LONE

Partyisntover/campfire/bimmer

The party isn't over
We can still dance

"He does have a point." Lamar says, lying on his bed, throwing an old tennis ball up and down. "Seriously?! We need a second opinion, or something." Isaiah protests. Lamar winces, clutching his arm. "You okay? I told you we should stitch it up." "I'm fine! I just..." Lamar trails off.

There's a long pause between the two, before Lamar speaks again. "I've been thinking...about Erin." Erin was Lamar's girlfriend, until she died a few months ago. He never really was the same after she died. He's less cautious.
"Oh..." Isaiah sits on the bed, next to him.
"I keep seeing her face, everywhere. When I sleep, when I'm awake, everywhere." He buries his face in his hands.
"I miss...her..."
Lamar and Erin were hunting, when a walker came out of nowhere. It bit her, right in the jugular. He came back to the school, holding her body, covered in her blood. He didn't speak for a month.
Isaiah says nothing. He just hugs him. He hugs him as tight as he can. He feels the corner of his shirt getting wet from Lamar's tears.

He was used to nights like these. He remembers rubbing Lamar's back when he would throw up from crying so hard. When Erin died, she took a piece of him with her. Erin was a good person. She didn't deserve what happened to her.

Lamar feels guilty about a lot of things. He feels guilty for bringing up his Uncle with Clem. He feels guilty for shooting Isaiah's eye. He feels guilty for having secrets. He feels guilty for bleeding through his bandages, moreover he feels guilty for not telling Isaiah.

Once he stops crying, he thanks Isaiah, who retreats back to his bed.

In the morning, Isaiah trudges up to Marlon's office to talk to him. "Marlon-" he opens the door to find Clementine and AJ. "You're not Marlon." He says, like an idiot. "Sorry to disappoint." Clementine says. "Morning guys, what are y'all doin up here?" He asks. "Waiting for Marlon, gonna discuss staying here." Clem says, her hand on AJ's shoulder. "Awesome. Y'know, everyone really likes you already." He says, "and hey, sorry about yesterday. Lamar told me y'all talked about his uncle. He said you knew him better than he did. Sorry if he brought up any bad memories."
She shakes her head. "No harm done." She gives a weak smile. He nods at her and AJ, before turning around to leave.

On the way down the stairs, he sees Rosie. "Hey, girl." He pats her, and gives her a scratch behind her ears. She happily trots upstairs, probably into Marlon's office. As he walks towards the music room, he spots Marlon. "Yo, Clem and AJ are waiting for you." "I'm on my way, just had to talk to Louis." The two nod at each other, which is a common greeting and goodbye here.

The sound of a piano fills the hallway. "Wow, you're really getting worse!" Isaiah jokingly calls out to Louis. "Good morning to you too, John Lennon." Louis laughs, continuing to play.
"You goin' hunting today?" Isaiah asks, sitting down on the old, torn couch.
"Yeah," Louis replies between notes.
"Gotta catch some rabbits with the grumpy Aasim."
"Hah. Poor Aasim."

"...How's Lamar doing?" Louis asks, genuinely.
"He seemed pretty pale yesterday. Did his wound get looked after?"
Isaiah thinks for a moment. "Stubborn asshole wrapped it in a bandage and refused to let me look at it."
"But he's okay, right?"
"About as okay as you can be, nowadays. But..."
Isaiah debates mentioning last night.
"He's struggling. Pretty bad, I won't lie to you. We need to just...keep an eye on him."
"No pun intended." Louis smiles.
"Yeah, screw off, pal." Isaiah chuckles.
Him and Louis were good friends. He was one of the first people who he met when he first came to Ericson's.

"I spoke to Brody yesterday..." Isaiah shamefully admits. Louis stops playing and spins around to face him. "I heard. Marlon got an earful about it from her." He chuckles lightly. "Seriously?!" Isaiah drags his hands down his face. "Not your best performance, I will say, but I think we can patch it up." Louis shrugs with a smile. "How mad was she?" Isaiah asks him, embarrassed. "Well, not mad, just disappointed. I'd be too if a guy told me he didn't even like me that much." "She told me the kiss didn't mean anything!" Isaiah protests. "...kiss?" Louis is genuinely confused. Isaiah goes red. "Never mind. I'm just gonna head out now. Have fun with Aasim."

Isaiah walks back to the dorm, trying to keep his mind off Brody. "If I put a golf ball in my eye socket, would anyone notice? Maybe, maybe not. Only one way to find out. No, there aren't any golf balls anywhere. Never mind. I could look for some, but I can't be bothered. Besides, they'd probably be too dirty and gross. Then I'd get a nasty infection. Is that worth it for just a joke? Depends. Would it even be that funny? Probably not. I'd maybe get some pity laughs, but that's about it. Then I'd have an infection and Ruby would have to deal with it, and then it'd turn into a whole ordeal. Better not, then."
The door opened with a squeak. As he entered the room, he noticed Lamar was still asleep. "Dude, wake up!"

"Fuck off..." Lamar groans.
"Sorry, princess, but it's time to do your part." Isaiah pats him on the shoulder before leaving the dorm again.