Whoops! Sorry I disappeared for a couple of days.
Life got super busy...you understand.
Anyway, here it is, chapter seven!
I hope you all enjoy, and please leave me a review, if you have time!
Thank you all so much for your reviews while I was gone...they really helped motivate me to get back to it!
I do not own the Walking Dead!
She felt soft kisses dusting across her collarbone while his hands brushed slowly along her delicate sides. She was nervous, she felt her chest tighten in anticipation, but all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and sigh while she combed her fingers through his hair. His breath was now teasing her abdomen as he paused briefly between each kiss. Now there was a distinct tingling below her stomach and as her source of pleasure got lower, her toes curled and his name escaped her lips in another sigh.
Hope awoke with a slight jolt and she was suddenly very aware of how close Glenn was. He was awake, concern painted clear across his features even in the early morning light.
"Hey, are you okay?" The young woman squinted a little, as if trying to figure him out. Did he really not know what just happened? When she didn't answer immediately, he questioned her again. "Did you have another nightmare?"
"What?" She asked a little quickly. Hope paused briefly before continuing, being very careful. "What was I doing?"
"You were moaning a lot." He pulled them both up into a sitting position, and her whole body jumped again at the sensation of his skin on her's. Of course, this only increased his concern. "You said my name right before you woke up. Was I in your dream?" She froze like that, only able to stare at him.
"...I-I'm going to get a shower. Go back to sleep, okay?" She smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, I promise."
"Here, lemme help you get there - " He began to get off the bed, but she quickly placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Glenn, please." She smiled again. "I can make it. You baby me enough as it is." Hope smirked a little and used his shoulder to help push herself off the bed. When he looked like he was going to protest again, she held up a hand. "Shh. Lay down." Glenn was noticeably surprised with how stern her tone was. He could only do as he was told, but that didn't stop him from watching her intently as she retrieved some fresh clothing and hobble through the doorway.
Hope ran her fingers through her hair and leaned towards the water. It was still freezing cold, but she was getting used to it. Running water in general was a miracle at this point, and after it numbed her skin, it wasn't so bad. Honestly, a cold shower was really what she needed. She couldn't believe the dream she just had! Recently the only dreams she had been able to have were horrible nightmares. The other times she had slept in Glenn's arms, it had left her completely dreamless. Now she was having wet dreams? She couldn't remember the last time she had a wet dream! And she was fairly certain that they had never felt quite so real...and she was definitely never already sleeping with the object of her dirty thoughts. How completely embarrassing. And now he thinks she was having a bad dream that involved him? Oh, she really hoped that he didn't press her on that. A shiver shot down her spine at the thought of that awkward conversation. Or maybe it was still just the cold water.
She quickly picked up her towel from it's resting spot and wrapped it securely around her. As she was wringing out her tangled, wet hair, she heard a voice behind her.
"Have a good night's sleep?" Andrea was smirking as she finished up brushing her teeth.
"When did..." Hope shook her head slightly. She must have really been deep in thought. Andrea had still been in bed when Hope left the room, she didn't even heard the door open. "Um...yes?"
"It seemed like you were having a nice dream." Hope let a short string of curse words run through her head.
"What do you mean?" She asked, feigning ignorance. Andrea smirked even more and gave her a look.
"Come on, Hope. You were moaning like a cat in heat." Hope's face burned bright red in horror.
"Seriously?" Andrea let out a laugh and walked closer to the girl.
"Alright, it wasn't that bad. You weren't very loud, at least."
"But I still woke you up." The younger girl's face was only mildly mortified now.
"I'm a light sleeper." Andrea winked. "So...it was about Glenn, then?"
"Did I really say his name?" She nodded, having a difficult time keeping her expression sympathetic. Hope groaned. "He's so going to keep asking about it.."
"So just tell him." The older woman shrugged so carelessly, it made Hope's jaw drop.
"How...is that a good idea?" She shrugged again.
"You guys are clearly into each other, you've bonded, he cares a lot about you." Andrea brushed her hair out of her eyes. "It's the apocalypse. I don't think the social rules we knew really apply anymore. We could all die tomorrow. Why not enjoy today?" Hope's jaw nearly dropped at how cavalier Andrea was sounding.
"But...we haven't known each other that long. I'm still not convinced that his feelings for me are actually genuine. I mean, when was the last time he saw another girl around his age? He may just think I'm his only chance! And still I - " Andrea brought her hands to Hope's shoulders, shaking her a little bit.
"Woah! Slow down there, motor mouth." She smirked again, fondly this time. "A day ago you barely even wanted to tell us your name." When Hope fell silent and her expression turned pensive and worried, Andrea shook her again. "What's with the face?"
"I just.." Hope sighed, not able to maintain eye contact. After another few moments of silence, Andrea spoke again.
"What are you afraid of?" When Hope opened her mouth, her voice came out very quiet, almost a whisper.
"Everything...Glenn." Andrea's expression became very sympathetic, and her tone softened quite a bit.
"Sounds like you two have a lot to talk about."
"I am not telling him I had a wet dream about him." Andrea burst into a short fit of laughter and patted Hope's shoulder.
"I think that would give him a little ego boost, but if you don't want to, you definitely don't have to." Her head fell to the side slightly. "How do you feel about him?"
Hope sighed heavily and took her time answering. "...I like him a lot."
"And why don't you sound happy about it?" Andrea asked, quirking a brow. "He's clearly very taken with you."
The younger woman fidgeted slightly, pulling the big towel tighter around her. "I just..."
"What?" Andrea prompted. "You a commitment-phobe?" She was just teasing of course, but that did little to comfort the young woman.
"Something like that." The two fell silent for a while, Andrea patiently awaiting further explanation and Hope unable to find the right words. "...He just scares me."
"Scared of losing someone else you care about?" Hope looked at her, shocked at the quick answer, and just how right the implication was. The older blonde nodded once. "I figured that was it. I mean, I guess it's not really uncommon these days...Especially with someone in your situation." Though her tone softened considerably, Hope still gave her an unsteady look. "I don't say that to upset you...I think we've all come to that conclusion. It's kind of a conclusion we can come to about everyone, I guess."
"I should go, Glenn's gonna come looking for me." Hope said suddenly, attempting to detach herself from the conversation as fast as possible. Andrea caught her arm.
"Wait." She let go as quickly as soon as she knew Hope was steady. "What happened last night...T-Dog was just tired, he hasn't been sleeping enough lately. He hasn't really gotten to spend any time with you, he just needs a few more days, I think. You really don't have to leave."
"Yeah, I can stay as long as I tell everyone my deepest, darkest secrets. I've gathered that."
"No. No one's saying you have to do that, either. We just don't want you going off on your own - it's dangerous. And we'd miss you...I think it'd kill Glenn."
"I really don't want to talk about this anymore, Andrea." The woman didn't stop her as she hobbled into the nearby dressing room and back into the hallway as quickly as possible.
Glenn was sitting on the edge of her bed when Hope returned. He was still worried about her, she could tell. He smiled, but his brow was still furrowed slightly. She tried to lighten the mood, hugging her arms around her and shivering slightly.
"Not sure I'll ever get used to the ice showers."
"Are you alright?" Well he sure wasn't beating around the bush.
"Yeah...I told you I'm fine." She gave him another short smile and walked over to her bag.
"Yeah, you said that." He stood and crossed the room, only stopping when he reached her side. "I'm just making sure you weren't saying that to keep me from worrying."
"You shouldn't worry." Hope continued to dig through her bag, ignoring how close he was standing.
"But I do." He rested a hand on her arm, trying to win her attention. He succeeded for a moment, when she shot him a look.
"Well you don't need to. I'm fine." She went back to searching. "I didn't have a nightmare."
"Then what - "
"Glenn!" She threw her bag back down on the small table. "What does it matter? If I had a nightmare, if I didn't - who cares? It's not your responsibility to take care of me! I don't need you to, and you should stop." She was lashing at him for no reason - trying to hurt him. It wasn't fair, Glenn didn't do anything wrong. She knew he cared about her, but some self destructive part of her had stepped out, front and center. Maybe it was her weird defense mechanism. She was doing a terrible job of distancing herself, maybe her subconscious was finally stepping in.
"I'm not going to stop, Hope." His voice was low, but strong and his hands sought her shoulders, forcing her to face him. He looked at her, his expression serious, but not unkind. "I careabout you. When are you going to understand that?"
"I understand that you care about me. Like a kid taking home a stray puppy. I'm just wondering when the novelty wears off." Her tone was getting colder, she wondered if she was cutting him deeply enough yet. At that moment, she began hating herself.
"Novelty? Hope...you're not a novelty. Where is this coming from?"
"Just leave me alone, Glenn." Hope tried to push past him. Maybe she could pretend to fall asleep or something. He didn't let her get far before he grabbed hold of her shoulders once again.
"No - Hope." The young man had an iron grip on her shoulders this time, and stayed silent until she dared to look up and meet his agonizing gaze. "Tell me what's going on in that head of yours."
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Hope groaned and buried her face in her hands. She let him guide her to the bed and sit her down. He sat beside her and rubbed her back lightly, waiting for her to speak again. There was a very long silence as thoughts began to beat violently at her head. She was really tired of feeling like some sort of escaped mental patient. When she felt him place a short, compassionate kiss to her temple, she felt tears pricking at her eyes, and she couldn't stand it any longer.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Her voice came out low, tormented. The sound made his heart bleed and he pulled her close, not caring about any possible consequences. She continued, her voice now muffled by his chest. "I don't know what to do anymore. What am I working towards? I just need to leave."
"Why would you leave, Hope? What would you accomplish? Where are you going?"
"I don't know." She cried openly against him now. It was as if he was the only thing keeping her together at all. "That's all I've done, all these months. I don't even know how long it's been, what month it really is. I'm not even sure where I am anymore, what I'm doing. I just...I don't. I don't know."
He held her close and stroked her hair as she continued to cry it out. He didn't know what to think. She was opening up to him, sharing her jumbled thoughts. How was he supposed to comfort her? Those were questions that he had never really figured out himself. Truthfully, those were questions that he just sort of pushed out of his mind. They were the type of thoughts that drove a person insane. Now, he supposed, he would have to finally come up with an answer. As her breathing began to steady itself, he pulled her back so he could see her face. He brushed the remaining tears from her cheeks and held her face gingerly between his hands.
"I think that's what we're all trying to figure out. We don't know what the future's going to be like. We don't know if anyone's trying to fix this...trying to save us. But we've found something to care about - each other. That's what gets us through the day, that's what helps us get our minds off of ourselves. Knowing that there's someone out there that's counting on you - someone that cares about you. That's what gets us through."
"I knew there was some messed up reason you gave me so much attention." She grumbled, but was quickly taken aback by Glenn's serious expression.
"That's not what I meant, Hope. There's something else about you...yeah, I do try to help you. But you're not helpless. You're strong, you're just hurt right now. So yeah...I'm going to try and take care of you. But I guess, one day, I'm just...hoping you'll be there to do the same for me." When he realized that she had actually heard him that time, he was forced to look away and blush briefly, laughing. When he regained his composer and looked at her again, he found her eyes still watching him closely. "I can't tell you what it is about you...I just feel like I'm the one that needs you."
They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, their hands finding each other on top of the bedsheets. More words just seemed pointless at that moment. Hope was focusing on what he said, really letting his talk sink in. He made sense, there was no denying that. Still, she was afraid. She hadn't always been alone through this, but that was always how she ended up. To get close to another group...just seemed terrifying. She didn't want a repeat of what seemed to happen so many times before. Slowly, she tugged him down to her pillow, where she curled up beside him. One hand rested on her lower back, while the other one held the arm she slung across his stomach. It may have been another hour before she could say anything, but what did time really matter now, anyway?
"I'm sorry I freaked out on you...I didn't mean it. I was just...paranoid and insecure." Hope sighed and moved to look at him, her blonde bangs falling away from her eyes. "I haven't even known you long, but I already...really care about you, too. Seriously, what has it been? Three days? Something like that? And the thought of leaving you just isn't something I can bare." Suddenly she laughed at herself and let her head fall back on her pillow. "Crap, I sound like such a chick. Just shake me if I get melodramatic again." Glenn laughed and ruffled her hair, thrilled at how relaxed she seemed all of the sudden. He stole a kiss and laid back down, content to just stay there with her all day. He was in the middle of playing with her hair when she opened her eyes and spoke again.
"I'm going to tell everyone tonight. What I've done. What I've been through." He grew serious.
"Hope, you don't have to do that." As much as he wanted to know about her past, he didn't want her to have to relive the pain he knew she had to have experience. She shook her head.
"Yes I do...and I want to. I like you guys - I don't wanna leave. And if I keep being this mysterious, silent girl, someone's always gonna feel uncomfortable around me." Her voice trailed off as she turned to lay on her side, getting a better view of his face. Her next comment was hesitant. "...And I don't want to keep anything from you." He smiled and kissed her once again. She returned the smile as they broke the kiss. "I'll tell everyone tonight."
"Whatever you want." They both relaxed as she rested her head on his shoulder, using him as a pillow.
"..Also, I had a sex dream about you last night."
"You what?"
She said she didn't want to keep anything from him! xD
Sorry if that was too much for some of you, but I felt like this chapter needed something a little silly, and what's funnier than a wet dream, right? xP
Lemme know what you thought!