welcome back, sweet lovely people, it's me again.

Chapter Ten of Many

"You know, with all this drama talk, I find it hard to believe we actually managed to help Rosita." Carol swallowed a mouthful of ginger tea from a floral glass cup.

Tara smirked. "We're mature, fun, women, we know how to balance things out."

The room of 5 women erupted in laughter, only to die down at two soft knocks at the front door.

"Hold on."

Carol sat down her cup, crossed the livingroom to the front door, which she unlocked and pulled open.

"Michonne…" she trailed, surprised.

Michonne stood on the porch looking nervous, but to Carol's surprise, she looked...okay. Her skin was glowing, her hair was rippling and there wasn't a bruise in sight.

"Can I join you?"

How do you confront this situation when you're in his position? You knew your best friend had special feelings for you, and you never faced it but now she confesses?

Rick's hands were moist as he gripped the sides of his pants.

He was at the last place he wanted to be, and a few feet away from the last person he wanted to be around.

Alanna was perched in her chair at her desk, face blank and normal as if nothing had happened and it was just a normal life.

Her hair, usually bright and vibrant in its scarlet appearance was black. And instead of loose curls pinned to the back of her head, they were cords-dreads like Michonne's.

He scrunched his eyes at the sight, but didn't question it.

He swallowed his fear and approached the side of her desk.

"Ala-"

"It's fake." She interrupted, while not looking up from her paperwork.

"What?"

She sighed, meeting his eyes and tugging a dread. "My new hair. It isn't real. Do you like it?"

He curled his brows. "Yeah, they're nice."

"So…"

"So?"

"So how's Michonne?"

Rick chuckled, looking at the desk to lessen the embarrassment. "What are you trying to say, Alannah?"

"I know there's...something there with her already so what's the point in keeping it low key?" She licked her thumb and turned the page with it.

Rick's heart was in a panic over this conversation, but he didn't show it. "Is this the part where you threaten to tell the captain if I don't stay away from her?"

"How foolish, Rick. You thinking I'd do you dirty like that." She looked up to him.

Alannah was weird today, and not in a good way. The aura reminded him of someone who had nothing to lose.

"No, Rick. This is the part where I ask you out on a date." She bravely put with a confident glint in her eyes.

Rick scrunched up his entire face. "What?"

"We've been friends for too long, far longer than I'm comfortable with." She bit her bottom lip while her eyes traveled him up and down, it just made him feel uncomfortable. "So what do you say?"

"No, thank you." He declined, turning away and heading over to his desk.

"Tell him! What the hell are you waiting for? Her to lie on you first?" Jacqui shouted passionately.

After an evening of relaying the events of her life to the women's group, she was flooded with advice, and she was thankful for it.

"But that's his homegirl." Arat butt in. "Why would you, as his girlfriend or whatever you are, pit them against each other?"

The causality of the conversation was due to the fact that she had put a play on the story and left all the murder bits out.

And thankfully they didn't even have one question to ask about the murder, but she had a feeling it was in the back of all of their minds.

"I have to agree," Carol said, surprisingly, she was on her fifth cup of tea. "Alannah doesn't seem like a terrible person. Just jealous and desperate. If you tell him, he'll probably think you're the jealous type just trying to get his best friend out of the way."

Michonne sighed, if only they knew the intensity of the real situation.

"I think... I'll just do what the situation calls for." Michonne said out loud, reaching for her phone which had been in her purse pocket. "I'll tell you what I do when I do it."

"We hope." Arat nodded to Jacqui. "This is your new relationship, don't screw it up."

It had been a few days since she'd been at Rick's place, and this time she had a different treat. Instead of brownies she held a tray with two cups of heavily creamed coffee inside.

"Are you looking for Rick Grimes?"

Michonne whirled so fast and startled that the tray slipped from her hands and crashed into the grass, creamy coffee splashed the plants and flowers.

"Holy balls!" Exclaimed Michonne, fierce hot anger in her eyes as she stared at who'd spoken.

It turned out to be a taller asian dude, black hair brushed back on his head, and there was a band around his neck, it was connected to the camera he had in his hands.

"You're Michonne Tilley, right?"

A dude who knew her name, and carried a camera? Typical…

She played along anyhow.

"Who's asking?"

The guy adjusted on his feet. "Oh, uh, Glenn...Glenn Rhee. I work for the Atlanta Express."

And it couldn't help anything that she had been standing outside of Rick Grimes' home in a mid-thigh skirt and fishnet stockings with coffee, considering he's one of the detectives on her case.

Fuck, this was bad.

She scrunched her eyebrows at him while shaking her head. "Are you following me? Cause that's really fucking low dude, what's your problem?"

In her head she was biting on her fist anxiously.

Michonne also shifted on her feet awaiting an answer while thankful the reporter's camera wasn't on and in her face.

"I wasn't following you." He replied quickly, looking behind him almost anxiously.

This fool…

"Are you kidding me?"

"Shh." Glenn looked around. "I was hanging with some friends. They followed you here."

Michonne blinked at him. "Wha-?"

"They're gonna find out about your detective boyfriend if you don't leave this place."

Say what?

Michonne brushed the side of her face. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Doesn't matter, let's go." He reached out and grabbed her hand, Michonne just ran along with panic in her heart.

She shook her hand out of this dude's grip as they got up the block, and turned the corner where she saw her car parked in front of a wig shop.

"Why-?" She began as soon as they stopped.

"Didn't I just take the story for myself and out your relationship to the public?" Glenn shrugged with a proud smile. "I'm a good person."

She shook her head at him, "...thank you. But he's still not my boyfriend." She began to walk to her car.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He yelled to her back with a laugh.

She waved him off, taking out her keys.

After an hour of driving around the city with nothing in mind, Michonne had parked to the side of the road by a park and ate everything she'd had in her car.

Ping!

She, in the process of licking her fingertips clean of yogurt, looked over to her phone innocently. She grabbed it and on the lit screen was a text from a number she didn't recognize

[ hoover's drive in 10? ]

She knitted her brows.

( Wrong number, sorry )

[ It's rick ]

Michonne raised her brows.

( How did you get my number? )

[ Where do I work? ]

She smirked, shaking her head.

Maggie was lying on across Alannah's lap, her face bloated and red.

Alannah sighed, running her fingers through her silky mane. "It's okay. It's fine, things will get better."

"No," she sniffled. "No they won't."

She felt bad. Maggie was supposed to be her best friend and she had no idea what had been going on.

Long story short, Maggie had gotten a little too intimate with her coworker David, and was caught in the act by Glenn when he had returned from Marietta. The two broke up.

"The worst thing about it is...he's okay." Maggia scrubbed at her tears. "He can go back to his job as a reporter and he'll probably meet other people and he'd be okay. I mean we only dated for 5 months, it can't be that serious to him."

"Girl, you can't sit here and sulk." Alannah lifted her from off her lap. "Get your man. It's what I'm doing."

Maggie looked confused. "How? Did Rick say he had feelings for you too?"

"Not exactly. But that doesn't matter." Alannah shrugged. "It's not impossible to make someone fall in love with you. There's just...some people you have to get rid of, parts of yourself that you have to show."

Hoover's Drive was a place Michonne had never gone to, but apparently it was a diner. She stepped in through the doors immediately welcomed to a dim atmosphere. It smelled of coffee, chocolate and pancakes.

Michonne made her way to the booths. Rick was slumped against the wall in the last booth in the farther corner of the room on his phone.

God...this is embarrassing, she thought as she checked her outfit. I look fine, hopefully.

She noticed a Beyonce song was playing through the speakers as she tried to casually stroll over to Rick.

She slid into the seat across from him.

"Is this a date?"

Rick looked up from his phone, surprised at her presence. "Uh…yeah, but apparently I already have a date with Alannah at Greer House."

Michonne giggled. "You're joking." She reached out and began drinking the water in front of her.

"No, seriously, she asked me out, and even after I said no, she sent me directions."

Michonne began chuckling. "Well, does she know? About us? Or...that you don't have the same feelings for her?"

"Nope. She knows nothing. I was too nervous to say anything." Rick sat his phone down in front of himself.

"Then that's your problem." Michonne continued sipping. "I don't want to be involved in Alannah's mess. She has feelings for you? I don't care at all, to be honest. The heart wants what it wants. As long as it doesn't affect us, I'm good."

"That's a good way of thinking. Clears you of any stress, but you're totally abandoning me here, Michonne."

She laughed softly with him.

Why did she find him so funny? Was this just attraction?

"I'm sorry," she smiled. "I just feel like I'm setting myself up for failure when I try to do ANYTHING with that woman. But she's pretty cute, I'll give her that."

Rick looked at Michonne fully. "She has hair like you now."

"Hmm?" Michonne almost choked on her water getting that out.

"Her hair looks almost exactly like yours, I saw it today."

Michonne smirked and looked out the window. "I'm not even going to say anything. Just gonna keep my mouth shut." She imitated a zip over her lips.

Rick chuckled at her, reaching over the table to place his hand over hers.

Shit.

She'd thought it would have subsided by now. All the butterflies and nervousness. Her heartbeat was slowly increasing its rhythm.

Of all the ways she thought her night would end, she didn't think she'd be in the back of her car, lying on her back, making out with Rick Grimes.

They were all over each other, it was pretty intense. Nothing could be heard but their heavy breathing and faint smooches.

His hands were getting lower and lower, until one was clutching her stockings.

The heat was rising in her stomach, but...it didn't feel right. Not with such a huge secret on the tip of her tongue.

"Rick…" She pulled away from him. "Rick, I have to tell you something."

He was staring down at her, looking as if he would gladly listen to anything she had to say in the moment. "What is it?"

"Well, a few days ago, I awoke from a dream about the night Mike died." She began sitting up.

"Was it a nightmare? Are you okay?" He placed his hand on her shoulder.

She appreciated his concern. "I happen to think that anything involving that night is a nightmare. But the point is, it was way too detailed to be a dream. And I remember every moment of it. It was positively NOT a dream."

"Then that means you remember." He grinned, looking relieved, yet fearful. "So, what happened?"

Michonne sighed. "It was her. Alannah, she killed Mike."

Rick's hand dropped from her shoulder, his excitement seemed to have died. All in all, he looked completely disappointed.

"But it was self defense." She finished her sentence.

Rick looked up, only to furrow his brows. "But that doesn't make any sense. Why go after you if she would have gotten off easy, no problem?"

"That's the first thing that I wondered. But then I remembered something. She hates me."

"Yeah, but-"

"I mean she hates me. For so long she's hated me. Ever since she laid eyes on me she's hated me. And...I've always wanted to know why, but it's been in my face this whole time. Like someone was waving a billboard and I completely ignored it."

"What?"

Michonne sighed heavily, feeling relieved yet scared to be relaying this information to him.

But it was the truth.

"She was in love with Mike."