"Can I ask you something?" Beth spoke up, her and Austin sat across from each other, the tips of their shoes pushed together. She messed with the wish bone necklace he made her. They were switching off on who was holding Judith for the hour, keeping her entertained.
He nodded. "Always."
"Am I your very first girlfriend?" her question made his face turn bright red and eyes grow wide. She had to laugh. "It's okay, i'm just wondering."
Austin gave her a nervous, embarrassed laugh. "I mean...yeah."
"But, you liked other girls before?" she asked.
"Beth, is there a meaning behind these very embarrassing questions?" he gave her a half grin, Judith's hand holding his pinkie as he bounced his hand in the slightest.
"I'm just curious." the blonde defended herself with a minor grin. "I've never heard you say anything about any past girlfriends like I have."
"No, you're my first lady friend." he exhaled with another embarrassing look.
"How come you never dated anyone else?" Beth moved her feet so the tips of her shoes moved against his. "You can't tell me girls didn't like you."
"I'd like to remind you that I use to have little glasses and this was before mother nature took over my very flat hair." he pointed out with a laugh. "I also thought the end of the world would be me talking to a girl willingly. With you, I was talking in the mirror, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember." she cracked a grin at their first meeting. "You really got that nervous talking to people?"
"It was bad." he inhaled with a half grin. "There was this girl. She was the only girl on the robotics team and I was just, like, in shock that this gorgeous, hilarious, nice girl was into this weird, nerd shit. And we'd talk sometimes, at robotics club, but i'd get so embarrassed. I'm pretty sure she thought I had an actual stutter or that disease old people get when they turn red."
"So, you really liked her." Beth gave a knowing smirk. "I knew you had some type of romantic past."
"I wouldn't say really liked her." Austin shook his head. "But, I just didn't understand why this pretty girl actually wanted to hang out around a bunch of robots and me and my nerdy ass friends."
"So, you never talked to her?" Beth looked like she wanted to hold back a laugh.
"God, no." he shook his head quickly. "I mean, I'd talk to her when she'd talk to me, but that's really it. We had one class together, English with Mr.Hebert. She sat infront of me, and I finished my paper early, because I had nothing better to do. And I got really nosy and looked over her shoulder to see what her personal essay was about."
"Well, what was it?" Beth questioned curiously.
"She wrote about getting really bad nightmares. Like, deep, emotional writing about how traumatized she felt when she woke up." Austin explained, frowning his eyebrows together. "That same week, she quit the robotics team because she had to move three or four states away. So, I obviously wasn't gonna talk to her and embarrassed myself, but I wanted her to know that I thought she was a really good addition to the team and, you know, I hoped she'd be okay."
"So, what'd you do?" Beth leaned on her knees to listen.
"I stayed up all night on youtube learning how to make a dream catcher, for her bed dreams. It was so hard, I took three crying breaks." he laughed at the memory, making her laugh in return. "But, I got it finished about ten minutes before going to school. It was small but I liked it. I remember I attached these little beads to five little strings, and weaved the middle part. That's what had me crying because it was so difficult."
"So, you gave it to her on her last day?" the Greene girl blinked, waiting for him to go on.
"No, I left it in her backpack with a little note saying it was from Austin, who was in her robotics class, with the blue backpack and glasses." a little grin went across his face. "I don't know, I just felt bad for her. Having to deal with those nightmares."
Beth grinned. "You romantic."
"What can I say? Ladies man." Austin shrugged dramatically in return as Beth laughed.
"Austin?" Rick looked around the corner to get his attention. "Come with me."
"Hershel! I literally am about to hit my head on this wall for fun!" Austin called from inside the cell.
"Austin, you have to stay away from people incase you were exposed." Hershel said from the other side, a piece of cloth over his face.
"How's my lady friend?" he leaned on the bars. "She doing okay?"
"She's fine, she's with Judith." he nodded as he felt his forehead. "You're feeling okay, anything unusual happening?"
"No, i'm-" Austin started, clearing his throat. "I-"
He coughed suddenly, harshly as he tasted blood. Hershel opened his cell to lead him back in bed, getting the cloth on his mouth. Austin leaned over as he coughed, blood coming from his mouth. "Take a deep breath Austin, steady your breathing."
"Hershel." Austin gaged as he held his throat. "Do something."
"We have to get antibiotics, try to rest, Austin." Hershel rubbed his head. "I'll be back as soon as we can get something."
Austin rolled over, coughing as his vision was getting blurry, weakening as his eyes got heavy.
"Austin." Rick walked in in worry, his face shielded as he sat next to him. "Son, you look terrible."
"Dad." Austin shook his head. "Don't get close to me."
"No, i'm gonna get close to you." he sat next to him as he stared down at him. "Daryl and Michonne are out now, they'll be back soon to help you. You're the first on our list too."
"People are dying." Austin swallowed hard as his red eyes looked at his dad. "I don't wanna die."
"You're not." Rick gave him a stern look. "They'll be back soon, you're gonna be okay."
"Is Car-Is Carl okay?" Austin covered his mouth as he coughed harshly.
"He's in quarantine, Judith and Beth too." he promised him with a nod. "That girl of yours is freaking out, you better get better for her."
Austin forced a smile. "I'll try."
Rick stared down at him in worry, keeping it together as he ran a hand over his face as Austin started to drift off into a sleep again.
Austin got himself a roommate not too long after, him and Glenn leaned against the wall together as Hershel headed their way with two rags. "Keep these on your foreheads. Veterinarian's orders."
"You know-" Austin started, gasping fir air. "I didn't think- I didn't know that i'd ever get treated by a vet before."
Hershel gave him a faint smile. "Better get use to it."
Glenn exhaled as he held his own rag to his head. "This sucks. After everything, we just get taken out by a glorified cold."
"Don't say things like that." Hershel shook his head at him. "Don't even think things like that."
"All I can do is stop saying them." Glenn admitted as Austin's head fell onto his shoulder in exhaustion and pain.
"No, you can do more." the older man looked down onto the two. "We got this far somehow, you can believe somehow."
"Would be easier to believe if I didn't feel like deaths death." Austin admitted as he looked up to him with a tired blink, like it took every cell in his body just to get his eyes to close for half a second.
"We all have jobs here." Hershel looked better the two. "That one's both of y'all's."
Austin's eyes got heavy on Glenn's shoulder again, feeling his arm weakly go around his shoulders.
"It's okay, it's okay." Austin spoke raggedly as him, Glenn, and Sasha all held the boy as Hershel tried to get a tube down the correct path of his throat. He squeezed the bag at the end of the tube to get the man air. The trio were coughing like crazy, stumbling onto each other.
"Drink some of that. All three of you." Hershel encouraged as he nodded toward the cup near the door. Glenn gave it to Austin first. "Some council meeting, huh?"
Austin whipped his lips as he passed it to Sasha as she gave a sickly nod. "We're two members short."
"I think we should make some new rules before they get back." Hershel continued to squeeze the bag as they all sipped at their drinks.
"Like putting me actually on the council?" Austin laid his head on Glenn's shoulder out of pure tiredness.
"Yes, and I hereby declare we have spaghetti Tuesdays every Wednesday." Hershel confirmed, getting a laugh from the sick trio. "First we have to find some spaghetti."
"Yeah." Austin had to laugh as he rubbed his sweaty forehead. "That'll do it."
"You okay to take over?" Hershel glanced toward Sasha as she nodded. "Every five to six seconds, squeeze. You start feeling lightheaded, switch with Austin. We'll take it in shifts."
"Yeah." Austen mumbled as he scooted closer to Sasha as he tried to hold himself up.
Hershel looked at Glenn. "Want to help me go on my round?"
"Yeah, sure." Glenn pulled himself up.
"Oh, Austin." Hershel paused as he reached into his pocket. "Bethy wanted me to hand this off to you."
Austin held his hand up with a small smile, taking the wish bone necklace she wore since the first night at the prison.
The growling woke Austin, a gun fire not long after. He got out of bed, opening his cell and immediately being met with a walker. He struggled with it, yelling out in panic at his weakened state fell back. "Hershel! Glenn!"
Austin coughed against the walker that had been onto of him, trying to get it off but having nothing to kill it with. A gun shot hit its head, Hershel taking one of the guns from the bitten and saving Austin. He panted on the floor, shoving it off as he watched Hershel go up the stairs to flip a walker over the railing and save Lizzy. Austin struggled to move. "Glenn."
"Open the door!" Maggie beat on the door, Ausdin looked toward it as he tried to get up. "Austin! Come on, sweetie! Come get the door."
Austin's arms gave out on him as he hit the ground again, coughing as blood shot onto the prison floors. He whimpered. "Maggie."
A shot came from inside of the room Hershel took the patients that died, glass shattering. It wasn't long until he felt arms pick him up and pull him to his feet. Austin grabbed the stairs railing as he looked. "Maggie."
"Hi." she hugged him, scanning him over. "Are you bit?"
"No." Austin looked up the stairs. "Your dad and Glenn. Something happened."
Shots came from up the stairs, Hershel shooting walkers. Looking up, the saw Hershel crawling along the fenced ceiling, a walker with him. "Daddy!"
Maggie held her gun up as Hershel saw. "No! You could hit the bag. We need it for Glenn."
Maggie steadied her hand, hitting the walking anyways and thankfully missing the bag. "Where is he?"
"He's up here." Hershel spoke as he removed the bag from the walker. "Cell 100."
Maggie helped Austin up the stairs as quick as possible, be grabbed the railing. "Go to him, I'll catch up with you."
Maggie hesitated, making sure Austin had a good grip on the railing before taking off. The Grimes boy groaned and spoke to himself as he drug his body as much as he could, lifting his legs to make sure he move up each step.
"He's turning blue!" Maggie cried out from Glenn's cell.
"Clear his airway. I'm on the way." Hershel spoke quickly, Austin tried to get himself to move fasted as he cried out, hitting the stairs. He resulted in crawling the rest of the way, pulling on the railing as his legs had a better balance then his feet ever would in this state. Austin made it to the top, hearing loud gurgling as the sound of Hershel's reassuring tone came through.
Austin made it to the cell, his body falling next to it as he saw Glenn with the tube down his throat. "Glenn."
"Austin." Maggie helped him in, his head falling onto her chest as she held Glenn with the other hand.
Hershel looked to her. "I didn't want you in here."
"I know." Maggie frowned down to Glenn. "I had to. Just like you."
"All right, Austin." Hershel held a rag to Austin's head. "You hang in there just a little bit loner."
Austin nodded, holding the rag to his head as Lizzy crept in. Hershel looked up at her. "I told you to stay put."
"Is it over?" she asked, her eyes casted down.
"I hope so, honey." Maggie reassuring her, kissing Austin on the forehead as he breathed raggedly on her.
"Austin!" Beth called out days and days later when the antibiotics kicked in, healing him.
"Beth." Austin smiled, catching her in his arms as she hugged him tightly. "Oh, I was missing you in there."
"You feeling okay?" she pulled back and held his face.
"Never better." he hummed, his eyes still sunken in, but better, and back with her. He would be okay as long as he was with her.
•
kylie speaks
there was so many underlining
and important LITTLE things in
this chapter. that's all i'm gonna
say.