Author's Note: To those who might not remember, nor know, Justin was seen in a few episodes of Season Nine as the brute that got into a fight with Daryl and even shoved Henry to the ground. He was seen as still being loyal to the Saviors, or rather, Negan himself. He was exiled by Rick after he explained why nobody sent off the siren to move the walker herd, eventually ending up with Aaron losing an arm. Soon after, he is executed personally by the Oceanside women and came back as a walker. In this story, he never died.


Guilt and him never went hand in hand. For God's sake, he was one of those who had went to Oceanside with the intent to send a message, per Negan's request. He was probably one of the first to shit talk Rick when he decided he would oversee the Saviors in Negan's absence to show them the new way of life they were suddenly meant to follow, not giving a shit on what any of them thought. It somewhat pissed him off that he had to answer to him now. Well, that he had to answer him at all.

Rick Grimes was a cocky bastard who felt he was probably much more holy in comparison to Negan just because he didn't take over the other camps like he had. Justin snorted. To be a leader was to be stern, be rough and know how to make those hard decisions. That piece of shit was far too soft, especially with that bitch hanging off his arm constantly talking in his ear. Yeah, he couldn't stand Michonne either. He couldn't stand any of them.

Maybe that was why he purposely tried to piss off Daryl. Either that, or he was just bored and felt as though fighting would curb that boredom. After all, the man did pack a punch. Justin knew he got his ass kicked, deep down. He would never admit it either, nor would he apologize for Aaron getting his arm ripped off. He's handled a herd before. He's handled a whole bout of living men, for Christ's sake, and he didn't lose shit! They were all too soft. If only Negan could get out of that damned cell already...but apparently he was nothing more than a symbol for the 'future'. That was even more stupid.

He kicked at a stray twig, gritting his teeth. Rick had had enough. The signal for the siren was the last straw. Apparently he was to blame for Aaron's near fall. Exile wasn't so bad. At least he wouldn't have to answer to him any longer, and he didn't have to worry about caring for his injuries since Siddiq and Enid had saw to it. Now all he had to do was find somewhere safe to camp for the night and just go find Arat or someone in the morning to give him sanctuary. He snorted. That was a nice pun.

He heard a rustle. Startled, his hand flew to his belt where his dagger sat. There couldn't be a walker this close to the camp for the bridge. Rick had made sure they set up enough traps to keep it safe. But he was sure he heard something. His ears had never failed him before. Justin had excellent night vision and great observation skills. That was usually the reason he was the first chosen after Dwight or Simon to go on hunts. Of course, they never had to hunt for animals. Catching people was his specialty.

He stared into the thick brush of the trees, unmoving. He kept his ears sharp, ready to strike. Maybe it was Daryl, coming back to attempt to finish him off while he still could since Rick kicked him out. Or maybe it was just some stupid ass deer. Maybe he was just being paranoid, gripping the hilt of his dagger a little harder. But someone finally breached from the dark green, eyes wide and mouth slightly trembling in fear. Not a walker. Not Daryl. Not even Rick.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he asked incredulously.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be all creepy... I just knew if my dad saw me comin' after you, he'd stop me," Olivia mumbled. Olivia fucking Grimes. The eldest child to Rick Grimes. Justin remembered Negan going on and on about how she should and would become a main target during the war. Michonne and her were the gateway to getting Rick to fall to his knees, especially after losing his son. Justin remembered that kid, too. He had attempted to infiltrate the Sanctuary before in order to kill Negan, but he only got as far as coming out of the truck he had crawled into. He had killed several men in that process.

Olivia, however, was a completely different story. As far as he knew, she was hardly even involved in the war. She was always stuck on babysitting duty for the smallest Grimes child, Judith. The only time he truly saw her fight was when they all came to Alexandria with that Sasha woman in the coffin. She was a terrible fighter, barely could even shoot. But she tried her hardest until she got knocked unconscious by Arat punching her in the face. She would've killed her if the Rosita woman hadn't taken a shot at her and drove her away.

He didn't really know much about her, except from what Negan had told them. Justin wasn't there for the lineup when Negan had first come face to face with Rick. She was shivering between her father and the ginger that Negan first killed. She was a coward, an idiot, a weakling. Nothing more, nothing less. But she was still a pretty thing. Half the men there had made sure to comment about it when they returned. Her and Maggie Rhee were the hottest pieces of ass there, as far as they knew.

Olivia and him talked probably once or twice since he got set up with other Saviors at this temporary camp to fix up the new bridge. She wasn't shy, but she wasn't outspoken either. He watched her a couple of times with her father and the other Alexandria people. She was sweet, caring, and very loyal. He had the opportunity to watch her slap Lowe, one of Justin's old allies, right across the face for making a degrading comment about Michonne. Since Rick was right there, he was unable to retaliate.

And now she was standing here before him, practically overshadowed by the trees and bushes fiddling with her hands and looking awkward.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" he asked again. "You know these woods could be crawlin' with geeks?"

"I can kill a walker," she scoffed, offended. "I just came out here because...well, I know you pissed off pretty much the entire camp, my daddy included. And I know you're pretty much the reason Aaron's gonna be on bed rest for the next few weeks-"

"You just come here to mouth me off, Grimes? Because your daddy ain't here to protect ya." Justin crossed his arms. He knew he wouldn't put his hands on her. He was a complete jackass who has killed and hurt people before, but he's never hurt a woman physically, and he never intended to. Negan pretty much drilled into him that harming a woman was as bad as killing your own kin. "Get the hell back to your family. Leave me the hell be."

"B-But you don't got anywhere to sleep tonight! A-And I wanted to tell my dad to at least wait until dawn before castin' you out, even if I don't agree with it. Being out here in the dead of night tryin' to find somewhere to sleep is pretty much just shitty judgment on everyone. Unless you know the place backward and forward, of course..." Olivia shuffled her feet awkwardly.

Justin shook his head. This girl was something else.

"I can find my way back to the Sanctuary, Grimes. And, just like you, I know how to kill, too. I don't need your pity."

"Don't mistake it for pity. Consider it an olive branch, instead," Olivia pleaded. "Do I think you're an asshole? Yes, I do. First you slack off on the one job my dad gives you, then you shove a little boy to the ground unprovoked, you get into a fight with Daryl, and you fail to do something that had one of my very good friends severely injured. But...this new beginning that my dad's trying to do for my brother, for us...we won't get there if we kick out everyone we don't see eye to eye with. I can't tell you how many times Daryl got into fights with everyone in the beginning and now he's practically my daddy's brother and my uncle... I don't wanna go to bed knowin' you're wandering around these parts with nowhere to go but the Sanctuary which is probably three hours to get there on foot. Now...will you shut the hell up and let me help you?"

Justin stared at her for a very long time. He looked over his shoulder toward the camp he left before returning his gaze onto the small girl in front of him. She wasn't going down without a fight. He was sure the only way to make her go back to her father would be to throw her over his shoulder and take her back. He considered doing that for a moment, but he knew it wouldn't look good for someone like him to show up with the leader's daughter thrown over him like a dead deer. He'd probably be shot on sight.

"Fine. But what do you suggest? Not like you can sneak me back into camp. Not a small guy, unfortunately," Justin said, finally uncrossing his arms. Olivia smiled, now knowing she got her way. She even spared a glance toward the camp, before going to take his arm and pulling him in the opposite direction of both that and the Sanctuary. In fact, she was leading him right into the trees. He resisted for a moment, but she just readjusted her grip and pulled him right back.

"You're gonna lead us right to a walker, if you keep-"

"I told you, I know these parts better than anyone...except for maybe Daryl. I actually think he was the one who showed me this place." Olivia whispered absently, seeming to be counting her steps before she took a sudden left, then a right, then another left. "We were on a run and a storm flushed us from going any further. He found it and cleared it out before bringin' me inside. I come back every once in a while to do, like, a weekly cleaning just in case the need of it ever arose again. Since we've been coming to the bridge more often now, I've been able to do it much more than usual."

"I don't need the details," Justin rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I tend to babble a lot; silences bother me. I like talking," she replied, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch. Justin barely missed it, the top of his head brushing by it. Soon, they had come into a clearing. He knew, by now, they were far from the camp. He hoped her father wouldn't notice and go looking for her. If he found the two of them together...

"Ain't your dad gonna worry?"

"I told him and Michonne goodnight before I 'headed into my tent'." She put air quotes for the last bout of words.

"All of this shit just to make sure I don't die. You realize how stupid you sound?"

"I like to think of it as being helpful. C'mon, this way." Olivia finally released his arm to walk slightly ahead. He followed slightly behind her, not willing to walk by her side. She seemed far too lost in her own world, anyway. He had half a mind to just book it right now and continue on his way to the Sanctuary. To hell with this girl's morals. None of it had anything to do with him. He couldn't give two shits about the future that Rick was so persistent about.

Then he could finally see it in the distance. It was a log cabin, looked as though it had survived several hurricanes with the caved in porch roof and broken steps. Tables and a washing machine scattered the front of it, and the front door was hanging off only the top hinges, the bottom open for anything to come inside. Olivia smiled as she approached it, seeming proud of herself for finding something she had apparently come to several times. Before she could step onto the porch, he grabbed at her wrist.

"Ow! What?" she hissed angrily.

"Don't ya wanna check it first?" he retorted as quietly as he could.

"I can't if you're keepin' a hand on my wrist," she snapped, ripping her arm out of his grip and reaching into her pocket. She took out a tiny pink pocketknife.

"You gotta be kiddin' me," he huffed, looking at it. "That's your weapon?"

"Screw you, it was a gift," Olivia said, glaring at him.

"It's a butter knife is what it is!"

"It can still cut," she said coolly, pointing it at him before turning and disappearing inside. Justin stood there stupidly, watching the creaking door with an angry scowl. She was going to get herself killed. Grumbling furiously, he grabbed his dagger and stepped onto the porch, heading straight for the door, only to jump back with a grunt as her head popped out, smiling giddily.

"Empty!" she chirped, "C'mon!" She held the crooked door for him to crawl into. Feeling even more embarrassed than before, he ducked down and quickly got inside. He was sure he heard Olivia stifle a giggle. When he got back to his feet, he heard the sound of something heavy being pushed across. Turning, he saw her shove a cinderblock to the door, making it shut successfully with its help.

"You've really thought this place through. You sure you didn't just call me in here to kill me?" he asked.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it back in the woods. Now, help me. I can't really see in the dark and I know there's a stash of flashlights in one of the closets. I've been collecting them just in case. I don't know if any of them work, but I got 'em." Olivia shuffled her feet toward the back where four door stood. Thanks to his great night vision, he could pretty much make out what the cabin looked like entirely. He walked past her and grabbed the first doorknob, opening it. When he did, he gagged and brought a hand to his nose.

"You found the old bathroom," Olivia stated, covering her own nose.

"What...the hell?" he grunted, slamming it shut.

"Shh! Calm down! I'm guessin' who ever stayed here last clogged it up and didn't bother to fix it. Daryl and I have just settled on keeping that closed. It should be the second to last door." Olivia said. Still dizzy from the smell, Justin moved over until he grabbed the correct door, whipping it open and relieved to smell nothing but rust. He could see several shelves inside, each one cooped up with flashlights. He grabbed the first he saw, flicking at the switch and irritated to see it didn't work. He grabbed at another, doing the same. The light shined right into the other's eyes, making her flinch and back away.

"Agh! Point that somewhere else, jackass!" she sneered. He quickly obliged, instead pointing to the last door. This one had to be a room of some sort. It had a lock. Curious, he went to open that one, surprised to see it was a bedroom, a really small one, but a bedroom nonetheless.

There were three windows lining one of the walls, but they were all boarded up. In the middle of the room was an empty bed, a large red stain covering half of it; he was sure that was blood. On the opposite wall was another door, which had to be a closet. Right beside it was a dresser, made of the same wood the walls were. There were pictures on it and an empty shotgun. There was even a fireplace right beside the door he was holding open, with a mounted deer head standing proudly over it. It must've been a really nice cabin before everything went to shit.

"You can take the bed," Olivia said, now holding her own flashlight. "I can go crash on the couch in the living area. We'll wait until dawn, and I can walk you to the Sanctuary in the morning."

"You crazy? The only thing keeping someone from walkin' in is a tiny little cinderblock. Just take the bed. You've already helped enough; I can take the couch." Justin didn't know why he was being such a gentleman, especially after being the ass he was these past few days. He just felt it was right. Negan would do the same. He treated his wives very well when he had them.

"Good! I was hopin' you'd feel chivalrous if I just volunteered for the couch," Olivia grinned, sliding past him into the bedroom. "Have a good sleep, asshat." Smirking, she shut the door, leaving him standing right behind it like an idiot. He should've taken the bed; screw being a gentleman. Shaking his head and mentally cursing her, he turned and went back to the living area to lay across the ripped couch. It was uncomfortable as hell, but it was far better than laying on the dirty ass ground in a tent.

He placed the flashlight upright beside him, making it illuminate the ceiling. He didn't know if he liked this. He should still be making his way to the Sanctuary, but this girl had to go and ruin it. He hoped she'd understand nothing like this could happen again, come morning. He only agreed to do this so he could be given hours of daylight on his way home. He didn't give a shit how bad she felt for him; that was her own problem. Come tomorrow, Olivia Grimes would leave his life for good and he'd never have to think about her again.

How very wrong he was.