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Heh.

[ He slowly starts across the room towards Ellie's desk chair and eases himself down on it, bringing the guitar up onto his thigh. He doesn't say anything at first, just kind of sits there glancing up at Ellie. ]

Thought it's, um. Probably 'bout time I came good on that deal of yours.

[ The one where she told him that if they made it out of the science centre alive, he was so going to sing for her. ]

Seriously?

[ Color her shocked. Ellie's looking at Joel like he's grown a second head. ]

You're kidding.

[ Joel just looks down self-consciously and scratches his beard, an elbow resting atop the body of the guitar. No, not kidding. ]

[ She hasn't stopped smiling. In fact, she shuffles excitably and scoots over, patting the space she leaves. ]

Well come on, let's hear it.

[ Lifting his eyes to Ellie and then to the spot she pats next to her on the bed, Joel pauses, then pushes himself to his feet and moves across to her, easing down on the edge of the mattress. ]

Been a long time since I played, so... Don't expect anything too amazing.

Come on, come on! I've been waiting almost a year for this.

[ Translation: stop being nervous and start playing! ]

[ Alright, alright. He unclamps the metal capo and clamps it back over the first fret, then places his fingers over the C chord. He clears his throat and then starts strumming and fingerpicking the first bars to Pearl Jam's Future Days. ]

If I ever were to lose you,
I'd surely lose myself,
Everything I have found dear,
I’ve not found by myself...

[ He sings the song, a deep and mellow voice with a smooth vibrato, and by the time he's reached the second verse, it's almost like he's forgotten he's got an audience with the way he closes his eyes, like he's losing himself in the music. ]

[ Ellie shifts, setting herself up comfortably against her pillow as she sits silently and watches, listens. Her smile fades, if only out of pure comfort in the immediate impact of Joel's soulful, rough singing voice. She can't pretend she didn't at least imagine what his voice sounded like, and it's actually just as she had thought. It's surprisingly beautiful. ]

[ She doesn't recognize the song... Maybe it's something she'd missed during one of her many raids of tapes, or maybe it was something had had been written and recorded on a CD, which isn't exactly playable back home. ]

[ Ellie's eyes don't once leave Joel, and she absolutely commits this to memory immediately. ]

[ Joel sings the song like he means it, the words swelling with emotion when he reaches the bridge, lyrics that say far more to Ellie than he himself could ever muster the words for, and when he reaches the coda, he fingerpicks the final chords and lets them reverberate into silence. ]

[ She's easily mesmerized into the song, the words carrying a message that she absolutely catches. Joel obviously has been rehearsing this, and he'd taken the time to pick a special song. He's not exactly outspoken, so it's no surprise he'd go other directions to make a point. ]

[ There's a point where Ellie finds herself swaying to the tune, gently rocking back and forth until he starts to get to the end. She's silent when he reaches that final part, and stays that way for a few moments. ]

...

Wow.

[ Her smile comes back, softer this time. ]

Why take so long? Joel... You're really good.

[ She may be a little choked up. But you bet your sweet ass she's fighting it. ]

[ Playing music reminds him of simpler days, better days, which is why he's taken so long to play anything at all. He's not about to admit that to Ellie, though. He just gives a one-shouldered shrug, never being too good at taking compliments.

But then he looks over at Ellie and sees the smile on her face, and while it's been so damn hard knowing how to talk to her or how to make life return to how it used to be between them, his mouth quirks at the corners with a hint of fondness and he reaches his hand out to affectionately give her hair a small ruffle. ]

[ Ellie wrinkles her nose at the ruffle of her hair, shoulders hiking a tad in protest. She snorts as she whacks away his arm. ]

Hey, I'm being serious.

[ She's thoughtful, grateful as she looks back to him. ]

Did you practice before showing me?

[ He knows she's being serious. He's just... really awkward and trying not to be.

But did he practice? He nods. ]

Practiced at Jesse's so you wouldn't hear me.

[ Her smile brightens at that. ]

No way, you've been rehearsing this whole time?

'Course. I'd be makin' mistakes all over the place if I didn't. Didn't want to give you a crappy performance.

[ She grabs at his arm, playfully tugging at it. ]

Holy shit, Joel, really?

Okay, okay.

Your debt is totally repaid. That was awesome!

[ It makes his chest do a slight painful twist to hear her mention his debt but Joel gives a kind of long-suffering sigh at Ellie tugging on his arm all the same. It's not without a hint of looking glad, though, perhaps even a little chuffed. ]

Pretty sure I could teach you how to play it if you wanted. Bunch of other stuff, too.

[ She stops tugging at him a second, looking up at Joel with a questioning look. ]

Am I missing out on another gift-giving holiday I wasn't aware of before? Is this like another birthday thing?

Because my birthday was over a month ago, Joel. And it's not Christmas.

Gonna take it that means you're interested?

[ He sounds more hopeful than he means to. Jesus, he's willing to try anything to try and mend things between Ellie and himself. ]

Um-- Yes?

[ She shuffles again in her seat, excitably as she scoots closer to sit next to Joel. Ellie looks to the guitar and back to him. ]

Okay, so what happens first?

[ With the slightest hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth, he lifts the guitar away from his lap and hands it over to Ellie. ]

First... rest the guitar on your thigh the way I was holdin' it.

Okay.

[ Ellie does just as she's told, placing the curve of the guitar on her thigh while her left hand holds the neck. ]

Like this?

[ Joel gets up from the bed and steps around to crouch down in front of Ellie. He reaches up to unclamp the capo and sets it aside. ]

We'll start with somethin' easy. A chord. Forefinger, middle finger, ring finger: place 'em over... [ A hand stretching forward to point at the second fret. ] The D string, G string and B string.

[ Ellie has never made an attempt at playing an instrument. She's read about it before, maybe picked up a book or two about how to play the guitar as a beginner. But that was a long time ago, and this is just as foreign now as it was then. ]

[ She crouches over, eyes looking to the fretboard and placing her fingers where he tells her to. ]

All...Right.

Uhh... Forefinger, middle...

[ She makes the shape of an A-chord, though her fingers are small and don't bend right. Ellie's thumb is sloppily curling over the neck, pressed on the sixth string incidentally. ]

Edited 2015-09-12 14:47 (UTC)

That's it. Bit tricky at first 'cause your fingers aren't used to it, but you'll get the hang of it with practice. Now, just strum down with the tip of your forefinger.

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nohalfway - 2015-09-12 14:59 (UTC) - Expand