Could it be? Is this really happening? Guess who's finally back after a two month long disappearance!? :D I know long time no see and I'm sorry about that. Right when the hiatus hit, school started and work gave him crazy hours, but never fear! I have returned! Now enough about me, let's get to reading!

Please forgive my proofreading Dx Brother was at school and I did my best ok?

I own nothing; Just Sophia and Alex.

How could he let her talk him into this? No matter how hard he tried to talk her out of it, her mind was set and she got everything up and ready for, as she called it, "the cutest moment of both your lives", but how in the hell was he supposed to lead into that? He wasn't very keen on stuff like this, namely because he never had the chance to. It was always survival, survival, survival. But the second his sister suspected something was up, she began interrogating him every night since the hunting games. He would try and pretend that he was asleep, but she would just throw things at him until he responded. He thought back to last night, where this whole plan was hatched in the first place.

"Seriously Alex, what is going on with you and Ellie?"

"Nothing I already told you. We just hang out, read comic books, and listen to whatever music you have lying around."

"Ok, so the blushing and stolen glances at each other are just nothing?"

"Uh, yeah. Now can I go to sleep?"

"Not until you admit that you like her." Sophia smirked.

"I don't." Alex simply responded as he slowly put the photos that they had taken so long ago under his pillow.

"Yes you do."

"Do not."

"Do too."

Alex sighed as he sat up and looked over to his sister who was staring right at him. He did start to have feelings for her of course. Even though they still didn't have one of those weird romantic moments where they talk about their lives or whatever, he knew what she liked to read what her favorite music was and… damn it. Sophia started getting a big smile on her face as she threw her pillow at him.

"Oh my Jesus you DO like her!" she almost squealed.

"Sophia, please don't start. It's nothing ok?"

"It's nothing?! Come on, my brother finally gets a crush and I'm not allowed to be excited about it?" Sophia sounded surprised.

"Exactly. Now let me go back to sleep. You have to get up and work with Joel on the truck. Oh, and don't even get me started on what I think about you two always being together."

"I don't have anything with him. Besides, we all know that if I really tried, he would fall for me in a heartbeat." Sophia joked as she flipped her hair.

Alex just shook his head as he watched his sister. Whether there really was something Sophia felt for that man she would never let on to save her life. Plus, the way she acts could mean anything. But after everything she's been through with Alex over the past few years, he was almost positive that she lost all interest in love and trying to find someone to be with; and honestly, he was ok with that. Besides, it looked like Joel was more annoyed of Sophia than anything. But he would never know. After sometime of silence he heard her start humming a song from one of the CD's their parents managed to save before the outbreak. He knew that song all too well, and at first was annoyed with it, but after it being played five hundred times by Sophia, he just got used to it, and even started to like it a little. She stopped abruptly and jumped out of bed and jumped on top of Alex's. He let out a yell of shock from the sudden weight shift and weight gain he felt on his stomach. He shoved her off him and glared.

"What the hell Sophia?!" he whispered loudly; he didn't want to wake Joel and Ellie… namely Joel.

"I have the perfect idea to get you guy's closer."

"Sophia, please don't." Alex whined; he regretted ever telling her.

She rolled her blue eyes as she got more comfortable on his bed.

"Ok fine. How about a way to get you closer as friends? I mean, how much do you know about her?"

Alex stayed silent.

"Exactly, SO think of this a cute bonding moment with your best friend or whatever ok?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Show her the fireworks."

"What?"

"We still have that tape. Just go and search through the boxes until either one of you stumble on them and then show her and… it'll be the cutest of both your lives I swear!" Sophia squealed as he felt his face change color.

Her last response echoed throughout his mind as he watched Ellie look through boxes curiously. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He started looking through boxes himself, finding some supplies that Joel and Ellie might need when they… leave. Alex quickly shook his head. Don't think of anything sad. They are still here.

"Hey Alex, you ok?" Ellie finally asked after noticing he was more quiet than usual.

"Oh, me? I'm fine don't worry, just a little tired. Sophia kept me up late last night." Alex shrugged, trying to keep his cool… or what little he had.

Ellie made the same motion and went back to looking through the boxes, trying to find something else worth her interest. Alex wanted to slap himself. If he didn't breathe a word to his sister, this whole thing wouldn't be happening. He wouldn't be feeling like he was going to throw up. The butterflies in his stomach were fluttering rapidly; his heart was beating faster with each passing minute. She looked so cute looking through things; kind of like a curious and lost puppy. The way she would blow the stray strands of hair out her face with that slightly annoyed look made him laugh to himself. Alex sighed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Damn it Sophia, why did you have to bring this into the full light? He was fine with the stolen glances and brushes of their hands when they both reached for the same things.

"Hey, what's this?" Ellie's muffled voice called out as she dug through a rather large box.

Alex snapped out of his internal monologue and walked over to the box Ellie stuck half her body into, standing on her tip toes. She then pulled out a smaller and worn out box of old firecrackers, sparklers, and ruined rockets. She had found them; Alex felt his palms get sweaty.

"Oh, those are fireworks… well the rockets are anyway." He responded calmly.

Ellie looked over one of the rockets with a confused look.

"Fireworks?"

"Yeah," Alex chuckled as he took the rocket from her, "they were these things, normally rockets, which people would shoot up into the night sky and explode into all these different and bright colors. They were loud and big and really awesome to look at…" He explained as he ran his dirt fingers over the faded words that were once scribbled across the side.

Ellie laughed as she stared at him, who looked like he was entering Nostalgia Land.

"So… you've seen these before?" she spoke up.

Alex snapped out of his memories and laughed nervously. Could he be anymore fucking awkward? He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Uh, no not in person; my father had recorded a fireworks show for my mother one year when she was too sick to get out of bed. They saved the tape to show us when we got older so we could see them, thinking it was something everyone should see at least once… we still have it… y'know if you want to see it." Alex finished nervously, trying to keep his breathing normal.

Ellie thought about this for a moment before quickly nodding her head. These fireworks sounded cool and she couldn't help but feel slightly excited. She left the room first in the midst of her slight excitement as Alex went to find the tape. He also took the only box of sparklers that still looked decent and could light. He began rummaging through the boxes, trying to find that tape; Sophia had hid it in one of these boxes earlier this morning but he couldn't find it anywhere; she was hiding a tape not treasure. Alex finally sighed with relief when he felt the hard rectangle brush his fingertips. The sun was setting now and the first fall breeze flowed through Alex's shirt, giving him sudden shivers. He gripped the items hard in his hands as he walked back towards their house. He was really not good with this stuff. The only other girl he would consider having feelings for was more for benefits like drugs and late night activities. He felt himself shudder as the memory of Sophia finding out what he was up to entered his train of thought; she had kicked his ass into next year. That girl, who Alex had forgotten the name of, never cared for all that cute pre-adolescent crap; she was straight and to the point. He always remembered her saying, "If I'm going to die tomorrow, I might as well have fun and not giving a shit before I do." At the time, he didn't understand why she was like that, but the four year age difference might've had something to do with it at the time as well; he was an idiot… and scared. Damn was he a stupid thirteen year old. At first, that's how he thought relationships were supposed to be. It was either that or nothing at all, like how Sophia did things. But Ellie was different. She made him feel different; almost like an actual teenager. He never got butterflies in his stomach like this before; with anyone for that matter. The thought of that made him smile as he opened the door to their safe house. Ellie was lying on the couch with her feet up, reading the most recent edition they had found of "Savage Starlight".

"So did people light fireworks all the time? I mean, just for the hell of it?" she asked without looking up from the page.

"No they didn't; apparently people used them for special occasions and events like New Years and the Fourth of July." Alex replied with slight surprise that she even noticed him she looked so focused on the page.

He then went to the T.V. that they hadn't bothered to put away since Sophia's birthday and started to hook up the wires so the tape could be played and heard.

"New Years?" Ellie asked in a puzzled voice.

Alex started to laugh again at her, making Ellie's cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to laugh at you. I don't blame you for not knowing either; it's not something people really talk about or want to remember I guess." Alex apologized with still a giggle in his voice. "Anyways… back then, people would celebrate the coming of the New Year. They would throw big parties and they would count down the last ten seconds to midnight and then shoot off all kinds of fireworks in honor of the New Year. I guess they saw it as a new beginning; a chance to reinvent themselves for the better… or some kind of crap like that."

Ellie made a face before rolling her eyes and looking back to the page she was on.

"I swear people were so fucking weird back then. It's bizarre how they thought celebrating the New Year was a good thing. It would be just another year."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." He chuckled in response as the blue light from the now working T.V. illuminated the room.

Ellie closed the thin paperback book and switched off the dim lamp, giving the room a deep blue glow against the increasing darkness. Alex patted the spot next to him on the floor while pressing play on the remote that surprisingly worked on the first try. The room went completely dark for a moment as the tape played, showing fast movements of the camera trying to focus in on a specific spot. Loud music, laughter and chatter came flooding out of the T.V. speakers. Ellie raised an eyebrow as she watched the screen while Alex leaned back, supporting his weight on his hands. It was still dark except for the dim lights from street lamps and headlights from passing cars. Suddenly somebody started counting down and everyone jumped in quickly, counting loudly in unison. Ellie could feel herself get a little excited as they get closer and closer to zero. If they were as awesome as Alex claimed and as pretty as she had already pictured them to be, then they had to be beautiful. With the final number everybody started cheering, waving noisemakers in the air and passionately kissing their loved ones in corners of the screen. But before the first firework could pop into the night air, Alex suddenly hit the pause button. Ellie turned her head sharply to him with an upset look.

"The fuck Alex?"

"Hold on hold on, I almost forgot something." He chuckled as he looked around the dark room.

His eyes scanned the room carefully, trying to remember where Sophia had left it. When he finally saw the glint of blue bounce off on the object he was looking for, he smiled and reached over for it. He then sat back down next to Ellie and slipped a pair of worn out headphones over her ears. His fingers brushed the side of her cheek, making them burn; thank God for it being pitch black.

"Watching them to this song makes it even better. My dad also did the same thing for my mother."

Alex then pressed play on the T.V. and the old CD player at the same time. Ellie quickly turned back to the screen as the song played loud in her ears. The beat and the lyrics matched perfectly. At first it was just small strings of light with small pops here and there. Then they started to get a little bit bigger and bigger until one burst into the air with a loud pop and shooting red streaks. Ellie's eyes lit up as more and more popped and burst next to the black sky. Colors of white, blue, green, purple, pink of all shapes and sizes burst into the screen in time with beat of the song that was still playing in her ears. Alex couldn't help but smile at her. It was the first time he had ever seen her in genuine wonder and innocence. He looked back to the screen to watch the rest of the show, singing the song in his head. He suddenly felt weight on his shoulder and turned to see Ellie leaning on his shoulder as she continued to watch the show. He felt his heart beat fast and the feeling like his stomach was going to explode. But without even thinking about it, he rested his head on hers and somehow, it fit perfectly. When both the song and the video finished, Ellie leaned away from and slipped the headphones off to hang around her neck.

"That was fucking awesome! What song was this by the way?"

"I thought you would like it. That song is called "Firework" by Katy Perry; it's the only song that I can tolerate but Sophia loves her." Alex quickly remarked in order to defend what little manhood he had left after being alongside Sophia for so many years.

Ellie laughed as she leaned her head back to stare up in the blue black darkness.

"Yeah, ok Alex." She said in between giggles.

Alex rolled his eyes and shoved her away, but couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Man, I wonder what those would be like to watch in person." Ellie sighed as she looked back at the blue screen, already remembering what the colors looked like dancing on her hands.

"Well, while the Great Alex and Sophia can't give a personal fireworks show, we do have something as a compromise." He smirked as he pulled out the box of sparklers.

Ellie rolled her eyes at the comment of "Great Alex and Sophia" and looked down at the box. She smiled wide, almost wondering if the poor lightning was playing tricks on her tired brain.

"Are these…?"

"They're not as cool as fireworks, but sparklers are really pretty to look at. It's almost like having a tiny firework in the palm of your hand."

"Did somebody say sparklers?!" an all familiar chipper voice suddenly squealed.

Alex and Ellie almost jumped out of their skin as both snapped their heads their heads towards the front door. How long had Joel and Sophia been standing there? They didn't even hear the door open to begin with. Sophia was swaying from side to side smiling right at her brother. He knew that smile all too well. It was her I-told-you-so-and-now-look-at-the-cute-moment-I've -created-for-you smile. Alex looked away from her and noticed Joel leaning against the door with an unreadable expression, which made him feel more scared of him than usual; like Joel caught him doing something with his daughter. But Sophia quickly pushed him out the door into the night, saying something that neither Ellie nor Alex could hear but it was something to make Joel give an annoyed sigh.

"Well, I should've known that Sophia would come running at the word "sparklers". I'll go get the matches."

Ellie got up from her spot on the floor to join the others while jogged in to the kitchen to fetch the small twigs that somehow created light and warmth. Once outside, he handed each of them two sparklers; the girls grabbing them with excitement and Joel just holding them, waiting for them to be lit. Although Joel never made any comment about ever seeing them or how long it's been since he's seen them, Joel was somewhat happy to see something genuinely innocent from before the world turned to shit. Once they were lit, Sophia immediately started dancing around with the sparklers, while reciting the Katy Perry lyrics. Alex and Ellie watched theirs with amazement, sometimes waving them in circles to watch the sparks fly, with Ellie having a huge smile plastered on her face. Joel watched his intently, as if remembering one of the few good memories of his past, for he had a small nostalgic smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"'Cuz baby you're a Firework!" Sophia sang out, hoping someone continue the lyrics.

"Come on let your colors burst." Alex sang in a lower octave, making Sophia smile like it was her birthday all over again.

"Make 'em go-" Sophia sang while holding her palm out to Joel waiting for him to sing the next part of the song.

Joel sighed heavily as he looked over to the all too excited young woman. He could claim that he didn't know the next part of the song and pass but Sophia kept playing that song over and over again that he knew it forwards and backwards. He gave her a look as if to skip him but she just outstretched her hand more, making him roll his eyes. At least the next part wasn't too bad.

"Oh, oh, oh." He said flatly, which made Ellie giggle and Sophia make a disappointed face.

"Oh come on I know you can do better than that Mr. Joel. When we get to the part again you shall sing with feeling!" Sophia raised her sparkler into the air as she continued the song.

Joel just shook his head as he went next to Ellie and continued watching their sparklers in silence, while Sophia grabbed her brother to dance around and continue to sing.

"See? What did I tell you? I am a genius." She whispered to Alex as she watched the last sparks fly off into the soft breeze.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Alex waved her off, not wanting to show her that she was indeed a genius.

For when Ellie looked up from her dying sparkler she smiled at him and he felt himself smile back and his stomach flip. And for once, he didn't blame it on bad food.

Whoo~! Cuteness to start us back on track. As I said before I'm very very very sorry I've been gone so long, but I do plan on uploading as much as I am able. I have been handwriting everything so far so it's not like I'm at square one again. I have a few chapters for each story as well as some one-shots! So some good stuff coming soon! I will be updating all my stories as soon as possible, INCLUDING "Finding Ellie". That is being worked on I promise.

I hope you didn't forget about me! Dx

Reviews are always loved!

Until next time (It won't be too long I promise! Dx)