𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 [ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 ] ✘

Forbidden

Carl had been my best friends since we were practically in diapers. His mother and mine knew each other in high school, best friends forever. Of course, that was before Judith was born, before the apocalypse and before my mom died. Things were so different. Carl and I had been inseparable and now? Now we barely talked. Alexandria had been a change for us - a welcome one but a change nonetheless.

Almost like things were back to normal. But they weren't 'normal'. Things could never be 'normal' again. They hadn't been after that day I went out on a supply run with Carl after the three of us had escaped the prison. We'd been on our own and Rick was unconscious from his injuries. Carl gave me the option to stay behind but I opted to go with him in case something happened.

It wasn't safe for him to go out alone and he knew that. His anger at his dad was blinding him then... Maybe that's why it happened in the first place... We had just finished eating the can of pudding he'd found and had decided to go back inside to scavenge some more. The house was nearly empty apart from the kitchen which looked semi-full.

"Look, I found another can of pudding!" Carl said suddenly, a large can in his hands.

I laughed at his excitement and shook my head.

"Yeah, we don't need any more pudding...at least not for a while," I said, the thought of eating another 112 ounces of pudding making me feel slightly sick.

He just shrugged and proceeded to put it in the duffel bag we'd brought along, completely ignoring what I just said. I rolled my brown eyes that were so like my mother's. The bag was stuffed nearly full now but I still decided to go look in the pantry just in case we missed something. Scanning the shelves, I noticed a lone can at the top. I reached to get it but my fingers just grazed the metal. I let out a loud huff and I heard Carl laugh as he walked up behind me.

He leaned up and reached to get the can. His t-shirt brushed against my back as he did before finally he wrapped his fingers around the can and set it on the lower shelf for me. Twisting around to face him, I was about to say something but stopped. My best friend's face was inches from mine and I could see every fleck of green mixed in his cerulean-blue eyes. My breath hitched in my throat instinctively and I bit my lip.

"Move, Carl." I told him, trying to push him away.

He didn't budge though, just kept watching me. There was a warmth in his eyes just then that hadn't been there earlier and before I knew what was going on, he grabbed me by the waist. Pulling me flush against him, his lips collided with mine. They were soft as they melded with mine. As much as I'd like to say that I didn't kiss my best friend back, that I didn't like it...I did. I loved the way his lips felt on mine, so soft and pure.

Without a thought in my head, I kissed him back with a passion I didn't know I had in me. My fingers tangled themselves in his shaggy brown hair and his mouth moved across mine perfectly. Shivers went up my spine where he held me, his hands pressed firmly to my back. He deepened the kiss then and I held him closer to where there was no room between us. All I could think, feel, taste was his lips, his kiss. His lips went down my lips to my jaw and then my neck.

Goosebumps formed where his lips met my skin before he went to my mouth again. It felt like eternity, kissing him like that. But almost as soon as it happened, it ended. His lips broke away from mine, leaving me breathless and dazed. In Carl's blue eyes, I could see shock mirrored there at what he'd done. But he said nothing, just walked off back to the kitchen. He grabbed the duffel bag off the counter and waited for me on the porch outside.

The cool breeze blew through my brown hair as I sat on the porch swing in the house I shared with Rick, Carl, and Judith. From where I sat, I could see him walking down the street with Enid. Every so often, their hands would touch absentmindedly as they walked. It made my blood boil. Ever since that day...ever since that day I'd kissed Carl, I knew I had feelings for him. And he had feelings for me. I didn't know how long he'd had them or maybe if kissing me was just one of his whims but...it had changed something deep inside me.

He was my childhood best friend and I loved him but...I loved him. Besides, where was my fault in loving him with my whole heart? Biting my lip, I flew down the porch steps and over to the wall that lined the outside of the town. I hated seeing him with her. Making my way over, I began to climb, finding foot-holds as I went. It wasn't easy but finally, I made it over the top and onto the other side.

I ran from there, all the way to the hidden spot I'd found in one of the trees. It was hollowed out in one tree trunk. It was my little secret. Not even Rick knew about it. Smiling, I climbed inside and leaned my back against the tree with a sigh. Alone at last.

Suddenly, something rustled outside. My fingers instinctively went to the knife at my side. It was silent for a moment then as I waited with baited breath. A familiar Sheriff's hat poked its way into the tree then and I sighed in relief.

"Carl, what are you doing here?" I asked him, rolling my eyes as I released the hold I had on my knife.

He smirked at me, sending butterflies erupting in my stomach but I ignored them. He sat down across from me in the small enclosed space then. His Sheriff's hat dipped slightly over his forehead and I resisted the urge to push it back in place.

"I saw you leave and wanted to make sure you were okay," he shrugged nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes, "What a protective friend you are..."

He fidgeted once the words left my mouth and I realized with a start it was his nervous fidgeting.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.

Had something happened between him and Enid?

"Nothing," he said.

I arched an eyebrow. He was lying and I knew it. Finally, he sighed and relented.

"I...I broke up with Enid. It just wasn't working between us," he admitted.

I tried to see if there was hurt in his voice, even in his eyes but there was none. I tilted my head to the side.

"Why?" I questioned him.

Carl's cerulean-blue eyes met mine in the darkness.

"I realized I love someone else,"

Anger began to course through me at the thought of him caring for yet another Alexandria girl. Enid was bad enough but now he liked another?

"Who?" I asked, trying to keep the desperate urgency from my voice.

His tongue flicked out over his dry lips and my knees went weak. Thank goodness I was sitting down. He inched over then and his face hovered close to mine. I could feel the warmth of his breath mingling with mine, we were so close.

"You." he confessed softly.

After the words left his mouth, I didn't hesitate to take the chance I'd been waiting forever for. I crashed my lips into his and his hands instinctively went to my hips, pulling me close. Over and over, my lips met his in the dim light that filtered into the tree. His lips were as soft as they had been the first time I kissed him. But this kiss was even better than the last. Because now I knew he loved me, not just as a friend but truly loved me.

And I couldn't be happier. We both broke away a few seconds later, grinning at one another. His kiss was intoxicating, still lingering on my lips.

"What about the others? What will the say?" I whispered as he gathered me up in his strong arms.

From where I sat leaned against his chest, I could feel him shake his head.

"We won't tell them. They wouldn't understand anyway," he answered solemnly.

"Carl?"

"Hm?"

"I love you...so much..." I said, trailing off as the sound of his heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

Right before drifting off, I just heard his faint words.

"I love you, too..."