Walking Dead: Building Your Own Hope

Chapter 7 of my Walking Dead story, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Yeah, that could be a problem and yup, it's hard on Beth right now. Yeah, certainly raises some interesting questions ;)
Parent12D: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, it's been pretty hard on her, but luckily she won't have to face it alone. Although naturally that leaves worries regarding Laurel. Well, Ron is pretty much in the mould of his father so of course he's not going to take this well. Yeah it was awkward but luckily we had help and got out of that situation without any true lasting humiliation ;)
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or its characters.

Season 1: Episode 7

To say Enid was nervous as she approached school the following day was an understatement, she knew that Ron would still not take kindly to their break up and had to be on extra alert, she didn't want any surprises. However she found one the moment she walked through the front doors, albeit, not one that made her wary or concerned.

"Sophia?"

The blonde grinned at Enid, having clearly been waiting for her.

"Hey Enid, you okay?" She asked.

There was an edge to her tone that told Enid she was indeed waiting and concerned for her.

"I'm okay." Enid explained. "He's not tried anything."

Sophia nodded. "Alright, well, let's make sure he can't huh?"

Enid was confused. "Huh, what are you-?"

"I'll be here to back you up, you know, is case he tries anything." Sophia explained.

Enid smiled lightly at that, she knew that for all Ron's bluster and bravado, he would be no match for Sophia who had a solid grounding in martial arts and while she hated the idea of relying on others for protection, she was glad that she had support from her friends.

"C'mon, let's go." Sophia said with a grin.

Agreeing Enid followed Sophia to join the others, ready for anything that would come.

XXXXX

Andrew smiled as he made his way to his locker, it was a rather warm day today, but he didn't really have any complaints. He rounded the corner to the corridor his locker was on and smiled when he saw Marissa at hers, although he then did a double take when he noticed something. Something practically unheard of, he'd certainly never seen it before. Maybe it was to beat the heat or something like that, but he knew he wasn't imagining it, Marissa was wearing a skirt. A black-coloured mid-thigh length one that paired nicely with her white blouse, black flats, and white socks that came up to just below the knee, showing her legs, at least her thighs and knees.

'Oh...W-Wow. Gosh. Holy mackerel!' Andrew thought, a slight blush crossing his face. 'G-Gee. Marissa is sure looking hot today, especially with this heatwave. Oh god. That skirt is beautiful, and those bare thighs and knees. They're...holy cow. I'm feeling fuzzy just from seeing her...'

As he drew closer he considered his crush and felt compelled to compliment her, but that thought was chased away when he noticed the troubled look in her eyes. Reaching his locker and preparing to open it, he instead began to worry and wonder how to bring up the subject.

But it was Marissa, smiling at him, who started the conversation.

"Hi Andrew, how are you today?"

"Hmm? Oh. Oh hi Marissa," Andrew yelped after being brought out of his thought. "I uh...I'm doing good. You seem to be in a good mood, despite this heat, right?"

Marissa nodded: "Yeah, and it's pretty hot too. Still, not all bad, right?"

As she said this she closed her locker, tucking her books under her arm, with the other hand and with practised ease more suited to those who wore them regularly, smoothed her skirt, keeping it neat.

"Oh yeah. Yes, it is pretty hunky dory," Andrew remarked hastily as he grabbed his books from the locker and then closed it up. He really did not want her to know about how he felt about her thighs and knees, as well as her skirt. He not only wanted to not be rude to her. He also didn't want to make a really bad impression of her.

'I gotta keep it together. So what if Marissa is looking really attractive on a day like this?' Andrew thought as he looked at her skirt again. 'Oh, man. Why am I staring at it again? I feel my hormones are acting up...again. Just gotta play it cool. I'll just go with her to our next class, and that's it.'

So together they began walking to their next class, Andrew doing his best not to have too much of a reaction to Marissa's bare thighs and knees visible in his peripheral vision. Before he could even think to ask about his concerns, Marissa beat him to it.

"What's bugging you, Andy? You're acting kinda strange?" She asked him.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," Andrew stuttered, beads of sweating forming on his forehead as he had a forced smile on his face. "What's with the worried expression for? I'm fine. There's nothing bothering me."

Marissa stopped at that, eyes wide, no longer hiding her worries.

"You…you saw that?"

Andrew had to let out a defeated sigh.

Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, he decided to come clean with her.

"Alright, Marissa. Yes, it's true. I did see the bare thighs and knees visible. I was too flustered and scared to say anything," Andrew said, as they approached the locker, and he noticed how she was looking quite anxious. "I personally felt that it could be a problem for you wearing that skirt like that in a public place like school."

Resuming their walk to class, Marissa bit her lip. "Andrew, I…you're right, I'm worried. I think there's some…creep after me."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Andrew raised an eyebrow. "A creep is stalking after you?"

"Yeah, I…when I first got to school today, when I was going upstairs, I heard a noise and…" She shuddered. "I didn't get a good look at him, but there was someone there, with a camera, I don't know if he was taking pictures or filming, but…he had pointed, up my skirt."

Andrew let out a horrified gasp for a second or so before he let out a rather loud and outraged bellow. "HE TRIED TO DO WHAT TO YOU!?"

Marissa shook her head. "I…I just, that's not all, with what happened to Beth and Laurel, I was worried about, what if I'm, next…"

Andrew had to simmer down, seeing that it wasn't going to help them if he stayed angry. However, that anger was quickly replaced with fear, as he got a good grasp of what Marissa was talking about. And he also realized the horrifying implications that could come with it.

Taking a deep breath, he did his best to reassure her.

"Well, I haven't seen anyone follow you into school yet. But try not to stress about it. And meanwhile, I'll keep a sharp eye out for anyone suspicious that might try to do something harmful to you. Just keep your guard up while keeping yourself calm."

Marissa stared at him for a moment, still blushing at his mention of noticing her exposed legs, then she startled him by hugging him tightly.

'W-Wow. I...Oh my god! She's hugging me. It feels so good since I've been crushing on her for years... Oh god, and she's wearing a short skirt too.' Andrew thought, clearly enjoying this as he returned the hug. 'I-I know Marissa prefers the colder winter months over these hot summer months since there's no sweating involved. But golly. She's showing plenty of soft beautiful skin on her thigh and knees. Gee whiz, that's hot!'

Pulling back a little she smiled. "Andrew, I…thank you, and you're right, I will."

"No problem Marissa. We are close friends after all," Andrew replied with a smile. "And we got each other's backs no matter what."

Relieved at that, and wondering if maybe he'd pushed a little too hard and possibly blown his chance of his crush being realized, Andrew nevertheless smiled and soon the duo arrived at their class together.

XXXXX

Making his way to the main family home on the Greene farm, Brian bit his lip.

'Beth had to be sent home yesterday, she wasn't in today...I do hope she's alright.' He thought to himself.

His concern for her was what drove him to come and visit her to make sure she was alright, all out of concern for her. Composing himself he knocked on the door, it wasn't long before Beth herself answered.

"Oh, Brian, hi." She greeted him, smiling.

He noted that she still looked shaken, but better than she had been.

"Hi, I just, I was worried about you. I was hoping to check if you're alright." He explained.

Beth flushed at that a little, embarrassed but Brian noticed and shook his head.

"I'm just concerned about you, you've been through a lot and what's happened has surely been hard on you." Brian explained. "I just, I was worried."

He bit his lip, noting that something felt strange to him, but he wasn't sure quite what, but it was a nice warm feeling that grew in his chest. Beth couldn't help but feel happy that Brian didn't judge her and was only supportive of her. She let him in, also feeling rather warm and happy with him just being here for her.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.