no more wasted opportunities

Clementine thinks about that night in the music room a lot.

The soft song lulling through the dark hallways, Louis' comforting smile at her uneasy silence and the tenderness she showed when speaking to her, trying to pry the smile out of her. Every so often, his foot would brush hers, their knees would press together, and despite a faint chill brought upon that music room, his touch was warm. Everything about him emanated warmth; his voice, his smile, his eyes, this touch.

She remembers taking the knife from him, their fingers brushing sparingly. Knife in hand, eyeing the L he carved into the old wood before adding her own, the thought to carve a heart around their initials quickened the pulse in her neck. It would've been so easy to lean forward and do it.

Of course, her embarrassment was only inflated when he reached over to carefully take the knife out of her hand, calling her, "Charming, but also sometimes scary."

Now, every time he brings her to the music room to play for her, her eyes wander to those initials and she can't help but wish she had taken the chance. Perhaps if she had, she would've had the courage to tell him how she truly felt.

The opportunity was there. He'd opened up to her, stared at her with those dark, hopeful eyes with a steadily falling smile, and the words were there on the tip of her tongue.

"I like you, Louis. A lot. As more than a friend."

But, on that night, even with the knowledge that the raiders could come knock on their doors any moment and all hell could potentially break loose, Clementine choked.

Instead, all she could manage was, "Friends are all we've got, and I'm glad we have each other."

She believed those words to be true; Louis is her friend. Aside from AJ, he's the one person she'd deem her best friend within the walls of this school. However, to say her feelings halted there behind the line of friendship would be a lie.

Hell, saying those words, hearing them dissipate in the air... they didn't even scratch the surface of what she felt for him.

And she could see it- the disappointment furrowing his brow, fluttering his eyes shut as if he'd been hoping for something else. Something more. Something she wanted to give him.

That sullen look was brief, soon covered with a smile and a joke. And a fist bump.

A fist bump.

"Clem?"

Broken of her thoughts, Clementine glances over at Louis.

She'd asked him to help her sit on one of the tables outside, allowing her to rest her good leg down on the bench seat while her injured leg hung over carelessly. From the high spot, she can feel the cooling evening air press against her skin much better.

Louis sits beside her on the bench with one leg under the table and his cheek resting in his palm. She notices the bandage around his thumb; apparently, he sliced it open doing something, but he was rather dismissive about telling her what that something was. His gaze darts down to her leg before meeting her eye.

"Are you hurting?"

"Hm?" she blinks down at him. "Oh, no, I'm okay."

Louis frowns, cocking his head slightly, the concern prominent in his brow. "Your face says otherwise."

"It's not my leg, I'm-" she sighs, shifting to stretch her good leg out, "-just thinking about things."

He nods, offering her a comforting grin. From the deck of cards beside him, he pulls the top one off and offers it to her. "Joker for your thoughts?"