Home Sweet Hilltop

Chapter 1

Carl's Point of View:

"Told you I'd be back soon," I smirked as I watched Enid hunched over, collecting crops from the garden. She looked up and rolled her eyes before a smile slowly spread across her face and she stood to face me.

"Looks like you just can't get enough of me," she shoved my shoulder lightly and giggled as she started to carry a full basket toward the store room. I walked with her, admiring how she'd started wearing her long hair in braids.

"How's it been here?"

"Good, everyone's still recovering obviously, but they're all hopeful, and grateful. They like Maggie," she remarked looking over at the new Hilltop leader with admiration. We got to the store room and I opened up the door for her, going down the steep steps first to watch and make sure she didn't fall, though perhaps I should've just taken the heavy basket myself. She breathed out a smile. "You're sweet," she commented to me before setting the basket down. We began putting the produce away.

"I'm not sweet, that's just the way our world works now. Always watch out for your friends." We both reached into the basket as my hand landed on hers to grab an apple.

"That's what we are? Friends?" She pulled the apple out and stepped a bit closer to me, cocking her head and playfully tossing the apple between her hands.

"I... I mean, w-we're, I care about you a lot," I took a moment, nervously looking her up and down. It makes me nervous when she does this. She's smart and confident and god damn beautiful, and I just don't always know what to say to her to get what I'm feeling out the right way. "We're more than friends...right? Fuck, I..."

She giggled, putting the apple back in the basket and grabbing each of my hands in hers. She pulled herself in closer to me and reached up, knocking my hat slightly to sit crooked on my head. She brought her lips right up to mine before pausing, "I was only teasing, I know what we are." And with that I couldn't take it any longer and closed the gap between us, resting my hands on her waist and pulling her just a little bit closer. She kissed me back for another few seconds before I gently pulled away, looking into her eyes once more. She smiled innocently and pecked me on the cheek quickly before turning back to the basket and going about her work. "Well don't just stand there, help me out a bit," she teased, snapping me out of my head.

I spent my time organizing the produce thinking about what just happened, everything that had happened with Enid. We'd only kissed twice, before the Great War when she finally moved to Hilltop to be with Maggie and just now. Since that first kiss we'd exchanged understanding and innocent smiles, and I'd held her hand here and there but considering we had a war to fight, the whole 'where do we go now?' shit had to be put on hold. But the war is over. We lost a lot of people. We're all still recovering, but we get to move on with our lives now, we get to start really having lives. I still had to tell Enid why I was even at Hilltop. I think she just assumed we all came for a visit, like we normally do. I came with my dad, Michonne, Daryl, and Rosita, but while they were simply meeting with Maggie and exchanging supplies, I was staying. Maggie had mentioned to my dad after the war that she thought I should move to Hilltop, and after deciding I needed time away from Alexandria and everything, I took her up on the idea. Not a fresh start, but something to give me some space to grow. Away from my dad. Away from people that would always see me as a little kid. So I helped Enid do some work around Hilltop until it was almost dusk and Maggie came to find me. Enid smiled sweetly towards me, letting me know it was okay to go.