The Only One | Negan

4. Hard

A loud banging on the metal door woke me up. My hand instinctively shot up to grab my knife but then I saw the small numbers on my wristwatch. 06:00 AM. Fucking hell.
I groaned and swung my legs from the bed. Damn, I felt tired.

Took a quick glance at myself in the mirror, brushed my hair, tied it in a ponytail, and got dressed. Then I put my favorite perfume on, which I was sure brought me luck and today I felt like I needed all the luck I could get, and was ready to go. I opened the door and was met by a crowd of people, slowly dragging themselves down to the cafeteria. I joined in, following them, and stretched my arms up, yawning.
I wondered if banging on the doors was the Sanctuary's own alarm system and if they do it every goddam morning. Already hated this place. Not that I wasn't used to getting up early, but usually it was in a softer manner with the birds singing their morning songs and an actual alarm clock.

The dining area was huge with long tables placed one after another and a big buffet behind which stood a couple of ladies, serving the food. I got in line, eyeing the disgusting food, and decided the best option was eggs. The lady put my eggs on a plate, the plate on a tray and handed it to me. She looked me up and down and waved her hand dismissively. I noticed people were exchanging some sort of points for their food but nobody asked me for mine. So I just shrugged it off.

I was relieved to see a couple of coffee pots and poured myself a generous cup as I scanned the place to find a free spot. I spotted one just across the room right next to a woman that looked close to my age and made my way. Just as I was halfway there a strong hand landed on my shoulder and just by the energy I could sense who that was.
Negan leaned over my shoulder and hummed.

"Damn, you smell amazingly good." He chuckled in my ear.

"Yeah, opposite to everyone else here." I retorted blankly.

"It's the fucking zombie apocalypse and you use perfume?" He lifted his hand off of my shoulder and slowly came to stand in front of me.

"I do, I like smelling good. Also, the end of the world doesn't mean I have to smell like shit. " I pushed past him and continued to the table. His hand snaked around my waist and he turned me around.

"Nah, sweet thing, you come sit with me." He growled in my ear and tucked me so I follow him. I obeyed although I didn't like it one bit. He dragged me across the hall to a distant and more isolated table. A couple of men, including Dwight, were sat around it, conversing loudly, no matter the fact that it was 06:15 AM.

"Good-fucking-morning, boys!" Negan yelled in pretend excitement. They stopped talking at once and all eyes shifted to us.

There were a couple of "Good morning, boss" and they went awkwardly quiet again. With a hand still on the small of my back he gestured towards me with a grin.

"Our newest edition on the round table of Camelot. I give you Donna..." he looked down to meet my eyes. "What's your family name, sweetheart?"

"Blackburn." I muttered.

Negan smirked and spread his arm again.
"I give you Donna Blackburn. Badass name, by the way." He looked down at me with a grin and then turned to his men again. "Some of you may remember her from Rick the Prick's little merry band of feisty fighters. Well, now she's one of us. She's good at what she does, so I expect you all to appreciate her. Alrighty? No misogynistic comments. C'mon, sit with us."

His heavy hand landed on my shoulder once again as he guided me down on the bench. I sat and shifted uncomfortably, eyes kept straight to my eggs. My fight or flight response was kicking in, my leg bouncing nervously underneath the table. Hunger totally disappeared so I just took a sip of the coffee instead to give myself something to do.