sweet caroline | n.

x. butterflies.

caroline. chapter nine.
SUMMARY ; caroline never felt comfortable talking to her father.

❝ honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
we should just kiss like real people do ❝
——

CAROLINE WAS seated on a tree that had fallen to the ground and split into two, her elbows rested on her thighs as she kept her chin rested in the palm of her hand. her eyes watched members of the group as they moved throughout the area, not much to do but the whisperers didn't like to lay around so they found simple tasks to keep themselves busy.

the blonde glanced to the right where she knew she would find the only person she spoke to nowadays, negan was sitting on the ground with his back leaned against a tall tree and his legs stretched out in front of him, his arms were crossed over his chest, he seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at nothing in particular. caroline could see his gaze was heavy and concentrated, he was thinking long and hard about something.

caroline knows she can't go over and sit next to the man despite how much she wanted to, her brain kept replaying the events from the previous night, and she would be lying if she said it didn't cause her stomach to flutter each time she thought about how it felt to kiss him. she caught herself having to dip her head down a couple times to hide the little smile that threatened to spread across her mouth. she remembered how negan kept his fingers against her cheek, even after the two pulled away, and the kiss itself was a physical touch memory she doesn't think she'll ever forget.

"caroline." the sweet memory and butterflies in the pit of her stomach were quickly cut short by a voice she could recognize out of a loud crowd, the only voice that had the power to drain any sort of happiness straight out from her. caroline quickly turned her head to the left to where it came from to see her father was standing a few feet away from her, staring harshly at the blonde. "come with me." he speaks once more, before he turns his back to his daughter and begins traveling away from the camp.

caroline snaps her head to the right and looks to negan as she panics, seeing he was already staring at her and had seen the situation unfold, he offers her a small, reassuring smile with a nod of his head once the two made eye contact. caroline swallows, placing her hands on the tree she was seated on and pushes herself up to her feet, quickly following after her father to not keep him waiting.

negan sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, his jaw locking as he watched caroline get further and further away from him, it worried him endlessly to think of the blonde being alone with her father, what did he have planned that he had to take caroline away from the others— away from negan? he could feel himself growing more and more anxious with each passing second and he couldn't wait for the moment caroline was back safe and sound in front of him.

negan knew that man must've told on him, he had to have tattled right to beta that he caught negan sneaking out of caroline's tent. he quickly tried to scramble up excuses, reasons, lies, anything to get him and caroline out of this situation with their heads still attached to their bodies. but beta wasn't stupid, it would be far more difficult to lie to him, and negan would be lying if he said the man didn't intimidate him just a little bit— and negan wasn't by far little nor was he weak, so he couldn't imagine how caroline must've felt with him.

caroline doesn't have the first clue as to what her father wants to speak to her about, this wasn't something they did often, the two barely looked at each other let alone go off on their own for a private conversation. the blonde could only hope it didn't involve negan, since her father had already warned her about that, she severely feared the consequences if her father found out she dared to continue something she was told not to.