Clementine woke up feeling lighter than ever. Considering today was going to be the day she and her friends would charge into a Delta base camp, she couldn't feel less happy.
She thought back to last night, and the whole day in general. Her mind lingering on the blonde as she grinned from ear to ear. She got up from bed and to her closet. She put on some basic clothes when her eyes fell on the dress she wore yesterday. A relief sigh fell out since she wasn't wearing it anymore, and she never will after the damage caused by it. It had been torn and scratched, it was now trash.
She then pulled out her phone and made a ring. Dialing in her friend's number as she left her bedroom and into the living room.
"Hello," Brody answered.
"Hey, you home?" Clementine asked as she grabbed a bowl of cereal and began eating.
"Yeah, I'm at my place. I take it today is the day?" She said, making Clem feel slightly bad about the situation. Putting her friends into a fight that didn't belong to them.
"You know, you don't have to come with us. I'd hate to ask you to do something you're unsure of." Clem said.
"No! I want to. I just wasn't expecting it to come so soon. It feels like we hadn't been planning this for the past week. It's odd to see where we're at now." Brody said through the phone.
"Yeah, I can't believe that we're here either. I wish we didn't have to. I really don't even like the idea of you or Violet or Louis going. But I can't make you guys stay."
"You're not alone in this, Clem," Brody assured, letting the brunette smile soft although Brody couldn't see it.
Clementine couldn't stop thinking about last night. So she decided she needed to tell somebody. Brody had been her closest friend this whole time since moving here. Partly because they lived just a couple rooms next door but also because they shared common interests.
Clementine told the girl on the phone everything. From the picnic to the ice rink and how fun it was. Learning it for the first time. All the way to them watching the sunset. She couldn't help but imagine the whole day as she explained it with such detail.
Brody listened to everything, relishing her friend's wholesome behavior. Clementine made sure to leave nothing unsaid. Leaving it when she told her about the sunset and what happened after.
"You sound like you had a lot of fun. I hope you two stay together, you guys are just perfect for each other." Brody said and Clem breathed out excitedly.
"You wanna walk me to Louis's house? We can stop by the coffee shop." Clem said and Brody laughed.
"I was going to anyway, but you can't back down on coffee. I'll see you soon." Brody said.
"Yeah, see ya," Clem said back and the call ended. She finished her cereal and grabbed her purse. Turning her head to peek inside AJ's room, she can see him tucked in his bed safe and sound.
Clementine walked out of the apartment room and took a deep breath. Today was the day. She walked over two doors and knocked on her friend's door. An Auburn-haired girl walking outside.
"Hey C. You ready for that coffee?" Brody said as she grinned widely at the smile molded onto the brunette's face.
"Alright. But we go straight back to Louis's house. Got it?" Clementine said playfully but serious.
"C'mon. When have I ever led us astray?" Brody questioned.
"Oh come one. Remember that one time we were supposed to meet the gang at the pandemonium, but you wanted to stop and check out the sales for shoes." Clem tried reminding her.
"That was one time. Plus, I'm wearing those shoes right now, so I'd say it was worth it." Brody said.
"Whatever you say," Clementine said and they left to go to Louis's.
-
Clementine sat on the couch in the middle of the huge living room. Watching a dispute between Aasim and Ruby. She felt a bit uncomfortable so she just kept sipping on her coffee.
"I still love you more than the whole world," Aasim said to Ruby, and Clem looked over to Brody who was just as uncomfortable.
"Do you wanna go into another room?" Brody asked, Clementine nodding as she stood up and moved away from the bickering couple.
They then headed upstairs to the third floor as they went into Minerva's room. The redhead sat on her bed listening to music. She watched as the two walked in and greeted them with a smile.
"Hey, guys! I'm so glad I can have visitors. I can hear the other two arguing from up here. So I decided to drown it out with music." Minnie said.
"Hi, Minnie," Brody said coyly and quietly. She slowly moved around the room toward the bed. Hesitating to sit down on the bed but sat down and tensed up awkwardly.
Clem just rolled her eyes and walked toward them. She then decided to sit next to Brody and began nudging her side. Brody tensing up even more as it was evident on her face of how uncomfortable she was.
"I got to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Brody said nervously as she got up quickly and shuffled out of the room. Clementine facepalmed at her purely innocent friend.
"So, I'm guessing I'm not crazy about sharing my dreams with you," Minerva said out loud. Watching Clem raise an eyebrow at the statement. "That lady, Ava, told me."
"Oh, right," Clementine said and looked down. It wasn't exactly the right conversation she wanted to start.
"What do you think about it?" Minnie asked.
"There's nothing to think about it. We share traits and personalities. We're purely nothing but lab rats that were successful and now cautious of our actions. You probably think your softer than you truly are and I believe that I've killed people which has been disproved by Ava herself." Clementine ranted.
"But isn't it nice? I really like this weird rush that pulses when I'm trapped in a dream with you. It's like an unbreakable bond that can't be... broken. Wait I just said that." Minnie spoke quickly. Clem began feeling a bit jittery and nervous.
"I'm more upset than anything, really. Aren't you? We've been lied to for years and we hadn't known ourselves through that whole period." She said as she crossed her arms frustratingly.
"I'm sorry if this experience is hurting you in any way. But in a way, it's sort of beneficial. I can see the reason they did it." Minnie said as she moved around the bed.
"Ava told me what happened. Basically all that needs to be known was that David's an asshole." Clementine told her and Minnie just smirks confidently.
"So what's your plan to rid the Delta anyway? You're going out tonight, right?" She asked, Clementine looking at her briefly. Picking up her eye movement which gradually scanned around the room.
"Well, we are going to infiltrate the building, or camp, or whatever. Then we will find whatever power generator they have going for them. Everything else will be easy because we would have already made it to the head office where the board members stand and we can take out the leaders." Clementine briefs it lazily as Minnie places her head on her hand.
Minerva then sits up and scoots to the edge of the bed. Clementine feels an unnerving feeling creep down her spine as she scoots slightly on the other side of the bed.
"I'm not sure exactly what it is but I feel like I can be honest with you," Minnie said. "I think maybe because we're connected."
"Stop saying that! We're not connected, it was just some surgical experiment. It's not a big deal." Clementine lashed out, realizing her outburst. "Sorry, I just... I don't like being reminded constantly of what The New Frontier did to me."
"That's okay. I can take your mind off of things if you want." Minnie said, and things took a whole new turn of weird. She placed a hand on her arm and began to caress it. Clementine moved away uncomfortably by the sudden attention brought to her.
Minnie then hugged Clem tightly from behind which set triggers on the brunette. Careful not to hurt the redhead, Clem frantically pried the other girl off of her. Finally as she was off Clem had run off of the bed and near the center of the room facing the redhead.
"What? I thought we were having a moment?" Minnie said, frowning immediately at the desolate expression on the brunettes face.
"I'm with Violet. You know that." Clementine said and jumped her thoughts to Brody and how she might feel if she found out Minnie hadn't been looking at her, but at Clementine instead.
"Yeah, but we know more about each other. I mean, we share our dreams. That's gotta mean something. I've felt peaceful when I talk to you in my dreams, I know you feel it too." She accused falsely.
"No. You're crazy. I just wanted to be friends." Clementine said, breathing a little heavy.
"Shit. I'm sorry. Did I ruin it? I'm sorry, I understand if you don't want to talk to me again." Minnie said and dipped her head down. Clementine just backed up slowly and exited the room. As she left she made her way to the bathroom and opened it.
Seeing the Auburn girl sitting on a stool in the corner. The nerves racking up in her as it did Clem. Clementine then reached for the faucet of the sink and splashed some water on her face. Feeling the cold but refreshing water hit her face was able to cool her down from the adrenaline running in the other room.
"Clem?" Brody asked which led to a finger by Clem as she caught her breath. She hadn't even done a physical activity all day but it felt like she was running a marathon for how fast she was breathing.
"Sorry B. Just a little nervous I guess." Clementine lied. She had no idea what Brody would think after realizing what just happened. Clementine didn't want the perception of someone else to get in the way of their friendship.
"Yeah, I understand how your feeling. We only have a couple of hours left. Do we have everything ready?" Brody said, clementine looking over to her as she moved her hand through her hair.
"I hope so. I hope they pull through." Clementine said, along with the ring of the mighty doorbell. Sounding through the whole house. The two girls looked at each other, composing themselves as they exited the bathroom and made their way downstairs.
And once they got there, they can see practically a whole army. With familiar faces; Javi, Kate, David, and Ava. Ava saw Clementine almost immediately and excused herself.
"Hey Clem. How you holding up." Ava asked, watching the dissatisfied look on Clem's face. "Still mad at me."
"I thought I can rely on you!" Clementine blurted, taking Ava aback. "We aren't friends, and I don't think I can ever forgive you."
"I'm sorry, Clem. I really am." Ava apologized.
Clementine just folded her arms and focused on the group around her. A feeling of hopefulness donning her as she counted the number of people being brought onto this mission. It caused some minor changes in the plan but it wasn't big.
Then the front door opened again and Clementine's eyes gravitated to the person coming in. Her mind shifting as a smile appeared on her face. Clementine then ran over to her and embraced her into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're here. Are you ready?" Clementine said and the blonde rolled her eyes playfully.
"I love you too," Violet smirked, Clementine stepping down and grabbed the hand of her lover, kissing it gently.
"C'mon, let's go find Louis. I think he's in his room avoiding as many people as possible." Clementine stated as she dragged the blonde along upstairs. Her glance reached Brody's as she smiled at her energetically.
They reached the rooms and looked for Louis's room. Violet then looked to Clem with a nervous expression on her face.
"Clem?" She said, Clementine looking at her and stopping to look directly at her girlfriend.
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering if last night. Did you-" the door next to them was opened and Sophie came out with a huge smile. Behind her was Louis.
"Hi, guys! Are we getting ready for the raid already?" She asked kind of out of breath. Clementine smirked at them and nodded. Sophie began skipping down the hall towards the stairs and Louis nearly followed her if it wasn't for Clementine stopping him.
"I wanted to talk to you," Clementine said as she motioned for them to enter the room. As soon as they did, Clementine sat down and took a breath.
Louis sits down next to her and puts a questioning face as she is unable to face him. It was painful to do this, for she knew how onboard Louis was.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to come out tonight." She said and Louis pouted silently. "I'm sorry, I just don't want you to get hurt. And with this barrier of communication, it'll make things harder."
Louis nodded defeatedly. Clementine put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly and smiled. She hugged him gracefully and stood up.
"Thank you, Lou. I knew you'd understand." He puts on a smile and Clementine left and met back with Violet.
"What was that about?" Violet asked.
"Louis isn't coming," Clementine said.
"What, why?" Violet questioned.
"I can't let him, Vi. Just drop it okay." Clem snapped and Violet went quiet. She slumped down and they went back downstairs where they met up with everybody.
"It's about to get dark soon. It's time to move." David said amongst everyone. Everybody then followed him outside and they began to march to their destination.
-
A/N: hey guys, just letting you know that the next chapter might take longer because it includes a lot of action-packed scenes and might be longer than the rest of the chapters.
I'm so glad you guys came this far, it makes me feel great that people are enjoying my books. Anyway, if you still haven't, check out A True Tale.
There's a lot of story that takes place in this book and some dialogue may be confusing without the other book. It'll explain a lot of what Clem has been talking about in this past couple of chapters, and it'll definitely be worth reading if you're still enjoying this book.
It's basically a prequel to this title. It starts with Ava telling Clem about the past she doesn't know about. Anyway, it explains a bit of the new character development and bitterness between Ava and Clem a little further.
The main point of the book was to provide a better explanation of the concepts of Clementine's dreams and her mind. Also I didn't really want to extend this book further than it needed to be just for this flashback. It was a pretty long story, so I didn't want it taking up space here.
Anyway, I've taken up too much of your time. Thank you guys for being right here in my story and I'll see you guys later.