ELEANOR . NEGAN

044.

Thoughts of the past rolled throughout her body when her green eyes pierced at the curved metal. The thinning edge twisting into a sharp sting, dragging down to another curve at the end with the same pain. A flash of the past that taunted many people, a lot of people.

It fucking stung.

The way he carried it with ease was a whole story. Like this weapon that should be foreign to him from six years of forgot, came back the moment his hand clutched on the metal. Aaron froze up, and so did Eleanor, and Negan caught onto their stances with a punch in the gut.

"Drop it." Aaron ordered.

Negan twisted the crowbar in his hold and that once teasing smirk was replaced with a sickening one and Elle didn't know what to do. She felt sick, she wanted to go home. "Come on," he drawled. "I'm pretty sure that God put this here for a reason to help me, help you-"

Elle took a step forward. "Negan, put it down."

"Look, doll, we all know that this broomstick ain't cutting it." Elle scoffed but Aaron was looking at him with a look he couldn't quite place, which only amused him.

He twisted the crowbar again, tauntingly slow and took a daring step closer. Leaves crisping under his heavy boot and his eyes filling with that once dangerous look — like right back at the lineup. He opened his mouth to say something to Aaron, until he heard the slight shuffle of Elle's feet next to him.

She was moving away.

His brown eyes left Aaron's body and caught onto hers. The way her brows were furrowed and she had a glazed look, a quiver in her lip and a shake in her hand. "Wait, doll-"

"Put it down." Her voice was strong and confident but her facade was breaking by the minute. And it fucking hurt. He didn't want her to look at him like the murderer he is... or was, but to look at him like he was Negan. Like how she did a couple of days ago.

He didn't want that.

Negan nodded his head and took a step back and dropped the crowbar against the tractor. Aaron look astonished but Negan felt like shit. "Sorry, doll." He flashed the most confident and teasing grin he could, maybe get things back on to the normal level.

Elle didn't spare him another look but did grab her knives and pointed it to the void behind Negan. In the distant were small gnarls from walkers scuffling through the long blades of grass. "Your side."

-

Eleanor was taking watch between the trees and hiding behind bark. She wanted to get away from Negan and Aaron, but she couldn't stand there and watch Aaron get closer to the edge of macing Negan's head.

As much as she didn't want to deal with things right now, she had to. To make sure everyone stays safe and protected and at least alive.

The sun settled during the time they spent on parol, awaiting for the bundles of walkers who came periodically and pushed past with slow grunts. Elle took them out lounging on top of the broken down tractor, throwing one of her knives and then making Negan collect them like a puppy.

Aaron was waltzing back and forth down the dusted over road and throwing his arm anytime those ugly fuckers came along. Negan on the other hand, was more laid back since all he had was a stick.

But when the sun set and casted the woods into darkness, that's when the real problem started to arrive. Massive hordes of walkers that started to become too much, sneaking in through the trees and pass bushes before finally reaching for their source of hunger.