This chapter is a little short, but I consider it to be more of an intro. Chapter 2 will be here soon. I hope you all like my story, I haven't published here in a while! I'm hoping my writing skills aren't too bad. Please excuse any grammar errors I may have missed. Enjoy!
Inevitable 01 - Forever (Intro)
"Getting tired, Clem?"
"Yeah," I managed to gasp out, leaning on my crutches. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired."
I huffed as I used my crutches to pull myself forward once more. The muddy terrain was making it hard to push through it, and it had been like that since it rained the day before. Louis and I were on lookout that night and were doing rounds on the perimeter of the school. We were almost done, but I was exhausted already.
There was a warm breeze in the air as the night seemed to get darker by the second. The only light source was the moon and the crackling torches by the entrance of the school building. Fire from the torch illuminated the overgrown grass and part of the dirt trail that spanned from the front porch to the gates of the school. I looked up at Louis's face, and a yellowish-red light lit up his features. His freckles were apparent as ever, his chocolate eyes striking me as more brown than black in the light.
He smirked at me, and I could tell he had an idea in that exuberant brain of his. I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.
"Here, get on my back," he said, turning around and reaching his arms out towards me.
I laughed and shook my head. "No way I'm doing that, I can still walk."
Without any further word, he scooped me up off the ground and placed me on his back. "Hey, Louis!" I exclaimed, clinging onto him. Last thing I wanted to do was fall off and break my only leg I had left.
"Shh, the walkers will hear you," he chuckled, and started walking.
"What about my crutches?" I asked, looking back. They were on the ground now, almost hidden by the overgrown grass and mud.
"What about them?" He responded, carrying me forward.
I shook my head and laughed, bringing my face closer to his ear. "You're an asshole," I said quietly, wrapping my arms around his chest. Though I would've preferred to walk on my own, I had to admit that I enjoyed being carried by Louis. For one, my body got a well-deserved break from the strain of using crutches. Second, it made me feel good. It was a warm and safe feeling, him carrying me and me trusting that he wouldn't drop me or do something that he would most likely do otherwise.
"So I've been told," he said back, making it to the front gates of the school. "Many, many times. By you."
I looked up at the ladder that led to the small watch tower. There was no way he would climb that with me on his back, I would definitely fall. I already knew he was going to attempt to do it anyway. "Louis, no," I warned, to no avail.
Louis began climbing the ladder, going quickly even with the extra weight. I held on even tighter, afraid of being dropped. "Don't worry, Clem, I've trained for this moment for years," he said in a fake-serious tone.
"Carrying a girl with an amputated leg up a watch tower against her will?"
"Exactly. It's sort of an Olympic sport, if you will."
Once we got to the top, Louis stood on top of the tower and let me down. I hobbled over to the front and sat myself down, leg dangling over the edge. I had to admit; I really did miss my leg. I wonder if that's how Lee felt when he was missing his arm. I wish he had been as lucky as me, and for that I was grateful. The fact that I was still alive was a miracle. It made me see everything differently and made me realize what Louis said all that time ago was true: we didn't know how much time we had left. I was sure I'd never live to see the next day or see AJ's face ever again. I was sure that AJ swinging that axe down on my head would be the final thing I'd see before it all was over. Instead, Louis and I were sitting next to each other on a warm and humid summer night, looking at the forest and the stars.
I looked up at the sky, the stars shining brighter than ever before it seemed. "What time do you think it is?" I asked, leaning back onto my sore arms.
"I'd say 3am," he replied, eyebrows furrowed. "Depends on if we're going by daylight savings time or not."
"That's not a thing anymore," I replied, smiling to myself. I only remembered one instance when I was younger, when my parents forgot to adjust their alarm clock when the time changed, and we were all late to work and school the next morning.
My arms buckled under the pressure I was putting on them, so I sat up and shook them out. "Arms tired?" Louis asked, "Again?"
"They always are," I sighed, letting them fall to my sides. Everything was tired when it came to me. I still had to adjust to the extra strength I had to use in place of my missing leg. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the Ericson kids.
Louis looked over at me with concern, then said, "You can lean on me if you want. I'm all yours."
I looked over at him and let out a small laugh. "Are you, now?"
"Since day one," he replied, grinning. He was always grinning. "I always thought you were scary when we first met you. But in a good kind of way."
"Scary good?" I asked, laughing. "What about me is so scary?"
He sighed. "Oh, you know, just the fact that you're missing a leg but could probably still beat me in a fight."
I shrugged and nodded, not fighting him on that one. Slowly, I leaned myself toward him so that my head was resting on his shoulder.
We both looked up at the stars, admiring the beautiful night. No walkers were in sight, no bandits had come by since we got rid of them all 2 weeks ago. It was completely peaceful. If I pretended hard enough, it almost felt like walkers didn't exist. Everything was perfect.
Louis must've felt the same way, because he gently pulled my face to his and kissed me. Our lips met first, and I grasped onto his arm to bring him closer. My tongue brushed against his bottom lip, wanting more.
I wasn't sure if it was because of the setting, or because of my gratefulness of life itself, or even a combination of both, but in between breaths I blurted out the three words I had been thinking about all night. "I love you," I gasped, pulling away from the kiss and looking at him.
Quickly looking back down and away from his eyes, I waited for his answer. He looked shocked and then laughed, the same way he did when I kissed him for the first time. "I love you too, Clementine," he responded, pulling me back in for our make out session. I felt butterflies in my stomach as we melted into each other, my arms around his neck and his hands all over me.
We weren't new to making out, especially these past couple of weeks. The group was constantly telling us how tired they were of watching us kiss, and Violet made sure we knew how sick she was of hearing us kiss. But this time felt different than the last times. My face felt hot as I pulled him close to me, and Louis's hands were right on my hips, fiddling with the belt loops on my jeans. I had a feeling that I couldn't explain, but it was driving me crazy. All I wanted was him. Louis.
I leaned back onto the surface of the wooden tower and pulled Louis on top of me by his shirt. I could feel his heart beat on my chest and it was beating faster than ever. So was mine. With my hands, I placed them under his shirt and began feeling his abdomen before tugging at the hem of his shirt.
Before I knew it, he was shirtless while he began taking off my shirt so that I was left only with my bra. Once he put my shirt to the side, he looked at me with warm and rosy cheeks. "Clem, you sure you wanna do this? With your leg and all?" he asked me, gesturing over to my stump. Sure, that was working against me at the moment and I was a little tired out from dragging myself around on crutches, but that didn't matter to me. All I wanted was to be even closer to Louis than we ever had before.
Though I didn't know much about the subject, I wasn't completely clueless about what happens next. I thought back to years ago, when Kate told me all I needed to know about sex. Well, she told me the basics after Javier awkwardly suggested I ask her about periods and womanhood. From what I could remember, she told me to save sex for someone you love and trust and makes you feel safe, and no one else. When she described the specifics, I wondered how in the world anyone would want to do that. She only laughed and told me I'd understand why in the future.
It was the future now, and I think I understood. Back to Louis's question, I nodded my head. "I'm sure," I said, "Now stop talking."
He chuckled. "You're the boss," he replied, kissing me deeply. We didn't get much further before we both jumped at the sudden noise in the distance. Louis and I turned our heads towards the sound.
"Clementine?! Louis?" AJ's voice rang out from afar.
"Y'all out here?" I heard Ruby call out too.
"Shit," I muttered to myself before scurrying for my shirt. Louis did the same and put his top back on, the both of us hurrying before Ruby and AJ made it over to the tower. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea," I said in a low voice, pulling my shirt back over my head.
Louis chuckled and said, "Probably not."
The other two came into view just as Louis and I were fully clothed again. I could feel my cheeks get hot as Ruby eyed us from the ground.
"Hey, just making sure y'all are alright," she said slowly, holding out my crutches. "AJ found these on the ground. He was worried something bad happened."
"We're fine," I said, scratching the back of my neck.
"We were just goofing around with the crutches, you can leave them by the tower," Louis said while looking down at the two. "Thanks for keeping an eye out, little man!"
AJ smiled and gave us a thumbs up before running back inside. Ruby lingered, suspicion in her demeanor. "Well, Willy is switching off with you two soon. We need Louis to help with berry picking in the morning. The boys found a berry bush not too far from here, raspberries I think."
I nodded. "Got it," I said, waving to Ruby. She gave us a look before turning back around and heading back indoors. As soon as she was out of sight, I turned to Louis. "She knows something was up, doesn't she?"
"Yep, she definitely does," Louis said, then turned to give me a quick peck on the cheek. "Come on, let's get you down from here. You need your rest for tomorrow. AJ and Willy have a surprise for you in the morning."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "A surprise?"
He nodded. "You'll know soon enough."
As Louis helped me down from the tower, I closed my eyes and smiled. This little family I had here was all I needed. This was what AJ needed. I could live this way forever if I could. Of course, nothing is ever forever.
