TheCheshireCat01: lol, I noticed :p. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy this one.


Chapter 2: Everything has changed

4 years prior

Louise was fourteen years old when the world ended

She and her mother were visiting her uncle Jorge and his wife Elena when it happened.

She usually enjoyed visiting her uncle's ranch on summers, but it was the first time John wasn't there, (he had been accepted on a college in France, and had to fly there as soon as the summer started) and the pre-teen couldn't bring herself to smile. She missed her brother dearly, and not having him beside her to share every little thing about her day was something she didn't think she would get used to.

She didn't want to worry anybody, especially her mother, so she took refuge on her music. She had her earphones on as she danced across the stables. A few of the horses kept their eyes on her.

She had always been good at dancing. Being clever was her brother thing, and hers was following the music. On all of her years, there hadn't been a style she hadn't tried.

She moved around to an old rock song when her ipod ran out of battery. She kept on dancing, the rhythm printed on her head.

She heard a grunt and stopped. The horses around her moved around, clearly nervous.

She took her earphones off and placed them on her jacket, where her mother's phone was stacked (she wasn't allowed to have her own until she turned fifteen). Checking the time, she frowned. There was less than half an hour left to ten, which was the time John had said he would Skype from his room in campus. Her mother and uncle (whom had gone to the nearest city) should have been back already.

She felt uneasy, and the horses around her weren't helping.

All of the sudden, the lights on the stable went out and she jumped.

'Maybe there's a storm coming' she thought, turning on the flashlight on her mom's phone. Walking towards the entrance, she looked up at the skies. They were clear. She also noticed there weren't any lights on the house either.

The ranch had been drowned in an wary silence. Slowly, she walked towards the house. Each step seemed almost too loud, and Louise flinched every time her foot came into contact with the grass.

Upon hearing a grunt, the pre-teen spun around. It hadn't been that loud, but she had sharp ears and her senses were on high alert. On the shadows, she distinguished a silhouette, and with a heart trying to escape its prison, she ran towards the house.

Years of dancing had been rewarded with light feet. She was fast, but the hundred meters to the house seemed to last an eternity.

She jumped the steps of the old porch and walked inside, locking the door behind her. Looking out, she didn't see anything following her.

'Maybe it's my imagination' she tried to convince herself. There was a reason why her mother had forbidden her from watching horror movies.

She walked down the small corridor, past the living room and into the kitchen, where she expected to find her aunt.

The kitchen was empty but the water was boiling, so she turned off the stove .

"Oh! There you are"

With as small yelp, Louise turned around. Her aunt moved around the place with a big, green bag on her hand.

"The light went out" she said, feeling stupid. Of course she would have noticed.

"Yes. I need you to go to your room and start packing"

The girl frowned. Her mother had said they would leave after the fourth, or maybe she had misheard.

"Why?"

Aunt Elena stopped for a second. She was tall and her dark skin showed signs of hard work under the sun. She always wore her black hair on a tight bun.

"I'm not sure, Lulu, but just do it. Pack light. Hurry"

Louise didn't move from her place as the lights turned back on.

"Where's mom and uncle Jorge? John's gonna call soon"

"They'll be here soon. Now go"

"Something happened"

" Louise! Ve a tu cuarto, mija"

Her aunt impatient tone had her sprinting up the stairs in no time.

She walked into the room she shared with her mother and took her backpack from the closet. She sat on the bed and stared at the clothes, wondering what she may need. Her aunt hadn't said where they were going, not for how long.

She began to worry. Had something happened to her uncle? To he mother? Or maybe John? She hoped they were all right.

She walked out of the room and went down the stairs. She could hear her aunt walking around.

"Where are we going?"

The woman jumped, clearly taken by surprise.

"I don't know" she answered, clearly exasperated.

"Why do we have to leave?"

She sighed, irritated.

"Just do as you're told"

A loud noise was heard from the stables, and both ran towards the living room and moved the curtain aside.

The horses were whining, and Louise reached for the door.

Just as she opened it, a truck parked right in front, and uncle Jorge and Louise's mom rushed out of it.

The girl's eyes widened at the sight. They were clearly in a hurry.

Louise's mother tripped over the steps.

"Go back inside" she urged.

"But the horses…"

"Now"

Louise hurried back in. Her mother never yelled.

"Where are we going?" she asked, following the woman into their shared bedroom "What do I need to take?"

Her mother began to throw random items into the backpack, not really paying attention to the task at hand.

"As far as possible"

"Why?" she asked, impatient.

The woman spared her a quick glance and pointed to the door.

"Give me that jacket"

Louise did as she was told, taking the clothing item from the hanger and handing it to her.

"It's not safe anymore" she finally said, taking a small envelope full of pictures out of the nightstand (she always insisted on taking it everywhere, and Louise couldn't understand why).

"What's not safe?"asked the girl, taking an extra pair of socks and placing them on the backpack.

Her mother sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't know how to explain what she had seen without sounding like a madwoman.

"We just have to go, ok?"

Louise stared right into her eyes. Her mother was fearless, the girl had never met someone braver than her, and the last time her eyes had reflected such terror had been when her husband died.

Without uttering another word, the pre-teen took her pillow (Just like her mother travelled with a stack of pictures, she did the same with her pillow)

"What about John? He's gonna call in ten minutes. Can I talk to him before we leave?

"I don't think so, mija; but I'm sue your brother is safe."

Louise didn't dare to ask what she meant. She had a feeling she wouldn't get an answer.

"Cámbiate" ordered her mother, eyeing the yellow dress she was wearing.

Louise took a pair of khaki pants and a blouse.

She walked down the stairs once more and heard her aunt and uncle arguing.

"Esa mujer estaba muerta, y luego se levantó" said uncle Jorge while taking several water bottles "Tenía los ojos del diablo. Y los milicos disparaban pero ella seguía caminando. Se armó una revuelta…

He stopped mid sentence, taking notice of his niece.

"What are you doing, Lulú? Go get changed."

"What dead people? What's happening?"

Why was her uncle talking about dead people rising? It sounded like a bad horror movie, the kind John would let her watch behind their mother's back.

Uncle Jorge hurried out of the house with the bottles, and aunt Elena opened the door for him.

With her heart threatening to burst out of her chest, Louise walked into the bathroom. Her hands were shaking, but she managed to get out of her dress and into her other clothes.

Her mind couldn't fully process what she had heard, and she found herself incapable of finishing a thought.

Her outfit didn't really seem to match, but she figured that was the least of her problems.

When she exited the bathroom, only her aunt remained in the house. The woman was watching something through the window on the kitchen.

"Your mother and uncle went out to get more provisions" she said, handing her her blue jacket "Here."

"Aunt Elena?" she called carefully "What was uncle talking about? What dead?"

She wanted to ask if the man had smoked something, but knew her aunt wouldn't find the joke funny.

They heard a muffled sound by the door, and Louise's head popped out of the kitchen and into the corridor. Through the glass of the door, she distinguished Mr. Johnson, a friend of her uncle.

The girl walked towards the door and took the key, ready to open the door.

"NO!"

It was too late. Louise turned the knob and 's weight took her down.

The child yelled, trying to escape his grip. Blue eyes looked back at her.

was covered in blood and part of his jaw was missing on the right side; but what scared Louise the most were his eyes.

They looked back at her without a trace of emotions, they didn't shine; they looked like a dead person's eyes.

She tried to get up, but his cold hand took hold of her ankle.

Aunt Elena hit him with a frying pan on the head, and Louise didn't waste a second.

"Ve por detrás" she urged.

Louise didn't hesitate. She ran towards the kitchen and only paused to take the heavy backpack that laid on the table. The door was ajar, and she opened it with her foot.

She could feel her heart beating on her ears.

Her mother rushed towards her, taking the backpack from her hands.

"Let's go"

They quickly rounded the house and reached the truck. The woman yanked the door opened and Louise jumped in, putting on her her seatbelt.

A scream invaded the night, and mother and daughter froze.

Uncle Jorge appeared though the corridor, and through the open door, Louise saw him shooting Mr. Johnson in the head.

The girl couldn't scream, she couldn't do anything but stare, frozen in place, as her uncle keeled down next to his wife's corpse.

From the other side of the ranch, a horde made its way towards them.


Louise stared at her reflection. She still beat herself up for opening that door, and for running.

'It won't change what happened' she told herself 'It won't help me now'

A few weeks had passed by since her arrival at Alexandria.

She had tried to lend a hand in the infirmary, but it didn't take long for it to be obvious that Pete didn't like having company. A woman called Denise was there on her first day and had explained, in hushed tones, that the doctor didn't seem to like working alongside women.

Louise didn't cross paths with Denise after that. The woman had, apparently, made act of appearance that first day to introduce herself.

By the end of the first week, Louise didn't bother to stop by the infarmery; it was crystal clear that the doctor only saw her as an nuisance.

Instead, she spent some days touring the place. She saw this girl, Enid, climbing the wall nearly every day.

Ever since then, she would stop right in front of the wall once a day and watch. She wanted to go out, even for just a few minutes, but she feared what she would find. She knew it was a bad idea. She wanted to get used to feeling secure, but said security wouldn't last, and the day she would have to face the dangers of the outside world once again would come and she would be in big trouble.

She found good company in Aaron and his boyfriend Eric. Quite often she would dine with them, and Louise didn't need much time before finding herself growing fond of the couple. They both had the tendency to talk a bit too much, but the girl learned to not feel offended. Negan had more evil intentions on his pinky finger than those two in their entire body.

It was a sunny day of may, and Louise decided that it would be nice to walk around. She saw Enid heading towards the wall and made the blind eye.

Tony made himself comfortable on the grass and began to roll around. Shrugging, Louise sat beside him, under an apple tree.

Opening the book Reg Monroe had lended her, she tried to read, but found herself incapable of concentre. On the two months she had spent in Alexandria, she had accumulated enough energy to light the whole state. She needed to burn it somehow.

Her hand went to her pocket and she took out the small ipod Eric had given her and put on the earphones. The blonde man had found it in his house, but after charging it realized the music wasn't to his taste.

An old song began playing, and dusting off her jeans, Louise got up and began to dance.

She had light feet and good resistance due to so many years of dancing, which had helped her to avoid danger. She moved around without thinking, making the choreography as she went, making up steps of her own.

Tony kept his eyes on her, ears stood up, barking from time to time, even though the girl couldn't hear him.

A few songs played before she opened her eyes. Aaron held up an old camera, and Eric had his hands over his mouth,

"What are you doing?" she asked, taking her earphones off.

Tony strolled towards the men and sniffed their hands, only to run to the call of Sam Anderson.

"You never told us you could dance" squealed Eric, his eyes shining.

Louise shrugged.

"Everyone can dance"

"Not like that. Why didn't you say anything?" Eric walked to her and took her small hands in his "Can you dance foxtrot? I've always wanted to learn"

"I know a little; and I didn't think it would matter. I won't kill any biters dancing"

"You can try with twearking" joked Aaron.

"What's the camera for?" she changed the subject, nodding towards the small device.

"Oh!" the man looked down, as if just remembering he was carrying it around "It's to prove the existence of this place. It's not like I can make pamphlets so,...um, yeah"

"When are you leaving?

"Tomorrow" they answered at the same time.

"Oh."

Louise didn't know what to say. Besides Reg, Aaron and Eric were the only people she really talked to, and the idea of that pair on the outside world, risking their lives, didn't sit well with her.

More than once she tried to offer as a volunteer, but Deanna had refused.

"When will you be back?"

Aaron considered it for a moment.

"When we run out of provisions, I suppose"

"Don't worry, Lou; we'll be back for those foxtrot lessons"

She tried to smile.


In the absence of Aaron and Eric, Louise began to fear for her sanity.

Her days seemed longer and more mundane, and it had reached the point where laying on the grass and staring at the sky for hours on end was the most interesting part of her day.

More than once she tried to help Pete Anderson, but the man had made it clear that he didn't want her assistance. She didn't want to run to Deanna, it would only made her look like a kid who couldn't take care of herself, incapable of solving her own problems.

She tried to make herself useful in other ways. She spent some days with Reg, helping him around with his projects,... Louise didn't understand shit about architecture, so she just tended to keep herself out of the way and handing the man whatever he asked for,

The man didn't seem annoyed by her presence. More often than not, he would take the time to explain what he was working on and how it worked, and he worried about her wellbeing. Reg had explained that he and Deanna had always wanted a daughter, but they had complications with Spencer, and after that they didn't dare to take the risk.

Louise couldn't help but get attached to the man. Even though he had spent most of the end of the world behind his walls, he seemed to understand what it felt like trying to reintegrate into society. He left her to be alone when she wanted to, and he never tried to make her talk about her experience out there.

He also reminded her of her father...what little she could remember of him, at least.

There were a few kids her age in Alexandria, just like there had been on the Sanctuary, but Louise didn't feel comfortable in their company. She knew she was the problem. The kids in Alexandria had grown up as normal teenagers (as normal as they could, given the circumstances) while she had had to skip several parts of the process. Their eyes hadn't seen the same horrors hers had (with the possible exception of Enid, but there was no way of knowing, since the girl refused to talk, and Louise didn't want to force her). She noticed, with a certain amount of horror, that she didn't know how to be a teenager. She hadn't noticed it on The Sanctuary, for spotting a kid was a rare event, but there was not escaping it in Alexandria.

She envied them. Each and every single one of them; but a part of her, small and sadistic, felt superior.


Carl PoV.

The third time he saw her, she was wearing a blue dress.

The first time, it had been in one of the pictures Aaron had showed them of Alexandria. One of them had fallen out of his hands and into the floor, and Carl had picked it up, noticing it was a girl. She seemed to be of his age, and it looked as thought she had been moving around when the picture was taken.

The second time it had been through a window, just a few minutes before walking out of his room and heading to the party Deanna was hosting for them. He saw movement coming from the house next door and leaned against his window, eyes widening when he saw the same girl from the picture. She stood in front of a mirror, wearing a white robe a size or two too big.

Carl watched her as she brushed her hair and then walked out of the room.

He had tried to be normal around the other kids, but everything seemed too foreign, so he made up a quick excuse and walked down the stairs; he wanted to find his father and let him know he would be heading to bed early. He could take Judith with him (it was nearing her bedtime anyways) and maybe try to find Daryl.

He looked to the right and saw her. She had her back to him but he still recognized her, standing next to a tall man with greying hair.

It's her.

He swallowed the lump on his throat. Suddenly, Carl remembered he still had her picture on his back pocket, and couldn't help but feel like a creep.

He saw the man (what was his name?) placing a gentle hand on her back as he guided her towards Glenn and Maggie.

Carl narrowed his eyes. She seemed stiff as a board, almost as if she were expecting a horde of walkers to crash the party.

His throat was suddenly dry. He didn't know what to do. Go and introduce himself? Then what? Tell her he had a picture of her on his pocket? She would surely run up the hills.

As if sensing the weight of his stare, she turned, and Carl found himself prisoner of the darkest eyes he had ever seen.

Frozen in place, her held her stare. Time ceased to exist, and he was only aware of her eyes as he tried to escape their spell.

Finally, the girl smiled and nodded in his direction before turning around and continuing her conversation with Maggie.

Carl remained on his place, incapable of moving. The picture on his pocket seemed to be burning a hole, and he just wanted to hide it.

"A bit old for ya', boy. Don't ya' think?

Abraham's voice took him by surprise. His head turned in the direction of the ginger man, face quickly making competition with his hair.

Rosita rolled her eyes.

"Just go talk to her. She won't bite"

"Ya' better pray she does" Abraham winked at him, earning a small slap on the back of his head "Wha'? Wha' did I say?"

Rosita rolled her eyes and walked away, Abraham following closely, taking a big sip from his beer.

Carl considered it. He could go and introduce himself. There was no harm in it, right? It was just a girl; not the first he ever saw nor the last.

He began to walk in her direction but stopped after a couple steps. She was walking towards him! A Mona Lisa smile adorned her face as she pretended to process what some people said to her.

Carl wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and kept on walking to her.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion at first.

He stood in the middle of the room and raised his hand in greeting as she slowly walked past him, too immersed in her own world. Her arm brushed against his and he tensed as a loose strand of hair escaped her bun. She smelled like lavender.

Then, everything moved too quickly. She was gone, and Carl saw her through a window walking down the deserted street. His hand was still up.

Abraham's booming laugh brought him back to reality.

Red to the ears, he quickly resumed the search for his dad.


He couldn't sleep.

The bed underneath him felt too soft, the house was too quiet.

He got up and put on his clothes once more. Checking on Judith, he smiled softly at her sleeping form before making his way out of the house.

It must have been way past midnight, and the full moon shone upon the community.

A breeze flew by and he closed his eyes, enjoying it.

"Hey, sheriff"

Carl jumped, taken by surprised. Looking to his right, he noticed the girl from the picture staring at him from her porch.

Her arms were crossed over her chest and a curious expression had taken over her pretty features.

"Can't sleep?"

Was she talking to him?

"Yes, I'm talking to you, pendejo. Who else?

Had he said that out loud?

"Um,..."

Carl almost slapped himself.

Great answer.

He wasn't sure of what to say, so he just stood frozen in place once more. Like an idiot.

She seemed to take pity on him, and nodded her head behind her, turning on her heels, and disappearing from view.

Slowly, Carl neared the house, finding her sitting on the steps of the porch, an almost empty plate of spaghetti forgotten to her side.

He stared at her. She was still wearing the same blue dress from the party, but her hair fell on loose waves down her back. It looked a little dry.

She was staring at him too; studying, would be a better word for it. Her curious eyes took him in as if he were from another galaxy.

Her eyes; they weren't as dark as Carl had originally thought. They were brown, and upon locking gaze with them, he knew she had been out there too. Her eyes had lost a considerable amount of their light, they were haunted, the same way the eyes of the rest of his group was.

He also found, as strange a combination it seemed, that they were still innocent, to an extent.

Before he could say anything, a dog interrupted their moment, sprinting out the door towards him.

Carl tried to back away, but the dog jumped on him and almost sent him down the steps.

He barely managed to keep balance while the beast licked his face.

"He likes you" a smooth sound escaped her.

Carl's eyes landed on the girl once more. She was staring at the dog with a loving smile on her face.

"What's his name?" asked Carl, petting the dog, whose tail seemed to be evoquing a tornado.

"Tony"

Carl nodded. Upon hearing his name, Tony sat down and tilted his head, eyes landing on his owner.

Her brown eyes were set on him once more.

"What about you, sheriff? Do you have a name?"

Without the dog to distract him, Carl felt the nerves rising again.

"Uh, Carl. Carl Grimes" he said finally, offering his hand.

This time, she didn't ignore him, accepting the hand with a slightly raised brow.

Her skin was brown and as smooth as her voice sounded. Carl fixated his gaze on their hands, and couldn't help but notice the way his own too pale hand contrasted against hers.

"Well, Carl Grimes, it's nice to meet you, I guess. I'm Louise Rossi"

Louise. Louise. He liked it.

Louise patted the empty spot next to her and Carl sat down.

Once he did, all anxiety seemed to fade away. There was something serene about her, and Carl wondered if it was contagious. Maybe it was the lavender smell radiating off her.

"What's your favourite colour?"

He was taken by surprise. Why would she ask that?

"Um,...I don't know,...blue?"

"Good choice." she said, twisting her body so she was facing him "So, Carl, tell me: how do you like Alexandria so far?"

"It's nice" he answered mechanically.

Louise tilted her head for a second, only to laugh after.

"Yeah, right" she seemed amused by his answer, but then shrugged "But I suppose anything is better than being out there"

He frowned, thinking of Terminus.

"No, not really"

Her curious eyes never strayed from him.

"Mm" was her clever answer "Very well. Now, be honest"

Carl's eyes scanned the dark street. It all looked so peaceful, it made him wary.

How could he explain himself? How could he tell her that he had a gun under his pillow, and that he never knew what to do or say when Ron Anderson spoke to him? How could he explain to her that he wanted to run away, back to the outside world? Because a known evil was better than than ignoring the current state of the world; but at the same time, he wanted to be normal, he wanted to fit in and live a life were he wouldn't have to worry about a walker biting someone he cared about, nor when his next meal would be, if he got one.

He couldn't pour his heart out to her; not just because Carl himself wasn't too sure about how he felt, but because she was a stranger.

"You want to yell, don't you?"

He looked up and saw her smiling again, but this one was a compassionate one. He was at a loss of words, so he let her speak freely.

"You spent so much time out there, and now you're here. You think you'll adjust to this life easily but you can't; so you try harder and in the process you get even more frustrated. They make you feel like a freak, even if it is unintentional, but in reality they are the freaks, refusing to adjust to this new, fucked up normal we live in. You want to tell them about what it's like out there, but believe me, they don't think they'll ever be in that situation.

"You think this place is too good to last, and in one hand you know you'll have a better chance of survival when it falls, but at the same time you wish to be ignorant and just enjoy; but you can't."

She leaned in closer to him.

"Did I get everything right?"

Carl pondered her words for a few moments, and he was thankful she didn't push him for an immediate answer.

"Almost" he looked back at her with a heavy heart "I think Alexandria can survive, with my group's help"

"Look at you" she crossed her arms as her smile widened. Now she just seemed amused "Our saviour"

Her tone lacked malice, so Carl figured it wasn't her intention to offend him.

"Have you been out there?" he asked instead, wanting to change the subject.

He knew the answer, but he figured it was best to ask anyways.

"Yeah. I got here like two months ago" she didn't hesitate, almost like a rehearsed answer.

He fumbled with his hands for a second.

"And have you gotten used to this?"

She studied him for a minute, and he felt the urge to fix his hair and change into cleaner clothes. When he wasn't hanging to every word she said, he was fighting his hormones.

"I'm gonna ask you something, Carl, and your answer will determine if I can tolerate you or if I'll just think of you as another teenage alien habitating this place"

What?

"Uh,...ok"

"Do you want a pleasing answer or the truth?"

What kind of question was that? Maybe he should just stay away from girls. They were so strange and complicated, and he had only talked to her for ten minutes.

"The truth?" it sounded like a question.

She looked away, sighing with resignation.

"I've got used to pretending"

He nodded, feeling his hopes dying.

"Maybe you didn't try hard enough"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Maybe"

Suddenly, she stood up.

"All this talk made me hungry again. Want some spaghetti?

Before Carl could process her question, she turned on her heels and walked inside the house, followed by Tony.

He should definitely stay away from girls.


A/N: Next chapter we'll see what Louise thinks of Rick and his group. I don't think the PoV switch will be done often. Writing the first meeting from Carl perspective is something that I did without thinking, but I like how it turned out. What do you think?

So,...there will be small parts in spanish, and I try to explain later what was said (like I did with Louise's uncle and the "dead people rising") but if you want I can always make a full translation at the end of the chapter.

You will soon realize that Louise has a foul mouth,...and that she's got no chances of winning Master Chef,...hehehehe *inserts face* I got plans.

I've decided that all chapters will be named after a song. If there ever is an exception I'll let you know on a note.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read! And a special thanks to those who followed the story, gave kudos, favourite or whatever it is you can do on the site you're reading this.

Happy new year!