"How does it taste?"
Mía took a sip and didn't pull a face, to Kamille's surprise. "Not bad actually."
"Told you," Kamille said with a satisfied smile.
"I prefer hot chocolate though," Mía added.
Kamille lost her smile. "Seriously? We don't have milk anymore, so it's pretty much the same thing. Water and chocolate powder. Water and a tea bag."
"Yeah, but the difference is that it's chocolate and not a tea bag," Mía pointed out, before holding the mug out to Kamille. "Gimme."
Kamille sighed over-dramatically before trading cups with Mía, getting her tea back. The two of them were sat outside in the dark, planning to look at the stars as they always used to back at the cabin. It was a nice break to have with everything that had gone on lately, plus it reminded them of the old times, back when they had Oliver.
"You could never hate me, could you?" Mía asked randomly, eyes meeting Kamille's in the candlelight.
"Depends," Kamille played along. "You rob a bank anytime recently?"
Mía pulled a face. "Seriously? Firstly, there's no banks to rob. And secondly, money has no value anymore."
Kamille chuckled, wrapping her hands around her mug and trying not to feel the discomfort of the lack of her two fingers – she was still trying to get used to it.
"Would you hate me if I robbed a bank?" Mía asked curiously.
"I wouldn't even let you get that far," Kamille said knowingly. "Now, what's your point here?"
"Right." Mía seemed to remember where she was going with her comment and her nervousness returned. "So, you know how you wanted me to drop the whole you and Alicia thing?"
Any playfulness on Kamille's end disappeared as she sat up straight. "What did you do, Mía?"
Ever since Mía had confronted Kamille about what she thought two weeks ago, things had been... strange between Kamille and Alicia. At least, Kamille felt like they were. Alicia seemed a bit more distant around the Brit and Kamille figured it was because of their dance, though she never mentioned it.
"I didn't do anything, don't worry," Mía reassured, and yet Kamille was still tense. "I just– I did some digging, y'know? About how you guys found each other again."
Kamille distracted herself with her mug as she nervously asked, "What do you mean? I already told you."
She could feel Mía's judgemental looks as she answered, "You didn't tell me the whole truth. So, I asked around." Kamille stayed silent, so Mía continued. "I know about what happened when you found her. How she treated you because of Madison's death. I know it all, Kamille."
Kamille felt uncomfortable as she looked everywhere but at Mía. It felt stupid to feel embarrassed as the young girl watched her with a pitiful gaze.
"I'm sorry it happened like that," Mía said gently, before resting her hand on Kamille's. "I wish you would've told me."
"That's the past," Kamille said calmly, shrugging Mía off. "It doesn't matter now. And I only didn't tell you because you didn't know Alicia like that. I didn't want you to think badly of her. She isn't that person anymore."
"I know that," Mía said reassuringly. "She just went through a bad thing."
Kamille sighed, the memories being dug up and making her feel all weird inside.
"Sorry," Mía said quietly. "I know it's not my business. But I care about you, Kamille, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Kamille glanced at her, before a small, grateful smile appeared on her lips. Mía was her family and she continued to show that every single day, even if she was a pain in the arse.
"It's okay, I should've told you," she replied with a nod.
Mía returned the smile before adding, "She's still trying to atone, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Kamille answered with a sigh, looking down. "She is."
"Is that why you're not together?"
"Mía!"
"What? You knew it was leading to that!" she defended, earning a slap on the leg from Kamille before the she rolled her eyes.
"I've told you about this already," Kamille told her sternly. "You know what happened between us. You know why it's better that we stay friends. It's how it's supposed to be."
"I think she's still in love with you," Mía inputted, shaking her head. "You haven't seen the way she looks at you."
Kamille almost laughed, eyebrows raised as she tried to take in what Mía said. "You're kidding, right? In love? With me?" Mía nodded, making Kamille scoff. "Mía, you need to stop this, okay? It's not fair on me or her."
"It's not fair because you know I'm right," Mía retorted. "Like you said, she isn't that person she was when you found her. Which means that she's still the person you were in love with two years ago. I just don't get why you can't be together."
"Stop it," Kamille said, this time with that familiar warning tone she used whenever she was getting serious. It was only reserved for Mía and the young girl knew it.
Mía sighed. "Fine."
Kamille met her eyes with the utmost seriousness. "Look, I love you, okay? I know you're just trying to be there for me, but this ends here. You need to get over it, Mía. Some things just aren't meant to be, and that's okay."
"But you said–"
"I know what I said," Kamille interrupted quickly. "All that stuff I told you, about Alicia and how much I loved her and missed her and how she made me happy, I told you when I thought I would never see her again. When I thought I'd lost her forever. But that's not now. And it's not your responsibility to do anything with that information, okay?"
Mía pursed her lips, choosing not to say anything. Kamille took that as confirmation to her words and nodded.
"I would've preferred you robbing a damn bank," she mumbled to herself before sipping her tea.
Things went quiet between them as they sipped their drinks, before Mía spoke up again.
"Al said she wants to interview me for something."
Kamille seemed surprised. "Really? I thought she would've done that by now."
Mía raised her eyebrows. "You don't mind if I say yeah?"
"I'm not your mum, Mía, you don't have to ask," Kamille said with an amused smile. "Besides, Al interviews everyone. We all had our go. She just wants to get your story."
Mía nodded, seeming to think about it as she looked at her mug. "Huh, okay..."
Suddenly, Kamille's radio crackled to life beside her before a voice came through.
"Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Charlie about?" It was Alicia.
Before Kamille could grab the radio and respond, Mía beat her to it and smiled widely as she answered, "Hey, Alicia, no we haven't, sorry. Don't worry, you didn't interrupt. If you're not busy though, you can join us!"
Kamille's eyes widened and she moved forward to grab the radio from Mía's grasp, but the young girl stood up and away from her, making Kamille glare at her.
"I... er, I don't want to interrupt, Mía, it's okay," Alicia answered reluctantly.
"Oh, come on, you're not interrupting! We've got cookies – everyone loves cookies!" Mía expertly dodged one of the mentioned cookies Kamille tried to throw at her head, before continuing, "You should totally join us. Kamille doesn't mind."
Kamille closed her eyes and massaged her head as she tried to refrain from strangling Mía.
"Mía, you're very sweet–"
"Also I wanted to get to know you more, y'know?" Mía added quickly. "It'll be fun."
"You may as well put a bloody sign on your back saying desperate," Kamille mumbled, making Mía roll her eyes.
"Okay, sure, I'll come, just give me a minute," Alicia finally gave in, making Mía grin.
"Take all the time you need, we aren't going anywhere," Mía assured, before tossing the radio to Kamille and surprising her.
"Seriously, did the conversation we just have not mean anything to you?" Kamille asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mía shrugged, taking a seat beside her again. "I listened. I didn't invite Alicia here for you. She's my friend, too."
Kamille narrowed her eyes. "Right."
"Hey, you're the one who said to talk to everyone more," Mía said defensively. "I'm just listening to you."
Kamille clenched her jaw before closing her eyes and reading kalima to herself.
"What are you doing?" Mía asked with confusion.
"Praying."
"Why?"
Kamille opened her eyes and stared through Mía as she answered, "So when I kill you in your sleep tonight, you don't come back to life afterwards."
Mía rolled her eyes and laid down on the grass, staring up at the sky. "You're such a drama queen. Now blow the candle out."
"Blow the candle out," Kamille mimicked her like a child, before doing as she asked.
She laid down beside her, staring up at the stars. Despite her annoyance, Kamille was still taken by how beautiful the sky was at night. She couldn't imagine ever getting used to it.
A moment of silence passed before they heard footsteps approaching them and eventually saw Alicia. Mía sat up straight away, grin of excitement on her lips, and greeted her. Meanwhile Kamille internally groaned before sitting up and smiling at the brunette the best she could.
"Hey," Alicia said softly, smiling Kamille's way. "You sure you don't mind me joining?"
Kamille shook her head. "'Course not."
And she really didn't, but when Mía was clearly planning something, then she definitely did mind.
"Come on, lay down with us," Mía insisted, tugging at Alicia's sleeve as she laid down between them both. "We're stargazing."
Alicia suppressed a chuckle. "That sounds nice."
Kamille pursed her lips before laying down beside Mía, with Alicia doing the same on her other side.
"Yeah, we used to do it all the time back at the cabin," Mía explained. "We'd camp out for fun."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Mía continued. "Kamille said you guys used to do it, too. Back on that boat. What's it called...?"
Kamille closed her eyes yet again, refraining from killing Mía.
"The Abigail?" Alicia filled in quietly.
"That's the one," Mía said brightly.
Kamille cleared her throat awkwardly. "Mía, that was... that was a long time ago."
"Feels like a lifetime ago," Alicia muttered in agreement.
Kamille chewed on her lower lip as she stared up at the sky, the memories playing in her mind like a DVD on rewind. Stargazing with Alicia was near the time she realised she liked her as more than a friend. Alicia was right – it did feel like a lifetime ago.
Choosing to stay quiet, Kamille let Mía do all the talking as they laid there peacefully. She was surprised Alicia hadn't told her to shut up yet, but she didn't interrupt or question it. The more Mía spoke, the less awkward it would be. Well, that was until she decided to leave them alone.
"You're going where?" Kamille asked with a raised eyebrow.
"To watch a movie with Luci," Mía said with a shrug. "See ya."
Kamille sighed quietly, rolling her eyes as she watched Mía head back inside with their empty mugs, leaving her and Alicia out alone.
"Don't get me wrong, I love Mía, but goddamn does she have a lot of stories," Alicia said when she was out of earshot.
Kamille hummed in agreement, laying back down beside Alicia and looking up at the sky. "Got that right..."
Alicia paused before asking, "When you found her, did you guys ever stay with other people?"
"No, it was only us and Oliver," Kamille answered, before turning her head to look at Alicia, who was surprisingly already looking her way. "She would always talk about wanting to leave and meet other people. Like how I met you and your family. She didn't understand that it wasn't safe and that, well, that I just got lucky."
"So her and Oliver were stuck at that cabin since the start?" Alicia asked with mild surprise. "She never had anyone else?"
Kamille frowned, shaking her head as she looked back up at the sky. "They found that place and stayed there since the start because it was safe. I was the first person they took in. Mía only ever wanted to be around other people though. More people. I guess, in a weird way, she finally got that."
Alicia hummed in response, before a comfortable silence enveloped them. The sky was beautiful tonight, clear and full of twinkling stars that reflected back on them both like a blanket of nostalgia. Kamille could feel the warmth emanating from Alicia beside her, sending shivers up her arm. It was nothing to overthink (and it didn't help that Mía's overactive imagination was bothering her still), but she couldn't not acknowledge it as it was happening.
"Do you think things will ever go back to normal?" Alicia asked, pulling Kamille from her thoughts.
"Huh?"
"You know... everything." Alicia breathed out tiredly. "I know it's been years now. It's probably impossible. But do you ever think that things could go back to how they were? That we might actually be able to live a life where we're not constantly fighting or running?"
Kamille licked her lips. "Honestly, I haven't thought about that in a long time. It's like you said, it's been either fighting or running." Alicia didn't say anything so Kamille looked at her. "Why?"
"No reason," Alicia said quietly, before offering a small, reassuring smile her way.
Kamille knew her almost as well as she knew herself though, and the way her eyes were dimmed with exhaustion told her otherwise. Growing concerned, Kamille sat up and faced Alicia cross-legged.
"C'mon, get up," she said, patting Alicia's leg.
Alicia seemed confused but did as she said, also sitting cross-legged in front of her.
"What're you thinking?" Kamille asked gently, meeting her eyes.
"Nothing," Alicia said, shrugging indifferently.
"Alicia, c'mon," Kamille said, giving her a knowing look. "What's on your mind? You can tell me anything, you know that."
Alicia looked like she wanted to protest, but Kamille refused to let her as she held her gaze, almost pleadingly. Green eyes flickered to the grass as brown eyes followed her intently.
"I'm just getting tired, that's all," Alicia admitted, voice barely a whisper.
Kamille watched her as she played with the grass between her fingers distractedly. Her hair was out and falling over her shoulders, into her face like curtains hiding a beautiful view.
"Tired of what?" Kamille asked carefully, not daring to look away.
Alicia's shoulders relaxed as she breathed out. She looked up, smiling sadly as she looked anywhere but at Kamille.
"I don't know, it's just everything," she said halfheartedly. "I thought we could do good here. But aside from Mía, we haven't done much. And I hate that we have to do this in the first place. I'm just tired of trying to survive. I wish things were back to normal."
"I know it's been difficult, but it's not the end," Kamille said to her, resting a hand on her knee, making her meet her gaze. "I've never seen you more alert and present than I did when you helped me get Mía back. We just have to find some more people. When we do, we can build a life resembling something normal. You don't get tired, you just push on."
Alicia ran a hand through her hair and sighed quietly.
"You're not alone either," Kamille added, her heart beating in her ears as she tried not to overthink her words. "You have Mía and Strand and Luciana and Morgan and Al and everyone else. And you have me."
Alicia quirked an eyebrow, amusement dancing her in her eyes. "I have you, do I?"
A smile crept on Kamille's lips as she nodded. "Yes, you have me."
Alicia let out a small laugh and Kamille did the same, feeling lightweight all of a sudden. A silence fell upon them soon enough and Kamille chewed on her lower lip with thought.
"Do you think they're dead?" she blurted out, looking up at Alicia with curious eyes.
Alicia tilted her head to the side, confused. "Who?"
Kamille lifted her leg and leaned on it, trying to distract herself from her nerves.
"The ones who took Mía," she answered quietly. "It's been weeks and they haven't come for us. For Mía. Nobody has seen them on supply runs. Do you–" she paused, before lifting her eyes to meet Alicia's, "do you think they're dead?"
Alicia licked her lips as she straightened up, any sense of doubt being replaced with reassurance. "Well, the others led the infected their way when we tried to make the trade. There was a lot of them and there's a chance that Tyler and his people didn't make it out."
"And if they did?" Kamille asked quickly.
Alicia nodded, resting a hand on Kamille's. "If they did, they probably skipped town."
"That seems too easy," Kamille said with discomfort.
Alicia shrugged. "Maybe it's better not to question it."
Kamille nodded, looking down at where Alicia's hand was on hers. "Maybe."
–
"But what was the point?"
Kamille shrugged, leaning on the palm of her hand as she looked to Mía beside her. "There was no point. It was just something we did. Little soldiers made of toast. What's not to love?"
Mía pulled a face and slumped into her arms on the dining table. "England is weird."
Kamille cracked a smile and patted her on the back before leaning back into her chair patiently.
Everybody was sat at the dinner table except for Alicia who was grabbing Morgan from his shift on the radio, and Luciana and Charlie who were finishing up making lunch.
"And lunch is served," Luciana announced as the doors opened and her and Charlie entered. "Vegetable stew. Fresh from the... well, tin."
Everyone perked up and watched as Luciana set the pan down on the table.
"Take a seat, Charlie, I'll serve them up," Luciana said to the young girl, who then ran to take a seat.
"We're just waiting on Alicia and Morgan," Al told her.
June furrowed her eyebrows. "She left five minutes ago. What's taking them so–"
She stopped talking when they all heard the sound of footsteps slapping against the floor in a rush, like people were running. In an instant, Alicia and Morgan ran into the room with huge grins spread across their faces.
"Woah, what's got you both riled up?" John asked what everyone was thinking. "Everything good?"
Morgan and Alicia exchanged looks before the former nodded encouragingly, making Alicia look between everyone with excited eyes.
"Somebody got back to us on the radio," she got out quickly. "A man. Logan. He– he's stuck, and he needs our help, but we can help him him. He asked for it."
Kamille's eyebrows raised with surprise as the others straightened up, partially shocked and curious.
"Who is he?" Al asked suddenly.
"Where is he?" Strand added with uncertainty.
"That's the problem, he's a bit far out," Morgan explained, "but I reckon we can get to him if we make a plan. He said he's at a truck stop about ten miles out. He got surrounded. We just need to get him out of there and bring him back."
"A truck stop?" Sarah asked with interest. "You're saying we can help someone? Finally?"
Morgan smiled with satisfaction. "Yeah. I am."
Everybody began talking amongst themselves and Kamille couldn't help but wonder who exactly this 'Logan' guy was. She hoped they could get to him in time because seeing the excitement and purpose in Alicia's expression was too relieving to see go away again.
For Alicia's sake, Kamille hoped this would work.
//
we're finally getting onto the bulk of s5 now! i'm still not sure how far i'm gonna go with this story, maybe i'll stop at s6? either way, i hope you guys are liking it ☺️