She could do this. She didn't want to, but she had to now that Paige was off living her own warped version of independence and Marco had made it abundantly clear that he needed some space (from her) so that he could live more independently too. And had Ellie not been so blindsided by the timing of it all, she would have probably agreed with him, but with everything that had been going on under that roof lately, the last thing Ellie wanted was abrupt, forced change. She knew she'd still see Marco sometimes. Whenever he called her between dates or something. But deep down she knew she needed to move on and, well…get a life.

And as it turned out, finding a new house wasn't all that difficult. Ellie started calling around right after reality sank in and even though she wasn't exactly fond of being interviewed over and over again by potential housemates, she ended up being able to choose where and with whom she would live. She liked her chosen house and her room was even a little bigger than her old one, but unpacking her belongings was just depressing. Nothing seemed to look right no matter where she put it and everything reminded her of where she'd been rather than where she was going. After putting away her clothes and leaning her prints against the wall rather than hanging them, Ellie decided to take a break.

Sitting on the front steps, Ellie shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and considered her options. She wanted to go someplace familiar, but school was out so hanging around campus wasn't a very appealing option; however, since school was out, she figured the Dot wouldn't be overrun by all the annoying high school brats that she had once been. Not to mention, she could really use a decent cup of sweet, black coffee and Ellie was of the opinion that no one made a brew quite like the Dot.

Unfortunately, once the bell above the door stopped ringing upon entry, all hopes for familiarity went up in flames. Ellie didn't recognize anyone; not even the barista. Worse still, everyone there seemed to know everyone else at her old stomping grounds…everyone except her. What kind of joke was this? She was a stranger in her new home, a stranger at the Dot, and with every passing day, she was becoming a stranger in her own life, it seemed.

Sighing quietly, Ellie walked up to the counter. She just wanted to get what she came for and get out as soon as possible. When the young barista nodded his head at her, rudely indicating for her to hurry up and place an order as a line was forming behind her, Ellie's pleasant and hopeful smile faded into sheer disappointment. "Just a regular coffee, thanks," she said, looking down and tucking a long strand of her hair behind her ear so she could dig for some cash.

"I just cleaned out the urn and I need to grind a new bag to brew more, so it may be a few minutes," he replied, taking her money and not even giving her the option to retract the order. "Is that all right?" He asked, but only after closing the cash register.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," she said giving him her name before taking a seat in one of the stools by the front windows. So much for a quick escape, she thought, sighing.

Glancing around the room, Ellie searched the unfamiliar faces for someone she recognized or at least for someone she might have something in common with. Things were pretty grim until she spotted a cute, unique looking girl reading on the couch. Everyone else in the café seemed to be with someone, but the brunette seemed far too engrossed in whatever she was reading to care about being alone. She barely even glanced away from the pages whenever she took a sip from her coffee mug before placing it back down onto the table in front of her and settling back into the deep cushions of the couch. Ellie struggled to read the title of her book, frustrated that she couldn't quite make it out, but then turned her attention back to the girl that exuded a certain independence and carefree indifference that Ellie could only dream of having.

For a moment, Ellie thought that this girl was someone she almost was at one point, but between her university major teaching her to conform as well as her creeping desire to fit in somewhere, her efforts for originality were compromised and she'd submitted to normalcy. As much as she loved journalism, freedom of expression was often lacking where she expected it ought to thrive. Looking at her own reflection in the window and then back over to the girl on the couch, Ellie realized that she was slowly becoming everything she never thought she would be, which only added to her depression.

Swapping quick glances at the newspaper pages scattered all over the counter with extended ones towards the girl on the couch, Ellie studied her with curiosity and conscious interest. She wanted to walk over and just strike up a conversation with her, but she felt far too out of place to have the nerve to do something normal or reasonable like that. Besides, the girl didn't look like she wanted company anyway.

She thought she heard her name for a second, but she was so focused on watching the girl 8in a camo tank and studded bracelets that even her own name passed through her ears without acknowledgment. It wasn't until the brunette lifted her darkly lined eyes from the pages of her book – looking directly at Ellie and knitting her brows in high annoyance – that Ellie remembered on what planet she resided. Looking away from the girl's hot glare, Ellie heard her name echo through the coffee shop again. This time she jumped up to get her coffee, but regrettably glanced over at the brunette one more time, who pursed her lips and widened her eyes even more at Ellie to get her to stop staring at her and mind her own damn business.

It worked. The redhead averted her eyes – her pale cheeks now burning brighter than the sun-kissed ends of her hair – grabbed her coffee, and promptly left the Dot. Rolling her eyes and slouching back into the couch, Jane propped her feet back up and re-balanced the book onto her thighs to continue reading where she'd left off before she'd caught some girl so rudely staring at her.