Struggles In The Dark (A Carl Grimes Fanfiction)

Making Friends

Ron leads me up the stairs to his bedroom. The walk over here from Deanna's was pretty awkward. We barely talked. He would occasionally ask me about where I came from and how I ended up alone. I don't like talking about my post apocalyptic life before ending up at Alexandria with just anyone so I was being kinda short with my answers. I think he caught on because he finally stopped asking me about my past. He opens his door and walks into his room, I trail behind him.

"Everyone, this is is Luke. He arrived in Alexandria a couple of days ago. That's Mikey sitting by the window and this is Enid."

He puts his hand on her shoulder as if he was signifying they are together. I don't know, maybe there are and maybe they aren't. Mikey looked to be my age, maybe a year younger. He was tall, skinny, and had dark hair. Enid looked to be about sixteen too. She was also tall. Neither of them were taller than me though. She is skinny and has long dark brown hair.

"Hey," Mikey and Enid both say in sync.

"Hi," I reply quietly.

After about thirty minutes of sharing what our lives were like before the world ended, Ron speaks up changing the subject.

"Oh, by the way, there's another kid that lives here. His name is Carl, he's sixteen. I wouldn't get near him though, or his dad. They're both dangerous. His dad, Rick, killed my dad. In cold blood."

"Shut up. You know that's not true, he killed Deanna's husband so she ordered Rick to kill your dad," Enid counters. Then she speaks again, "Luke, Carl and Rick are both nice people."

I sit there confused. Who am I supposed to believe? We move on from that subject to another. Time flew by. I was letting my guard down; I was actually enjoying myself.

"It's getting a little dark outside, I should probably go back to Deanna's," I say.

I tell them goodnight and as I left, they reply with a couple of "goodnight's" and a "see ya later". On my way back to Deanna's, I see a boy in a cowboy hat start to approach me.

"Hey, wait up!" he calls out. I stop and wait for him to get to me.

"Hey, my name is Carl. Luke, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you."

"So, I noticed you met Ron and the others."

"Yeah, they seem cool."

"They are, well, except for Ron. I bet he told you to stay away from me and my dad, huh?"

"Yeah, he did actually. Don't worry though, I'm sure he's over reacting. Besides, Enid stuck up for you." He smiles at the mention of her name.

"Where are you headed? I'll walk you there."

"Deanna's. I'm staying with her for now."

"Cool. Do you wanna come over to my house tomorrow? I don't have any guy friends. Mikey and Ron are the only two guys my age and Mikey is so far up Ron's ass that he refuses to talk to me. It'd be nice to have a guy friend."

I feel bad for the kid, I know what it's like to be alone. I was alone for so long after I lost my parents. Besides, I don't want to make enemies here. I think this place might actually be a good thing. I might be safe here.

"Sure, just come over and get me whenever you're ready. I don't know where you live."

"No problem. See ya tomorrow!"

He pats my shoulder as he walks past me. I watch him walk away for a minute trying to decide if he's actually as bad as Ron makes him out to be. I then climb the steps up to the porch and walk inside.

"Meet everyone?" Deanna asks.

"Yep. Carl wants me to come over to his house tomorrow to hang out," I say as I walk in the kitchen to get some dinner Deanna has made.

Deanna sits down and eats with me, making small talk and getting to know each other a little better. When I finish, I head upstairs to get some sleep.