"Why do you care?"
"Because you let me. No one's let me care for them before...but you did."
"I've never allowed anyone to care for me before you showed up."
"Well..."
"I suppose we're in similar predicaments."
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A Carl Grimes/Walking Dead F...
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It was such a strange sense of anxiety, standing in front of that house with Carl by my side.
It wasn't the type of anxiety I'd get from hearing unfamiliar noises while raiding a building, neither was it the type that came along with watch a hoard of walkers slowly meander in my direction. It certainly wasn't the type of anxiety I felt when I approached Alexandria a few mere days ago.
No, this was social anxiety.
Socializing isn't a thing that has been present in my mind. For the past many months, possibly even a year at this point, I haven't had to worry about socializing with anyone outside of the core group of people I've been surrounded with.
Rick had recently gotten his hair trimmed by a woman named Jessie Anderson, her son being mine and Carl's age. Rick urged Carl and myself to go visit with this kid and some of his friends that were also near us in age.
There's a party being thrown tonight as a way to welcome everyone and get the people of Alexandria acquainted with all the newcomers. I do suppose it'll be nice to know a handful of others tonight before being thrown into a gathering of all of them.
"I'm nervous." Carl says from next to me, his eyes still forward facing the house. "I know I shouldn't be, they're just like us and they invited us, it's not like we're unwelcome."
A soft smile spreads on my lips as he anxiously explains his emotions. I kindly intertwine my fingers with his own, squeezing his hand lightly.
"I am too." I admit before dropping his hand and raising it to the door. A knock echos on the wood as my knuckles strike three times. "But we've been through hell and back this past year; we can handle some social interactions."
The air is eerily quiet as we wait for the door to open. Eventually, footsteps approach from the other side of the wooden frame and the door slowly creaks open after sometime.
Jessie Anderson, the mother of the boy who had invited Carl and I over, creaks the door open with a welcoming smile.
"Maia, Carl!" She waves us inside with a friendly greeting. "The gang is upstairs in Ron's room just playing some video games, it'll be the second room on the right. I'm making snacks right now and I'll bring them up as soon as they're done."
Video games? Snacks? What the hell.
Carl and I thank her kindly for welcoming us into her home and allowing us to feel like regular teenagers for the first time in an incredibly long time.
As her and Carl begin speaking about a topic that slipped my mind, I look at Jessie. While she speaks, her blonde hair that falls in front of her face moves slightly, revealing the side of her cheek.
