Walking Dead: To Be Loved
First chapter of a new Walking Dead story, based on the comics, but in a high school no zombie AU setting, anyway, just an introduction to the four main characters and their home lives, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or its characters.
Chapter 1: Same Town, Different Lives
The low light of the sun and chirping of birds were really the only sounds to be expected at that time in the morning. Inside a rather nicely designed and furnished but otherwise normal two floor house in the local suburbs it was mostly quiet and still. In one bedroom, the sole occupant was asleep. As typical for a teenage boy the room was rather untidy, although most of the mess was on the desks and chests of drawers rather than the floor for a change. It was then the alarm clock next to the boy's bed hit 6:30AM and began it's beeping tone. Mumbling to himself the boy woke up and rolled over, finally hitting the alarm button and switching it off. With a yawn he sat up, rubbing his eyes.
'Another day…' He thought to himself as he got up out of bed and began to grab what he needed to prepare himself for school that day.
Said teenage boy was eighteen, pale, tall and lanky with almost shoulder length black hair, hanging limply around his face with the fringe covering his right eye, blue eyes. He had some slight muscle tone, but was otherwise scrawny. The boy's name was Carl Grimes, the son of local Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes and his wife Lori. So it was thanks to them that Carl, despite having all the traits of a typical teenage boy, did have a slightly higher feeling of personal responsibility as he went around to make sure he was showered and dressed, ready to face the day ahead at school.
So it was, not too long afterwards that Carl reached the kitchen and sat down at the table. Fully dressed in simple jeans, a plain tank-top under a light grey unzipped hoodie and black sneakers. His parents were both already up and ready for the day, his mother had just finished making breakfast while his father smiled warmly as he entered.
"Morning Carl." Rick greeted his son.
Rick Grimes was a tall fair skinned man of in his early forties, freshly shaven with short light brown hair and blue eyes, he was clad in his uniform except for the hat, which sat on the table next to him.
Carl smiled back. "Morning dad. Morning mom."
Lori smiled at Carl. "Good morning dear, breakfast's ready, pancakes."
Carl grinned at that and soon they were all seated and eating. Lori Grimes was two years younger than her husband with long black hair and dark brown eyes, fair skinned and slender, except for the slight swell of her stomach, only recently confirmed as pregnancy.
Carl couldn't help but smile thinking of that. 'Wonder if it'll be a brother or sister…'
The thought of being a big brother was actually something he quite enjoyed. He wasn't alone, they were all excited for the new arrival. Of course it wasn't long before a rather common debate these days sprung up.
"Carl, I wish you'd let me cut your hair, or at least-"
"Urgh, mom, please. My hair's fine." Carl groaned.
This 'conversation' happened about once a week and as usual Rick couldn't help but smirk, which he tried to hide by taking a sip of his coffee.
Lori wasn't fooled however. "You could try being more helpful, officer Grimes."
Rick just chuckled but Lori let the matter lie and they finished breakfast before leaving to go about their days, Carl had to get to school which started at 7:45AM while Rick was due at the station. In all a normal start to the day for the Grimes family.
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Across the street from the Grimes family was another family home. This was the home of the Carr family, they were of course well known by the Grimes family and the two were on a rather friendly basis. The Carr family was in fact rather similar to the Grimes family, two parents and a son. The difference of course being the occupations of those hard working parents. Nicholas Carr, a fair skinned tall well-built man with short light brown hair and a beard and brown eyes was a delivery man while his wife Paula was a cook at a restaurant, in contrast to Lori who was a housewife. Paula was only slightly shorter than her husband with a normal build, fair skin and shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. This hair and eye colour had passed on to their son Mikey, a year younger than Carl, he too was fair skinned and while not as tall, just as lanky as Carl, albeit both were athletic, being on their school's swim team. As Rick and Carl emerged from their home, Mikey and his parents were doing the same from theirs. Both parents dressed for work while Mikey wore cargo pants, a red T-shirt and black and white sneakers. Like Carl Mikey preferred his hair relatively long, down to his shoulder's although he didn't have the fringe covering his eye like Carl did, instead just having a few loose strands here and there.
"Okay, now you've got everything, right Mikey?" Paula was asking.
Mikey nodded. "Yeah mom, I'm good."
"You're sure now?" Paula queried. "What about your swimming gear?"
Mikey shook his head. "There isn't a meet today, that's at the end of week."
Paula nodded, remembering and Nicholas smiled.
"Alright well, you two have a good day. Be careful."
Waving to the Grimes family and preparing to head out, the Carr family also enjoyed one of their usual mornings.
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For another family, their usual morning was rather different, as noted by the daughter of the family, a teenage girl the same age as Mikey with chin length blonde hair and blue eyes, she was also fair toned with a notable smattering of freckles, although it was notable that the tips of the girls hair had been dyed electric blue, meanwhile her clothing was a simple pair of jeans and a red long sleeved top as well as a cream coloured beanie which she adjusted on her head before making her way down for breakfast. Downstairs was her mother, a tall slender blue eyed women, fair skinned with shoulder length blonde hair and a tremulous smile.
"Ah, Sophia, morning sweetheart." Carol Peletier greeted her daughter.
"Hey mom." Sophia sat down. "So, um…"
Carol quickly served breakfast for both of them before sitting down. "Don't worry, I'll be able to get you to school on time and I'll let you know how things went when you get home after school."
Sophia nodded, focusing more on her breakfast now, unsure what to say. It hadn't been easy for either of them, it was difficult for Carol especially, adjusting to a new life. They had previously been prisoners in their own home, trapped under the control of her abusive father, Carol's husband. It had only been Sophia's fortuitous friendship with Carl Grimes that allowed her mother to get in touch with Lori Grimes and give her a few careful words that strongly hinted at the danger they were in.
To Sophia's relief Lori had got the message loud and clear and quickly informed her husband who passed word onto his fellow deputies and now her father was in jail and she and her mother were free, living in their new apartment.
"So…" Carol said at last, breaking the awkward silence. "How are things at school, keeping busy?"
Sophia nodded. "Yeah, that's why I've gotta get there early. Only a couple more months until the school play, gotta make sure everything's right, the lights and all that."
It wasn't just lights of course, Sophia had in fact been chosen by the school drama teacher who was running the play as the stage manager as well as head of the tech crew. Just the job for a nerdy tech girl like Sophia.
"You always did have a head for that sort of thing." Carol said smiling.
Sophia nodded. "Yeah...well, I'm done, thanks for this, mom."
Carol smiled happily and just nodded, glad to help her daughter in any way she could; it was her way of making up for all she knew Sophia had suffered at the hands of her father.
XXXXX
The house was immaculate, a little too immaculate in fact. In fact the only signs of habitation in the house were the family photos, the most recent showing a middle-aged couple, very well dressed with an eighteen year old daughter, blonde, green eyes, porcelain skin, slender and willowy and dressed in fine clothes. This was the Bowen family, a rich, snobbish family that took great pains to ensure they were known to be 'better' than those around them, especially the daughter Alyssa. But what the pictures didn't show was there was a fourth occupant of the house. A girl of eighteen with long brown hair and eyes, pale skin and frightfully skinny. Her name was Anna Bowen, the foster child who the Bowen family only adopted to show off how 'good' they were. Truthfully, they never actually cared for Anna and only brought her in as they needed someone to do all the 'menial work' that they wouldn't dare sully their hands with. Even her clothes were simple, slightly worn and definitely not the designer dresses or such worn by Alyssa. She was stuck eating breakfast alone, trying to hurry so she wouldn't be late. She had no time for this before as she was too busy making breakfast for the rest of the family and being forced to stay in her room out of the way until they were dressed and ready for their respective days and had all left the house. Finally finishing she quickly cleaned the dishes, knowing she'd be in trouble if she just left them and hurried out the house. A regular start to the day for her, she just hoped there was that one person at school she hoped to see, the one she felt made her life worthwhile.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.
