Nostalgia | TWD: M. Greene

.:Chapter Two:.

It was early morning on a school day when I found myself on the bus staring at a certain brunette who might as well have been a stranger. Her hair was short, tucked behind her ears with earbuds protruding in an effort to block out the world. I had gotten on the vehicle two stops before her and I couldn't suppress the urge I had to start up a conversation.

Maybe it was the fact I knew her when I was younger or the fact we had been through similar experiences, either way, I wanted to get to know her. There wasn't much else to it.

Call it a whim if you'd like.

Another house passed and another student clambered onto the bus in a half asleep state, clearly not up for another day. I didn't pay them any mind, though, instead, I quickly took the opportunity of the bus pausing to switch seats, taking the one behind Maggie Greene. Crossing my arms beside her head, I tried to subtly get her attention, thinking I could get her to talk to me first. Unfortunately, she didn't notice me, or she chose to ignore me, either way, she didn't take the bait.

Yet, I just couldn't help myself, even if she didn't talk to me first, I decided I was going to get her attention. I tried tapping her on the shoulder as it appeared to be the simplest way of achieving my goal, but she ignored me, keeping her eyes focused ahead. Persisting anyway, I waited until she turned her head, side eyeing me in a way that was meant to ask me what I wanted.

"Hey! Remember me?" I asked sheepishly, a smile one may have labelled as 'goofy' plastered to my face. It had been a couple weeks since I had initially begun volunteering to go around to the neighbouring farms, and since then, I had built up some confidence in social interactions. I felt like I was successfully recovering some parts of me that I lost over the years, and while everything wasn't magically better, I felt like being around others had gotten a lot easier.

This discovery, paired with how many times I had somehow managed to miss the teen everytime I visited her family, made me that much more bold in approaching her. Though, by the way she rolled her eyes at me, I guess she didn't feel as welcoming to the idea of a conversation. It was understandable, I hadn't said a word to her since we were nine and eight years old, respectively. But I didn't want to give up yet.

"It's me, Liam. You're Maggie, right?" I tried again, this time introducing myself in the hopes it would jog her memory -as if that was the problem. However, in response, she gave me a one word reply, clearly unenthused by my unwanted company.

"Right."

Despite how her words were dripping with disdain, I couldn't help but think that maybe her replying could be a good thing. It was a long shot, but maybe she wouldn't be so opposed to my company if I could just get her to hear me out. I knew I sounded delusional in my approach, annoying even, but we used to know each other and I wanted to at least give it one good effort before respectfully backing off.

"I used ta' go 'round to your place-" I began, wanting to let her know I had good intentions. Only, she cut me off, over how persistent I was being when she so obviously didn't want any company.

"What do you want?" she demanded, finally taking out her earbuds. She had whipped around in her seat so fast I was surprised she didn't feel dizzy afterwards. While I was taken aback by the suddenness of her actions, I began to feel bad about being so persistent. My intention was not to ruin her mood, but obviously intentions were not enough.

"I jus' wanted to say hi, y'know?" I explained, shrugging my shoulders slightly in the process, my hand coming up to sheepishly scratch my cheek. Honestly, she hadn't changed too much from how she was when we were younger, having always had a tendency to snap at me when I spoke. Back then it became normal for her to talk to me using snide comments and, if you asked her, she would have adamantly denied us being friends, but that hadn't stopped us from spending time together.