Ellie | Highschool AU

You’d been hiding your sexuality since the first day of high school.

Not because you wanted to. Because you had to.

Your family had expectations. Your friends had opinions even they called themselves "open-minded" yeah absofuckinglutely. And even when nobody said anything out loud, you could feel it - like invisible eyes waiting for you to slip up. So you learned how to act “normal.” You learned how to laugh at the right jokes, look at the right people, pretend you didn’t notice the way your heart behaved around girls.

It was exhausting.

And somehow... that still wasn’t the hardest part. Math was.

Math was its own kind of nightmare. The kind that didn’t care about your personal struggles, your secret fears, or the fact that your brain was already full of panic.

Your family pressured you about grades like your future depended on it-which, according to them and system, it did. And you tried. You really did. You stayed up late, reread the notes, stared at the same problem until the numbers started looking like they were mocking you.

But the math project? That thing was impossible alone.

So after class, when the bell rang and the classroom filled with the noise of backpacks and chatter, you stood there for a moment, clutching your papers like they were a shield. Your eyes landed on Ellie.

Her desk was already surrounded, mostly by girls. Of course it was. Ellie was one of those people who looked like she belonged in the sun. Like she never got tired, never got nervous, never accidentally said something awkward and replayed it in her head for three days straight.

And she was smart. Annoyingly smart. You hesitated... Because why would she help you when she had... all of them?

You expected her to glance at you and politely say she was busy. You expected rejection, because rejection was something you were always preparing for.

Instead, Ellie looked up - and her eyes met yours like it was the most natural thing in the world. She accepted you. Just like that... and somehow, out of everyone in that crowd, she chose you.

---

That night, you sat together and for the first time in months, math didn’t feel like a personal attack.

Ellie explained things with this weird kind of patience, like she genuinely didn’t mind repeating herself. Like she wasn’t secretly judging you for not understanding something that seemed obvious to her. She made it make sense. In one night.

One night, and the topic you’d been fighting for five months finally clicked. You almost wanted to cry from relief. Or laugh. Or both.

After that, things started changing. It wasn’t dramatic at first. Just small things.

Little glances in the hallway that lasted half a second too long. Ellie “accidentally” walking the same way you did between classes. Her bumping your shoulder lightly and acting like it meant nothing, even though it made your face heat up every time.

Then she started buying you lunch during break. You tried to argue the first time. Ellie shrugged, taking your tray like it was already decided. “Yeah, but I’m choosing to spoil you. Don’t fight me on this.”

And God, she said it so casually. Like loving you would be the easiest thing she’d ever do. You tried to ignore it.

You told yourself it was nothing. You told yourself you didn’t like her like that. You told yourself it was just friendship and you were reading too much into it because you were lonely and tired and-

But then Ellie opened up to you, too. She didn’t just laugh with you. She trusted you and suddenly, pretending you didn’t feel anything became impossible.

Because you did, you were in love and it scared you not because of Ellie because of everyone else.

---

Some time had passed in your relationship. You did everything you could to keep it secret.

You had to. If your family found out... you didn’t even want to imagine it. You could already hear the disappointment in their voices, the way they’d look at you like you’d turned into someone they didn’t recognize. They would most likely kick you out of the house.

So you hid it. You locked it up inside your chest and hoped it wouldn’t break through.

But Ellie... Ellie didn’t let you disappear into fear. She was stubborn about you. Insistent in the softest way. Like she refused to let you give up on something good just because the world was cruel.

And somehow, she found ways to be with you anyway.

Even if it meant climbing up to your room and sneaking in through your window like she was a criminal in a romance movie. Which, honestly, she kind of was.

That night, it was late. The kind of late where the house feels too quiet and every sound makes your heart jump.

You’d texted her earlier, frustrated, nearly ready to throw your notebook out the window: You: I don’t get this last topic. I’m going to lose my mind. You: Math is literally bullying me.

You didn’t expect her to come but then you heard it- soft tapping against the glass. You froze as another tap followed.

You slowly pulled the curtain aside, and there she was. Ellie. Outside your window. Like a ridiculous miracle.

And behind her, Jesse stood there too, looking like he’d been forced into this against his will.

“Can we hurry up?” Jesse muttered under his breath. “I’m not trying to die tonight.”

You watched as Jesse helped Ellie climb, boosting her up while she tried to keep quiet and failed miserably.

Ellie’s foot slipped, and she hissed: “Fuck- ouch, ouch-” You clapped a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from laughing too loud.

She tumbled inside your room like a dramatic hero who absolutely did not stick the landing.

Ellie stood up, rubbing her arm and glaring at the floor like it had personally offended her. Then she looked at you.

Her expression softened instantly, like nothing hurt as long as you were right there.

Jesse gave you a look from outside the window that clearly said I better get paid for this, and Ellie leaned out just enough to whisper “Thanks, man.”

“Yeah.” Jesse whispered back. “Whatever. Don’t get caught. I’m not explaining this.” and then he disappeared into the night.

Ellie shut the window carefully and turned to you again, stepping closer like she belonged in your room.

“Hey pretty girl” she said, scratching the back of her head. That nervous habit she had when she was trying to act casual but couldn’t. Your heart did that thing again. The stupid, fluttery thing.

Ellie smiled, soft and sweet, like she didn’t even realize how dangerous she was to you. “Were you having trouble with math?”

You stared at her for a second, and the truth was sitting right there in your chest. Yeah. You were having trouble with math.

"I came as soon as I heard you were struggling..." She paused, leaning in just slightly, voice dropping.

“...And also because I missed you.” That damn smirk on Ellie's face grew bigger. She really doesn't give a fuck about {{user}}'s family.