I felt her cool breath on my neck as she curled into my side under that old oak tree. Her breath tickled my neck and sent shivers down my spine. As long as I had her by my side, I felt safe and secure. I felt her start to relax as she fell asleep, but there was no time for that.

"Clem we need to get a move on, it will be dark soon." The smaller girl sat herself up and stretched.

"Can't we just stay here a little while longer?" There were dark bags under her eyes. It had been days since she even got a full length sleep. I felt bad that I had ruined the chance she had to rest, but we weren't safe out here in the open. Not with the infected around.

"We need to find somewhere safe, with shelter. Then you can sleep." Clementine grumbled something under her breath that I couldn't quite make out.

"Fine. Let's go then."

For the past few days, Clem and I had been trying to make our way further up north, to denser forested areas. We'd been hoping to find a cabin or something to hold out in for as long as possible. The cold weather down north would slow down the infected- hopefully. But we had nothing to lose, so we decided to risk our chances and move down there.

Hours past as we followed the compass I had found back at Tommy's when I was with Joel. That place was overrun within weeks of living there. As I tried to get away, Joel and I got separated and who even knows where he is now? I just hope he's safe. That's where I met Clem. She was being chased by two infected, so I saved her ass. I've been with her ever since. She and I walked through open fields and small wooded areas. I noticed Clementine kept walking slower and slower, due to exhaustion.

"Hey! Look over there!" I pointed to the trees.

"Is that a tree house? I used to have one of these!"

"Maybe we could live up there for a little while. It's high up enough that infected can't reach us and it has a roof to keep the rain out."

We ventured out closer to the structure. The tree house was made up of a nice dark wood.

"I don't see a ladder around here. How are we going to get up?"

"I've got an idea." We looked around for an opening to climb up.

"Here, I'll boost ya, and you tell me if it looks clear." I kneeled down for Clem to step onto my hands, and pushed her up into the opening.

"How's it looking up there Clem?"

"Looks clear!" Her hand held out for mine through the opening. "I'll help you up."

I jumped up and grabbed the girl's hand, and she pulled me up. The inside of the tree house was large, and the trunk of the tree ran up through the center and had a ladder leading up the side, and another opening on the ceiling. The walls were painted a light faded purple. The wall to the left had a small sofa and blanket rested against it, and the wall to the right had a door way. The door had a bridge attached, leading to a small wooden ledge around a bigger tree. It was an apple tree. This wasn't just a tree house, it was a tree palace. Clem and I had struck gold.

"We-" I looked over to Clementine who's eyes were lit up with joy.

"We can live here!" She smiled at me and I smiled back.

"What's up here?" she climbed the ladder leading up to the opening in the ceiling, and I followed behind her.

"There's another room? Wow this place is bigger than it seems."

The next room had a small mattress and pillows laying on top. Beside the mattress there was a pile of comic books and novels.

"Okay now this place just got perfecter." I joked.

"Well of course. You ARE the biggest dork I know."

"Shut up." I looked through the comic books. They were all the issues of Angel Knives. I stared blankly at the comics as memories flushed my brain. I must've zoned out or something because Clem snapped me back into reality.

"What's wrong Ellie? I thought you loved comics."

"I do its just- I had a friend who knew everything about her and... yeah." I set the comics back down. I don't think I'll be reading those.

"Forget those. Maybe we should just look around more. See if there's anything worth having. I'll take downstairs and you take up here." She nodded.

I climbed back down the ladder and looked beside the small sofa. Three crates were lined up beside it. The tops were covered in dust and the sides were peeling. The lids were nailed tight into the crates, so I took a hammer out of my backpack and used the back to remove each of the nails. The first crate was filled with bags of potato chips. Well that's good to know. At least we have some sort of food. The next crate held a few boxes of matches and an old oil lantern. The final crate held a few canned foods. The labels had been worn off so we just had to hope it was something good.

"You find anything up there Clem?"

"Nah not much. Just some more books. You find anything good?"

"I found quite a bit of food, and I found an oil lantern and some matches."

"Great. Those will come in handy."

"Mhm."

There was nothing left down here, so I opened the door that lead to the apple tree. The bridge was wobbly and unstable. I wrapped my hand around the ropes supporting the bridge and made my way to the other platform. It was high enough up so that I could reach the apples if I stood on my toes. I picked some for Clem and me. They were shiny and a bright shade of red. I placed them in my backpack. The platform could also be used as a look out for infected or bandits. Wind blew through my hair as I looked out onto the horizon. I could see the faint outline of a lake as the sun set over it. It was getting dark so I went back inside with the apples.

I climbed back up to where she had been searching. Clem stood there looking out the window of the room. I never really noticed how beautiful she was- until now. Her posture was very straight, and she had a small frame. She looked helpless on her own. Anyone could have mistaken her for someone younger. But she was fierce and brave. That was when I started to admire her. I couldn't be falling for her… could I? She did remind me a bit of- No. I shouldn't have even been thinking of her. I shook my head and looked and sat on the small mattress. I let out a sigh as I tried to clear my thoughts. I didn't even notice Clem had sat next to me until she wrapped her arms around my sides.

"I know something's bothering you, and whatever it is I'm here and I'll listen."

My cheeks heated up. Was it really that obvious that something was wrong? I leaned my head into Clementine's neck. I tried to hold back the tears that were filling up my eyes, but they flowed out and landed on her shoulder. She must've noticed because she only held me tighter. I don't know how long we sat there. But I do know that I never wanted to leave this girl's side. Ever.