A/N: Hello again everyone! It's been a LONG TIME since I've written anything for this story and my Walking Dead one. Sorry, a gal's been busy. But, as you can see, this is a tad bit different. I've been looking at it in a new lens since it's been published, and while it's GOOD, it could be better in some areas. I'm not deleting anything! Just editing the language a bit and adding a couple small scenes here and there. It flows better with the additions, trust me. Tina's sassier now, which is what I want her to be.
If you've read Welcome to the New World before, I'd suggest reading it again. Just to catch up on the new pieces. If this is your first time reading it, welcome! I hope you enjoy it. (And yes, this is a rated M story for a reason. There IS smut. Ya nasties :P)
And, of course, a disclaimer: I do not own Fear the Walking Dead or any of its storylines. If I did, it'd be a LOT different. I just own my OC, Cristina Waters and her storylines.
"Where are you?"
"Just got through the entrance. You?"
"Bloody hell, I'm in East wing already. Meet up at the front?"
"Nah, I'm heading to class. Meet up there?"
"Okay. See you."
I click, "End Call," on my phone, shoving it in my pocket quickly. Sure, we're allowed phones before class, but Mr. Bruno is a hard ass about them. I don't want it confiscated before the first bell.
The other teens in the dull classroom chat away, not that there are many. The normally bursting room of testosterone and estrogen is more hushed than normal. There are rumors from teachers and other students that the few dozen absences are from the new flu. It's unsettling.
I stand outside the door, patiently waiting for Alycia to catch up. I almost thought she wouldn't make it. I wonder what happened. Not that I'm surprised. Alycia likes to sleep in, or take her time eating breakfast. She is not a punctual being like me. I rise with the sun; she rises whenever the hell she wants to.
That's the funny thing about Alycia and I; we're polar opposites. She's tall, I'm short. She has long brown hair, I cut mine a tad and dyed it a deep red a few months ago. Not like a fire truck red, more of a bright auburn. It's one of my favorite colors. Her eyes are light brown, and mine green. The one thing that we have in common is our brains. We both take the same honors and AP classes with high GPAs. It's how we met back in freshman year. Three years later, we're basically conjoined at the hip.
Not that our parents mind. Her mom and step-dad(ish,) enjoy when I visit, and my parents love when she stays over. They're glad I have a close friend. They knew how difficult it would be for me to make some after our huge move a few years back.
I see Alycia taking her time in the hall, tapping away at her phone with earbuds in. She looks up from the screen and gives me a forced smile.
The real one I have drops, turning into a frown. "What happened?"
Alycia sighs as she stuffs her phone in her pocket. "It's Nick. He's in the hospital. Again."
"Oh." We walk into class as my heart drops. I know she loves her brother, but he can be a pain. Especially when he gets himself into trouble. "What is it this time?"
"Probably heroin again." She informs as we flop in our seats. "And he got hit by a car. Minor scrapes and bruises, but still."
"Damn, I'm sorry, love. That's awful." I say, my thick British accent mulling through the words. She tosses her homework for English on her desk, and I focus on her growing frown.
"Yeah, it is. But he's done it for years. I'm used to it by now." I notice Alycia's hand clenching around the small pink eraser for class, her knuckles turning white. He's the one person that could do this to her. And still, he repeats this vicious cycle. Half of me wants to punch him. The other half wants me to beg him to stop.
"I know, love. It sucks."
She just hums in response.
"Before I forget, Matt was looking for you." I say, and the bell rings.
"I'll see him during Spanish. Thanks for the message." She says, and Mr. Bruno enters the room with a large stack of papers in hand. Pop quiz. Fuck.
"No problem."
The last bell rings loud, and to me it sounds like angels singing. I meet up with Alycia by the door, who indeed left me in Spanish to hang out with her boyfriend, Matt.
As she yanks out her phone from her pocket, she asks, "What'd I miss in Spanish?"
"The start of a long and dreadful project. Congrats, you picked the best day to skip class." I playfully say. I give her the list of objectives for the five-page project.
"Shit."
"Yup. I can help you out a bit, if you want. We can hang out tonight and I'll show you the ropes?"
"I'll ask my mom." She replies, which roughly translates to, "Yes, come over."
"Cool. My mum's still out of town, but I'll send my dad a text."
We walk together down the campus stairs and to her mom's car, where Madison already sits. Perks of being a faculty member here.
Alycia knocks on the glass with a knuckle and Madison rolls down the window halfway for us.
"Hey, Tina!" Madison greets with an easy smile.
I give a wave. "Afternoon, Madison."
I adore her. She's extremely nice, and genuinely wants to help the kids she counsels. There isn't a lot of that, especially in Los Angeles, but she holds true to kindness. Plus, she's really cool, and a great mother to her kids. If they let her be.
"Do you mind if Tina stays the night?" Alycia asks as she hops into the passenger seat.
"It's a school night." Madison points out.
"We know." I say, putting on my best smile. She's easy to wear down, especially since I help around the house if needed. "We just have a major Spanish project that we want to start together."
"Even then, I'm gonna go check up on Nick tonight." Madison says. "Travis is gonna stay home."
"Oh, you know I like Travis."
Madison thinks a moment before sighing in playful defeat. Bam! "Fine. Hop in the back."
"Thank you." I grin and hop into the backseat.
The rest of the night goes by quickly. We get to the Clarke household and Alycia and I finish our homework at the kitchen table. Madison makes a quick meal of chicken, pasta, and broccoli for dinner, and she and Travis switch shifts for watching Nick. Travis and I make small talk as Alycia pointedly ignores him and scrolls on her phone. I feel for him and his awkward predicament. He's a good man, but he gets a lot of shit thrown at him.
The next morning Alycia and I race to the bathroom, which I win by a longshot. Alycia running before coffee is an absolute nightmare to see, and she's even worse in hand-eye coordination.
The morning goes by like a ritual; I shower, then Alycia, and Travis makes up a hot breakfast of eggs and bacon with English muffins. There's coffee resting in a pot on the stove, and he even makes me some green tea. He knows I'm not a coffee person from the numerous times I've slept over. Jesus, I should get my own spot at the table. I'm here way too often.
As Alycia takes her shower, I walk into the kitchen. The smells assault my nose, and I breathe in the amazing scent.
Travis is just finishing up on the eggs when he greets me. "Mornin', Cristina."
"Good morning, Travis. Just Tina's fine, y'know." I say, like always. Not that Tina ever sticks with him. He grabs a mug, already with warm tea, and hands it over. I graciously thank him.
"We're gonna check up on Nick before dropping you two at school. That alright?" He asks. He holds a plate out to me, filled with delicious, warm food.
"Of course. You know I don't mind Nick." I say, setting the plate down and taking a quick sip of tea. I hope he mistakes the rising blush as warmth from the drink.
"Okay, good. He's been a little out of it. Says he's seeing things."
"What kind of things?"
"Just some bad hallucinations. I'm sure he's fine." I nod at the statement. "Once breakfast is done we'll head by the hospital."
"Cool."
I may or may not have had a crush on the older Clarke my first year in LA. The constant teasing from Alycia was hell. While he was her brother, she thought it'd be cute and tried to be a shitty definition of a wingman. I was too nervous to say anything, though. Ah, constant anxiety. That was around the time he started using, and their father passed away, so it's not like it would have worked out. He's dated around, as have I. It helps that, a few months ago, Alycia told me he and Gloria—another druggie he hung out with—started dating. So, thus my crush diminishes. I've gotten over it throughout the years. As quick as it happened, it was gone.
Alycia walks in the kitchen, her hair damp from the shower. Travis hands her a plate and tells her to eat quickly so we can grab Maddy from the hospital. She, begrudgingly, does so. Don't seem too excited about it, love.
Madison is fast asleep in the hospital bed, clutching to Nick like a bloody teddybear in her sleep. How sweet. The three of us walk in a line into the room, with Travis as the first to enter. He has a steaming cup of coffee for her, otherwise known as, "life juice," to the Clarkes and the Manawa.
He bends over and gives her a kiss on the cheek, whispering, "You have an hour before the first bell."
Madison grumbles unintelligibly as her eyes open. The shift in the bed makes Nick mumble, though he's much less keen to open his eyes.
Madison stands up shakily, eyes still half-lidded and shifting away from the light. I note that her back will be killing, given the position she was sleeping in. "Okay. I need coffee before anything."
I hope into a plastic seat next to Alycia, who's tapping away at her phone, probably texting Matt. I shimmy my back into the chair, trying to get comfortable while I wait.
Travis hands Madison a plastic bag. "Here, a change of clothes."
She thanks him softly and leaves the room, heading to a bathroom to change.
Travis looks to Nick in the bed, and says, "I'll be right back." He speeds out of the room, trailing after Madison. The action leaves us three teens alone.
I yank out my phone and begin typing in it, the silence in the air awkward. Fruit Ninja solves this problem. Fruit Ninja solves all problems. Slice, slice.
Alycia, for once, sets her phone down and talks to Nick. "That was nice, you and the step."
"Not our step." Nick says, his voice a mixture of a deep grumble and grogginess.
Alycia strolls to the bed, saying, "Mom likes him. But, yeah, he's a disappointment."
"You two ought to be nice to Travis. He's sweet." I defend. They both look to me with boredom in their eyes. "He's trying his best."
"Yeah, well, maybe he shouldn't." Alycia says.
Barbarians.
I set my eyes back on my phone, listening to Alycia flop on the bed beside her brother. She pulls the bedside table over to her, uncaps the breakfast plate, and pushes the button on the bed that makes Nicks head bend up. I hear his little chuckle at his sister.
"I know what you think." He says to her.
She grabs the orange jell-o cup and a spoon as she says, "What's that?"
"I know."
"What." She pulls the lid off. "Do I, think?" The tone in their voices are playful, something I don't see often in the Clarke children. I smile to my phone at the antics.
"You're perfect and I'm not?" Nick says it like a question, but it's meant to be a statement. She scoops a little of the orange onto a black plastic spoon and holds it to his mouth. He takes the bite gingerly.
He continues. "You got into Berkley, I got expelled from Citrus Community. I'm here, you're there."
She feeds him another bite. "I don't compare myself."
"You can't not."
She scoops up another. "I don't compare myself with crazy."
He seems genuinely hurt at the comment. "I'm not crazy."
"Well, you repeat the same behavior and expect different results. That's Miriam Webster-crazy."
Well, she's not wrong.
"Hey, Tina." Nick calls. I look up from my phone to him. "Could you grab me more jell-o? It's the one good thing they have for food around here."
I cock my head at the question. "And where would I get one? It's not like they have extras hanging around."
He gives a smirk at the question. "No, but other patients don't eat them. Just grab one from a dirty food cart."
"You're asking me to steal?" Oh, how vile.
"Sure." He shrugs his shoulders in response. "If that's how you wanna see it. It'll just get thrown out anyway. That a yes or a no?"
It's my turn to shrug my shoulders, then I stand and give him a cocky smirk. The thought gives me a little thrill. I mean, stealing is bad, but it's not that bad. He's right, it'll just get thrown out anyway. What's the harm?
I leave the room and walk down the narrow hall, easily finding a cart being pushed around by a nurse. She darts in and out of rooms, collecting trays with glassy eyes, like she's on auto-pilot. My eyes search through the dirty uncovered trays, spotting a green jell-o. I pull my phone out and pretend to play with it, fingers fake-typing smoothly over the surface. As soon as the nurse enters 204, I shove my phone in my pocket and sneak by, yanking out the green dessert. My hand presses the cup against my side, out of sight. Smiling to myself, I begin walking back to the room, hips sashaying with the movement.
Green jell-o held up proudly, I announce, "One extra dessert for Nick Clarke."
"My hero." He says, smiling goofily.
"You've made me a hard-core thief, now, so I expect to be paid for my troubles." I raise an eyebrow teasingly as Alycia grabs the cup from my hands. With a large flourish, I plop down onto a plastic chair, like a queen descending on her throne.
"Will a dollar suffice?"
I scoff. "That's worth at least a dollar fifty. Don't be cheap, mister."
"Fine. Put it on my tab."
I stick my tongue out at him in response, holding back a laugh.
These little conversations, the playful air in the room, even the joking, brings comfort. A small thought of, "Maybe he'll change this time around." But then again, I haven't talked to him that much; certainly never after a break like this. Our conversations are quick when I'm at the Clarke house. Passing by him in a hallway, knocking on his door to tell him dinner's ready. I can't even remember the last time I talked to him. Must've been a year, if I think hard on the timeline of Alycia complaining about his usage. I haven't had a good discussion with him since maybe freshman year. I don't know what he's like nowadays. Not really.
"Hey." Alycia pulls me out of my thoughts. "Mom just texted. We're leaving for school."
"Okay." I say, standing up from my seat. "You first."
She grabs the door and pulls through quickly. I almost follow suit, my hand on the doorknob, but Nicks voice rings in my ears. "Wait, Tina."
I look back to him. "Yes?"
He motions for me to move closer, and after a moment's thought I drop the door. The gentle sound of it shutting rings in the silence as I stroll to his bedside, eyebrow raised.
"Do you…" He takes a breath before asking. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
I look down, away from his eyes. Do I? I'm not sure.
"I think that these things you're seeing, you think they're true." I choose my words carefully. "Whether or not they're real doesn't matter. You think they're real. Doesn't mean you're crazy."
He releases a sigh, though I'm not sure if it's from anger or relief. I try to remain neutral in his situation. It's not like he wanted to see whatever it is he's freaking out about. It's just a side effect from the heroin.
"Thank you."
"No problem." I say, and give him a gentle smile. "Though I'm surprised you asked me. Wouldn't talking to your mom or the step-douche be better?"
I get a chuckle out of, "step-douche," and though I don't like talking about Travis negatively, it's worth it to see Nick calm down a tad.
"Remember…" Nick starts, his eyes staring not at me, but through me. "Remember the time, after my dad died, and everyone found out I was using? All I heard were begs to stop and get help. All the time. From mom, from 'Lycia. And you?"
I smile nostalgically. "I punched you. And called you an idiot."
That was probably the last actual conversation I had with him.
"Exactly. You were real with me. Figured if you didn't coddle me then, you weren't about to start now."
I straighten my back a bit, looking down to him. "Well, consider me flattered. Glad to be of service."
And—because I'm a terribly nosey busy-body, I ask, "Has Gloria come by to see you?"
"No." He frowns. "I don't think she's gonna." Nick's eyes immediately shift from mine to the floor. His hands, restrained to the bed, tighten to fists and shake by his side. I can't tell if it's from anger or fear.
I raise an eyebrow and softly pry. "Why not? Did you two have a fight or something?"
Then he looks up to me, eyes wide and terrified. He just says, "Something."
I press my lips into a tight line. "Sorry to hear that."
"… Me too."
A shrill Bing! from my phone makes me jump in place. I yank it out of my pocket and read a message from Alycia. Where are you? We're leaving, remember?
"Gotta go. It's your sister." I say, writing a quick On my way! to her.
Nick nods. "Okay. And Tina? Thank you."
I give a small shake my head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
I leave the room again, giving a small smile to the ground. Jesus, I'm hopeless. Still, it was good to talk to him, even if for a little bit. I miss our chats; I miss having actual conversations.
Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I jog out the doors and find Alycia and her parents waiting for me at the car.
"Sorry!" I apologize. We hop into the car, almost synchronized in the movement. Travis decides to stay behind with Nick. Guess he still needs a babysitter.
The day goes by normal. Classes, lunch, phone call to mum outside. Classes again, take the bus home (Alycia went to hang out with Matt after school. I jokingly told her to bring a condom. She told me she has a whole pack. I was slightly mortified.)
Awaiting in my humble apartment of two rooms and one and a half baths is my father. Mum left Sunday for a business trip in England for the week, doing a presentation at a huge medical conference. She works in oncology and, if memory serves right, was studying the effects of a new drug. Dad works as an implementation's manager at a bank. His hours are much more stable than hers, something I'm very fond of. And he isn't called halfway around the bloody earth to present new findings every few years.
"Dad!" I run over and throw my arms around him in a big hug. He's at the stove, making some chicken that smells divine.
He responds with a kiss on my cheek. "Hey there, Smurfette. How was school?"
His accent is much stronger than mine. It's not surprising, considering he's lived in Suffolk his whole life. Originally from Framlingham, Suffolk, my family moved here, to Los Angeles, California at the start of my freshman year.
I smile at the childhood nickname. "School was good. Got a shitton of homework though."
"As always." He nods. He knows the regular workload. He sees me do it almost every night. "How were the Clarkes?"
That's a whole other story. "Eh, Nick is being Nick. They're all a bit stressed."
Dad gives a gentle nod. "Is he better or worse?"
"Worse." I say. As I open my backpack and set my homework on the table, he rests his hands at the edge and gives me a teasing grin.
"What?" I ask, an eyebrow raised.
His eyes twinkle behind his thick glasses as he tells me, "You remember John, that new coworker I talked about last week?"
"… Yeah? And?"
"Well, I found out he has a daughter."
I roll my eyes playfully. "You say that like you won the lottery."
"She's 17. And siiiingle!"
"And she's gay? Bi? Into girls in some way, shape, or form?"
He shrugs his shoulders. "You can find that out for yourself."
As he heads back to the stove I say, "You can't try to set me up with someone when you don't even know what team they play on!"
"That's your problem!" Dad laughs. "Besides, it's not like I can ask him. I leave tonight."
I dramatically drop my head onto my Physics book. "Oh, that's tonight?"
He nods his head and spins some noodles around in a pot. "Yeah, I take flight tonight and by morning I'll be annoying your mother again."
"Oh, she'll love that!"
He wants to surprise her tomorrow at the conference. After some presentations and lectures, he's going to pop in and jokingly ask her to dinner. 'Your husband will never find out!' is going to be his big punchline. Dad's had this planned this for over two months. He's such a dork, but so is mom. That's why they work so well together. I'm certain that when she sees his face, she'll be the happiest woman on earth.
I'm gonna miss them. They'll be gone for the whole week! What am I going to do without them and their silly antics?