Carl's sheets were freezing. Literally and figuratively. The room was chilly and he couldn't get warm. Not even his hat made him feel better.
With a soft groan, he rolled over and tried to immerse himself in warm thoughts. He wasn't very successful.
"Cold." The teen mumbled in a half-asleep/half-awake daze.
Sitting up, he touched his chest. The skin, not covered by clothing, was cool to the touch with only traces of heat beneath his fingers. "Fuck."
It took him a second to realize he could see the vapor of his own breath hanging in the air. Even in the confines of a cozy place, it was still frigid!
A few minutes later, the sound of padded footsteps echoed silently on the tile as he stepped into the living room.
"What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be asleep?" The voice said. It was sudden yet familiar and made him jump but eventually relax.
"I'd like to ask you the same thing." Carl sighed softly.
Arlet's lips curled upwards at the edges ever-so-slightly in the dim light of her candle. It flickered, casting ghostly shadows across her glinting eyes that reminded him of hot whiskey. "You should get rest when you can." She said, flipping through her book once more.
"Same for you." Carl replied. He let his eyes wander to the bookshelves of knickknacks and collectibles. "Mind if I sit next to you?"
Arlet sat up a little straighter, her body growing rigid at the question. The teen inwardly cringed and hoped he hadn't hit some sort of sore spot. After being (literally) stabbed in the back, he wasn't surprised she wasn't very trusting. He just hoped one of her previous companions hadn't done that to her.
"Sure, but don't get to close." The girl said, scooting over to make extra room on the dark colored couch. Wrapping a thin blanket around his shoulders, Carl plopped onto the cushions.
"Thanks." He muttered. "It's not like I could sleep anyway. My room's too cold."
"Mine too." Arlet admitted, holding his gaze for only a second. The teen hadn't caught onto her lack of eye contact until that point. It made him feel like an outsider, like he was doing something really wrong.
"It's not so bad in here." He whispered. "It's pretty warm."
"Yeah, wood's a natural insulator." Arlet yawned while stretching. Meanwhile, Carl's eyes surveyed the girl sitting in front of him once more.
Again he noticed the curvature of her body and the toned muscle beneath her soft skin. He couldn't help but enjoy the sight of something sweet and feminine in such a cruel world. A deep breath escaped her lungs and he observed her chest fall and rise.
Part of him couldn't help but want to touch her and make sure she was tangible. He felt as if she was out of reach when in reality she was only a foot or two away. Carl wanted to at least know he wasn't dreaming. Then again, losing his father was a nightmare he wished he could wake up from.
"You alright, Carl?" Arlet asked. Her amber eyes made him shudder with newfound warmth. "You seem a little out of it."
"Uh, yeah. I've just been thinking about...stuff."
"Okay." She hummed, licking her lips. Carl picked up on that and felt curious for some unknown reason. "Mind if I fall asleep here?"
"No. I mean, it is your couch." The teen chuckled. "Mind if I fall asleep here too?"
A short silence ensued while the two awkwardly stared one another down. Arlet was the first to speak.
"You still have your knife on you?" She asked. Carl nodded and presented it her since he figured that's what she wanted.
With a small grunt of exertion, she threw the knife across the room where it landed with a clatter. Carl bit the inside of his cheek but didn't question it. Her trust issues were more serious than he thought.
The feeling of weight in his lap made him go rigid. "Relax, Cowboy." She yawned. "I'm just doing this so I know you can't get up without me knowing it."
Arlet had changed her position into something Carl wasn't exactly comfortable with. Now it wasn't meant to be inappropriate, but it certainly wasn't something he was expecting her to do.
Since the two were facing each other while sitting on the couch, Arlet laid back and planted her feet on either side of his hips. This had her body splayed between his legs in a semi-risque fashion; that resembled more of sex position than a sleeping one.
"Uh...wha-what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to sleep." She scoffed. "This is the only 'comfortable' way we can do it together. If you're gonna act immature, then you can sleep on the floor."
The idea of relaxing on the frigid ground made him grit his teeth. Carl was no stranger to inconvenient sleeping places that made his back ache. Of course he wasn't going to sleep on the floor if he didn't have to!
"Alright." The teen squeaked, trying to relax as much as he could. It was virtually impossible to get any type of rest with her hips nearly inches away from his. Not to mention, her body heat was driving him to borderline excitement.
Damn his hormones!
For the remainder of the night, Carl Grimes desperately tried to get his head clear of raunchiness.
Crippling weight, warm breathing, and frantic shaking in the dark was the teen's wake up call. The next thing to hit his ears were rapid fire gunshots too close to home.
"Get the fuck up!" Arlet hissed through a whisper. Blunt nails dug into his chest as she clawed him into consciousness.
"Ow." The teen grunted. "What the fuck are you-mmph!"
Carl's temporary companion forced her slender fingers over his lips to silence him. Instantly he reached up to grab her hand but stopped short at the sound of muted cursing behind the apartment's wall.
"That lil' bitch has gotta be up here somewhere." A masculine voice muttered. "Took us forever to hunt 'er down."
"Yeah." Another replied. "It'd be nice if I could catch myself a new fuck toy today."
Arlet frantically pushed herself off of Carl and ran straight for the back door leading out onto the deck. Since the teen was still half-asleep/half-awake and abruptly filled with adrenaline, he followed behind her.
"The roof." She whispered, pointing at the flimsy ladder that made sense now. "We can get out this way."
The teen nodded and scrambled up the frame while making the least amount of noise possible. Arlet was behind him a minute later with a pair of backpacks with her. The first one had her stuff, the second one had his stuff.
Carl wanted to know how she had gotten everything in less than a few second but ultimately decided it wasn't important.
"How good of a shot are you?" She murmured.
"A decent one." He admitted. Lying wouldn't have helped him anyway.
"Here." She breathed, pulling out her gun and pressing it into his hands. "It's a semi-automatic M1911. I might need you to cover me if shit gets real."
Before he could say anything she pulled out an M&P 45 with a silencer and gripped it firmly. Her expression changed to something purely of animalistic rage. "I'm trusting you with my life, Carl. You'd better not fuck this up."
"Got it."
The two crossed the roof in a sprint. Once there, Arlet kicked in a vent and slipped inside. Carl followed her and together they exited on the second floor of the complex.
Walker bodies with fresh bullet holes in their skulls were strewn throughout the place. Those men had obviously saved the duo some effort of exterminating them.
"Behind this door is the washer and dryer units. Once we get through there we're home free. There might be walkers, but don't shoot them." She instructed. "Dodge 'em so we can get out without making a sound."
Carl nodded but saw something move in the corner of his eye. Out of reflex, he pointed the barrel of his borrowed gun and watched as a walker lunged towards Arlet. Even though she could have easily took it out, the distance between them was too close for comfort. The teen beat her to the chase and watched as the walker's decayed brain matter smeared against the wall from his .45 ammo.
A second later he was forced up against a wall by his own companion. "Are you a fucking idiot?" She hissed. "I told you not to shoot anything!"
Upstairs, the sound of thudding footsteps could be heard. "Someone's downstairs!" One man said. "Let's go!" Said another.
"Shit. They heard." Arlet grumbled, unlocking the door in front of her. Carl slipped a flashlight from his pocket and flipped it on.
"Don't fuck this up, Carl."