Down by the water • TWD

It All Falls Down.

Morning came softly, the light pale and muted as it settled over Alexandria, doing little to ease the tension that still clung to everything. The streets were quieter than usual, not peaceful so much as careful, people moving in smaller groups, voices kept low, as if speaking too loudly might draw attention from beyond the walls.

Avery spotted Ron near the edge of the street, standing off to the side with his hands shoved into his pockets, idly kicking at a piece of gravel like he had nowhere in particular to be. For a moment, she just watched him, taking in the way he carried himself, looser than yesterday but not entirely at ease either.

Then she walked over. "Hey," she said.

Ron looked up, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before it smoothed into something more neutral. "Hey."

The silence that followed stretched just long enough to feel intentional. "So," Avery began, folding her arms loosely across her chest, "you wanna tell me what that was yesterday?"

Ron let out a quiet laugh, glancing off to the side as if the answer might be somewhere out there instead of with him. "It was stupid," he said after a moment.

"That's it?" Avery's brows drew together slightly.

"That's it." He shrugged, the movement small and uncommitted.

It was the same answer Jackson had given her, just in different words, and it sat just as wrong. Avery studied him for a moment, waiting. She was expecting something more, but nothing came. Whatever had happened, he had already decided it wasn't something he was going to explain.

"That's not really an explanation," she said.

"I don't have to explain anything," Ron replied, still not quite meeting her eyes.

Avery exhaled softly, the frustration there but dulled by the way he had already closed himself off. Pushing wouldn't get her anywhere, definitely not right now. "Okay," she said finally, though there was no real agreement in it.

The tension lingered for a moment longer, hanging between them, before Ron shifted slightly, something lighter creeping into his expression like he was deliberately steering them away from it.

"Y'know," he said, tilting his head, "I think I won that fight."

"You're joking, right?" Avery asked, blinking at him.

"Nah," his voice came out slightly defeated, like his confidence had been stripped.

"I watched Jax beat your ass."

"If anything, it was equal," he corrected, a faint grin pulling at his mouth.

Avery let out a small laugh despite herself. "Look at your face."

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

"You're ridiculous." She shook her head, but the edge in her posture softened, the tension easing just enough for the moment to feel almost normal.

"Yeah," he said, glancing at her, "but you're smiling."

That made her pause, just briefly, before she rolled her eyes, though the smile didn't fully disappear. It came easier than she expected, the sound of her own laughter catching her slightly off guard.

For a few minutes, they lingered there in that lighter space, Ron tossing out small, half-serious jokes, each one just enough to pull another quiet reaction from her. It was effortless in a way that felt familiar, and Avery found herself letting the earlier conversation slip, just a little, fading into the background.

Then, gradually, he went quiet. The shift was subtle, but noticeable. She tilted her head slightly, watching him. "What?"

He hesitated, his gaze flicking toward her face before dropping again, like he wasn't sure how to phrase whatever had caught his attention. "Those," he said finally, nodding faintly toward her cheeks. "The scars."