Three day weekend! So excited! I've made it through two weeks from no days off from school and I finally have a three day weekend. THANK GOD! And I saw the new 'trailer' for walking dead. THIRTY SECONDS IS NOT A TRAILER AMC! By the way, this chapter is probably going to be just a bit shorter, maybe. I'm not planning on writing over 3500 words, since my last chapter had the most I've ever written, so don't automatically expect a 4000 word chapter. And I finally felt confident taking a test today! All FIVE OF THEM. -_- Now, on with the story.
The heat was unbearable one day in the prison, so everyone was trying their best to stay cool. Most of everyone was inside their cell, doing something other than being outside. Some were sleeping, some were reading, some were just fanning their hands in front of their faces trying to feel a cool breeze touch their skin.
Except Aria.
Nope, she was outside in the heat, embracing it with open arms. She was wearing some black shorts and a white tank top with some converse she had found a while back. A NY Yankee's ballcap was on her head, shielding her eyes from the sun. She sat in the yard, where there actually was some grass, and faced the horizon, sketchpad in arms.
Aria had never been one to be fazed my weather. She didn't really feel it. She could easily go out in nothing but jeans and a long sleeve shirt in 0 degree weather and not feel cold, or wear a shit ton of winter supplies in the summer and not feel hot. She barely sweat, which at first she thought was a medical problem, but she had grown used to it.
Maybe she had, like, weird powers or something. She could create weather and that's why she wasn't affected. No, those were childhood dreams.
She was one of the only girls in the world probably that wanted to be a superhero when she was little. Nothing else. At least not until she was older.
She hadn't wanted to be a princess, a singer, an author, nope. Nothing like that. She wanted to be a superhero. Like Batman, or Spiderman. Maybe even Wonder Women. Or Catwoman.
She loved Catwoman.
She was the epitome of a badass, next to her mother and Daryl.
And plus, she was basically Batman's love interest in almost all the comics. Who would not want to be Batman's lover? 'I bet he's amazing in the sack,' Aria thinks, snickering to herself.
She had collected comics.
That was actually one of her favorite past times. She loved reading them. It was a hobby. Her favorite were obviously Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, Superman, and any other thing that had the word man in it. She also liked these zombie comics. But now she was living what seemed to be the life in those comics. And she wasn't liking it all that much.
Granted, her mother and Daryl were together now, but she still didn't like it.
Sometimes, when she was younger, she thought she was a lesbian. So did others, too. Because she was so different from others. She wasn't like those girls who put on pounds of makeup in the morning to impress a single guy at school. She simply brushed her hair and went. The only time she ever put on makeup was for a show.
She read books instead of wrote them. She wrote songs instead of just singing them. She read comics instead of books that shall not be named which suck. She was different. And she liked it. And yet again, that's what made her think she was gay…
And then Billy came around.
Billy. She was one of her best guy friends. He had been the one that assured her she was most DEFENITLY into guys. He was just so darn handsome! He had white teeth, physic to love, and the most beautiful singing voice. He was a year older then her, but he was just so nice to her on the first day of elementary school that they became friends.
Now, he was gone.
She had seen him get eaten. Before they even came down. They were in school. It was a bright sunny day. A field trip to Long Island, and it was time to relax.
"Do you even think that we'll make it on Broadway?" he asks. Ari chuckles, shrugging her shoulders, laying down on the green grass while the younger kids they brought played on the playground nearby.
"We've already been on Broadway, Billly," she says. He rolls his eyes, shaking his head.
"Not like that! I mean a star role. Like, TONY AWARD winning role. Best actor or actress in a musical! It would be fantastic. I would love for that to happen." She snorts.
"And so does every Broadway wannabe. We've actually already seen the ropes of Broadway. We have experience. That's something the directors look for. Just be thankful we have that. Some people barely have anything on their resumes. We're lucky we have something." He nods.
"I wish this place had a bathroom." He gets up. I'm heading to the woods." Aria makes a disgusted face.
"Have fun," she says, looking away. He snickers and walks into the bushes leading out to the woods to go do his business, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Billy had been with her through a lot. She was sad that he was graduating a year early before he in two years, but she would have to deal with it then. After all, both planned on attending Julliard. They both had parents on Broadway, so it wouldn't be that hard really to get in.
She closes her eyes and smells the fresh air blowing against her face. The smell on hotdogs penetrating her nose made her smile. I was officially summer, and someone was having a barbque to celebrate. She wished she could do that in her apartment, but their barbeque had been broken for ages. Now, it was usually just dirty water dogs off the hotdog carts. Not that she minded. She wasn't even allowed to have them when she was younger.
A sudden scream alerts her and sprints up towards the woods. She knew that voice. Billy.
She runs through the trees, searching frantically for her friend. She finds him, she places her hand over her mouth, tears coming to her eyes.
Billy was dead, and…something was eating his insides.
It looked like it was a zombie. Or something of that nature.
But…she thought they were fake…right?!
The creature turns to her and drops the intestines in his hands, coming for her now. She had nothing to defend herself with, so she kept backing up until she was near the edge of a cliff, far enough that she could knock this thing off…whatever it was.
"Come here," she whispers, tears now streaming down her face. Billy was gone. Her old friend was now gone. "Come here, I'm very tasty."
The…lurker, that's what she'll call them, came forward and tried to snatch her arm to bite, but she quickly moved and pushed it's back, sending it over the cliff to the streets below. She turns back to Billy's body and takes a sharp breath.
He was gone.
Wait, but didn't zombies come back from the dead?
She walked over and kneeled down next to him, placing her hand on the side of his face. His eyes were still open, but now lifeless and dull, unlike the one's she had seen just moments earlier. His body was torn open.
She takes a deep sigh and closes the eyes with her hand, knowing that this was going to haunt her in her dreams. Getting up, she feels something pinching into her pocket and reaches in. She pulls out a pocketknife.
So she did have something to defend herself with!
She looks back at Billy and looks at the knife. Walking over, looking away as she did so, she sunk the knife deep into hi forehead. She had read this. To prevent them from coming back, it had to be the head. So that's what she did.
After the deed was done, she sprung up and ran back to the site as fast as possible. When she got there, she collapsed on the ground, tears running down her face. The teachers who had come gathered around her and asked what was wrong, but she couldn't speak. She just cries and points to the forest, the memory of Billy's torn and dead body playing over and over in her head.
The memory still stung her with every single possible fiber in her being. She had drawn that picture as well. She had drawn everything she's seen.
Now, she was drawing just the forest where the sun was beginning to descend. It was around three o clock, so it was past the incredibly hot period time of day, but it was still blazing.
Still didn't faze her.
She wondered where exactly her mother and Scarlett were. She was worried about her around Carol. Scarlett had told her about her little run in with Carol, and personally, she thought her sister was bad ass. Her six year old sister. She was pretty brave.
Then her mother told her about what happened between her and Carol and Aria just didn't understand this woman. Was she blind? It was obvious Anna and Daryl are in love, just by the way they look at each other now. Everyone knew.
So why wasn't she getting the hint?
It had been about a month after the incident, and there had been none such incidents like that since, but Carol was still always glaring at her mother, making snide remarks. Always.
Honestly, Aria wanted to just walk right up to her and punch her lesbian looking face in. I think her mother did as well, cause whenever she was around her, she would clench her fists as if she was trying to resist smacking that stupid look of Carol's face.
Daryl seemed on the verge of losing it, too. Carol was always trying to say something about Anna to Daryl that would make him somehow not love her anymore. Could this bitch get anymore stupid?
I mean, come on!
Scarlett was always around her mother, making sure Carol didn't hurt her. Aria knew she meant what she had said. Usually, when a child says their running away or not eating their food, they don't really mean it and don't end up doing it.
But with Scarlett…she meant everything. She was from the smackahoe Indian tribe, and she wasn't afraid to smack-a-hoe.
Or kill one if that meant protecting her family.
She didn't even know her little sister knew how to USE a gun. She didn't think her mother taught her, but she guessed she did when Aria didn't notice.
Her pencil shaded in the shadow of one of the tree's trying to make it as dark as possible. She sighs as she messes up again and erases the lines, starting over on it.
Sometimes she compared herself to things, like a tree. She started out as a small little girl in this world, just like a little seed is planted in the ground, waiting to burst. But now, she was a brave girl, ready to fight anything and everything to stay alive, just like a tree grew up into a huge green plant, hard and ready to face Mother Nature.
'I think everyone is like that now,' she chuckles to herself. She continues to draw when she hears small footsteps approach her. She looks up and sees Scarlett with her little notebook and a box of crayons. Aria smiles at her younger sister.
"Hey, sis," she says. "Sit on down," she says, patting the patch of dirt next to her. Without hesitation, the child sits down and opens her notebook, beginning to color alongside her sister.
"I don't like Carol," she says, showing Aria the drawing she had completed before she came out. Aria raises an eyebrow at the demented mind of the six year old. It was Carol, hanging from the bedpost she slept in. Aria looks at her sister, a questioning look on her face. "She's trying to kill mommy so she can have daddy," she says, going back to the drawing.
Aria chuckles. "That's not happening any time soon, Scar," she says. "Probably never." She ruffles the kids head, who giggles in response.
The two sit in silence, each drawing their pictures. Of course, Aria's had more detail and accuracy then the little girl's but the crayon drawings were actually pretty good. Aria's favorite was the one of herself in the field. She probably drew that before she came out.
Aria looks over and notices the attire on the girl. She's wearing a t-shirt that said 'Scarlet: World's Greatest Kid,' some Capri pants, and something she hadn't seen in forever. Flip flops.
"Where did you get the flipflops, Scar?" she asks. Scarlett shrugs.
"Mama got them for me. Her and Mwaggie are going out to get some food in a while. They may have left." Aria nods. She had gotten used to her mother leaving for raids. She understood they needed to get out. But half the time she wondered if they just talked half the time. They were women after all.
"Let me see you're drawing," Aria says, peering over. Scarlett hands her the notebook and she stares at it, an amused look on her face. It was Scarlett with her hand out, but something was coming out of it. Snow, or some sort of powers.
"That's interesting," Aria chuckles. "Where did you get that from?"
"Myself."
"What do you mean yourself?" Aria asks, confused now. Scarlett smiles.
"Wanna see something?"
Anna and Maggie drove to the local department store to fetch the supplies that they needed, but on the way they talked like they were two teenagers in highschool.
"So, you're engaged to Glenn," Anna starts. "You seem to love him very much. But the real question is…how good is he in the sack?" Maggie burst out laughing gripping a big tighter onto the steering wheel. Anna starts to laugh too. "What? It's a serious question!" she laughs.
Maggie calms down enough to look at Anna with a bright grin on her face. "And why do you need to know that?" she chuckles. Anna shrugs, a grin on her face as well.
"Just thought I should know how good he is because I hear you two from a mile away," she chuckles, then staring to mimic the moans Maggie makes. Maggie groans and pushes Anna's shoulder, making her laugh, but she still continued on with the mocking. " 'Oh…oh…oh, Glenn…shit….oh…' " Maggie growls and turns fully to look at her.
"Stop!" she whines like a kid. Anna laughs, shaking her head.
"Fine…but you have to answer the question."
"Anna!"
"I'll keep going," she sang, twirling a piece of hair from her ponytail. Maggie looks back to the road and sighs, a slight grin coming over her face as she sighed in defeat.
"At first, he was…inexperienced. Very inexperienced. But now he's…pretty good." Anna laughs.
"'Pretty Good?' From the sound of your moans, it sounds more than 'pretty good!'" she yells. "It sounds like you get fucked by Jesus himself!" Maggie's face reddens as she snickers at that comment.
"Well, he's not Jesus, that's for sure. But he'll do. I do love him. Really. But he ain't Jesus." They turn quickly and are in front of the Target that they had found days prior. The mall wasn't the only place that had good shit now. They pull into a parking spot at the front and get out of the car. Anna pulls out her knife and Maggie hers. Guns just attract the sound. Knives were much better.
"You got the list?" Anna asks. Maggie nods, stepping into the open Target.
"Yeah," she says, tearing the list in half. "You get this stuff and I'll get the other?" Anna nods, both heading off in other directions. But both could hear each other from the other sides. It was as quiet as a snow storm, like the falling powder falling silently onto the ground.
Anna walks over to the food section and starts to pick out the food on the list, while grabbing a few items for herself and her family on the side. Maggie speaks from the clothing section.
"You know, I heard you grew up in the south. How come you have, like, no accent?" Anna chuckles.
"I did have one, but it kind of slipped away when I moved to New York for college. It still comes around every once and a while, though. Even though I've lived in New York for the past 12 years, I'm still a southerner at heart. One thing I missed was riding horses. I had one named Lila, and she was a fast one. I used to take her out on the fields and ride her for hours on end. When I wanted to get away from my house, I would take her out and ride her. My house was literally right near the fields, so I could just take her and go. I loved her."
"She gone?" she asks. Anna nods sadly.
"Passed away when I was 23," she says sadly. "But was with me since I was born. She was a close friend even though she was an animal," she says, chuckling slightly at the end. "I remember on some days after school, when my parents weren't home, I'd take Daryl with me back to my house and we'd ride the horses for hours. Lila loved him too. All my animals seemed to love him."
On the opposite side of the store, Maggie smirks to herself. "Ok, I've told you about Glenn, how about you tell me about you and Daryl? Maybe a little on your history." Anna chuckles nervously.
"There's nothing to tell," she says quickly. "He's been my friend for twenty years, been through a lot." Maggie snorts.
"Bullshit. It is so obvious you guys are in love. Everyone sees it. Including your own kids," she says. Anna chuckles.
"I do love him, just-"
"Not like that?" she says, mocking her words. "Still bullshit. You share a cell, I've seen you asleep in his arms. He's never like that with anyone, so tell me, what it up with you and Daryl?" Anna sighs and picks out the last of the food.
"Give me a minute." She places the food in her bag and takes a big swing of water. Putting it away, she walks over to the hygiene department to find Maggie looking at the medicine. Some of the kids had colds. They needed some cough medicine. "You really want to know?" she asks. Maggie nods.
"Yeah, I do," she says, her southern accent coming out. Ana sighs and rubs the back of her head slightly, causing Maggie to chuckle. Anna looks up with a raised eyebrow. "You even have the same hand gestures as him." The older girl chuckles.
"Yeah, I guess I do." She takes a deep breath and looks Maggie in the eyes. "Ok, so I met him in 4th grade, and we automatically became friends. Over the next five years, we became super close. We went to high school together and did almost everything-"
"Wait, isn't he like, five years older then you?" Maggie asks.
"He was left back a few times. I'm what kept him on track. The difference between me and a tutor was that he actually listened to me and did well in school. So the next few years, we became close. He was like one of the best friends I'd ever had. Then, the week after I turned fifteen…i…uh," she struggles, trying to get it out.
"What?" Maggie asks, genuinely concerned.
"I went to a party that this senior was having and it as fun…but the dude…he….I was raped." Maggie gasps, a hand going over her mouth. "And got pregnant with Ari. Daryl was the first person I told and he was just so…supportive. He wasn't even my boyfriend and I had no clue what to think. He was the person who told me not to go to party. But when it was my stupid mistake, he was actually there for me.
"So over the next nine months he helped me a lot, as did my parents, of course, but Daryl was the best. When Aria was born, he took care of her sometimes. He's so good with kids," she says, blushing slightly. "So good. The next few years passed and we got even closer, if possible. He and Aria were basically best friends by now. Then, I had college.
"When I told him I got accepted into NYU, he was mad at first, but then just sad and pissed off that he couldn't come with me and just…everything. I said I would talk to him all the time and we did. Aria stayed with my mother, and I talked to her everyday. The two people I loved the most I couldn't be near.
"So, in my sophomore year, I started to run everyday. I had an apartment by then because I couldn't stand the NYU dorms. I was running through the rain one day and stopped to get a bottle of water when I felt something pull on my leg, and I look down and there's Aria. I was so surprised forgot to pay for the water. I took her up in my arms and kissed her. And then I turned around and saw Daryl. He had actually come to New York, somehow, so he could see me.
"So, since I had flexible classes, Aria stayed with me, as did Daryl. And life started then. He became my roommate and took care of Aria when I was at classes. My mother was loaded, so we didn't have to worry about money or shit. He was always amazed that a rich girl like me could go for a hick like him. But I never cared.
"So after college, I already started to be in musicals. I was the original Wicked Witch in Wicked."
"No shit?" she asks. Anna nods, smiling.
"Yup. Then I got into another show that had a very bad director. Very bad and mean. And one day, he tried to rape me." Maggie's eyes widened.
"Really?" she asks. Anna nods. "They better be dead now."
"Yup, but I threatened him and he backed off. When I came home, Daryl was there, taking care of Aria. At this point, we were very close, and were about one step from tearing each other's clothes. So…when I came home, he comforted me, and…we had sex." Maggie grins.
"I knew it!" she says. Anna chuckles.
"Yes, we had sex, but…uh, that's what brought us Scarlett." Her eyes widen again.
"Scarlett's Daryl's kid?" she asks. Anna smiles wide, nodding. "He's a dad?" she asks, even more amazed. Anna looks down, laughing.
"Yeah, he is. And after I told him, of course he was around. And that's obviously when we started a relationship. So for three years, we were happily together and…in love," she says, sighing dreamily. Maggie chuckles.
"So what happened?" Anna snorts.
"We never really broke up, I was just mad at him. He left for a while to go take care of his dying father, who was nothing but an ass to him. Also to help his brother. I hadn't seen him for two years. We kept in contact all the time, but it just wasn't the same as waking up to him with his arms around me."
"That's a pretty stupid decision," Maggie comments. "Merle was an asshole." Anna laughs.
"I agree. But when all this happened, we decided to head down south and see what happened to my old house. And it was gone. So for the next year, we survived and lived. I taught my daughters how survive, and then Daryl found us."
"So are you two together?" Anna is silent for a second before nodding.
"We made up when we went to the mall. And…uh…" Anna's cheeks blush, and Maggie knew exactly what that means. She gasps, laughing slightly.
"You are on fire, aren't you?" she says. Anna smiles slightly.
"So we are together now, just haven't told really anyone. The only person who knows is Carl and that's because he and Ari talk a lot." The younger girl looks at her confused.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Anna groans.
"Because Carol," she simply says. "This woman wants to kill me because I am with him. She found out just because I was in his cell that he stayed in. She tried to kill me a month ago."
"She did?" she asks, her arms crossing over her chest.
"Yeah! She did, she cut my arms, but nothing else, because my SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER came to the rescue with a gun in her hand," she says, laughing bitterly. "That's why I wore long sleeve shirts for a while. But all I know is that she wants Daryl to herself even though, as you said, it's plain that he like me." Maggie nods.
"And why is that crazy bitch still at the prison?" she asks. Anna laughs. "Anna, we need to tell Rick and the council. This is bad." Anna nods.
"I want to, but-"
"But nothing. We don't need you dying because of some woman who wants your man. We're talking to them when we get back." Anna smiles at her friend.
"You're so awesome, do people tell you that?" Maggie laughs.
"Like I said, not letting you die over Carol. I thought she was good. I didn't know she would go crazy over Daryl being with someone. I thought they were friends."
"Daryl thinks this, but apparently not in Carol's demented mind." Maggie nods.
"So…how many times have you had sex since?" Anna groans.
"Maggie!" The girl laughs.
"Ok, I'm sorry, let's head back." The two walk to the car and hop into the seats. Maggie starts up the engine and starts to drive. Anna is silent for a few minutes before speaking.
"Five times," Anna mumbles. Maggie laughs, causing Anna's cheeks to turn red from embarrassment and memories. This girl would be the death of her.
Ok, this was longer then I thought It was going to be. Way longer. Holy shit. XD Anna and Maggie are literally turning into best friends just by having these conversations. It was so much fun to write. I might get a chapter up tomorrow, but it's a three day weekend, so there's a big possibility that there will be. But I need to sleep. XD Hope you enjoyed! Review!