UNSTEADY .. n

27

Amelia's jaw was clenched at the sight of the man before her. She didn't speak. The girl only let her dull eyes gaze at hime while Sean stood up.

"Good afternoon, sir." He spoke, taking a few steps towards his boss. Negan held up a hand in protest.

"No need to play ass-kisser, Mr. Gomez, I'm not here for you." The man smirked in Amelia's direction. "But I see you managed to get the girl out of her cave. Props to you, man. Props to you. It's a damn shame I had to come in between the goo-goo eye fest y'all were puttin' on." Negan laughed. Amelia looked down, scoffing to herself. Sean laughed awkwardly.

"No, sir, I just took her to--" But he was cut off.

"Ah, you brought her out here to get some. I see, I see. Way to go for taking some initiative, Gomez." Negan hooted and gave Sean a rough pat to the back, perhaps too rough.

"N-no, that's not what we were--"

"Easy there, cowboy. I don't mind. After all, I'm not the only one with dibs. She's her own woman." Negan's eyes met Amelia's on his last phrase, this time causing her to stand.

"How did you find us out here?" She asked, crossing her arms. Negan smirked, looking her over once, or twice.

"Well, I came on by your room just a little while ago, and noticed you weren't there. I asked around, brought Lucille along," Negan jostled his bat for emphasis. "And asked if anyone had seen a flower flowin' in the breeze. They told me Mr. Gomez here had gone on a nice little walk with you and pointed me in this direction." He grinned, pleased with himself like he usually was. Amelia made a face.

"Why were you in my room?" She questioned, a curiosity began to brew in her conscience.

"Well to tell you the good news about your knocked-up sister and the rest of Grimes's Goons, of course!" He took a few steps forward, shoulders broad and confident. Sean only watched from the side as the two began a showdown with their eyes. Amelia's blue irises were filled with questions and frustrations, while Negan's dark ones simply held desire and lust.

"What news?" The girl seemed a little more worried now. Negan shot a glance at Sean.

"I'd be more than happy to tell you, princess, but it would be best if the company were slim to none." He spoke in a low voice tinged with innuendo. Amelia looked over at her friend, not sure what to say to erase the awkwardness of the situation. She turned back to Negan.

"Fine. I'll meet you after dinner, but I'm busy right now." She grumbled softly. Negan pretended to look hurt.

"What, am I not good enough for you? Now you need two whole bodies to use at your disposal? Tsk, not a good move, Am." He said in a teasing tone.

"Fuck off, would you?" But there was something in Negan's eyes that led the girl to believe he was actually semi serious. This almost caused her to laugh. "Sean is a long-time friend. Now will you please leave us alone?" She watched him expectantly, only rolling her eyes when he turned to leave.

"I'll be expecting you at eight o'clock sharp, flower." His voice left a sense of warning with prickles of ice that left Amelia with goosebumps on her neck.

She shook the feeling as soon as Negan was out of ear shot.

"I am so sorry about that. Damn, he pisses me off." Amelia huffed, her eyes still trained on his figure as he continued walking back towards the sanctuary. Sean only laughed.

"I've been working as a savior for years now, and I'm still not used to how sexual that son of a bitch is. Jesus, he's like, twice your age." He grinned teasingly. Amelia shot him a look.

"Yeah, well so are you." This caused Sean to nearly choke on his own spit. The tips of his ears turned pink in slight embarrassment, but Amelia only responded with a cheeky smile. "I'm only kidding." Sean relaxed.

"So what's he talking about with your family anyway?" He asked her, leaning against a tree. Amelia shrugged, taking a seat on a fallen log.

"Maybe he and Rick have come to some sort of agreement. Maybe things are settling down, or..." Amelia trailed off, her mind shooting back to the conversation she and Negan had had right before they hooked up, talking about a group who seemed to be taking over surrounding territories.

The Delusions.

"Fuck." Amelia mumbled, cursing even more under her breath.

"What is it?" Sean seemed concerned now, his posture shifting slightly.

"I think Negan's playing with shit he can't control anymore." The girl stood up and began to leave. Sean grabbed her arm, spinning her so that they were face to face.

"Amelia." He said. The girl froze, her breath hitching as she noticed the distance between the two of them. Sean's lips were parted slightly. And she could feel his soft breath against her cupid's bow. Their eyes met ad they stared at one another for a moment, the only sound being the birds in the trees and the soft pattern of their hearts beating. Sean gulped, not wanting to move from the spot they were in. "Be careful." He whispered, letting his hand trail from Amelia's arm down to her wrist, and then to her hands and finger tips. She shuddered, wanting to grab his hand in hers for whatever bit of comfort she could grasp. Bit instead, she tore away from the moment and began jogging towards the sanctuary.

Sean stood in the break of the green, his brown eyes watching as the girl continued away. He chewed the inside of his cheek, wishing he had just held her.