Hi everyone, I'm here for Richonne cause I love them and decided to start writing again (it's been a long while. Be gentle) anyways I just wanted to see what they would have done in a situation like the one your about to read. I've been working on this for the past couple weeks, so a few more chapters are done I just have to edit (not my favorite part) I enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it. All mistakes are mine. Happy reading!

Prologue

It was happening.

She was leaving them. Leaving behind this dysfunctional, mismatched, weird group of friends she had known for most of her years, to pursue an opportunity that might change the course of her life. She shuddered at the thought of what life would be like without these people. They appeared in her life at different intervals but they were something she didn't know she needed at the time. No one truly understood their dynamic but they worked and that was enough for them. Michonne gazed around the brightly-lit room of one of her favorite hangouts as a teenager as she allowed her eyes to survey the Greene's living room again, this time trying to capture the faces of her closest friends, praying that she would be granted and eidetic memory to recall moments like this when she needed it.

They had surprised her with a going away party under the disguise of their usual Friday night get-togethers. It was a good way to recap the week and de-stress at any place of their choosing. These people were her family and her heart bled thinking about how much she was going to miss them. They made a pact that they were always going to be together as friends but soon College came and reality had crushed their young dreams. She was going to be the one to break their bond but if she was going to be honest with herself she wanted this change, this chance to pursue her dreams. Her dreams just happened to be hundreds of miles away in New York.

Daryl was the first to speak "This is the lamest going away party I have ever been to! Damn! ... Did somebody die? Cause it feels like a wake!" he peeked out from behind his wife Sasha who sat on his lap. He tapped Sasha's hip and she rose from his lap.

"I'm going to put on some music, good Lord am I the only one with some Zen around here?" Daryl exclaimed stepping up to the entertainment center set up against the Greene's very grey living room wall.

"It does feel like somebody died." Maggie, now Rhee said as she entered the living room with a tray of her famous buffalo wings, her wedding ring glowing on her ring finger.

"Michonne is not dead, she's right here and she's still going to be with us even though she's leaving." Andrea, Michonne's best friend from childhood responded passing her hands through her long blond tresses.

Michonne walked up to her from behind and touched her shoulders "Hi I'm right here, no need to talk about me like I'm already gone!" she quipped.

"She's practicin..." Shane Walsh, Andrea's off-again on-again boyfriend since high school commented. Michonne laughed but she was trying her best to not let her mood turn sour and enjoy her last night with her friends. She already had a heavy heart after her confrontation with her now ex-boyfriend Mike. He didn't take the news of her sudden departure as well as she expected. She didn't anticipate that Mike would be so angry. He expressed to her that he knew she wanted to leave him all along and that he had been in their relationship alone for a long time. Mike didn't hold back and she was glad that that was a chapter in her life that she didn't have to read over. She tried to stay in the moment and grinned at her friends who were all laughing at something that Maggie's husband Glenn said, he was currently center stage. She glimpsed around the living room and realized a familiar, comforting pair of blue eyes was missing from the scene.

Rick Grimes.

She knew exactly where he was.

Michonne escaped to the large back porch and realized that evening had given way to night as the first thing she saw was the hundreds of stars that painted the black carpet sky. The white veranda opened up to a large field which only reminded her of another thing she was going to miss. So much memories. So much history. She knew she would find Rick here, many nights in years gone by the whole lot of them would camp out at the Greene's when they were teenagers. She chuckled as she recalled a few stories, in those days it was just Michonne, Andrea, Rick, Daryl and Shane. They were all neighbors at first then they became friends with the help of Middle School. Life seemed like it moved quite quickly because soon enough they were in College which is where they met Sasha and Glenn and their loud buddy, Abraham who could not be with them that night due to work constraints. Maggie and Glen fell madly in love, literally because they made each other do the stupidest things and decided that they couldn't be apart. They were married before College had ended. A year after that Sasha and Daryl tied the knot after being together since high school. Andrea and Shane had a tumultuous relationship at best since they hit puberty and were forever on a roller coaster ride of on again-off again. Next in her mind was Rick who she was quietly observing from the porch as he quietly contemplated the dark landscape in front of them.

Rick didn't have much to say since she broke her news a few days ago. Everything for New York came together rather quickly and she didn't have much time to waste as per her parents instructions. There were no appropriate words to describe Michonne and Rick's relationship. The knew each other practically their whole lives and while all their friends had inevitably hooked up Rick and Michonne had fought their attraction for years while being with different people. All under the disguise that they were preserving their friendship. The unresolved feelings gave way to quick-witted remarks about their significant others which always had an undercurrent of jealousy. All in all, Rick proved to be a dependable fort for Michonne and she did the same for him, ultimately saving their friendship.

It was one regret she would be taking to New York.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She stepped to Rick interrupting his solitude.

He turned to her and exhaled deeply, adjusting his wash out Cougar hat on his full head of hair.

"Just remembering all of the nights we spent camping out here. You remember Shane was afraid of the dark?" he laughed quietly. It was amazing to her that they were always on the same page. It was something she didn't have with anyone else in the group.

"Gonna miss you kiddo" Rick confessed. Michonne hated the nickname he coined for her. He always felt like he had to take care of her despite their age difference of 1 year. His caring nature extended to all of the women in the living room but everyone knew he treated her differently which he often denied. She breathe in his words trying to store the sound of his smooth, southern voice to memory.

"I'm 2 hours and 39 minutes away by plane." she stated

"...and 13 hours and 25 minutes buy car...yeah I checked." Rick threw at her much to her surprise. Her eyes glistened and she gazed at him unable to respond. Andrea was her best friend, but this blue eyed, cargo shorts wearing, corny joke telling, big hearted dork was special to her. He used this rare moment and moved closer to her. They were chest-to-chest when he spoke.

Michonne...listen I know a lot of time has passed and I know you're moving away but I need to tell you..."

Before Rick could finish his sentence Michonne reached for his neck and pulled him in for a very unplanned kiss. Their lips collided effortlessly and a second later she traced her tongue across his bottom lip, Rick groaned and gathered her closer. Their tongues danced to a rhythm of their own. She smacked his bottom lip again and ended the impromptu kiss. Michonne didn't know what came over her, but she knew that nothing Rick said to her the night before she left Atlanta for New York could have been good. She buried it with a desire to feel him close for the last first time. Rick looked slightly dazed and confused as he stuffed his hands in the pocket of his green cargo shorts.

"Let's not do this, you have Lori now and I'm leaving." She pointed to his chest questioning where her words were coming from. Rick obviously had stuff, things he wanted to tell her and she stopped him with a kiss.

Who does that? She thought to herself.

"Let's not even say goodbye... can we just have this moment?" She carried on the charade as she stared directly at him.

"Is that what you want?" Rick asked her seriously already detecting that this was her way of numbing out which she was prone to do when she didn't want to face reality.

"You still taking me to the airport tomorrow? She avoided answering his question, already shaking off the emotional leftovers of their kiss.

"Who else is going to lift the hundreds of bags I know you packed? " he beamed with a shake of his head. He was giving her the easy way out, returning to their usual banter.

"Well...you're not here for your looks you know Grimes! 6 a.m. sharp! Don't be late or... you feel my wrath!" she teased walking back to the living room door to say a final goodbye to her friends.

"Don't I know it." He returned, but by the time he looked back she was already gone.