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-Kyleigh's POV-
"Psst. Kyleigh. Are you awake?"
I peep one eye open, not replying. I briefly see Ashton looking at me expectantly before I close my eyes again. I'm way too tired for this right now.
"I saw that," Ashton says.
A small smile appears on my face as I pull the blanket further up to cover my face, "No you didn't."
"Kyleighhhhhhhh. Wake upppppp," Ashton whines.
I turn over on my side to face him, finally opening up both of my eyes, "What do you want, loser?"
"I'm bored," Ashton pouts.
My face falls, "Are you serious? You woke me up to tell me that you're bored?"
A smile spreads across his face again, "Yes."
"Ugh, you suck," I say, throwing a pillow at him, "What time is it anyway?"
He checks his watch, "11:48."
I sit up and stretch, "Oh, it's actually later than I thought it would be."
"Exactly. I've been waiting for you to wake up for forever," Ashton exaggerates. I give him a disbelieving look and he folds, "Fine. So I woke up like ten minutes ago. But no one else is awake yet, and I am bored."
I look at the floor and see Dylan and Tyler still peacefully sleeping. It's been two days since we escaped from that hell house. We know we have to move soon, but with half of our people either injured or exhausted, we decided to take a day to rest. Plus, we were slightly worried that Harry and the rest of that group are still out there looking for us.
"Did you check the bedroom?" I ask.
"Honestly, no. But if anyone was awake, they probably would have come in here," Ashton points out.
I nod, "That's fair."
Erica, Luke, Calum, Jensen, Jared, and Abigail are still staying in the bedroom, while Ashton, Tyler, Dylan, and I took the living room. I yawn before asking, "Okay, fine. Now that I'm up, what do you want to do?"
"Ummmm, I don't know. I didn't think that far ahead," Ashton says.
I roll my eyes and laugh, "Wow. I'm so glad you decided to wake me up."
"It's been a while since we went scavenging. Maybe we can check out the house next door?" Ashton suggests.
Since Michael's death, Ashton has wanted to stay busy non-stop. I don't know if he went longer than five minutes between yesterday and today without talking or doing something. I recognize that this is his way of coping, which makes my heart feel heavy.
I nod, "Sure."
Ashton excitedly stands up, "Great. I'll go grab my stuff."
I stand up and start grabbing my own supplies while Ashton runs upstairs. I try to be as quiet as possible so as to not wake up either of the boys. I walk to the kitchen and find a piece of paper and a pen to write a quick note, letting everyone know where we're going. I walk over to leave it on the coffee table next to where the guys are sleeping, but I accidentally kick Dylan's leg and stumble forward.
"Oh my God. I am so sorry," I immediately apologize as Dylan groggily wakes up.
Tyler rolls over next to him, "What's happening?"
"I accidentally tripped over Dylan," I say as a faint blush spreads across my cheeks, "Are you okay?"
Dylan blinks a few times as he wakes up before saying, "Yeah, I'm completely fine. Don't worry about it."
The smile on his face makes me feel a little better. He then notices the note that's still in my hand, "What's that?"
"Ashton and I are going scavenging next door," I tell them and take an awkward pause before asking, "Do you want to come?"
Tyler and Dylan glance at each other before nodding, "Sure."
"Cool. Ashton should be ready soon."
A few minutes pass by as the boys get their things, and Ashton comes back down the stairs asking, "Ready to go?"
"Yup," I say as I slip on my shoes, "Dylan and Tyler are coming with us by the way."
Ashton bitterly smiles, "Cool."
A few people in the group still aren't too fond of Dylan and Tyler, Ashton being one of them. Understandably so since they are heavily connected to Michael's death, but I can't hold that against them. If anything, they helped us get out of there before things could get even worse. I realize I have known them for barely any time, and for more than half that time they were keeping us as prisoners, but I have decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. If anything, I gave Jared, Jensen, and Abigail the benefit of the doubt, and they turned out to be cool, so hopefully I can go 2 for 2.
The boys meet us by the entrance, and Ashton unlocks the front door before the four of us slip out. The sun is peeking through the clouds, and a chilly wind blows through the trees.
I pull my jacket tighter around my body, "It feels like it's going to storm today."
"Yeah," Tyler agrees, "It's a good thing we're not going far."
I nod and we all follow Ashton to the house next door. We spot a few walkers down the road, but they're far enough away that we don't bother. There's a fence surrounding the house and Ashton unlatches the lock.
"It's a good sign that the fence is still intact," Dylan comments.
"Yeah. Maybe no one ransacked this house and there are still supplies in there," Tyler adds.
"Or this is someone's base," Ashton reminds us, "Just keep an eye out."
We walk up the pathway and up the stairs to the front door. Ashton reaches for the doorknob, jiggling it briefly before saying, "It's locked."
"Should we check the back door?" I ask.
The three boys agree, so I lead the way to the backyard. I walk up to the slide door, praying that it will open.
I grab the handle and forcefully push on it, but the door doesn't budge.
"Shit," I say, "This one is locked too."
Tyler walks over to a window nearby. He contemplates trying to open it but quickly realizes that it would be an absolutely terrible idea with his arm.
"Does someone want to try the window?" Tyler suggests.
Ashton walks over and places both hands on either side of the window pane before pushing up. The window slides up with ease and the four of us celebrate.
"Holy shit. I did not think that would actually work," Tyler says with wide eyes.
Ashton nods at him, "Smart thinking."
Tyler smiles and Dylan offers, "Here. I'll climb through and open the slider."
No one protests as Dylan throws his bag through the window and follows in after it. A few seconds later, he is opening the slide door for us.
"Ta-da," Dylan smiles and jokingly bows.
"Very nice," I laugh as I step inside.
The four of us walk further into the house, and we do a quick sweep of the main floor before Ashton suggests, "Do you two want to take upstairs while Kyleigh and I will check the basement?"
"Sounds good to me," Dylan says, and Tyler and I nod in agreement.
Dylan and Tyler head upstairs while Ashton and I walk around looking for the basement door. Eventually, I open the right door, and we look down the stairs, realizing it's pitch black down there.
"That's a bit spooky," I comment, squinting to see if I can make anything out.
"Yeah," Ashton agrees, "Should we just check this floor?"
I shrug and pull out the flashlight from my bag, "We may as well check the basement out since we're here."
"Lead the way," Ashton states, holding his hand out for me to go first. I turn on the light and take a hesitant step to the first stair. Even with the light from the flashlight, it's still hard to make anything out.
I'm about to take another step, but Ashton grabs my shoulder, "Hold on."
"What?" I question, a little on edge.
I watch as he turns around and grabs a miniature metal basket from a nearby table.
"I don't want us to be caught off-guard in the dark," Ashton explains before he throws the basket down the stairs.
"Smart," I acknowledge as the basket loudly clangs down the last few steps before landing at the base of the stairs. We wait for a few seconds, not hearing anything stir from below us.
"You guys alright?" Tyler yells from upstairs.
"Yeah! We're good!" I call back before confidently walking down the next few stairs. Ashton turns on his own flashlight and starts travelling behind me, but I freeze as I hear faint growling coming from the corner of the room. I shine the flashlight to the left, seeing a frail and shriveled-up version of a zombie. The zombie slowly shuffles towards me, but it's so weak it can't manage more than a laggard pace. I pull my knife out and walk up to it to put it out of its misery.
"Damn. Kind of feel bad for the guy," Ashton comments.
I shine my light around the room, ensuring nothing else is in here with us.
"Me too," I agree once I feel safe enough, "It looks like he has been down here for a while."
Ashton wistfully nods, and we split up, looking around the main room. The basement is relatively bare; just some old books, a worn-down couch, and an old TV. I hear Ashton open another door, but I continue searching where I am. I open some cabinets, finding nothing necessarily useful in them.
"Fucking jackpot," Ashton excitedly announces a few minutes later from the back corner of the room, "Kyleigh, you have to see this."
"What is it?" I ask as I travel over to the second room. I take a step in and my mouth drops, "Oh my God."
"I know, right?" Ashton elatedly giggles.
In front of us are rows and rows of various alcohol. The room is essentially a mini cellar. Most of the bottles are opened already, but there is still more alcohol than we could even consume.
"What should we do with it?" I question, picking up a random bottle.
"I mean, we can't really travel with all of this...but it would be a damn shame if we left it here," Ashton declares.
"Are you saying...?" I say as I place the bottle back.
"GUESS WHO'S GETTING DRUNK TONIGHT?" Ashton laughs. He jokingly grabs my hand and twirls me around, causing me to giggle with him.
"Everyone is going to be so excited," I smile, "I'm gonna go look for a box or something to carry this back."
"Sounds good. I'll start filling up my backpack," Ashton says, swinging the bag off his back.
I exit the room and run back up the stairs. As I'm about to call up to Dylan and Tyler, I turn the corner and run straight into something. A scream catches in my throat as I stumble backward. I look up and realize I ran into Abigail.
"Geez Louise, you scared me," I say, placing my hand over my heart.
Erica laughs from beside her, "We found your note so the two of us decided to check the house out."
I nod and then suddenly beam, "ASHTON AND I FOUND SOMETHING."
They both look startled by the excitement laced in my tone, but Abigail questions, "What did you find?"
"I'll show you in a second, but we need to find a box. A sturdy box so we can carry it back to the other house," I say.
"Why does that sound so ominous?" Erica says, but they don't question it further as we search the main floor.
Abigail eventually walks into a room and comes back out with a laundry basket, "Would this work?"
"That's perfect," I say, "Follow me."
I direct them to the basement and we walk down the stairs.
Erica spots the dead walker in the dim lighting and says, "It's kind of creepy down here."
"It is. But I'm glad we came down here," I say and walk over to the cellar.
"Ash, Erica and Abigail are here," I inform him as we approach the room.
"Hey! You guys will never believe what we found," Ashton smiles as he excitedly waves them into the room. The two of them step in and their mouths literally drop as their eyes travel across the alcohol.
"We're thinking we could throw a party tonight," I say.
"WAIT, THIS IS SO FUN," Erica immediately says.
"We could definitely use a break like this," Abigail agrees, placing the laundry basket on the floor.
The four of us start piling the remaining alcohol in the basket. Once it's full, Ashton picks it up and we walk back upstairs.
"Where are Dylan and Tyler?" Erica asks when we reach the living room.
"We're right here!" Tyler calls out as they walk down the stairs.
"Did you guys find anything?" I ask when they enter the room.
"We found a few things. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, some random over-the-counter meds, plus some jackets since it's getting colder. What about you guys?" Dylan questions.
"Look for yourselves," Ashton says and dramatically moves to the side to reveal the basket of alcohol.
"Holy shit," Tyler laughs.
"We're going to throw the best fucking apocalyptic party ever," Erica grins.
The six of us soon decide to leave and go back to the other house. The rest of the guys are awake and sitting in the living room when we enter through the front door.
"Who's ready to party?" Erica asks as Ashton places the basket on the table.
"Looks like you guys were successful," Jensen laughs, walking over to see what we brought.
"Yup. I know we're planning on leaving the area soon, but finding this is a clear sign to have a party tonight instead," I grin.
"I'm so down," Calum smiles.
Some of the group begins looking through the options while Jared, Abigail, Luke, Erica, and I gather in the kitchen.
"How was scavenging with Dylan and Tyler?" Jared quietly asks.
"It was fine. Ashton and I were separated from them for most of it, but they seemed chill," I answer.
Jared nods, but I notice the skepticism on his face.
"Why? What's up?" I question.
"I don't know. I still don't feel completely comfortable around them yet. I mean, should we trust getting drunk around them?" Jared whispers.
"I trust them," Erica shrugs.
"I don't mind them either. I'm also probably not going to drink, so I can keep an eye out," Abigail reassures him.
"Awww, why not?" Erica asks.
"I'm not a huge fan of alcohol," Abigail shrugs, "Plus, it's more fun to watch drunk people."
"That's fair," Erica laughs.
"What about you? What do you think about the guys?" Jared asks Luke.
Luke takes a second to respond, which surprises me. He's usually the most distrusting of new people.
"We should have fun tonight. I honestly don't think they're a threat. There are only two of them and one of them is injured, so even if they did try anything, they'd lose. But they seem like genuine guys," Luke finally answers.
I can sense the suspicion lingering in Jared's eyes, but he seems a little more relaxed as he says, "I hope you guys are right."
"We will be," Erica smiles confidently.
The five of us decide to go back to the living room. I sit down on the couch and try to get comfortable when suddenly, a menacingly loud clap of thunder ricochets through the sky.
"That was slightly terrifying," Jensen says with an awkward laugh.
"Was it raining outside?" Jared asks.
"No, but it is now," Dylan says as he peeks out the window. Loud raindrops hit the house, and dark skies cover over any sign of sunlight.
"I guess you guys got back at the right time," Calum says with wide eyes.
"Definitely," Erica agrees.
"Does anyone else have their flashlight?" Ashton asks, "It's getting kind of dark in here."
I reach to grab mine but then realize, "Shoot. I must have left mine at the other house."
"That's fine. We can get it tomorrow," Ashton says and I nod.
"We don't have flashlights," Tyler comments, speaking for both him and Dylan.
"What about you, Jensen?"
"Uh, the batteries in mine are dead," Jensen tells us, tapping the dead flashlight against the base of his palm.
"Okay, I think I'm going to quickly run over and grab mine now," I chuckle standing up, "Maybe I can find some spare batteries."
"Are you sure? It seems like it's starting to storm pretty badly out there," Ashton says.
"Yeah. I'm only going next door; it should only take a second," I reply.
"I'll go with her," Luke speaks up, pulling the only other flashlight we have from his bag.
"Are you sure? You don't have to," I quickly say.
"I want to," Luke responds, putting his bag on his back.
"Okay. You guys should find some cups or shot glasses while we're gone," I suggest to the group.
"I'll look for them," Calum says, standing up.
"Be safe," Erica says as Luke and I head towards the door.
"We will be," I say before opening the door.
Luke and I step out into the rain and get soaked within seconds. I take a few steps, but the rain is so intense it's slightly blinding me.
"Oh my God. I did not think it would be this bad," I laugh as we struggle to walk forward.
"It's terrible," Luke chuckles, wiping droplets from his eyes.
Suddenly, he turns towards me and says, "I challenge you to a race. The last one inside the house is a rotten egg."
Before I have a chance to respond, Luke takes off, leaving me in the dust.
"Luke!" I squeal and chase after him. I can hear him laughing as he sprints ahead and reaches to open the latch on the gate. He unlocks it with ease and throws it open so I can also run through it. I watch as Luke runs to the front door, not knowing that it's locked. I can feel the victory as I immediately make a beeline for the slide door in the back.
"DAMNIT," I hear Luke yell from behind me.
I laugh, almost slipping in the muddy backyard, but I eventually get to the door and run inside.
I stand near the door, wiping water from my face and waiting for him to enter.
He dejectedly walks through the door and I smile, "Hey, loser."
"That was unfair. You knew the front door was locked," Luke protests.
I ignore what he says and sing-song, "You're a rotten egg."
"You're such a child," Luke grins, shaking the water from his hair.
"Says the one who challenged me to a race," I retort.
"Whatever," Luke says, but I notice the glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
"I kind of regret everything now. I feel like a drowned rat," I say, looking at the puddle that has formed underneath me.
"You look like a drowned rat," Luke teases, turning on his flashlight and shining it on me.
"Hey," I jokingly frown and hit his arm, "You're just upset cause I beat you in a race."
"I admit nothing," Luke smirks.
I shake my head and turn around, "We should probably look for the flashlight and batteries."
"Where do you think you left it?" He asks.
"Right here," I say as I spot it on the table in the living room. I pick it up and turn it on to brighten the room.
"That was easy," Luke says.
"Yup. I was also thinking we could maybe find a remote to see if the batteries work? I don't think we'll be lucky enough to stumble on new ones," I say.
"That's smart. Do you know if the house has a TV?" Luke asks.
"Yeah. There's one in the basement," I say, remembering it from earlier. I direct us to the creepy basement and walk back down the stairs. I find the remote for the TV on the table and tap out the AA batteries.
"Hopefully these work," I say, slipping them in my pocket.
"If they don't, we should keep an eye out for batteries when we're scavenging in stores," Luke responds.
"Definitely," I agree. I lead us back up the stairs since I don't want to be down there any longer than I have to.
We get back to the main floor and I turn to face him, "How do you actually feel about the new guys? I feel like you're being surprisingly trusting."
Luke shrugs, "I trust you. And you trust them. So I'll trust them until they give me a reason not to."
His answer warms my heart and I can't help but smile.
"I do trust them. They went through a lot to help us when they didn't have to," I say.
"And I'm grateful they did," Luke says. We make eye contact and I try to read the emotion in his eyes, but I can't. So instead, I turn on my heel and say, "We should probably get back to the party."
"Yeah," Luke agrees.
We walk back to the living room and exit through the slide door. The thunder and lightning have become less frequent, but the rain is as steady as ever.
We are silent as we travel to the front of the house. Luke unlatches the gate and holds it open for me, and I say a small thank you as I walk through. We walk all the way to the front lawn of the house we're staying at when Luke abruptly says, "Wait."
I pause where I am and turn to look at him.
"Yeah?"
"Before we go back in, I want to tell you something," Luke says.
My heart thuds dully as I wait for him to speak again. Rain rapidly descends from the clouds and plummets down to the land, where it is then devoured by the earth. It feels like I'm standing there for an eternity waiting for him to speak when in reality, it's only been seconds.
He finally looks back at me and says, "As you may know, I'm really bad at expressing my feelings sometimes. I hyperfocus on the right thing to say and the right way to say it, but I always somehow manage to screw it up. And I feel like I'm already kind of screwing it up right now because I am beating around what I'm actually trying to say, but I've been thinking of telling you for God knows how long now, and I could never find the right time or think of the best way to tell you, and I have absolutely no clue why I chose right now in the middle of a rainstorm to tell you this, but Kyleigh, I like you. And not in a 'hey, you're a cool person' kind of way. I want more."
I feel an intense blush come across my cheeks as I process what he said. I look up at him with a soft smile and say, "Wow. I never pegged you for a rambling type."
Luke's hand nervously goes to rub the back of his neck, "Yeah, I'm not great at these types of things."
The smile remains on my face, and I can feel butterflies freely roaming in my stomach as I look up at him.
"Can you please say something else? You're kind of killing me here," Luke jokes nervously.
I lightly laugh before saying, "I like you too, Luke."
"Really?" He says, slightly in shock.
"Yes, you idiot. Of course I like you," I say.
A smile of pure relief spreads across his face. He takes a step toward me, and one of his hands moves to gently rest on my jawline. I can feel my heart begin to race as he leans down and kisses me. Despite the cold and chaotic weather outside, his lips are warm and soft. It's a simple kiss, but the entire moment feels nothing short of perfect.
He pulls back, a smile still lingering on both of our faces. He then gestures to the house, "We should probably head inside. I don't want you catching a cold from the rain."
"Sounds good to me. It's freezing out here," I laugh.
Luke smiles before reaching down, intertwining our fingers, and leading me back to the house.