To Hell With Normal

Chapter two

"Hmm.." The blonde woman had woken up again. 

"Hi. Sorry about shooting you." I mumbled as I took two plates out of the kitchen cupboard and placed them on the wooden coffee table. I put some vegetables on both and a piece of the raccoon. Next to those plates, I placed the salt and pepper shakers. They're one of those things that miraculously never break. 

"It's okay, I would've done the same. My name is Sara by the way." I helped her into a more sitting position and made her a sling out of a clean dish towel. She flinched at my touching her arm and sat carefully still as I fastened it behind her neck. 

"Better? I'm Rose. I made you dinner, to begin making up for it." I handed her a plate and utensils, before realising she could only use one hand. She smiled, clearly knowing what was going on in my head. 

"Just ask if you want any help okay?" I told her, taking out a pair of chopsticks and starting to eat. Hey, it's good to keep something normal. She stared at me for a few seconds. 

"You're using chopsticks? And would you mind cutting my meat into pieces?" She gave me a smile so I patiently started cutting up her meat. I felt myself blush. 

"So why are you still eating with chopsticks? Since, you know, the end of the normal world. Not that it isn't cute though." Ahah! Alive and gay. 

"It's nice to have something you're used to." I glanced at her, the bright blue eyes distracting me. "You make a mean dinner by the way." Complimenting, that's pretty smooth considering most of the world is gone. 

"Thanks. As you may or may not have seen, I grow some vegetables." Oh shut up, Rose, of course she hasn't. You shot her. 

"So how'd you end up at my place? I scoured the entire five-kilometre radius and found nobody. Well, a lot of bodies." She managed to laugh at my comment. 

"I honestly don't know for sure, I was just scouring my terrain when I got chased by some bears and I ran for about four kilometres. Then I lost my way and smelled your food. You don't mind my coming here, do you?" I gave her back her plate. That means I was right, she did get here by following the scent. 

"Not at all. It's tough meeting people for dinner these days." Oh my god I have to stop making jokes. I watched as she slowly ate, trying to make sure the pressure wouldn't flip the plate off her lap. 

"Nice house you picked. How long did it take for you to settle down here?" 

"A couple of weeks. After getting over all the deaths and general shock, I started hoarding some weapons. Then I strategically picked the best house. This one has the most space, with good vantage points and a fireplace. Besides, it has fences and a garden. How about you?" 

"Impressive. I still haven't really settled anywhere. I'm not the kind of person that feels comfortable being alone for a long time." As she spoke, she gestured with her good hand a lot. The stained silver bracelet on her hand was distracting. 

"The only reason I survived was because I was in the forest when the first storm came. I know that sounds illogical, but it saved my life. There was this area full of dead trees, so I could hide inside a small corner and anything that fell would land far above my head. After it blew over, I just packed a bag with a few things and left my house. I knew all of my family members were dead when I saw my home." I reached out, placing a hand on her knee. I didn't know what to say. Granted, everyone who still lived most likely lost their family. That didn't stop it from hurting.She told me about where she set up a temporary camp, and how her life was before the apocalypse. She was 18, just like me and going to college. I enjoyed listening to her talk, it was calming as I washed the dishes and put them away. After that, I found her in front of the fireplace with her backpack. 

"Hey. Come look." She showed me some pictures of her and her friends, family, and her as a kid. Some of them had water damage, but most of them were okay. 

"You managed to save all that? That's great, all I got is a picture of me and my ex-girlfriend because it was still in my bag when I'd left for college that morning." I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that. Way to make it awkward Rose. But I showed her the picture anyways. "Wait, you're a lesbian?" She asked me. Extra strong gay vibes coming off of her now. 

"Yeah... How about you?" Why would I say that, why would I ask that?

"Bi. But I lean towards girls." We looked at each other for a bit as I frantically thought of a way to make it less awkward. So I just brought her to the biggest bedroom, where I'd been sleeping. There, I helped her change out of her blood-stained clothes, the most hetero way I could. She put on one of the sweaters I had found in the house and put the sling back on. 

"Hey, don't forget I'm kind of gay too." She told me. 

"Sorry, I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable because, well we've got enough going on," I spoke quietly but she heard me anyway. 

"Hey, it's a nice change. Besides, I basically moved in with you." Wow, she is chill! I thought about what I wanted to say as I helped her into the big bed. With all the electricity gone, there was no heat, so I pulled all of the duvets of the other beds and placed them all on this one. Apparently, I had started singing under my breath because Sara was staring at me with her bright blue eyes. Crap. 

"Sorry, I've just gotten so used to being alone. Plus if I didn't sing, I would lose the ability to speak." She smiled at me. 

"It's cute. But don't you want to get in bed too?" And it just keeps getting more awkward. But I turned around and changed, before getting into bed with her. 

"Oh geez just stop making it awkward and come here." Wow alright, assertive. So I crawled towards her side of the bed and let her pull me closer. 

"I know it's all a bit weird, but we have to continue our lives. We have to build up everything back from scratch. So a little sexual tension is not a bad thing. It could be like high school, except gayer." I mean she wasn't wrong. 

"Alright but you should know, I sleep with a dagger."