world's end ━ the walking dead

( 𝟎𝟏𝟒 ) tour of the farm

Lori shrugged at her daughter, "Your dad and Shane have been doing their own things. Gathering supplies and such, so he's not been able to leave the farm much." She told her. Lori had been trying to avoid Shane as much as she could since they got to the farm, especially after what he did at the CDC, so she couldn't say much about the man. However, a smile broke out on her face when she remembered what Carl had been doing since they found the farm, "Carl's actually been hanging around with Nate a lot." She revealed.

Zoe looked at her mom in shock, surprised to hear this, "Really?" She asked, eyebrows raising in surprise. That was the last thing she expected to hear, as Nate and Carl didn't even talk that much. She wondered what they had been up to since she had been shot.

Lori nodded, "Yeah, Nate's been helping him with the tour for you. It's really sweet, actually." She told Zoe, smiling when she remembered how close they had been since they had first arrived on the farm. Carl absolutely adored him, practically looking up to Nate like he was his older brother - Lori wasn't exactly keen on any of the Dixon's when she had first met them, especially Merle, but Nate had grown on her, and now, she actually liked the boy; she was sure that her daughter did, too.

Zoe smiled at the words that came out of her mother's mouth, it was nice to hear, that Nate and Carl had been getting along - and that Carl had someone else to talk to and hang around with besides her, as she was a girl, she didn't understand some of the things he spoke about sometimes. Lori noticed the look on her daughter's face, and raised an eyebrow at her, causing Zoe's smile to fade into a frown. "What?" She asked, not understanding why her mom was giving her that look.

Lori shook her head, still smiling widely, "Nothing." She spoke, her voice raising slightly, as she was obviously lying.

Zoe could tell from a mile off, when her mother was lying, so she wasn't letting go of this easily. "No, come on. What is it?" She pushed, wanting to know what her mom was implying.

Lori looked back at her daughter with a softer smile, not knowing if the girl knew that she liked the Dixon boy. "I know that look, is all." She told her, causing Zoe's eyebrows to furrow further in confusion.

"What look?" She asked, "I wasn't doing a look." Zoe crossed her arms over her chest in defence. What look was she doing?

Lori shook her head in amusement, knowing damn well the look on her daughters face, "You like the boy." She finally came out and said, causing Zoe's eyes to widen in surprise.

"No I don't." She denied instantly. "I mean- yeah I like him as a person.. I mean.. As a friend. Not-Not in the way that you're saying." She ended up stuttering, causing her to mentally scold herself.

Lori laughed, "Okay, Zo." She said.

As Lori began to walk out of the room, Zoe instantly followed, "I don't!" She defended.

"You don't, what?" She heard from besides them, causing both of the Grimes girls to spin around in a rush, not knowing that anyone was outside of the room.

When Zoe looked behind her, she saw Nate, standing with his arms crossed, with Carl besides him, looking at his mother and sister strangely, as they were acting very weird. Zoe coughed, not knowing what to say, "Umm." She stuttered, looking at her mother for help.

Lori linked with Zoe in an instant, "She doesn't need help walking around. I was trying to tell her otherwise." She said, coming up with a lie quickly, to help her daughter out.

Carl didn't care what they were talking about, in an instant, he ran to Zoe and gave her a hug, causing the girl to grunt at the sudden squeeze on her stomach. "Careful, buddy, she's still recovering." Nate spoke up, from his place by the side, making sure to be soft when speaking to him, as he can take things to heart.

Carl let go of Zoe and looked up at her with a cheeky grin, "Sorry." He apologised, causing Zoe's heart to melt at the sight. He was just too cute.

"It's alright." She said, giving him a soft hug. "So, are we ready for the tour?" She asked him, as he frantically nodded in excitement.

When they began to walk out, Carl looked back at Nate with a confused look on his face at why he wasn't following. "Aren't you coming with us?" He asked, confused at why he wasn't walking with them.

Nate shrugged, "I thought it was yours and Zoe's tour?" He asked. He didn't mind helping the boy out, but he didn't think that Carl would actually want him to tag along.

Carl shook his head at him, "You're invited too. Come on." He spoke.

Nate looked towards Zoe with a questionable look, silently asking if it was okay with her, to which she nodded to. "Come on." She encouraged, smiling at him. She hadn't seen him in a while, so it would be good to catch up.

Nate smiled slightly, before following after the two, not before Zoe shot her mom a thankful look for helping her out in the situation. She owed her big time.

____

After tonnes of stops throughout the farm, of the group hugging Zoe and congratulating her on finally recovering, the tour had finally taken place and Zoe was safe to say that she knew the farm from the back of her hand. She was just glad that she could finally leave the house and breathe in some fresh air properly, instead of leaning out of the window. She hadn't even seen a walker since the incident on the main road - she felt as if they weren't currently in an apocalypse and fighting for their lives. She felt free on the farm - it wasn't like their campsite near Atlanta, or even the CDC; there was actually room here, to run around and not have to worry about running into a walker around the corner.

Once they stopped outside of the barn, Carl stopped Zoe from walking any closer to it. "The barn's off limits. I don't know why. No one does." Carl told her, causing her to look over at the barn in confusion.. Why would it be off limits? However, she wasn't going to question it as it wasn't her home - it was up to Hershel as to what they would be able to use and look at. Carl smiled up at Zoe, "Well, that was the last place of the tour, what did you think?" He asked her, still overly exited at the whole thing.

"I loved it, thanks Carl." She spoke, accepting his hug. She allowed him to squeeze her this time, as she didn't have it in her to tell him not to.

"We could..." Carl began to say, before Nate interrupted him.

"Actually Carl, I was hoping to steal Zoe for a second." He asked the small boy, as he wore a pleading expression.

Carl was disappointed that the tour was over and Zoe and Nate didn't want to hang out with him any longer, but pushed it aside, knowing that Nate had been wanting to show something to his sister. "Okay." He agreed, giving Nate a hug, which he returned, as Zoe looked at the two of them in happiness. "I'll see you later, Zo!" He shouted, as he ran off back to the house.

Zoe laughed at her brother, before turning towards Nate, "So..." She trailed off, not knowing why Nate wanted to be alone with her.

Nate smiled down at her, before holding his hand out for her to take, "I have something to show you, come on." He spoke, waiting for her to take his hand.

Zoe looked down at his hand, contemplating wether to go with him, before finally taking it, allowing him to lead her away from the farm..