"Sorry to yank you away like that, Ben." Amelia kicked a rock. "I'm just tired of listening to those geezers bitch and moan."

"I'm actually kinda glad you did," Ben replied. "I thought he was about to kick my ass."

"Yeah, and he probably would've, so you're welcome." She sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking up at the afternoon sunlight streaming through the trees. "Really, though, this is such bullshit."

"Yeah, those guys should just get a room already."

Amelia giggled, the chiming noise shook in Ben's ear, causing his heartbeat to speed up, a warm feeling spreading through him. He said something that made her laugh. He turned his head to look at her then. He loved the way her nose wrinkled when she laughed. He couldn't stop the words that fell from his mouth.

"You're beautiful."

Ben could feel the searing heat in his face when he realized what he said.

Her head snapped in his direction. "What?"

"Uh, n-nothing! D-don't worry about it."

Amelia smiled and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"So...about what happened earlier," Ben said, effectively changing the subject. "Does your dad always hit your mom like that?" He couldn't just leave what he had witnessed unaddressed.

Amelia sighed, not meeting his gaze. She brought her hands out of her pockets and folded her arms over her chest. "I won't lie to you, they did fight a lot when I was little, and those fights could get pretty ugly. It sort of mellowed out when I started high school, though. Probably because they were working more and weren't around each other as much." She turned to him then. "Why? Didn't your parents ever fight?"

"Well, yeah, sometimes. But not like that."

"That was the first time that's happened in a while."

Ben frowned. "It's still not right."

"I know..."

His frown deepening, Ben carefully considered what he was going to ask her next. "...Has he ever hit you before?"

Amelia exhaled sharply through her nose and pressed her lips together, looking in the other direction.

They walked beside each other in silence for a few moments before Ben cleared his throat before he spoke up again. "What do you think we should do? When it comes to staying or leaving?"

Amelia shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like anything I say makes a difference, anyway."

"Well, I like hearing your opinions."

Amelia raised her eyebrows, her cheeks gathering a tinge of pink. "O-Oh. Well, I honestly agree with you and Leland about leaving. We're running low on food and water and supplies, more of those things are popping up, and, who knows, maybe bandits or whatever might wanna expand their territory. It's only a matter of time before we all starve to death or get attacked at night."

Ben thought for a moment. She was right, all of these things were plausible, and he certainly didn't want a repeat of what happened to all of his classmates and everyone else he knew. No. Not again. "What do you think will convince your dad?"

Amelia scoffed. "Probably one of us dying, as morbid as that sounds. He's just so goddamn hard-headed a-and selfish, it's detrimental."

"Maybe he thinks he's protecting you and your mom," Ben said. "He's having trouble coping with what's happening around him, and that makes people do some crazy shit sometimes."

Amelia shook her head. "Or he just wants so badly to be proven right. You don't know my dad like I do."

"I'm just saying."

"Still, though," Amelia murmured, gazing ahead, seemingly lost in thought. "Every day, I wish I could just get away from all the fighting and drama."

Ben gave Amelia a questioning look when she abruptly stopped walking and grabbed his shoulder, her eyes brightening as she got an idea, a barely-contained smile tugging at her cheeks. "We should just leave. Together! Just the two of us."

Ben sputtered. "W-What!? Right now?"

Amelia nodded eagerly, now grinning broadly and tugging at his arm like an excited little kid in a toy store. "Yes!"

"Without any supplies or anything? You said we were just going for a walk!"

"We'll manage."

Ben blinked incredulously at her, a mixture of feelings running inside him. She can't possibly be thinking straight. "No," he told her firmly, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

Amelia's face fell. "Why?"

"Because that's crazy! We'll die out there!"

Amelia crossed her arms, pouting, all signs of her earlier smile having vanished. "We won't."

"Do you even have a plan? Where would we even go?"

"I'll make one as we go."

"What about your parents?"

"What about them?" Amelia was glowering at him. "It's not like they've ever given two shits about me!"

Ben was growing annoyed. "Don't be stupid, Amelia, this is a bad idea and you know it!"

"You're stupid!"

"Wha- Seriously!?" Ben recalled the earlier confrontation with the girl's father. "Wow, I think I'm starting to see the family resemblance!" he spat. "Grow the fuck up. Stop being so selfish."

Amelia's temper flared his comment. She stepped closer to Ben, even though he towered over her by a good four or five inches. "Oh, how funny, Mister 'Oh, I'm a pussy who can't even shoot a gun' is telling me I need to grow up! You know what, screw you, I'm leaving without you!" she shouted, her voice strangled, holding back frustrated tears. "I don't need you, you'd probably just drag me down, anyway!"

Ben clenched his fists, livid. One could practically see the fury coursing through his veins. "Fine! I don't care if your stupid ass gets yourself killed!" he exploded at her. "Go ahead and hit the road, you FUCKING BITCH!"

Ben's words were fierce and shattering like a boom of thunder. He felt his stomach drop when Amelia looked at him then. Her eyes widened, just for a second, and though her face remained blank, the hurt in her eyes was ever present. A deafening silence reverberated through the forest around them - even the birds had stopped chirping.

Ben felt an immense wave of guilt crash upon him. "Mel, I-"

That guilt was quickly overridden by fear, though, when he heard the rustling of leaves and the distinct moaning of walkers drifting from the trees.

"Oh no," Ben said, panic rising in his throat. "Mel, we have to go. Now!"

But she didn't seem to hear him. She still stood there, unmoving, her empty eyes staring straight through him.

"Mel!" Ben's voice rose to a shout. "Amelia!" He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Move! What the hell's wrong with you!?"

Still no response.

Adrenaline coursing through him, Ben swiftly grabbed the knife Amelia kept strapped to her leg and surveyed the scene before him, hand trembling as he gripped the handle in his sweaty palm. Only three of them. He gulped. He could handle that.

Releasing a breath, he charged forward, stabbing one quick and clean through the head, then backing up as its body flopped to the ground. Then he turned and plunged the knife into one of the other walkers' skull, twisting the blade to scramble its brains, drops of lukewarm blood splashing on his cheek. Its body slumped forward and he quickly pushed it to the ground and frantically looked around for the last walker, terror seizing his heart as he saw it creeping dangerously close to Amelia, who still seemed to be paralyzed by fear.

"AMELIA!" he screamed, running towards her.

Amelia shook her head, blinking rapidly. She snapped out of whatever trance she was in and diving out of the way just in time as Ben stabbed the walker through the jaw.

All was quiet again as he stood there, catching his breath, before Amelia finally spoke up.

"Nice going," she glared at Ben, snatching her knife out of his hand and placing it back in the holster. "That wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you screaming."

"Hey, you're the one who started that shit," Ben snapped back at her, wiping the blood off his face with the back of his hand. "And what the hell was that just now?" Ben suddenly recalled the day they had gone hunting together, concern etched on his features. "Do you freeze up like that a lot?"

Amelia had her back to him, her arms folded. She said nothing.

"Y-You should, you know, do something about that," Ben continued. "Or you're gonna get killed."

Amelia was starting at the ground. "Why the hell do you care?" she mumbled.

"Maybe because I don't want to watch another friend die right in front of me!" Ben told her.

Amelia let out a shaky sigh, her fingers digging into her biceps. "When I was six..." she hesitated a little. "I was at my grandpa's house one day when he had a seizure and fell over and hit his head pretty hard. I stood there, watching as it all happened and I didn't know what was happening or what to do. He died later that night, and ever since then, I just freeze up when I get super stressed out."

Ben heard her sniffle. She had begun to cry, quietly at first, and then turning to him, through choked sobs, she cried out, "And I know my dad hates me and blames me for what happened that day, he says he doesn't, but I just know he does, because I can feel it, I've always felt it!" She buried her face in her hands and broke down, her shoulders shaking with each racking sob that escaped her.

Ben's heart shattered. He stepped forward and reached out to her, putting a hand on her shoulder before she swatted it away.

"There, now you know my secret!" Amelia wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm not cut out for a world like this. You're right, I probably am just going to get myself or someone else killed."

"You won't."

Amelia blinked up at him then. "How do you know?"

"Because I'm not going to let that happen."

Amelia looked away from him, chewing on her lower lip and closing her eyes as a fresh wave of hot tears spilled from them. She stiffened when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, pulling her into a hug.

Ben rested his chin on the top of her head, hoping that he wasn't overstepping. "We've all been through stuff at this point. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

They stood like that for a moment, but Amelia never returned the hug. Dejected, Ben finally let go of her and wrung his hands together.

Without another word, Amelia turned on her heel and began walking back towards camp at a brisk pace, and Ben followed.

"Wait, Mel," Ben called after her as he tried to catch up with her. "Can't we just talk?"

"What more is there to talk about?" Amelia said over her shoulder.

"A-About us," Ben stammered out. "You and me."

Amelia stopped suddenly, spinning around to face him, hands on her hips as she looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Who exactly is 'you and me'?" her tone was ice cold. Ben's mouth hung open as the words stabbed him through the heart.

The rest of the day was all a blur to him. Their walk back to camp had been in total silence, Ben feeling totally and utterly drained after the day's events. Tears were simmering in his eyes and his chest ached as he lagged behind her, mentally kicking himself. He hurt her. God, what a scumbag. He was such a screwup. She was one of the best friends he'd ever had and he screwed that up, too, and any chance of that friendship evolving into something more was squandered. He should have never stayed with the group, should've been left to die. He hadn't experienced heartbreak like this in months.

He had only uttered a few words to the others in the group before retiring to bed that night. He didn't get much sleep.