-
You closely follow behind Brody, Violet, Clementine and AJ.
It's hard to deny that it's peaceful out this way, the sounds of the water from some river nearby and the random chirp of a bird leaves you taking it all in. The passing thought of some disney theme music romanticizing the scenery that you see doesn't really help keep your face blank.
"Y'know I've been thinking... I wish we could all go on a road trip together," Brody says.
"Why bother? It's not like there's anything worth seeing anymore," Violet mutters.
"Oh, c'mon. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff to see. Maybe Y/n could show us around. She's the wanderer after all!"
You smile when everyone glances back at you. "That sounds pretty cool. Kinda hard to navigate on the roads but I'd be glad to show you guys around."
Violet glances up at you. "Well when you put it like that, it does sound kinda cool."
You approach a bridge. You immediately take notice of the shack ahead and some rusted car that's definitely seen better days. You look around more and notice Clementine is staring directly at you for some reason, her hazel eyes pierce through you. You shake it off because she quickly looks away when you notice.
"Are we heading to the car?" AJ finally speaks up.
Clementine shakes her head. "No kiddo, it's broken."
"Good. I'm sick of the car."
Brody approaches the rusted blue truck. "I wish this old rust bucket was still working. We could just jump in and start driving." She places her hand on the back of the truck. "We could take turns sitting in the back- it'd be like one of those cars with the top that goes down."
"We'd run out of gas eventually," Violet says curtly, crossing her arms.
Brody turns around. "But still- It's fun to imagine, isn't it?"
Violet rolls her eyes and turns around with a sharp sigh. You're not sure what's the deal between her and Brody, but it obviously isn't anything good. Violet takes a few steps back to the bridge, staring down at the flowing river. The tension between the two is obvious at this point.
"Where would you go Clem? If you could drive anywhere you wanted? If gas wasn't an issue?" Brody asks with a grin.
"Or a busted carburetor, or flat tires, or the transmission-"
"Buzzkill."
Damn, you didn't know Vi knew so much about cars. You remember when you had to pick up a few books along the way to figure out how the hell your RV even worked. Younger you would've been terribly lost if Vi had mentioned those words at all.
Clementine thinks for a moment. "I'd drive up one of those long roads that wind around the mountains. Follow it all the way to the top," She says in a dreamy voice.
"You could see over the whole world up there, I bet," Brody says with a distant look.
"Yeah, get a nice view of the world while you die of frostbite, sounds like a dream."
"C'mon Vi, would it kill you to live a little?" Brody says.
She goes silent at that.
"I've lived here my entire life. Heck, I'd say I know every inch of these woods. I'd kind of like to un-know it."
Violet turns around and puts a hand on her hip. Her posture is stiff and obviously guarded like the cold look on her face. "No use dreaming of what could be. We've got shit to do."
"Yeah," Brody sighs out, looking away with a somewhat sad look on her face. "I guess we should get to work on those fish. C'mon we've got spears inside."
"You go ahead. I'll stay out here," Violet says.
-
You all walk inside. AJ wanders off with only a look you could describe as awe and intrigue to the new setting. It was interesting, to say the least, you knew it looked run-down from the outside, but this wasn't what you were expecting the inside to look like at all. Hell, you don't even know what you were expecting it to look like if you're being honest.
"Where are those damn spears?" Brody murmurs to herself and crouches down. She looks around for a moment but doesn't see them.
You glance around and immediately notice them next to you and Clementine, though before you can speak up Brody starts talking again.
"About Vi..." She rises up, turning to the two of you. "I'm sorry she's being a little mean. It's my fault."
"What do you mean?" Clementine asks.
If you were being honest, you're interested too. Out of all the groups you've been in and seen the drama in, some of them never seem to get old, and there's always some in every group you find yourself in.
"I was there when those walkers killed Sophie and Minnie. They were really close with Vi and... I think she blames me for it. I mean.. how do you even apologize for something that fucked up?" She sighs. "I don't know. Guess I deserve it."
"It wasn't your fault, these things happen," Clementine says, taking a few steps forward while she does so.
"Still I was the one who had to break the news to her. And ever since I did, she's become distant." She scoffs lightly. "We all used to be friends. Guess I just kinda miss that."
"But when Y/n- you and Y/n showed up and..." she pauses for a moment. "I don't know, just haven't seen her warm up to anyone in a long time."
Clementine glances at you and you stare at the ground in thought.
Yeah, Violet has been cold for the most part, that's her thing. But you never minded it. It keeps things interesting for you... and she has her sweet moments if you count last night as proof. To you, Violet's a big ol' softie waiting to be cracked open.
A gust of wind brushes past you and snaps you out of your thoughts. You glance at the broken window, glancing over the spears next to it. Yeah okay, this place is definitely more run-down than you initially thought.
Brody hums and walks over to the spears when she notices you and Clementine's line of vision.
"Do you... I mean- I hate to ask this of you. But do you think you guys think you could talk to her?"
You and Clementine glance at each other in thought. "See how she feels? About me? It's just been eating me up inside," Brody nervously rushes out when she notices you glance at each other.
"Sure thing, we can help," Clementine says with a grin, much to Brody's relief. She looks at you for confirmation and you just salute her playfully, making her laugh slightly.
"That- wow that's great! Thank you guys" Brody stumbles over her words in happiness. She picks up the spears and a bucket on the ground. "I'm gonna go check our fish traps downstream."
"Hey! What the fuck's taking you guys so long?" You hear Violet say from outside.
"See?" Brody says, glancing at you and Clementine. "I'll take this to Vi, there should be some extra's lying around." And with that, she walks out the door.
You and Clementine glance at each other.
There's a pause and you swear her eyes flicker to somewhere else along your body, though you couldn't pinpoint where because she quickly looks away. You glance away too as another cold breeze brushes your exposed neck. Now that you think about it, you two have never actually been alone, just to talk between the two of you without any distractions or tension you couldn't address. You weren't sure how you'd handle it when it came to that if you were going to be honest.
So when she looks away you quickly take the opportunity to nervously walk away from her, and right to AJ.
He's staring at something on the wall and you place a hand onto the table next to him, snapping him out of his daze.
"Y/n?"
You raise your eyebrow at him and he glances at you for a moment. "What is that? V plus M?"
It doesn't take you long for you to notice what he's talking about, the letters are engraved into the wall and surrounded by a heart with what looks like an arrow piercing through it. You hold back a laugh and look around, Clementine doesn't seem to be too focused on you two, and if she was, she wasn't making it known since she was still all the way across the room.
"Well uhm... it means that they were a couple," You say, inspecting a bag of soil next to your feet.
"What?"
"Violet was Minnie's girlfriend," You respond, smiling when you notice the understanding rest in his features.
"Oh. Love," He says simply, and you nod.
With that Clementine walks up with two spears in hand. She hands one to you and you silently thank her with a grin, surprisingly she doesn't hesitate to smile back, making your chest feel strange.
"Cool," AJ murmurs, staring up at the spear in your hand.
"Ready to catch some fish?" Clementine speaks up, a smile still present on her features.
"Yeah."
-
You three step out of the small house in silence, which was surprisingly not awkward like you'd assume it'd be. The sound of birds and the leaves brushing against each other immediately swarms your senses as all of you walk over to Violet.
She murmurs a few curses to herself when she misses a fish, pulling back her spear.
"Can we join you?" Clementine speaks up as she approaches the rocks Violet stands on.
She squints at the river for a moment, then shrugs, responding in a short sure. She steps back a little, almost bumping into you. "Hey, check out these guys over here."
You step aside a little and peer down at the river, immediately taking notice of all the fish. "They're swimming against the current?" You mumble curiously.
"Guess they don't realize it makes them easier targets."
"I wanna try!" AJ is quick to say after Violet stops speaking, a smile now on his face.
She glances back at him, "Take a spear. Go nuts."
Clementine hands him her spear and he doesn't hesitate to run off with a grin. You shake your head softly at the kid before taking a spot next to Violet on the rocks. Clementine gets on the rock on the opposite side and picks up a spear resting on it, testing the weight in her hands.
"Go ahead and try, they're not exactly running." Violet says.
Clementine takes aim and stabs into the water, pulling out a fish as big as her head. You weren't sure if the fish was big or Clementine was really small, but either way, the sight had you holding back a grin.
"I got... something." Clementine says, twisting the spear slightly to stare at the fish from a different angle.
"Good enough for me," Violet says, pulling back her spear to get ready to catch another fish, she pauses, "Hey, uhm, sorry if I was weird last night... about the room thing. Seeing someone else in there... Uh, it was harder than I expected," She says to no one in particular, keeping her eyes trained on the river.
"Don't sweat it, I'm glad all of us got to know each other," Clementine says.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I am too."
Just as they say that you pull back your spear from the water in a sharp movement, a fish impaled on the tip of your spear.
You pull up your gaze and wiggle your eyebrows playfully when Violet's eyes catch yours, making her roll her eyes with a grin, you then toss the fish into the bucket in between her and Clementine. You step back onto your rock, though before you can try again a voice makes you pause.
"Heads up, guys, the haul's not looking that great!" Brody calls from across the way.
"Uh, yeah, okay!" Violet says, and you have to hold back a laugh at the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. "God. Sometimes she just gets on my last nerve, you know?"
You hum, keeping your gaze trained on the water. "That much is obvious."
"I mean, it's- it's not like I hate her... I just... 'I wish we could all go on a road trip together,'" Vi mocks, and you can't help but snort.
"She definitely thinks you hate her," Clementine says.
Violet pauses in thought before shaking her head, letting out an angry yell as she stabbed directly into the water, pulling out a fish with ease. You decide to direct your focus on the water instead of commenting on her anger. You stab into the water and just barely miss the fish that went zooming by in the water.
"I got one!" You turn around and see AJ running up to you all with a spear in his hand and a grin on his face. He shows off the fish he caught. "Clem, Y/n, I got one!"
"Good job." Clementine says and you give him proud smile. He shakes the fish into the bucket and quickly runs off with a grin.
"I don't know what's the big deal between me and her." Violet turns back around, crossing her arms, "Why is it so weird? I can never relax around her, it just keeps getting worse."
"Maybe because she never said sorry. About Sophie and Minnie and not being able to save them." Clementine says. Her voice is light and soothing when she speaks, obviously free of judgment to the situation and you wonder if Violet can sense it too.
You nod quickly after Clementine speaks, shoving your hands into the pockets of your pants. "It's not easy for either of you I can tell. I know firsthand how much it hurts.. In both of your eyes."
Violet looks at you sympathetically but you keep your stare focused on the rock you were rolling around with your boot. "She tell you guys all that?" She asks.
You shrugged, tilting your head slightly to glance at her. "More or less."
"She wants to talk about it y'know," Clementine mumbles.
"I just feel... guilty about it I guess."
You raise your eyebrow at that and you and Clementine say why at the same time, your voices overlapping each other.
"I was supposed to be out with the twins that day. I wanted to work in the greenhouse so I asked Brody to cover for me. But then..." She trails off, screwing her eyes shut with a soft shake of her head. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."
"I... I wanted to talk to Brody, to tell her I didn't blame her for what happened. But everytime I tried I was reminded of who we lost." She pauses to take a deep breath and her angry voice calms down significantly. "So I decided it was easier not to talk about it."
You notice Brody walking up before any of you could say anything and Violet's gaze flickers between her and the ground for a moment. She sighs and picks up the bucket with the fish. She walks off and you worriedly glance at Clementine who is already doing the same, making millions of thoughts run through your head at once.
Clementine calls for AJ and he comes running behind you all, catching up in no time.
"You guys catch any fish?" Brody asks.
"We caught some, but not a lot," You murmur, throwing a quick glance to the bucket.
"I didn't get anything, we should catch up with Louis and Aasim, see if they had any better luck."
You all start walking and as soon as your feet touch the bridge Violet speaks up. "The Grand Canyon."
"What?" Brody asks.
"That's where I'd go. If we took a road trip. Just start driving until we hit the grand canyon." Violet says, clearing up Brody's confusion. You softly shake your head, fighting the urge to grin at the progress you and Clementine made.
"Yeah, that would be cool." Brody mumbles, a grin coming onto her features.
Violet and AJ push forward and Brody falls behind a little to you and Clementine. "Thanks," She whispers low enough for you two to hear, and the grins on their faces was enough for you to start smiling too.
"Hey, you slowpokes coming?"
"Yeah, we're right behind you," Brody responds, giving you and Clementine a soft grin.
-
You're still trailing behind everyone, picking up on the ropes along the way in what you assume are the traps Louis and Aasim were supposed to be dealing with. Clementine finally notices them and stares up at one connected to a tree she walks past. She looks back at you, and you give her a grin which she happily returns.
"Where are those guys?" Brody mutters, causing Clementine to turn her gaze back around much to your disappointment.
"Practicing making out with a toothless walker?" Violet suggests with a hint of a teasing smirk.
"Gross," Brody mumbles, a smile falling onto her face regardless.
"I know, poor walker," Violet says with a shrug, making you all laugh (excluding AJ).
The laughter of you three immediately gets cut short when Violet mutters a soft, "What the hell..."
On the tree you stand in front of, there's a trap like usual, the end of the rope seems to be cut off though.
"I suppose there's something off here?" You ask, examining the trap from behind Clementine and AJ.
"Someone sabotaged this. This isn't good," Violet responds.
"Aasim, Louis!" Brody calls out, making you flinch a little at the abruptness. Why the hell would she start yelling if Violet just said someone sabotaged a trap? Beats you.
"Spread out. See if we can find them," Violet says before she walks off.
"Watch out for monsters," AJ says, Brody gives him a grin and she walks off after Violet.
Clementine walks off and before you can even stop yourself you're following after AJ who doesn't trail after her like he usually does. The hairs on the back of your neck stand slightly and you pull out your knife, just in case.
You walk up next to AJ, and what you see shocks you.
"Clem!" He calls for her, and she glances up from a trap, something now in her hands. "Found something."
The sound of Clementine's boots catch up to you and AJ, before they come to a stop next to you. In front of you three is a zombie hanging from a trap, probably nothing too uncommon. What is worrying though is the makeshift spear piercing through its mouth and out the back of its head.
"Guys! Over here!" Clementine shouts, calling Violet and Brody.
It doesn't take long for them to reach you, because Violet's walking up behind you before stopping abruptly at the sight in front of her.
"Well, we didn't kill this one. We wouldn't have left it hanging in our trap," She mutters in shock.
"What the hell," Brody mutters as she walks up.
"Found this too," Clementine pauses, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket. It's obviously been used recently and it looks as though it's been wrapped in some sort of paper. "Do any of the kids smoke?"
"Nope, nothing to smoke," Violet mumbles somewhat disappointedly, crossing her arms. But you were more so focused on Brody's response- or lack thereof because her eyes widen almost knowingly at it.
"Who's this unlucky fella?" Louis says as he and Aasim walk up. You honestly weren't surprised you immediately recognized his voice before you even looked at him.
"Where have you been?" Clementine is the first to speak up.
"Checking nearby traps. The ones that were sprung were all empty. All the rest were broken," Aasim responds, the rabbits and his bow still clutched in his hands.
"Someone robbed us?" Brody says.
Louis shakes his head and crosses his arms. "Great, and now we're gonna starve."
"Fuck that's... fuck... fuck." Brody stumbles out, walking a few steps away. Her voice is somewhat breathless, her eyes wide and her fists clenched in what you presume is fear. "It's just.. Fuck- it's okay. It's- breathe, Brody. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." She mutters to herself.
She starts hyperventilating, and even from where you're standing you notice her body shaking ever so slightly when she does so.
"You're gonna be fine, it's just a panic attack," Violet says, stepping up slowly, seemingly already used to this behavior. You raise your eyebrows at her words and were surprised you didn't realize it sooner, since you've had a few in your life yourself.
None of Violet's attempts to soothe her stop her insistent mumbling to herself though, if anything it only seems to make it worse.
"Take a second, breathe in deep and hold it," Clementine tries.
"Just shut the fuck up, okay?!" Brody snaps, whizzing around.
Your eyebrows furrow at her words and the harshness laced in them as she spoke. Clementine seems to have the same reaction as you because her eyebrows raise in shock then pinch together. "Excuse me?"
"I have to tell Marlon about this," Brody mutters to herself, her eyes only meeting Clementine's.
"Uhm," Louis speaks up. "We still need food. You know, to live? And we definitely don't have enough here."
Brody's face screws up slightly, and her posture becomes guarded. If anyone else had entered the conversation at the moment you wouldn't be surprised if they picked up on the tension between you all. "You guys figure it out." And she quickly walks past Aasim and Louis without another word.
"I'll take this haul back to the school, maybe we can ration out something," Aasim says a few seconds later, not waiting for a response as he turns and walks after Brody.
"So what do we do? Eat rocks?" Louis says.
"You can't eat rocks," AJ says innocently, staring up confusedly at Louis.
"I'm aware."
"Will Marlon kick us out if we don't find food?" AJ asks, ignoring Louis's sarcasm, his brown eyes peering up at you and Clementine nervously.
"Well, let's not find out," Clementine responds and grabs her map from her back pocket.
"What else could we eat?" Louis grumbles as he watches her unfold it.
"Let me think..."
You scan over the map in her hands then quickly point over her shoulder at the train station located on the map. You miss the way her breath hitches at your close proximity as you were so focused on trying to figure out how you would actually do it. What you do notice is her appreciative nod and grin at your idea, and she quickly closes the map.
"The train station. It's not too far from here." She says as you step back and back at AJ's side.
"Maybe. But it's outside the safe zone." Violet replies, placing a hand on her hip.
"There was food there when Y/n, AJ, and I passed through. It's worth a look."
"You sure there was food?"
"Postive. Yeah, some of it was destroyed in the explosion, but there has to be something left. There was too much of it there not to be."
There's a pause, Violet looks at you for confirmation and she seems to find it in your eyes because she turns to Louis with a questioning gaze.
"Or we could starve," Clementine adds, making you chuckle. Louis shrugs at Violet and she shuts her eyes with a deep exhale, "Fine. Let's go."
And with that, you're all headed to the train station.
_____________________________
Okay okay, this is where things start to pick up in the story. PREtty exciTeD to see how things go! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, thank you for reading
- Junebug :)