She groaned when the pounding sensation flooded her head. She slowly sat up, leaning agianst the head board of the bed. She quickly realized that she was in fact naked, so she slid back under the blankets, clutching it to her curved chest. Negan was still asleep next to her. She looked at his peaceful face, the easy-going look on his eyes made her mad. She watched how his chest rose and fell, how his eyes darted under his eyelids, how his fingertips twitched.
Why the hell am I naked, again?
"Wake up, jackass." She groaned, punching his arm softly. He startled awake, looking around with raised eyebrows before smiling at her.
"Morning, darlin'." He said, yawning and stretching his arms in awkward positions. He reached over for her, putting an arm over her stomach. She swatted him away, her hands gripping the blanket.
"Why the hell am I naked? Did we..?" She asked. She thought she would feel different if they did, so she doubted it.
"No." He said quickly before pulling the blanket off him and getting out of bed. He was in boxers and the bulge was obvious. She cleared her throat, looking away from him as he pulled jeans over his legs. "Why'd you say it like that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Like what?"
"All...stingy."
He shrugged, his back to her as he pulled a shirt on over his head. It was silent for a few minutes as he sat down on the edge of the bed, tugging on some worn boots over his feet. (Y/N) slowly sat against the headboard, clutching the blanket to her chest still. "So...why the hell am I naked, again?" She asked, putting a hand over her eyes. Her head still pounded.
"Oh, so you don't remember when you crawled into the living room, passed out, I brought you back into here, you woke up, yelled, 'It's too hot in this hellhole,' then ripped off all your clothes?" He turned to her, a grin on his face. She glared at him, her cheeks red with embarassment.
"How much did I drink?"
"You downed four bottles, or so I'm told."
"Fuck me." she murmured under her breath, sighing.
"With pleasure." He said, leaning over the bed and hovering over her lips. She tried to rear back, yet she was flat against the headboard. She turned her head to the left, advoiding his kiss. He planted a quick peck on her cheek, though he was aiming for her lips. He chuckled. "Go away." She grumbled angrily, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him away. He licked his lips before turning to the door.
"Get dressed, we're out of here in twenty." He said, turning the doorknob.
"Where to?" She asked, making him stop in his tracks. He considered her words for a moment, tilting his head. "Out." He said finally, then he walked out the bedroom, closing the door behind him. She bit her lip as she slowly got out of bed, pulling the blankets off her. She found her scattered clothes around, sliding them on.
~
"Going to tell me where we are going or..?" She asked as he opened the truck door for her. He didn't say anything as he crawled in after her, buckling Lucille in the middle seat. He was acting weird. (Y/N) vaguely remembered last night, but his words were on the tip of her tongue. She couldn't quite remember what he said, but she recalled the sentence 'I don't give a fuck about you.' Did he mean that? Could he mean that?
"Hey, did you mean what you said last night?" She asked quietly, looking out the window. She could feel him looking at her even though she kept her eyes on the men walking about outside. "I thought you would be too soaked to remember that." He answered, as if it was an excuse for what he said. He didn't add anything after that. No sorries.
She didn't say anything when Simon jumped in the driver's seat. "Ready to go?" He asked Negan, but he looked at (Y/N) in the rearview mirror. Negan nodded. Simon started the truck, the engine heaving as they began heading out the gates. "Where are we going, Simon?" She asked him instead, maybe he would tell her.
"A community that's been causing some trouble." He answered quickly. Negan shot him a look but didn't say anything.
(Y/N) looked in Negan's direction but their eyes didn't meet. She looked passed him to the scenery slowly begin to move as the truck rolled faster. (Y/N) gave up and leaned against the mirror, letting out a breath that fogged the glass. She let out a yawn, the glass fogged in a larger circle now. She let her eyes close, but she didn't fall asleep. She just let her eyes close, listening to the brief conversation between Simon and Negan as her mind wondered back to Alexandria. She hoped her father and siblings were okay, more than anything she did. It took everything in her not to choke up at the thought of Carl racing to her room in the morning, opening the door, then remembering she was gone. He did that often, when he wanted to wake her up and tell her something.
~
Soon, the truck lolled to a stop. She knew they were there when the truck came to a complete stop, the brakes hissing out and the engine stuttering until it didn't. She opened her eyes, then stretched her arms over her head. She could feel Negan looking at her, then she heard his door open and shut. She turned to her door, hopping out as well. She took in the sights, her head tilting. She heard nearby Saviors calling it "Hilltop", so she would as well. She gazed at the wood logs that surronded this place - she didn't know logs could be placed so sturdily. Her eyes traveled down to the livestock, to the great mansion before her.
She had been here breifly, but that just seemed like a forgotten memory now. She knew some of the people, but not really. It was weird, she was here before, but she couldn't remember anything about it for the life of her.
Negan let out a short whistle, tilting his head in the direction of the mansion. She nodded, hurrying to his side. She walked along side him in silence, Simon following close behind them. His bat was draped over his shoulder, a dark look on his face. As usual.
"Why's your bat named Lucille?" She asked, her mind fluttering through different thoughts like a book. He let out a small chuckle. They had reached the mansion doors by now. He knocked slowly three times before leaning in close to (Y/N).
"That's another story for another time, darlin'." He said, and just then, the mansion doors opened. They both looked at the man, who looked shaken. He was probably in his mid-sixties or early seventies, as the beard on his face was patchy and grey. The hair on his head was like a small cloud bundled in the middle, yet you could still see the his scalp. His eyes were wide with shock, fear, you name it, this guy had it. "H-hi." He mustered, straightening the ends of his grey suit. His stomach stuck out quite a bit, so he stuffed the ends of the white shirt into his jeans quickly.
(Y/N) knew him - and despised him. His name was Gregory. They had struck a deal with him, and he was good for it, but its exactly what caused all this mess. If (Y/N) had no one other than Negan to blame, she would blame Gregory as well.
"Gregory?" Negan asked, not waiting for the man to answer. "I don't give a shit. Hi, I'm Negan." He said, pushing his way in, taking Gregory with him by the collar. "I heard from a little bird that you aren't giving us enough."
"W-well, it's been hard."
"Yeah, hasn't it?" Negan held him by the shirt collar, their faces an inch apart. "You make me drive all the way out here just to tell me 'it's been hard'? Well, fuck your hard winter or whatever bullshit excuse you got. We are here to collect. Nothing less, nothing more. Half is what I say is half." He said in his typical manner of speech. (Y/N) slowly browsed about as Saviors pushed past her and started grabbing everything useful in sight. The ceilings were so high and everything inside was so fancy.
Gregory nodded vigoursly, keeping on his tippy-toes to stay up to where Negan was holding his shirt collar. Negan nodded, letting go of him. Gregory took a step back, his calves hitting the edge of a couch, causing him to fall onto the couch. Negan took a step back, looking Gregory up and down, then smiled. "I don't want to come out here again. Simon's in charge around here. Got it?"
Gregory didn't respond, but he nodded his head so quickly, (Y/N) thought his head might fall off. Negan nodded as well, turning around and walking to the door. He collected (Y/N) on his way out, putting his free arm around her shoulders. She didn't say a word as they walked out the doors and into the sunlight. "What is this place? Hilltop?" She asked, brushing off his arm. He smiled as he spoke, "Yep, place is a shit-show."
"How so?"
"Well, that dumb bastard is a goddamn coward, and they got no real defenses here. It would have been easy to take this place. But, you know me, we save people, we don't kill needlessly. Like your dad does."
"Shut up. We had a reason." (Y/N) wasn't lying, she just didn't want to say. She wasn't sure how much Negan knew, so she kept her lips pressed shut. He stopped walking, raising an eyebrow. "And that was..? Please, (Y/N), tell me why you killed half the outpost in their sleep, like cowards." His words were sharper towards the end of his sentence.
She spun around on her heels, marching up to him. She stopped in finger-tips length of him, looking up at him, his few extra inches gave him the advantage of towering over her. "We killed them before they could kill us. It's kill or be killed out here, you would know that better than anyone. And who the fuck are you to judge us? You're a fucking psychopath. You take what you want, murder innocent people, you make people bow to you! Who the fuck are you to judge us, Negan?" She dramatically shook her head, her eyebrows pressed down flat.
He smiled at her. He liked how she was so passionate about certain topics and how she wasn't afraid to be vulgar and rude in front of him now. She was adjusting, and he knew she would. He knew it would take time for her to fully adjust into her new life, and this was a start. Yet, he had to remind her who's in charge.
"That's right. I am. But that isn't yours to say. So, shut the fuck up before I beat Carl's head in as well."
Something came over her, and the next thing she knew, Saviors were dragging her off of him, pressing her head into the mud. Thick blood drizzled down from Negan's face, down his chin, and staining the collar of his white shirt. He slowly got up, smiling and letting out a bellowing laugh. (Y/N) spat out hair and mud, her arms held painfully behind her back. Negan told the men to get off her, so they did. She slowly got up, wiping the mud from her face. She could swear his smile just kept stretching. "Oh, (Y/N). That was such a mistake." He said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the truck, seriousness in his voice, his smile dropping.
"If you ever talk about Carl like that again, I'll fucking kill you asshole!" (Y/N) managed to say before Simon handed a strip of ductape tape to Negan, in which he slapped it over her mouth. He held her chin close to him, letting out a satisfied sigh as she could only glare at him.
"Not if I kill you first." He said, placing a kiss on her forehead.