Therapy Session (Mac Prison)

Twenty Six: The Top Dog

Mac and Rick followed the rest of their previous inmates to the cafeteria, which was now extremely crowded. Mac's eyes skimmed through the crowd, but landed on a particular group. It was at the table in the center of the cafeteria, and had three guys sitting there. One of the men, who was easily the skinniest, had shoulder length, thin blonde hair. From Mac's angle, he looked just fine, but when he turned to shout something at another prisoner, Mac saw that the left side of his face looked like it had been burned with something. It made Mac's stomach clench, so he focused on the guy on the far right. He was, for lack of better words, overweight. He had a black mullet that nearly made Mac laugh, and he looked so innocent. Too innocent to be in a place like this with people who's faces were burned off. Then there was the man in the center, and Mac had an uneasy feeling about him. He was tall, taller than the other two. He had short black hair with grey streaks, and a white beard. He had a booming laugh, and a grin that Mac just wanted to smack off of his face. No one else made a move to sit at his table, and Mac got to thinking that maybe this guy was in charge. But Lucille had said there'd be no gangs, and yet this guy was acting like he was the goddamn king of the place. His two henchmen chuckled with him every now and then, but mostly kept glaring at everyone else. Mac was unfortunate enough to catch the eyes of the blonde guy, who narrowed his eyes untrustingly. The tallest man knocked the blonde's shoulder, and when he caught the blonde guys eyes on Mac, he too looked up at him. His huge smile didn't falter, but now it had an edge to it. Yep, he was the top dog.

Rick nudged Mac's shoulder, forcing him to glance down at him. He was staring at one of the officers, an African American woman with long dreadlocks and steely eyes. Her large lips were pursed as she glared around the cafeteria, her arms crossed over her chest. Mac glanced at Rick, who was obviously checking her out. Mac chuckled and nudged Mac's shoulder, smirking at him. "What about Jessie?" He asked, chuckling.

Rick glanced at Mac, surprised. "You didn't hear? She quit yesterday."

"Oh. Sorry man." Mac mumbled, patting Rick on the shoulder.

Rick shrugged. "Don't be. She got married and they're moving to New York." He sighed, glancing down at his feet.

Mac patted Rick's shoulder again, just as the line started moving forward. Mac grabbed a tray and handed it to the kitchen workers, who served him mixed vegetables, a greasy burger with a soggy bun, an empty cup, and a chocolate chip cookie. "Aw hell yeah, cookies." Mac muttered to Rick, smirking at his tray. Then he grabbed his cup and filled it with water. Before he turned around, a heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder, and it was way too heavy to be Rick's. Mac jumped and whipped around, ready to drop the tray and fight.

"Woah there, boy!" The tall man from earlier said, smiling broadly at Mac. "Just greeting you like a civilized person."

Mac didn't say anything, just stared up at the tall man, trying to remain neutral and not hostile. The man continued to smile, but now he had the slight look of annoyance in his features. He leaned back a little by the knees, hand still on Mac's shoulder. "I suppose you're the quiet type, aren't you?"

Mac shrugged, noticing that Rick was behind the tall man, looking ready the break them up if needed.

The man nodded and shrugged back. "Suppose I should introduce myself, right? Well, I'm Negan." He said, smirking. "And your name is...?"

Mac glared at him, but responded gruffly. "Mac."

"Mac. Mac. Nice name. Simple yet tough." Negan said, smirking at Mac.

He scoffed. "Was named after a liquor store." He muttered.

At this, Negan howled in laughter, leaning back and cackling. Mac noticed his two goons walking up behind him, the scrawny blonde having his arms crossed in front of him and glaring untrustingly at him. The mullet guy looked pouty, but that may have just been his face.

Negan stood up straight again, wiping a tear from his eyes while his chest heaved for breath. "Goddamn! You are a funny son of a bitch!"

Mac noticed an opportunity; if he got on Negan's good side, then he could become top dog here. Mac shrugged again. "You ain't wrong. Mom was a bitch."

Negan roared with laughter again, clapping Mac roughly on the shoulder before glancing behind him at his goons. "Can you believe this guy?" He laughed, turning back to Mac. "I like you. C'mon, why don't you sit with us? Dwight and Eugene don't bite. Hard."

Mac knew right then that Negan was a sucker for jokes, why not add a bit more? "S'alright, I don't mind a bit of foreplay."

Negan laughed again and wrapped an arm around Mac's shoulder, making his way through the crowd towards the center table. "I love this guy!" He exclaimed, patting Mac on the shoulder.

Mac glanced over his shoulder at Rick, who looked uncertain if he should follow or not. Mac glanced up at Negan, who was still chuckling. "Hey, Negan, can I bring my friend?"

Negan glanced over his shoulder at Rick, who looked a little hopeful. Negan smirked and shrugged. "Maybe not today, but if I like you, I'll let him sit with us." He said.

Mac glanced up at him. "Thought ya just said that ya loved me."

Negan chuckled again. "You're a funny guy, Mac, but I don't know you. I'm sure you're not all puns and games, and I like to get to know them men in my circle before letting their friends in. You feel me?"

Mac nodded. "Kinda hard not to feel ya when your arm is on my shoulder."

Negan smirked and sat down at the table, gesturing to the spot across from him for Mac to sit in. "I like your jokes Mac, I really do. I hope we can get along." He said as Dwight and Eugene sat down, the blonde man still glaring at Mac. The Negan gestured to him. "This is Dwight, and this is Eugene. D, Eugene, this is Mac, named after a liquor store." Eugene chuckle while Dwight let out a forced, cold laugh. Negan smirked and grabbed his burger. "Well, chow down boys."

Mac took a bite of his soggy burger, the greasy dripping out of the end. Mac tried not to mind, and just used his napkin to soak up the grease. Negan chuckled and gestured to Mac's sandwich. "You got the bottom of the tank. Those are where the greasy burgers are. Try to get here earlier." He advised.

"Thanks," Mac mumbled, removing the napkin and taking another bite. It was much better and not soggy. Then he turned to his cookie, unwrapping it with his mouth watering. Damn he missed cookies. He was about to take a bite when Negan cleared his throat, making Mac glance up.

"By the way, Mac, I forgot. Half of your shit's mine. So cough it up." He ordered, pointing to the cookie.

Mac glanced down at his chocolatey goodness, then back up at Negan, who was staring at him expectantly. Mac bit his lip. He wanted to get on Negan's good side, but the cookie... it wasn't worth it. He internally groaned as he handed the cookie over, and Negan smirked. He ripped the cookie in half and stuffed one half into his mouth, his eyes never leaving Mac's. Then he passed the other half to Dwight, who took little nibbles.

"Quit looking at me like that." Negan said, his gaze hardening at Mac.

"Like what?" As far as Mac could tell, his face was neutral.

"You're glaring at me like I just took a shit in your scrambled eggs. Now I hate that look, and I'd hate for this friendship to end so soon." He said, his smile faltering slightly.

Mac shrugged. "Sorry." He muttered. Negan didn't remove his eyes from Mac, and Mac knew that shit would go down fast unless he made a joke of some sort. But fuck, what could he make now? "Please don't shit in my eggs, though." He mumbled.

Negan cracked a smile, and Mac let out a mental sigh of relief. "I won't, so long as you do what I say. Understand?"

"Yeah, I get it." Mac said.

Negan smirked and nodded lightly. "Good. Mac, I think you and I will get along just fine. Now, eat up. I wanna show you the rec-room."