The sun was hanging low above the trees as a westerly wind swept by. Exhausted and a little hungry, Michonne waited in the car outside of the store for her grandmother. They had gotten most of the items sorted, and Pattie volunteered their time once more to host a stall at the County Fair in the next two weeks. Michonne did not mind; she found it was nice to be helpful as well as be around people in general, even though the only person she wanted to see was Rick Grimes.
Pattie exited the store and Michonne got out of the car to hold the back door open for her. Suddenly, the sound of a car horn close by got her attention. Turning her head, she was surprised to see Rick behind the wheel of a car she had not seen before. She smiled and gave him a wave; Rick waved back at her and then brought the car to a halt.
"Gramma, I'm just goin' to say hi to Rick," said Michonne.
"Okay, but don't be too long," Pattie replied.
Michonne nodded and then sauntered over, smiling coyly; she was just about to say something flirtatious to Rick, when she noticed that he was not in the car alone. Sasha rolled the window down and smiled widely at Michonne.
"Hey!" she said. "Check out Grimes' new ride."
"Hi, everyone," she said, stopping near the car and glancing in. "This is your car, Rick?"
He smiled up at Michonne somewhat shyly, "Yeah."
"Wow," she said excitedly. "This is really cool."
"We were takin' her for a spin," he explained. "Did you wanna come with us?"
Michonne shrugged her shoulders.
"I can't," she said, looking down at her shoes. "I'm still grounded, remember?"
"Well," said Rick. "How about I come by later…"
"Hurry up, Rick!" Lori interrupted. "Let's go."
"Yeah, hold up," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Give us a minute."
"It's okay," said Michonne. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, okay," said Rick. "Later."
He gave Michonne an apologetic smile as he and the girls bid her farewell; she waved to her friends as they drove off and then ambled back over to her grandmother's car. Seeing Rick for that small moment was nice, but she was hopeful that she would see more of him that evening.
xXxXx
The expression that Shane Walsh wore as he jogged over to Rick was priceless; his smile was as wide as his eyes. Rick got out of the car and greeted his friend.
"She's a fuckin' beauty," said Shane as he gestured for Rick to open the hood. "V8? Hell yeah. Nice, Rick. Fuckin' nice."
"We're takin' her out on the highway," said Rick. "You comin'?"
"Fuck yes," said Shane as he closed the hood. "You ain't even had to ask, boy."
"You want me to get out the back?" asked Lori, as she hopped out to fold the chair down to grant access to the backseat.
"Nah, girl," replied Shane. "You stay where you are. I'll be fine in the middle of Andrea and Sasha."
Sasha rolled her eyes and Andrea squished up next to Shane.
"All right," said Shane as he patted Rick on the shoulder. "Let's see what this beast can do."
xXxXx
The back porchlight cast a long shadow from Michonne's hand onto the page. She sat at the table and wrote in her journal as she waited to see if Rick would pay her a visit. Her neat handwriting looked pretty in the dim light.
I can't believe what's happening, she wrote. It's like one of those things that happens in those stories I read in secret two summers ago. I can't even describe how I feel right now. Three weeks ago, I was miserable. I didn't even want to be here, and now I've made friends; I've met Rick. He's just so nice to me. I've never met any other boys like him. He's kind and sweet and funny. He's cute too. And he likes ME. Who'd have known that I would like a guy who liked me back? I wish my Mom was here so she could see how great he is. Gramma and Grandpa like him as well. I hope he'll come by tonight when he's finished with his car. He just got a really cool car! But, as Daddy always says, I digress hahaha I'm going to sit out on the porch and wait a little longer. How does a writer describe a night like this? I'm not sure, because this night has only just begun.
-M
xXxXx
After dropping Sasha off at her house, Rick, Shane Lori and Andrea went for another drive; this time, they sped down the red dirt road near Rick's home. The sun had gone behind the trees to slumber and the scent of various fruit trees permeated the air. Though night had fallen, it was still warm. Rick pulled off the side of the road a moment. The radio played softly in the background as Lori told him about the party he had missed.
"…it got out of hand when Abe wanted to play the music too loud. Like, we would've been fine to stay there longer, but you know how Abe is," she said. "Why didn't I see you there?"
"I was there," Rick said in a matter-of-fact way. "I just didn't hang about for long. Gave Michonne a lift home and I didn't go back."
"Oh," said Lori. "That's nice of you, helping a friend like that. She was pretty wasted, wasn't she Shane? Oh my god, you guys!"
Rick's head turned to see what had startled Lori, only to find Shane and Andrea locked at the lips in the backseat. Andrea instantly pulled away as Shane cursed.
"Come on!" said Shane. "Bit of privacy, please."
"Asshole, you're in the backseat of my car," said Rick.
"Don't be worryin' about what we're doin'," said Shane. "You and Lori can get better acquainted up front just like me and Andrea are in the back."
Rick rolled his eyes and went to offer a retort when he felt Lori's hand on his thigh.
"Well," said Lori when Rick's gaze fell on her. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me."
xXxXx
The page of the book Michonne had open was covered with scribbles and little hand drawn pictures; she was not aware of how long she had been outside, but she let out a small yawm. She sighed loudly and peered off into the darkness once more, expecting Rick to sneak up on her. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms high over her head to fight off the lethargy. Suddenly, she was startled by the backdoor opening; her grandfather stood leaning against the doorjamb.
"Come on in now, baby girl," he said. "We're about to lock up."
Michonne looked out across the backyard one more time, before sighing.
"Okay, Grandpa," she said. "I'll be there in a minute."
He left her out back and went back inside. Michonne walked to the end of the porch and glanced around the corner. Slightly disappointed to find that Rick was not there. Maybe he would come later, she thought to herself as she entered the house and locked the door behind herself.
…..
The time was twenty minutes past one o'clock and Michonne had heard nary a stone thrown against her window. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and reached for her journal that sat atop the side table. She opened the book up on her last entry. Underneath the words this night has only just begun, Michonne scrawled: The night is over and Rick didn't show up.