The first time I left my tent, I realized how strange it was to be breathing fresh air again. I had grown accustomed to the stale scent of the fabric surrounding me. It was nice to not breathe recycled air.

It was dinnertime. When I made my way to the circle around the fire, I could feel the eyes on me. It made me nervous, like doing speeches back in school. I was wringing my hands and standing awkwardly behind everyone. I didn't know what to say, or if I could even say anything if I wanted to. I felt a chill run down my spine. Had it always been this cold at night? Somehow the heat had never penetrated the seclusion of my tent.

"Oh, you're awake," one of the older men around the fire declared, scratching his beard. His hat covered his eyes, but I could see he was a nice enough man. He was sitting around the circle, only a few feet away from me. He reminded me of my grandfather. I wondered if that was how everyone felt, or if I was just trying to find some sort of familiarity amongst total strangers. He seemed pleased and he offered me his seat. Not wanting to put him out, I sat down in an empty area of the circle instead. The grass was cold and almost damp. I sort of liked the feeling, but it didn't help the chill creeping along my skin.

Someone handed me food a few seconds later, and I nodded and smiled and thanked them in silence. The atmosphere was less imposing than I thought it would be. I had warmed up from the fire and people were chatting and telling stories. I felt a sense of community I hadn't felt in a long time. I liked being there with everyone, even if we knew nothing about each other.

I'd started to scan the circle and the smaller circles around it. Everyone was grouped together in some way or another. Lots of interesting faces, both young and old. I think there were a few children there, too. It scared me to think people so young were handling this better than I was.

Then again, they probably hadn't had to be saved from a group of walkers before.

The food was good. Or as good as it gets these days, anyway. I kept accidently looking at a guy from across the circle, though. I wasn't sure if he noticed. I wasn't sure why I kept looking back even when I thought he had noticed. There was something captivating about his face in the light of the fire.

Or maybe it was the exhaustion setting in. Either way, the next day was going to be spent ogling at the poor man who happened to catch my eye.

I walked out of my tent the next day around what I guessed was 7 or 8 in the morning. People didn't expect much of me, which was good. I was still pretty shaken up. They were content with me sitting around on the grass by myself. They had probably all heard about how they found me by now. At least they were understanding, if not gossipy.

No one tried to talk to me for the first little while I was out there. I was a bit disappointed. I wasn't really prepared to go and start conversations with people, but it would have been nice. Instead, I just remained in my place until someone finally approached me.

"Hey, you're out of your tent again," he said, taking a seat next to me on the grass. It was the same person I kept accidentally gawking at the night before. I tried not to feel nervous about him being so close to me. "How are you feeling?"

It was official. This guy was the most attractive thing I'd seen since this shitstorm started. His voice, his face... Everything about him suddenly made me flustered. For some reason, it became my goal to memorize his every feature.

He wore a hat. It was red, if I remember correctly. Pale, though. Like it had been worn out. He was some kind of Asian. Not sure which. Doesn't matter; he was gorgeous. He had the faintest hint of stubble on his chin and dark clumps of hair were matted and sticking out from under his hat. His eyes were dark but seemed wonderfully hopeful.

I tried not to stare at him too much, though the damage had probably already been done. I swallowed hard and tried to form up a voice.

"I'm fine, thank you..." I whispered, barely audible at first, my voice cracking here and there. I winced at the sound. It was a struggle to talk. It had always been a struggle to talk. Somehow it was more embarrassing than usual, just sitting there beside him trying to whisper through a conversation. I picked at the dewy grass around me.

He laughed a little and smiled at me. Dazzling. I had to remind myself not to stare.

"You don't have to be so quiet," He said, his smile persistent. "Everyone's awake now."

I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear, clearing my throat in preparation.

"Right," I said, trying to get louder than a whisper. Despite my efforts, my voice was breathy and limited.

He cocked his head to the side and kept looking at my face. Somehow I wished I had makeup. And that I knew how to use it well.

Silence fell over us. I watched the trees from the forest sway in hopes it would prevent me from staring at the guy beside me. It didn't. A chill ran down my spine but my face remained hot with him so close.

"I'm Eden," I mumbled, pushing a clump of my hair behind my ear. I tried not to think about how much I wanted to have a shower.

"Glenn," he replied, nodding and tipping his hat. The action hit me like a brick. I suppressed a grin. "Adorable" was the only word I could think of. My mind was wiped clean of any other thought. Adorable. How could I witness someone so freaking adorable do something that adorable and not suffer from some sort of adorable overload?

Desperate to continue to hear his voice, I asked him, "What do you do around here, Glenn?"

He perked up at the question, seemingly pleased to have something to talk about.

"I help out around the camp, but I usually go into the city to scavenge for any supplies I can get my hands on." He looked into my eyes and smiled. I felt breathless. "That's how I found you."

I stumbled mentally. "You're the one who found me?"

He nodded, almost disappointed, but still proud. "You don't remember?"

"Not really. I think I've suppressed it," I replied, despite my voice growing weaker. I needed to stop talking. But I didn't want to. "Thank you, though. I don't know if I said it before, but thank you."

"You did," he remarked, smiling again. That smile made my heart race. "But you're welcome. Again."

We fell back into silence. I took to observing the clouds while my mind was racing. I'd never been in any sort of relationship before. I didn't even know how to flirt. Despite this, I couldn't help but feel like I needed to make some sort of move on Glenn. I needed to say something to plant a hint that I liked him. It was the fucking apocalypse. "Now or never" was less of a philosophy and more of a reality. If I never made a move, I could die the next day. Alone.

"Did you know anyone here before... this stuff happened?" I asked cautiously. It seemed to be the appropriate equivalent to 'So is your girlfriend here, too?' Minus the specificity.

"No," he said simply. "I wasn't really all that close with my parents before. We lived in different areas, so I haven't seen or heard from them. I don't know what happened to any of my friends, either."

I looked back down at the grass. Alright, so no one he knew before all this shit was here with him. That didn't rule out having a post-apocalyptic girlfriend, though. I needed to think of something else to ask. Something smooth.

"What happened to the people you knew?"

My eyes darted back to him. I wasn't expecting a question in return. Staring at the grass, tried to find an easy way to explain. I tried to ignore the soreness in my throat, too.

"It hit us during school," I answered, picking at the grass idly. "A bunch of us stuck together to try to survive. Some kids gave up. Some got lost. Some found their parents and left. A lot died. We had such a big group, but things just... things just kept happening. I never found my family. Its nice being here, though. Surrounded by nice people who work together. I feel safe here."

I took a moment to look at his face.

"Thanks to you."

A smile was what I got in return. My heart raced at the sight. I was prepared to ask him about a girlfriend, but a looming shadow interrupted me.

"Hello, Glenn." We turned to look up at a woman standing with a pile of clothes in her arms and a child a few feet behind her. Her hair was loosely hanging off of her shoulders and she seemed relatively put together, considering the circumstances. "And hello to you too. I don't think we've met yet. Lori Grimes."

She nodded her head back at the boy kicking the dirt behind her.

"My son, Carl."

I looked over at her son who made eye contact then quickly looked away.

"Eden," I offered, voice hoarse from the long conversation prior to this. I stood up from the ground. Glenn followed suit. "Nice to meet you."

"We're heading down to the water to do some laundry." Her eyes darted down to my nearly black shins and hands then back up to my face. I'd forgotten how dirty I was. "You could come and wash up. Help out too, if you like."

There was a moment of hesitation before I replied, "Oh, sure."

She smiled in my direction, however faintly, then looked to Glenn. "And you?"

"Yeah," he said, not taking his eyes off of me. "Sure, I'll help out."

Pleased by the attention – especially when given from someone so attractive – I couldn't suppress a giddy grin while following Lori and her son down to the water. The terrain wasn't so bad. The water was relatively convenient in terms of distance, too. I could tell they would have to travel in groups to keep safe, though. A stray thought had me wondering if Glenn came to protect me. Immediately, I rolled my eyes. Right. We just met, and for all I knew, he could have already had someone in his life. Hell, even if he didn't, it was pretty possible that even considering how limited his options were, he'd choose someone else over me.

I was pulled out of my pessimism when the kid who was accompanying us started talking.

"How old are you?" he asked, slowing down to walk in step with me. His mother glanced in his direction as a sort of warning to stay respectful. Didn't matter to the boy, though; he kept looking up at me.

"I can't remember dates," I admitted. "I'm either seventeen or eighteen."

"Wow," He remarked, his attention turned back to the path ahead of us.

"I know," I laughed. "I'm practically ancient, compared to you."

We'd made it to the water a few minutes later. The place was actually quite beautiful. It was a lake of some sort. Or it might have been a river. I was never all that good in terms of bodies of water. There were some other women and children there already. One of them had passed me food the night before, the others I had only seen around camp. It didn't take long for everyone to get organized and start washing things up.

It surprised me how they worked. They all moved and chatted like a well oiled machine. I hadn't even thought about washing clothes prior to Lori's invitation. I guess these women thought in the long term, like adults should. What was I doing? Lusting over some guy I just met?

Putting my thoughts aside, I slipped off my shoes so I could step into the water.

"The water's pretty cold. So brace yourself."

Goddamn it though, he was gorgeous. And nice. Nice and gorgeous. How can someone so perfect exist?

I should have listened to his warning, though, because the second I stepped into the water I shivered and a squeak erupted from my throat. I would have screamed if I were capable, I'd say.

Some of the women laughed, as well as Glenn. My chest tightened at the sound.

"I told you so," he teased, helping pass Lori some clothes. Carl had taken to playing with some other kids so I was left to my own devices. The water certainly helped clean off a lot of the dirt that had accumulated on my skin. It was cold, though. Freezing even. I was careful not to get my clothes wet. Spending the rest of the day shivering didn't seem like a pleasant idea.

"Eden," Lori started, taking a brief moment away from the clothes. "Why don't you borrow someone else's clothes for a while? Yours look like they're in need of a good wash."

I looked down at my body. It certainly wasn't a lie. There was grit all over me and dirt ran up and down the fabric. I felt kind of gross after I really noticed what was on me.

"Okay."

I started unbuttoning my shirt before I remembered who was in my present company. One of the other women with us had already taken initiative and made sure Glenn wasn't looking in my direction. He held his hands up in the air in an attempt to convey his innocence. Even from behind, the guy was adorable.

I stepped out of the water and a woman passed me someone's dress. About as quickly as I could, I changed into it. I was never really a fan of being in my underwear in front of people. Even if they were making the effort to avert their eyes.

I passed my clothes over to Lori to let her wash them. I felt strangely clean. I hadn't felt this way for a while. Unfortunately, I felt pretty self conscious too. I was never a fan of dresses. Regardless, it was all I had. And it wasn't really my place to ask for something else.

It was just nice to be taken care of again. I'd been stuck handling everything myself for quite some time. The family dynamic of this campsite was welcoming and I felt comfortable already. As long as I started pulling my weight, I'd say my time here could be permanent.

"Can I turn around now?"

"Yeah."

I flattened out the dress against my body. It was wrinkly, but I doubted anyone was paying that much attention to it.

"Nice," Glenn stated, glancing at me.

Oh, how that simple word would linger on my mind. I wringed my hands and tried to find my voice.

"Thanks," I managed.

In hopes of not fawning over Glenn's every word, I decided to help the women with laundry. I tuned in to their idle chit chat. It was nice to give my voice a break. I didn't feel very helpful; I was only passing clothes over to Lori for her to clean, but she seemed content with my work. She dismissed me after a while, saying I should "go keep an eye on the kids" and leave the rest to her.

I complied.

"Mind if I go, too?" Glenn asked eagerly. Lori shrugged in reply, a faint smile on her face as though she was amused.

Glenn caught up to me. Seeing my inquisitive expression he said, "Safety in numbers."

Somehow I think even he doubted his excuse. Not that I minded. Carl and the others were playing around us. Glenn and I took a seat on some rocks and watched them chase each other. It was nice to see some people genuinely enjoy themselves. Even if they were children.

"You came from a group of high school kids, right?"

Oh, more talking.

"Yeah, we were-" I stopped myself. My throat ached from the effort already. I decided to drop my voice. "Sorry, gotta whisper. Vocal cord damage from before- " what was the proper word for this? Apocalypse? I settled for something easy. "before this stuff."

Glenn nodded, seemingly interested. "Really? Wow, that's gotta be hard. I didn't know, sorry. I didn't mean to make you work so hard."

"It's okay."

"So that's why you weren't screaming back in the city, huh?"

"Yeah."

Whispering was hard on me. It took a lot of breath for only a small amount of words and the utter beauty of the man before me didn't help.

"Anyways, high school kids huh? Man, must've been pretty crazy."

I laughed – or rather, wheezed,- then whispered, "Surprising how many of them didn't want to die virgins," I paused to take in air. "Only to get ambushed while having sex."

Glenn shook his head, grinning. "Teenagers." His eyes looked me over quickly before he continued on. "Seems you timed yours right."

"No, I-" I fixed my eyes on the ground. "When people pair up, the quiet ones get picked last."

One of the kids playing fell down. Our conversation paused as we watched her get back up and brush herself off. I continued.

"I was more interested in living, anyway."

"Makes sense."

The kids were laughing at each other, now.

"Do you miss any of them?" Glenn asked, apparently looking for a something in particular in this conversation.

"I don't think so. You learn how people really are," I paused to take a breath. "When they stop caring about their status or gossip. A lot of people are assholes."

He smiled to himself, apparently satisfied by that answer.

"Do you—"

"Glenn, Eden, we're heading back now. You coming?"

Lori mercilessly butchered Glenn's question. It remained unfinished as he stood up from the rock. He looked at me for input.

"Do you wanna...?" He trailed off, hoping for a response.

"Sure," I said. "Let's head back."

I fell in step beside him and we walked back to the campground with Lori and the others. We were silent but the atmosphere was filled with the women continuing to chat. I wanted to talk to Glenn more, to ask him what he was going to say before, but my throat hurt and I needed a break. I'd just have to find out another time.