Hello again :D

Ok here's what happened. This was supposed to be uploaded this morning... but I re-RE- discovered K-pop... it was a fiasco. But ANYWAYS! Here's the next chapter of Alex and Sophia awesomeness!

I own nothing but Alex and Sophia! (I hope they are still to your liking :D)


Today was going to be the hottest day of the summer; Sophia could feel it in drooping curls. She almost didn't want to cook breakfast this morning it was so hot. Alex decided to hook up the A/C to the generator for a while so that way the house could cool down just a little. Joel and Ellie kicked off their blankets the second they woke up and felt the sweat forming in the back of their shirts. When Sophia came through the door, she held a tray of cold water, bowls of fruit, and a small stack of pancakes; yeah, she gave up trying to make a complete hot meal when she felt the heat of the fire in combination of the heat from outside on her skin. But no one really minded. Alex and Ellie began talking about music; or rather Ellie asked questions about what kind of music Alex liked. Joel and Sophia both mutually decided that they weren't going to work on the truck today; looking outside and seeing the heat wave in the distance sealed the deal. When they were finished eating, they sat there in sweaty silence. They needed to find a way to cool down. Alex had to turn the generator off to save power and already the heat melted inside, destroying the cool air. Sophia put up her hair as she looked over to her brother.

"Why must you turn off the air?"

"We need to make sure we have enough juice to last us through the winter." Alex said annoyingly.

At the sound of the word "winter", Ellie looked over to Joel. Were they going to still be there by then? Joel looked back outside toward where the heap of hot metal lay. If they didn't get done by the time the first snow fell, they would have to stay here all the way through the season, and while that didn't seem like a bad thing to both Joel and Ellie, they still had a bigger task at hand. Sophia growled as she fell back onto the hot carpet. There had to be something they could do in order to cool off. Sitting in shade was not going to help this time, even with the cold water. She opened her eyes and looked over to Alex with a sudden I-just-had-an-amazing-Sophia-idea face.

"What?" Alex gave her a look.

"Do you remember that pool of water that was underneath that old high school building?" her smile grew bigger.

"Yeah, what about—ohhh." Alex's eyes lit up; of course, how could they have forgotten about that wonderful pool of water that also turned into their own personal ice skating rink? Yeah, that had it pretty good here considering all the shit they went through before this.

"We should go swimming! It's the perfect time! What do you say Mr. Joel?" Sophia sat up.

She expected smiles and an excited cheer from Ellie. She expected applause for what she thought was a genius idea. But Joel stayed silent as he looked over to Ellie, who was staring intently at the ground awkwardly. Sophia's smile faded and she tilted her head. Did she say something wrong? Did Ellie have a bad experience with water? Was she allergic? Wait that's a stupid question, Sophia thought as she knocked on her head lightly as her own kind of punishment.

"What?" She finally asked.

Since Ellie didn't seem like she was going to say anything, Joel sighed and spoke for her.

"Ellie… doesn't really know how to swim."

Both Sophia and Alex's eyes opened wide while Sophia leaned up close to Ellie, who looked like she was blushing out of embarrassment.

"What do you mean you don't know how to swim?!" she gasped.

"I do! …Sort of…"

"I tried teachin' her once, but it was cut short." Joel explained, thinking back to the first time he tried teaching her, and the Clicker that made them run.

"Well… we could teach you!" Sophia smiled, "I taught Alex how to swim."

"Yeah, by throwing me into water and yelling "swim, swim!"" her brother rolled his eyes.

"But you know how to swim now right?"

Alex just shook his head.

"That's not the point; Look either way, you kind of know how and that's good. The water isn't even that deep anyway, so as long as you know how to float and doggy paddle, you're golden." Alex smiled, trying to reassure Ellie.

Ellie bit the inside of her lip as she tried to focus on something other than Alex. He was always cute when he tried to be comforting to Ellie when it came to things that she didn't know about. She looked over to Joel who was sweating like a dog. Well… it couldn't hurt to relax in water for the day. It beats staying cooped up in this oven of house anyway. With a slight nod of the head, Sophia jumped up in excitement as she ran back to the room. Alex gave another smile and also retreated from the room.

"You sure you're ok with this?" Joel asked when the two left; from the time Marlene dropped her on him, she always avoided water as much as she was able. For her to suddenly want to be near water was not like her. He thought it might've had something to do with Alex, but he decided to not ask. The last thing he needed was another pillow to the face.

"I'll be fine. Besides it's better than staying here… but where did they go?"

"Probably gone t' change."

"…Shouldn't we too?"

Sophia suddenly burst through the door and tossed a set of clothes to each of them, immediately answering Ellie's concern. Ellie received a white tank with red shorts, while Joel got a white T-shirt and dark blue shorts. Sophia smiled widely as she motioned for Ellie to come with her.

"No peeking!" she slammed the door.

Joel sighed heavily and proceeded to change. It's not like Ellie was actually going to stay there with him while he changed. Jesus. As he unbuttoned his shirt, the door opened again, revealing Alex this time. He smiled awkwardly, waving his clothes.

"Sophia kicked me out and told me to come in here and change." Alex said quietly; Joel scared Alex more than any Infected could.

"Knock yourself out." Joel shrugged as he continued to change.

Meanwhile, after being dragged into Sophia's room, Ellie moved her wrist around where Sophia tugged; for a girl who didn't look like she could hurt a fly, she had tight ass grip. As she stripped down to her underwear, Ellie changed awkwardly in the back. It had never occurred to her that hasn't changed in front of another girl. She looked over to Sophia who actually had a nice body, minus the cuts and bruises. Some looked old and faded, while some looked recent. She even noticed some burn marks and a horrible gash on her shoulder. Sophia's blue eyes behind her and Ellie turned away, replacing her worn out jeans for the red shorts, which were much shorter than she had anticipated. Sophia laughed quietly as she ran a hand down the gash.

"I got this a few years back when trying to save Alex from some Hunters. It healed alright without any kind of infection but it left a really nasty scar. I try to keep it covered up as much as possible; before we found this place, looks were sometimes the vital key in whether Alex and I slept on an actual bed safe, or at the mercy of the Hunters."

Ellie felt almost embarrassed about being caught. She never meant to bring up something bad.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? You didn't give this to me. Besides, it doesn't bother me anymore. I like to think of it as a battle scar, because once you name it battle scar it automatically becomes sexy." Sophia winked as she pulled over her tank top which was a soft pink.

Ellie laughed at that and started taking off her two tops, starting with the short sleeve. Before taking the bottom one off, she stopped suddenly. She had showed Alex her bite, but not Sophia; they were too busy with her birthday that she got the chance. As Sophia pulled up her drooping curls in a messy pony tail, she saw her friend's hesitation.

"What? Do you have scars of your own?"

The teenager nodded hesitantly.

"Well let's see it then." Sophia put her hands on her hips.

No response came from Ellie as she looked to her arm with the bite.

"Oh come on don't be shy. Battle scars are sexy remember?"

Ellie sighed as she started pulling up her sleeve, revealing the bite mark. Sophia wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Why would she? She showed her arm to the now twenty-two year old (which was still hard to believe). Sophia looked down and her eyes opened so wide, Ellie was worried they were going to pop out of her head. She pulled her arm and looked closer. That was a bite from an Infected, she was sure of it. But it looked like it was healing, for she noticed he scar tissue. It looked old and the mutation stopped fairly after being bitten. She then ran her fingers over, very much like Alex had. Sophia then smiled and patted it gently.

"Now this is something to be damn proud of."

"Huh?" Ellie asked, dumbfounded on how she too, was taking this.

"Come on; you got bit by an Infected and lived to tell the tale. That's so badass!" Sophia jumped with joy, before putting Ellie's arm back to her side and smile softening. "I know that whatever story is behind how you got that bite is a nasty one but things will get better. You have Joel now as well as me and Alex." She kissed Ellie's forehead, making her blush out of embarrassment; like what an older sister would do to her younger sibling.

There was loud banging on the door, making both of them jump.

"Would you two hurry it up? I'm dying out here!" Alex groaned, while Joel chuckled a little bit.

Sophia giggled before putting on Ellie's tank for her and opened the door. She pulled her by the wrist again as they ran downstairs and out the door to meet Alex and Joel, who had already started walking to the clearing. When they both caught up, they immediately formed into their natural block; Alex and Sophia walking in the front, leading the way; Joel and Ellie following behind. The walk alone to the old high school made them sweat through their clothes. Joel was used to this heat somewhat; days in Texas were hotter than this sometimes, but this was ridiculous. Thank God Alex and Sophia took care of the Infected that were in this town. Ellie took a closer look as they neared the old high school. It looked like it was once a large building with two floors. Old papers, rusted chairs, and various bags covered what used to be a parking lot. Since the roof was torn off, she could see some classrooms that were still intact; they all looked the same. A dirt covered whiteboard and rows of desks. Ellie snorted at the sight. She sometimes wondered what school would be like, but if it was anything like the pathetic excuses of schools they had at the Zone, then she was glad that they were extinct. They followed their companions inside the building and walked down the left hallway before getting to large clearing, which used to stand three classrooms. What it was replaced was a pool full of water, that looked only a few feet deep. A little bit of the sunlight shined through the grass as pieces of foliage grew along the walls. Sophia squealed with happiness as she immediately ran and jumped into the water. When she resurfaced to wiped the stray hair out of her eyes and smiled as she waved to the other three.

"Well hurry up the water is fantastic!" she dived back under water.

Alex looked over to Ellie and jumped in himself, followed by Joel who just sat at the edge before sliding in. Ellie looked down at the semi-clear water and stuck her foot in. It wasn't warm or bitter cold. It actually felt nice and refreshing on her skin. She looked over to Joel who was floating on his back, Sophia who was constantly diving and resurfacing when she needed air, and Alex who was standing up in the water. She didn't realize that he was staring at her until she met his dark green eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked back at the water. If he could stand up, and he was a few heads taller than her, then she could probably handle the depth of this water no problem. She sat down at the broken concrete edge and let both her feet into the cool water. She swung them back and forth, while watching the others enjoy the water. It was relaxing at first as she breathed in the fresh air of the outside. She loved being out here more than anything, and probably more so if there was the chance of dying at the hands of a Clicker. She then heard the water move and saw Sophia staring straight at her before sinking slowly back down. She saw her figure swimming closer and closer to her feet, and Ellie quickly pulled them out, already knowing her intentions. She surfaced with a sad look on her face.

"Come on Ellie, the water isn't going to bite."

"It's not the water I'm worried about."

"Ohh I wasn't going to pull you in if that's what you were thinking. Joel would've killed me if I did something like that." Sophia whispered the last part as she watching Joel float on his back, staring up in the cracks that revealing the cloudless blue sky.

Ellie chuckled in semi-agreement; while she didn't think Joel would kill someone over her as of now, he probably would get mad at Sophia for almost drowning her. Either way, Ellie put her feet back into the water and slid from the edge. The water felt a little cooler as it ran up her sides and flowed through the fabric but it wasn't freezing cold like the time Joel tried teaching her to swim. She walked through the water enjoying how cool and nice it felt on her skin as the heat from the outside surrounded her. She then felt something splash on her back making her turn to see a guilty Alex and Sophia. A smirk formed on Ellie's face and dipped her hands in the water and moved them up quickly to make the water over them. Sophia dived back into the water quickly, making Alex take the full impact. Alex closed his eyes as the water hit his face and even spit out the few drops that wormed their way into his mouth. Ellie laughed as she saw Alex blink his eyes quickly and slick back his hair. Just like the "flour incident", as Alex likes to call it, they began to start splashing each other with the water, laughing every time they got a cheap shot. Joel could hear their laughter, but was muffled from the water that covered his ears. He then suddenly felt a wave of water on his face, making him sit up quickly and coughing, for some entered his mouth and nose. He looked around but only saw Alex and Ellie in the middle of their water war. But Sophia was nowhere to be found. His brown eyes narrowed as he searched the below the surface, trying to see if she was lurking in the corner somewhere. When he turned back he saw her, standing in the position of how a statue would in a water fountain. Her hair was covering one eye and her cheeks were puffed up. Before Joel could ask or say anything, Sophia spewed out the water from her mouth and onto Joel's face. She smiled and relaxed her body while Joel wiped the excess water away. Seriously how was this girl twenty-two? Joel's only response was to splash water back at her, but she dived back under quickly making the droplets hit the open air. She then swam around him and jumped onto his back, clinging onto him like a monkey. Joel tried his best to keep his balance but Sophia kept moving side to side, which made Joel slip and fall into the water. Ellie was the first to laugh followed by Alex when he saw his sister's big smile, and Joel highly annoyed look, which became his normal face after spending so much time with Sophia. Alex quickly ran, or waddled, over to Sophia to help her avoid Joel's wrath. (Even though they were very sure he didn't have wrath when it came to them). Ellie watched them and smiled to herself. While she was pretty sure all of them came from broken stories; Sophia's "sexy" battle scar, Alex's strange cuts that were on his arms and legs, Joel's broken heart, and Ellie's bite, they were still able to wake up and survive with a smile on their faces. They were starting to become so close, that she considered them family; except for Alex. He was in a different category all on his own. Sophia motioned for Ellie to come over and then spent the rest of the day swimming and splashing around, until the sun started to set. As they were walking back dripping wet, even with the towels draped over them, Ellie still had a smile on her face. She couldn't wait to go swimming again. Maybe when they find the Fireflies and all of this was over, she would let Sophia teach her how to swim like the "mermaids" Sophia kept talking about after awhile. Maybe when all of this was over, they could either come back or bring them along. Either way, she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her days with Joel, Alex, and Sophia; her new family that she was not going to let die on her this time.


Reviews are always nice :)

This chapter does have a really big foreshadow at the end. What that means well... you'll just have to wait, read, and see :D

(P.S. I got the chapter name from a "Little Mermaid" figurine I got a few months back xD; Just a cool factoid I thought you should know!)

Until next time, yes? :)