My Dark World (Gabentine Fic)

Play It Cool

When I say it's been a long time since I've had a crush, I mean it's been a long fucking time. The last crush I had was back in third grade and it was on a girl named Penny. She had wavy brown hair that would shine in the sun and a sweet smile. Her mother had died in a car accident when she was younger and her dad went psycho, never letting her go anywhere besides school and home. I even remembered she stopped calling him her dad and referred to him as "The Governor" because he was a governor in his younger days. However, Penny was in an accident and it put her in a vegetable state and Phillip wouldn't pull the plug at the hospital. But, an enemy from Phillips past came along and killed Penny and Phillip.

So, yeah. I gave up on having crushes. Well, until now.

Living with my crush didn't help my situation either. We did almost everything together. We ate together, we listened to music together, did laundry together, we even started going on runs together. There was also my first time trying to use the shower in the bath house. Javi and Luke were out on a run and I damn sure wasn't asking Carl or Rick for help, leaving Clementine to be the only one. I had already changed out of my clothes and only had a towel around my waist because the bath house was like right beside Clementine's house. I was walking down the porch of Clem's house when I realized my dilemma. I wanted to hit myself for being so stupid but, heaved a loud sigh instead. I called out for Clementine and she was more than willing to show me the controls and such in the shower. The whole ordeal was awkward as fuck and Clementine just made it worse by occasionally brushing up against me and standing really close to me.

That night was one of the first of many cold showers I would take and when I realized maybe it wasn't just a small crush.

Last night was another lovely encounter with Clementine. I was sleeping in the spare bedroom beside Clem's when I heard a quiet cry. As I mentioned before, since I don't have vision, my hearing is a lot better than others. At first I just thought it was something outside the house but, another cry signaled that it came from inside the house. Most importantly, Clementine's room. I knew the house well enough that I could walk without Sam or my cane and immediately bolted to Clementine's room. As I walked in the room, whimpering was coming from her and I walked closer to her bed and realized she was having a nightmare. I sat down on the edge of her bed and gently shook her awake.

"Clementine....Clem, wake up. It's just a dream, wake up."

A sharp intake of breath was my only warning before I was pinned down on the bed with a knife nicking my throat. I remained calm and softly spoke to her.

"Clementine, it's me. It's Gabe."

"Gabe?"

There's was a momentary silence and then Clementine pulled me into a tight hug. I returned it and slowly took the knife from her and laid it on the floor. She didn't speak for awhile and felt a wetness on my shoulder.

Oh fuck. She's crying. Why is she crying?

"Hey, Clementine. What's wrong?"

I heard sniffles come from her and rubbed her back comfortingly. Clementine took in a ragged breath and pulled away from my shoulder.

"It was AJ. He was here and asking me why I didn't save him. Then, walkers came into the house and they tore him apart. I tried stopping them but, they just kept eating him and then they went for you. You fought back against them but, was bitten on the ankle by one. You made me shoot you. And then, I was alone."

I pulled her close to me and rocked her back and forth.

"I'm sorry, Clem. But, AJ is in a better place now and at peace. He won't experience any more pain or get hurt. And you can't get rid of me that easily."

Clementine relaxed in my hold and wrapped her arms around my chest. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes and I slowly laid us both back into her bed and pulled the covers over us. I whistled lowly for Sam and she jumped onto the bed and laid on Clementine's feet. Her breathing was still ragged and I started doing the one thing that I could think of. Sing.

"I will never let you fall
I'll stand up with you forever
I'll be there for you through it all
Even if saving you sends me to heaven"

Clementine's breathing smoothened out and I let my heavy eyelids droop before finally going to sleep.

Now, I am waking up in her bed and probably red in the face because of three reasons. One is that our legs became tangled overnight and there wasn't any space between us. Two is that I can feel her warm body against mine and my body is almost reacting too positively to the contact. The third is that Clementine is already awake and running her fingers through my hair. I stiffen slightly and that must give me away because she stops and speaks to me.

"Good morning, Gabe. I was about to go make breakfast for us as a thank you for last night."

I smile at her thoughtfulness and rise up out of her bed.

"I'll only accept it if I can help."

The only response I get is a sputter from Clementine. I furrow my eyebrows and make a questioning face at her.

"Um, Gabe. Your boxers are hanging kind of low there."

I feel around my waist and find my boxers hanging dangerously low. I swear loudly and damn near run to my room, hearing Clementine laugh at me all the way there.