The next morning, Michonne fixed pancakes for Carl and Judith. Rick wasn't there, which was odd. He was always there for breakfast.
"Where's dad?", Carl asked her after he swallowed a bite of his food.
Michonne really wanted to say "Probably off somewhere screwing Jessie", but didn't. She just shrugged instead.
Carl noticed that Michonne was still acting weird; she was still being really quiet. She always talked to him, no matter what.
"Michonne, are you okay?, he asked her. "You're being really quiet."' He was really worried about her. She was always joking around with him, and she hadn't done that in at least two days.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just don't have anything to say", was her reply.
Carl didn't say anything back. Her answer really confused him. What did she mean that she didn't have anything to say? Carl thought Michonne was depressed.
A few minutes later, Carl tried to talk to her again. "So, Deanna is throwing a party at her house later today. We didn't know about it until Jessie came and told us."
As soon as he said "Jessie", Carl noticed Michonne tensed up and her grip on her fork had tightened.
Carl looked at her and he couldn't quite figure out what her expression meant. He started talking a few seconds later. "Everyone is invited, so do you want to go? I mean, only if you want to. I would really like you to go. I don't really bond with people my age here. They don't know what the world is like out there, they think it's a game. If you go, I'll promise I will talk to you. Besides, I like you way better than anyone in Alexandria."
How could she say no to Carl after he said that? Michonne realized that she was basically the only person that Carl liked to talk to and felt comfortable around. He was right. The people in Alexandria really didn't know what it was like out there. Kids that were Carl's age looked at him like he was some kind of monster. Michonne knew that because people looked at her the same damn way. They weren't monsters, not even close to being one. They were survivors, and people in Alexandria didn't see it that way.
Michonne nodded her head and said "I'll go."
Carl smiled and said "Thank you."
It was almost time for the party, and Rick still wasn't at home.
"Do you want to wait for your dad?", Michonne asked Carl.
He shook his head. "No, he will probably show up later."
Michonne, Judith, and Carl walked to Deanna's house.
When they got there, their whole group was there; well, everyone except for Rick. Michonne looked around, and she didn't see Jessie either.
Daryl was standing next to Carol, and they were talking. Michonne wondered when one of them were going to get brave enough to tell the other how they felt. She knew they loved each other, hell, everyone did. Glenn and Maggie were off in the corner kissing. Tara was sitting next to a woman on the couch; they were sitting too close to each other to just be friends. Rosita was talking to Spencer, while Abraham and Sasha were standing close to each other. They were standing a little too close to just be friends.
As Michonne looked around, she realized that everyone was laughing and talking. She was the odd man out; everyone was happy, but her.
She was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed Carl in front of her making a funny face.
She started grinning a little. "Carl, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to cheer you up. You look so depressed. I know my dad hasn't been around, but did you two get into a fight or something? You haven't been talking about him like you usually do."
Her eyes widened. How much did Michonne talk about Rick? She must have talked about him quite a bit if Carl even noticed.
"No, we didn't get into a fight", she replied. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not", Carl replied back. "I know when there is something wrong, and there is something bothering you now."
"Carl, I'm fine. I promise." She hated lying to him.
Carl knew she wasn't fine, but he wasn't going to push it and keep asking her.
To change the subject, Michonne challenged Carl to make the funniest face he could. When he did, Judith started giggling at him. Then, she attempted to make a silly face. Judith then pointed at Michonne, telling her it was her turn. Michonne tried the best she could, but it didn't turn out well.
"C'mon, Michonne. I know you can do better than that", Carl joked. As soon as he said that, Rick walked in with Jessie by his side.
"About time he showed up", she heard Carl say. Then a few seconds later, she heard him mutter under his breath, "Why did he show up with her?". It was obvious that Carl didn't like her, especially by the way he sounded when he asked why his dad was with her; Carl sounded like he was disgusted.
Carl turned his attention back to Michonne and started to tell her jokes to try to cheer her up. He really wasn't going to break his promise. He was going to stay with her throughout the whole party.
Michonne tried to pay attention as best as she could to Carl, but every few minutes, she found herself staring across the room at Rick. He was standing in front of Jessie, and she was smiling and talking to Rick. Michonne noticed that Rick was doing the same thing, talking and staring, but he wasn't staring at Jessie; he was staring at Michonne.
Carl realized that Michonne was staring at his dad, so he turned around and looked at Rick.
"He should be here talking to you, not over there with her", Carl complained. Carl really really didn't like Jessie.
"I'm going to bring him over here", Carl said as he started to walk away.
Michonne stopped him by grabbing his arm and shook her head. "No, Carl. It's fine."
"No, it isn't", Carl said. "He should be over here talking to you. It looks like they're dating."
"That's because they are", Ron said, from behind them. "What, you didn't know?", he asked as he noticed Carl's expression changing to one of anger.
"What?", Carl screamed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Carl, including Rick. Carl started to glare at Rick, and looked around for Michonne. She had left. That's when Carl started to realize what was wrong with Michonne; it was all because of his idiot dad.