❪ 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗟'𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘 ❫
𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗐𝗈 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
pudding lets people bond. ╱ season four, episode nine.
FRANKIE WOULDN'T EVER admit it out loud, but Carl was quickly growing on her. For the short span of two hours, she was already reveling in annoying the younger boy. With a permanent frown etched onto his features, Frankie followed along like a lost puppy. Her comments slice through his dutiful angst every once in a while.
The house around them was bare, lost memories, and empty cans were left scattered through it. Frankie shoved every minuscule thing into her bag, often offering to split it with the small stranger who seemed to be having the same luck. The world around them was silent, few birds chirped, leaving the air to be filled with Frankie's absentmindedly hums.
The girl acted oblivious to the world around her. Boredom made the short girl walk slowly after Carl, one foot after another as if she was balancing on an invisible line. Sweat curled at her hairline but it didn't dare knock the look of contentment off her face. Biters were minuscule, they'd met barely anything that would deter the warm day that surrounded them.
Frankie yearned for something to happen, she could tell the young boy was getting antsy and wanted something to fill the angsty energy he created. The young girl could tell that the boy was avoiding something, an emotion, person, place, she had no clue. But she was absolutely going to worm it out of him. There was too much anger and hurt that filled that boy and Frankie felt he was too young to feel any of it.
Most times she wished someone her age didn't have to experience anything she is, it feels as if she was too young to go through the trauma of the apocalypse, so someone younger than her shouldn't have to feel the same detrimental weight. Frankie felt as if she's lost so much, but there was something in the way that the boy carries himself, that makes her think he lost even more.
There was a slight smell of death that lingered in the breeze, causing Frankie to wrinkle her nose at the stench. Wilted bodies laid splayed in the grass, left to be forgotten, unrecognizable. Frankie tried to ignore them, but their stories, their lives, lay along with them, forever frozen over with death. Frankie feared that one day she would end up exactly like them, dead and forever forgotten. She desperately tried to get the dark thoughts to fade but, with the bodies lying at her feet, it was almost impossible.
"Carl, you wanna scout that house?" Frankie questioned, glancing towards the moderate three-story home.
The boy turned his gaze between her and the house. A moment passed with nothing but silence. The only noise was coming from the wind rustling the trees. Frankie softly bounced on her toes, awaiting the younger boy's answer. Wordlessly, the boy waltzed past her and towards the stoic three-story home.
Frankie rolled her eyes at the lack of communication but followed him nonetheless. The redhead instinctively pulled out her knife, preparing for something to jump out at them as soon as they opened the door. Strolling up the pathway, Frankie sent Carl a confused glance watching him bend down to grip a plastic domed walkway light.
The boy pushed forward, not bothering to look back at the older girl behind him. Amusement twisted onto Frankie's features watching as the boy stood on the porch, seemingly siking himself up. Walking up to the steps, Frankie crossed her arms across her chest as she leaned against the post. The redhead swallowed her laughter as the boy ran full force into the front door. Watching him topple to the ground as the door didn't even budge is most definitely going in her favorite memories.
As much as she wanted him to do it again, she'd rather just get this scavenging trip over with. As Carl laid silently on the ground in defeat, Frankie walked to him so she could bend down and scoop up the outdoor light.
"Hey, what the hell?"
Frankie ignored his exclamation, "Listen pint-size, as much as I would like to watch you fail at busting down the door again, I want to get this over with,"
Before he could snap back at her words, the older girl wedged the sharp plastic end in the door, and with a quick and rough push, the door squeaked open. A triumphant smile lifted onto her lips, but the boy scoffed at the actions and strode past her without a second glance.
Frankie shook her head, knowing that showing him up might not have been the greatest idea. But what else was she supposed to do? He was going to take longer if he did it. Frankie enjoyed her time with the boy, but his broodiness was beginning to get to her.
The house was disheveled, and loose bills and empty boxes littered the ground. Frankie glanced over the miscellaneous clothes that scattered the floor, hoping she would find something that would fit her. As much as she adored her fur coat, a nice t-shirt would feel better on a hot day like this.
The sound of scraping wood caught her attention. Glancing up from her search, her eyes were situated on a balancing Carl as he stood on a wooden stool. Standing up straight, Frankie rested her hands on her hips as she observed the boy climbing onto the counter.
"Yo Sherrif, you need some help?"
The boy grunted at her words, sending her a small glare, "I can do this by myself,"
Frankie rose her hands up in defeat, "Alright pint-size, just thought I'd offer,"
The girl didn't bother waiting for his answer before she ventured into a different part of the house. The lives that once used to occupy this home were gone, forever lost in the new world's tragedies. Frankie felt as if the ghosts of the owners watched her movements like a hawk. Invisible eyes were glued to the back of her skull as she waltzed around, skimming through the belongings of someone's old life.
Frankie always disliked this aspect of scavenging. Going through someone's life always left anxiety bubbling in her stomach. It was a breach of privacy in her mind, but these people are most likely dead or one of the corpses running through the world. The smiles that were splayed in the photos were now gone and didn't seem to come back.
The happy family that used to live here reminded Frankie of her own. The girl that stood in the middle of her parents felt like herself. Her smile was bright, but her eyes were hollow. The parents on either side seemed to be in a haze. The father was most definitely counting down the minutes until this photoshoot was over. The mother looked tired, distracted even. Frankie's heart ached, knowing her mother used to look exactly like that. She subconsciously gripped her backpack straps like a lifeline, with each second she was getting pulled further and further into her past. The family in front of her slowly transformed into her own.
Frankie saw herself today, the white linen dress that the girl previously wore was now the outfit she was wearing currently. Frankie's eyes were hollow and cold, and her smile was sarcastic, angry even. She looked empty, her face slightly blotched with dirt littering her features. She hated the smirking smile that rested on her father's face, that man haunted her even in her imagination. His typical weapon was resting in his grip by his side. He looked exactly like he did when she saw him on her last day, smug and psychotic.
The girl's heart ached, the hollow organ beating faster when she met the eyes of her mother. Except it wasn't exactly her mother anymore. Her light blue summer dress was now tattered, clumps of dirt and stains covered it. When Frankie met the eyes of her mother everything changed. The woman was no longer her mother, she was now a biter. Her once sweet brown eyes were now glazed over with a white film, exactly how they looked when she had killed her.
"Frankie? Hello? Are you deaf or something?"
The girl shook herself out of her haze, now seeing the original family that resided in the picture frame. Turning her head, she met confused eyes of Carl. His gaze held more annoyance than anything else, maybe she was looking for a little bit of concern, but they just met and he's kind of a dick, so she shouldn't have been looking for that in the first place.
"What? No, I just wasn't paying attention," Frankie clipped, eyes jumping from the painting to the boy.
"Do you usually struggle with ADHD?" Carl questioned, his tone filled with a taunting aspect.
Which made Frankie's blood lightly boil, "Oh bite me, Pint-size,"
Carl visibly ground his teeth, Frankie assumed that it was in an attempt to hold in his colorful words, "That's the walker's job, Franklin."
"Okay, two things," Frankie started, turning her body to emphasize her next words, "What the hell is a walker? And who the hell is Franklin?"
"Walkers are obviously the dead people roaming the streets, idiot. And since I have an apparently old man's name, now, so do you."
Frankie stared at him a moment, finding a slight amusement in how he tried to taunt her. She wanted to stay mad and give him a taste of his own medicine, but she found his angered tone to resemble a small aggressive chihuahua. "My actual name is Frankie, dipshit. Your actual name is Carl, blame your parents for that mistake, not me." Carl opened his mouth, to spew what Frankie assumed to be a snarky reply, but she didn't feel like having to sit through it, "Listen, what did you want in the first place?"
"Oh right," The boy uttered, his frustration completely vanishing as his attention dropped to his hands. "I wanted to show you this,"
Frankie furrowed her eyebrows at the words, but a small smile flickered onto her lips seeing a rather large can of what looked like chocolate pudding. As if on cue, her stomach began bubbling from the lack of food, wondering how sickeningly sweet this pudding was.
"Shut up, that's amazing," Frankie praised as she took the large can into her hands, she examined the can, wondering if it was good or not, but how the hell was she supposed to know when she didn't even know today's date? There was a glimpse of a smile twisting onto Carl's, it disappeared as soon as it came, but Frankie caught it, "I have an idea, I'll search the rest of the downstairs, while you check the upstairs. And then we'll break into this baby as a celebration of clearing a house."
The boy paused a moment, examining the girl's features, trying to see if there was a nefarious intention within her words. What, like she was gonna steal this huge thing of pudding for herself? It seemed like there was something on the tip of Carl's tongue, but he stopped himself, "Alright, I'll call you if I find anything interesting,"
"Sounds good pint-size,"
"Will you stop calling me that?"
Frankie sent him a teasing glance, her smile sickeningly sarcastic, "Since it bothers you so much...absolutely never,"
The boy was quick to march off, stomping his feet roughly on the wood of the stairs as he marched up to the second floor. Frankie snorted at the lack of reaction, figuring he was going to do that.
The girl waltzed around the rooms on the first floor, a frown forming on her lips from seeing absolutely nothing that could be eaten or somewhat useful to her survival. The only thing she snagged—from what seemed to be a disregarded bedroom—was an oversized t-shirt. Frankie shoved it into her backpack without a second thought, knowing she would like it in the future.
What looked to be the master bedroom was completely ransacked, clothes were piled on the floor, most of the drawers were open and more clothes sprung from out of them. Frankie walked into the room, making her way to the vanity in the corner. An inquisitive look fell across her features as she scanned the room for anything good. Flecks of sunlight shined through the window, lighting up the jewelry that delicately still sat within its case.
Frankie ran her fingers along the necklaces that were hung on their designated rack. She smiled seeing them, reminding her of the ones that her mom used to wear. She stopped at one, picking it up to examine the bumblebee that sat on the end of the chain. She could've sworn her mother had the exact same one, the thought made her heart ache, knowing that the necklace and the woman were long gone. Frankie had seen so many things that she wished her mother had experienced too. Things would've been so different if her mother was here. Frankie felt her hand tremble, her emotions getting the best of her.
But her sorrowful thoughts quickly diminished when her eyes fell upon a discarded necklace, seconds away from falling to the floor. Frankie instantly scooped it up, she looked down at it fondly, seeing the small lowercase first initial of her own name. The small gold f seemed to stare back at her, there was something settling in her stomach, contentment maybe. As she stared at the two necklaces in her hands, it felt like things were coming together. There was no coincidence that she found a necklace that her mom once had, while seconds later she found one with her own initial. To Frankie, it was a sign of fate, like she was meant to be here today, in this house.
She didn't have it in her heart to just stuff the necklaces in her bag, instead, she sat down in the chair at the dresser, putting them both on. One reminded her of her mom and the other was for herself. The smile on her lips was genuine as she admired them in the mirror, loving how they layered each other perfectly. Without thinking, Frankie glanced down and saw a random pair of sunglasses on the vanity, she plucked them up and placed them gently on her eyes. Knowing that they would be perfect to combat the Georgia sun. She made a few silly faces in the mirror, finding amusement as she pretended as if she was posing for a vogue shoot.
She was about to get up and find the younger boy that was still upstairs when she heard a crash from there. The peace she once felt was now gone, and a sick thudding began to erupt from her chest. She was quick to draw her dagger once she heard a familiar garbled groan come from up the stairs. Frankie could hear grunts from Carl, and she worried that he could've been hurt, or possibly killed by the biter.
A gunshot rang throughout the house, which made the girl panic further still hearing the biter's moans. Dashing up the stairs, Frankie felt a rush through her veins watching the boy, as he attempted to kick the dead person away from him. She could hear his gun click, knowing that it was empty. She could practically hear the spiteful words that would escape from Carl's lips the moment she put down the biter, but right now she couldn't care less. She couldn't have this kid die already, he deserved to see another day.
Carl struggled to push it away, panicking even more as it grabbed his calf, seconds away from digging its teeth into the skin. Frankie internally gagged as she gripped the back of the biter's shirt, forcefully pulling it away from the boy. The smell radiating from the decaying person made her grimace but she pushed on, digging her dagger into its skull. The squishiness and pliability from its head was absolutely horrid, but the stab caused the biter to go limp and she let out a sigh of relief as she dropped the body, moving as far as she could away from it.
"I had that,"
Frankie rolled her eyes, getting more and more frustrated with the boy's attitude, "No you didn't, accept it. I saved your ass and get over it. Be grateful that you get to live to see another day,"
The boy didn't answer, just striding past her with annoyance on his face. Frankie sighed in defeat, if she knew that this boy would be so hard to talk to, she would've left him to the biters.
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THE SUN BRIGHTLY shined down on the two as they sat quietly on the roof of the porch, eyes glancing around at their surroundings. Frankie wanted to say something, just to fill the silence, but she stopped herself, knowing that she would get absolutely nothing from Carl in return. Frankie thought that she might separate from Carl soon, not enjoying how he was treating her. She was sympathetic at first, thinking that the kid was just going through something, that he was letting his loss get the best of him.
But now she was annoyed, even when you're hurting, it doesn't give you the excuse to push your pain onto other people. For being strangers, Frankie was being very civil, kind even. Sure, she's been a little snarky, but she was just dishing out what he was giving her. She easily could've held him at gunpoint and stolen his stuff, but he was just a kid and Frankie would never have done that. Deep down she liked Carl, but her annoyance towards him at the moment was beginning to become too much.
Frankie wanted to snag the pudding and bid her goodbye, never to see the small boy again. But she stopped herself, she never knew much about the boy. She didn't know if he was alone or anything about him. Frankie hadn't bothered to get to know him, expecting to get silence in return for her questions. She couldn't leave him until she knew he was going to be okay. She just couldn't in good conscience leave a kid behind.
Carl stared out at the street below, he was silent, occasionally pushing his spoon into the open pudding container, "What's with the glasses?"
"I found them," Frankie stated, staring at him for a moment, shocked that he even spoke. But she moved on, giving him a joking smile, "They look quite good on me, don't you think?"
Carl snorted, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes, "That's one word for it,"
"Oh Carl, jealousy doesn't look good on you," Frankie sighed as she shook her head, her tone teasing, as she knocked her shoulder with his, "Not everyone could look this good in the apocalypse,"
"You look ridiculous," Carl remarked, giving her a glare as scooped his spoon into the pudding, quickly shoving it into his mouth right after, "I haven't even asked what was up with the fur coat, it's like a million degrees,"
"Well dear boy, beauty hurts," The girl answered, shrugging her shoulders lightly, "I love my fur coat, and would rather sweat profusely than take it off,"
"Why do you like it so much?" Carl questioned, sending her a confused glance, "Overheating doesn't seem safe,"
"I think it gives me some edge, makes me different from everyone else," Frankie replied, her words garbled slightly as she shoved her spoon into her mouth midsentence. The sweetness of the pudding hit her tongue deliciously and she felt a smile quirk on her lips. Then she was brought back into the moment as she felt Carl's stare, "And plus, if I get too hot I take it off,"
"It's still stupid, fashion shouldn't matter right now, trying to survive should be the only thing you focus on,"
"Kid," Frankie sent him a sad look, hating his dismissing answer, "Surviving isn't the only thing you should focus on, there's more to this life than just surviving,"
"No there isn't," Carl hissed, his glare was deadly, "Even if you have people and you have a home, it all comes crashing down eventually. You get sucked back into the real world where if you don't survive, you die,"
"Carl, what happened?" Frankie asked, her tone gentle, hoping that it would break through his cold and clearly shaken exterior. "Are you alone? Where are your parents?"
"My mom's dead, and my dad's barely alive,"
"Is he okay? Does he need help?" Frankie questioned, her words frantic, hoping that she would be able to help the man if he needed it.
"He's fine, he just got beaten up pretty bad, last time I saw him he passed out cold," Carl answered, his tone frigid and it left goosebumps traveling across Frankie's skin. "It's his fault we're here anyway,"
"How is it his fault?"
The boy refused to meet her glare, staring down at his hands, "If he just killed him, we would've still had a home,"
His cryptic words left Frankie even more confused. He talked as if she knows everything about his life, but she doesn't know a goddamn thing. "Carl, killed who?"
"The Governor," Carl seethed, squeezing his eyes shut in frustration as if he was trying to stop tears from seeping through. "He took our home, took my family away,"
Frankie was still at a loss for words, wishing that the boy would be more descriptive with his explanation, "Carl, what happened? Please tell me,"
The boy whipped his head to look at her, nothing but coldness and hatred filled his glare, "Why should I tell you? You're a stranger,"
"It doesn't seem like anyone else is trying to help you, or talk to you for that matter," Frankie threw back, getting upset at how he was treating her, "I'm the only one that seems to fucking want to talk to you. Carl, you've been nothing but miserable to me since I met you, I've tried to be nice, but your shithead attitude is making that really fucking hard. If you keep this shit up, no one's gonna wanna be around you,"
The boy seemed shocked by her outburst, finally seeing the girl's angry side. His lips fell into a frown as he stared up at the sky, "I know,"
"Listen, kid," Frankie sighed, all her anger quickly fading as she watched a look of defeat fall onto his features. "How about this, you tell me your story, and I'll tell you mine,"
Carl glanced at her, a look of skepticism rising, "How do I know you won't lie about it?"
Frankie shook her head, amused by how distrustful this kid is. She immediately stuck her pinky out, pointing it toward the boy, "We'll do a pinky promise,"
"Are you five? This is stupid,"
"Excuse me, I take my pinky promises very seriously, I never break them," The girl argued, giving him a stern scowl, "Have a little faith, not everyone's out to get you,"
Carl stared at her hand for a moment, as if he was trying to decide what he should do. But as he met her eyes and the promise that they held, he instantly gave in, "Fine, but I'm not going first,"
Frankie snorted, sending him a teasing look as she rolled her eyes, "Fine, ask away, Pint-size,"
"Are you alone?"
"No, I'm not," The girl answered, hating how she was the one that had to divulge her life to him first, but if it made him more inclined to open up, she was all for it. "I'm with two people, Gabi and Sydney,"
"How'd you find each other?"
"Gabi and I were together for a while and we ran into Sydney about a year ago, I think," Frankie answered, hoping that the kid would understand that this is the truth and she wasn't lying.
The boy took in her information, stopping a moment to get a spoonful of pudding, the small action made Frankie smile lightly, "Did you know Gabi before?"
"No," Frankie shook her head, the memories began flooding her brain, and she tried to swallow the disdain that came from her next words, "We both were a part of a group my dad ran,"
"Did it fall?"
"No, we left," Frankie stated, her words curt, trying to avoid the tense feeling rising in her chest. Hoping that it was the end of her story, but she knew Carl wouldn't let that happen.
"Why?"
"I was sick of watching people dying for the sake of my father's power trip, we both were, so we thought we'd have a better chance out on the road,"
Carl paused for a moment, trying to decipher what her life was like, "Your father killed people? For power?"
"Yeah, he wanted things that other groups had, so through power, he killed and took what he wanted," Frankie sighed, her words holding a weight that she could visibly see. It felt hard to swallow, her history being harder to explain than she could've ever imagined. "I couldn't sit idly by anymore, and me standing up to him did nothing, so I left, I couldn't be responsible for the death of any more people,"
"Wow, that's crazy," Carl said as if he was in a daze, he looked overwhelmed by all the sudden information.
"You're telling me, I had to live through it,"
"What happened to your mom? Did she die before or during?" Carl blurted, but his eyes seemed to bulge almost as if he didn't think he was going to actually ask that, "You don't have to tell me, only if you want to,"
Frankie was absolutely flabbergasted by the gentle tone that had escaped him, she never would've expected that he would speak to her like that, "It's alright kid, my mom died during the beginning. She was struggling with cancer before and during, and my dad tried to keep up the treatments, but as it was getting worse outside, it became harder to get chemo. She was getting worse. So we went on a run to find some,"
"Did you find any?"
The girl paused, finding it harder and harder to speak, the memory of her mother began to visibly affect her as a few tears fell down her cheeks, "Yeah, we did,"
"But it was too late, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Frankie sighed, subconsciously lifting her hand to grip the necklace that reminded her of her mom, "She begged us to stay, but we couldn't let her go. I couldn't just watch her wither away, I had to do something, but in the end, it didn't matter,"
"What happened?"
"She killed herself," Frankie clipped, her words distant and quiet. Recalling something that had so much pain attached to it made her feel like she couldn't breathe. Frankie just wanted her pain to end. "She was there, but it wasn't her. My dad just stared at her, he couldn't do it. He couldn't end it. So I had to."
Carl could hear the pain in her voice, for the first time in a while he felt like he could connect to someone. He felt like an outsider for so long, but right here, he felt like Frankie would understand his own pain. "I had to do the same,"
Frankie whipped her head towards him, the tears in her eyes had never faded as she stared at him with confusion, "What do you mean?"
"My mom, I had to kill her too," Carl restated, his tone the same as Frankie's as she told him about her mom, "She was pregnant, she had to get a c-section. Maggie didn't know what she was doing, so we couldn't save her. The baby...Judith was fine, but she wasn't. I couldn't watch her turn, so I..."
"Oh, my god Carl," Frankie gasped, one hand flying to her heart and the other to grab the younger boy's hand. Carl's eyes jumped to hers, "I'm so sorry, you never should've had to do that,"
"I had to," Carl clipped, pushing the girl's hand away, hating having sympathy from the older girl. "Just like you had to,"
The girl nodded, but the heavy weight still lay within her chest, "We shouldn't have had to,"
"It's too late to change the past now,"
Frankie agreed, now she understood why he was like this. He was just a scared kid, who lost his home and family. He needed people to show him that it was okay to feel the pain. "So it's just you and your dad? Did your group die?"
"There's one other with us," Carl ground his teeth together, hating how the attention was now suddenly on him. But glancing at Frankie, and seeing the caring look in her eyes, he knew he shouldn't snap at her right now. He just sighed and answered her question, "And a few died, not all of them. I think a lot of them got out. We had to watch the Governor kill one of our own. He decapitated him right in front of us,"
"Oh Carl," Frankie murmured, his story being a lot for her to digest right now. She felt so bad for him, she tried so hard to not show it, clearly seeing how he didn't enjoy the sympathy. But she couldn't help it, he had lost so much. "Are you okay? Seriously, how are you doing?"
"Not good." Carl clipped, his tone was short, but there wasn't any malice. It just seemed like he didn't have the energy to explain anymore.
"Do you need anything? Is there something that would make you feel better?"
Carl stared at her for a moment, shocked at how the girl was acting toward him. She acted as if she genuinely cared about someone she had just met. He didn't know what to say, he was stunned that a stranger would give him this much concern about how he was doing with it all. But right now, talking was the thing he wanted to do the least. "Can we just sit here in silence for a bit? I don't really feel like talking anymore,"
"Whatever you need kid," Frankie gave him a comforting smile, wanting to give him what he needs. But there was something that she still needed to get off her chest, something that she wanted to offer to help him. "If you need help finding your people, I would love to help. I'm sure my friends would do it as well. I wanna help you get back to your family,"
There was a small silence that passed after she said that, with Carl just looking in her direction. Frankie didn't say anything, waiting for him to speak, but at the same time, she wasn't expecting him to. She was fine with him just knowing that the offer was there, she wanted to help him find his people again. It was clear that he cared about them more than anything, and he was affected by the loss of his home, even if he didn't say it. She could see it in his eyes, and hell, maybe if he knew there was someone in his corner, it might bring him some comfort.
"Thanks," Carl practically whispered, Frankie could've sworn she saw a small smile appearing on his lips. "I might take you up on that,"
Frankie felt a feeling of contentment filling her chest, seeing that he accepted her offer. She was amused by how fast things had changed from how they met quite literally less than two hours ago. She no longer hated the kid, she understood why he was snarky, she now saw through his rude facade, now seeing the scared and lost boy behind it all. And she would be damned if she let this kid lose any more of his people.
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𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘:
Hey besties!!!
Been a while 😮💨
New chapter, some Carl
and Frankie bonding absolutely
can't wait for their friendship
to develop, very much is going
to give a sick ass sibling dynamic 😁
Also did y'all pick up on the hints as
to her dad is 😏 I'm a genius I know 😮💨
Also frankie and Charlie get
introduced next chapter 😏 it's
going to be delicious. Im literally so
excited!!
ALSO‼️‼️‼️‼️
Check out my TikTok I've got
a few Charlie and Frankie edits up
and I love them sm
TikTok: @wildflowerlukewp
hope you guys enjoyed!!!