An Odd First Impression ¦ Carl Grimes

Chapter Seven: You Can't Leave

Maxi's POV:

My eyes fluttered open to see a maybe 3:00 or 4:00 sunrise. My vision was blurry, but adjusted to the little light provided for me to see. I studied my surroundings, only to find myself on the roof... beside Carl... in his arms?!

I quickly squirmed out of his grasp, squealing, and accidentally waking him.

"What? What happened?" he shouted, startling himself.

"Uh, um. Nothing." I hastily picked my self up from the concrete roof, and made my way over to the ladder.

"Wait, wait! What's wrong?" Carl asked, running to stop me.

Before I reached the ladder, he stepped in front of me, put his hands on my shoulders, and pushed me back a little.

"What?" I said, sounding a bit more harsh than I had intended.

He furrowed his eyebrows, and studied me. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, and shifted on my left side.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" he questioned, looking directly into my eyes. I didn't answer immediately, but waited a few minutes.

"No. Nothing's wrong." I attempted to pass him to get over to the ladder, but he instantly put his arm out and around my body, pulling me into his chest. I stood there, stiff in shock, until he released me from his hold.

"What was that for?" I asked him, still surprised from what he just did.

He shrugged. "It seemed like you needed a hug." I raised one eyebrow at him, curious at what made him think I wanted a hug. I hate hugs.

"I hate hugs," I said, almost emotionless.

He scoffed.

"You hate hugs? How can someone hate hugs? Why do you hate hugs?" he asked quickly, using his arms, and making it seem like I was crazy.

I shrugged. "I don't like hugs."

"Why?"

"Because I don't, okay?!" I threw my hands in the air in frustration, then put my head in my hands. I tried to steady my breathing. I have mild anxiety, so if I get worked up, I just have to try to calm myself down.

I looked up and instantly met Carl's eyes with mine. We stood there for probably just five minutes, until I decided to get to the ladder, even if that required my to push him of the roof and out of my way.

Luckily, he didn't protest, but just followed. I headed towards the gates and started to pull them open. I had no need to go back into the prison because I had no belongings. The only thing I got was some new clothes, which I was currently wearing, fron Beth.

"Where do you think you're going?" Carl asked, demanding to figure me out. His only problem, I refused to let him.

"Away from here." I answered, finally getting the huge, metal doors open just enough for me to get through.

"You can't leave " Carl argued, once again, sounding like I've lost my mind.

"And why is that?"

"Because you just got here yesterday."

"Yeah, and I'm just leaving today."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Okay, now he's getting on my nerves. I placed my hands on my hips and faced him.

"Be-because," he stuttered, "you can't."

"Is that you final answer?" I teased, crossing my arms and putting my weight on my left side.

He looked at me, annoyance and worry in his eyes. Why is he worried? Nevertheless, about me?

"Why do you want to leave so badly? And why is it now that you're starting to act up? Just the other day, when I found you, you seemed like the most harmless and helpless creature on the planet." By now, he had gotten a whole lot closer, and I had unfolded my arms, letting them hang aimlessly at my sides.

He looked me in the eyes and started to lean in. I just stood there.

What do I do?! What do I do?! Do I lean in too and kiss him, or just leave and pretend I never happened? OH MY GOD, WHAT DO I DO?!

Before I even had time to figure out a plan, his lips were on mine. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer, making me stumble a little. He smiled into the kiss and chuckled. After a few seconds, and I had regained all of my balance, I kissed back. Our lips danced perfectly together, then he put on hand on my cheek, and hooked his other fingers in our belt loops, making us inseparable.

I could feel his tongue gliding across my bottom lip, begging me to enter and deepen the kiss, but I wouldn't allow that. He groaned in frustration at me, then put his hands on the small of my back, and squeezed me into him. His actions made me gasp and open my mouth just a tad, which is when he used that to his advantage and infiltrated my mouth with his seemingly experienced tongue.

Our tongues and lips swirled and moved together, never disturbing the connection. That was when I came back to reality, and pulled away as fast as I could. I ended up tripping over my own foot and falling backwards, onto the green grass that was now dripping with dew.

Way to go, dumbass. You let him in. You weren't supposed to let him in! I scolded myself for what I did. I wasn't supposed to let him in. I wasn't supposed to let anyone in. I had to leave.

But that was my first kiss. Carl Grimes was my first kiss, or need I say, my first make-out.

I got up, and ran past him, while he pleaded for me to stop.

"Why? So you can kiss me again? Or do you just want to destroy something else that's important to me?"

He caught up with me and grabbed my shoulders, stopping me from going any farther. He pulled me back and stood in front of me, his eyes finding mine.

"What do you mean? What did I destroy that was important to you?"

I sniffled, and looked down at the ground. Was I crying? When did I start crying? I wiped away the tears, that have now stained my cheeks, with my hand, and he stepped forward until he was only a foot away. He lifted my chin with his fingers so he could look me in the eyes.

He wiped away the most recent tear, and asked again, but more calm this time,

"Maxi, what did I destroy?"

It took me a while to find just the right words so I could explain it with few words as possible. I looked at him, and I could tell that he indeed wanted to know. I looked back down at the soft grass that I was crushing underneath my boots. Then, I spoke.

"My wall."