It wasn't so much a bowling alley as it was a joint arcade and pizza place with a few bowling lanes in the back. Peter made his way to where Ellie stood chatting with a small group. They were holding bowling balls and wearing those signature clown shoes. She waved him over.

Do you know how it feels to see someone's face light up when you walk in the room? There is nothing like it. Peter knew Ellie was a friendly girl who probably smiled at everyone she knew and everyone she didn't. But the pull in his chest when he saw her couldn't be helped.

"Peter Reid!" A shorter woman with shoulder-length black hair greeted him energetically. "You're way better looking than Ellie told us!"

"Oh my god, Lisa! I didn't say anything— why are you like this?" Ellie's response was met by laughter from Lisa and the tall muscular man beside her. He clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Hank."

"I'm Peter. Nice meeting you.

"Please forgive my sense of humor," Lisa said, "we only get so many new people in town, so it's not every day I get to embarrass Miss Elinor."

"I literally don't know why I hang out with you," Ellie remarked, finally relaxing. "Peter, this is Jessica," she went on, gently nudging forward her tall blonde friend.

"Hi," was all Jessica got out. Her height and looks didn't match her shy response.

"Oh, and that's her brother." Ellie gestured behind Peter to the man approaching.

"Hunter, you made it!" Hank greeted his friend. The newcomer was a similar mismatch; tall and notably handsome, but just as noticeably reserved as his sister Jessica. Peter appreciated not being the most introverted person in the room, especially as the new guy. They shared some greetings and small talk and got down to the important business that is bowling.

They split the group into two lanes. Peter would have preferred to be with Ellie, the only person he knew, but the cards were not in his favor. Hank was super friendly with both Peter and Jessica, but he also turned out to be a very competitive bowler. He was a good sport, of course, but a little too focused on the game to help new guy Peter and poor Jessica out with their limited conversation. Peter couldn't help but notice the ease of conversation in the other lane between Lisa, Hunter and Ellie. They must have known each other a long time, he thought.

Luckily, Peter and Jessica finally found a shared interest in the Lord of the Rings, and a shared disinterest in the new Hobbit movies, which served as a conversation life raft for most of the game. Another stroke of luck was actually that Peter can't bowl for his life. Somehow, there's nothing better for this kind of situation than being a bad bowler. As long as you can still have fun, people find it endearing. Lisa couldn't help but point out their difference in scores every time they got up to bowl at the same time, and since Peter was a good sport for her jokes, it became a bit of a running gag.

"Can I get you a beer, Peter?" Hank asked. They were sitting down for some pizza after a couple games.

"No thanks, a Coke or water would be great though."

In the weeks Peter had lived in this town, other than his dinner at the Phillips' and dinner with Ellie, Peter had been living off easy meals he'd cooked himself and a lot of sandwiches. This bubbling hot cheese pizza was a revelation.

"I always say this place has the best pizza in town," Hank insisted through mouthfuls.

"That's because it's the only pizza in town, sweetheart." Lisa patted his knee.

"Jules said she met you at the hardware store the other day," Hank said to Peter, "Sorry I couldn't be there that day. Wedding business, you know."

"Oh! That reminds me." Lisa sat forward. "Give me your address and we'll send you your invite in the mail." At Peter's slight hesitation, she continued. "Everyone in town is coming, basically, so, y'know, be there or be square, as the cool kids say."

"Is that really what the cool kids say, Lisa?" Ellie asked sarcastically. Peter enjoyed seeing Ellie's more natural side come out with her friends. He knew well her kindness and her candidness, but was impatient to really get to know her beyond that. Peter supposed they had years ahead of them to get to know each other better.

Peter gave Ellie a ride home after another round.

"I'm starting to forget this isn't my truck," Ellie said with a laugh. "I'm glad you got to meet everybody."

"Yeah, they seem really nice."

"Actually I had a bit of an ulterior motive for inviting you today. I thought it would be good if you went to Lisa and Hank's wedding, but they had to actually meet you to invite you." Ellie continued. "You know, everyone in town will be there, so I thought it might be good for you to meet more people. I mean, like for business or whatever."

"Is it that obvious that I can't meet people on my own?" Peter asked.

"Oh my gosh, no! I didn't mean it like that. No, I just -"

Peter smiled. "It's okay, Ellie. I'm just teasing." He paused and sucked in through his teeth. "I know that I'm not the most outgoing guy in the world. That's no secret."

"I didn't mean it like that, I just thought it might be hard for anyone moving to a new place on their own."

Peter nodded. "So if it had been someone else who bought the ranch, you would have done the same?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, no. I guess so... But you would have been just fine without me meddling." Ellie managed to say.

They made it to Ellie's drive. The trip from town to her place was frustratingly short.

"Actually," Peter said before Ellie could get out, "I don't think I would have."

He paused and Ellie didn't break the silence.

"Ellie, I—" He turned to face her. "Ellie you might be the kindest person I have ever met. Maybe I would have gotten by somewhere else without someone like you, but it would have been so, so much harder. I thought I could just move out here and do everything on my own, but I was wrong."

He paused again. "Anyway, I'm grateful that you're trying to help me settle in this town and make friends." Peter laughed. "A little teeny bit embarrassed. But grateful."