Friends before Lovers {NUKE fanfic}_@Mintgal2

20

Luke
I couldn't help but feel worried, and grieved. All I could think about was Carlos...god, we had known him for so damn long, and all he did for us, and Clementine...just gone, like that. All that was left of him was a fear stricken girl that we currently racing after.
"Sarah!" I yelled, and raced after her. God, I didn't know she was this athletic. "Holy fuck, slow down!"
"Luke....." Nick said behind me, his footsteps falling back. "I can't..."
I stopped, and turned around.
"Nick, are you--' I asked, and Nick stared at me.
"What are you doing? Get Sarah!" He said. "I'll catch up!"
"What about--"
"I said, I'll catch up!" Nick said, out of breath, now clutching his shot shoulder, which had bled through my pathetic make shift bandage. I hesitantly turned around, and ran after Sarah, who was a brisk distance in from of me. I looked back to see Nick walking after me a few times. God. I just...
As I was running, I was really only thinking of him. If Nick died...god, that'll be...that'll be where I draw the line. I should've ages ago. But after Nick, who else? Bonnie? Clementine?
I just couldn't.
I turned around the corner of the familiar trail, and saw Sarah rush into a motor home.
"Fuck!" I yelled, and ran after her. I noticed many walkers following, due to the fact that the guts we had covered on us were still entrailed trained to slip off, and soon I just smelt...normally. I opened the door to the motor home, and looked around at the place.
Abandoned, and most of the furniture was spoilt. I walked down the halls, my sides aching. My ribs were probably chipped at some places, so maybe it wasn't a good idea for sprinting for god knows how long. I walked in, and saw Sarah, crouched against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. I knelt down beside her. "Sarah!"
She gasped, and tucked her head on her arms.
"Sarah, please look at me!" I said. "I...god, I'm so sorry, okay? I know how it feels, okay? I know that doesn't account for much, and I know...not everyone bounces back from something like this. But, you see Clementine? She lost both of her parents, and nearly everyone she knows. You are lucky, Sarah, okay? Lucky to have had someone like your Dad to be there for you, and protect you. So just...please, pull through this. For me, for Clementine."
Sarah lifted her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"He just...he..."
"I know." I said. "I know. We need to go, okay? There is always time to deal with this later, but right now, we gotta think about getting out alive, okay?"
At that, I heard the door of the motor inn open. I looked up, and saw Nick.
"Nick! Goddammit, are you okay?" I ask, and walk forward.
Nick, wasn't the best. He was awfully pale, and a sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
"God, are you--" I asked, but Nick fell against the wall, clutching his arm. His breathing was shallow. I grabbed him, and held him up. "Come on."
I pulled him along, but Nick was chattering, and even crying. His chin trembled as I set him on the floor across from Sarah.
"I just got..." Nick pulled his sleeve up, and showed his impaled arm, blood flowing at a concerning pace.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed, and looked around. "You're gonna fucking bleed to death!"
I moved around, passed Sarah, and looked at an old jacket strewn across the sofa. I grabbed it, and ran back to Nick. I set it to the side, and ripped his entire right sleeve away, and looked at the bullet, which it's tip was sticking out in the middle of his flesh. I winced, and moved my finegrtips to move it out. I touched it, and Nick screamed.
"Shh, shh." I said, looking around myself, paranoid. "You gotta be quiet, okay?"
I took a deep breath, and pulled the rest of the bullet out, my hand in front of Nick's mouth to smother his cries. My hands were covered in blood. I tossed the bullet away, and use his old bandage to dab at his wound. The blood was clearing up, but I knew this would have to be stitched.
"L-Luke?" Sarah asked from where she was sitting. I turned to look at her.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Sarah looked away, before shaking her head. I sigh. "Okay. Well, can you just-- can you help me here?"
Sarah nodded.
"Okay, well, if we dont get this stitched, he'll die." I scoffed. "I don't know how Clem was able to do it to herself."
"She had b-bait string..." Nick muttered, and closed his eyes.
"This place had been cleaned out. I doubt any of that's here." I said. "Sarah? Use the window wire."
Sarah nodded, and Nick grabbed my arm.
"No way are you--"
"I'm not letting you die." I said, sternly. "If there's a chance to save you, I'm takin' it."
Nick relaxed at my words.
"Okay...okay..." he said. "Luke...there's...there's alive walkers out here. I barely escaped."
"Fuck." I said. "That's the last thing we need."
Sarah came back with the thin thread, which was usable as bending the wire in any way.
"Thank you." I said, and turned to Nick. "Now, I'm not no doctor, so I don't...I don't know if this is how you do this..."
"We need perioxide." Sarah said, and sat back in her spot. "If he doesn't have that, he could get that infected."
"God, just let me get infected." Nick pinched his nose. "Let me die."
"Shut up." I say nervously, and move the pointy edge of the thread to his bullet wound sides. The thread had sharp impaled ends. I sigh, and move it through his skin, Nick yelling in pain.
"Holy fuck, stop!" He screamed. Sarah moved to his side, and moved his head away.
"Don't look!" She said, and she winced at the situation. I nodded, and clenched my teeth as I moved it all the way through. Nick continued to carry on, and Sarah as one point started to pinch his other arm. Unprofessional, but Nick would flinch, and move from the pain. I myself found myself satisfied with my own skills. And Sarah...I could tell this was a distraction to her. But if this was the start of her getting better, than maybe she would actually get to a point where she'll be able to defend herself. Clementine would help, no doubt. As I did the last stitch, I moved back, and wiped the blood that trailed from the penetrated spots. Nick punched my arm.
"Ow, fuck, what was that for?!" I asked, and rubbed my arm. God, it hurt when he punched me.
"For putting me through hell..." Nick tried getting up, but fell backwards. "Fuck! My head..."
"What do we do now?" Sarah asked.
"It's a bit too dangerous to leave now." I said, and looked around. "Sarah...just, I don't want you getting too caught up in this...but, do you wanna maybe calm down? I just...it's a whole lot to do with at once."
Sarah looked away and nodded.
"Hey, you're missing your glasses." I said, and smiled. She just walked away without another word. I bent down to Nick, and wrapped his shoulder with the wrapped bandage. I handed him the jacket.
"What's this?" He asked.
"Look at your shirt." I said. "It wouldn't keep you warm for the following winter anyways."
Nick smiled, and took it from me.
"What do we do now?" Nick asked, and wiped his forehead.
"Well....I don't know. I don't know where we are from Howe's, so...." I sighed, and shook my head. "You can barely stand up. We need to wait up a little."
Nick smiled at me.
"What?" I asked.
Nick pulled me in, and kissed me, warmth erupting from my lips. I was surprised, and the confusion behind it made me pull away. I looked over where Sarah had headed, and she was sitting on the torn couch facing away from us. Thank god.
"What?" Nick asked, embarrassment and abruptness on his face. "Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--"
"Aren't we just friends? Isn't that supposed to mean nothing?" I asked for verification. I mean, Nick was the one seemed uninterested, and here he was, kissing me!
"I didn't mean what I said back there." Nick looked away. "I was...being an asshole."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"So you mean... I thought you just didn't..." I began, but I heard something against the door. I stood up, and ran past Sarah. I looked through the front window, and saw lurkers starting to bash on it. "Fuck!"