A/N: This chapter contains smut. You've been warned.

"So what did you want to show me?"

Amelia glanced back over her shoulder, an excited glint in her eyes. "I saw an old diner out there, when I was out walking yesterday," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I didn't really want to go by myself. There's gotta be some food left there."

Amelia led Ben further into the woods, pushing aside branches and ducking under low-hanging limbs. The air was thick with the earthy smell of damp soil, punctuated by the occasional sound of leaves rustling in the breeze. After a few more minutes of walking, she paused and pointed to a building in the distance when they emerged from the treeline. "There! Up ahead!"

They approached the dilapidated building, its once colorful signage now faded and cracked, and peered through the grimy, cracked windows. The interior was a mess, with overturned tables and broken glass.

"Looks deserted," Amelia said. She walked up to the door and shook the handle. "Locked. Of course. Let's try the back door."

Ben took out the dull pocket knife he had found on a walker the other day. "Just be ready for anything," he told her. "We don't know what could be in there."

Amelia gave him a nod and took her knife out of its holster. "I'm right behind you."

Readying their weapons, the two teens crept around the building to the back door. Amelia tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. "This one's locked, too," she grunted, before turning to Ben. "Help me break it down."

They took a couple of steps back, bracing themselves. "On three," Amelia said. "One...two...three!"

With a powerful kick, the pair sent the door crashing open.

Ben anxiously glanced around for a moment. "Shit, that was loud. Let's get inside," he urged, stepping into the diner, Amelia half a step behind him.

Amelia clicked her flashlight as they walked down a dark hallway that led into the kitchen, which was a wreck as well - old, beat-up pots and pans strewn about. There were some tin cans sitting on the counter near one of the stoves. She picked one up. "Empty. Damn."

To their right was a swinging door to the dining area. The familiar yet overwhelming stench of decay was what hit them first as soon as they entered it.

Ben brought his hand to his face as he swallowed the bile rising in his throat Amelia doubled over and gagged. "You okay?" he asked her.

Amelia had a hand clasped over her mouth, doing her best not to vomit. "I'm fine," she replied, composing herself. "Ugh, you'd think I'd be used to that smell by now."

In the middle of the dining area were three dead bodies, decomposed beyond recognition, with rotting flesh melting from their bones.

Ben looked over the grisly scene before them. "W-What do you think happened here?"

"Who knows?" Amelia turned her attention to an air mattress and some sleeping bags in one corner of the room, empty cans littering the dirty, blood-stained tile floor. "But it looks like they were camping out in here for a while. Jesus...these poor people."

A heavy silence settled between them, dust motes dancing in the shafts of sunlight streaming through the windows. Amelia sighed, breaking the stillness. "Let's...let's just get them out of here and see what they had."

The two carefully lifted the bodies by their arms and legs and carried them out, one-by-one, through the front door, laying them out on the grass. Once all the bodies were cleared out, they began searching the dining area, not before pushing one of the tables against the backdoor, to keep any walkers from wandering in.

Amelia's gaze fell upon a pile of clothing in the corner. She picked up a denim jacket and held it out to Ben. "Hey, this looks like it might fit you. If we ever head up to Wellington, it might keep you warmer than what you've got on now."

Ben glanced down at his old letterman jacket, the last remnant of his old life. It was caked with dirt and dried blood and had a jagged tear in it from when it got snagged on a branch when they were running from walkers. As much as he hated to part ways with it, she had a point, and with a sigh, he unbuttoned it and cast it aside. "Yeah, you're right," he muttered, slipping into the denim jacket.

Amelia shot him a cheeky grin. "As usual. It looks good on you." She slipped a black weatherproof vest over the thin grey sweater she was wearing. "A little big, but it works."

She stooped down then and picked up a pistol that was lying on the floor next to a hiking backpack. She checked the chamber. "Only one bullet left," she said, handing it to Ben. "Might come in handy."

He took the gun and stuffed it in his jacket pocket. "Yeah..."

Kneeling beside her, Ben unzipped the backpack. "There are a few cans of food in here, but not much else. Definitely need a new backpack, though." Something caught his eye - a rolled up piece of paper tucked in the side pocket. "Wait, what's this?" He pulled it out and unfurled it. "A map?"

"A map?!" Amelia snatched it out of his hands. "Holy shit, lemme see that!"

She walked over to one of the booths, Ben trailing behind her, and spread the map across the table. After looking over it for a moment, her eyes brightened, a barely contained smile tugging at her cheeks. "It's a map to Wellington!"

"No way." Ben leaned closer, peering over her shoulder. "Seriously?"

"So we're here," Amelia began, pointing to Georgia on the map. "Near-ish to Glennville." She traced her finger along a line drawn on the map, leading up to Ohio, near the Michigan border. "Looks like they were going to take the main highways, looping around the major cities. This seems like the quickest and safest route."

She turned to Ben, beaming. "This is awesome! This could be our ticket out of here!"

Ben folded the map back up and tucked it into the backpack. "Yeah...now we just have to convince your dad somehow."

Amelia nodded confidently. "Don't worry, I can deal with him." She looked around the diner then, her face falling when her gaze landed on the few unopened cans of food in the backpack. "So...that's it, huh?"

"Hold on," Ben said, glancing toward the kitchen. "There's one more place we didn't check - the walk-in freezer. Think there's anything in there?"

Amelia shrugged. "I wouldn't get my hopes up. But it's worth a shot, I guess."

Raising their weapons, they made their way back to the kitchen and approached the walk-in freezer with caution. Ben and Amelia exchanged a quick glance, and taking a deep breath, Amelia pulled open the freezer door, its hinges groaning in protest.

Inside, the freezer was packed with boxes, bags, and cans of food. A sense of disbelief washed over the two teens.

"Shit...it's like a fuckin' goldmine!" Amelia exclaimed.

Ben looked inside, his eyes widening as he took in the sight. "This could last us for weeks."

They began sifting through the cans arranged on the shelves. "There's all kinds of stuff here," Amelia said. "Chili, soup, peaches, pears..." She screwed her face up when she read the next label. "Ugh, Spaghetti-Os? I fucking hate Spaghetti-Os."

Ben shrugged. "It's either that or starve."

Amelia placed some cans in the backpack. "I think I'd rather fucking starve. Not even the walkers would eat that shit."

Ben smiled and shook his head, before zipping up the backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright, I think that's all I can carry." They stepped out of the freezer, Ben nudging the door shut behind them. "We can come back for the rest later."

Amelia took his hand, their fingers intertwining. "We make a good team, don't we?" She smiled up at him.

Amelia let out a surprised squeak when Ben leaned down to press a quick kiss to her lips. "Yeah, we do."

They were about to head out the door and return to their camp, when Amelia hesitated, biting her lip self-consciously. "You know...we don't have to go back to camp right now. We had a great haul today, so why don't we, um...celebrate?"

Ben's stomach flipped as a flush crept up his face when he realized what she was implying. "Oh."

Amelia nodded eagerly, her cheeks flushing with color as well. "Yeah."

"Here? Now?"

"O-Only i-if you want to."

Ben nervously shuffled closer to her. "I want to. I-I just think you should know that I'm, uh..."

Amelia quirked a brow, her arms encircling his shoulders. "A virgin? I know. Don't worry about it."

Standing on her tip-toes, Amelia pressed her lips against his. Ben's arms wrapped around her waist as he responded with the same fervor she was, holding her steadfast against him. Her arms tightened around his neck, pulling him closer.

The next minute or so was a blur. The two of them had quickly helped each other out of their clothes, stripping down to their underwear.

The air mattress dipped beneath their weight as their bodies made contact with it. Ben was above Amelia, gripping her hips as he kissed her fiercely. Amelia's fingers were etangled in his chestnut hair, bringing his face closer so that their kisses could deepen.

She smiled to herself when she heard him groan at this, tangling her fingers further into his hair. Tilting her head a bit, she pushed her tongue into his mouth, and Ben happily complied by adding his to the mix, causing her to moan lowly.

Amelia pulled away from him suddenly, and in one swift movement, she flipped him over so she was on top of him, smirking at his surprised look. She reached back and locked eyes with him as she fiddled with the clasp of her bra, Ben's heart skipping a bit faster as soon as he heard the click of her bra being unclasped. She shrugged it off and let it fall to the floor. Ben couldn't seem to tear his eyes off of her. He drank in the sight of the beautiful girl hovering over him, blonde tresses spilling over her shoulders. Never in a million years did he think he'd get a girl like her, but there she was, showing herself to him.

Ben's hands traveled up her stomach to cup her breasts. Amelia sighed and arched into him when he dragged his thumbs across her nipples, feeling them peak and harden at his touch. She ground her hips against his, feeling his stiffness against her leg, which caused a warbled moan from somewhere deep in his throat escape him.

Leaning forward, Amelia kissed along his neck as her fingers traveled into his boxers. When she found his member, she clutched it, not at all surprised by his arousal. She smiled when he groaned at her fingers stroking it gently, before hissing out shakily, bucking against her.

She stopped for a moment and reached to the hem of his boxers, tugging them off. Amelia looked at him, buck naked before her, before grinning wolfishly and continuing stroking his hardened length. Ben felt his stomach coil, biting his tongue so as to not cry out at the sensations. He bucked his hips in time to each pump, increasing his peaking pleasure. Amelia smiled at the look of ecstasy on his face, eyes closed as he tried to control himself, sweat rolling down his temple.

Amelia stood then. Ben watched as she bit her lip and slid her panties down her legs. He swallowed at the sight before him, eyes scouring her body. Amelia crawled high up on the mattress, hovering over Ben's pelvis. Despite her extreme want to do this, she was shaking with nervousness, as was he. Ben's pulse was racing in his ears and he was sure his heart was beating so loudly that she could hear it. Nevertheless, he locked eyes with her and nodded, signifying that he was ready.

The only sound in the room as the two of them became one was the quiet, almost inaudible gasp that escaped both their lips simultaneously.

Amelia lowered herself onto Ben until he was buried to the hilt. He sincerely hoped she was enjoying this as much as he was.

Amelia planted her hands on either side of him, slowly moving up and down. He bucked his hips against hers, meeting her each time. She heard him groan from beneath her, her movements quickening. Ben bucked his hips faster, matching her rhythm, each thrust more eager than the last.

Amelia suddenly gave a soft moan, her walls clenching around his length tightly as she hit her peak, riding out each wave of pleasure with a shaky thrust from Ben.

Ben followed shortly afterwards. He could feel the tension building within him as he drove desperately into her, sweat glistening on his forehead. "M-Mel," he groaned, his toes curling as the tension in his body began to unravel. "O-Oh my g-god, AMEPHPH," Ben moaned into her mouth as she pressed her lips to his, filling her completely, slowing his thrusts as he came down from his high.

Amelia collapsed next to Ben, who was gasping for breath. His mind was spinning. It felt as though he was suffocating for a few seconds. She smiled and snuggled up against his chest. "Sorry about that," she began, prompting Ben to open his eyes and look at her. "When you started to cum, you got kinda loud."

"Oh...right," Ben replied. "I...that was...wow." He looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I-I'm sorry if that sucked."

Amelia laughed and pressed a kiss to his chest. "No way, you did good for your first time. My first time was in the backseat of a car in the school parking lot. Now that sucked. And it was kind of annoying 'cause I lost my virginity to someone I didn't even like that much. But..."

Amelia slid her leg along his, tangling their limbs together. "I think I love you."

"I-you-what?" Ben sputtered, his heart doing a little backflip. His brain seemed to short circuit as it processed what she just said to him.

Amelia frowned slightly as she studied his face. Had she ruined everything? Then he drew closer and pressed his lips to hers. Slowly, sensually.

Ben pulled away after a short while. "I love you, too," he told her.

Her green eyes shimmering with emotion, Amelia buried her face in the crook of his neck, threw her arm across his chest, and hugged him tightly.

The two lay in silence for a few minutes, snuggled up together, before Amelia spoke up. "Let's get dressed and head back to camp before they start wondering where we are."

The late afternoon sun sat low in the sky when the two teens returned to their camp, the spoils from their scavenging trip in tow.

"Hey! You made it back!" Marie called out, her face lighting up as she spotted them. "What did you find?"

"We wouldn't believe the haul we got," Amelia grinned, plopping the backpack down on the ground. "We found this old diner full of food - this is all we could carry, there's so much more back there - and that's not all..."

Amelia reached down pull the map out of the side pocket. Todd and Leland emerged from behind one of the tents, their expressions a mix of curiosity and excitement.

"We found a map with a route to Wellington!" Amelia continued, unfolding the piece of paper. "See, if we stay on the main roads, nothing can sneak up on us!"

"Let me see that," Todd said, taking the map from her and looking it over, Marie and Leland peering at it from either side of him.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Marie exclaimed.

"It'll take months for us to get up there on foot, though," Leland added. "Unless we somehow find a working car. It ain't gonna be easy."

Todd nodded in agreement. "Right. We'll need some time to prepare and plan things out."

"So we're going?" Amelia looked to her father hopefully. He folded the map and gave it back to her.

"Yeah," he replied. "Let's just wait a few weeks for the weather to warm up a bit. We got more than enough food to last us 'til then."

Ben and Amelia exchanged relieved smiles. Things were finally beginning to look up for their group.