ELEANOR . NEGAN

058.

Negan knew he pissed her off, knew he was in deep shit when the Alpha came his way and demanded her with a vicious and skin-cutting tone. He tried to play it off like he didn't care, but it was hard to do that when she was pushing him through a forest without any sort of reassurance.

They treaded through broken twigs and fallen leaves — autumn soon — while Alpha sent daggering glares to the back of his head. "You know, this feels like some sort of..." he hummed. "... fraternity initiation."

Alpha stayed quiet, but he began to get used to that since that was the way the Whisperer's survived. "Is that what this is? Huh? Am I gonna get my skin suit and finally get to learn the secret Whisperer handshake?"

He turned around and already Alpha was staring at her with those nerving eyes, "Eyes front." She ordered, he listened.

Felt gross listening to someone who wasn't Eleanor, but it also feared him a bit, sent a roll of shock up his spine. "Alright... you don't wanna talk? I'm down with that. We just... won't... talk."

Fear was settling in uncomfortably towards the pit of his stomach, and the last time he ever felt something like this before was when Rick had him by the throat with a shard of glass. Only thing now was that Alpha lacked compassion — she put heads on fucking spikes. "You know, I'm big enough to admit it! I am not good with long, uncomfortable silences."

He wasn't wrong, not one bit. When his Saviour's back at the Sanctuary displeased him, he knew the one person who could entertain better than anyone was Eleanor. It was utterly impossible for that woman to shut up, and even if Negan begged her to whenever they tried to sleep or do anything that required a brain, he was secretly thankful to here her delicate accent and beautiful words.

"Stop here."

Negan's imagination that brought Elle right in front of him was thrown away almost immediately. Alpha's words struck him immobile, and he stood cowered and frightened. Subconsciously, he gripped on the golden cross around his wrist while the figment of the word sunshine fell from his lips.

What he didn't expect was Alpha's following words: "Take off your clothes."

It only rendered him from scared, more shook up and worried. He knew she was a sick woman but this just clarified it to a fucking T. He started with his leather jacket, the once comforting and stable feeling dissipating in seconds, and then he began to tug off his boots.

Next was his trousers, where he unclipped his belt and dragged the zip of the baggy fabric downwards. Soon enough, he grabbed the hem of his shirt and threw it over his head — ultimately standing in the middle of the forest with only his boxers on.

"Turn around."

Negan thought this was his final goodbye, his last sight before his awaited demise finished him — he just didn't expect or even thought that he'd turn around and see a whole lot of nakedness in front of him. "Woah." Negan gulped.

"You're a crass man." The man flickered his eyes away from her body and looked up at the sky instead. "I reckoned you might appreciate a crass reward."

"A reward? For what?"

"The spy," Alpha began to creep forward - Negan took a step backwards. "Gamma. It took courage to do what you did — and I want to express my gratitude in a way that you will understand."

Negan dragged his eyes quickly from her ugly Skin mask down to the bumpiness of dried mud on her body and the grime that tainted it. He shuddered and looked back up at the sky... he did not want this. Maybe if it was a certain someone that began with E and ended with R with a mouth harsher than his, then he'd definitely rethink his options. But looking at Alpha in all her glory? He wanted to run away.

"I don't think you understand what a reward is." Negan said back to her, his brown eyes never leaving the lit sky. "Shit, it'd be happy with a bigger fuckin' portion of pig!" He bellowed with a sick laugh. "But this? No, that is a goddamn luxury and I don't deserve that."

Oh, he fucking did (just not with her). But he thought if he disagreed with Alpha's reward then she'd kill him, so he decided to play it safe and act undeserved.

It worked.

"Very well," Alpha spoke clearly as she turned around to pick up her clothes. "Bigger portion of pig it is."

-

"We got freaks!"

The long hard removal of various wooden planks and hefty rocks finally contributed to freedom, except the hole to get through was smaller than expected so the only people free at the moment was Maya and Kelly.

Eleanor disagreed, but Maya was already out before she could stop her. Now Aaron was in the front dragging the dirt away and expanding the gap with the bulldozer arm of his. It made her jealous sometimes.

Yet on the other side of the falling caves walls, Connie stayed aiding Carol with Magna shortly behind while Eleanor and Jerry were situated under lifting a beam high above their heads. Magna was shouting about more walkers, but Elle was screaming at her to shut the fuck up and get through the gap.

She was losing her patience.

The hefty beam under her arms were sending pressure unlike any she has ever felt, tiring out her muscles in seconds while it created pools of tears in the corners of her eyes. Daryl got out and lifted Carol through the gap with Connie shortly following.

Magna was next. She plopped a foot on the wood and dug her nails into the mud and pulled herself up, Daryl and Aaron lifting her out by the under bits of her arms — leaving Jerry and Eleanor last.

"Go," Jerry breathed, it was effecting him too. "I can take this-"

Elle didn't say anything, not a single word, but she did raise one leg with quick precision and jabbed the back of his unwounded leg. It sent him toppling forwards and the weight of the beam pressured down on Eleanor with an eerie crack.

"Fucking move it!" Elle screamed, a guttural bellow mixing with her words from the pain that radiated from her wrist.

Jerry didn't wait around to object.

He pulled himself up through the gap before dropping to his stomach on the surface, already sticking his large and strong hand out to grab Eleanor.

This was the tricky bit. Elle had to be quick enough to drop the beam and to grab onto Jerry without killing herself or without the cave collapsing in on her. Her teeth chattered against each other and she felt sick, so fucking sick, I can't do this.

She did it anyway.

She leaped from her spot under the beam and completely twisted her whole body to grab onto his hand.

Fingers scraped across Jerry's rough skin and just as she went to curl her hand around his — a single millisecond difference — she missed.

Eleanor Stark fucking missed his hand.

lol

i'm so sick rn but like i gave four other chapters so i should be okay :p