The walking dead One-shots

The Past

Clem tells Gabe about Lee. Someone on tumblr requested this and said they wanted more angst so I gave u more angst and I don't care if this is shitty bc I am sad rn.

The bench was warm and the church was stuffy in the summer heat, but Clem and Gabe sat comfortably.

A while ago, Clem had promised Gabe to tell him her story when everything settled down and got better in Richmond. After all, she already knew most of his from Javi and Kate. And no time was better than now.

It had been a few quiet weeks since Jesus and his group helped get all the walkers out and help the injured. So while she still can, she wanted to spill it all to Gabe.

He's silent, clearly waiting for her to start, but she doesn't really know how to. It had been so long since she had even thought of him. Not because she didn't want to, just her mind has been so full of survival she's had little time to dwell on the past.

"I met him a few days after it all started, he was actually on his way to prison when he crashed," she starts at the very beginning, laughing humorlessly at the whole prison thing. "He has been arrested for murdering some important guy, but thats not really important."

Clem leans back against the wood, closing her eyes as more memories flood her mind. A tight smile pulling at her lips. "I was hiding in my tree house from the monsters, and he found a way into my actual house. He stumbled around for a little bit before I told him to stay quiet from the monsters." The memory of her babysitters dead face flashes in her mind, making her cringe and open her eyes.

"My dead babysitter almost killed him, but I gave him a hammer to save him," she realized she hadn't told Gabe where her parents were, "My parents had gone on vacation to Savannah, that's why I had a baby sitter," she briefly explained, glancing at him for a second.

"He knew my parents were gone, and promised me that he'd help me find them. He promised that he would stay by me until I found them. Dead or alive," Tears suddenly fill her eyes and she uses the hem of her shirt to wipe them away.

"Almost instantly he took me under his wing. I was like the daughter he never had, his wife never wanted kids, but he did." Clementine laughs again.

She can almost feel a hand resting on her, but she quickly moves the hand to wipe at her eyes again. "We went everywhere together. He barely ever let me out of his sight. One day, we all went to this dairy farm. They seemed nice enough, and they had a cow. She was really nice," the tears are almost too fast for her to stop now.

"But the owners...they weren't nice at all. They killed our friend, and tried to feed him to us. Lee stopped me from eating, but then we were locked in a meat locker." The memory brings back a cold chill, "He did a lot of bad things to get us out of there, but I know he just didn't want anyone to hurt me. So I wasn't scared of him," Clementine has to pause for a second, leaning forward to pull her knees to her chest.

A ghost of a hand is rubbing her back, and she briefly smiles at Gabe's attempt of comfort, but it just brings more tears.

"A few weeks went by fine again, but then bandits attacked," Clem continues, "walkers, of muertos, got in and got my friend Duck. Then a few hours later a woman was shot in the forehead for no reason. So it's safe to say everything was falling apart now," she pulls her hat off for a few seconds. It was getting too hot in here now.

"We found a train, and got it working. But the luck didn't last long. Duck had to be put down, and Lee offered to do it. But before he could, Ducks Mom, Katjaa, killed herself. Lee put Duck down before we kept driving." More peacful memories came back and Clem was smiling again. 

"Lee thought it would be a good idea to teach me how to shoot a gun. He said I was a natural, but he was just saying that," she laughs, brushing away a stray tear. "He cut my hair after, totally made me look like a boy too. He wasn't the best at cutting hair. But he was better than your uncle," she teases, smiling at him for a split second.

"We got to Savannah, and all I wanted for do was find my parents. But Lee knew I wouldn't be able to. I got upset when he told me that, and ran away. Leaving my hat and wallow talkie behind," the smile breaks and she chokes on a sob.

"He got bit trying to get me back. He tried to cut it off, but it didn't work. He went through absolute hell to find me," She pulls her knees closer to her chest. "I was so scared. But he wasn't. He knew he was going to find me if it was the last thing he did." Clem turns her gaze to her hat.

"And it was," her voice is softer now as she looks at the blood stain on the left side of the hat.

Placing the item back on her head, she continues. "He saved me. We had to walk through a herd to leave, but I saw something that made us stop. My parents were dead. They had been the whole time. But I had found my parents," she pauses again.

Her hand had a death grip on her knees and she can't open her eyes as she comes to the end of the story. "Lee passed out, and when I got him to safety, he told me he was bit. I refused to believe it, and made him try to walk. But he couldn't." She was sure she was bruising herself now.

"He fell by a radiator, and made me handcuff him to it. Then he made me shoot him," she forces her eyes open to look at Gabe, trying to see what he was thinking. "I didn't want to, but I also couldn't leave him there to turn to a walker? So I shot him. That's where his story ends," she slowly picks up the piece of paper, trying not to cry onto it and ruin the picture.

"I know you're probably busy with your family and everyone, but if you could find him, and tell him I'm fine...or that I miss him, that would help me a lot," she asks the silent picture of her friend.

Slowly, she pushes herself off the empty pew, and makes her way to the memorial wall which was missing a picture. "I miss both of you," She says to herself as she puts Gabe's picture back up next to his sisters.

"AJ loves euchre by the way, I don't know if I've mentioned that yet. He's almost as good as you," she grips at her wrist, not trying to stop the tears any more. She opens her mouth to say something, but loses the words.

Clem drops her head, unable to stop the sobs now. Tears hit the wood under her feet as she takes slow steps back, realIzing she should probably get back before anyone realizes she's gone.

"I have to get back to work, but I'll see you when I see you..." she says before turning walk away, but pauses before she's too far.

Fists clenched at her sides, she glances back at the dumb photo of him eating pudding, "I miss you, dork," she chokes, and she's pushing through the large doors and out into and among the living.