3 | We Who Survive the Apocalypse | ✅

Chapter 24 - Haircuts

I'm glad when the rain stops so I can go walk around outside. It's cold out here, but it's better than just sitting in the house and waiting.

I have my Glock with me, of course, and I'm still on my guard, but I need this. The woods begin just behind the house, and I'm tempted to wander into them, through the mist that hangs in the low branches and just act like everything is okay, but I don't know if I should. Not alone, at least.

So I wander in circles around the house, by the rundown shed, absently kicking the tires of the truck. The mud squishes beneath my boots, the icy wind tousles my hair, cutting through my layers of clothing and chilling my bones, but I'm not going back inside. Not yet.

I hear a noise and glance upward, to see two geese flying off somewhere. I hear their wings moving, just the sounds of their bodies slicing through the air. It's been awhile since I've seen geese, and I can't help but smile a little.

I'm poking around the shed - which is full of junk - when footsteps approach behind me. I turn quickly, ready to pull my gun, but it's Doyle.

"Hey," he says, and I just kind of nod. "You okay?"

I shrug. "I just can't stand being in there doing nothing, waiting."

He nods, but before he can say anything, I cross the space between him and wrap my arms around his neck. He chuckles, returning the embrace, and we just stand there.

The cold doesn't even touch me anymore, and I feel safe and secure, and I don't need a foggy forest to tell me everything is okay. I only need him.

I bury my face in his neck, and I feel his fingers in my hair, his breaths on my ear. I like to just hold him, and I like him to hold me. Right at this moment, there's no need for anything more, or anything less. Just being together is enough.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" I ask at last, my voice muffled.

"Seth and Izzy started arguing," he replies.

"Nothing new there."

"No."

"What were they going on about this time?" I ask.

"Whether I needed a haircut or not."

"What did they decide?"

"Nothing," he says, "I left before they started screaming at each other, and I'm pretty sure Hudson was about to start throwing potatoes at them."

"What about you?" I say, pulling back a little so I can see his face. "Do you want a haircut?"

He ponders this for a second before shaking his head. "Not really."

"Good." I smile, tucking a bit of his red hair behind his ear. "Because I like your hair. But if you ever change your mind, that's fine too."

He laughs. "Good to know."

I snuggle back into his chest, letting him incase me in his arms, sighing. "All the things that have happened, and here we are, talking about haircuts."

"That's a good thing," he says. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, do you want a haircut?"

"Maybe just a trim. It's really ratty on the ends."

+++++

"We really didn't have to do this," I say, trying to get up out of the chair, but Doyle gives me a stern look.

"I need something to pass the time, so do you, and I can trim your hair," he says, moving to stand behind me, holding a pair of scissors. I'm not even sure they will work.

"Okay."

We're out on the small wooden deck on the back of the house, because Izzy wouldn't stop trying to tell Doyle what to do while we were in the house. I'm draped in a moth-eaten blanket we found in a closet. It's beyond use for anything else.

"So an inch?" He asks, and I feel him brushing my hair with his fingers.

"Sure," I tell him, and after a moment, he gently tugs some strands of my hair, and I hear a snip-snip, and he lets my hair fall.

This goes on for a while, and his soft touch and the gentle sounds of the outdoors put me in a very relaxed state, something I haven't been in for a while.

"Done!" He says finally, "and it's actually really even."

I reach back and pull my hair forward, and see the neat ends, rather than a rats' nest. He pulls the blanket off me and shakes it out.

"Thanks, Doyle," I say, standing and turning to face him.

He shrugs, smiling. "Anything for you."

My cheeks heat up, which makes him laugh because I must be turning red, and he leans forward, pressing a kiss on my forehead.

He goes to leave, but I catch his arm. "Did you think you could get away that easily?"

He looks confused, but I dispel that quickly by pulling him closer, holding his face in my hands and bringing his lips to meet mine.

His hands move to my shoulders, then my neck, his thumbs tracing my jawbone and the bottom of my ears. Unlike our first kiss, this one is less reserved, because we are more comfortable with each other.

Our lips move in sync with each other, and while I'm not sure what I'm doing, I open my mouth a little wider and brush his teeth with my tongue.

Then a thump sends us apart, and we turn to the sliding door and see Seth trying to cover Izzy's mouth with his hand, and Hudson just shaking his head.

Izzy fights Seth off and loudly says, "you guys are fucking gross!"

+++++

Shut the fuck up, Izzy!

Anyway, just a boring filler chapter because I'm trying to decide a major plot point that involves...big changes, so yeah. Procrastination! Woo!

Sorry for the delay, people. *nervous smile*

Also I've never kissed anyone before so I'm not sure how it works or if I wrote it correctly. Bye. 😩