School

What if Lilly was the leader of the Boarding School? Submitted by Mr_Giancarlo on AO3

Lilly frowned as Clarissa checked Alvin Jr over, the boy had been particularly insistent that they call him that. Sighing through her nose, she looked over at Marlon and Sophie, "So, you found him and his caretaker in a crashed car."

Sophie nodded, as Marlon shifted uncomfortably, "We made sure they were alive and not bitten."

Lilly frowned, "Did you check for any identifying marks on their stuff?"

The silence from the pair told her everything she needed to know, "You both know that dangers of taking people from hostile groups. What if she was part of the Saviors or the New Frontier or even those CRM nuts traders have talked about."

"We checked after she got here." Mumbled Marlon, getting sigh from Lilly.

"Right," She looked around, "I'm going to check on our… guest, Louis," the dreadlocked boy perked up, "watch Alvin."

Louis nodded, prompting Lilly to head towards the dorms.

"So," Louis looked down at Alvin, "ever seen a piano?"

S

Lilly passed Violet and Minerva as she went to the infirmary/English office. She'd arrived here a couple years after separating with her original group, after they left her on the side of the road. Of course, she did act irrationally, killing Carley and outing Lee's secret to everyone, despite them already knowing. She remembered how Clementine looked at her, with so much fear in her eyes.

She'd bumped into Vince and his group, as well as two women, Christa and Jane. Vince's group knew Jane, with Bonnie and Mike being wary of her. That was when she first found out that some of them knew Clementine, and Lilly felt some hope fill her. Only for Jane to mention fighting Kenny and the man almost killing her, because she pretended to have killed a baby to 'prove' to Clementine that Kenny was dangerous.

Lilly had stumbled across Kenny, dead and reanimated, dragging himself along the ground. When she looked at him, she just felt empty, she didn't fee rage or sorrow or even a little bit of joy. Just empty.

"She hasn't woken up." Christa's voice made Lilly jump, "I did take stock of her injuries though."

"And?"

"She's got the New Frontier's mark branded into her arm." Said Christa, crossing her arms, "But, hers had line through it. Like she took a knife to it."

"Maybe she left them." Said Lilly, as they entered the room Clementine was in and looking down at her, "How long's it been since the trials started?"

"Eight years," Answered Christa, "according to Aasim, anyway."

"She looks older than that." Said Lilly, looking down as Clementine contorted in her sleep, "I really hope that's not her turning."

Christa frowned, before spotting the source of the contorting, "She's awake."

Lilly frowned, before noticing Clementine had suddenly gone still, spotting that Clementine was looking at them through her eyelashes.

"Wow." Clementine's voice sounded older than sixteen, "I must've really hit my head."

"Why's that?" Asked Christa, as Clementine finally got her wrist free.

"Because I'm seeing dead people." Groaned Clementine, before hissing and grabbing her leg.

"We're not dead, Clementine." Said Lilly, as Clementine sluggishly sat up.

"Yeah, you are," Retorted Clementine, "you were left on the side of the road after you shot Carley."

"And me?" Asked Christa, folding her arms, "Why would I be dead?"

"The only sane conclusion." Muttered Clementine, standing up, blacking out for a second and sitting back down, "The last time I saw you, you were surrounded by guys, and I heard a gunshot."

Christa slapped Clementine, "Still think you're hallucinating?"

Clementine blinked, "Nope."

Rolling her eyes, Lilly helped Clementine up, "Are you with a group?"

"Not anymore." Clementine shook her head, "I just kept moving."

"Where'd Alvin come from?" Asked Christa, frowning.

"A group I ran into right after I got separated from you." Answered Clementine, "We didn't get along at first, but after getting stuck together, we started to like each other. Then we ran into Kenny's group and—"

"Wait," Christa interjected, "Kenny's alive?"

"No," Answered Clementine, "but, going back to what I was saying, the guy Rebecca, AJ's mom, and her group were running from caught up, everyone was taken back to his community. Kenny got his eye beaten out and we escaped through a Walker herd. We lost a lot of people, half of Rebecca's original group and Kenny's girlfriend. The day after, we lost another, before we lost Rebecca, and then we lost the last member of Rebecca's old group. Then in fighting started and the remainder of the group ended up splitting." Clementine let out a sigh, "Soon, it was just me, Kenny, AJ and a woman called Jane. Jane said she'd killed AJ, just to get Kenny to blow his top, which he did, and he ended up killing her."

Lilly and Christa shared a look, deciding to wait a bit before telling Clementine that Jane was still alive.

"Kenny and I made it to a place called Wellington, but they weren't taking anyone in, so we left and," Clementine swallowed, "I got Kenny killed."

"How?" Frowned Lilly, while Christa scowled.

"He was teaching me to drive and I lost control of the car." Said Clementine, "I drove over some ice, skidded and crashed into a tree. Kenny went through the wind shield."

Lilly and Christa blinked.

"Was…" Lilly had to stop and think about what she was going to say, "Was he wearing his seatbelt?"

Clementine was silent.

S

"They can't stay." Argued Mitch, getting a nod from Violet.

"Why?" Asked Louis, as Lilly nursed her headache, "They could help around here."

"We don't have the resources." Said Shel, as Becca glared at Clementine, "And… she's dangerous."

"But Bill was a nutcase." Argued Russell, glancing at Clementine, "Besides, for all we know, things could've changed."

"How?" Demanded Becca, turning her glare on Russell, "What could've changed that now makes her trustworthy?"

"Clementine could be an asset." Said Jane, as Mike and Bonnie glanced at her, "She's able to make tough calls when needed."

"She let you be stabbed." Said Becca, bluntly.

Clementine, while keeping a hand on AJ's shoulder, looked out of the school and into the forest. Part of her was screaming for them to get moving, while another part of saying that they should stay.

"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Asked Tenn, looking at them, "Then we can decide."

"All in favour of them leaving?" Asked Lilly, looking around at them. Shel and Becca raised their hands almost immediately, followed by Bonnie, Mitch, Minerva, Sophie, Violet, Aasim, Ruby, Brody, and, reluctantly, Christa.

Sighing, Lilly looked around again, "All in favour of them staying?" Louis's hand shot up, with Tenn, mike, Clarissa, Jane, Marlon, Vince, Russell, Wyatt, Omar and Willy following him.

"Looks like you're the tie breaker." Shrugged Christa, as Clementine murmured something to AJ.

Lilly frowned, before glancing at Clementine and then at AJ. She couldn't help but see Lee and a younger Clementine. She remembered when Lee was the tie breaker and now she understood why he took so long to decide on things, he was thinking things through. Sighing, Lilly looked at the group, "Stay."

S

Becca frowned as Clementine examined a crashed car. They had a low yield of animals caught in their traps, so Clementine had suggested that they go to the station where Marlon had founded her and AJ.

"What are you doing?" Demanded Violet, frowning at Clementine.

"I'm trying to see how bad the damage is." Answered Clementine, "And if I can get it unlocked."

"Why?"

Clementine pulled her head out of the window, "Because there's guns in the trunk, jackass."

Violet bristled, as Clementine ducked back into the car.

"Aha!" Clementine yelled, as she unlocked the car, "Right, hopefully, none of the bottles have cracked."

"What's in them?" Asked Becca, as Clementine pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the trunk.

"Alcohol and weapons." Said Clementine, "All useless without water, pots and ammunition. There should be more inside, I'll join you in a moment."

Violet and Becca shared a look, before disappearing into the station, Clementine grabbed a sawn-off shotgun and stuffed it into her waistband. It wasn't loaded, but that was for her to know.

"How come none of that fell out when you opened the trunk?" Lilly's voice made Clementine jump.

"Jesus." Swore Clementine, "They were in a hidden compartment. All this was already in the car when we took it."

Lilly hummed, as they heard muffled yelling, "Alright, let's see what the girls have gotten themselves in to."

S

"Did you really need to push him into those Walkers?" Asked Violet, making Clementine and Lilly stop walking.

"Look, one of two things will happen," Said Clementine, turning around, "he'll either be devoured by the Walkers, meaning he won't report back to whoever he reports to, or, he'll be delayed by those Walkers and we'll have more time to plan for whoever comes looking."

Lilly frowned, she remembered Clementine not wanting steal from or hurt people. Now, it almost seems like it'd become second nature for her.

"What if—" Becca was silenced by a look from Lilly.

"Clem," Lilly got Clementine's attention, "Christa said you had the New Frontier's mark on your arm."

"I was with them for a bit." Shrugged Clementine, "I didn't see eye-to-eye with them on some things… one of them being AJ. But, they've reorganised, stopped raiding and all that."

"Really?" Asked Lilly, as they started walking again.

"Yeah, I had planned on going back to Richmond after I got AJ back, but…" Clementine sighed, "But, I heard from some New Frontier guys that a war had started. I wasn't willing to put AJ at risk."

"So, instead, you crashed a car." Muttered Violet, "Figures."

Clementine rolled her eyes, before slowing down.

"What is it?" Asked Lilly, watching Clementine frown.

Clementine was silent, before shaking her head, "It's nothing."

S

Over the past two weeks, Clementine and AJ had integrated with their community quite well, with Clementine, Mitch and Minerva running a little competition on who could kill the most Walkers. Which actually led them to meet James, after Clementine's shot narrowly missed his head. The only people who were still against Clementine and AJ staying were Becca and Bonnie, although Clementine brought up Bonnie and Mike splitting from one of her groups. Clementine had asked them about someone called Arvo, but neither Bonnie nor Mike were willing to answer her. Clementine and Mitch were able to get one of the school's old buses to work, which Clementine suggested that they keep in working order in case the school were to fall. Lilly had agreed to it but told Clementine that she couldn't drive because they'd all seen her 'parking'.

Lilly grunted, the guy that Clementine pushed into the Walkers, Abel, had survived and brought his group to the school. Becca had tried to use it as proof that Clementine couldn't be trusted, until Clementine managed to nail one of Abel's guys in the head.

Lilly was currently wrestling a heavy-set woman, in the corner of her eye, she saw they were taking the kids. Marlon took out a raider, freezing when he saw that the guy was dead. Across the yard, she heard someone get kicked off the balcony of the admin building.

James, while a pacifist and refusing to harm any people, worked on getting the imprisoned kids out. Lilly finally managed to overpower the woman she was wrestling with, before grabbing Clementine's shotgun, the girl having dropped it in the chaos, and shot the woman in the gut.

Lilly, discarding the empty weapon, looked over at the balcony, seeing an unconscious Abel and Clementine fighting a guy with a New Frontier brand on his neck. Lilly froze when she saw him plunge a machete into a Walker and slashed at Clementine's leg with the tainted weapon. Watching the girl yell and grab her leg, before AJ shot the guy in the back.

The air grew quiet, letting Lilly take stock of their situations. Wyatt, Russell, Mike, Marlon and Sophie were dead, Violet had been blinded in one eye, Brody had a bloody gashed running down her face and Clementine had been stabbed in the leg with a tainted weapon.

Gurgling reached her ears, Lilly looked down at the man, as Clementine shakily stood up. Clementine glared down at the man, "Leaving you alive was a mistake."

The man coughed up blood, as Clementine sighed through her nose, keeping her weight off her injured leg, before she picked up the tainted machete and brought it down on the man's head.

Clarissa, having only received minor injuries, rushed over, barking orders at the others, preparing to remove Clementine's infected leg. Lilly stopped Christa from going over to Clementine, as the girl started downing the six half-bottles of whiskey.

"Do you think that'll work?" Asked Christa, as Minerva used her axe to sever Clementine's leg.

"Hopefully." Answered Lilly, as Clementine passed out.

S

Lilly tried not to wince as the Javi guy that Clementine knew let out a low whistle, "I think I came here with my team."

"That's nice." Said Lilly, as one of Javi's guys looked at the guy that stabbed Clementine.

Javi stared at the corpse, before sighing, "I'd hoped that David wouldn't've gotten involved in any fighting after he left."

"You knew him?" Asked Christa, getting a nod from Javi.

"Clem did too, they didn't see eye to eye, especially where AJ's concerned." Said Javi, "He was my brother, he let the world change him until none of us recognised them. Clem had a thing for Gabe, I think she still does, by the looks of it."

Lilly looked over at Clementine, the girl was laughing with a guy in an orange beanie, "Huh, I thought she'd been getting close to Louis."

"Well, Gabe's gonna be in Richmond, so who knows." Shrugged Javi, "Maybe Clem will come with us, maybe Clem will stay here."

Lilly found herself nodding, "I think… she'll make her decision based on what her boy does."

The two leaders silent watched at AJ ran up to Clementine holding an animal, "Is that a racoon?"

They watched as Clementine took the animal, before AJ ran off somewhere. The two continued to watch things, seeing Clementine get up using her crutches and look towards AJ.

"AJ, show me what you have." Yelled Clementine, a frown forming on her face.

"A knife!"

"NO!"