sweet caroline | n.

xiii. newbies.

sweet caroline. chapter twelve.
SUMMARY ; caroline's whole world flipped upside within a day.

❝ not really sure how to feel about it
something in the way you move
makes me feel like i can't live without you ❝
——

CAROLINE ISN'T too sure where they're going, or what direction they're heading into. it seems like they've been walking mindlessly through the woods for hours, she wasn't sure how long it's been in reality. whenever she would ask negan where they were going or how much further, he told her just a little more. not really an answer, and kind of irritating to hear more than once. she feels like she's following him blind into what could be a war zone, or something truly great. but caroline trusted negan, so she would allow him to not give her real answers just this once.

"here." negan stops suddenly, in the midst of a  clearing, finally had they exited the woods. caroline looks around, she wasn't sure where here was. it certainly wasn't anything special, there was nothing but land, that consisted of short, dead grass, though there was one thing in particular that she took notice of. a straight line of wooden poles, about seven or eight of them, stood right in front of them. the blonde furrows her eyebrows, wondering what those could've been used for.

negan stretches his arm out backwards, wiggling his fingers to offer his hand for her. caroline slips her hand into his, letting him lead her in between two of the wooden poles sticking up out of the ground, caroline stares at it as they pass it, she could see it was stained a dark red colour at the top, and she quickly averted her eyes elsewhere after noticing that. maybe it wasn't used for something innocent like she had originally thought.

"where are we?-"

"negan?" caroline gets interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. the blonde turns her head to look straight ahead, tearing her eyes off of the man beside her. at the image of a stranger standing a few feet in front of them, caroline's grip tightens around negan's fingers. it was an older woman, with long greying hair, she stood about five foot five, and wrinkles lining her forehead. even through the darkness, caroline could see a gun tucked into the holster of her jeans.

"i followed through with my side of the deal," negan begins, his voice much sterner than caroline has ever heard it. the blonde glances up at him, wondering how on earth he knew this woman. though judging by the thick tension that quickly formed between them, the idea of her being a friend of his quickly vanished. caroline returns her stare back at the stranger, realizing she had been looking at her. she doesn't tear her eyes off of caroline when she meets her eye contact, and instead looks at her for a moment longer.

she returns her attention onto negan. "bringing someone from their group wasn't part of the deal." she tells the man, her stare harsh and heavy on him. caroline moves her free hand to the wrist of his that belonged to the hand she was already gripping onto. usually, caroline didn't fear much, it took a lot to scare her, but this more of an uncomfortable feeling, not a fearful one. it was clear that this woman wasn't pleased with her being next to him, the only fear caroline had in that moment was negan deciding she wasn't worth losing whatever deal he had with this woman, and returning her home.

"she won't be a threat, i can damn well promise you that one. i did the heavy lifting, i got rid of-" negan stops, his voice faltering before his mouth could close, as if his brain stopped him short before his body could comprehend it. caroline tilts her head up to look at him, the corners of her eyes narrowing as a confused expression crossed over her face. negan looks at the girl for a quick moment, she could see the middle of his throat move when he swallowed, then he returned his head straight forward. caroline frowned, there was something he wasn't telling her.