~~~~~
As much as she tried to convince herself that everything would turn out okay, there was always that little voice inside of her that told her otherwise. It was always there, whatever she had to do. It was there as an eight year old, having to make the choices of an adult, and its still there now, despite the raiders being gone.
After all, it was her choice to investigate the group of survivors that were said to be not far from their safe zone, just as it was her choice to send her boyfriend and AJ out to confer with them. And to say she would be guilt-ridden if something were to happen to either of them would be an understatement.
Violet had sat with Clem, tried her best to reassure her that they would both return safely, but there was still doubt in Clem's mind, an anxiousness that caused her to nibble on her nails.
It wasn't that she didn't trust them, in fact she could easily say that she trusted them the most, that's why she wanted them to go. She could only hope that these were good people, people that were rare to find these days.
But the "What if's" constantly flooded her mind, reminding her of all the potential things that could go wrong, making her feel slightly nauseous due to the fact that any accident would be on her back.
Losing her two favourite people was a road she didn't even want to go down
The more time that passed, the worse she began to feel. The sun was beginning to set, and so was all confidence she once held, now she was nothing but a nervous, anxious wreck.
Violet had forced her to eat something, yet again assuring her by saying that her boys would both return safe.
"But what if they don't? What if somethings happened to them and we don't know-"
"Okay I'm going to stop you right there" Violet cuts in, afraid that the girl before her was going to overthink herself to the point of tears. "I know Louis can be a dumbass sometimes, but he's not stupid, he'll keep his distance, and if something goes south, he'll know how to deal with it"
Clem inhales sharply, nodding her head. "I know, I just can't help but think the worst"
"I get it" Violet nods.
Clementine sighs, thankful that Violet wasn't pushing further. She rests her chin in the palm of her hand, elbow on the table, and it was only then that the exhaustion hit her. After her amputation, she found that she would get tired way more easily, even without much movement.
Violet must've noticed. "You should go back to your room and lay down"
"No, I want to wait till they get back"
Violet nods, knowing there was no point in arguing, Clementine was more stubborn than she would ever let on.
-
"They're back!" Willie's voice snaps Clem back into consciousness, having drifted off a little due to the long hours of nothing.
She arms reach out and clutch onto her crutches, forcing herself onto her feet seemingly too fast, violet steadying her as she stumbled.
She makes her way as quick as she can to the gates just as they begin to open. A large smile appearing on her face upon seeing Louis' handsome face make its way towards her. It quickly drops however, not seeing AJ trotting behind him.
"Where's AJ?" She yells to him, clearly distressed, but it leaves her upon seeing him smile a dashing smile at her that comforted her instantly.
"He's outside, we brought some people back with us, he wanted to make sure they didn't run off, even though it was their idea to come with us in the first place" He chuckles and Clem smiles, relieved an content that they were both okay.
She sighs a dreamy sigh as Louis gets closer, hoping he wouldn't hear it and make a joke about it. She holds one arm out, signalling him to come to her. He does, wrapping both strong arms around her waist and squeezing her tightly.
Clem inhales his all too familiar, musky scent, his dreads tickling the side of her face. She can't help but let go of both her crutches, allowing them to hit the ground with a bang, as she wraps before arms around his neck, burying her face into the crook. She uses his body to help balance her.
She pulls away just enough to see his face, taking in all his natural beauty. Before using her hand to pull him to her by the chin, planting her lips on his, capturing his gasp.
He kisses her back instantly, both pair forgetting the kids that were witnessing the display of affection. But they didn't care, they were too busy pouring all the emotions they held for each other into the others mouth.
They pull away, both hot and flustered, pink tinting the two pairs of cheeks. "Look like someone's happy to see me". He chuckles, flirtatiously.
She pecks his lips quickly. "You have no idea".
They both pull away but Louis keeps both hands firmly on her hips, keeping her upright without her having to balance so hard.
"How many is there?" She asks, now that their reunion was over, it was time to get down to business. There was new people at the school. And now that she was considered the "leader" of the group, despite losing a leg, it was down to her to make sure that these people would bring no harm to her people.
"Three" He replies. "They were alone out there, a couple and a kid around our age, they seemed like they meant no harm, they gave up their weapons easily enough"
Clementine hums in response, if they did try anything, there was more than three kids in the school, the kids could easily take them down if needed.
"Well, I guess I should go talk to them" Clem says, trying to hint towards the tight grip he had on her and her crutches that lay on the group, out of her grip. She stares at him as he stares back, Clem raises her brows and Louis seems to snap out of whatever daydream he was in.
"Oh right yeah, um- Vi! Could you help" He turns to the blonde who stood arms crossed, awkwardly looking into the distance as to not interrupt the couples moment. She doesn't say anything, just nods and grabs both crutches off the floor, handing them to Clem who slips her arms inside quickly and makes her way to the gate, Louis following behind her.
She gasps aloud when she sees the three familiar people who stood, arms raised, controlled by AJ's gun that was currently pointed at them.
Louis turns to her, concern flooding his eyes. "What? What's wrong?"
Her eyes begin to pool. "Javi..."
~~~~~
