Glenn's POV

"-don't understand!"

"Rennie, I was a doctor too. I'm pretty sure I know how things are done," Ben dismissed the enraged yelling coming from her brother.

"And let me make something clear!" Rennie ignored Ben, shouting over him. "No one calls me Rennie except my sister, NO ONE!"

"Shh, kid, calm down," T-dog's voice boomed nervously.

"Calm down?! You want me to calm down?! You guys just knocked my sister out!"

"We did what we had to do. She wouldn't have survived getting thrown out there," Shane's snappy voice grouched.

"We could have drawn blood from her without needles, you know," I argued passive-aggressively, glancing down at the girl in my arms. Her pale complexion hadn't disappeared.

"Oh really? She's terrified of needles, how on earth would we draw blood from her without stabbing her?"

"Boys," Lori intervened, trying to calm us down.

"You're not my mom, and you're sure as hell not in charge of me, with all respect Mrs. Grimes," Ren snapped back, making me snort at the last bit.

"Rennie!" Ben snapped at the boy, giving him a disapproving glare.

"What'd I just say about calling me Rennie?!"

"If you three don't shut your mouths within the next three seconds, you'll be next," Shane threatened, towering over the little boy more than he towered over Ben and me. Rick grabbed Shane's shoulder, holding him back and tugging him back to stand next to his family again.

"Assholes," Aren growled, fury radiating off of him. Oh god, I wish Arlynn was awake right now.

"Language!" multiple voices chorused, snapping at him.

We eventually entered a dining room that was next to the kitchen. A chair was near the end and I placed the still-unstirring girl on it. Dr. Jenner stopped me.

"Why not put her in one of the rooms?" I shook my head vehemently as I subconsciously pulled the girl closer.

"She's one of us, she sticks to us," Daryl gruffly placed his crossbow next to the girl. We stared at him as he disappeared towards the kitchen to raid it with other people. Guess there is a softer side to Daryl after all.

"Doctor," Ben interrupted whatever Jenner was going to say next, a cold glint in his eyes as coolness radiated off of him, matching Rennie's fiery demeanor. "A word in private, would you please?"

The two disappeared back into the hallway where we had come from, leaving us to scour the place for something to eat. Rennie- no, Aren- reappeared moments later with a small can, looking at me sheepishly.

"Hey uh, could you help me get this cooked?" he handed the can out to me and I stared at him for a moment before smiling.

"Sure," I glanced at the can and saw it was potato soup from Campbell's. "What's with the sudden can soup?"

"I don't know how to cook anything and she'll need to eat," Aren picked at his fingers, staring at his sister with a wistful and lost expression. He suddenly glanced around us as if to check if anyone was near us before tugging me closer to him. It was as if we were conspiring something, how we were huddled up.

"What's up, ranger?" I whispered, sensing the sudden change of mood. He looked nervous and hesitant, but in a flash, determination shone through them.

"I think someone other than me should know about what's going on," Aren whispered quickly, nervousness peeping through again.

"Me?" I felt my eyes widen unconsciously. "Wha- why me?"

"She trusts you more than Ben, and I trust you as equally as Ben," the boy shrugged, sighing. "Plus, we kinda owe you a lot."

"Owe me? For what?" I was absolutely baffled by this kid.

"Saving Ben. Saving my sister multiple times. And the Cho rule goes, if someone saves one of us, all of us owe them," Aren established, waving away my questions. "To the important points. I-"

"Wait!" I clamped my hand over the boy's mouth. "Sorry, but I want to hear her story from her, not from someone else."

The boy nodded, and I hesitantly took my hand back. He stared at me in disbelief before shaking his head slowly from side to side.

"Wow," he finally blurted out, still shaking his head slowly.

"What now?" I huffed, feeling unnerved by his constant unpredictable behavior.

"Well, I thought you'd grasp the chance to know. Ben wanted to know and asked me behind Lynnie's back," the eleven year old or twelve-year-old stared at his sister, an unreadable expression on his face. "I had to tell him, no, but I've seen my sister treat you differently. I thought you'd want to know and do anything to know."

"I'm not like that," I glanced down the hall Jenner and Ben had disappeared to before turning to the boy in front of me. "It's her right, and she should be the one to tell the story."

The boy turned to me with a curious expression, wide eyed and innocent. I couldn't help but remember my sisters and placed a hand on his shoulder, bending to his eye level.

"If someone ever asks you to tell her story, never tell them, no matter what. It's not your story to tell, it's hers," I emphasized with a grin. He nodded quietly, a small smile coming to view for the first time in front of me.

"-other?!" I heard a voice, unmistakably Ben's shouting. I heard slamming and grunting from the hall where the voice had come from. I glanced at Rennie's frown before standing up.

"Stay here," I gave him a firm look before walking down the ominous hallway and coming face to face with a sight I never expected. Ben had Dr. Jenner pinned against the wall, holding the front of his gown. His eyes contained a fury that I'd never noticed anyone with. A snarl formed on his face, growling.

"I was asking a legitimate question that could explain her terror of needles."

"That doesn't matter!" Ben proceeded to slam Dr. Jenner against the wall again. "What does matter is that you broke the rule of privacy! She would never destroy herself like that. Not when she had a younger brother to take care of. Not when her older brother had to give up everything to take care of her so she could make it to a college and to a university."

"The boy is her family," Dr. Jenner argued. "He had a right to know if-"

"Yeah, well, guess what? That boy is just a boy!"

"Ben." A firm voice sounded from behind me, a softly husky but bright melody. I didn't have to turn around to see that it was her. "Put the man down."

"No," Ben snapped, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was grabbing Dr. Jenner's gown. "He had no right to violate you like that. Especially in front of the others and Ren."

"Bennett. I won't ask you again," Arlynn grounded out from behind, her firm voice echoing through the hall. The man growled in response, shaking violently as if about to snap and pounce on anyone near him.

"Dr. Jenner? Ben?" Lori called out, approaching us from a distance.

"Ben!" Arlynn hissed frantically, making the man groan before he reluctantly let go of the doctor. Lori walked in just as Dr. Jenner smoothed out his gown. She looked pleasantly surprised at the sight of Arlynn on her feet, although she was still severely pale. Lori smiled brightly at us all, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Dinner is about to be served. I hope you don't mind us raiding your kitchen and pantry, doctor," Lori added, turning around and disappearing from sight again. We stood in an awkward silence, tension still present but everyone simply ignoring it. We'd be fine for now.

"Glenn and I are going to help with dinner. Join us when you guys are calm enough to be gentlemen." Arlynn snapped, glancing at me quickly. She lightly pushed my back, heading towards the direction Lori had gone before abruptly halting. I barely had time to look at her in question when a harsh slap echoed. The small girl was standing in front of the doctor with her back to me.

"I never willingly ingested any type of chemical in me. Apologize to my brother."

And with that, she pivoted on her foot, grabbing my hand and practically dragging me out of there. Her eyes were stormy and distant, and I knew instinctively that she was getting lost in the past again. I squeezed her hand enough to show her that I was still here. Her eyes lit up in question, capturing me wholly again before understanding came through. A warmth I never knew or heard of before engulfed me, all from a single look from the girl in front of me. She smiled and just like that, I found myself smiling with her unconsciously. The world fell in a thud around me, and I realized with a start that I was doomed.

I, Glenn Rhee, had fallen for this fierce girl.

Oh, f-