The Walking Dead: Return to Paradise

Chapter Seven: An Evening Under The Stars

Violet hoisted herself up onto the ledge where the staircase to the old bell tower had once been. The decaying wood gave off a musty, damp smell that gave her an odd sense of comfort.
Since before the world ended she had been sneaking up to the roof via the bell tower, it was one of the only places she had space to herself. None of the others dared to climb the decrepit tower, none except Clementine.
Violet scaled the small height between the platform and the rooftop entrance, Clementine was already up there looking over the school with her knees hugged into her body. She walked over and sat herself down next to the Clem.

"I thought you might be up here." Violet said, dangling her legs over the edge of the roof.

"This is the best place in the school to sit and think." Clem maintained her thousand yard stare off into the woods.

Violet reached into her vest and produced the crumpled pack of cigarettes. She tapped one out and stuck it into the corner of her mouth, feeling in her pocket for a lighter. Clementine handed her a metal lighter, Violet took it and lit her cigarette, taking a long drag. She held the pack out for Clem to take, she shook her head.

"No thanks."

Violet shrugged and blew out a cloud of smoke, it dissipated into the evening air. She looked out over the horizon, the sun was setting, painting the sky a vibrant orange.

"Wanna tell me what you're thinking about?"

Clementine sighed and looked down over the courtyard, everyone was going about their usual business.

"Those guys know where we are now, what if they come back?"

"We can handle two guys." Violet said in a reassuring tone.

"It's never just two guys. There's always more, if a big group attacks this place then..." Clem trailed off.

"We'll deal with it. We dealt with Lily, if they come for us again we'll set up traps and shit like last time."

Violet levelled her head with Clementine's gaze, she put her hand up to Clem's cheek and caressed her face with her thumb.
Clementine smiled and sighed happily, Violet was glad she was able to improve her mood somewhat. Clem rested her head on Violet's shoulder.

"I feel like almost every group I've been a part of looked to me for guidance. That gets hard after a while, you know?" Clementine said solemnly.

"You don't have to do it alone."

Clementine sat up and threw her arms around Violet's neck, embracing her. Violet tapped the cigarette out on the roof and hugged Clem back. They stayed there like that for a while, neither of them wanted to let go.
Clem pulled Violet down with her so they were both lying in each other's arms. Clementine gazed into Violet's emerald eyes and raised her head up, she began kissing Violet's neck. She transitioned back and forth between kissing her neck and her lips, Violet closed her eyes and let out a euphoric sigh.
The sun had disappeared behind the treetops, leaving the two girls in darkness save for the glow of the campfire, the stars and the moon.
They moved into the alcove at the top of the tower, the bedroll they left up there was already unfurled from last time.
Violet took hold of Clementine's jacket and tore it off, tossing it aside. Clem fumbled with Violet's belt, not wanting to stop kissing her for even a second. Clem pulled her shirt off over her head and dumped it on the ground haphazardly.
Violet found herself admiring Clementine's tone body, something she did every time things got heated between them. She loved her scars, she wasn't sure if it was strange to like scars but she did nonetheless.
Clementine took notice and smirked, giving Violet a wink. She raised herself up to Clem's level, gently taking her hat off and setting it aside before pulling Violet closer to her.

***

Clementine's eyes slowly opened, some kind of bird was squawking loudly from the treetops. She yawned and looked around, it was still early morning. The sun was low in the sky and nobody else was down in the courtyard. It had begun snowing at some point overnight, it was incredibly light but constant. Clem would have been cold, had it not been for the fact she was lying under a blanket with Violet's arms wrapped around her. She smiled at the sleeping girl, she had a peaceful expression on her face.
Clem was mesmerised by the steady rise and fall of her chest, she found herself inadvertently synchronising her own breathing with Violet's. She found it strangely relaxing, she wasn't sure why that was.
After some time, Violet stretched and opened her eyes.

"Mmph, morning." She mumbled.

Clementine laughed softly, still smiling at her.
Violet rubbed her eyes and turned around to face Clementine.

"I haven't seen you with your hair down in a while." She said, leaning on her elbow.

Clem tried to avoid untying her hair too often, she hadn't been able to cut it in some time and it was a risk when it wasn't tied up.
Violet extended a hand and lifted a handful of hair, as if to examine it. It came down almost to her shoulders, flowing outwards to the sides much like it did before Lee cut it for her.

"I like it." Violet simply said, kissing her gently on the lips.

From down below, they heard the sounds of somebody exiting the dorms and walking into the courtyard.

"Shit, I think that's our cue." Clem said, reaching for her pants that were hanging over the handrail.

Once she was dressed, she picked up her hat and the hair ties from next to it. Clem hesitated, turning the elastic ties over in her hand. Despite Lee's advice she chose not to tie her hair up, placing her hat over the flowing curls. She stuffed the hair ties into her pocket and couldn't help grinning.

She likes my hair like this.