Welcome to Chapter 18! Don't forget to review if you liked it! The story is now one year old since October 19th!
"Come on over. It's safe." Kenny called out, that's a nice change of pace for once.
I tried walking on my own, limping, but still walking. It was a cold area, but nice. It was nighttime by now, the only thing stopping the area from being pitch black was the fire we made. It helped with the cold, but poor Arvo was tied up to the side, in the cold. I had my arm over Sarah, she had finally calmed down.
Luke was first to break the silence, "Today's my birthday... Near as I can tell at least."
"Happy Birthday, Luke" Clem and I said in unison.
"Yeah, man. Happy Birthday." Mike chimed in.
"I can't believe you're 27 already, you're gettin' old." Nick joked, smiling at Luke.
"Hey, you're pretty close to being 'old' yourself." Luke joked back, earning a laugh from both of them.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Bonnie started rummaging behind her "Was savin' it for a special occasion and... well, it bein' your birthday and all... figure..." she pulled out a bottle of wine "This's as good a time as any.".
"Where did you get that?" Clementine asked, good question, where on earth have they been stashing that?
Luke answered, "Bill kept all the alcohol in the armory. He didn't like people... imbibing".
"What's that mean?", Clementine questioned.
I spoke up, "He didn't like people drinkin'.". Not sure why Luke didn't just say that, Clem is a kid after all.
Luke started to raise the bottle to his mouth, "I feel kinda guilty taking the first -".
Bonnie put her hand over the top of the bottle, stopping Luke from drinking it "Whoa, wait! You gotta make a toast!".
"I'm not really... Okay. To the loved ones that we've lost along the way.. and to the hope that we see them again... some day", I gotta admit that was a good speech, good one Luke.
"That was real nice." Bonnie smiled.
"Yeah, I didn't mean for it to rhyme and all but-"
"Well, I got first watch." Kenny announced, cutting off Luke.
The group then fell silent, it seems Kenny has a way of making people not want to talk recently.
"Fire's real nice. Plenty of room if you wanna get warm." Bonnie broke the silence by calling out to Jane.
"Maybe in a bit." Jane replied quietly.
"I didn't expect her to come back. Just when I thought I got her figured out, she up and surprises." Bonnie said, turning her attention back to the group.
"She came back because she cares, it's foreign to her, feeling lonely." I suggested, I knew a bit what it was like to be so lonely.
"Well, that'd explain a few things." Bonnie said to Luke, earning a scary stare from him. "Oh, come on, I'm just teasin'."
"It was stupid.", Luke sighed.
"I understand. She's a pretty girl... once you get past all the dirt and guts." Bonnie halfheartedly added that last part, staring at Jane.
"I don't know... I guess I just... wanted to forget about all this shit for like, ten minutes." Luke confessed, a grimace on his face.
"Ten minutes? Man, that's longer than I'd last at this point." Mike joked, lightening the mood. Mike was always trying to calm the tension, I liked that about him.
"All right, all right, it wasn't ten minutes." Luke laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Come on. We got a little one around." Bonnie chimed in, though she was laughing herself.
"I know what you're talking about." We all turned our heads to the source of the voice, Clementine.
"Do you?" Mike doubtfully smirked, as did most of us.
"You're talking about... kissing stuff.", Clementine pouted as the adults busted into laughter. We weren't making fun of her, it was just that innocence was so refreshing to us.
"Ew! My mom said that's how you get cooties." Sarah's face crinkled up as she spoke, only adding to the humor of the situation.
Letting out a small chuckle I gave the girls an escape, "Well, how bout you an' Sarah go do somethin' while the adults talk about 'kissing stuff'."
"Let's go, Clem." Sarah got up, waiting for her younger friend.
"Please!" Clementine begged, jokingly making a gagging gesture as she walked away with Sarah
We waited for the girls to go away to continue our conversation, "Man, was that your first time?" Mike asked Luke. We were really gonna dig into this, weren't we?
"Hell no! I was a grade A Casanova in college." Luke nearly shouted proudly, it's not hard to see that happening I guess.
"Yeah, his moves worked on all the girls back then." Nick confirmed, laughing softly.
"Worked on me." Bonnie blurted, taking another swig of the drink. Only after that did she realize what she had just said, "I just did it too, didn't I? Sorry, it's the drink talkin'."
"Speaking of drink." Mike looked over at me, "I didn't see you take a sip.". He held out the bottle to me, we just stared at each other for a moment.
"Oh, I-I don't drink." I defensively raised my hands, the last time I drank was... back then.
"C'mon, you gotta lighten up!" Mike insisted, pushing the bottle forward more.
"I... okay." I grabbed the bottle, looking down at it. My hand shook as I took a swig, sighing in relief. That was for Troy, he deserved a drink in his honor. I guess this was a step towards recovering, something like that.
"We don't really know much about you, James. Did you have a special person... y'know?" Bonnie spoke up. A special person? I mean, I could tell that one story...
"I had a girlfriend... once, when I was 17. We didn't really do much, I did it to be cool with my friends, and she really was just using me as some sort of tutor. One night she wanted to do... it. I wasn't attracted to her at all but I wanted to fit in, y'know? So she's tryin' to get my pants off, I'm stalling of course, and then my friend Devin walks in, buck naked! She got scared and ran out, never heard from her again.", after I finished the story everybody just stared at me, it was sorta uncomfortable.
"A girl...?", Bonnie sounded confused. Not that I blame her.
"Did your friend walk around naked often?" Mike tried holding back a laugh, it was strange after all.
"Oh, yeah. He was really comfortable 'round me, but Christmas was the funniest. He'd walk around, but he had on a Santa hat... you know where. He'd do it once the relatives left, but one year my grandma forgot her purse, and she nearly fainted!" I started laughing at the old memories, it seemed like I wasn't the only one either. I got a couple chuckles out of everybody by the time the story ended.
Then we saw a familiar face come sit down with us, Jane, her frame shifting uncomfortably as she found something to say, "... Hey.".
"How ya doin'?" Bonnie awkwardly tried making small talk.
Jane looked over at her, forcing a slight smile, "Okay...".
I figured I'd let them all get comfortable with each other, I had another person I was worried about, "I'm gonna go check on... him.".
I approached our sniveling captive, I hate to call him that but that's what he is right now. I crouched down, "Hey, you okay? I'm sorry for... today.".
"It not your fault, you try. Your Russian is... not so good." Arvo remarked through his heavy accent.
I quietly let out a laugh, "I wish you could be at the fire. Here, have this." I took off my hoodie, wrapping it around Arvo like some sort of... small blanket. It was the best I could do, and it was as cold as the frozen over hell we lived in today. "I'm going to sleep, try not to... upset Kenny. Goodnight, Arvo.".
"Goodnight, James." Arvo called back to me, I feel like I've gotten closer to him, I make interesting friends huh...
There were no beds unlike Howe's, so I could lay anywhere, I laid down close enough to get some heat from the fire. I wouldn't want hypothermia, would I?
I was sleeping soundly until I was nudged by somebody, lazily opening my eyes I saw Nick. "How 'bout we go let off the stress we've been buildin' up, somethin' poetic like that.". He held out his hand, helping me up, what was left of the wine in his other. How could I refuse an offer like that? It wasn't like Nick to be this straight forward, it was kind of charming.
We ran over to the darkest area of the power station, hoping over the fence. We didn't want anybody seeing us, it felt like we were a couple teens sneaking out the house. We started walking. To where? We just didn't know.
That's until I found a tree, there was something about it. "Wanna climb this? Probably get a good view up there."
"Sure, though the view down here is great too." Nick flashed a small smile as he started climbing.
I fumbled around thinking of what to say, "C-Could say the same...". I started climbing up behind him. This tree was tall, once we sat onto a thick branch I did something stupid, I looked down. It was pretty damn far up, a fall from here would probably result in a broken bone or two.
We sat there for a few minutes, this felt right, like I could just let it all out. Taking a gulp of the wine, I opened my mouth and started yelling, letting tears run down my face if need be. Nick caught on quick, also letting out his own problems. This went on for a bit, everything felt... lighter. I couldn't help but look at him, laughing at how dumb we probably looked.
Nick looked back at me and we sorta just sat there like that, taking in each others features. It was gorgeous, how his bright eyes contrasted with the darkness. I leaned in closer, trying not to overstep any boundaries. He replied, also leaning in, leaving only inches between our faces. I could feel my face burning as we connected, lips interlocking. Was this really happening? I mean, it definitely was, but it felt so surreal...
It went on like this for minutes, but it felt like hours, that was until I heard a growl. I pulled away, breaking up our little 'moment', "Wh-What was that?".
Nick stopped, taking a look below us, "Holy shit, James look.". That didn't sound too promising. Looking down I saw a few walkers, probably from all the noise we made, walkers and a BEAR? What is a bear doing here?! I mean, we're in the woods, but it should be hibernating by now! I guess the walking dead will mess up a good couple of months sleep... It was dark but from up here it looked like the bear was fighting the walkers.
There was nothing we could do but watch, I took another sip from the winde bottle, "Who's your bet on? Walkers or Bear?".
Nick had his eyes glued on the fight, it was almost like we were watching TV, "Bear."
The bear had taken down two so far, only around three to go too. The poor thing had been bit so much... it made me think of Troy. I took another big gulp from the bottle, trying to wash any memory of that away. I knew alcohol was a depressant, but hey, life is depressing.
The bear won, not all the walkers were dead but they were down. I don't think the bear was going to make it either though, it got bit multiple times... at least it went out with a bang, cool... I guess.
Nick put a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry, for avoiding you earlier... I just, didn't want to lose another person... After Pete, after Rebecca... I guess some people are worth the risk.". I looked over at him, smiling the best I could. It meant a lot, we've all lost people, but it's hard to come back from it.
We sat there for a couple hours, just gazing at the scenery, with the occasional walker of course. It got me thinking about myself, how was this going to go?
Not just with Nick, but with the others. How was I going to protect Sarah, how would it be different from before? Who knows what next thing will make Kenny go off the edge, especially with Arvo with us now. It felt like I was sinking under the pressure, but I can't afford to give in, I have to be stronger now.
What would Quinn think of what I've become? Not much, hopefully, I'd like to think she's forgotten about me... It's better that way. "Nick, are we... y-you know. 'Official'?" I mentally slapped myself, god that was awkward, the drink is definitely wearing off now.
I heard him laugh under his breath, "Well, shit... Can't really say I expected to get this far...". He shifted around, as if looking around for the answer itself "If you're okay with being 'official', I am too.". The sun was starting to come up, it was time for us to head back to camp.
Climbing down the tree was always harder then climbing up, at least for me it was. My busted arm and leg weren't helping it either. The walk back was peaceful, of course there were a few walkers, but we could easily go around them. As weird as this may sound, I didn't feel as scared of them right now, despite being in a way smaller group right now.
As we reached the camp we heard everybody yelling. Did something happen? I started running, so did Nick. Did walkers attack? Was somebody bit? God, don't even let yourself think that. As we rushed up to the scene I saw the source of all the commotion. It... it was Arvo, he had bruises on his face, blood dripping from his nose. Kenny was yelling at him, I didn't take time to listen, only to yell "What the hell is goin' on?!".
Kenny turned around, stomping over to Nick and I, grabbing my shirt he shouted "Where the fuck have you been?! Your little friend over here just tried running out on us!". I could practically feel spit hit my face as he yelled.
I shook as I clenched my fists, sweating disregarding how cold it was, "D-Dad, I-". I stopped before I started, this wasn't the time for fucking up "I mean, Ken-".
"Listen boy, I know you have some daddy issues but-" That's it. I wasn't letting him be mean to me anymore, I lunged at Ken. I caught him off guard, I caught myself off guard as well, what the hell was I doing? I raised my arm to punch him, stopping as I looked up at Sarah. She was terrified, tears in her eyes. I couldn't do this, not now at least.
I had to control myself, for her, she is the only innocence I have left. I looked at Kenny, only to instantly be punched in the face. My vision blurred as I fell down, there was multiple people yelling but it all seemed to blend together as I passed out. Man, I really should've slept last night, can't say I regret it though.
noshanenoshame - its good
Hilda Underruly - James definitely views Sarah as another niece in a way, glad you enjoyed the chapters ^-^
lllooneytoonbro - I hope you liked their bonding time in this chapter!
Tranquilizer-R - Looks like it's official now! ; )
kay - Oh my, is James your new husband? ;
Ollisam - They finally got to kiss! Hope you liked it : D
Markymoo11 - We just have to wait and find out!
Guest - *slow claps*
- I'm glad some of you understand! I have a lot on my plate with school so it's hard to find time to write but I'm determined to get this story finished! I'm glad you like it!
The story has a tumblr, all-our-flaws! Feel free to submit or send asks if you're bored, I love to see them : )