We Don't Die

On My Own

Nighttime

As soon as Jeremiah exits the house, he begins walking to his room. He grabs a pair of boxers, sweatpants, a t-shirt, socks, a towel, and a washcloth. He begins to approach the bathroom. As he's getting ready to undress himself, he hears a knock on the door. He leaves the bathroom and opens the door. It was Pete. "Hey Jeremiah, sorry to bother you this late, but, do you think you can help on patrol after you're done doing your business?" "Yeah, that's fine. Just give me about ten minutes." "Sounds good. I'll wait." Jeremiah closes the door and heads for the bathroom. He turns the water on and runs it so that it can be warm enough for him. He takes off his shirt and someone immediately comes in. "Oh shit, I'm sorry about that." Jeremiah turns around and notices Isabelle. A fifteen year old girl who has a crush on Derek. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." Jeremiah replies. Isabelle chuckles and closes the door. Before she can finish shutting it, "Jeremiah?" "Yeah?" "I saw you and that new girl really hitting it off today. You sure you don't have eyes for her?" She questions. "We just met. I can't really have feelings for someone I just met. Besides, we have to focus on survival, not relationships." He answers. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?" "No. I don't really have time for all that. I have tasks I need to finish and people I have to look out for. I never really took the time to get to notice anyone like that." "Oh. Well, I hope you know that Diana has a crush on you. She tells the girls this everyday. She says she loves watching you work out and playing with the kids. She said it makes you a great father figure." Jeremiah smiles. "Yeah, Clementine said that too." "Clementine?" "The new girl." "Right. Anyway, I'm sorry. I'll leave you to it." She closes the door and Jeremiah begins taking that shower.

Fifteen Minutes Later

"What took you five minutes longer, amigo?" Pete asked. "Isabelle was asking me questions and all that. Made me five minutes late. I'm sorry." "Don't sweat it. I was just teasing ya." He says punching Jeremiah in the shoulder. "You can be a real dumbass sometimes, you know that?" Jeremiah says. Pete and Jeremiah laugh. "Hey, do you mind if you take watch for a second? I have to move Clem's car in here." "You sure you got it? It's dark out and those fuckers are hard to see at night." "I got this. I can do it on my own." Pete nods and climbs the ladder and guards Jeremiah. Jeremiah gets in the car and starts it up. The car is really loud. "God damn Jeremiah, turn that thing off!" He says holding his ears. "Just open the gate!" Jeremiah yells. Pete pushes the button and the gate opens. Jeremiah puts the car in drive and slides it into McCarroll Ranch. He puts it in park and turns it off. Pete climbs down and approaches Jeremiah. "Fucking goddamn loud ass car. Every walker heard that for miles!" Pete says. "Yelling about it will only draw more of 'em in here. Best stay quiet. Might as well fix that hole in the fence too since I'm out here." Jeremiah adds. "Be my guest. I'll cover you." They walk over to the fence. Jeremiah brings out a piece of rope and everything else he needs to fix the hole. After about five minutes, the hole is covered as best as it can be. "The others are sleeping. I'll let 'em know that it's time for their shift on lookout. Go get some rest." Pete says to Jeremiah. Jeremiah nods and begins heading home when he notices Clementine is approaching the house where he lives. "Hey Clem." He says. Clem looks to her right and responds. "Hey." "What are you doing up? Thought you were sleeping with AJ?" "The car woke me up. That's what happens when you choose the loudest car possible." Jeremiah and Clementine chuckle. "Anyway, I just wanted to come by and thank you again for all that you've done for him. It really means a lot to me that you did it." Clem looks into his eyes. Jeremiah looks at Clem and nearly fell in love. The moonlight on her skin made her look beautiful as ever. He knew that she was beautiful regardless, but the way she looked now, Jeremiah couldn't help but smile. "It's no problem, Clementine. Like you said, I'm a father figure for these kids." "You sleep in that room all alone?" Jeremiah's expression changes fast. "Yeah, why?" "I thought you would have a girlfriend in there next to you." "No, I actually don't. I never had time to talk to a girl like that before. Have you ever talked to someone like that before?" Jeremiah questions. "No, but - there was a boy who had something for me. I could feel it. Plus his uncle gave that information away so it's out there. But I only saw him as a friend until he" she stops. "Until he died." Jeremiah notices her sadness and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. Please forgive me." "It's not your fault. Shit happens." "He sleeping right now?" Jeremiah asks. "Yeah. He's knocked out cold. It's been awhile since I've seen him sleep like that." She pauses. "You don't have to sleep alone anymore." Jeremiah looks at her. "What?" "I'm saying you don't have to sleep alone anymore. You got me and AJ." Jeremiah chuckles. "Oh." He nervously laughs. "I thought you meant something else." She jokingly rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder. "You know what I meant." She joked. "Yeah, I do. But let me go get some clothes for tomorrow. I have to scavenge tomorrow." Clementine nods and he walks inside to get his pair of clothes. He comes back out and they head towards the room.

Inside The Room

Jeremiah places his clothes on the shelf and places himself on the floor. Clementine looks at him confused. "What are you doing?" She questions. "I'm laying on the floor so you can have the bed. I respect your personal space." Jeremiah responds. "Come on, I'm not gonna kill you in your sleep. Besides, I want you to be comfortable. Sleep on the bed." It took Jeremiah a couple of seconds to think about it but he agrees. He doesn't want to be all sore considering he has a task to do tomorrow. He gets on the bed and Clem does so as well. Jeremiah moves himself so that Clementine can have enough space in a respectful manner. Clementine removes her hat and places it on the shelf next to Jeremiah's clothes. "Goodnight Jeremiah." She says. "Goodnight Clem." They both go to sleep.