AJ squinted his eyes open when the sunlight flooding into the bedroom shined over his face. He propped himself up on an elbow and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his fist. The little boy fixed his eyes on the older girl in the opposite bunk.
Clementine was still asleep, which he was actually grateful for. She had been in so much pain the past couple days. Ever since she woke up from the impromptu amputation, he could see it on her face. AJ saw how she winced every time she made the slightest movement and the grief on her face when she looked at what remained of her left leg. Despite her efforts to hide it - to be strong for him- he knew. He wanted to tell her to stop, to stop trying to be tough. He wanted her to know that it was okay for her to be hurting. He wanted to be strong for both of them, so that she didn't have to be.
But above all, he wanted her to feel better. He wanted her to smile- a real smile, not one of those fake, consolation prizes she'd been giving him lately. No. He needed her to smile. AJ hopped off his bed, heart filled with a newfound, burning determination. He will make her feel better.
He studied the room, wracking his brain for ideas. His eyes caught the desk; he could draw her a picture. No. It wasn't enough. He drew pictures all the time, and this had to be special; it had to be… Spectacular - the new word he learned from Louis yesterday. AJ gasped and perked up as the memory gave him an idea. He could ask Louis what he should do for Clem. The older boy never failed to come up with spectacular ideas. AJ giggled, proud of the expansion of his vocabulary.
He ran up to the window and stood on his toes to peer out at the schoolyard. He grinned when he caught sight of Louis. The teen was sitting at one of the picnic tables with Violet, seemingly playing some card game with her, and judging by the exasperated expression on the blonde's face, she wasn't happy with how it was going.
AJ glanced at Clementine and smiled at her. "Just wait, Clem. I'm gonna make this the best day ever."
"Louis!" AJ shouted to the older boy as soon as he exited the dorm building. Louis looked up from his hand, smiled and gave him a little wave, which the younger returned.
"Hey, little man. Wanna play?" He shouted across the field as he held up the deck of cards.
The little boy beamed and dashed over to the table.
"Hey, Violet," AJ greeted the girl beside Louis and peered at the cards strewn between the teens. "What are you guys playing?"
"Bullshit: The Game, apparently," The girl grumbled, throwing her hand down and glaring at Louis.
"Hey, just cause you're bad, doesn't mean my game is," Louis feigned offense.
"Your game's not bad, it's fucking terrible."
"We can play Go Fish instead, then." The boy picked her cards off the table and shuffled them back into the deck.
"Go Fish? How creative."
"Hey, don't be knocking Go Fish. It's a Goddamn classic."
"What's Go Fish?" AJ interrupted the banter. He hopped onto the bench beside Louis and smiled up at him. "I wanna play."
"Sure you can handle it? It's the hardest game known to man. It gets intense, 'specially when you're playin' with this sore-loser," The older boy motioned to the girl across from them with a smirk.
"More like hardest game known to two-year-olds," Violet snorted.
"I can," The youngest affirmed with a single, serious nod.
"Confident. I like it." The older boy gave him a lopsided grin, and the smile returned to AJ's face at the praise.
"Alright, here's what you gotta do," Louis dealt out the cards - seven to each player. "Look at the cards you got, but don't let us see. You have to make pairs of the same number by asking us if we have one of the numbers in your hand. If we don't have it, we say 'Go Fish', and you draw a card. Person with the most pairs at the end wins. If you already have a pair now, you can just put it down."
On cue, Violet boasted a pair of fives to start off the game and looked at the older boy smugly.
"I don't have any." AJ frowned at his hand.
"That's ok. Watch, I'll go first." Louis turned his gaze to the blonde. "Do you have any nines?"
"Nope," She shook her head.
"No, Vi, you have to say Go Fish," Louis protested.
"Why?"
"It's the rules. Game isn't called 'Nope'; it's called 'Go Fish'. You wanna be disqualified?"
"You're ridiculous." She rolled her eyes but complied, "Go Fish."
"Thank you." He drew a card and winked at AJ, who giggled. "You try."
"Ok…" He glanced at his cards then up to Violet. "Do you have any twos?"
Much to AJ's excitement, she handed over a two, which he proudly stacked with his on the table.
The older boy couldn't help but beam at his elation. "Nice one, AJ! Show her who's boss!"
Violet narrowed her eyes at Louis. "You guys aren't just gonna keep asking me, right?"
"Oh, shit, good idea, Vi." The teen turned to AJ and whispered loudly, "Let's gang up on her, man."
"Ok!" AJ laughed.
"Nope. Not doing it." The girl threw her cards onto the table.
"Hey, I was just kidding," He said before facing AJ and sneakily mouthing, 'I wasn't'.
"Think I've exceeded my Louis'-card-games quota for the week."
"Killjoy," He teased as he gathered up her abandoned cards.
"Fuck off."
With the enthusiasm dying down, AJ remembered why he'd come out there in the first place. He handed Louis his stack of cards to add to the deck.
"Louis, can you help me?" He peered up at the teen with an eyebrow raised.
"Maybe," The older shrugged, still focused on shuffling the cards. "What'cha need?"
"Well, Clem's been sad," AJ told him, making Louis' smile give way to a pained expression.
"Yeah. I… I've noticed."
"And I wanna make it better," The little boy said and sat up straight.
"Me too, buddy."
"I wanna do something special for her, but I don't know what, and you're really good at making her smile, so I need you to help me decide."
"Why don't you draw her a picture? She loves those, right?" Violet suggested.
"She does, but I already thought of that, and I do it all the time, so it's not enough. I need something... spectacular."As he spoke the last word, the boy put his hands up with fingers flared out and made a rainbow motion with his arms.
Louis laughed out loud while Violet rolled her eyes.
The blonde scoffed and shook her head with a smirk. "Oh my God, you spend way too much time around this idiot."
"Hey! I'm being serious," AJ asserted and shook his head. "Don't laugh."
"Oh, I- uh- I'm sorry." Violet looked down and rubbed the back of her neck. The trio fell into an awkward silence.
AJ stared at Louis, who was deep in thought.
"You wanna play her a song?" He suddenly blurted out.
"Wha- how? Like on that music machine?" The boy was confused; that wasn't very special. They'd been playing her music for days. Maybe Louis didn't really know anything...
"No, on the piano."
"But I don't know how."
"I'll show you. It's not that hard."
AJ absolutely lit up with glee and started bouncing up and down in his seat. "Really?"
"Yeah, just lemme know whenever you wanna start. I'll-"
"Now! Right now!" The boy jumped off the bench, nearly losing his footing and flopping to the ground.
Louis chuckled. "Go ahead." He nodded toward the direction of the music room.
"I'll be there in a minute."
AJ was intimidated to say the least as he gawked at the giant instrument in front of him. There had to be at least a hundred buttons, maybe two hundred. He couldn't be sure. He was starting to not believe Louis saying it wasn't that hard to play.
The boy sat on the bench, hesitantly lifted his hand and hovered it over one of the keys. He pushed it down, flinching slightly at the loud note that reverberated throughout the room. He pushed another, then another, then three at once. AJ giggled and continued increasing the number of keys pushed down until he ran out of fingers. His fear of the piano quickly vanished as he became determined to press every single one.
AJ stood up and spread his arms as wide as he could; then, he lowered his body down onto the piano. The instrument screamed a thousand notes, effectively mimicking the sound of a quickly approaching train. The little boy was overcome with laughter as the roaring echoed off the walls.
"Ah, the obligatory pressing of all the keys at the same time."
The sudden voice from his right startled AJ off of the piano. He sat back in the bench and glanced sheepishly at Louis, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
"Sorry…"
"You're good." Louis entered and sat beside him, flashing him a goofy grin. "I do that at least once a day."
AJ laughed. "Really?"
He smirked, spreading his arms and lowering himself onto the piano just as AJ had. The piano hollered even louder than before due to the older boy's longer arms reaching more of the keys. They both lost it laughing.
AJ wiped his eyes while he tried to catch his breath. Louis sat back down and stretched his fingers across the keys to form a real chord. The sweet sound filled the room- a stark contrast from the prior chaos. He continued playing a random string of notes until AJ had sufficiently calmed down.
Louis slouched back and smiled at the younger boy.
"So, any song in particular you wanna learn?"
AJ thought for a minute. He didn't know many songs- or any really. Well, he knew the one Disco Broccoli song Clementine taught him, but it was kinda dumb; he wanted a pretty song to sing for her. He searched his head until he came upon a certain memory - when Louis met her. He didn't know the name of the song Louis sang or many of the words, but he remembered the smile on her face when he sang it to her - the kind of smile he desperately wanted to see her wear again.
"What about the Clementine song - the one you sang before. Remember? She said she loved it."
"How could I forget?" He said, more to himself than to AJ.
"Can you play that one?"
Louis nodded before placing his hands back on the piano. "You got it."
"Oh, my darling, Oh, my darling,
Oh, my darling, Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine."
Lost and gone forever? AJ didn't like the sound of that. He wasn't so sure he liked that song very much anymore… Clementine wasn't gone, and he didn't ever want her to be. He didn't want to make her more sad, and he felt like the content of the song would do just that. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the ground.
"Light she was and like a fairy
And her shoes were number nine
Herring boxes without topses
Sandals were for Clementine."
AJ made a face. Now that part just doesn't make any sense…
Louis repeated the chorus again, bringing the frown back to AJ's face. Gone forever. He hated that line. That line represented his worst nightmare. It was like whoever wrote the song wanted to hurt him, and that made him mad.
Louis stopped playing when he noticed the distressed look on his face.
"Damn. My singing really that bad?"
AJ shook his head, still staring at his feet. "No. It's just… I don't…" He looked up at Louis with knitted brows. "I don't like that song anymore."
"What's wrong with it?"
"The words are kinda sad… I don't know if I wanna sing that one to her. I don't wanna make her sadder."
"Well, we could always change the words," The older boy suggested.
AJ raised a brow at the idea. He liked the tune of the song; it was pretty, and Clementine seemed to think it was too. It was only a few words that irked him; he didn't have to reject the whole song. He liked the idea of changing it- of making it about his Clementine. His Clementine wouldn't be 'lost and gone forever'; she's tough and the absolute greatest. However, the task of changing the song seemed daunting.
"I don't know… Sounds hard. I've never made a song before."
"Well, luckily you just so happen to be sitting next to the greatest songwriter in the world." He lifted his chin and grabbed the sides of his jacket.
AJ grinned. "You really think we can?"
"Definitely. You wanted it to be special, so what's more special than writing her her own song?"
Louis stood up and headed for one of the bookshelves in the room. He picked a random book off the shelf, opened it, and ripped out a page with minimal text on it. He picked one of the many pens off the floor and scribbled on the paper to test it.
"Alright, we're in business." Louis returned to his spot on the bench. "We'll do the words first; then, I'll show you how to play it, and we'll practice."
AJ nodded, satisfied with the plan.
Louis pressed the pen to the page and began to write out the original song to reference its rhythm.
After half an hour, the song still wasn't finished, and AJ was getting antsy. He knew it was gonna be hard… He wasn't good enough with words to really help Louis write the song, so he just told the older boy what he wanted it to say: how awesome and strong Clementine is, how she's protected him and made him 'super-duper smart', and how she was still awesome - even with one foot. After giving Louis his lengthy list of requirements, he had taken to pacing around the room and trying to find interest in the objects he found tossed about. His eye caught the side of the piano, where he noticed something carved on it.
"You… su-suck at play-ing?" He turned to Louis. "Who wrote that?"
The teen looked up from the paper. "I don't know; didn't see it happen. It's been there forever, though."
"Well, it's mean. I don't think you suck. You're good at it; I wanna be as good as you."
Louis smiled in response before turning his focus back down to the page.
The boy returned to the piano and looked over Louis' shoulder at the in-progress song. He couldn't make sense of the writing; it was all over the place with many lines crossed out, and Louis' handwriting was very curly and impossible for the young boy to read.
AJ groaned. "Is it done yet?"
"Almost. Just a couple more lines."
AJ plopped onto the bench with a huff. He'd been saying that for the past ten minutes.
He went back to studying the piano, and noticed another carving. This one was more ambiguous; he wasn't sure what it could mean. C + L? He hoped it wasn't another malicious one; he didn't like that someone would be mean to Louis.
"What's this one mean?" He tapped Louis and pointed to the carving.
The teen followed AJ's finger until his gaze landed on the markings. He stared smiling at it for a second before turning to AJ.
"Stands for me and Clem. It's our names in a heart; we did it the night the raiders came."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "Just something people do when they love each other."
AJ nodded. "So you love Clem?"
"I do."
"I do too." AJ was silent for a moment. "Why didn't she ever make one of those with me?"
Louis chuckled. "It's different."
"Oh… Why?"
"Different kinda love, little dude."
AJ scrunched his face in confusion. He didn't know there were different types of love.
The older boy noticed his puzzled expression and continued, "Y'know… like a 'like-like' love?"
"Ohh." The little boy raised an eyebrow at him. "...Is that why you do that weird thing with your mouths?"
Louis turned red and laughed awkwardly. "Uh, yeah… It's called kissing, and it's not weird."
"Weird to me."
"Fair enough." He shook his head and breathed out another laugh. "Well, think I know what the last line should be now."
AJ lit up. "Does that mean it's done?"
"Sure is." Louis jotted the final line down and handed the page to the younger boy. "What do you think?"
He stared blankly at the curvy letters on the paper. "...I can't read it… But it's great! I think she'll love it!"
Louis snorted and took the song back. "Glad you believe in me, but you gotta know the words if you're gonna sing it to her."
"Oh, right… Can you read it to me?"
Louis nodded and pointed at the first group of lines. "This verse is gonna be your solo."
"Solo?"
"Yeah, you're gonna sing it by yourself." The teen proceeded to read the verse to him.
AJ loved it; it was exactly what he wanted. Louis even put the words 'super-duper smart' into the song like he asked for. AJ was convinced; the older boy really was the greatest songwriter in the world. However, the thought of singing without Louis to back him up was a bit intimidating. What if he messed up? What if his voice was bad? He shared these concerns with the teen, who immediately dismissed them. Louis said that it didn't matter. It didn't matter if it was 'as good as Broadway' - whatever that meant; Clementine would love it anyway because it would be coming from him. AJ knew this was probably true, but he was still a little nervous.
Louis continued reading the song to AJ one verse at at time. He pointed out that the third verse was gonna be his solo, which relieved the little boy. He wouldn't be the only one singing some of the lines alone. Louis continued reciting the song, and AJ lit up at every line. The song was everything he could have hoped for.
"Well? What'cha think?" Louis finished and looked to the younger boy expectantly.
"It's awesome! It's… It's spectacular!" AJ threw his arms up, earning a laugh from the boy beside him. "I can't wait to show her!"
"Just need to add the piano; then, we can go get her. It's a pretty easy song, so shouldn't take too long for you to learn it."
AJ looked at the piano then back at Louis. "There's so many buttons…"
"Yeah, but you only need these ones." Louis dragged his finger across seven of the keys in the middle of the piano, playing a simple scale. "I'll play the lower part."
"There's two parts?"
"Yup. 'Spose to play the high part with one hand and the low with the other, but you can just focus on one since it's your first time. Your part sounds just like the song when you're singing it."
AJ tapped a couple of the keys he'd be using before smiling up at the teen. "Ok. Which one first?"
Louis grabbed AJ's hand and guided it into position. "First three notes are G. That's this one." The teen pointed to a key and prompted AJ to push it three times; he complied then looked to the other for further direction.
The teen continued showing AJ the notes for the next line and telling him their names. AJ followed the boy's instruction and slowly attempted the notes corresponding to the first couple lines of the song. He fumbled a bit during his first few tries, but with Louis' encouragement, he eventually got it perfect. He grinned when he noticed the familiar melody begin to take shape.
"Woah." AJ smiled up at his teacher. "That's so cool."
Louis beamed. He was beyond elated that he finally had someone to share his love of the instrument with. Everyone else acted like it was a waste of time. He couldn't stop grinning at the little boy as they continued playing the verse piece by piece. AJ's enthusiasm was refreshing; every time he'd successfully play a line, he'd bounce up and down or do a little dance. They practiced each line individually until the little boy was able to play them all together. When AJ finally played the verse through without a single error, the most delighted grin overtook his features.
"Nice!" Louis held his hand up for a high-five which AJ happily gave. "You don't even need me; you're a natural."
AJ giggled. He was incredibly proud of himself; he couldn't wait to see Clementine's reaction.
"And guess what?"
"What?"
"Rest of the song is just that for all the verses. That means you just went and learned yourself an entire song." This time, the teen put both of his hands up for a double high-five.
AJ slapped his small hands against the older boy's. "Really?"
Louis nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're the next Mozart."
"Huh?"
"...Never mind," He chuckled. "Let's put this thing together so we can go give our girl a show."
"Yeah!"
The boys spent the next hour mashing their rewritten lyrics and piano melody together. They practiced over and over, determined to get it absolutely flawless. Clementine didn't deserve anything less.
"Clem! Clem!" AJ burst into their bedroom, panting. He dashed over to her bedside and stood bouncing on the balls of his feet beside her.
"Woah, what's up, kiddo?" Clementine propped herself up on an elbow.
"You-you gotta come! We have a surprise for you! A really really big surprise! You're gonna love it!"
"Slow down, AJ. We?"
AJ glanced behind him and frowned when he didn't see Louis standing there. He ran back for the door and peered out into the hallway, looking left and right. When Louis finally turned the corner, AJ waved him over.
"Louis! Hurry up!"
The older boy's laughter echoed down the hall. "I'm goin'." He popped into the doorway and grinned at the girl inside. She gave a small smile in return.
"So where's this big surprise?"
"We have to take you to it."
Her eyebrows raised then furrowed as she frowned. "I… I can't get up, AJ."
"That's why I'm here." Louis butt in. "Which method of transportation would you prefer: piggy back or bridal style?" He knelt down beside her bed.
Clementine rolled her eyes and pretended to ponder her options for a minute. It probably wasn't the greatest idea to leave her bed yet as she still had a lot of healing to do. However, she was going crazy staring at the same ceiling, the same walls, the same view from the window for all hours of the day. The idea of getting out- of going anywhere else - was too appealing.
"Hmm, how 'bout you get on all fours, and I'll sit on your back like a horse?"
He shrugged and breathed out a little laugh. "Might break my back, but… Whatever you want. It'd be a noble sacrifice."
"Oh, can't have that. Guess I'll settle for bridal."
"Good choice." He winked, and she snorted.
Louis slid an arm under her knees and scooped her off of her bed. Clementine winced and let out a little squeak of pain when her injured leg rubbed against the mattress.
"Sorry." Louis hugged her tighter, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, mustering up a pained smile.
AJ instructed her to close her eyes which she hesitantly did when the boys insisted that it was essential to the surprise that she not know where they're going. She tightened her grip on Louis' shoulders when he started walking, and tried to pay attention to his movements in an attempt to gauge where they were headed. Left out the room, then right a few feet down. Were they going outside?
Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the creak of a door and saw the blackness of her vision flash red as the sun hit her face. Louis made his way out the door, careful not to knock her against anything. A light breeze tickled her skin, and she smiled, thankful to be outside again after being cooped up in her room for days. The fresh air filling her lungs and the warmth radiating off the boy holding her lulled her into a sense of peace. She lay her head against his shoulder and relished in the feeling.
"Louis!"
A furious voice caused the girl's breath to hitch, and she shot her eyes open.
"What the Hell do you think you're doin'?" Louis faced the direction of the cry and found Ruby glaring at him. "She needs to be in bed."
"No, Ruby! We're doing something really important!" AJ protested.
"I don't care. She needs to rest and keep it elevated. Why would you ever think that you could-"
"It's ok." Clementine interrupted. "I'm fine. I needed out of that room, anyway." She smiled softly. "It's nice out."
"But your-"
"It's just gonna be for a second!" The little boy pleaded. He couldn't let the plan fail when they were already this far along. He knew Ruby was just trying to look out for her, but she didn't understand how important this was. "Please." AJ widened his eyes and pouted up at her. Louis and even Clementine mirrored the boy's pleading expression.
The redhead groaned and clutched her temple. "Fine. Five minutes…" She held up a hand to represent the number. "And be careful."
AJ grinned gratefully and nodded. "Clem, close your eyes back!"
She obeyed and rested her head back on Louis' shoulder as he continued walking. The crunch of grass underneath his feet soon gave way to the click of his boots on concrete. Another door opened, and she was inside again, and soon, she was being lowered down into a chair.
"Don't open 'em yet," Louis told her.
She heard him walk away a short distance then a soft creak as he sat down. She raised an eyebrow when her ears caught the hushed giggles of the boys.
"Shh!"
Clementine let her eyes flutter open when she heard the first note of a song on the piano; they'd brought her to the music room. She looked to the piano to see Louis and AJ sitting on the bench together, both with a hand on a part of the instrument. AJ's voice filled the room:
"When I was scared, you would be there
And you'd teach me all the time
Now I'm super-duper sma-art
All cause of you, Clementine."
Of course, Clementine recognized the melody instantly, but the words were unfamiliar- different. Louis joined in, and the boys sang the second verse together:
"Oh, our darling, Oh, our darling,
Oh, our darling, Clementine
Listen closely, while we tell thee
The sweet tales of Clementine."
Louis looked straight into her eyes with the goofiest grin as he sang the third verse solo:
"When you came here, we were-en't sure
But you got here just in time
Helped us wreck those stupid raiders
Like a badass, Clementine"
They sang the rest of their song together:
"Oh, our darling, Oh, our darling,
Oh our darling, Clementine
Thought we lost you but you're still here
You're the strongest, Clementine
"We know you're sad, cause of your leg
But please trust us; you'll be fine
You will always be the coolest
You're still awesome, Clementine
"Oh, our darling, Oh, our darling
Oh, our darling, Clementine
You're the bravest; you'll get through this
And we'll help you, Clementine
"You're so lovely, such a beauty
With sweet golden eyes that shine
And the smile of an angel
Show it to us, Clementine.
"Oh, our darling, Oh, our darling,
Oh our darling, Clementine
You're the greatest; like no other,
How we love you, Clementine."
The boys both took their hands off the piano and looked to the girl in the chair beside them. Her hand was over her mouth, her eyes glossy. She blinked a few times and a tear escaped, cascading down her cheek. AJ was worried for a second. Why was she crying? Clem never cried. Did she not like it? Did he mess up? The little boy looked up at Louis with a panicked expression. However, the teen didn't look worried. He was grinning from ear to ear.
AJ returned his gaze to the girl. "Clem?"
Clementine removed her hand from her lips, revealing the biggest, realest, smile AJ had ever seen her wear. And in that instant, all his worry was washed away. She was happy. She was really happy.
She choked out a laugh and wiped her eyes. "You- you dorks." She sighed and extended her arms to the boys. AJ hopped off the bench and ran into her arms; he gripped her as tightly as his little arms could. He began to feel a stinging at his eyes as they threatened to burst with tears as well. Seeing her so happy… It was the best thing ever.
Clementine pulled back a bit and "How did you… When did you do this?" She choked.
"This morning. Louis taught me how. He helped me write the song so it's about you. We… We wanted to make you happy."
The girl looked to the older boy, who smiled lovingly at her. He slid off the bench and joined them at the chair, kneeling down and putting an arm around Clementine.
Her breath hitched, and she cleared her throat. "Well, you did it. Y-You did." She sniffled and wiped at another stray tear. "You're such a sweetie."
"And you are too." She turned her gaze to Louis, pulled him into the hug, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."
Louis returned her kiss, and AJ latched onto her and nuzzled his face into her neck. "We love you, Clem," He mumbled against her.
Clementine sniffled and held onto her boys tighter. "I love you guys too."