The mall was larger than she remembered- cleaner, too. Still pretty nasty, but much better than the dilapidated, forever stained buildings Clementine wandered through to scavenge and rest. Compared to how Howe's looked, this was paradise. If you thought greasy food and terrible clothing stores was paradise, that is. Clothes weren't important back when the world went to hell. If it kept you warm and moderately protected than it was doing its job. Fashion here, though, meant everything. It could make or break you.

Like, if she was caught with that stupid, puffy, old rainbow jacket here, she'd probably be crucified on the spot.

There were so many clothes, though; there was so much variety! It was amazing! Vests in every color of the rainbow, t-shirts of every size, different types of jeans, and cabinets of jewelry were just in Macy's alone. The rest of the mall? You could get anything- absolutely anything- you wanted. Odds were, there was a store just for you. Want a graphic t-shirt? Go to Hot Topic or Spencer's. Need new underwear or a bra? Victoria's Secret is right next store. Need new shoes? Footlocker is your friend.

If only they had been this stocked up back when she raided them. When the apocalypse broke out, everyone must have gone to the big marts and malls first to get supplies or simply loot for the hell of it. Poor bastards were stealing thousands of dollars in makeup, but it wouldn't save them from the dead. Walkers don't care how pretty you are when they're about to get the chomp on you.

Clementine had her first escalator ride in almost five years. It was nerve-wracking, and she nearly tripped over her own feet, but it gave her a rush- almost like a roller coaster. None of these people had to use the stairs anymore and they didn't even care nor realize just how lucky they were. It took her about five minutes to talk herself into even taking the first step when the woman behind her didn't think twice before hopping on. She had gotten a few looks for that, but that wasn't stopping Clementine!

The food court was on the third floor, just as she remembered. It wasn't hard to spot the several mini restaurants and tables. How embarrassing would it have been to ask for directions? There was barely anyone there either, thank God! She wouldn't have to spend several awkward minutes just standing there, looking like a deer in headlights. All she has to do is walk past Susan's Candle Store and she would be coming into the court.

Clementine turns her head for a brief second when she spots Build-A-Bear. She's tempted to go back after years and years and make a new bear, but the sound of glass breaking disrupts her thoughts. She pauses, slowly backing away, having no time to react unlike the other patrons, who shout and murmur in surprise.

There on the ground, laying in shattered, tiny pieces of glass is a dead bird. A pool of blood is slowly seeping out from under its back. Clementine doesn't want to get too close and risk getting glass in her feet, but she can see its tiny feet sticking up in the air, twitching. A final, desperate move from the brain as it tries to save itself. She's seen it before.

"Damn!" the man working at the candle store curses as he runs out. "Holy shit!" He points up to the glass ceiling in awe. "It went through the ceiling!"

Clementine, like most of the other shoppers at this point, immediately turned her attention to the medium sized hole in the roof, right above where the bird was. It matched its size; it still remained unknown what species it was, but she presumed it was a dove. Didn't really matter, though, it was dead.

"How the hell did it do that?" A woman, who had been getting a slice of pizza from Sbarro, scratched her head with narrowed eyes.

"Did it dive-bomb or something? It went straight through."

"Yo, it's a bomber bird!"

A bomber bird? Well, that was a first, though, it wasn't out of the possibility. When looking at the hole and how the ceiling was completely flat, the bird must have flown straight down. However, how fast would it have been going to shatter the glass? What was it doing, falling from space?

It was weird.

Some of the mall-goers are recording the aftermath on their phones as the janitors come in and attempt to clean up the mess. She wouldn't even know where to start. Do you first turn your attention to the gaping hole in the roof or the hundreds of tiny pieces of glass all over the floor? Before they can put up their yellow signs, she hops over the carcass, praying she didn't step on any glass. Thankfully, she was safe; the janitors gave her a glare, but her feet were fine and that was all that mattered.

"Yo, that is sick!" A girl exclaims as she comes up behind Clementine to begin snapping as many photos as she can. She's got short black hair that comes up to her neck, a backwards dark green baseball cap on, and old, ripped jeans; over her, Led Zeppelin graphic tee is a red and black plaid flannel. For some reason, she looks familiar, but Clementine just can't place her. "Sarah, check this shit out!"

"I don't want to see!" Clementine's brows furrow when she hears what has to be Sarah's voice. Her Sarah. She turns around and sure enough, there's the teenage girl- she's slightly older, but it's her. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she's wearing shorts and a blue T-shirt, but she's still got her red glasses. Sarah's keeping her distance from the scene right over at the Chick-Fil-A.

How the fuck did Duck know all these people?

"Sarah, it looks like an album cover!"

She shakes her head and looks away. "No, it's sad! That poor baby bird!"

Yep, Sarah hadn't changed a bit; still loving and compassionate. The other girl, who Clementine presumes is Becca, rolls her eyes and continues to fill up her phone's memory with pictures of this dead bird.

Clementine facepalms when Duck comes out of nowhere to join her. He doesn't even notice the younger girl until she loudly coughs into her fist. "Oh, hey, Clementine," he begins, never taking his eyes off the corpse. "I see you found the food court."

"Are you seriously this fascinated with this bird?" she asks and crosses her arms.

"Come on, Clem, it fucking dive bombs in here and you expect me not to take pictures of it?" He smirks. "It seems like you don't know me well at all. Besides," he shrugs, "this is the most interesting thing I've seen all week."

"That's pretty sad, then."

"Look at its wings and the glass! It's all spread out like Jesus," Becca says.

"Sick!"

"When I start my band this is going to be the cover. Like, it's set in stone, you can't change my mind, this is the cover."

"Becca, you've been saying you were going to start your band for two years now."

For the sake of Clementine's sanity, she needed to get away from Tweedledee and Tweedledum here. She walked over to Sarah, restraining herself from giving the other a hug. "Hi."

Apparently, Sarah was in the mood for hugs, though, and her eyes lit up as she immediately scooped her up in a giant bear hug. For a tiny girl, she was pretty damn strong. Holy hell, it was almost back breaking. "Oh my God!" she squealed. "You must be Clementine!"

"And you must be Sarah." Clementine grinned through gritted teeth. I know you, she wanted to say.

"Duck and Gabe told me so much about you!" The Hispanic teenager finally lets her go and put her hands on the other's shoulders. "You're adorable. I mean, I knew you probably would be, but you're even cuter than I imagined!"

"Thanks?" Clementine wasn't sure how to respond to that. She was not cute, goddamn it.

"Oh, Gabe isn't here yet- if you're looking for him." Sarah glanced around the food court. "He texted me, like, ten minutes ago saying he was pulling up, but I don't know where he could be."

"That's fine," Clementine replied, "we'll wait for him."

She nodded before watching Becca and Duck. "Yeah, besides, who knows how long it will take for these two to finish." She frowned. "I feel bad for that bird."

"Me too, but shit happens."

"How did it even happen, though?"

Clementine squinted up at the hole again. "I have no clue. I just hope Gabe knows to go the other way."

"Oh yeah… He's going to be so mad if he has to go all the way to the other side."

"So, what business were you in exactly?"

"What?"

"You know, what were you doing? Did you own a bakery, do finances, or run a store? I was just curious."

This date was going pretty good up until this point. In fact, it was almost going too well. Nick knew he shouldn't have gotten too comfortable. Of course, anyone interested in a relationship would want to know about their potential significant other's life. God, there was so much Nick wanted to know about her: like did she have any pets, what was her family like, did she have a favorite color, etc.

He couldn't lie to her. Molly was smart as a whip; she seemed- no- was the type to not take bullshit from anyone. She'd know something was up. If she didn't question it someone would eventually open their mouth (most likely Kenny) and the truth would be revealed. She'd never trust him again. Their relationship would be over before it even again. The thought of it killed him; he had to come clean.

"Okay, well, do you promise not to think of me any differently?"

Her eyes widen. "Oh my God, is this super illegal?"

"No! Well-"

"Did you sell drugs?"

"No-"

"Counterfeit money?"

"No."

"I got it! You made moonshine!"

"No, no, it wasn't anything like that!" He paused. "Okay, we attempted to do the last one, but that's beside the point." He sighed. "We dabbled in a lot of things, but outdoor recreation kind of became our shtick."

The blonde tilted her head and her brows furrowed. "So, like Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah, sort of like those guys…" he stammered.

"There's more to this, isn't there?"

Nick took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. Oh, he just had to get this over with and say it already. The more he waited, the worse it would be, like slowly pulling a band-aid instead of just ripping it off. It'll be fine. Everything will be fine.

But, then he sees her face and freezes. Why would someone so beautiful ever notice an unemployed loser like him? This was a woman who could get anyone she wanted, absolutely anyone, and she decided on him. Not Luke or anyone else- just him. The gnawing, agonizing fear that Molly would no longer want anything to do with him was eating him alive.

"Nick?" Her tone was soft, devoid of the sarcasm from earlier. "Nick, are you alright?"

"I just don't want you to think any less of me."

"I wouldn't." She smiles sincerely; his stomach is in knots. "All I want is for you to be honest with me."

"Okay, okay," he stammered, trying to recover. Nick glanced up at her again before biting his thumb. "We would buy fishing lines and shit from Walmart, claim them as our own, and scam this guy named Kenny. He eventually found out, but for a while, we were making a good sum of money." Oh God, he doesn't even want to see her face. "I mean, enough to pay the bills, but he eventually found out because I forgot to remove the price tag..."

There's silence. He wants to jump out the window and run away- never to be seen again. He stares at the ground; the only thing he can hear is his heart pounding in his chest. Thank God Sandra was behind the counter because the last thing he needed was a comment from her.

Then, after a few seconds that seem more like minutes, he hears a giggle. He slowly looked up to see Molly biting her fist, red-faced and struggling not to laugh. "Are you for real?" she finally said, cackling. "That's what you were afraid to tell me?"

"Well, I mean-"

"You scammed a redneck, so what?" she replied. "Here you got me all worried that you were doing some illegal shit." She put a hand on her chest and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Honestly, I think it's pretty funny."

"You do?" Nick cocked his head to the side.

"Dude, you could've gotten away with it too if you just ripped the tags off."

"I guess I could have," he paused. "So, you're not mad?"

She shook her head. "No, am I supposed to be?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You haven't done anything." She smiled, slightly confused, and rested her hand on his. Nick hesitates for a moment, unsure whether to hold it or not, but slowly takes it. Her hand is so small compared to his- so petite, but at the same time rough and calloused. He wondered what she did to get them like that. "You need to boost your self-esteem, Nick. There's nothing wrong with you."

"I don't know, there's a lot I would change about myself."

"Funny, I wouldn't change a thing."

Yeah, he supposed that was pretty funny.

Gabe predictably enough didn't go the other way, though everyone texted him to do so. He was barely paying attention to his surroundings when he nearly walked into the large 'Cleaning in Process' sign. The teenage boy, who had been nodding along to his music, took out his earbuds and stepped back. He glanced at the shattered glass and bloodstained floor, the bird now gone, and then the ceiling, and then back to the ground.

"The fuck?" Clementine saw him mouth to himself as his eyes narrowed. "What the fuck?"

"Yo, Gabe!" Becca, who's now sitting at their table and munching on a piece of pizza, calls. "You're gonna have to go around the other way!"

He stares at the floor again and does a double take. "Uh, what the hell happened?"

"You didn't get our text?" Duck asked.

"No, I was listening to music!"

"Well, you totally missed it," the other boy replied. "This bird just, like, flew in like this-" he made a whooshing sound and waved his arm dramatically. "And then, it crashed like this!" He attempted to recreate the sound of glass crashing but failed miserably. "And it, like, slammed into the ground and it died. It was pretty rad, you should've been there."

Sarah glares at him. "Not rad. That poor bird..."

"How did that happen?" Gabe asked incredulously.

"Dude, I just went through it. Do you want me to do it again?"

He shook his head. "God, no, I just… Birds don't fly into windows."

"They do, though," Clementine said with a raised brow.

"No, I mean, I know that they do!" Gabe cried and raised his hands. "What I was trying to say was that they don't just dive bomb through the fucking ceiling!"

Becca finished her slice. "Maybe it was after Clem or something, I don't know." She shrugged. "Stop gawking like an idiot and come over here."

Clementine smirked as Gabe turned around and made his way around the mall, no doubt mumbling curses under his breath. He put his earbuds in as he stormed off. There he goes. She reached over and took a slice of pizza from the box that Becca had gotten from Sbarro while they waited for him. It would be a damn shame if he was stuck eating cold pizza, or perhaps nothing at all if Duck couldn't keep his greasy hands away. He was currently on his third slice and seemed to have no intentions of stopping anytime soon.

"Is it okay if I ask about your family?"

Molly's in mid-bite of the breakfast sandwich that Sandra was so kind enough to bring over when Nick asks. Now, it was her turn on the hot seat; okay, it was just about her home life, but it was his turn to ask the questions. Hopefully, it wasn't anything like his or else he'd feel like an awful person for putting her on the spot.

"Is it alright if I ask about yours?"

He nodded. "Yeah, of course."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With a few swipes and taps, she turned it around and pointed at the picture on the screen. Nick squinted; there was Molly redder than a tomato wearing her usual getup of shorts and a tanktop with sunglasses. She looked good. Well, the sunburn looked pretty bad and it probably hurt like a motherfucker, but she still looked good. His attention soon turned to the other people in the photo. To her right was an even redder, portly middle-aged man with thinning blond-gray hair wearing a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and carrying a large camera around his neck. That must be her father. And the pretty, slightly younger, less burnt brunette holding his hand must have been her mother. Finally, there was the young girl posing next to Molly. She didn't look much older than twenty at the most with short, dark brown hair and wore a pink sundress.

"This is from our trip to Disney last week," Molly began, pointing at the photo. "There's my dad, mom, and my sister Hilda. My parents are hardcore Disney fans, so we go there a lot." She stopped. "Also, I know, I'm burnt."

"What happened to you?" He laughed. "Jesus Christ."

"Let's just say that waterproof sunscreen is a scam."

"And your dad?"

She smirked. "He's just too much of a stubborn asshole to put it on."

"Ah, so that's where you get it from." He chuckled when he got a light slap on the arm as a response.

"You're a dick," she said, though there was no hint of venom in her voice, just mild amusement. "Alright, your turn."

Nick shrugged. "It's just my uncle Pete and I. My mom… she… uh, well she died last year." He frowned when he began to think about his late mother.

"Oh, Nick, I'm so sorry."

"My dad was never really around, so we were close. It hit me pretty hard, but she's not suffering anymore, so… yeah." He feels her hand rest on his arm, he holds it tight. "Cancer's a bitch."

"I'm so sorry, Nick," Molly murmurs.

It takes a minute for him to calm down, but he moves her hand away from his arm and cradled it with both hands. "My uncle Pete has a cabin in Lake Allatoona. I go there down a lot to keep him company and fish with him. I'm actually going down there this weekend-"

"And you want me to go with you?"

"I know this seems rushed, but I thought I could introduce you to my uncle Pete because I know he would want to meet you, and it would be just a nice day on the boat fishing and-"

"I'll go." She smiled, holding on tighter.

"You guys better not make any Nick Jr.'s!" Sandra cries from the counter.

He rolled his eyes. "Please, Uncle Pete would kill me. Besides, I'm pretty sure Kenny and Duck are coming down, so I mean, like, we couldn't even if we wanted to…" Nick cringed, immediately regretting what he just said.

"The old redneck you scammed is coming down?" Molly asked and got excited. "And his pet duck?"

"No, Duck's his son."

"He has a duck for a son?"

"N-No, they just call him Duck because he's an idiot, but yes, they're coming down."

There's a mischievous grin on her face. What's she going to do? Kenny already hated him, so if she tries to mess with him, he's going to be the one who gets his ass kicked- not her. Kenny was a gentleman or as much of a gentleman as an angry, old Floridian could be.

Well, he was probably getting his ass kicked anyway...

Gabe had to buy his own slice of pizza, which he was not happy about, but finally, the whole crew was together. Clementine couldn't even remember the last time she had a slice of pizza, and as mediocre as it tasted (because most mall pizzas were), she couldn't get enough of it. Definitely better than old, stale peaches and beans, that's for sure. The truck ride to Howe's was a rough one after that meal.

And soda? As bad as it was for her, she was quickly becoming addicted to Coca-Cola. Of course, she'd probably feel like garbage afterward, but in the moment it tasted so good.

"My dad said I can bring you guys to the swim club on Friday," Sarah says, getting everyone's attention. "It's bingo night, so we're going to be staying a little bit later."

Becca put a hand on her chin, contemplating. "Huh, what's the prize?"

"I don't know… probably just free ice cream from the snack bar or something. Why?"

The older girl shrugged. "Eh, I'm still interested."

"You can come too, Clementine."

Clementine smiled meekly. "Thanks, I'd love to go." I'd love to spend time with you again, bestie, and this time have fun, she wanted to say.

"Are you guys in?" the bespectacled teen asked the boys.

"No, sorry, Sarah," Duck shook his head. "Gabe and I are going to the cabin!" He pulled the Cuban boy into a headlock, ignoring his friend nearly choking on his pizza.

"Really? You're going to the fucking cabin?" Becca rolled her eyes.

Their eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with the cabin?" Duck asked.

"You'd rather go fishing with Luke and Nick than spend time with your best friends?" She put a hand on her chest, pretending that her feelings were hurt. "Dude, summer's almost over!"

"It's not just Luke and Nick," he replied with a huff. "My dad is going down, too."

Becca sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, but Luke and Nick are fucking losers. They are thirty-year-old jobless, virgins who spend their days scratching their asses and drink booze." She counted on her fingers.

"So are Eddie and Wyatt!"

"Eddie and Wyatt work and don't scam hillbillies-"

"My dad is not a… okay, well," Duck stammered. "Luke and Nick are still cool guys!" he finally cried after a couple seconds of thought. "And Luke did get a job, so hah, fuck you!"

"Is he back at PetSmart?"

"No, he's banned from there, remember? He accidentally left the cricket container open and caused an infestation."

Clementine wished she was there to see that one.

Gabe looked absolutely defeated. "You're not going to like this" he muttered in between bites of his slice. "Like, none of you are going to like where this is going."

"It can't be that bad," Sarah replied.

"Oh, no, it's bad."

Clementine nodded. "They wouldn't even tell me." Of course, she even wondered what Luke was even doing. Was it illegal? Hearing Nick's rant back in the shed all those years ago had her convinced their business definitely involved breaking the law. Considering his knowledge of stills, they were probably making moonshine.

"You know how Ms. Baldwin retired last year?"

Becca leaned forward. "Yeah, she's, like, old as time itself. What are you getting at, though?"

"Well, they needed a new art teacher and-"

"You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"See," Gabe began, "I told you she was going to get pissed."

She bolted up and slammed her fists on the table; both Sarah and Clem jumped. "No!" she yelled. "No, shut the fuck up!"

"Calm down, man," Duck said, glancing around the room. "You're making a scene."

"This is my senior year- the best year- and you're telling me this motherfucker is going to be my teacher?"

"You don't even care about school, so why are you so upset?" Sarah asked. "If anything, I should be the one caring."

Becca ripped off her cap and tossed it down. "You damn well should care!" She paced around the table. "Fuck, we should all care. Who the fuck looked at this clown and said ' ah, yes, this man should be allowed to teach children." She stopped and looked at Clementine. "Except for you, I think you're fine."

"And why is that exactly?" Clementine raised a brow.

"Duck's redneck dad-"

"Hey!"

"Shut down their little scam, right? They aren't making money anymore because now they have to get off their lazy asses and work, so who is Luke going to lash out at?"

Duck tapped the table while both Gabe and Sarah's eyes widened. "The education system for giving them college loans?"

"No, moron, you're Luke's new punching bag." Becca snapped, flicking his forehead.

"Why? I didn't give him crippling debt!"

"Luke's going to want revenge for what your dad did, and what better way to fuck with him than use you?" Becca rubbed her chin, acting as if she just found the meaning of life or something. "Teaching is, like, the ultimate way for people to live their fantasies of getting revenge on bullies and shit. They control the classroom, they have the power to fail or pass anyone."

Duck put a hand on his chest. "I didn't bully him!" he cried.

"Yeah, but he's going to see your dad as you, though, so he's going take it out on you. It's kind of like sins of the father." She stopped pacing. "And since we're friends with you, we're fucked by association! You fucked us over, Duck!"

He threw his hands up. "Well, I'm sorry!"

"And here I thought senior year was going to be a breeze." Sarah rubbed her temples.

"The only thing we can hope for is that he makes a fool of himself and he gets roasted to hell and back," Gabe interjected. "This is Luke we're talking about here, he'll fuck himself over eventually."

Clementine coughed in her fist. "So, did you guys all do the summer reading yet?"

"Are you alright?"

Light amber eyes open with a groan. Slowly, the girl sits up, rubbing her head. She appears about fourteen at the most, but the wide-eyed look of horror on her face makes her seem younger. She stood up, nearly falling over, and her breaths became more panicked by the second

"Relax, you're okay."

She whipped her head around to face the mysterious stranger. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me."

"Is this a dream?"

The stranger shook his head. "I wish, but unfortunately, we're awake."

"What is this place?" The girl asked, glancing around, only seeing white. "There's nothing in here."

"This here is the Void. Right now, we're in limbo."

"I don't understand- I went to bed, and now I'm here? There's got to be a way out!"

"Don't even try," the stranger said as she began to search for an exit. "I've searched this whole place for God knows how long."

"My parents are going to be so worried-"

"They don't even know you're gone."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's a glitch in the Matrix, as they say. You're here, but you're technically still there. It's you, but it's also not."

"I don't understand..."

"It's complicated, sweet pea." He sat down on the ground. "Here, come over. I have so much to tell you and I don't have a lot of time. The Void is angry. I can feel it."

A/N: Another chapter in just a week? Thank God for summer vacation, am I right? If I can spit out a chapter a week for the rest of the summer, I think I might be able to finish the story just in time for the year anniversary of the first chapter. Maybe not, though, because this story is huge. Literally, this is a big ass fic.

Some significant stuff happened this chapter. Yeah, that dove died super hard, and Gabe had to buy his own piece of pizza, but Molly and Nick's relationship is going pretty well. Will Uncle Pete approve? Will Molly mess with Kenny? Okay, we all know the answer to that one.

Those crickets in PetSmart freak me out. Imagine the top off and an infestation. Luke, you moron.

Also, Gabe is definitely one of those kids who has their earbuds in, gets lost in the music, and then walks into shit.