A/N: To anyone who lives in the areas described, apologies if I mess anything up in that regard.
Disclaimer
I Kaien Crosszeria, do not in anyway own any aspect of the Last of Us, or the artists mentioned. The plot is my own. If a copyright holder would like me to retract their property I shall do my best to accommodate their desires. Please note that there might typographical errors.
Chapter 4
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she saw the tall skyline that made out Seattle. Two whole days trekking across country was fun, but completely exhausting. Using her map, she had found that they had two choices; Mt. Rainier National Park. Open, free, and difficult to track through, but filled with bears, and there was no clear path. Alternatively, they could go along Route 90. More open and direct, with the option of hitch-hiking ever-present, but a lot more visible. They ultimately chose the comfort of the road. After days of walking, with the occasional hitch-hike, and they were now in Seattle, with its neon lights and huge buildings.
"Where now?" asked Riley. "We find somewhere to stay the night. A rooftop or something." Ellie replied. "There are probably some warehouses we could squat in for a bit." Riley agreed, and after about an hour or so, they found a large empty building. They climbed in through a window, and found that it was full of old abandoned neon signs. They laid their makeshift bed, crafted from an assortment of clothing, on the top deck. They lied down, Riley spooning into Ellie.
"So… what's the plan?" Ellie asked. Riley smirked. "Before or after we fuck each other senseless?" she asked as she unzipped her windbreaker. Ellie licked her lips and replied with "After. Definitely after."
An hour of squeals and contentment later, the two were embracing each other, naked beneath the pile of clothes they were calling a duvet. "But no, seriously, what do we do tomorrow?" Ellie said, a satisfied little smile present throughout that whole sentence. Riley grinned back. "I dunno. Beg. Busk. Go to a soup kitchen and stay away from any dealers. Find proper sleeping bags. Live. Isn't that just such a good thing to say? Live. We're finally gonna live." she said, a big goofy smile on her face the whole time. Ellie smiled sweetly. "I'm fucking smashed. Goodnight. I love you Riley."
Riley smiled right back. "Love you too, dork."
And thus the girls fell asleep, awaiting the challenges of the next day.
-We're finally gonna live-
A crack of light spilled out of the window, hitting Ellie in the face. She grimaced and then woke up. She remembered where she was. A warehouse in east Seattle. She looked over at Riley, and smiled. The girl was gorgeous. To Ellie she was an angel in every single way. She brushed a stray strand of hair off her face and placed it behind her ear. She got up and set about making breakfast for the both of them. She would let Riley sleep in. Of the two of them, the whole Mr. Smith incident, along with the whole trekking thing had hit her far harder than it had Ellie, and she probably needed the rest much more than she did. Eventually, about an hour later, Riley stirred. "Morning, love." Ellie said, "I made you breakfast." Riley sleepily smiled up at Ellie. "Thanks."
"It's hardly 5-star, but I was the wifey today, so you can do it tomorrow." Ellie said. Riley smirked. "I thought there was supposed to be a set man in the relationship." Ellie chuckled. "Left my strap-on behind I guess." That sent both of them into fits of laughter.
"Let me just get dressed," Riley said "It's fucking freezing." Once she came back back they shared a breakfast of trail mix, cheap pastries and some beans.
"So," Ellie started, "we'll head out now. I'll busk along that main road we walked up last night. Where do you want to beg?" she asked. "Same street as you, just a little further down. That way we can see each other. We'll meet back here at around what, 5?" Ellie looked at her wrist-watch. "It's 10 a.m. now." she replied "That gives us 7 hours to scrounge cash for a soup kitchen and some tins if we're lucky."
They walked on down to the road they mentioned after clearing away their mess. They had made their signs. They kissed each other goodbye at the turning and set up their area. Ellie found some crates and set them up in a stool-like configuration. She sat down and thought about what to play. Eventually it came to her.
You say you got a heavy heart,
You say you got a heavy heart,
You say it's hard for you to start
carrying your heavy old heart…
The Jeff Lewis song got her some attention, but not much. She eventually picked up the pace.
Back When I was 4,
And I knew the name
of every dinosaur…
That piqued some attention, and got her what looked like a few quarters.
She started to strum harder, faster.
Yeah, you're pretty good lookin'
For a girl…
She played a few more chords of that song. Frustration getting the better off her she swapped for a louder White Stripes song. She slung her leather strap, fashioned from a belt and some old guitar strings, over her shoulder, and launched into something loud and raucous.
The Big Three killed my baby,
No money in my hand again,
The Big Three killed my Baby,
Nobody's coming home again.
The political nature of the lyrics caused some people to stop and listen.
Their ideas made me want to spit
A hundred dollars goes down the pit
Thirty thousand wheels are rollin'
And my stick shift hands are swollen
She was getting angry. Angry at all the assholes who just walked past muttering curses at her. At the city, and at those in charge.
Everything involved is shady
The big three killed my baby
Yeah yeah yeah!
She built up the pressure.
The big three killed my baby
No money in my hand again
The big three killed my baby
Nobody's comin' home again
She started to grow louder, Half the street was paying attention.
Why don't you take the day off and try to repair
A billion others don't seem to care
Better ideas are stuck in the mud
The motors runnin' on tuckers blood
Don't let em tell you the futures electric
Cause gasoline's not measured in metric
Thirty thousand wheels are spinnin'
And oil company faces are grinnin'
Now my hands are turnin' red
And I found out my baby is dead
Yeah yeah yeah!
She screamed out the final parts of the song.
The big three killed my baby
No money in my hand again
The big three killed my baby
Nobody's comin' home again
Well I've said it now
Nothing's changed
People are burnin' for pocket change
And creative minds are lazy
The big three killed your baby
The big three killed my baby
No money in my hand again
The big three killed my baby
Nobody's comin' home again
And my baby's my common sense
So don't feed me planned obsolescence
Yeah my baby's my common sense
So don't feed me planned obsolescence
I'm about to have another blowout
I'm about to have another blowout
The final chord strummed, she sat down for a breather, and her head suddenly jolted up when she heard the chorus of applause from an audience she didn't even know was there. She looked down and saw that her change tin was full. She gushed thanks profusely, emptied the tin into a plastic bag, and placed it back down.
She looked up and asked a simple question: "Who wants more?" The cheer was mind-blowing to her.
-Who wants more?-
Ellie looked up at the man opposite her on the street. He seemed well-dressed, and was toting a camera. When he pointed it at her she didn't know what to do. She was about to wave when he suddenly faced Riley. She suddenly knew what was going on. Although Rent, the movie was pretty shit, there was one scene that stuck with her. 'Hey artist. Got a dollar?' So she asked just that. "Hey artist!" He quickly turned to her. You gonna give her a dollar?" He looked dumbfounded. "Nah. Didn't think so either." She sat back down and opened into the most fitting song she could play. Common People. Pulp were fucking genius.
She came from Greece,
She had a thirst for knowledge…
The crowd sang along for the whole song.
-Pulp were fucking genius-
Riley walked over. "That was fucking insane. Thanks for getting that asshole with the camera to leave. How much did you get altogether?" Ellie checked the plastic bag, her face twisting into a comically surprised gape, then counted it through again. And looked up at Riley. "23 dollars, 50 cents." Riley looked just as shocked but added her own earning bringing it up to 29 and 22. "Let's get to the soup kitchen." Riley said. They walked for about 5 minutes, quipping back and forth.
Once they'd gotten their meal they sat down. They started talking about all sorts, and then, after leaving, they started heading back towards the warehouse. Once they were back in bed, Ellie said something to Riley. "You know, we may freeze our asses off everyday from now on, live like this for the rest of our lives, and I'd probably still be happy. And you know why?" Riley smiled "Alright, I'll bite. Why?" Ellie grinned back. "Cool reason or sappy reason?" Riley sighed. "Both." Cool reason, is the romance of busking for cash, travelling from spot to spot, the life of a wanderer. And the sappy reason?" she got as close as she could to Riley and whispered in her ear. "Because you're here. Because you're lying next to me. Alive. Warm. Sure we may be living in an old warehouse. Sure, we may be living on people's good will. But who cares when we've got each other?" Riley seemed to be crying, which worried Ellie. "Riley? You okay?" Riley looked up at her, smiling as tears ran down her face. "I love you, Ellie. With all my heart. I love you beyond belief." Ellie didn't say a word. She just connected her lips to Riley's.
And The rest of the night was spent in the other's all consuming embrace, beating out a primal rhythm to the hum of the city.
-The hum of the city-
The next 3 months passed in a blur. They fell into a steady routine. Ellie would busk, and eventually Riley got a job selling newspapers. Whenever it felt like the police were onto their squat, they'd move. From warehouses to rooftops. From abandoned apartments to unused mansions. That was, until she got the offer.
"Excuse me?" Ellie said to the guy in front of her. "I'm serious. I love the way you play. My band needs a guitarist. We've got everything set up."
"Look," said Ellie. "Who would want me in their band? I'm homeless and half-decent at what I do. Certainly not album material." the guy sighed. "Could you at least meet us at the Green Flag café on 3rd Street? We can all discuss it from there." Ellie sighed. "Alright. Fine. When?" the guy's face lit up. "2 hours time?" She nodded. "See you then." Ellie got up and walked down the road to Riley. "What's up?" Riley asked. "Some guy wants me to play for his band." Riley's face lit up. "Ellie, that's great! Did you accept?" "I told him I wanted to talk to the rest of the band about it. We're all going to meet at the Green Flag café, you know, the one on 3rd Street. Would you mind coming with me." Riley smiled. "Of course I will love." Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "Mind if we go back home, get ready?" Riley replied "Let's go then."
End Chapter
A/N: All reviews are appreciated.