it afterwards.

Ellie opened her eyes, took his hand, and kissed it." Good night..." she whispered.

She stared tiredly into the wall that she faced. A small photo of a tree that Astrid took hung there. It's haunting silhouette contrasting against the white background. She wanted to be wherever that tree was, just so she could be alone with her thoughts and that tree. No one to judge her or tell her things she knew wasn't true.

But again, wasn't she the one who lied to Klaus? She thought about this to herself before falling asleep.

--------

When Ellie woke up, she felt an icy chill on her shoulder and back. She turned around and saw the empty space beside her. She sat up, stretching her arms and legs before forcing herself up from bed. Elizabeth rubbed her cold shoulder as she walked over to the window, opening it to let some air in. She leaned on the window sill, admiring the view of cars, people, and trees coming and disappearing into the thin fog.

She pulled her night cap off her head, allowing her hair to fall to it's short length. She watched as a man walked down the pathway, looking down at a piece of paper. He looked into a puddle's reflection before looking up at Ellie. To her shock, it was the American again. Alarmed, she banged her head on the window and fell back on the floor. Rubbing her head, she creeped back near the window and saw as he started waving at her.

" It's the limey girl! Elizabeth!" He smiled a white smile at her, almost teasing her.

She back away from the window and cursed to herself. She paced for a sec before grabbing a robe and going back to the window.

" Hey... David." She felt so embarrassed and annoyed." What are you doing on this part of town? My job is about thirty minutes away."

" I came to see you actually! I wanted to see you." He waved a piece of paper.

" Who gave you my address???" Ellie asked frustrated and even more annoyed that some told him where she lives.

" The bartender who's daughter you used to babysit gave it to me. Very helpful." David nodded.

   Ellie back away from the window again and hit her head." Willie...!!!" She whispered to herself. She reappeared.

    " Hey! You're back! Thought I lost you there!" He laughed. " So are up for a date, Elizabeth?"

" What? No! I can't!" She shook her head.

   " Look if it's your job, I could talk to your boss and-"

" -No... David, I told you that I have a boyfriend. I'm in a relationship. I have a man. Understand?"

David furrowed his brows in a confused a disappointed way, making Ellie feel a little bad.

" Look, you seem very nice and I'm sure that you'll find a sweet girl here or in America. But David, I'm not the one. You have to go now." Ellie told him kindly.

  " Fine..." He took out a single rose from his long coat and slammed it at the door of her cousin's house.

Ellie grimaced." You didn't have to be nasty about it..." she said under her breath, shutting the window as she rolled her eyes.

She turned around quickly as she heard the door open.

    " Hey, you're up." Klaus smiled as he walked past her to get his watch from the dresser. Ellie smiled in relief and leaned towards him to kiss him but her held her back. Ellie froze.

" Stop right there, morning breath! Go brush up before coming here with that." He laughed.

Ellie punched his shoulder and walked to the bathroom." Jerk." She chuckled.

   " Ow! I was kidding, babe!" He tried hugging her but she pried herself away from him.

" Sure!" She laughed sarcastically before shutting the bathroom door.

------

Ellie finished getting ready for work and went down stairs to the kitchen, where her boyfriend was leaning against the counter, reading a magazine as he sliced cheese for his bread roll that he held in his mouth. 

" Careful you don't cut yourself. Here, lemme." She moved him aside and took the roll out of his mouth. Klaus sat himself at the small dining table, still reading his magazine while looking at his girl a couple of times.

    Ellie finished making his sandwich and coffee before looking at the clock.

  " Shit. I forgot I picked the early shift! I'll see you later, babe." She kissed him and grabbed the hat off his head.

   " Can't you stay and eat?" He asked.

" I'm late!" She shut the door and quickly grabbed her cousin's bike, which she left next to the door.

She hoped on and peddled quickly to work. Ellie rode through the streets nonstop, not even stopping when the traffic guard would blow his whistle at her to stop. As she began to approach the shop, she checked her watch, making sure that she would arrive on time.

    She hopped off the bike brought it into the shop." Morning, Harold!"

" Ah! Elizabeth " Tardy" Williams. Good morning." Harold emerged from the back as he held a box for of signs." Go clock in."

" Yes, sir." She nodded as she took her bike to the back of the shop. She clocked in and quickly adjusted her blue work apron. She went to the front and helped Harold take out the supplies from the box.

" Sale?" She asked.

" Yeah. The bosses want to clear some of their stock and introduce newer art supplies into the shops." He nodded as he took out a sign to hang on the windows and door." Why don't you put stickers on the products? Here's the list, you know what to do."

" Sure thing." She quickly began to work on the list and products.

------

Some time had passed and Harold had opened the shop when they were done. He told her to stand at the register as he began to sweep. The door opened and a short lady with brownish-black, short, hair came in. She looked around quickly, looking down at a list a few times.

" Do you need assistance, ma'am?" Ellie asked, walking around the counter. Ellie grabbed a basket and walked up to the lady, who stood a few inches shorter than her.

" Um...Yes. I need to find these items." She handed her the list.

Ellie looked at the list and nodded in assurance." Okay, only item we don't have, is chocolate. Are you making a gift basket for someone?" Ellie asked to confirm her assumption.

   " Yes. Not for me though. My employer wants me to make a basket for her boyfriend. I'm her assistant." The short, thin woman stretched to retrieve ribbon from the rack but couldn't reach.

Ellie helped her by getting the ribbon and placing it into the basket." Thank you... why do you guys put them so high?"

" They have to be in color order, top to bottom. It's an order from the bosses." Ellie shrugged.

    " Oh." The woman sighed as she grabbed another item off the list. She held another item similar." Which do you think the lady will like more? The white or blue tissue paper?"

" Blue. It's a nice color." Ellie gave her opinion, in the assistant nodded in agreement. Ellie asked her for her name, in which she replied," Samantha."

     "Oh I used to have an aunt named Samantha. When I was younger, kids in the neighborhood thought she was a witch."

Samantha laughed and picked out three more items." What is your name? I want to hang out sometime when I'm done with some work."

" It's Elizabeth. But people call me Ellie." She told Samantha her full name since she felt comfortable enough to do so.

" Say, can I call you Eliza?" Samantha asked. Elizabeth allowed her too, thinking that it would be a bit more refreshing to have a new nickname. Elizabeth grabbed the last item and took the basket to the counter. She added everything up and told Sam the price for the purchased goods.

After putting everything in a bag, Ellie gave Sam her number and bid her goodbye. On the way out she accidentally bumped into Harold, making her fall on her butt. Ellie gasped and watched as Harold helped her up with little effort." Terribly sorry, miss-" he locked eyes with her as so did she.

He quickly gave the paper bag of supplies to her before quickly apologizing and rushing back inside, where he went to the back. Ellie, amused, watched his pale face go to an apple red. And just as he rushed off, so did Sam, with her cheeks flushed with the same color.

Eliza shook her head and resumed her work as more customers came.

________________________________

A bit of an update. It's been FOREVER.

Jeesh...

So I hope you enjoyed. I've been working on other books, plus I've been busy with school and work. But besides that, reader, everything is peachy🍑🍑🍑.

   Peace and love, my dudes✌️🙂