Oh My Darling, Clementine

Love and War

It had been a few weeks since the raiders attacked Ericson, and the group was finally beginning to warm up to their new situation. Clementine had been appointed leader. She'd proven herself most useful at hunting, gathering resources and combat alike. AJ had begun to earn back the trust of the group. They now understood where he'd been coming from. He'd only wanted to protect Clementine.

It was finally afternoon, and Clementine watched as the freshly cleared greenhouse basked in the sun's final golden rays.

"Feeling better?" Louis strode up next to Clementine, smiling.

"Much," she replied surely. "It's almost healed," she lifts her shirt slightly to reveal a scar.

"You should be proud of your scars. They show just how much you've been through, and heck, I'd almost say you're as tough as me," Louis says, a smile playing on his mouth.

"Hey! You and I both know I get more sh*t done than anyone, and I do it without complaining too!"

Louis looked away, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Ha! You're cute."

"Oh am I? At least I'm not a dork."

"Hey!" Louis said defensively, "Name one thing that makes me a dork."

"For starters, you named your weapon Chairles."

"Umm, so what?"

Clementine raised an eyebrow at him. "Not to mention the on going dad jokes."

"Okay, so you're telling me I'm a dork because I named a chair leg and make dad jokes? I don't know Clem, but I'm pretty sure that makes me a badass."

"You wish."

"Okay okay, I surrender. I'm a dork. I give up. Can't seem to convince anyone otherwise."

"Look, can impress me by helping me dig out some garden plots," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Anything for you, princess," Louis winked, trying on a confident facade. His blushing gave himself away though.

And for the first time in a while, Clementine was happy. It felt so good to laugh again, and with a boy she was starting to really care for.

The two worked hard in the greenhouse for a while. It was really coming together, and with some vegetable seeds in the ground, the school would finally be self-sustainable.

"It's a good thing you've got some seed packets left over. Where did you find them?"

"I, uh, found them in the basement."

"Sh*t, that would have sucked. Is Brody still-"

"Yeah. The plan for tomorrow is to bury her in the graveyard. We can pay her our respects," Louis said, looking at his shoes.

"And Marlon?"

"We buried him while you were recovering."

Clementine played with her hands and stared off into the distance.

"I'm so sor-"

"Don't be. We could have taken care of the issue in a better way, but I think everyone is forgetting that he gave up Tenn's sisters to the raiders, and he killed Brody just because she knew. He was a ticking time bomb. He's been through a lot, it was only a matter of time for him."

"I guess so. Doesn't excuse what I-"

"Clementine! Don't worry about it!" Louis consoled, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He felt sparks, and pulled away quickly, looking away to hide his embarrassment.