A/N -
ok hear me out hear me out- The walking dead au where beth didn't die.
//enid//
It's been a long time since I've been able to sleep without jerking awake due to nightmares or paranoia. Peace is hard to come by now. That's why I like running in the woods. It fills me with adrenaline, but also that rare feeling of peace. Carl has the same affect, except there's something more. That must be why I slept so peacefully last night. I was with Carl. I didn't mean to fall asleep in his bed, but I did. And I wasn't going to complain.
Our legs were in a tangled mess, our finger tips were touching. I turned my head to look at him. He had moved to sit next to me last night. I guess that's how he fell asleep. It felt weird and invasive to be staring at him while he was sleeping, but the human race is captivating in itself, and Carl was just all the more. I noticed how he hardly had bed head, only a few strands falling in his face. He looked calm, his chest slowly rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. His lips were slightly parted. I let my gaze linger there for a moment. I smiled. Tranquility. Something I haven't felt since before all of this.
His nose began to twitch, his eyelids fluttering. He was waking up, and I didn't want to be caught staring at him. I closed my eyes and parted my lips, giving off the impression that I was sleeping. I felt Carl sit up.
"Shit."
I opened my eyes and sat up, suddenly aware that his hat had miraculously stayed on the entire night. I looked at him. He turned to face me, his hand instinctively reaching out to brush the bedhead from my face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," he said awkwardly, drawing his hand back, realizing what he was doing.
"Don't be. I fell asleep as well, if you haven't noticed," I said. "And besides, nothing happened." We both blushed. He yawned, nodding.
"Still. We are going to be in huge trouble."
I nodded.
"I should go," I smiled apologetically.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah," he sighed, rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes.
We both got up and walked downstairs. Rick didn't seem to be home, but that made sense, he should still be dealing with his little spill. I opened the door and stepped outside, turning to face him. He leaned against the door frame.
"So..."
"Thanks...for being there for me last night," I rushed. He looked startled.
"Of course. I will always be there for you. Always. "
I stared at him, and ran his statement through my head. He said it with such sincerity. I thought about all the people who had promised me the same thing. They were dead now. I vowed I would never let anyone else get close like that. But for some reason, I believed him. I looked down at my feet.
"You're not half bad, Grimes," I joked.
"That's good, seeing as it looks like will be spending an awful lot of time around each other. It is the end of the world, after all."
"No. It's just a new beginning."
I look up at him and smiled. He gives me a crooked grin.He reached out to me. I must of looked startled. Carl chuckled.
"Relax. Just getting my hat back. Don't want people to get the...wrong ideas," he said uncomfortably.
"Oh, yeah, of course." I handed it to him and brushed my hair with my fingers to the best of my ability as Carl placed the hat back on his head.
