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CHAPTER TEN;
[ DRIBBLING LIPS ]
[CONSTELLAION || GLENN RHEE]
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"Favorite movie?"
Athena groaned for the hundredth time at Glenn when the words escaped his lips. She inhaled a long breath of air as a response, the cool breeze of the night wind hitting her as she did so. Her hair blew behind her too, Glenn's baseball cap slightly lifting. The two were currently still on top of the RV, deciding to discard the beach chairs to sit on and instead dangling their feet over the edge. They were sharing a blue blanket at the same time, the item pulled up to their chins as Athena's teeth chattered violently.
"Why is this even nessacary?" Athena asked him, "We're in the freaking apocalypse and I doubt we'll be watching movies anytime soon, Glenn. None of the past matters."
Glenn seemed to think otherwise because he stared at her with furrowed brows, "The past has to matter. It's the only thing we have to hang onto, without it we'd go insane." he told her, swinging his legs widely. "Now, what's your favorite movie?"
Athena huffed, "Is this some twenty questions bullshit?"
Glenn smacked her arm lightly, almost as if he were afraid she was going to pull her axe on him and kill him because of it. "Athena."
She whined obnoxiously before huffing out an answer, "The Host."
Glenn seemed almost surprised. "You're into those types of movies too?"
Athena pulled the blanket tighter to her body as the wind picked up, "Well duh. Horror movies and post apocalyptic ones, especially futuristic ones." she told him, and Glenn stared at her with an unreadable expression. "I'm a huge fan of them."
"What!" Glenn bursted out, "No way! Me too. They're my absolute favorites." he beamed loudly, a large and goofy grin attached to his face. "Do you read comic books?"
Athena felt excitement bubble in her stomach, feeling her old self try to push its way through her. "Yeah, they used to be my favorite. I'd read them all the time." she said, and Glenn seemed to be growing happier by the second at each word that came out of her mouth.
"Maggie isn't a big fan." Glenn told her, "She told me she preferred being outside, never had time for shows and stuff. I would've thought you were one of those girls who preferred going out like her."
Athena chuckled, a sort of bitter one. "Glenn, a girl can do many things. I read comic books and geeked out all the time, but I still wore make up and went out to clubs. Just because a girl does something that a man doesn't like doesn't make her any less worthy of another woman who goes out and a man prefers, works the other way too." Athena said, trying not to sound too sharp as she spoke. "I did both."
Glenn looked even more surprised before he placed a hand on his own leg, "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just that you and Maggie are both nice and kind to people, I just thought you two shared the same qualities."
Athena took that as a compliment, but Glenn was wrong. Maggie was kind, nice, and warm hearted. She was blunt, sarcastic, cold, and annoying. He had it all wrong. "Glenn, Maggie and I are two very different people. I am not warmhearted or nice."
"I think otherwise."
Athena looked over at Glenn just to see that he was already looking at her with slightly furrowed brows, "Rick says I see the good in everyone, and I do. You're a good person Athena, if you weren't you would've let me and Rick get shot instead of taking the bullet yourself. You said it was because we had someone to live for and you had no one, but I think you're lying to yourself. You did it 'cause you're a good person, Athena." he told her, and Athena felt herself growing more confused. How could Glenn know what she felt when she didn't even know what she was feeing herself?
"Glenn—" she started off, but a large booming sound cut her off. She looked up and saw that a large dark cloud was shadowing the land, and sure enough, seconds later, she felt water start to hit her pale skin.
"Even the gods are agreeing with me." Glenn laughed over another boom of thunder. Athena sent him a smug look which he just returned with a smirk from the obvious joke. "You think we should get inside?"
"No shit, Glenn!" Athena hollered over the sound as Glenn balled up the blanket in his hands, Athena grabbing the two rifles as they jumped off from the top. By the time they landed, the rain was pouring down on them wildly, Athena's long black hair starting to drench. Athena was going to take off towards the house, but instead, she felt Glenn grab her arm and pull her into the RV.
Athena stumbled inside just as she felt lightning strike outside, Glenn following and shutting the door quickly. She looked back at him confusingly, "Why aren't we going towards the house?"
Glenn shrugged off his jacket and removed his cap, setting them on the drivers seat as he ruffled his hair of water. "Too far away, might as well just wait until morning." he told her, and Athena wanted to argue, but instead Glenn cut her off. "Don't even try to argue or I'll push you inside the bathroom and lock you in."
Athena cocked her head at him, squinting her eyes at him dangerously, "Oh really?"
Glenn gulped, starting to fidget under her harsh glare. "N-No, you can do whatever you want."
Athena then smiled, letting a chuckle slip from her lips. "I'm joking, Glenn." she said as she plopped herself down on the couch. "I'm not that mean."
"Sure."
Athena rolled her eyes before she started taking off her shoes, Glenn moving over to the small table and sitting in front of the couch.
Rain thudded hard against the RV, each drop like a bullet with the thunder sounding like gunfire. She liked it though, it was sort of calming. Athena closed her eyes for that very reason, wanting so badly to take a nap to the sound of the outside raging weather, but it looked like Glenn had other plans.
"Favorite book?"
Athena groaned yet again just like she had earlier, "Really, Glenn?" When she looked over at him, Glenn wore an innocent smile and a sort of look that made her want to punch him. "Looking for Alaska."
"Why?"
Athena sent Glenn a sharp look, and Glenn winced. "Because it's a good book." she answered shortly, but instead of Glenn finally leaving her alone, he laughed.
"That really helps a lot." he said sarcastically, and Athena grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at him.
"Screw you, Baseball Cap." she said with a chuckle, and Glenn smiled before he stood up and sauntered his way over to the fridge. Opening it, he peaked inside before pulling out two jars. Athena furrowed her brows as he wiggled his brows at her and set down the two jars, Athena making out two familiar labels.
"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" Athena beamed, sort of surprised. "Really, Glenn? I though all the food was in the house?"
Glenn opened up a cabinet and pulled out two paper plates and two napkins, then pulling a butter knife from the sink. "Dale sometimes camps out in here, keeps a stash you know? Guy keeps hiding food in here." he explained.
"In case anything happens." Athena suggested, "If the farm gets overrun probably. But in our case it was because of a stupid storm."
Glenn hummed in agreement as he smoothed the two substances over the four slices of bread, "Lucky us." he said as the rain poured harder. "Lucky you actually. You're the one who gets to be stuck with me in vehicle alone for hours." he stated cockily. Athena scoffed and placed her hands behind her head as Glenn cut both of their sandwiches into two triangles.
"You're funny, Glenn." she said sarcastically, licking her lips though when he turned around with the two plates. He handed one to her, and Athena took it gratefully. "Thanks, Baseball Cap."
"No problem, ma'am." he said before he grabbed Athena's calves, lifted them, sat down on the sofa, and then placed her legs on his lap. She didn't mind though, her and Glenn were friends, no matter how much they teased each other.
They ate quietly for the first time in days, the conversation they were having earlier still creating massive tension between them. Athena was going to leave to find Ares, and Glenn was set on going with her no matter how much she protested. And yes, she did protest a lot. He was still set on the idea though, so at the moment, Glenn would be leaving with her at the end of the week.
"Why do you even want to help me?" Athena asked aloud curiously, biting her lip as she placed the empty plate on the floor beneath her.
Glenn sighed, "We already went over this." he told her, and Athena rolled her eyes. "You're my friend, and I'm sure you'd do the same thing for me if it were my sister or brother. You can't just go find him on your own in a city thousands of miles away with just an axe and a gun too, no matter how strong you are. We'll be back in no time, especially since Rick will let us borrow a car 'cause we're coming back."
"Glenn, you don't even know anything about me." Athena blurted out, hands making wild motions as Glenn stared at her from the opposite side of the couch. "You know—"
"Your name is Athena Jaden Lee, you have three other siblings, and you despise alcohol. Your favorite movie is The Host and your favorite book is Looking for Alaska. You're a major feminist like me, you stand up for yourself, and sacrifice your own life for people you barley know. You claim to have no family without even realizing you're being included into your own messed up family that you're surviving with as the days go by. I know that you're obsessed with the stars because I see you every night lying outside and staring at the sky for two or three hours. I know that you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a lot too." Glenn tumbled out at an alarming speed before he continued. "I know a lot about you Athena, even if it's just small details no one picks up on. I know that you're a good person, which is why I want to help you."
Athena let out a small noise that Glenn didn't seem to hear, one that contained shock and surprise from everything that had just come out of the Korean boy's mouth. She didn't know why she felt as if her throat had just clenched up, but it did. And alongside that, she felt confused. Half of the things Glenn said seemed untrue to her, she wouldn't sacrifice her life for people, but then it clicked. She did. Yes, she did sometimes. But she saw it as just another thing she had to do in her daily life, not as some big deal. But Glenn was right about that, yet she was still confused about what else he had said while staring at her.
He noticed things she did without even her knowing she was doing them in the first place, small actions that Athena never thought someone would pick up on in the first place. It was... strange.
Athena cocked her head at Glenn, feeling a swirl of thoughts flow through her head rapidly. "Thanks...Glenn." she hesitated at first, but as soon as they escaped her mouth, she felt like it was the right thing to say because a wave of relief washed over her.
Glenn's face softened before he placed his hands on her legs. "No problem, Athena."
She smiled at him, a small one, but a smile nonetheless. She felt a surge of joy spill through her when Glenn smiled back, and as if the heavens above were watching, the rain that poured onto the RV stopped.
She looked up, and then around, seeing that the window by the table was no longer sporting any running raindrops. She laughed before she swung her legs off of Glenn and stood up, side stepping the paper plate on the ground. He did the same and followed her actions before they both looked at each other.
"Ready to go back?" she asked him, and a sort of worry crossed Glenn's face at her words before he shrugged hesitantly.
"Let's go." he murmured, looking at her oddly. "But wait." Glenn said before he stopped Athena by grabbing her arm. "Are you okay? Your eyes—"
Athena automatically knew he was talking about her droopy eyes and under eye bags, so she just sent him a small and forced smile. "Like I said, I'm just tired. Don't worry about me, Glenn. I'm okay."
He stared at her with an unreadable expression, but none the less, he let go of her arm. "Okay." he told her, but she picked up something behind his voice. "Let's go now."
"Yeah." Athena agreed tiredly, "Let's go."
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word count: 2359
hey guys I'm sorry that this update took so long, but I do plan on updating more frequently now that I have an idea as to where the story is heading!
so, how do you feel about Glenn and Athena's friendship? I personally love that they find things in common, another way that they're bonding much more now
vote/comment/ always means a ton to me and it supports the story very much
and of course I had to put The Host as her favorite movie because it's my absolute favorite and I think I've watched it a good thirty times by now. I never get bored of it tbh
alright guys, well until chapter 11, thank you all for reading and goodbye!
~ Celeste xx