I lay against Victor's chest on the lounge adjacent to the one where Daryl, Carol and Lily sat together. We were all gathered in the one large lounge room, deciding the fate of the girl which Robin had found with Daryl's daughter.
Maggie, Glenn and Demi were huddled together, Robin and Carl had their arms all over each other and Judith was in Rick's arms. Gideon, Beth and Hershel stood together, Lee and Clementine were by the door and Sasha, Merle and Michonne stood far away from everybody else, still not really a part of anything.
The so-called 'Yasmine' stood in the centre of the room, looking quite uneasy.
We all raised our hands for and against the girl staying. Judith, Carl, Demitri, Hershel, Beth, Robin, Victor, Gideon, Carol, Lily, Lee, Clementine and I all voted that she stays and the ones who'd voted against cursed under their breath.
Yasmine was staying.
The silence was icy.
"How did you even find Lily?" I asked her and she flipped her blonde hair exasperatedly.
"Well, I found her and her group and they told me that there was a maniac called Zap after them. I was with them for weeks and we got fewer and fewer, the son o' bitch was picking us off. Eventually it was only us two, but we managed to lose him. Haven't had any troubles with 'im since."
"He's dead," Robin spoke coldly. "He was crazy as fuck alright, stole me and Clementine," she explained angrily, gesturing to Clem. "My sister managed to kill him by crashing into him, he swerved off the road."
Everybody was now looking at me, so I felt like I had to say something. "Ya don't gotta worry 'bout him no more. He's nothing, still out there, trapped in his car. Hopefully he's a walker." I growled and Vic pulled his arm around me tightly.
"Yer a big group," Yasmine commented. "Yer lucky ya've survived this long." She said it so spitefully, like she was jealous. Did she honestly think that we had gone without being hurt?
"Hey, we've suffered too," Merle snarled in his wheezy voice.
"How much? Bet it was no more than me." She cross her arms and her attitude made me furious.
"How's this for suffering?" I spat, leaping up, storming across the room and yanking my top off my shoulder to reveal the now-scabbed-over bite mark. Yasmine leapt away from me and drew her gun.
Twelve guns, a katana and a crossbow were cocked and aimed at the blonde intruder but she didn't lower her glock.
"Ya'll are crazy!" she yelled at us. "What are ya doing? She's as good as dead!"
"No she's not," a growled voice came up behind me and I found Victor standing with shaking fists.
Yasmine snorted, "Yeah let the pussy little red-head stick up for ya!" she flicked the safety back on, on her gun and shoving it back in her thigh holster.
I gave a furious war cry and came forward to shove her. She stumbled back about a metre before running at me and wrapping me in a headlock. The group was stunned. One of my fists came up and whaled her in the nose and she yelped, jumping back, holding her face, giving me ample time to elbow her in the boob and swipe her legs so she fell on her back.
"No fucking fighting!" Rick yelled, coming forward with his handcuffs -that I honestly didn't know he still had- and cuffing one of her ankles to the opposite wrist. Merle grabbed her by a shoulder and threw her back on the lounge where Vic and I had previously been laying.
"Don't hurt her!" Lily cried from next to Daryl and Carol and she jumped up to make sure Yasmine was okay. "This is just how she is, ya get used to it..."
"I better fucking get used to it fast." I growled and rubbed my throat. Victor still seemed speechless but then he looked down at Yasmine with a glare before storming out and into our bedroom. "Now would ya let us fucking explain?" I asked Yasmine in a sweet tone and she just glared at me.
"We'll take that as a yes." Daryl grunted.
"I was bitten, but it's been days... maybe a week now. I still haven't turned."
"That's not possible,"
"Well, it obviously is." Michonne snarled, she'd been oddly docile this whole time, but it looked like her temper was coming out of hiding.
"We think I'm immune." I said this with dead seriousness and looked around at each person of our extended family, gauging their reaction. Judging by expressions only; they all agreed with me.
Yasmine snorted again, but the effect was pretty shit since she was bent over with her ankle chained to her wrist -not really the most threatening look around. "Don't get cha hopes up, yer probably just lucky, ya get a few mo' days with ya pussy boyfriend."
Lily shushed her with a furious look. Daryl's daughter was smart; she was trying to get Yasmine out of trouble, but trouble just seemed to be magnetised towards her.
"Just shut the fuck up," Sasha muttered and we dispersed, leaving only Lily, Daryl, Merle, Lee and Rick to deal with the Handcuffed Problem.
"Ya in there?" I asked, knocking on Vic and my bedroom door softly before pushing it open and finding him sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. "What's up?"
"I feel like a shit boyfriend."
"What; why?" I questioned sharply, perching on the end of the bed by him, "besides, yer my fiancée now."
"I couldn't even stick up for ya! I couldn't even stick up for me..."
My face softened and I smiled slightly. "That's what I love about ya." I carefully turned his face towards me and made him look me in the eyes. "I don't want some guy fighting my battles for me, I like fighting them myself. I love feeling like I have to protect you."
"It makes me feel weak."
"It should make us both feel strong."
He looked at me confusedly and stood to lean on the wall across from me so I got up too and positioned myself in front of him; making sure he was looking me in the eyes.
"Even if yer not the one sticking up for me, or you all the time, we lean on each other, that's how it's gotta be. That's love." Now his angry face diminished and I took another step forward and he kissed me in his usual, careful way.
"Thanks for all o' that," he smiled slightly and we sat down again on the bed, holding hands.
"Hey, can I look at the ring again?" I smiled brightly and he took a chain from around his neck that I now realised he was always wearing -I'd just never asked about it. He slid a silver ring from it and held it out to me. "Whose is it? Get it from a walker?"
"No," he looked at me with a quizzical expression and I laughed.
"That's how Glenn got his ring for Maggie, just chopped the fingers right off a walker." I laughed again and he smiled.
"Mine's a little more romantic," he chuckled and slid it onto my finger. "It's my grandmother's. She always said to give it to the girl I loved and never let her go, she died a few weeks after giving it to me, but I always swore I'd never give it to just anyone."
I awed slightly and gazed at the silver and blue band on my finger, it was so beautiful and bright and it was a wonder that he'd managed to not lose it after all this time. "Can I keep it now?"
"As long as ya don't lose it," Vic took the chain and threaded the ring back on it before tying it around my neck. "But I don't think ya will."
I shook my head frantically and kissed him quickly. "C'mon, let's go check out the Yasmine situation... and I swear, if she tries to fight me again, I'll let ya stick up for me."
