Clementine and Louis joined the throng of late risers making their way to breakfast. She thought this is what school must have felt like, chattering without a care in the world. When the walkers came Clem was only in the first grade. Despite all of the liveliness, Louis never strayed from her sight.
AJ was patrolling the courtyard and once he noticed her, his eyes lit up "Clementine!"
She hugged her favorite goofball and said "Good morning kiddo. Morning patrol huh?"
"Yup". He replied "Having a home means protecting it".
Rosie barks in agreement with AJ.
Breakfast? Delicious. She enjoyed the warm meal with everyone. One of Violet's eyes was regaining sight, so she needed less help. Which was good Violet was really uncomfortable relying on other people.
Clem couldn't help but laugh when she thought about it. Clementin and Violet = one pirate. Arrggh. Ha! Shockingly, surviving made you a look on the bright side of life. Yes you'd swear like a sailor but you'd have to figure it out somehow if you wanted to live. One battle and two life changing injuries. There was more between the two girls. A piece of flint that only needed a bit of manipulation to spark a passion. So why didn't the flint break a spark? Where was the romance? What happened?
AJ's slurping brought Clementine back to reality. Omaar's cooking was tasty. Clem was no connoisseur but whatever this recipe of warm sludge was, was all over AJ's face.
"AJ" Clementine groaned. AJ gave her a quizzical look.
Clem couldn't help but laugh "AJ, manners".
Clementine looks to Ruby. Ruby can get so grossed out by his lack of manners that she snaps on AJ, really hurting the little guy's feelings.
"It's alright". Ruby concedes "As long as most of the food is getting in his mouth, I ain't got much reason to complain".
"Thanks Ruby." Clem says.
"Woah buddy" Louis says, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping AJ's face. "Now one thing I gotta teach you is manners. Ladies love a man with manners".
He winks at Clementine, devilishly handsome. AJ bickers with Louis about girls, or eating or something, That little wink set her face on fire. She smiled to herself, whatever this feeling was she wanted to keep it all to herself. While keeping Louis right beside her on the picnic bench. Did that make sense?
"See look at Clem AJ". Louis gestures grandly to Clementine "This fine lady doesn't have a lick of food on her and see how radiantly beautiful she is?". Louis sighs, places his head in his palm to look lovingly up at Clem. "Really, am I the luckiest guy in the world or what?"
Violet rolls her eyes "You sure stayed on topic with that one Lou. Now the kid'll keep his elbows off the table".
"Can you blame me Vi?" sending heart beams from his eyes to Clementine's. He continues,
"Just, look at her". Clementine scoffs , plays with her hair, does anything to play cool but her gaze always returns to Lou's.
Violet rolls her wounded eyes as hard as the injury allows and groans. She stands up , picks up her bowl. "What they're trying to say AJ, is learn some manners. It'll make everybody happy".
"Okay" AJ responds "I knew that . . . am I really that bad?".
As best as she can with one foot to balance on, Clementine leans over the table to rub AJ's head. "AJ she's not wrong. Now that we're safe, I should teach you some table mann-WAAA- AGGHH!". Clementine loses her balance. The picnic bench restrains her legs and makes it impossible to regain balance. Louis grabs her waist. She crashes onto his lap and an oomph. She nearly knocks him off of the bench.
Clementine is plain embarrassed. Louis's emotions are a vivid swirl. Thankfully the food is safe
She landed on him, hard. First she was wobbling, no good. He reached out for her. He didn't mean to push her into his lap. However, now that she was there, holy crap. She was so warm. And soft. His hand dwarfed her waist. He didn't think he had big hands. Big hands? No. Dependable hands? Hell yes. Louis had a good grip, swinging something like 'chairles' around calloused his hands while tickling the ivories kept his fingers limber. Louis really never thought about them, his hands. Until they held her waist. Instinctively he ran his hand up and down her waist. She had this curve to her like a violin. But a curve of a girl, not of tempered wood.
Although the initial impact kinda hurt, now that she was settled in his lap, oh god.
He and Marlon used to talk about girls. Marlon and Brody had a thing going on for a while. So sometimes during dinner or in the morning before they scavenged the safe zones for food, Marlon would forget himself as leader, as culprit, leaned into the comforting humor of his best friend, and would brag.
The boy's locker room talk rushed to Louis's mind now. Clem was unforgivably soft. Every ounce of her was on his thigh and felt like a big warm pillow. Could he squeeze her? Her body fit right between his arms. His heart was doing cartwheels. If he thought her hands were burning him this morning, she was melting him like candle wax now. "Louis!"
Clementine shrieks, as if they're in a life-or-death situation "I am so sorry. So so sorry".
She rushes to get off of him, placing her hand at the apex of his thigh to apply pressure to leverage herself off of him. Louis's eyes bulge. Incredible, just great. This was just too much. What the fuck was up with today? He may have been more sensitive than usual but he had to take advantage of this bumbling blushing Clementine. She literally fell into his lap.
Louis bearhugged Clementine and she plopped back onto him. Louis growled like a bear, for effect.
"Oh freaking christ, LOUIS" Clementine scrambles off the boy "Oh my cuddleyy wuvey bear" Louis teases, "Don't be shy, get back here!" AJ and Willy laugh at their shenanigans. She can't stand another second of this atmosphere. She picks up her crutches as fast as she can shouting "I'm going hunting"
Louis reminds her to pair up Aasim, no leaving Ericson alone.
"Always go in pairs" AJ agrees.
Well Louis really turned that around in his favor. He was feeling one hundred percent less hot and bothered and one thousand percent more normal.
"Worry not AJ I will show you the ways of tabling and, mannering. Just to be safe". Louis gives Willy a sharp glance. "Wouldn't hurt you to learn either".
Willy picks up his bowl and sticks his tongue out at the older boy before leaving the table. AJ and Louis finish their meals and carry their, and Clementine's bowls to the washing station. Can't blame the girl for her hasty exit after a fall like that. She has her pride. And getting used to one leg
Louis had to admit, she got them out of a complicated situation. He wasn't gonna hold up much longer if she kept squirming in his lap, making all those little frustrated sounds. He was putting on a show, keeping it PG for the kids. Inside, Clementine straddling him raced through his mind.
He imagined she would hold him between her legs like those blankets from earlier. And he could feel just how tight . .
Really! Louis was impressed with himself. He was a cool cucumber for staying composed under such titillating circumstances. Still, he felt a little let down. He really got to see a different side of his girlfriend and she was adorable. Obviously, everything she did was lovable. Especially kicking walker ass. Alas this wouldn't be the last time he'd see that big sexy dope so he tried not to fret.
When Louis looked down he noticed, he wasn't feeling down at all.
"Sorry AJ i'll be right back? Yeah right back."
AJ was confused, wasn't Louis going to teach him some manners? "Where are you going Louis?"
"Uhh well, I gotta go to the bathroom, gimme a sec kay?"
"Well I have to go too, can I come with-"
"Privacy AJ, just 15 minutes and ill be back, promise!".
Clementine and Aasim caught a decent amount of rabbits. She may have lost a leg but she still had two arms. Being stationary was an added benefit. She didn't make enough noise to scare off the rabbits or to attract walkers. Aasim was glad to have a hunting partner who was actually hunting. Not discovering some innovative way to goof off, or as Aasim saw it, wastes time and cause them all to starve to death. Not everyone could appreciate that attitude of Louis's all of the time. Though Clementine doubted you had to be as hardened as her to appreciate a positive attitude.
"Hey, you were a great help. You can head back to the school if you want. I'm gonna go help Ruby and Willy with fishing".
Clem frowns "Are you gonna be okay getting there on your own? Let me come with you".
"It's not like I'm letting you off. I'll skin the rabbits and you check on Violet. Sometimes it's just so sad," He frowns. "I'd rather do this then face what happened to her".
Clem nods "I understand. Kinda sounds like you're letting me off easy but, i'll take you up on it. Promise me you'll be safe". She crosses her arms, balancing on her crutches, and gives him a stern look. "Keep your eye out for walkers".
Aasim smiles confidently "You too Clem". He waves her off with a farewell.
Clementine makes her way back home. Rosie greets her as she enters the school. She's a lot scarier than that dog who bit her all those years ago yet she feels a lot safer with Rosie. Funny how those things work. Soon as Clem lifts her hand from Rosie's head, A chill runs up Clem's spine. Instinctively she flinches and rips her arm back. Clem tries to shake off the fear but her leg throbs and she is short of breath.
'Oh god', she panics. 'I have to get behind those walls. I'm a goner out here. Move, MOVE DAMMIT". Clementine runs as best she can into the school. She collapses once inside and lets the interior wall hold her up. It's difficult to catch her breath. What the hell is going on? Shit she hasn't felt like this since-
"Hey Clem". Violet. "Yooouu okay there?". "Violet, i'm-" Clem tries to calm her breathing but only makes it worse by attempting to respond. Violet rushes to her side and grabs her shoulders. "Hey hey now, breathe. Just breathe". Clementine starts calming down. Maybe all she needed was support from a tried and true companion.
"Thanks Vi. I don't know what came over me there".
"Maybe it's the heat". Quipped Vi, "Fifty five degrees. Preeeetty toasty".
"Yeah, i'm sweating my ass off".
The girls smirk at each other. Dark humor breeds understanding.
"So, what is it?" Vi asks.
"What do you mean?"
"Listen, cripple to cripple, you can vent to me. Hell, I need it. It feels good to complain about losing an eye and not get thrown a total pity party".
Clementine reflects on Violet's words.
"I knew a guy, he was a powerhouse. He plowed through everything that would put him and his group in danger. And because of that, he lost an eye. Protecting me . . . That didn't stop him though. He protected the things he loved just as fiercely with one eye as he did with two. It was easy to forget he had. . . lost something".
Violet breathes in. Then she does again, deeply. It is not a mystery how Violet feels. Clementine respects that, by keeping quiet.
"He didn't, he didn't become a total burden on everyone? Didn't need to be taken care of like a stupid kid who went and tried to stop a bomb?"
"He saved me. And AJ. So you tell me". Clementine smiles reassuring Violet.
Yeah, this was that spark Clementine was remembering. But this was the problem too. The relationship she had built with Violet meant a lot to Clem, but how dearly did Violet cherish AJ? Clem knew she wasn't AJ's mom, she was more like a big sister. But if she was being honest, her heart didn't yield to someone who didn't take in AJ as their own. It was the 'mom' in her. She could only open her heart to someone who would take in AJ as their own. Those stolen moments with Vi made Clementine feel guilty. Like she was building a life away from AJ. They just began a new life together, she didn't want to replace him with a budding romance. That disqualified Violet from her heart. The two got along just fine. She did everything she could to get them to stay after AJ killed Marlon. But Violet was too self-invested to concern herself with AJ.
While Louis . . .
She had one objective: follow the music. Things hadn't been puppies and kittens when she woke up but hell, she and AJ were alive and they weren't in any immediate danger. Plus she has her current hosts to thank for saving them from a terminal car crash SO,
Clementine could stomach a bit of rancor from her hosts. Especially if they could forgive her for harassing that seemingly innocent boy.
Being disarmed always made her feel naked. She was defenseless, exposed, vulnerable. Follow that music. Could someone really play such light-hearted music if the placce were infested with Walkers? These people might want to kill her and AJ but they wouldn't axe themselves. She moved silently toward the music no one could tell how the volume terrified her. As if she could feel the fingernails of walker on her back. She could not enjoy the music.
Where was AJ?
When she entered the room she saw,
Louis playing the piano for AJ. AJ giggling like a kid, acting his age. AJ learning that it was okay to make noise, be loud, that life could be more than a series of whispers and held breaths. This exposed Clementine's heart to Louis completely. The makeshift planks covering her heart were bullet and walker proof. They were tougher than any stronghold she had ever seen and no raiders, bandits or conniving leaders could break through that wall. But walking into that room, her heart's defenses blasted off like a rocket. She felt weightless.
Eager to explore all the taboo territories that would end up killing her or encouraging a memory to haunt her, ruin her. Maybe it was the head wound but, she couldn't come up with a good reason to re-fortify the defenses of her heart at the moment. Without her defenses a grin escaped from within and took refuge on her face, from ear to ear.
She may have looked tough walking into that room but she was vulnerable. Honestly it was all too good to be true. She leaned on the door frame. She wanted to savor this, every fucking morsel of it.
"Clem!". Louis's piano accompaniment was the backdrop to her reunion with her beloved goofball. And AJ jumped into her arms; alive, warm and smiling. She tickled him after she saw he had no injuries. What could she say? Something just, came over her.
"You're not dead. That's good". The pianist called out. He turned towards her and AJ, legs on either side of the bench. She was finally able to take him in. If she thought his profile was anything to tell him, she was dead wrong. Such a pretty boy. Yet muscular. He was a well dressed noise maker . . . how is he not dead?
His jacket was doing him wonders. It framed his angles in all the right ways. There was a line of fur, or silk, that spanned his shoulders. His coat cinched at the hips and Clementine didn't know why but that was, really attractive to her. It was weird to get so giddy at first glance. So, what if he was a cute boy?
Everyone she met out there was met with her hostility and interrogations. She didn't give a damn what they looked like. She would get the upper hand on anyone no matter what. But his coat hung behind him like a cape. Did he fancy himself some sort of prince? And that voice,
"Watched your kid for you," Louis said.
It made her melt. His voice was hard to describe. It felt hushed, a little raspy but sparkling with playfulness. His first sentence had sounded so serious, his second was joking.
'What would he sound like if he whispered?' she thought.
He was painfully good looking. Princelike. Unfair. This guy would have been a real lady killer before the walkers came. Not that he wasn't one now just, his good nature shone through. He was taking care of AJ and they both seemed to be enjoying it. That made Clementine's heart swell up.
And god, that coat was seriously doing wonders for him. What the coat couldn't accentuate, genetics and personality took over tenfold. His hair was short and fashionable. It added a softness to his surprisingly sharp face. She couldn't help but feel a teensy weensy jealous of his dreads. Lee only gave her the option of short or long hair. And short hair ended up being pigtails. Also annoyed that she never had the time or inclination to figure out another style herself. This pianist made the apocalypse look like a fashion show.
'I guess everyone has different priorities' Clementine thought. His apparently was to be breath-takingly, shoot you in the head drop dead, hot.
"Thanks Clem" Violet says "That was really reassuring. Seriously. So what's up with you? You ran in here like you were being chased by a fucking zombie".
Clementine opened her mouth and was swiftly interrupted by Violet
"And no crap. I am expecting total honestly". Clementine acknowledges the threat with a sneer of her own. "I don't know".
Vi gives her a blank look that Clem can't help but laugh at.
"I swear I'm not lying Violet. I don't know what came over me. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Breakfast, hunting, goofing around just normal stuff".
"If everything is as normal, as you say, I wouldn't expect you to act like that".
"Yeah". Clementine looks down now a bit spooked by Violet's estimation.
Violet inspects Clementine. She really was worried about the girl, what in the fuck was going on. Violet didn't think it was anything serious but, why take a chance? It could ruin paradise.
"Hey". Clementine looks at Vi. While Vi does her best to not turn this talk into a pity party for either one of them.
"Ruby is in the greenhouse. Tell her about what happened just now too. She'll know what to do".
"Violet, it's nothing. It's just an off day. I'll be fine, I am fine".
Violet shrugs "Hey then just help her out. Having one good eye really throws off my depth perception and I knock seedlings on the ground. It's, a total shit-show"
Clementine laughs again. Louis puts a lot of effort into his jokes while Violet makes cracking a joke look effortless. Clem nods, fixes her crutches under her arms and pushes herself up.
"That's not a bad idea. I'll go see if Ruby needs some help. It wouldn't hurt".
"Nope". Internally Violets lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding onto. Thank God Clementine. It would suck beyond comprehension if something happened to her now.
"Clem I don't think it'll hurt at all".