Author's notes: Hi there! I will be quite busy tomorrow and this whole weekend, so here goes this week's chapter, I hope you don't mind a day earlier. 😊 Thank You for being here! ❤

…

Quinn and Negan, Alexandria

We were sitting on the couch with Negan, thinking about all the things that Hornsby guy said about the Commonwealth. We didn't say a word since we got back home. I broke the silence.

"So what do you think? You want to move to the Commonwealth?" I asked.

"I mean… I told you, no Maggie, no walkers, walls, and safety. What else do we need?" Negan repeated what he previously said.

"I agree, but… if we don't consider Maggie at all… Would you still go? You didn't find that guy suspicious and all of this too good to be true?"

I was examining Negan's reaction, he was thinking.

"If I don't consider Maggie at all… I think I would still go. It's a fresh start. No one knows me at the Commonwealth."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked. "What if someone from your people ended up there?"

"I don't think so," he said, but I could tell he wasn't sure.

"What if there's someone who recognizes you? Did you ever come across this community?"

"No. I never heard of it. But look… if someone recognizes me, we just move back to Alexandria. Or to the house we were talking about. We have options."

I nodded in agreement.

"I guess we have."

"We should at least check it out," he insisted.

"I think we should get more information," I suggested. "But first, I want to hear what Carol thinks," I stated and gathered myself up. He followed me. We walked to Carol's house and knocked on the door. Daryl opened it for us.

"Oh, great. Come in," he said and let us in. He seemed to be in a good mood. All the kids were sitting in the living room, there was a family discussion going on.

"Sorry for interrupting," I mumbled embarrassed.

"It's okay, we already discussed it," said Daryl.

"Did we?" asked Carol mocking Daryl. They locked eyes for a second, then Carol smiled and turned towards the children. "Alright, kids, could you let us talk in private, please?" asked Carol raising her voice a bit as the kids were talking loudly.

"You don't mean us among the kids, right?" asked Henry offended referring to himself and Lydia.

"You're still a kid," Carol stated. "But Quinn and Negan's business doesn't concern you, so please," she waved her hands towards the stairs. All the kids got offended, but still, they walked upstairs.

"Thank you!" I said to their backs unsurely. Carol and Daryl stayed with us, staring at me questioningly.

"So?" asked Carol.

"I don't know. We came to ask your opinion," I admitted.

"Oh, that's very nice of you," said Carol as she sat down on the couch looking flattered. Daryl was standing next to her, his hands in his pockets.

"You probably figured out we should go with them. We were already about to leave because of Maggie, so this sounds like a good opportunity…" I was saying, but Carol interrupted me.

"But?" she asked.

"But I'm not sure, because it seems too good to be true and it makes me suspicious," I admitted. Carol and Daryl exchanged glances.

"Are you two not related?" asked Carol pointing at me and Daryl.

"What? Why?" I asked smiling while Daryl was rolling his eyes.

"Daryl said the exact same thing. "Too good to be true, suspicious"" said Carol pushing her voice down, trying to imitate Daryl.

"That's not the way I talk," said Daryl offended. Carol chuckled softly at him.

"Are you suspicious too?" I asked frowning my eyebrows concerned.

"We all are," said Carol turning serious once again. "But I still think we should go."

"Wait what? Are you thinking about going?" I asked surprised. "I thought you two were staying at Alexandria!"

"Well, we are thinking about it," said Carol looking at Daryl unsurely.

"Don't look at me," he growled at her. I smiled at the sight of them.

"What is this community like? Did you hear something?" I asked.

"Yeah, I did," said Carol. "I heard Eugene when he was talking to Rosita. I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything, I was just walking by," said Carol innocently. "So Eugene said that this community is like it's stuck in the past. Everything is exactly the same as it was before the apocalypse."

My mouth fell open. I looked at Negan, he was smiling while frowning his eyebrows disbelievingly.

"What?" he asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"How is that even possible?" I asked taken aback.

"Hold on… this means they still use money, which we don't have any," stated Daryl slowly.

"Money? What for?" I asked chuckling disbelievingly.

"Yeah, you heard me. They're stuck in the past," repeated Carol.

"We don't have money… in the apocalypse," I said throwing my arms disbelievingly. Negan chuckled at my reaction.

"I also heard, that they employ you in the same job as before the fall," added Carol.

"What?!" I asked completely taken aback. I glanced at Negan, this time he was chuckling disbelievingly.

"Wait what? I would be a gym teacher again?" he asked.

"Wait… you were a gym teacher before the fall?" asked Daryl now he got surprised. Carol started chuckling. "No way," added Daryl smiling.

"Yeah, he was," I reassured them. "So… we should work in our previous jobs and earn money and everything goes the same like before?" I summarized.

"Technically, yes," said Carol.

"How long were you eavesdropping on Eugene?" asked Negan. I poked his arm gently, to indicate him to stop mocking Carol.

"I have kids to take care of, I needed info," stated Carol simply not even trying to hide anymore that she was eavesdropping on purpose. I chuckled at her reaction. Then all of us got silent, deep in thought. My brain just exploded. What is this community? It was so strange. I just could not believe it.

"Now we definitely have to go, I wanna see this," said Negan smiling at me. He couldn't believe it either. I glanced at Daryl.

"So you are going too?" I asked. Daryl exhaled sharply, glanced at Carol then back at me.

"Seems so," he growled.

"Look, we want the best for the kids," Carol explained. "Judith and RJ have never even seen how the world was before the fall."

"I get that," I said thinking. "But are you sure about this? Doesn't it seem like something's off?"

"Everything's off," stated Carol. "But we can take care of ourselves. I'm not worried."

"Yeeeaaah," said Negan sarcastically.

"Shut up, asshole. We beat your ass back then," said Daryl grumpily, he didn't like Negan's reaction.

"We got it," I cut off the argument before it started. "Okay, so you're going," I repeated again. "I'm surprised. I thought you two were staying. But if you're going then fine."

"We should check it out, I say," said Negan. I locked eyes with him and I nodded in agreement.

"That's decided then," said Carol. Suddenly we heard happy noises from upstairs and then shushes. The kids were eavesdropping at the top of the stairs. Carol rolled her eyes, smiling. Daryl glanced up at the stairs. Negan and I smiled too.

"Are they not your kids?" I asked smiling at Carol.

"Eavesdroppers," replied Carol shaking her head slightly, disbelievingly.

We got distracted by the tower bell's ringing.

"Alright, we should go to the hall. It's time," said Carol. We gathered ourselves and headed out.

"Henry! You're the boss while we're away! Don't destroy the house," Carol raised her voice a bit, so the kids would hear upstairs.

"A'right, mom!" replied Henry.

"Why he is always the boss?" asked Judith disappointed.

"Okay, you're the second boss," said Carol while standing at the door.

"Wait, what? I'm older!" now Lydia got offended.

"Everybody's boss!" yelled Daryl, we heard RJ's happy outburst. We all chuckled at his reaction. "Let's go," Daryl added quickly, quietly to us, while we closed the front door behind us. Negan and I were smiling at this little scene. As we walked towards the hall I caught up with Carol and asked her quietly.

"Are you really sure about this?"

"Yeah. It's going to be fun," she said smiling. I eased up a bit seeing how lightly she takes it.

"I'm a little anxious, you know?" I continued quietly. "I'm really happy you two are coming. Maybe I will feel better this way."

"Of course, honey. We'll check it out together," she said while she stroked my arm to reassure me. I smiled back at her, then I stopped for a second and waited for Negan to catch up, while Carol and Daryl kept walking.

"Pff," Negan scoffed.

"What?" I asked.

"Can't believe I'm gonna be a gym teacher again. I hope Carol misheard it or something," he said quietly.

"You don't want to be a teacher?" I asked.

"I'd prefer not to. But we'll see. We have to earn money after all," he added sarcastically. I smiled at him.

"Yeah, that sounds so ridiculous. Given how we lived since the end of the world."

People were gathering in the hall. We saw those sci-fi soldiers again, and the politician. They were deep in conversation. Then I spotted Eugene. He was talking with Aaron, but they finished and Aaron went inside. Eugene was left alone, smiling to himself.

"Hey, can you join Carol, please?" I turned to Negan. "I'd like to say hi to Eugene."

"Of course. I'll save a seat for you," Negan smiled at me gently and headed inside. I let out a huge sigh as I glanced back at Eugene. He was talking to some Alexandrians once again, but as I approached him, they walked inside as well. His eyes finally fell on me.

"Quinn!" he said smiling widely.

"Eugene!" I said and I hurried towards him with quick steps, then I hugged him tightly, squeezing him.

"Whoa, Quinn, you make me lack oxygen," he said chuckling while I suffocated him with my tight hug.

"I don't care, I missed you!" I stated and kept hugging him, but after a couple of seconds, I backed away. "You have to tell me everything! Did you find Stephanie? Where are Ezekiel and Yumiko? Do they really still use money at the Commonwealth?"

"Quinn, Quinn… hold on, slow down," said Eugene slowly, smiling at me gently as I bombarded him with my questions. "Yes, I found Stephanie, she is perfect. Ezekiel and Yumiko are just fine, they're at the Commonwealth now. We found a new friend along the way to the Commonwealth, her name is Princess. Don't even ask. She's funny though. And yes, they have jobs at the Commonwealth and they use money. Everything's just like before the fall."

"Wow! I just came up with a million new questions!" I said, both of us chuckling. Then my smile faded away slowly. I didn't ask any more questions. "I'm so glad you're okay. I missed you so much."

I embraced him once again. Eugene was smiling, stroking my back.

"So… you're living happily ever after with Negan?" he asked. We backed away again, I slowly shook my head.

"Maggie is insane..." I said quietly. "She and her friends were bullying me. And she beat up Negan…"

"What?" asked Eugene frowning his eyebrows concerned.

"Negan said sorry to Maggie in front of half of Alexandria. He said sorry for everything. He said sorry to Rosita too. And Maggie just… lost it and beat him to half-dead. Fortunately, nothing serious was going on, but he was full of bruises. He didn't hit back and he didn't even defend himself. Just let her do it."

Eugene listened to me paying attention closely.

"That's incredible. I never thought he would do such a thing. I bet Maggie didn't take it well."

"No," I shook my head slowly. "So it was the best time to arrive with news like this because we were about to leave Alexandria. Negan and I."

"In that case, I am super grateful for the timing, because this way, hopefully, we will see each other very often. Maybe we'll be neighbors," he said smiling.

"Yeah, that would be nice," I smiled back at him.

"Eugene! We're starting!" said Gabriel sticking his head out the door.

"Oh, let's not miss this," said Eugene and held the door for me while I walked inside. There were a lot of people, the entire Alexandria was stuffed in there, except for the children this time. I was searching for Negan with my eyes.

"See you later," said Eugene.

"See ya," I replied and kept searching. Finally, I saw Him. Negan was standing behind Carol, leaning his back against the wall. Carol was sitting on a chair in front of him. Daryl was standing next to Negan, his back against the wall too. I hurried towards them. Carol flashed a quick smile at me which I returned, then I stood very close next to Negan, our arms touched.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry, there were no seats left when we got here," he apologized. "I mean there was, but…" he added pointing at Carol. I chuckled.

"It's fine."

Negan smiled at me, but before we could get lost in each other's eyes we got distracted by Gabriel. He started a speech this time.

"Welcome!" he said and waited a couple of minutes till everyone got silent. There were so many people, but suddenly complete silence. Gabriel continued: "Maybe this is the last time we gather together as Alexandria's residents. This new offer which Mr. Hornsby and the Commonwealth made is very generous. There are a few things you should know before making up your mind. The Commonwealth operates exactly like the normal world, before the fall. This means they have jobs, they earn money, and they live using money. Food, clothes, and everything you need can be bought with money. Children must attend school. There are soldiers who maintain order and keep the residents safe. There are politicians, who lead. One of them is Mr. Hornsby. They have everything that was before the fall. Hospital, social events, church. In light of this information, I would like to kindly ask, how many of you decided to move to the Commonwealth?"

Gabriel stopped talking and examined the crowd with his eyes, waiting. Negan, Carol, Daryl, and I raised our hands. As I looked around I saw Eugene, Rosita and Gabriel raised their hands too. I glanced at Jesus and Aaron. They didn't. I let out a small sigh. I knew I would lose all of my friends if I left with Negan, but this way, I can be close to Carol, Daryl, and Eugene at least. I wish Jesus was on the list too, but not everything can be perfect. I felt a bit gloomy about Jesus and Aaron not joining us. Poor little Judith. She will be separated from Gracie. They became friends over the years. I let out a small, worried sigh at these thoughts. We put our hands down after Gabriel counted us all. They seemed to be making a list with Eugene. After this, Maggie stepped forward, taking Gabriel's place. I slowly slipped my hand into Negan's hand, like I wanted to lock him to my side, to not get beaten up again. Maggie started talking this time.

"There is another option too. Some of us decided to rebuild Hilltop. It was my home. I don't want it to go to waste. Even though it's ruined, I think with hard work we can get it up once again. You don't have to decide about this now, but I wanted to let you know, in case you don't want to go to the Commonwealth. Thank you!"

She ended her speech and walked away. We could have stayed in Alexandria because Maggie is leaving too. I glanced at Negan. He raised his eyebrows slightly. But since we discussed everything about the Commonwealth and Negan was curious to see it… and Carol, Daryl, and Eugene will be there, I won't back out now. We are moving to the Commonwealth.

…

Author's notes: Listen to "Where we go" by Pink.

Thank You for reading! ❤