"Hi, Authur! When are you updating Underworld? I'm dying to read the next chapter!", she smiled reading the only message in her conversation panel.
Walking towards the bus stand, she typed back a message.
EllenMoon: I'll update it soon :)
Tyler10: AM I DREAMING!
Tyler10: You just replied to me!!!
EllenMoon: Haha yeah I replied
Tyler10: YOU JUST MADE ME THE LUCKIEST MAN ON THIS EARTH IMA SWEAR IM GONNA HANG ME IF THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A DREAM
EllenMoon: I assure you that you're not dreaming and did you say, man?
Tyler10: Yes! Your biggest fanboy out here!
Ellen was going to get to Chloe at the club where she worked. She wanted to confirm whether what Shawn said about his friend and her was true or not and why the hell on earth did she give her number to Shawn. She knew the answer, she still wanted to hear it from her.
EllenMoon: I didn't know I've guys reading my books
Tyler10: What? You don't like this?
EllenMoon: No!
EllenMoon: I love it! I mean there's at least someone keeping my books alive
Tyler10: YOU gotta be kidding me! Your books stand out among all the books on Webnovel and I don't lie
EllenMoon: Thank you *heart emoji
Tyler10: YOU JUST SENT ME A HEART MY GOODNESS
EllenMoon: Haha you're funny. What's your name?
Tyler10: Tyler and you're Ellen the great Author!
EllenMoon: Yeah
EllenMoon: I gotta get to be somewhere Tyler. It was nice talking to you
EllenMoon: I mean texting *smiling emoji
Tyler10: Believe me it was more than just nice for me. Can I make a request?
EllenMoon: Of course
Tyler10: Can we meet someday?
EllenMoon: You wanna meet me?
Tyler10: Why would you meet a stranger? Stupid of me
Tyler10: I shouldn't have asked
Tyler10: Sorry
Tyler10: Forget about it
EllenMoon: Okay let's meet someday
Tyler10: FOR REAL!!!
EllenMoon: Yeah
Tyler10: Are you sure? I don't wanna force it on you
EllenMoon: Anything for my lovely reader
Tyler10: I DON'T F*CKING BELIEVE THIS
Tyler10: YOU'RE THE BEST
Tyler10: THANK YOU
Tyler10: THANK YOU
Tyler10: THANK YOU!!!
EllenMoon: Haha see you then
Tyler10: See you soon Ellen *pink heart emoji
Fishing her phone inside the pocket, she entered the club. The sun had been set, dark taking control over the sky but stars weren't out yet. Matter of fact, it wouldn't matter anyway. They still wouldn't be able to be seen by inhabitants of the city since the artificial hamlet lights of Los Angeles would shine the whole city at night.
Ellen made her way out of the dancing crowd up to the counter where bartenders were serving alcoholic beverages.
"Hello Ellen", Joe, one of the bartenders and one of Chloe's friends from the club smiled at the latter when he saw her sitting on a stool.
"Wassup Joe!", Ellen exclaimed in joy seeing the male. Joe was a nice person who would keep Ellen a friendly company whenever Chloe was busy serving drinks.
"You can see all the same. Alcohol or soft drink?", Joe asked.
"Soft", Ellen usually didn't drink out in the clubs because of her low tolerance of alcohol.
Pouring Tiki Spritz in a glass Joe paused for a mere second, reminiscing last night's thoughts.
"Well expect a hot girl who asked me out last night", he scratched the back of his head and passed the glass to Ellen.
"What did you say?", sucking the juice, well it was difficult to pinpoint whether Ellen was sucking the juice or juice was sucking her, either way, she asked.
"I refused", Joe watched his surrounding observantly.
When he found no customer coming over to his side, he leaned over the table to utter "I'm not into girls."
Hearing that, Ellen practically choked on her drink, spitting the juice on the left side of the shirt of the poor boy.
"Are you gay!", Ellen's pitch was so high that people walking down the street would hear her. All thanks to music vigorously hitting eardrums in the club.
"What! No!!", Joe's eyes shot opened like saucers.
"You just said that you're not into girls!", Ellen yelled back.
"I mean not that type of girls who think they can make boys swoon over them just because of their hot booties!", Joe's face scrunched up in disgust at the thoughts of those girls who would glue to his side every night, exposing a considerable part of their chests, failed attempt to allure him.
"Oh, but why are we screaming!", with that both burst into a fit of laughter.
"Do I need to pay some dollars or have some type of membership to join this squad?", Chloe walked around the counter, reaching Joe on the other side.
"We are sorry to say but due to your lack of communication with the rest of the members, we cannot assign you a place", Ellen shot a playful grin.
"I'll catch up with you two later", seeing new customers coming towards the counter, Joe walked to the other side.
Soon after Joe left, grim's words started ringing in Ellen's ears.
Your friend gave me your number.
She kept looking at Chloe until the latter spoke up, eventually noticing Ellen's strong gaze.
"Are you trying to solve a puzzle written on my face?", she asked unaware of the whole commotion she had caused just by giving grim Ellen's number.
"You know I don't like to beat around the bush", chewing the inside of her bottom lip, Ellen narrowed her eyes at her best friend whose soul looked seconds away from leaving the body.
"Fine! Just tell me what did I do this time! I'm ready", Chloe intonated being perplexed about what was coming next.
"Why did you give my number to that flirt?", what had done had been done now. It's not that Ellen could have her number deleted from grim's contacts by getting angry at her friend. Therefore, she decided to go smoothly this time.
"Oh, that", Chloe started grinning recalling the event when grim met her outside the library a couple of days ago with Jeremy. She found him deadly handsome and when came to know that grim wanted to be friends with Ellen, the former didn't let a second pass by before giving him Ellen's phone number.
"So he was right", Ellen heaved a sigh out. From arranging blind dates for her to giving her number to the biggest pervert of this world, Chloe never ceased to surprise her.
"Well...he seems a nice guy to me and I couldn't refuse when he asked, more accurately demanded, with those eyes!", Chloe clapped her hands together, visualizing grim's Greek body in her mind.
"Nice my foot", Ellen disgustingly rolled her eyes at the flirtatious memory of grim when he almost kissed Mrs. Benson, not forgetting how he talked about going to a girl's place who shamelessly asked his number when they two were walking towards her house.
"Why don't you date him? From what I've observed, he's interested in you", taking a wipe from under the counter, Chloe asked while cleaning the black crystal top.
"What! Me and him! Never in million years!", if her words hadn't shown abhorrence and repulsion for grim, disrelish look that came over her face was alone enough.
"You're talking like you're never gonna get married", as much as Chloe understood Ellen always keeping the length from boys since the beginning, and how considerably hurt she got after her first and the only boyfriend dumped her, she also wished for her to not feel sorry for something that cannot be changed. She wanted her to move on and taste all the colours of life but she wasn't going to urge Ellen into all this as she did before.
She was glad to see that the breakup hadn't affected Ellen as she had envisioned when Ellen came to the club, bawling her eyes out. She thought her innocent angel would shut herself from the world, yell and refuse to face anyone but she confronted it wisely. Conceivably, she wasn't that attached to the boy.
"Marriage? Weren't you just talking about dating? I'm leaving because I believe if I sit here any longer you would bring babies", putting the strap of the bag over her shoulder, Ellen got to her feet.
"It's weekend. Let's have a sleepover at my place. I miss our movie nights", ever since Ellen started dating the boy, she stopped staying over at Chloe's place. Her ex-boyfriend would take her to different places after her job time. They would eat and talk and visit many places, however, within the city. The boy wanted to take her out of the city but every time he asked, she refused to say that she can't take a leave from her job. Well, she could but she didn't want to travel with someone she just got to know not quite a while ago.
"I'll go to elderly facility tomorrow so not possible tonight", when her parents died in the accident, at the funeral she met an old woman whose son also died the same day. The son had abandoned her mother, and that's how she ended up living at the place. Ellen was seventeen back then. She was sitting in a corner, burying her face in-between her knees, suppressing her tears when the elderly woman approached her. The moment those wrinkly hands caressed the dry cheeks of a little girl, she broke into tears and cried. She cried and cried until it was past midnight.
The woman took her to old age home and that night she slept with her. She was alone in the whole world. Her parents didn't have any relatives. The only aunt she had was living in Canada and couldn't attend the funeral because she was giving birth to her first baby that day. Ellen got her first job at that restaurant when she turned eighteen. She met Chloe in a restaurant where the latter worked as a waitress. Certainly, no one would let a teenager work. Thankfully, her parents left enough bank balance for her to finish high school and support her living until she didn't turn an adult and get a job. Nonetheless, from that day, Ellen grew attached to the old woman. She would go there on Sunday mornings and spend her whole day with her. No one knew this except Chloe.
"No big deal. We can wait for the next weekend", Chloe said as Ellen shrugged her shoulder. She wasn't sure of it as now. The old woman had no one to visit her. She would only wait for the week to pass so that she could have this precious angel shown up.
"Take care sweetheart", Chloe hovered over the counter to place a tender kiss on Ellen's cheek.
"You too", Ellen smiled and exited the club.
She took a bus to the nearest stop near her house. After boarding off the bus, she walked to her house as usual. She glanced over to her sides only to find loneliness.
Yes, she was alone. She couldn't be any more grateful for having Chloe in her life but the sudden appearance of someone in her life made her realize things she had never given a thought to.
Someone to hold hands with. Someone to walk down to your house. Someone to accompany your lonely walks.
And the thought of that someone slowly drifted her mind towards one person, grim.