Words- 3607
Like a child, Louis laid backwards on his bed, with his feet against the wall. He was bored, extremely bored. Usually, he'd be hanging out with someone from Ericsons, but obviously this wasn't Ericsons. And he wasn't the type of guy to just go out and make new friends.
Violet and Kenya were out sightseeing in Richmond, AJ was with Javier playing baseball. Unfortunately, Louis wasn't able to attend because he wanted to be here when Willow got back from her first mission. Honestly, he wished he went with AJ and Javier, because then his mind wouldn't be so worryful.
Louis sighed, now lifting himself up. In all honesty, he thought about Clementine the most. What was she doing? Was she overwhelmed by herself? Did she miss him as much as he missed her? Louis peeked at his wrist, it had a self-made tattoo on it. He smiled looking at it, being reminded of the fun and wild memory behind it.
"So that's how you got that tattoo." Louis commented, rubbing Clementine's hand where she had 'AJ' tattooed. "Pretty dark story, but when are your stories ever fun?" Louis joked, trying to lighten the mood.
It worked, Clementine didn't mind. She chuckled, and shrugged. "It was a long time ago. But, I'm still glad to have this tattoo even if it's connected to a sad time."
Louis nodded, "Yea, I'm sure." The two of them were sitting on their bed, they had just begun moving into the same dorm together. It was exciting- but also scary. Although Clementine was now living right next to AJ, it still felt like it was too far apart. She had never been away from his side ever since she was 14.
He noticed her concerned look. "It's gonna be fine."
Clementine shrugged, "I know. He's a smart boy."
"Raised him well." Louis gave her a reassuring smile. He frowned now, seeing as she still seemed upset about something. "What's up?"
Clementine sighed, flopping onto the bed, and staring at the ceiling now. "I don't know. I guess I never thought I'd make it this far."
Louis flopped down beside her, now looking up at the ceiling as well. "You're a badass. You seriously didn't think so?"
"No." Clementine responded flatly. It was clear that this wasn't a time to be joking around.
Louis frowned, "Well, I'm just glad you are here now."
Clementine and Louis sat in a moment of silence before she spoke again. "I'm scared." She finally said.
To Clementine, it felt like she had just broken down a wall. She never wanted to admit it, especially now. Things were great, it had been a couple of years since they began dating, things were great with the school- everything was completely fine. So why did she feel scared?
"Of what?" Louis asked.
Clementine took a minute to pause, she thought to herself, why? Then it hit her, she was terrified of losing the one thing that made her the happiest.
"I'm scared of losing you." She finally said. She dared not to look at him, it felt embarrassing to admit for some reason. "And I'm scared of losing AJ."
Immediately Louis sat up, looking down at her now. She looked away so he wouldn't see her pitiful expression. Louis frowned, not knowing what to do in this situation. "I'm scared too." Louis replied. "I never really had someone to call family, you know? I mean sure the other Ericsons kids- but that's because I literally grew up with them. You and AJ are different."
Clementine sat up now too, she sighed. "You have to promise me that you'll be safe, everyday you do anything for your survival." Clementine then blinked fast and looked away, and in a sad tone she said, "I really don't want you to become another bad memory."
Louis shook his head, and crawled closer to her. He hugged her tightly, trying to say 'I would never leave you' through body language. It seemed to work, as he felt her relax in his arms.
He let her go and kissed her, now resting his forehead on hers. "I promise." He finally replied.
Louis then rubbed her hand again, where the name 'AJ' was tattooed. "Maybe it's lucky." He gave her a goofy smile which made her chuckle.
"The tattoo?" Clementine asked.
"I mean, you and AJ made it through hell and back, maybe it was because of your lucky tattoo." Louis responded, now getting an idea. He grabbed her hands and held them. "Clementine. I have a crazy idea."
Louis circled the area on his wrist, it had a tattooed name of 'Clementine' on it. She in return had his name on her wrist. Granted, all though he loved the tattoo- it hurt like a bitch to get. All they had was one not so clean needle and ink from Mitchs' room. It got one hell of an infection after. Ruby was over having to help them- irritated by their dumb behavior. But still, he will never regret getting it.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. Louis raised an eyebrow, confused as to who would be knocking on his door. He got up from bed and opened the door. Willow flew inside.
"Woah!" Louis was taken aback. For one, she was back from her training earlier than expected; For two she looked upset.
Willow flopped on his bed like a starfish and groaned into a pillow.
Louis made his way over to the nearby desk chair. He sat on it- now rolling over to the bed. "What's up?" Louis asked, concerned.
Willow looked over at him with a big frown. She looked like she wanted to cry. "I don't know if I can do this."
"Why so?" Louis asked, now rubbing his daughters back in a comforting way.
"I couldn't even look her in the eyes for too long without knowing what she's done." Willow buried her face back into the pillow, almost ashamed.
"Come on Willow get up." Louis patted her, "It's ok."
Willow slowly lifted herself up from his bed, now sitting upward.
"I know it's hard Willow. But think about it this way, that just means you understand the severity of what happened. And you understand that this isn't a friendship, but a job right?"
Willow nodded slowly.
"So act like it's a job." Louis tried to give a comforting smile, "Treat this like a shift. "No attachment." He smiled.
"A shift?" Willow asked.
"Like it's kind of like-" Louis chuckled, "Man. The 'real world' was so long ago that this actually feels like the real world. Anyways back then adults had jobs, meaning around 5 days a week they would do 'shifts.' Just working a day is what's called a shift."
Willow scrunched up her face, "Five days a week?" She shook her head, "That sounds awful."
Louis chuckled, "Some shifts ranged from 4 hours to 10-"
"10?!" Willow exclaimed. "How do you function?!"
Louis smiled but then frowned. "It definitely gets hard. Especially when you're a kid, you don't get to see your family as much." Louis shook his head and tried to lighten the mood. "One good thing to come out of this apocalypse, is we all survived the government torture for basic living."
Louis got off the chair and sat next to Willow on the bed. He side-hugged her, rubbing her arm in a comforting way. "I am proud of you Willow. I know this isn't easy. You let me know if you want to quit this ok? No shame in it."
Willow widened her eyes and shook her head. "No, I don't want to quit this." Willow slumped a bit, "I just wanted to have a break. I know it's very soon but-" Willow shook her head, "Nevermind."
"What is it Willow?" Louis pushed.
Willow furrowed her brows in thought, "She has kind eyes dad."
Louis wasn't expecting that. He was thrown off, "Oh."
"The kind of eyes like moms."
"Ok this is getting weird." Louis slipped out from under his breath. He was more taken aback than ever.
"I know." Willow sighed, "I look at them and I feel good. I don't know, I can't explain it." Willow shook her head with frustration, "And it makes it worse for me. Knowing what I'm doing- knowing what she probably did- it's all a big mess!"
"Hey." Louis softly said, he hugged her tighter now, "It's gonna be ok."
Louis smiled at her, "Honestly? Be glad that she has Clem's eyes. Maybe try and see them as a reminder that you have a mission to follow. Don't get close to her- just gather information ok?"
Willow sighed again. It was easier said than done. But Willow nodded, "Thanks. I needed a breather." Willow got up from the bed. "I'm gonna go to my room, rest a bit and just distract myself."
"You do that." Louis smiled, walking her out from his room.
—-
The next day, Willow prepared herself like she was preparing for a test. She got up early, earlier than Gabe already wanted her to be awake. Willow did her usual routine, she went to the bathroom, spray bottle and comb in hand.
She put her hair into a slick space bun combo, she tightened the hair tie harder this time. Willow got into comfortable clothes, she wore a semi-loose gray hoodie and some shorts she had found in the closet. Willow was fully prepared to enter this training session with seriousness.
Willow practiced what she'd ask Razor in the mirror, like 'How did you get to Richmond' or 'What was your family like?'.
Not too long later, a knock startled her. Willow shook off her nerves and walked to the door, opening it.
Gabe stood in front of her. As awkward as he usually was with her, he didn't say anything and looked down at his check-list. He checked off her name, and finally looked up at her. "Ok ready?"
Willow huffed but then nodded.
Soon, they made it back to the training ground. "You know the drill." Gabe nodded his head over to Razor, who was already training someone else. It turns out she really was a trainer here, not just to Willow.
Willow walked over to her with sweaty palms. She clenched her hands into fists, calming herself down. This time would be different, she was going to show her she was confident, not afraid.
"Hey-" Before Razor could finish the greeting, Willow interjected, her voice booming.
"We never properly introduced ourselves!" She came off as awkward and weird. And in her head, she mentally cursed Louis because she was sure she got it from him. She cleared her throat, "Sorry, just excited to start the day is all."
Razor slowly nodded, trying to process the quick interaction. "Cool, I'm uh, Razor." She held out her hand, to which Willow shook. "Nice to meet you." Razor held a clipboard in one hand- peaking interest in Willow.
"What do you got there?"
Razor raised an eyebrow, gazing at where Willow was looking. Razor smiled and showed Willow. Willow peaked at it, and followed Razor's finger. Razor pointed to Willow's name. "Your training started yesterday. So far, your progress is 6 minutes on the punching bag without stopping."
"Oh is that good?" Willow asked.
Razor shrugged, "Sure. But you do need to be up here by the end of the week." Razor guided her finger to a red circle, inside it was a written '45 minutes'.
Willow shook her head in disbelief, "Are you sure that's not for two weeks?"
Razor shook her head and snickered, "Don't worry, you got this."
Razor turned, dismissing her previous client. "So should we try that again? Or do you want to try out any of the other practices we have to get through?"
"Other practices?" Willow asked, peering over Razors shoulder as she flipped the page on her clipboard.
"We have agility, stamina, and bodybuilding." Razor flipped back onto the first page. "Right now you have 6 minutes on agility. By the end of the week you'll want to have an hour of straight jogging, 45 minutes of straight punching, and finally, the ability to take me down by week two."
"The student becomes the master..." Willow's eyes lit up, indulging in the fantasy of becoming a badass.
Razor chuckled at her awe. "Ok well we have a lot of work to do." She led Willow to the punching bag again.
Soon, it became the evening. They had been going at it all day, for hours. Willow's arms felt sore, and she flopped down as soon as the halfway button
was hit.
"Come on cloud, get up. No laying down, we need to let that air flow in."
Willow groaned loudly, forcing herself up. She stood up and let the air hit her chest like Razor taught. "Cloud?"
Razor drank out of her flask, "Yea. Cloud, you remind me of one."
Willow was taken aback by it, "How so?"
Razor walked up to her, twisting one of Willow's locks in her finger. "Your hair is really soft. Like a cloud. Sorry, is that weird?"
"No, no!" Willow smiled, "Thanks."
Razor sat on the ground, she patted the spot next to her. Willow sat down.
Razor hooked her lock with her finger. "My hair is kinda rough."
"Hm, wonder why that is?" Willow commented, trying not to come off as awkward.
"I didn't have a mommy or daddy to do my hair." Razor whispered, but it was quiet enough for Willow to hear.
Willow gulped, up until now the relationship between the two had been pure. But when Razor said that, the animosity in her voice startled Willow.
"We're they cruel? Your parents?"
Razor snapped out of her gaze and stared at Willow with shock. It was certainly a forward question. "Excuse me?"
"What? I just-"
Razor stood up, shaking her head. She grabbed her clipboard, checking off something. "You did around 18 minutes today. That's a 12 minute addition, good job." Razor didn't have an ounce of sweetness in her tone this time. "You're free to head off, eat some dinner and I'll see you in the morning."
Willow nodded, "Ok. But- listen, are we ok?"
Razor stopped Willow by putting a hand up, "We need to keep this professional Willow. I'll see you tomorrow." Razor then stormed off, leaving Willow confused.
Willow sighed, shaking her head and walking towards the exit of the training grounds.
"Hey!"
Willow turned around to see another trainer running up to her. She could tell by the clipboard in her hands.
"Can we have a chat?" The woman asked Willow. She was older, around Clementine's age. She wore a white t-shirt and black sweats. Her hair was blonde with a tight ponytail.
Willow shrugged her shoulders, "...alright."
The woman ushered Willow to follow her, and she did so.
They walked about a couple minutes in the city, it was weird to see at night. It was really dark, but still some light was shown in different windows, some faint and some brighter. It was quite a pretty sight despite being barely able to see. It was no worry though, as the woman led her into a bright room, full of lively people.
The room was lit by dozens of candles, making it appear golden. The room smelt like steak and laughter was rampant throughout the place.
"This is where the soldiers tend to go after a long day." The woman said, wrapping an arm around Willow. She pulled her closer in and smiled at Willow. "You're one of us now, kid. Let me get you a drink."
Willow twisted her face up, "uh sorry, my mom said I'm not allowed to drink yet."
The woman shook her head, shaking her hand at Willow. "I'm not a monster kid!" She joked, reaching over to a pile of drinks sat on the table nearby. She picked up two mugs and ushered Willow to follow her.
The woman led her to a table farther away from the commotion of the soldiers. It was in a quiet, darker corner of the room. Willow sat down with the woman, who took a nearby lit candle and placed it in between them.
The woman slid one of the mugs over to Willow. "It's apple juice."
Willow reluctantly took a sip, and when she did her eyes grew wide. "Oh my god." Was all she could get out before taking another drink.
The woman laughed, "You don't have any apple trees over where you're from?"
"No." Willow responded through gulps. She finished her drink, winded. "Wow, that was delicious!"
The woman smiled sweetly at her, she shook her head. "By the way, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself properly." She put her hand out, "My name is Phoebe. I'm one of the trainers here."
Willow shook her hand, "Willow. I'm getting trained."
"I know you. You're Clementine's kid."
"Does everyone know her here?" Willow asked, glancing around the room.
"Oh yea." Phoebe laid back onto her chair, "Everyone knows Clem. How could we not?"
Willow nodded, awkwardly tapping the table with her fingertips. "...What did she do, like specifically?"
"Well. I'm shocked you don't know already but, she basically created what Richmond is known for today along with Javi, and Gabe." Phoebe took a big gulp of her drink before continuing. "Fought in a damn siege for this place..." she chuckled, "Crazy."
"What's a siege?" Willow leaned in, giving Phoebe her full attention.
"Basically, your mom fought in a small war for this place. It was being controlled by really corrupt individuals- and getting overrun by walkers." Phoebe leaned in now, "Clementine got her information. Learned where to find AJ, she could have left. But she chose not to. She stayed, helped Javi win the war- that's why we're able to live comfortably. Thanks to those two."
Willow looked to be in awe, but also distant. There were a lot of questions in her head, including- why wouldn't Clementine tell her any of this?
"Then the rest is history." Phoebe leaned back into her seat, "She's one of the founders, we all respect your mother."
Willow smiled, "Thank you."
"Of Course. But that's not all I wanted to talk to you about." Phoebe pointed subtly towards the left of her, towards the corner. Razor was sitting alone at one of the booths in the abandoned bar. "I wanna talk about Razor."
Willow gulped, "Oh?" This could be important, it got her nerves shaking.
"I heard y'all back there. When you asked about her parents." Phoebe sighed, "Please give her some time. She will warm up to you. Questions like that kind of trigger something in her you know?"
Willow frowned, "Oh I'm sorry-"
"Don't tell that to me, tell that to her." Phoebe gave Willow a warm and welcoming smile. "She's been excited to meet you. Don't tell her I told you that. But she's a real big fan of your mom, so the thought of training her daughter got her all giddy." Phoebe smiled widely, "I love that kid, Willow. I trained her back when she first got here. And trust me she did not warm up for a long time."
Willow frowned again, she didn't have all the time in the world, she only had around two weeks.
"She's already tore down her walls a bit, you just gotta keep working on it Willow. I know her, she'll cave in."
Willow nodded, "Thanks for the advice."
"Go. Go apologize to her, try to state your intentions. You got this kid." Phoebe ushered Willow up from her seat.
Nervously, she walked across the bar and to Razors booth. Willow sat right across from her, getting her attention.
Razor furrowed her brows and before she could reject Willow-
"I'm sorry for the pushy question Razor."
Razor shut her lips tight, letting Willow continue.
"It was rude to just ask you out of the blue, I really only ever been around a few people my age..." Willow chuckled in nervousness, rubbing her arm.
Razor nodded slowly, "Same."
Willow huffed and then smiled. Razor returned the smile.
"I wanna make this work. I'm really interested in your moves and your teachings, wanna start over?"
Razor nodded, "Of course Cloud."
"Shall we get some apple juice? I have about half an hour before I get back to the hotel- maybe we can talk about training tips?"
"Or we could just, I don't know...hang out? Our training finished for today, let's unwind." Razor cleared her throat, she felt awkward asking after her fit. "I mean, it's good for the bones. You need a balance of working hard and resting."
Willow smiled and nodded. They both got up from the table, heading over for some more apple juice.
—
Willow got home pretty late, later than she was supposed to. She didn't mind though, surprisingly Willow and Razor had a lot of fun. Turned out they had more in common then they thought.
Willows hand grazed the wall, she felt content, and at peace. Proud of herself mostly though. Just this morning she was terrified.
She got to her hotel room, but before she could open the door- Louis flew outside his own room. Louis ran and hugged Willow.
"Woah." Willow pushed her dad gently off her, "Are you ok?"
"Jesus I thought you were hurt!" Louis grabbed her face, checking for any damage.
"Dad, I'm fine!" Willow shook him off. "I was hanging out with Razor ok? We got lost in conversation."
Louis crossed his arms, "I didn't know if you were hurt, considering..."
"Considering that she's a murderer." Willow replied flatly. She understood that, and although they were getting along this was more important. "I get it, I'm being cautious."
Louis smiled sullenly. "Ok." He was quiet but proud. He walked up to her, and hugged her. He kissed her forehead, "Goodnight. I'm proud of you sweet pea."
Willow felt a sense of warmth in his arms. She was 15, sure. But in these moments it felt like she was back to 5 years old, getting carried to bed every night.
Louis went into his room, and Willow did the same.