When I first got here, I hated him. He was just so.. loud, and never stopped talking. All show and no brains. I'd often told him to just fuck off, but he never did, he ALWAYS bounced back like it was nothing. Even when I wanted to be left alone, he always came up from somewhere. To just piss me off, I'd thought. Now, as I was sitting on one of the couches on the yard, after the raiders were gone, one instance came to my mind.
I'd only been here for a week, maybe two. I hated everything and everyone, more or less. I hadn't made any real friends yet, it just wasn't easy for me. I was sulking alone in the room I had to share with couple of the kids, just sitting on my bed and wanting to be somewhere else. That's when there was a knock on the door.
"Go away,"
I muttered to the door. But it opened anyway.
"I said, go the fuck away!"
I growled like a fierce lioness.
"Well, I'm not going to,"
Louis said as he walked in, and I groaned. Out of all the possible people I had to be stuck in the same room with HIM?
"I'm here to help you feel better."
"Well, I don't need to feel better, I just need you to get away from me,"
I quietly warned him. Louis at least thought about it for a while, which surprised me, but I didn't let my hopes get up. Good that I didn't, because he still refused to leave me by myself.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not getting out before I see you smile again,"
Louis said, giving me that annoying, stupid trademark smile of his.
"You've never even seen me smile,"
I corrected him, still sitting on the bed.
"Yeah, well, that's exactly the problem. And we're going to change things now."
I felt defeated. I could punch this guy right in his face and he still wouldn't leave.
"...Fine,"
I eventually sighed.
"Sit down or whatever you want to do, I don't care, and say what you want to say."
Louis sat down on the floor while I still occupied the bed.
"You know.. you're not the first one I've welcomed here,"
he said, keeping a steady eye contact with me. I looked at the window, though.
"Well, whoever was before me, was the last one. No one cares about me or wants me. Everyone just abandons me,"
I said, sounding a little bitter. It was all part of the defensive barrier I'd built around myself. It never failed when everything else did. Louis was observing me closely.
"Well, let me tell you.. some of the adults here are jerks, but not all of them, believe me. And, the kids in here, they're actually alright. I'm sure you'll end up finding someone you can trust,"
he said, sounding awfully confident. I was getting the idea that he was always like that, positive and happy. I didn't know how he did it, and somewhere deep inside, a small part of me felt jealousy because of it. For Louis it was so easy to be around people, he was born to do it, born to make everyone happy.
"Find someone I can trust?"
I repeated.
"Everyone I ever cared about, has abandoned me, one way or another. Good luck trying to find someone who I can trust again."
"You might as well start with me,"
Louis said, still giving me the personal space I needed.
"Because, if you think about it, everything's easier if you have people you can trust, and who can trust you. We all got problems, otherwise we wouldn't be here."
As I sat there, safely on my bed and just listened to him talk and talk, I started to warm up to him a little. I didn't think I would just let it happen, but the invisible barrier around me started to break, just a little by little. It really looked like what I'd heard about him was true. Louis had that way to talk his way right through whatever you had placed in front of him, and straight into your heart. He was a natural talker, but despite what I'd thought earlier, it wasn't all just nonsense. He had meaning to his words, and a good heart.
"Well.."
Louis said, pulling me out of my thoughts. He stood up and started walking back to the door.
"It was good talking to you. Thanks for listening."
He made it to the door and opened it. Then I stood up, looked at his back and said:
"Hey.. Thanks."
Louis stopped and turned, smiled at me and said:
"You're welcome. Glad to be of assistance."
I got pulled out of that memory as Willy ran past me on his way to start his lookout shift. I briefly shook my head, stood up and walked up to Clementine.
"Clem.."
I said and touched her arm.
"We have to get Louis back. He's the one guy we all need."
"Don't worry,"
Clem said to me in return.
"We will."