Clementine couldn't stop worrying her lip, squirming and shifting uncomfortably as her mind ran itself ragged. Dread for the hours to come filled her chest with a constricting force and curdled her stomach with nerves. When she had finally retired she let her body heavily collapse into her pillow, inhaling the musty smells of mildew and settled dust. AJ had still been awake and waiting, so she sat up and talked with him for a bit, before he crawled into his own bed to go to sleep. When his soft snores surrounded her senses she finally sunk back into her pillow and let her mind slowly mull over the events of the last few hours.

The night had been intense, to say the least. Secrets had been revealed, trust had been broken, friendships lost, life taken. The leader who was given the responsibility of protecting ultimately failed, but why would she blame him? In this world? What inexperienced kid who hasn't experienced the cruel world outside of the confines of this school which had been their home ever since the dead began walking or have the necessary knowledge to go toe to toe with malicious adults with years of experiences along with acquired information from the world from before? Bodies of knowledge they no longer have access to. A single teenager, hell, one person holding the weight of that kind of responsibility is bound to be fallible, and Clementine understands. She's seen it happen to the best of people. It was comprehensible, but that doesn't mean it was the right thing to do. But then again, what even were right and wrong actions anymore?

Her years on the road have taught her many harsh verities, one being: in the face of survival you need to recognize the liability and mutability of morality. Actions can only ever be qualified good or bad when pursuant to a goal, and if their goal is survival, then any action that ensures that survival can be considered good and vice versa. There's nothing in place to constrain the vices of man, no police or government. There are no judges, no laws, no society, no rules, and consequently, no injustice. There's nothing to look to to feel wronged over or be seen as unfair, it's a dog eat dog world. No private property, nothing belonged to anyone and everything belonged to everyone; a free for all. They're all scared, desperate people living in continual fear of death, and it's not exactly an environment that nurtures the ideals of ethics.

She's seen human emotion and nature manifest in the ugliest of ways, a prime example of that being Kenny, after he had lost everything though losing a son, wife and girlfriend would almost make anyone like that. She'd let her defenses down and had hoped that this group would be different from all the other ones that she and her guardians have been in, but time tends to prove her wrong again. Everywhere she goes she sees the worst side of humanity, witnessing it from different angles; greed, pride, anger, fear, contempt, folly, vice. The group of kids have been safe behind these walls and these parapets of stone, being sheltered from the sundry experiences that have shaped Clementine's own views in this apocalyptic world . The chariness of tonight suggests that, overall, the group is scared and unprepared, not necessarily the best place for survival. None of them really knew what to do or how to handle such an intense situation, which is quite disquieting given how much Clementine has come to care for the kids at the school.

'Well, at least we have Lee, Rohit and Kenny to help us, might as well go talk to them in the morning.'

As her mind recounted the events of last night she began to worry about Violet, the way she reacted last night about what Marlon did, it had worried her about how she was dealing with this situation now. She made a mental note that after she talked to her guardians she would talk to Violet, hoping that she could give some comfort to the events of last night.

"Here you go guys. Some hot coffee." Lee said as he poured the warm liquid into Kenny and Rohit's mugs. The trio along with Clementine and AJ decided to have a talk in the former teachers lounge now known as the adults room.

"When was the last time we had coffee?" Rohit asked as Kenny sipped his drink.

"Can't remember." Kenny responded.

"Want some coffee Clem?" Lee asked.

"Sure." Clem said, Lee poured some of the black liquid into Clementine's mug. As she sipped the drink, the scalding liquid left the tip of her tongue burnt, but pleasantly filled her belly as she swallowed her small slug, leaving a warm trail through her chest.

"Can I have some?" Aj asked.

"Sorry Goofball, maybe when you're older." Clementine said.

Instead of wandering away, AJ stood before her, his countenance exuding trepidation, "Last night, with Marlon? I heard Violet and what she called him." AJ started as he held one of his arms and looked down to his shuffling feet.

The adults were caught off guard when he looked up to them with his face pinched in anger, "Why did you let him stay?" She gaped at him, surprised by the question and not ready with an answer.

"Violet said he was a murderer. But… but we're supposed to kill bad stuff. Monsters? I thought Marlon was bad. He killed Brody, he… He kept telling lies." AJ continued to reason as she tried to think of a response.

"Violet was right. Sometimes people do bad things, like Marlon did. But that doesn't mean they're monsters, and they definitely don't deserve to die because of it." Clementine decides to say.

'Guess now is as good a time as any to start some learning.'

"But he killed Brody, he's bad." AJ said with exasperation in his voice, trying to understand.

"I know, AJ but just, uh… Just pretend it was me." Lee said, struggling to come up with a workable example for the boy.

"What?" He gapes, looking perplexed by her words.

"Pretend I was the one who killed Brody." Lee said, hoping he isn't saying the wrong thing.

"But you wouldn't do that."

"I know, that's why it's make believe. So, pretend that I was the one who killed Brody. What would you think?" He said.

AJ furrows his brows and frowns at the floor.

"I don't know."

"Just try to think."

"I said I don't know!" he heatedly repeats as he crosses his arms and looks to his bed.

"AJ, calm down. Kenny said as he walked over to the 5 year old and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "It's okay to get upset when you're confused, but when you let yourself be controlled by your anger, you can make mistakes. Just try to stop, and give yourself time to come up with an answer. It's okay to not know everything." He softly supplies in hopes of helping the boy through his frustration.

"What do we do when we get mad? We stop, we think, and we… "

"Breath." He takes several calming breaths before he lets out a final sigh, his posture collapsing as he looks down with a defeated expression.

"I would be sad."

"Why?"

"Because I know you're good and I love you."

"And we love you, too, buddy. But why does that change how you feel when you think about Lee or me or Kenny or Clementine pretending to kill Brody?" Rohit said.

"I… I don't know." he again repeats, but this time his words are quiet, tinted with confusion and sadness.

"And that is perfectly okay. Because we are going to figure it out together." Clementine said, shouting a warm smile at AJ, the 5 year old returns the gesture.

The door opens to reveal Tenn, "Hey." he said, making his way further into the room to stand before the group.

"Violet said to come get you for the funeral." he explained.

"Already?" Kenny asked.

"Mitch and Willy were digging a hole all morning, but they finally buried her." he said before turning his attention to AJ.

"I brought you something." he said, holding out one of the firemen the two had played with earlier.

"For me?" AJ utters, looking between Tenn and the toy.

"I figured you'd be afraid, with everyone all upset. But you were brave last night. Like a firefighter." Tenn said as AJ reached out to grab the toy with a smile.

'God, I love this kid.' Lee mused

"What is that?" AJ asks, gesturing to the paper Tenn held in his other hand.

"It's a drawing for Brody. It's what she wanted. I'm going to put it on her grave." Tenn said, shrugging his shoulders.

"She doesn't need it. She's dead. She's not gonna get that stuff." AJ unapologetically pointed out.

"That's not why you do it." Tenn awkwardly responds, voice slightly more timid than before.

"It's a sweet idea, Tenn. It'll look really nice on her grave." Clementine diverts, not particularly thrilled with how AJ approaches certain topics. She makes a mental note to talk with him about it later.

"Thank you." Tenn responds before smiling at AJ, "Have fun with your firefighter, okay?"

"Can we play with them later?" AJ hopefully asks.

"Sure. After the funeral. Vi will start it soon. See you out there." he said, waving as he walks out of the dorm.

Lee takes a deep breath before turning to address AJ, "This is going to be hard. Everyone's going to be upset. We should show them we care, okay?"

"Okay."

With that, they make their way to the graveyard, each heavy step bringing her closer to what she had been dreading all night.

"We're here for Brody. She was our friend and she died. I, um… I. Shit." Violet nervously began as everyone listened, foreign to giving eulogies, but determined to say something, slightly looking off to the side to see the adults and her crush giving her sympathetic looks.

"She- she was… She was really sweet. Had all these big dreams. We all knew they couldn't come true, but Brody, she didn't care. And we wouldn't care, we wouldn't care because when she was talking, whatever she said seemed possible." Sadness erupted in her chest as she talked.

'Shit.'

"We miss you, Brody." she hears from her side.

"I don't know where she found all that joy, but I'm going to miss her." Violet finishes, sadly looking down at the mound of dirt.

Trying her best to keep her melancholy out of her voice, she looks up, "Tenn, you ready?"

The boy smiles at her as he walks to the center of the group, "Brody. You always said you wanted to go to the beach, so, I drew it for you." he said before placing his drawing next to Ruby's flower crown.

"Does anyone have anything else they want to say?" Violet questions, looking around at the forlorn faces of her friends. Not seeing a taker, she forged on, "Then, uh, I guess we're done here." A moment of silence passes as they all absorbed the emotional distress, standing solemnly over their fallen friend's grave.

After a few minutes, Mitch crosses his arms over his chest as he coughs, looking to Violet, "So, now what? What are we gonna do about Marlon? Are we just-"

"Can we not do this next to her grave, please?" she interrupts, "Let's go talk at the tables. Might as well get this shit over with." she said, stalking over to the courtyard, not looking forward to what's about to come.

As soon as everyone is settled at the various tables she crosses her arms and begins, "Okay, so we're doing this. Kick out the lying murderer or let him stay."

"Come on, Vi, really?" Louis drawls, propping his hands on his hips as he scowls.

"Are you saying that's not what he is?"

"No, but is that really how you're going to-"

"Stop."

They both stop their bickering to look over at Clementine leaning both hands against a table.

"We're not going to get anywhere by yelling over each other like this."

"Agreed. Lee said. "We need to solve this like rational people and put it to a vote. I'll start. I vote for him to be kicked out. Kenny?

"There is no chance I'm letting that fucker stay here after what he was going to do to AJ and Clem. He leaves." Kenny said, his brows furrowed as he crossed his arms.

"Agreed. Clem?"

"I've been thinking about it last night. He leaves, he is a danger to all of us if he stays." Clementine said, receiving a nod from a relieved Violet.

Ruby?"

"I- I just don't feel safe with him around. I don't think he should stay here." Ruby said with a trembling voice that gave away her nerves.

"Okay, Omar?" Clementine prompts, looking to their chef.

"He has to leave."

"Louis?"

Louis looks to Omar, hurt emanating from his soulful eyes, before heaving a sigh and walking to stand in front of the group. "Look guys. I know what Marlon did was unforgivable, but we can't just act like the last decade didn't happen. He's still our family. Listen, I know --I KNOW-- what he did was fucked up, but everyone deserves a chance to fix their mistakes, I know I would want one, and I would give any of you here one, too. I say we keep him locked up until we decide he can be trusted enough to-"

"I'm never going to trust that fucking rat." Violet interrupts, sick of Louis defending the indefensible.

"So what then, Vi? We just let him go free?" Louis throws back as he replaces his hands on his hips, just as ready to argue his side as she was.

"We let him fend for himself. Why should we give him food and water while keeping him safe and protected? That sounds like a pretty fucking good time in an apocalypse. I say we let that asshole find his own way, it's not our problem anymore." she darkly finishes.

"God, listen to yourself. You sound just like the adults. He's our family . You might not care that much about family, but I'm not just gonna turn my back on someone I care about!" Louis said in a raised voice, riled and upset.

Violet's spine stiffens and she momentarily freezes as he hurls his words, stunned that Louis was angered enough to hint at her past misdeed. She was staggered by his words, but pushed through with a forced huff of laughter. Shaking her head, she looks up from the floor to look at Louis, "Good for you. I guess Brody, Sophie, and Minnie just weren't important enough to you, huh?" She said with a contemptuous smile, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Fuck you, you know that's not what I mean. Don't make me look like the bad guy here. I'm just tryin-"

"That's the thing, Louis. I'm not trying to make you the bad guy. I'm TELLING you Marlon is. And you'd know it if you weren't so used to burying your head in the sand."

"Oh, I'm burying my head in the sand? Hate Marlon all you want, but you can't tell me you think he's the only one to blame here."

"Uh, yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying. He murdered Brody because she gave away his secret."

"It was their secret."

"Are you fucking seriously trying to imply Brody deserved to be killed by that-"

"NO! I'm saying we all-"

"ENOUGH! We can't go at each other's throats like this!" We need a vote." Lee interrupts them, brows creased in frustration.

'Screw this.'

Shaking her head she starts backing away, "I've said all I have said. You guys do what you want, I'm outta here." Violet mutters, shrugging her arms in defeat before turning and walking away. Her mind was set on being alone, and luckily enough, she knew just the place where no one would find her.

She sadly watches as Violet sulked off, walking away from their discussion with her head hung low. Everyone stayed silent as she rounded the corner, tension palpable around the tables. She can't help but feel for the girl, but she won't be able to talk with her until later. Right now, she wanted to make sure they got this vote over with.

"Fuck. Okay, Aasim?" Clementine continues, trying her best to keep things moving.

"Listen, Lou, I know he's your best friend. But I don't think it's worth the risk. Sorry, but I vote that he goes." Aasim said, his eyebrows drooping in empathy.

"Mitch?" She prompts.

"Fuck I… Fuck." he began, running a hand over his face, "I think he needs to get his ass kicked. And you can bet I'm gonna be the first one in line. But… Damn it. Louis is right. This world is hard enough, if your family isn't going to give you a second chance, who will? Maybe we should give him a chance to atone or something. I say we lock him up." The word family makes Kenny look at the teenager with an understanding and sympathetic look.

"Willy?"

The boy's eyes flit between the surrounding teens before nervously facing her, "Yeah, uh. I say jail."

Hesitantly, Clementine casts her eyes over to Tenn, "And you, Tenn. What do you think?"

As all eyes turn to him, Tenn instantly looks down to his fiddling digits as his prepubescent voice wavered and cracked, "Uh, I, um. I- I think the right thing is for him to be given a punishment for the bad stuff he did. And I think the best way we can do that, is by keeping him in a jail." Tenn said, lifting his eyes to meet her own. Lee flashes him a kind smile before turning to address the final person.

"Okay. Ro-"

"Wait! Don't I get a vote?" AJ rushes, interrupting him.

"Sorry buddy not with this." Kenny said.

"But-" he tried.

"Uh-uh. This is not up for debate. End of discussion." Clementine said, shutting him down.

"Fine." he huffs dejectedly, watching his swinging legs.

"Now then. Rohit. Lee said, addressing the one person at the end of the table who hasn't made a vote.

Rohit had his elbows resting on the table, his hands clasped in front of his mouth as he looked at Lee with a sombre look.

"He stays."

"What?"

"Why?"

"Why would we trust the fucker after what he did!?"

As Kenny and most of the group voiced their opinions, Rohits' expression remained the same. "Believe me, I want him gone as much as you want him to be gone. There is no telling what would happen if he stays here. But we need him."

"What are you talking about?" Aasim asked.

"Clem. Brody yelled at you yesterday because of the person you encountered at the train station. Correct?"

"Yeah."

"And you said that the person who was at the train station was one of the people that was given Sophie and Minerva by Marlon. Those are their names right?" Receiving nodes in conformation to the question.

"It can't be a long shot that if he was at the train station that would mean he isn't alone."

"But he was the only one there at the train station who took us by surprise." Clementine said her sentence was backed up by AJ.

"What I mean is, what if he wasn't alone, what if he and the people who Marlon gave Minerva and Sophie to are nearby." Rohit pointed out. "If they are nearby then they must be here for a reason, that we don't know why or how they operate or where they are. And the only person who knows anything about them is Marlon. So if they are here then that means they are coming here, provided if they know where the school is. It can't be a coincidence that the person from the train station just showed up now when they could've before."

Everyone stood around the table in shock mulling over Rohit's words, letting them sink in. "Your right." Lee said.

"You mean that they are coming here?" Ruby said, her tone becoming high of panic.

"If my theory isn't correct then we kick Marlon out but if they are coming here then we keep him here. Agreed."

"Agreed." Clementine said with most of the group agreeing to the course of action.

"Alright, Clem, Louis go and talk to Marlon to see if they are coming here, Kenny you go with them just in case he doesn't give up the information."

"Don't worry I'll make the shitbird talk." Kenny said as he cracks his knuckles."

As the trio walk the short distance to the cellar doors, Louis gets her attention, "Hey, uh. Sorry about all that back there. With Violet. I know it got a little crazy." he said while scratching the back of his head.

"Well, everyone had a lot of cause to be upset, so I don't think anyone will hold it against you. I'm sure Vi will come around, just give her some time." she said, wanting to dissuade his unease.

"... I hope so." Louis murmurs, so low Clementine wonders if it was for her. She thinks to ask if there was something more, but his faraway gaze stops her from prying.

Making their way down the steps, she held her breath as they walked around the large bloodstain to venture deeper into the basement. Turning when they reached the second patch of dried blood, they slowed their pace as Marlon's blonde hair came into view. Last night, they had tied his legs to the chair and securely fastened his arms against himself. His head was bowed, but at the sound of their footsteps, it snapped up as his icy blue eyes looked at them with panic and alarm.

"Relax, we're not going to do anything." Clementine said, pacifyingly holding her hands up and walking slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. He looks between the two of them, eyes holding an undeniable frenzy she has seen many times throughout her life; cornered.

"We took a vote. You have to be kicked out." Kenny said, glaring at the teenager with his arms crossed. Clementine watches as Louis folds into himself looking away in guilt, she fleetingly thinks that she's never seen the other boy look so diminutive. "But it looks like you have to stay here for the time being."

"What?" Marlon dryly whispers, looking to Louis before swinging his red-rimmed gaze to her. "What does that mean?" he croaked.

"It means from now on you're no longer welcome here, but we need to ask you something if what Rohit thinks is correct then you stay here as a prisoner, we will give you food and water but it won't change anything." Clementine tells him, cold and practiced, crossing her arms as she put on a face of unreadable stoicism.

Marlon absorbs each word, listening with a broken expression before casting it to the desk in front of him. He nods his head, as he began sniffling, before finally letting out muffled whimpers. Each escaped cry shaking his frame as she and Louis glanced at each other.

"I… I have to ask, Marlon. What happened? Why'd you do it?" Louis asks, the trepidation clear in his voice.

At this Marlon starts to sob, letting his head fall further. After a minute he sniffed before lifting his bloodshot gaze to Louis.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Louis. I- I'm s-so sorry. Man, I'm so fucking sorry." She glanced to her boots as the boy sobbed, feeling out of place in the personal moment.

"I never wanted to hurt anyone. Please, I just… I couldn't-" he is cut off by himself, unable to control his hiccups.

"I didn't know what to do, and I was too scared to-" he again interrupts himself as he continues his sobbing.

"Why didn't you tell any of us? Ask us for help? Ask me?" Louis gets out, he himself talking through tears.

"None of you would have understood. No one can understand this shit." Marlon said, sucking in a hiss of breath and letting it out in a puff. He sniffs, composing himself enough to continue, "I know it was bad, but I didn't know what to do, I-I didn't… it was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"Your intentions don't mean shit. Your friend is dead, and you killed her." Kenny interjects, wanting to steer the conversation to where his natural instincts told him.

He turns to look at him, before dropping his gaze in shame as he continues, "But we need something out of you if you don't give it to use willingly then things are going to get complicated." The eye patched man gritted his teeth as he cracked his knuckles prompting Marlon to whimper in fear.

He waits for him to tentatively look up before continuing, "Who are those raiders?"

'So the bastard gets to stay. Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable.'

After a time Violet had come down from the tower, hoping to sate her curiosity. As she had feared, he had gotten the majority vote and now they are living with a proven murderer. After receiving the news from Ruby she quietly retired to her dorm, and has been passing the time alone. She can't say how long she's been staring at the slow spinning of the ceiling fan, but the lack of sunlight clued her in on the fact that she had essentially spent the day in her mind. She doesn't really feel like talking to anyone, satisfied instead with her brooding. She's not angry, she's outraged. How could they vote for a lying murderer? Did Brody's life even fucking matter? Violet's not going to ask who voted what after she left because she knows it'll just add to her frustrations. Instead she's decided to direct her anger at Marlon. All of this is his fault, and it pissed her off that he got a second chance when the girls didn't.

'He's a fucking coward. And if we'd asked more questions last year, none of this would have happened.'

There can be an argument made that they are all to blame for the terrible circumstances. If she thought she had felt guilty before, it was nothing compared to the weight beginning to press down now. All those times she silently berated herself for not asking Marlon about what happened, all those times she caught Brody looking at her with a guilty expression, all those what if's that she thought of, but never acted on. And they were alive the whole fucking time. Who is to say they are still alive after a year, but who's to say they aren't? They could be alive right now, and all she's been doing is moping and feeling sorry for herself.

'If I'd just gotten off my fucking ass, and did something.'

What something could have been done, she doesn't know. All she knows is she's had a year, and she didn't do a goddamn thing. Hell, if she hadn't been a bitch to Brody, maybe the girl would have confided in her, instead of being driven mad by the constant gnawing of guilt and fear. Thinking about it, that sounds exactly like something Brody would do.

'Fuck.'

She feels her stomach fallout as her guilt compounds, twisting in knots and festering irritably. She guesses, in his own way, Louis was right. They all share a part in what happened, to both the twins and Brody. And she can't help but feel that the only reason she doesn't want to accept the truth is because she has the most to answer for. Behind Marlon and Brody, she was among the most culpable, the most out of the rest of the group that's for sure. Minnie was her fucking girlfriend, and she didn't ask a single question about her disappearance, she'd just accepted Marlon's lie. Though guilty as she is, she is not blind to the fact that Marlon is the person who had done wrong and should deserve the blame. And she does, she blames him for everything, but outvoted, she can't do anything about it, all she can do now is try to move forward. Before her ruminations could swirl any further, a knock startles her back to reality.

"Violet. It's me, Clementine. Can I come in?"

She thinks about just staying silent to feign sleep. She doesn't know if she will even be able to act like a human being right now. She already has trouble expressing herself, and at this moment, she knows she's particularly uncommunicative. But as she thinks of the girl on the other side of her door she feels a tug pull at her conscience. Before she knows what she is doing, the words have already left her mouth.

"It's open."

As her door creaks open she sees Clementine's smiling face poke in, before letting her whole body through and closing the door behind her.

"Hey." Clementine whispered as she walked toward her bed.

"Hey." Violet responds, looking away from the fan to attempt a smile, but judging by Clementine's frown, she wasn't very convincing. Clementine begins, "We uh, we missed you at dinner." she said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

She looks back to the fan, "Sorry, I'm not that hungry."

"No, no, you don't need to apologize. I was just, uh… Worried, I guess. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

'Why does she care?'

"Why do you care?"

'Shit, did I say that out loud? Fuck.'

"Well, I like to think we're friends. And as your friend, I'm a little worried. I just wanted to make sure you were holding up okay. After the vote and all." Clementine trails off somewhat awkwardly. Flicking her eyes back to Clementine, she sees the girl stroking the back of her neck nervously. Violet looks at her for a few seconds before looking to the roof with a sigh, and sitting up with a frown. Propping her elbows on her knees she grabs her wrist, linking her arms as she looks down to the girl standing in the middle of her floor.

"Um. I'm good. Don't- don't worry about it, I'm just… Coping, I guess. A lot of shit, ya know?" she apprehensively looks away from the girl to examine her fidgeting hands, before looking back up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Clementine quietly asks, head tilted up to keep eye contact with her.

She slightly opens her mouth to try to respond, but doesn't really know what to say to that. She settles on a slight shake of her head, shutting her mouth and letting her head fall forward.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Tenn was asking for you. No one really knew where you were." as she listens to Clementine say this, she closes her eyes in shame.

'I'm here feeling sorry for myself when Tenn is the one who needs support right now. So stupid.'

"Is he okay?" Violet asks, looking into the girls golden orbs that still somehow shined as bright in moonbeams as they did in the sun.

She watched as the amber softened, before Clementine answered her, "He was a bit upset this morning, but AJ's been playing with him. I think it's been helping keep his mind off of things."

"Shit. Maybe I should go talk to him." Violet said, letting herself slink off her bunk, dropping to her feet with a soft thud. "You know where he is?"

"Yeah, he and AJ are out in the courtyard drawing. I'll walk with you, if you don't mind." Clementine says, a smirk tugging on her lips as she slowly walked backwards to the door. Violet couldn't stop the small tick of her mouth as she watched the adorably mundane display in front of her.

"Oh, I very much do mind." She deadpans as she walks to open the door for them. "But I think I'll live." Clementine chuckles at her words as they step into the hallway. After closing her door behind her she turns forward to see Clementine already walking towards the doors.

Falling in step with the other girl, Violet shyly looks over to her, "Uh, thanks." she said before looking forward.

Clementine huffs out a breath of laughter before responding, "For what?"

"Coming by. You didn't have to. I know I was sort of a bitch this morning. The guys usually know to stay away when I'm pissed, so… thanks for caring, I guess." Violet said, too nervous to look away from her feet as they walked to the front door.

"Hey, you weren't being a bitch, you're completely justified." Clementine assured, then, quickly tacked on, "And, uh, I've also been told I'm a great listener. So if you ever need to talk, I'm always up for it." she finished, turning to her with caring eyes as she pushed open the heavy wooden doors.

"Uh, thanks." she mumbles with a bashful smile directed at the floor.

'Damn it, she's really fucking thoughtful. And cute. Shit.'

As they made their way down the steps, she saw AJ and Tenn at a table while Louis and Aasim sat chatting at another.

"Hey, goofball. Have you finished yet?" Clementine asks, sliding onto the bench next to him.

"Uh-uh. Don't look!" AJ said, sitting up on his knees to shield the paper with his body as he continued to scribble.

Hearing their words, Tenn curiously looked up from his own drawing, catching sight of Violet. "Hey, Vi." he said with a smile.

Feeling herself slightly relax at the sight of his happy face she raises a corner of her mouth in turn, "Hey, bud. How ya doing?" she softly said as she walked around the table to sit next to him.

"I'm okay, I've just been drawing. You wanna see what I did?" Tenn asks, putting his pencil down.

"Yeah, sure."

Tenn flips over a few pages before stopping on a picture of him and the twins standing next to some trees.

"I did this one earlier, but… " Tenn said before flipping the page, "I just finished this one, look." and she does, leaning forward to show her interest. He had drawn a pretty good picture of Brody along with Rosie, sitting in the back of a truck.

"I really like this one." Violet said, as a fond smile graced her face.

"Here." he said as he began neatly tearing the perforation, "You can have it. It might look nice in your room, maybe."

As Tenn slid the drawing to her, she looked down and touched it with a hand before smiling at the boy, "Thanks, Tenn. I really appreciate it."

Tenn beams in response before starting again on his new drawing. Staring down at the crudely depicted dream, she smiles, imagining this to be the exact thing Brody would have loved to do.

When she looks up from the drawing she catches Clementine quickly jerked her head to AJ, ducking away so her hat obstructing her features. Before she could say anything, Clementine clears her throat, "You, uh, you sure you don't want to eat tonight? I can go get you a plate if you want?" she asks, voice slightly higher than her normal husk while starting to lift off the table.

"It's okay, Clem. You don't have to." Violet responds, shaking her head.

"You haven't eaten all day. I'll just get a little, you don't have to finish it. It would make me feel better knowing you ate something. Please?" she insisted, lifting her leg over the bench.

"Oh. Um, yeah. Sure. Thanks." she awkwardly stumbles over her words as the other girl beams before walking to get her food. As she watches Clementine walk away she notices how fast her heartbeat was going, how warm her face had gotten. How a flutter had made itself known when the other girl smiled at her. How much Clementine seemed to care. How her honey colored eyes seemed to convey her emotions so clearly, showing a kind heart.

'Shit.'

Violet knows herself well enough to spot when she is enamored with someone, and she is slightly panicked to have this realization dawn on her so suddenly. She has only known Clementine for barely three days and she already has a crush on the girl. It took her two frigging years to admit to herself she had a crush on Minnie, and still, she wasn't even the one to acknowledge or act on it. Then again, she had been way too young and confused with Minnie, and now that she's had years to understand herself she is much more receptive to these things. It was obvious Clementine was quite attractive, and her rugged exterior was badass, no doubt. Though, after having a few conversations with the girl she has come to see how pleasant she was to be around. She was the opposite of herself, friendly and smart, unflappable and engaging, she really was a pretty appealing person. Violet knows Louis has been interested from day one, and now that she has gotten to know the other girl, she understands his haste.

"Here ya go." Clementine says, placing a small portion of food in front of her, startling Violet from her thoughts.

"Thanks." she says with a smile, trying to hold eye contact, but ends up looking to her food as her heart lurches and her stomach flips nervously. They sit in silence for a few minutes as she ate and Clementine watched AJ color. Trying to fight through her awkwardness she takes a breath, and before she takes a bite she gets the girls attention. She's had a question that she hasn't been able to stop thinking about since last night, and now seems a good a time as any to ask.

"Hey, you guys talked to Marlon, right?"

Clementine nods, "Yeah. Louis, Kenny and I told him what's gonna be happening with him."

"Did, uh… Did he say anything about the people that took the twins?"

At this, the girl furrows her brows and crosses her arms on the table. Clementine glances over to the drawing boys before turning back and inclining her head to a vacant table. Nodding in acquiescence, she picks up her bowl before they both walked to a secluded table.

"I asked him about it." Clementine starts as soon as they are seated, "He said he didn't know much, but he seemed sure that the only reason they were so close to the school was because they were planning something, and it was the reason why we decided that he stays here."

"What do you mean?" Violet asks in alarm, spoon stopping midway to the bowl.

"I have a theory and it appears it's correct." The black haired adult said as he walked up to the duo. "It appears that these raiders are coming back."

"What, what the fuck. Why?" she asks, getting increasingly worried.

"The same reason they took the twins. According to Marlon, the reason they wanted them was because they need more people in their community, a reason that he doesn't know but I have a few theories." Rohit said as he pursed his lips and gazed hard at the table.

"What are they?" she asks, watching the girl as she resumed her meal.

"Number 1: They may need more people as workers to help with any labour. Number 2: They may need more people to defend their community. Number 3: Is….well they could be…. you know." Rohit theroized, muttering the last sentence.

"And if they are coming. And they want more bodies. They wouldn't be stealing kids for a reason, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to find out what that reason is." Clementine said, a look of determination written on her face.

Nodding in agreement, Violet gestures her spoon to Clementine, "So what do you think we should do?"

"I think the only thing we can do is set up fortifications. Hunker down and get ready to defend ourselves. Get this place prepared for a fight." Kenny said walking up to the trio eavesdropping on their conversation. "These walls are tall and strong so fortifying it would be easy.

"Exactly, but obviously the fortifications are not going to hold so we are going to need to fight. Do any of you know how to use guns?"

"No...not really." Violet nervously said, receiving shocked reactions from the adults and her crush. "We haven't really stumbled upon any guns and when we did Marlon said we don't need them."

"Well that's really fucking dumb." Rohit said.

Clementine sighs at that, "Well we're gonna have to change that we have more then enough to share among everyone else."

"That is true, we will teach everyone here how to use one starting from a handgun, then we need to start working on the fortifications." Rohit said.

"Okay, sounds like a plan. Tomorrow morning we'll bring it up after breakfast. Do you wanna go over and see how many guns we have?" Kenny asked.

"I'm actually pretty tired. I'm just gonna turn in." she said as she stood from the table, "I'm gonna say goodnight to Tenn and AJ. See you guys tomorrow." she waves, and before they could respond she began walking towards the two coloring boys.

"Okay, Tenn. I'm going to head in. You gonna stay out much longer?" Violet asked as she reached their table.

"Only a little longer, I'm just gonna finish one more thing…" Tenn said, voice trailing off, too absorbed in his drawing to continue his sentence.

"Don't stay up too late. See ya tomorrow. Night Tenn, night AJ." Violet said, waving to the two as she went in the direction of the steps.

"Goodnight"

"Night, Vi"

The next morning found the adults eating their lunch alongside Aasim and Mitch While they ate, the teenager listened in as the three adults were amiably talking, their rambles eventually arriving on their arsenal of weapons.

Aasim decides to join.in on the conversation. "So why do we need to learn how to use guns?"

"You need them to protect yourselves the raiders that are coming obviously gonna be equipped with guns and weapons and we need to fight fire with fire." Kenny explained.

Dropping his spoon back into her soup he asks. "Okay so when do we get started?"

"Soon after we determined how safe this place is. We wanted to check out the boundaries of Marlon's safe zone today." Lee said. "So we sent Clem and Violet to check it out.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? They ran into that person at the train station, who knows who could be out there?" Aasim apprehensively pointed out, not thrilled at the idea of knowingly putting themselves in danger.

"I know, but I think it's worth the risk. Besides, Clementine knows how to handle herself if she gets into a tight spot." Lee said.

"Let's hope you're right."

Come on Clem! We're almost there." Violet pleaded as she helped her crush walk, supporting her with an arm wrapped around her torso while Clementine's arm were wrapped around Violet's neck.

Everything happened in a blur as they walking down the path in the forest they were ambushed by two people one of them was the person at the train station and another a female which Clementine seems to know but she didn't have time to ask since they managed to escape thanks to some walkers but unfortunately Clem got shot by the woman making them barely able to escape the two chasing after them.

Fortunately they encountered someone who was friendly and helped them escape. It also turns out the person was the one who sent the walkers to distract the raiders. James was the boy's name. Violet wanted him to go with them to school but he didn't want to, saying he is not ready yet.

After a few months of walking they made it outside of the gates where Willy spotted. "Yo Lee there back!" Willy yelled across the courtyard gaining the attention of everyone in the courtyard.

When Lee walked over to them his face turned into shock and horror and he opened the gate and ran over to them. "What the hell happened!?"

"We were ambushed but we managed to get away but she got shot."

Lee took Clementine and lifted her into her arms. "ROHIT GET CLEM INSIDE RIGHT NOW!!!!"