Look for the Light (Joel Miller fanfic)

Taken

You awoke from the sunshine leaking in through the frosty window across the room. Slowly sitting up and yawning, you rubbed your eyes and looked out the window. It looked like the snow had stopped falling for the time being. You crawled out of bed and got your bearings together, taking time to stretch your arms overhead and finish waking up from a deep sleep.

Joel walked inside as the wind blew in, shutting the door with a bang behind him. He looked surprised that you were awake. He had on his tan winter coat, but quickly shed it as he walked past the fireplace. "Mornin'," he said with his thick southern accent.

"Morning," you said back subtly.

"You sleep alright?"

You were surprised by his question. He was asking how you slept? That wasn't the Joel you were used to. Not quite yet. "That's actually the best sleep I've had in ages. I can't remember the last time I slept through the whole night without waking up. How long have you been up?"

"Just about an hour. I didn't want to wake you. Figured you needed the sleep."

Well, wasn't that thoughtful. "Did you check on Shimmer this morning?" you asked as you bent down to gather some things from your bag.

"That's what I just got done doing. She made it through the night okay. That blanket definitely did her some good. She has a thick coat though, so I think she was made for this weather. She seems pretty happy out there."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." An awkward silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Joel spoke again.

"I'm about to make some coffee, you want any?" he asked as he started gathering up the ingredients and pan, placing them on the counter in a neat pile.

"Umm yeah, I'd love some. Thanks. I'm just gonna freshen up real quick. Be out in a few mins," you said as you walked into the bathroom and closed the door. You heard the water running in the kitchen area. Joel was probably filling up the pan with some water to prepare the coffee.

You quickly did your business, brushed your teeth, washed the sleep out of your eyes, and brushed out the messy bed head hair you had going on. Every time the brush ran through your hair, thick waves appeared. Instead of the usual flat hair you got with going days without washing it, dark waves were in place now.

You decided on black high-waisted jegging jeans with a couple of small rips in the material, making the style look like distressed jeans. You then replaced the tank top with a black t-shirt but kept the purple flannel on. Grabbing your boots, you slipped them on your feet and laced them up.

You looked at yourself in the mirror and blue eyes stared back at you. You know what would make this look better? Lipstick and eyeliner.

You had a small stash of dark red Revlon lipstick and some black eyeliner tucked into the small front pocket of your backpack. You'd luckily found them in an abandoned convenience store awhile ago and grabbed them up while you had the chance. Not that you needed makeup in the middle of an apocalypse, but it definitely boosted your confidence. That was nice to have every once in a while.

You carefully slid the red liquid over your lips, making sure you didn't smudge any on the side of your mouth. The creamy texture covered your lips, sending moisture through the cracks in your once chapped lips. Next you went over the bottom waterline of your eyes with the black pencil. You concentrated on not poking your eye out with the pointy end.

When you were finished you looked at yourself in the mirror. The eyeliner made your eyes pop twice as much as without any makeup on, and the red lipstick made you look like Snow White. You actually felt pretty for a change. You popped the lids back on the makeup and secured them back into the pocket of your backpack.