𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒.
chapter sixty-two; Photo Proof
" No fights on your first day. "
ZEPPELIN WILLIAMS HAD ditched the idea of strolling the streets of Alexandria and meeting its residents.
As great as this place had seemed, she wasn't ready for it to be normal yet.
Things had changed. She had changed. Zeppelin wasn't sure she could ever be normal again. Could someone be normal if they killed their own dad? Could someone be normal if they killed a man trying to attack her?
Could someone who had been a victim and now felt like the aggressor be normal?
Zeppelin wasn't sure. So she couldn't pretend she was, she couldn't meet normal people and smile and introduce herself like she usually could.
She'd made sure Carl was okay before leaving. He was being cornered by an older couple who were infatuated with Judith and assured Zeppelin he'd be alright for a little while.
Currently, she was walking aimlessly. All the streets looked the same and it unnerved her. Reminded her of that big white house she'd grown up in. It had been smaller than these, but the neighborhood felt the same. Copy and paste, cookie-cutter— the perfect place. The perfect place where no one would ever assume what happened inside.
"Zep?"
She frowned, knowing she was busted.
"Hi, Uncle Jack," Zeppelin greeted, spinning on her heel.
"You out here alone?" He asked with a laugh, approaching the girl.
"Just exploring."
He raised a brow, propping a hand on his hip as he inspected the girl.
"Your mom know 'bout it?"
"Sure does."
"Mhm, well, then let's go grab her. I can show the both of y'all around."
Zeppelin's face soured, but she knew there was no point in arguing.
And Jack knew he had won so he smiled, nodding in the direction of their house, before starting off.
He talked the entire way. About his time in Alexandria, how life had been— how it would be.
Jack tried to get Zeppelin to talk to, but she hardly wanted to recount her experience. Hardly wanted to talk about most of the Greene family dying after their farm fell, about the Governor and losing the prison, about losing Dale and Lori and Andrea and Tyreese. She didn't even want to tell him about Merle dying. And she has no interest whatsoever in recounting her last interaction with her father.
So she stayed quiet until they approached that familiar house, where Vex Williams and Daryl Dixon sat side by side on the front porch.
"Found a stray," Jack announced as they approached.
Vex sat up straighter, raising a brow as Zeppelin hung her head low.
"You're supposed to be with Rick and Carl."
"I know," She mumbled.
"What happened?"
"Jessie invited us over to meet the other kids."
Vex furrowed her brows, clearly confused as to why her daughter, Zeppelin Williams, the most social child she had ever known, would break away from a plan like that.
But Daryl leaned closer. He looked up. He engaged suddenly because he did not want Zeppelin to feel how he was, but he had an inkling as to why she had protested the idea.
"There's another kid, about your age," Jack said with a smile. "It'll be good for you, Zep."
Zeppelin felt the small piece of her that knew him as Uncle Jack light up at his attention. She used to bask in it, adoring any day he would visit and bring sweets and the newest toys, when he would stay and help make dinner, and the few times he stayed to read her to bed. He always listened to her stories and played pretend; He had even attended a tea party with Zeppelin and her stuffed animals.
But the larger part of her, the one that had grown into a teenager in the apocalypse and killed her father; the majority of Zeppelin Williams that was new stared blankly at Jack.
Because Jack had been sitting pretty while she and her mom had struggled. Because Jack had walls while they'd had homes stolen away. Jack had a farm and they'd watched people die.
And Zeppelin was old enough to see the way Daryl looked away every time Jack threw an arm around Vex's shoulders.
"Oh yeah?"
Vex scrunched her brows at the clip in Zeppelin's voice.
"Her name's Maeve," Jack said, still smiling, "Think you two would get along. There's some other kids, too, but I think Maeve's more your speed."
Zeppelin lifted her gaze, eyeing Jack momentarily before turning to Daryl.
"Can we still hunt even though we're here now?"
Daryl stared for a moment, shocked into surprise, before speaking.
"We can talk about it," Daryl finally gruffed, "After you meet the other kids."
Zeppelin pursed her lips but nodded, standing and turning back to Jack.
"Point me in the right direction, then."
🗡
With Jack's assistance, Zeppelin had found Rick and Carl, who were coincidentally already on their way to Jessie's house, the unofficial hangout for the teenagers of Alexandria. Her oldest son met them out front and introduced himself as Ron.
And Ron was excited.
"We're almost always here after school, so you guys can come by any time."
"You go to school?" Carl questioned as they followed Ron through the home.
"Eh, it's in a garage," Ron admitted, "Little kids go in the morning, and then it's us in the afternoon. I mean, probably you guys too, right?"
"Probably," Carl said.
Zeppelin only nodded. She didn't particularly want to start any kind of school again but assumed she'd have little say in it.
Her anxiety swelled as they reached the room at the end of the hall.
"Guys, this is Carl and Zeppelin," Ron introduced, "This is Mike, Enid, and Mave."
Mikey was glued to a video game, but he looked nice enough. Enid was engulfed in a comic book and seemed rather uninterested in either Carl or Zeppelin. And Maeve was sitting on the ground, fiddling with some relic of a camera, but looked up and smiled at their arrival.
"Hey," Mikey greeted, standing from his seat and discarding his controller.
"Hi," Maeve said, her smile still prevalent.
And then, after a long pause, Enid muttered, "Hi," Without glancing away from her book.
"Enid and Mave are from outside, too," Ron said, "Enid just came eight months ago, Maeve's been here for four."
"Oh, um," Carl said, pulling a comic book from his back pocket, "Is this yours?"
"Sorry," Ron breathed out, "We didn't know you guys got that house."
"We mostly just hang out there and listen to music," Mikey confirmed. "That's Enid's."
Enid grabbed the comic book silently and tossed it to the side of the bed she wasn't occupying.
"Wanna play some video games?" Ron offered, "Or, Mikey's house has a pool table, but his dad's kind of strict about it, so. . ."
"It's okay," Mikey waved, "He's at work."
"Or we could walk," Mave spoke up, "Not everyone wants to sit inside all day."
"Only you choose to be outside, Mae."
She stuck her tongue out at Ron, who rolled his eyes before turning back to Carl and Zeppelin.
"Um. . ." Carl mumbled.
It was a lot. A drastic change to how things had been for them in so long. Even the prison didn't hold a candle to this; electricity, video games, hanging out with zero responsibility.
It was almost foreign.
"Sorry, I guess we come on kind of strong," Ron said, "We can just hang out."
"You don't even have to talk if you don't wanna."
"Yeah, took Enid three weeks to say something."
Zeppelin looked to Carl, frowning lightly once she saw his expression. She grabbed his hand as if to remind him she was still there, that he wasn't alone.
"Pull it together, sport," Enid mumbled.
Zeppelin all but glared at the girl.
"Let's, uh, let's play some video games," Carl finally spoke up.
Zeppelin nodded in agreement, squeezing his hand once before letting go entirely.
"Well, I'm going on a walk," Maeve announced, standing, "I just fixed this thing, and I wanna use it."
"Can I come with?"
Maeve looked to Zeppelin, nodding with a bright smile.
"I'd love that," Maeve confirmed.
Zeppelin smiled too, glancing at Carl for a moment. He nodded to her as if saying he would be okay.
"I'll see you at home later," Zeppelin said.
"Yeah. Have fun."
"You, too."
Zeppelin followed Maeve out of the home, sucking in a deep breath as they were back outside again.
Maeve looked about her age, but that was the end of their similarities. She was an inch or two taller than Zeppelin, with tanned caramel skin and tight coiled curls that expanded in a cloud around her.
"So, Zeppelin?"
"Yeah?"
"You from Virginia?"
"No," Zeppelin laughed, stopping when Maeve slowed to take a picture of some flowers, "Um, Georgia."
"Woah," Maeve said, turning back toward the girl, "And you got all the way here?"
"Yeah," Zeppelin confirmed, squeezing her hands together, "Uh, we've lost a lot of people, but. . . we made it."
"I'm sorry," Maeve said honestly, her brows pinching together, "I lost both my parents. My dad in the outbreak. My mom a week before I found Alexandria."
"I'm sorry."
"It's just how it is, right?" Maeve said, putting on another small smile, "You lose people and you gain others. No other way to go than forward."
Zeppelin nodded after a second and started walking again.
"So, are you and Carl. . ?"
"He's like my brother," Zeppelin supplied, "We were both like eleven when we met. I was just with my mom and uncle, and his dad was the leader of their group. Been together ever since. . . Our whole group is a family. But Carl's my best friend."
"That's really nice," Maeve said honestly, "You're lucky you found people like that."
"I know," Zeppelin admitted, "I think we're lucky we found Alexandria, too."
Maeve grinned, lifting her camera and pointing it at Zeppelin.
"Wait, no!" Zeppelin laughed, lifting a hand to cover her face.
"Oh, come on," Maeve whined, "Pictures are just memories, it's nothing crazy."
"I don't like pictures, and I haven't had one taken in forever," Zeppelin said, attempting to smooth down her hair.
"You look great, just chill," Maeve said, wagging the camera, "Come on."
Zeppelin rolled her eyes, dropping her hands and plastering on a tense smile.
"It's not a mugshot, Zep, smile for real!"
And then Zeppelin laughed and the camera clicked and Maeve grinned.
"I'll show you how to develop them if you want," Maeve said, "I already know this one's a keeper."
"I feel like it's only fair if I take one of you, too."
"Alright, alright."
Maeve passed the camera over, explaining how to take a photo on the older model before stepping back. She grinned with all of her teeth, and laughed when Zeppelin snapped it.
"Well, now we have to be best friends too," Maeve said, taking the camera back, "If we have pictures of each other, it's totally required."
"Okay, I think that sounds fair."
Zeppelin's lips parted in shock as Maeve linked their arms together, starting their pace again as she fiddled with her camera.
Maeve thought very little of the action. But suddenly Zeppelin didn't know how to exist; she was worried somehow from this simple action, Maeve would know everything she had done. That even if Maeve really did want to become her friend, it would all go away once Maeve knew what really lived inside Zeppelin.
"I bet we could get you--"
Maeve halted her sentence as they turned a street and spotted an argument brewing by the front gate.
"Uh-oh."
"What, what's wrong?" Zeppelin asked, narrowing her eyes to see clearly.
"Deanna's son, Aiden, is a grade-A tool," Maeve informed, "I feel like your people are about to figure that out."
Zeppelin felt worry encase her, and she took off without much thought.
Maeve followed.
Zeppelin skidded to a halt just as Aiden began pushing Glenn's chest, picking a fight.
"Hey, leave him alone," Zeppelin argued loudly as she tore towards them.
Of course, Zeppelin didn't see that Dean Williams was present, along with Vex and Daryl, and all three moved to stop her, Dean just so happened to be the first to arrive.
"Yeah, cool your jets," Dean said, tugging Zeppelin a couple of steps back, "No fights on your first day."
"But he's pushing Glenn," Zeppelin shouted.
"Zep, it's okay, Deanna's coming," Maeve said quickly, "She'll handle it."
Zeppelin sighed but stopped fighting against her uncle's hold. He seemed to regard Maeve, waving lightly, and the girl reciprocated.
"Aiden!" Deanna shouted as she approached, "What is going on?!"
"This guy's got a problem with the way we do things," Aiden said, turning to face Deanna, "Why'd you let these people in?"
"Because we actually know what we're doin' out there," Glenn said simply.
Aiden turned to swing, but Glenn ducked under his arm and landed his own punch on Aiden, knocking him to the asphalt.
Of course, this sent Aiden's friend into motion, taking off to attack Glenn, but Daryl lurched into motion and took him to the ground instantly, pinning him to the road.
"Woah, woah! Hey, hey, hey!"
Rick ran through the front gate, quickly working to pull Daryl away from the man just as Vex did.
Together they managed to pry him up, and Vex stood with her hand on Daryl's chest, separating him from the others as he walked side to side, clearly still eager for a fight.
"I want everyone to hear me, okay?" Deanna announced, "Rick and his people are part of this community now. In all ways as equals. Understood?"
She glared at Aiden, who after a moment of hesitation agreed.
"All of you, turn in your weapons, then you two come talk to me."
The group began to disperse slowly, calm settling after the fight.
"Are you okay?" Zeppelin questioned Glenn quietly.
"All good, Z," He confirmed breathily.
She smiled nervously, looking at her mom and Daryl who still stood uneasily.
"Head home, Zep," Vex said quietly, "I'll be there after you."
Zeppelin nodded but glanced at Maeve.
"Can Maeve hang out for a while?"
And a tenderness took over Vex's features, clearly attempting to keep higher emotions at bay.
"Yeah," She said quickly, though her voice cracked, "Yeah, of course."
Zeppelin nodded, linking her arm through Maeve's again and starting toward the house.
It took mere seconds for them to start talking about what had happened, and in that moment, in the cooling summer air, Zeppelin could've sworn she had been friends with Maeve her entire life.
WITH NICO PARKER AS MAEVE JACKSON