Louis chuckled. "Wow Vi, you look terrible. Did you even sleep last night?" He asked as they walked through the wooded area.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks." She mocked him.
But a smile slipped onto her face as she recalled the events from last night. She had stayed up most of the night, keeping a watch over Clementine as the girl slept against her. It had taken a toll on her, as tiredness was etched onto her face this morning, but the lack of sleep was worth it. She would do it all over again, just to spend that time with Clementine again.
Louis however caught the slight expression. "Whoa Vi, is that a smile I see?" He said amusement in his voice.
Violet glared at him. "Fuck off."
Louis stopped walking and shot her a look. He raised a brow. "Alright, spill! You don't ever smile, unless something causes me pain." Louis put his hands on his hips as he stared her down waiting for an answer. "And your tiered as hell. Is there something you wanna tell me?"
Violet tried to act intimidating so Louis would back down, but the slight blush on her face betrayed her. "There's nothing to tell. Nothing happened."
Louis shook his head in pretend disappointment. "Violet, Violet, Violet. Do you really think you can fool me? We've only known each other what, like ten years?" He stared at her for a minute before something clicked. "This is about Clementine, isn't it? You tell her?"
Violet's face reddened drastically. "I'm done having this conversation with you." If she told Louis the truth, he'd never let it go. She did not want to reenact what had happened last night, not only for her sake, but Clementine's too. Why did she keep agreeing to going on these runs with him?
"No fucking way! You did tell her!" Louis gave her a cheesy grin. Violet was a terrible liar, especially when it came to things like this.
Violet folded her arms in defense."I didn't tell her anything!" Which was technically true to a point. Clem had been the one to make the first move and to admit that she had feelings for her, but Violet had been the one to set the mood in a way. She knew it was pointless in denying it by now, but part of her was still trying to defend herself.
Not that Louis believed a word she was saying. "That's cute Vi. You two together now?"
Violet huffed in defeat. She might as well admit it, since Louis wasn't letting up anytime soon. "Alright! Yes! Were together. You happy?" She snapped at him. Though she had to admit it felt kind of good to say that out loud.
Louis gave her another one of his stupid smiles. "Very. Now I have something to tease the two of you with."
"As if you didn't already." Violet mumbled under her breath as they continued there walk back to the cabin.
Meanwhile back at the cabin, Clem was helping Luke with a project. Luke had insisted that they should reinforce the windows with the oncoming winter weather that was approaching. Some of the windows weren't in as good of shape as the others, the glass having been shattered or cracked awhile ago. Boarding the windows up to keep out the elements would of been a simple task, if Clem wouldn't keep losing her focus on holding up the boards.
"Clem? Clem!" Luke shouted a bit louder to get the girls attention for the sixth time.
"Huh...What?" Clem looked up confused.
"You gotta keep the board up." Luke told her, keeping the other side up along with the hammer in his hand.
"Oh, Sorry." She said raising the piece of wood back up to it's previous position before her grip had slipped. Luke shook his head at her antics before positioning a nail and beating down on it with his hammer.
Clem tried to focus on her work, but found herself being pulled back into daydreaming. She couldn't help it as the events from last night crept back into her mind. She had actually kissed Violet. Not only that, but they were together now, as in Violet being her girlfriend. She smiled at the thought. Every time she thought about it her heart fluttered in her chest, and she loved it. To know that Violet actually liked her back made her heart swell and butterflies would arise in her stomach and it caused a smile to creep onto her face whenever she thought about it.
Luke looked over to the girl again once he finished injecting the last nail into the wooden surface. She was in another world again with that same smile on her face that she had before. Luke could tell she was awfully happy about something, but he wasn't sure what had caused the mood switch until now. He figured he should ask her about it, otherwise they weren't going to get much work done at this rate.
He pocketed the hammer and turned toward the girl who hadn't even noticed he was staring at her. "It's not normally this hard to get you to work. You wanna tell me what's got ya in such a good mood?" He folded his arms and leaned up against the house as he waited for an answer, a smirk etched onto his face. Luke knew that look all to well and could pin point what was making Clem get so distracted, but he figured he'd let her tell him herself.
Luke's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Clem blushed at being caught in the act. "Nothing." She simply replied.
Luke chuckled. "Your a hell of a lot happier than normal, so it ain't nothing." Clem blushed harder confirming his suspicion. "You finally tell her how you feel?" He asked casually, no longer dodging the question.
Clem felt embarrassed from having this conversation with Luke, but nodded her head in conformation. "Yeah, I-I did. I...um...she's kinda m-my girlfriend now." She said shyly. Clem knew Luke was already okay with this, but she still felt nervous about admitting her feelings for Violet to him.
Luke chuckled again. "Kinda hard not to notice with they way you've been acting." He teased her.
Clem knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Luke unfolded his arms and stood back up from his slouched position against the house. "Clem, your about as love sick as Romeo and Juliet." He couldn't believe how oblivious Clem could be to her own feelings sometimes. But it was nice to see her so happy for a change.
Clem's face flushed again and she rubbed her left arm with her right hand as she looked up at him. "It's that obvious huh?"
"Well if the way you keep smiling doesn't give it away, I don't know what will." He smirked at her before laughing again.
She swore her face couldn't get any redder than it already was, but she would prove herself wrong every time Luke opened his mouth. "I feel really stupid now." She said facing away from him, trying to hide her embarrassment from the man in the orange shirt.
"It's okay Clem." He rested his hand on her shoulder to reassure the younger girl. "Violet makes you happy, that's all that matters. You should be allowed to be happy. God knows you deserve it." He sent her a enlightening smile.
Clem gave a slight smile back. Luke's support meant a lot to her. She had known him since she was eleven and there relationship had grown from the start. If there was anyone she truly trusted, besides AJ of course, it was Luke. She liked how she could tell him everything and anything that came to mind, and he would listen no matter what it was about. He had been with her through so much, and treated her and AJ both like family. No they were family, and she wouldn't have it any other way. "Thanks Luke."
Luke brought a hand up and pulled the bill of her cap down over her eyes, something he did quiet often, in a playful demeanor. "No problem kid."
Clem chuckled as she readjusted her tattered baseball cap, regaining her vision. Luke giving her another grin. "Alright, we've only got three more windows left. Why don't we hurry up and finish this. Then we can be done by the time Louis and Violet get back." Luke taking hold of his hammer once more. "That is, if you can remain conscious for the rest of it." He teased.
Clem playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Next time it'll be the hammer." She fake threatened, picking up one of the boards and holding it in place.
"Love you too kid." Luke told her, before striking the nail into the piece of lumber.
"Louis I am not doing that. God, AJ is more mature than you." Violet complained as the cabin came into view past the branches of the pine trees.
"Come on it's a great idea!" Louis tried to persuade her.
"I am not letting you plan a pretend date for me and Clem just so you can monitor our relationship." Violet was already tiered from the lack of sleep, but Louis's pleading was just as draining.
"I bet I could get Clem to agree to it." Louis challenged.
Violet snorted at the thought. "Good luck."
"So if Clem agrees does that mean you'll do it?" He asked, the gears already turning in his head about how he would make this happen.
Violet let out a frustrated groan. "Fine. If she agrees to it, I'll play along. But there's no fucking way your going to convince her."
"Watch me!" He cheered.
Violet rolled her eyes in annoyance, but a smile overtook her as a certain girl in a baseball cap came into view by the side of the house. She and Louis showed up just as Luke finished securing the last remaining board to a window.
Clem's back was turned toward them, so Luke was the first to spot them. He turned his attention to them as he wiped some sweat from his brow, getting Clem to turn around.
"Hey, your back!" Clem exclaimed once Violet and Louis were in speaking range. "You find any?" Clem asked glancing at their backpacks.
Louis threw off his pack and flipped the cover off to reveal it's contents. "Boom, that answer your question."
Clem and Luke stared at the assortment of gnarled bones that laid inside the bag. "We actually made out pretty good, considering." Violet stated as she slipped her own backpack off her shoulder, setting it next to the one that still laid open.
Luke picked up one of the large bones. "And we can really make spears out of these?" He asked, never really considering their potential in making valuable weapons.
"Sure thing." Louis replied excitedly. "We had a guy named Mitch who used to carve the ends into points. Attach them to a long stick, instant spear." He gestured to the bones.
"Used to go spear fishing with Brody all the time." Explained Violet. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Not that bad actually."
"Alright, then. Sounds like a plan." Said Luke, excited at the thought of finding an easier way for them to catch food. "Shouldn't be too hard."
Just then a thought crossed Clem's mind. She hadn't heard from a certain five year old for awhile. "I should probably go check on AJ." She told Luke.
Louis looked between Clem and Violet and an idea popped into his head, a knowing smirk appeared on his face. "I'll help you get started on these Luke." Louis offered, grabbing both backpacks from off the ground. "Vi, how about you go with Clem?" He offered the blonde a smile and winked at her as he walked by, Luke following.
Violet glared at him, while Clem wore a confused expression. She didn't mind spending time with Clem, but she didn't like Louis setting them up and intentionally trying to push them together. At least he didn't bring up the whole pretend date thing. Violet pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation before turning to Clem. "I'm sorry about him."
Clem gave a slight chuckle. "It's fine. What was that all about?"
"He wouldn't stop questioning me while we were out. He knows about the two of us." She cleared her throat. "Sorry." Violet apologized.
Clem brushed her off. "It's cool. Luke knows too. And besides..." Clem weaved her fingers in with Violet's. "I like being open with my girlfriend."
Violet flushed at Clem's words, but she appreciated the touch. "Yeah... me too." She gave Clem a slight smile and the brunette gave one in return.
The girls rounded the corner of the house and made there way to the porch, in search of AJ. Louis and Luke could be seen out in the yard working on shaping the bones with Luke's machete. Louis saw the two of them and waved before giving Violet a thumbs up.
Violet shook her head in disapproval. "Oh my god!"
This earned a giggle from Clem as she opened the front door. Her and Violet walked in only to find the place a mess. "What the hell!" Clem accidentally shouted. The couch cushions and pillows were scattered all over the floor, boxes were turned over, and an assortment of papers were strewn about. It looked like a herd of walkers had torn through the place. AJ stood in the middle of all of it, not having even noticed the two of them as he threw another object out of the way.
Clem let go of Violet's hand and maneuvered her way through the battlefield of distorted objects, careful not to step on anything important, until she came up next to the younger boy. "AJ, what the heck is all of this?" Her voice was firm and slightly warning when she asked, letting him know she was serious.
Clem didn't like to yell at AJ, but he knew better than to do this. Her expression softened however, when AJ turned to her with a worried look, almost like he was about to cry. "I can't find him, Clem!"
Another chapter that I wasn't intentionally planning on writing, but I don't think it turned out half bad. Louis and Luke are quiet the match making team though. ;)
Another chapter or two and will be adding another character. Yay!
Hope you all liked this! Secret Life of Writing Out! :)