The second chapter brings us cranesinthesky to help build the relationship between Rick and Michonne. Like her other fanfiction stories, she will leave us grinning from ear to ear with the sweetness as she puts people in the right place at the right time, for the unexpected to happen.

Be sure to check out her other stories on her FF page.

-We're The Ones Who Write


Chapter 2: Took The Other, Just As Fair

October

"And you're sure you don't want to go to the homecoming dance," Sasha questioned for what seemed like the tenth time that day. "Absolutely sure?"

Michonne shook her head, refusing to change her answer. "Nope, not this year, Sasha. It's just not my thing."

"Listen, I know this is a small town and it seems like everybody and their mama knows each other, but I promise you it won't be that bad," Sasha assured her as they walked towards their lockers. "And if the issue is Terry, Bob and I will make sure he won't bother you at all tonight."

"I know you will," Michonne smirked as they came to a stop in front of their lockers. Sasha had a strong dislike for the captain of the basketball team and ever since she had formed a close bond with Michonne after her first day in their AP English class a few months ago, she always tried to derail Terry's attempts of getting with Michonne. He wasn't good for her and just simply didn't seem right for her, no matter how hard he tried to maintain that he was.

"I'll pass on this one, Sasha," Michonne smiled sadly at her friend as she removed her biology book from her locker. "Go. Have fun with Bob. You don't need me as the awkward third wheel tonight."

"You wouldn't have been. Trust me," Sasha assured her, rolling her eyes. "I still can't believe I agreed to go with him. I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

"You were thinking about making Abraham jealous. Isn't he going with Rosita?" The love triangle between Sasha, Abraham Ford and cheerleader Rosita Espinosa had been the talk of the school for the past month, much to Sasha's dismay. One minute Abraham had Sasha on his arm, the next he had broken up with her in favor of the pretty, Latina that every boy in their school was after.

She rolled her eyes again. "That's what I heard." She shrugged nonchalantly, "But hey- it is what is it. Maybe she'll give him what I wasn't ready for," she muttered, her eyes averting away.

Michonne placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You were right to not let him pressure you into having sex. If you weren't ready, you weren't ready." She spoke from experience, her ex from back home up north had done the same with her until she shut that shit down quick effectively breaking it off. "You'll know when you're ready and it'll be with the right person."

"Yeah," Sasha nodded thoughtfully, giving her friend a thankful smile. "Maybe if I had someone look at me the way Rick Grimes looks at you, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

Michonne scoffed, yet she could still feel her cheeks reddening and she was glad that her dark skin masked it. Nearly everyone in the school had noticed Rick's crush on her. His eyes always managed to find her in a roomful of people as if she was the only one there, basking in her glory. They spoke here and there, learning little details about each other and discussing their English assignments which was the only class they shared together. Michonne had grown to like him. He was a sweet and genuine guy, despite the roughness that Terry claimed he had. He had his moments, sure, but they didn't get to see the real glimpses of Rick Grimes that she saw. They were from two different worlds and two opposite sides of town- one on each side of the railroad tracks that separated the upper class from the working class, but Michonne liked him no matter what his status was. He was smart, sweet and that southern accent he spoke with had her melting on the inside every time.

There was only one thing- or rather, person- that wasn't too fond of it at all.

"Or the way Lori looks at Rick," Michonne mentioned, raising an eyebrow.

Sasha sucked her teeth. "Fuck that wannabe Kardashian. They broke up months ago and the only reason she's after Rick now is because Phillip is messing around with Andrea now."

"Speaking of the devil," Michonne muttered, nodding behind Sasha.

Lori walked past them, flipping her hair as she chatted away on her cell phone planning out last minute details of her homecoming attire. She paid no attention to them as she opened the double doors leading outside, leaving behind her a trail of hot air that Sasha and Michonne weren't sure came from outside or from off of the devilish teenager herself.

"Well, no matter what you do tonight- shoot your shot," Sasha nudged her shoulder playfully. "And I want to hear all of the details tomorrow during our volunteer gig."

"There won't be any details to tell," Michonne laughed. "Not unless you want to hear me ramble on about an essay because that's what I'm doing tonight- reading and studying for the PSAT's." She had already planned her evening and honestly couldn't wait to get home to begin.

Sasha dismissed her comment, pretending like she couldn't hear her as she backed away towards the double doors. "Tomorrow, Chonne!" She left out before Michonne could object, a grin on her face.

Eager to get home, Michonne finished up at her locker and made her way outside, the hot sun beaming down on her as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder. The air was hot and sticky, much more humid than it was back in her hometown up north.

Things were so different in this small Georgia town, she noticed. The area was definitely much more rural than what she was used to and it seemed like everyone knew each other, with residents conversing in lengthy conversations at the local grocery store instead of the small talk (or no talk at all) back in her hometown. It felt.. homey and comforting and she found herself quickly falling into place as if she had lived there her whole life.

Just a few months ago, she wouldn't have imagined ever staying there for long. She had been disappointed and angry when her parents announced that they were moving to the southern state and then heartbroken when they announced their divorce, her father moving out and choosing to live in an apartment in the city while her mother chose to stay in the small town with Michonne. It all seemed to go from bad to worse as they tried to figure out how to adjust to this new life, but it looked like things were finally starting to come around.

She walked up to her car and placed her bag in the back seat. She slid into the driver's seat and was just about to put the key in the ignition when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her eyes flickered over to the baseball field where Rick was leaning against the fence, his head down and arms folded.

Rick wasn't alone. Standing across from him was Lori, her cell phone nowhere in sight for the first time all day. She cozied up closer to his stiff frame, batting her eyelashes wildly and flipping her hair over her shoulder while a flirty grin spread across her face. Rick was unamused, taking a step away from her with his hands in his pockets.

The next action happened quickly, immediately causing Michonne to stare in incredible interest. Lori had stepped even closer to Rick, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him down to her height. She placed her lips on his. Rick was bewildered, pushing her away from him. Not hard, but enough for her to remove her arms from around him.

"God, Lori! What the hell is wrong with you?" he exclaimed loudly, his southern accent more pronounced with the anger in his voice. He ran a hand through his hair. "I told you- we're not together."

Lori glanced around them with embarrassment and shock, hoping that no one was able to see them. "We could make this work, Rick. We had something good going before. Why throw all of that away?"

"Did you realize that before or after you cheated on me with Phillip?" Rick threw back at her. His cheeks were flushed with anger and Michonne could practically feel the tension from where she sat in her car yards away.

"I said I was sorry," Lori said tearfully, wrapping her arms around herself. "How many times do I have to keep apologizing?"

"You don't. Just leave me alone," he barked, storming away to his truck that was parked just at the edge of the field. He slammed the door and nearly burned his tires as he drove out of the parking lot, leaving a dust cloud of dirt.

Lori caught Michonne's eye, her face turning hard with the realization that the new girl saw the last few moments between her and Rick. Michonne quickly averted her gaze, deciding to concentrate on starting her car and away from any potential drama at her new high school.

Except her car wouldn't start. No matter how many times she tried to turn the engine, it wouldn't turn over. At last, it started but then sputtered and shut off completely.

Lori smirked in satisfaction. She flipped her hair before she sauntered away, and pretended as if she didn't see the new girl's troubles at all.

Michonne groaned in frustration as she leaned her head back against the headrest, her hands running over her face. Of all things to happen, this had to be one of them.

She did a quick mental list of who she could call for help. Her father was out of town on business and her mother was teaching an evening class down at the university. She could call and say it was an emergency, she figured, but it would still take her mother a while to fight the traffic and make the trek out of the city.

An idea popped into her head and she could kick herself for not thinking of it at first.

She scrolled until she found the number in her phone, glad that they had exchanged numbers during a study session for their first exam of the school year.

Her finger nervously tapped against the steering wheel as the line rung and she waited for an answer.

His voice rang in her ear causing her heart to beat wildly, a reaction that seemed to appear more these days whenever she heard it.

"Hi, Rick. I was wondering if I could get your help with something."

"And you're sure everything is fine?" Michonne questioned, her eyebrows raised in concern. She stood in the garage of Dixon's Auto Shop, Rick stood just inches away from her. He had just finished looking over her car, having immediately sprung into action after receiving her phone call not long after he had left the school.

Rick chuckled with amusement. "It's nothing that a simple oil change won't fix," he answered, closing the hood of her car. "We'll fix it tomorrow and you'll have it back by evening."

"Good," she sighed, giving him a grateful smile. "I really appreciate this, Rick. How much do I owe you?"

He smiled as he leaned against the car, his arms folded with a sparkle in his eye. Her eyes took in the image of him, her breath nearly catching at the sight of his handsome face. She had noticed it before, but something had switched within her recently.

She noticed the way his cheeks dimpled whenever he smiled and how his pretty blue eyes seemed to light up whenever he did. His brown curls were a little on the long side since he was neglecting a haircut for some reason, but she still wanted to run her fingers through the silky smooth strands. He was wearing an old pair of battered black jeans and a dirty t-shirt but he still looked good. Really good.

He seemed so much happier in her presence than he did while in Lori's.

"Dinner," he answered quickly. "And a study session for Ms. Peletier's exam next week."

"As if you don't already have that exam in the bag," she smirked.

"I could use a little guidance," he shrugged nonchalantly. He always made it seem like he wasn't as smart as Michonne saw him. "Sounds like a deal?"

She paused, thinking of what Sasha said earlier. She smiled. "How about we order from Rhee's Pizzeria?"

They decided to have the pizza delivered to the shop instead of heading out to the restaurant. Michonne's mother would be by to pick her up at any moment and they didn't want to miss her. Rick set up the table for them in the waiting area of the shop, his body fueled with nervousness as he tried to make sure it was good enough for the beautiful girl standing not too far away from him.

Within thirty minutes, the pizza had arrived. They situated themselves at the table, the box of half pepperoni, half cheese pizza between them along with two styrofoam cups and a liter of Pepsi. The sun was setting right outside of the window, casting a reddish orange glow across the rolling fields of farmland that surrounded them. They laughed and talked about everything - school, Rick's job, their interests and dislikes- and they both realized that an easiness fell between them, as if they were old friends and they had known each other for years.

They also noticed the attraction that began to pull at both of their collars.

His eyes lingered on her for a few seconds longer than they usually did, a small smile on his face as he took in her beautiful facial features. Her full lips, those pretty brown eyes and her skin that glowed underneath the sunset. It was like looking at an angel in person, a comparison that he knew would make her blush had he decided to tell her out loud.

She couldn't keep her gaze from off of his lips and she caught herself staring more than a few times. She would quickly avert her gaze, only to find something else on him to mesmerize about.

"So no dance for you tonight. Didn't have a date or anything?" he asked, his curious eyes still on her as he took a sip of his drink.

She shrugged as she fiddled with the leftover crust of her pizza. "Didn't want to go. I guess homecoming is a really big deal down here, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda," he chuckled. She loved the sound of it.

"Then why didn't you go?" she asked softly. She thought back to the scene between him and Lori back at the school, wondering if that had anything to do with it.

He sighed, leaning back against his chair. "Not really my thing either. The last time I went to a school dance it…. Didn't turn out well." A note of disappointment and sadness had entered his voice and she wrinkled her eyebrows in response.

"Did it involve Lori?" she asked carefully, hoping that she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.

He didn't mind. He nodded. "End of the year dance last year. I found her with Philip Blake." Michonne winced at the sad smirk he gave her. "She had been acting distant for a couple of weeks and I realized then why."

"I'm sorry," she offered.

He dismissed it. "I'm better off without her. I just tolerate her now. Kinda like how you do with Terry," he laughed.

She rolled her eyes but joined along with his laughter. "Tolerate is the nice way to put it."

"You gotta give it to him, at least the guy is persistent."

"He's only worried about his image," she remarked, wiping her hands on a napkin. "A lot of people are like that on my side of town- only worried about what people see them as instead of who they really are."

"You're not like that," he stated, his eyes nearly burning a hole through hers. "You're different from a lot of the girls around here."

Michonne nervously toyed with the napkin.

"Is that a bad thing?" she questioned.

"Not at all," he answered genuinely.

He reached out to place his hand over hers, the contact causing her nervousness to break to the surface immediately. He felt warm and comforting and, much like this small town, he felt like home. She didn't know what was coming over her but she enjoyed being in his presence and she yearned for more moments like this.

"Rick," she whispered, her head swimming. The moment was moving fast and she wasn't sure if she could keep up.

"I like you," he blurted out. "Since that first day you walked into Ms. Peletier's class. Can we at least give this a try? Get to know each other better?"

One glance into his eyes and her mind cleared, all doubts and uncertainties gone within a second. She didn't want to worry about any drama that their potential relationship would cause; she just wanted to get to know him better. This was their junior year after all, why not enjoy it?

She smiled her response causing him to sigh in relief. "Yes. I would like that."