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"So, Clem. Ever.. had a boyfriend?"
"Psh, really Louis?"
"What? I want to get to know her. Gotta know if we have a smitten kitten here."
"Not.. technically."
"Not technically?"
"We.. never dated, but we liked each other.. his name was Gabe."
"Do you think that guy is out there?" Louis asked, turning his head toward his best friend, who played with his bow. "What guy?" He asked plainly, spinning the small wheel on the bow. "Gabe." Marlon scoffed and chuckled a bit while Louis turned to him. "You are ridiculous."
"What? What did I do?"
"You're worrying about some guy she hasn't seen in forever." Marlon answered, giving Louis a glanced who colored slightly. "You don't know that." He mumbled, to which Marlon fully turned to Louis and stared him straight in the eye. "Louis. Clem has said that she and AJ have been moving from place to place, right?" Louis hummed. "I.. guess."
"Then, Clem hasn't seen this Gabe kid in a few damn years." Marlon grabbed the small pillow on the bed and threw it at Louis, which smacked him in the face. "If you're so worried about "Gabe" coming back, then make a move." Louis picked the pillow up. "You do realize that we met her a day ago."
"And you're already a "smitten kitten"."
"Oh, shut up." Louis threw the pillow to Marlon who moved out of the way and let the object hit the wall. "I can't blame you though.." Marlon mumbled, shifting his weapon and poking the spear side. "She's an interesting girl." He muttered. "A fighter. A good one too.." Louis sighed loudly. "Yeah, okay, she's better than me, no need to rub it in."
Marlon's eyes narrowed as he stared at the arrow.
Marlon's gaze kept on the floor as he walked through the halls of the school. Surely, this is the right thing to do.. right? If he just.. cooperates then everyone would be save.. right? But.. why did they have to pick this one? Why her? He wants to keep her..
Clementine..
He never realized how much he liked the fruit until these past few days.
He sighed as he walked up the stairs to go to the office, but barking filled his ears. He frowned a bit as he jogged his way to the office.
"Hey, what's going on-" he turned to the side to see Clem staring wide-eyed at the dog and slowly backing up with AJ behind her. The boy looked equally confused, but,
'Dogs bring back bad memories.'
"Hey, down Rosie." Marlon spoke, gently grabbed the Pitbull by the collar to calm her down. He looked up to Clementine, it made him feel worse than he already did. She look petrified. "You said dogs brought back bad memories." Marlon spoke up, getting Clementines attention. "I didn't think it was that bad, I'm sorry." Clem shifted uncomfortably, and it seemed like she unconsciously rubbed her arm. "A.. dog bit me once." She muttered, her gaze keeping to the floor as if it was pathetic.
He understands why Louis is so smitten. Clementine is so pretty. She's gorgeous. It felt wrong. Having something so lovely being in a world like this.
"I promise that Rosie isn't as bad as she seems." Marlon spoke up, taking a step closer to her. "You just have to get to know her, is all." Clem's eyes glanced nervously down to the dog beside him. "Do you trust me?" He asked, holding out his hand for her to take.
He couldn't blame her if she said no. In fact, he could see the hesitation in her eyes as she quickly thought through this. "Okay.." she mumbled, slowly lifting her hand up. "I guess." She added then placed her hand on his.
His eyebrows twitched slightly. Her hands are warm and give off a comfortable feeling. What makes him hate himself more is that her hand felt right in his. He slowly brought her hand down to the dog, his noted how her grip on his hand tightened as her hand got closer. "It's okay.."
Rosie sniffed Clementine's hand and Marlon lifted his gaze to take a good look at her, she was nervous. She was prepared to be jumped at by the dog. Is that what really happened? A dog jumped her and bit her arm? Well, he's assuming it's her arm. Rosie glanced up to Marlon, noting the affectionate look in his eye, then licked her hand making Clem jump a bit. "See?" Marlon spoke, his voice came softer than he wanted. "It's not so bad."
Clem seemed more conflicted. Marlon doesn't expect her to get over her fear in five minutes. If anything, she's be a bit less afraid in the days passing by. She relaxed. He felt her hand unclench and lazily be held in his. "Yeah.." she mumbled. "Kinda." She added with a small shrug.
AJ stared at them, his big brown eyes eyeing them curiously at the scene before him.
"I'm done.." Marlon mumbled, dropping the gun from his hands as Clementine walked up to him. "I'm done.." he hated the pitied look she gave him. But what he hated most was how they looked betrayed. Like the looks Louis has been giving him. "I'm done..." He mumbled one last time before averting his eyes away from the girl before him.
Marlon felt his heart skip a few beats when the other office door opened. He looked over seeing Violet and Louis. Violet raised an eyebrow while Louis frowned. "What's going on in here?" Violet asked, her eyes trailing down to their conjoined hands. Marlon quickly let go of her hand, ignoring how his neck and face began to feel warm.
"Um, I was showing Clem that Rosie isn't that bad of a dog." He almost sputtered out. "Since she- she had a bad experience with dogs before, I thought it would be a good idea to let her and Rosie bond a bit." He explained. He watched as Violet nodded slowly, she crossed her arms and he could see the smug look forming on her face. "Any other bonding we need to know about?"
"Nope. Not at all."
Louis' frowned stayed as he glanced between Marlon and Clementine. "That's a big lie and you know it." Violet snorted slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about." Marlon replied crossing his arms. "Anyway, there are other important matters that we need to discuss." Marlon said, gesturing between him and Clementine.
Violet's smug look never left. "Yeah, when and where you can put your dick-"
"Okay, I think we've had enough cock blocking." Louis spoke up, cutting Violet off. "What's cock blocking?" Clem frowned and glanced over to Louis. Louis' eyebrows furrowed seeing the annoyed look fall onto her face. "It's a phrase you use when someone is getting in the way of something." Marlon answered. "But it's a bad thing to say, don't listen to Louis, he's a bad influence." AJ slowly nodded as Louis crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Since when are you his father?"
Violet sighed, knowing where this was going. "What? I never said I was. You spend more time with him than I do." Marlon retorted. Louis glanced off to the side. The air felt heavy and awkward.
"So, Marlon." Clem spoke up, making the blond look over. "About that thing you wanted to talk about?" Marlon nodded. "Right." He knowingly pointed to Clementine, more of as a thank you, and walked behind a desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Since you're pretty well know with hunting and things like that," he began, opening the paper to reveal a map. "I was thinking that you could play scavenger and see what you could get." Clem nodded, glancing down to AJ.
"I don't know how you are with other weapons, but you're a good fighter, and I'd like to keep it that way." Marlon shifted and grabbed his bow that was leaning on the side of the desk. "You could use this. To switch things up a bit." He explained, handing the bow out to the girl.
"You can go fishing with Violet and Brody, or hunting with Aasim and Louis."
"It won't be too much fun, but it's something to do." Violet spoke up with a shrug. "That's what you say," Louis commented. "But I make anything fun. We'll make it a great learning experience." Clem glanced behind her to the two teens behind her, then back to the leader. She hesitately took his bow and looked over the product. "Are you doing anything?" Clem asked, flicking the string slightly. Marlon's eyes widened slightly. ".. nothing too fun, inventory checking and all that." Clem looked down to AJ. "Mind if he comes along?" She asked. Marlon glanced down to the small boy beside her.
Overall, it's a great opportunity to ask about AJ, and mainly Clementine. Marlon gave a light shrug. "The more the merrier." He didn't miss the fond smile that spilled onto her lips.
"Just.. just let me leave.." he mumbled. He couldn't bring himself to look up to the girl. He knew that she was hurting. "I'll.. leave and I'll never bother you again.." Clementine's shoes entered his sight, and he forced himself to look up, which he regretted. The soft look in her eyes cracked as he met her eyes. They stared at him hard and cold, replacing any look of affection he used to receive. A frown painted on her pretty pink lips he called his. Just for a second, just for a second he saw her look soften. "You can stay," she began. Why?"But not as a-"
"This is so boring.." AJ grumbled to himself as he picked up a book. Marlon chuckled softly. "You're telling me." AJ glanced up to the older teenager. "Why did Clem want me to stay with you?" Marlon looked over, overall, the words sounded a bit harsh, but he knew AJ didn't mean it. "Maybe so you don't get hurt out there." He replied.
AJ hummed. "Clem was always like that. She's very over protective. Sometimes it's suffocating." Marlon glanced down to the kid again.
He can't blame her.
"Sometimes, she makes sure that I know my real parents are dead.. sometimes I wonder if she does it to be mean.." Marlon put down the book and leaned onto his knee. "I don't think she's doing it to be mean." He reassured. "Maybe she's doing it so no one takes you away."
"Why would they take me away? How would they?"
"Maybe they can say that they have your parents." AJ glanced down. "I never thought of it like that.." he mumbled. "She tells me a lot of things." AJ added. Each word that this little boy said kept milking Marlon's curiosity. "She tells me to not point unless I want to kill. She tells me to only kill monsters. She's very adamant about this stuff."
Adamant? Sometimes, Marlon finds these two scary. He's a six year old but can hold a gun like it's nothing. She's a girl who won't hesitate to put a bullet in you. But there's something that confuses him more.. Clem hasn't gone to school since she was eight.. how did she teach AJ the word Adamant?
"How.. do you know the word Adamant?" Marlon asked. AJ looked at the book in his hand. "Clem found a book that had a lot of words in it. She teaches me those words sometimes."
"A dictionary?"
"What's that?"
"It's a big book with a lot of words and their meanings."
AJ nodded. "Yeah, I think it's a dictionary." Marlon glanced around the room. "Want to take a break?"
"Can we?"
"Of course we can. No one will know a thing." AJ smiled as Marlon gave a small wink.
"Clem has nightmares." AJ explained to the teen. "Nightmares?" The boy nodded and began going into detail about why and how they're caused. Clementine has really been through a lot.
He doesn't know shit though. He's spent the last eight or so years behind save walls and a functional system, while she has been running around her whole life.
"Clem said she's from a place called Atlanta." AJ told him. "What is Atlanta?" He asked, turning towards the teen he began growing fond of. Marlon hummed. "Atlanta Georgia?" AJ nodded. "It's a state. It's pretty far from here." Marlon explained, then glanced down to his boots.
All the way from Atlanta? She's been traveling all over the place..
He doesn't want to go through with this. He can't bring himself to. He can practically hear Brody in the back of his mind, her nervous rambling about what they're doing to do since he can't go through with this. He can hear the hyperventilating. Her stammer. Everything. Not to mention, the way she's going to react.
"- I don't get what it is though."
Marlon blinked, then turned to see AJ looking at him curiously. He must've been so deep in thought that he tuned out the poor kid. "I'm sorry, what was it?" AJ glanced away for a second. "The look."
"What look?"
"The way you and Clem look at each other."
Marlon felt his heart skip a beat. He could hear the beating in his ears. He felt his face get a bit warmer. "What.. do you mean?" Marlon asked, glancing back over to AJ who began swinging his dangling legs. "Clem looks at you like she's really happy with you. You do the same too. It's like how she looks at me, or a picture she has." AJ explained, then his eyebrows furrowed. "I don't think it's like the picture. She's sad when she looks at it."
This is a bad idea.. Marlon knows this.
"But Clem is happy with you. I've never seen her be happy with a stranger. It's like with Louis too. But I think she likes you a bit better." AJ explained further.
This is wrong..
"I think she likes you. Like, like- likes you."
Marlon averted his gaze as he rubbed the back of his hot neck. "It's strange though." Marlon looked back over to AJ who looked up to the ceiling. "Louis looks more like Lee. I thought she would've liked him more." AJ mumbled. At first, Marlon didn't know what the boy was talking about, but he realized he was talking to himself. "Maybe because you resemble Lee more? As in.. personality wise." AJ hummed, then shrugged.
"I don't know, but if you love her too, then I'm happy with it. I like you. If I wasn't happy with this then I wouldn't talk to you."
Marlon chuckled.
Louis is gonna have words with him. He can feel it.
Marlon told Louis to make a move. He teased Louis about liking Clem and being smitten with her. But here he is, falling under the same spell and being smitten.
But there's a difference between Marlon and Louis..
Marlon looked over to the gate as it opened. His eyes fell on Louis who seemed to be making some joke.
Clementine likes Marlon.
Not Louis.
Marlon doesn't think of anxiety too much. Half of the time, he says it's a stupid thing that holds people back. But here he is, standing in front of the room where Clem and AJ are staying in. And he's anxious.
It took a bit, but he managed to knock on the door and enter once he heard Clementine's consent.
The girl gave him a somewhat surprised look. He's sure it's surprisingly. Only Tenn, Violet and Louis have came to their room. Marlon avoided the room after she woke up. "Hey Marlon, do you need anything?" Clem asked, standing up from the side of AJ's bed. Marlon glanced off to the side, then his eyes fell on AJ who sat up on his elbows and gave him a nod.
He can't believe a kid is acting more of an adult than he is.
"I.. actually wanted to talk to you." He explained. Clem gave a small nod and waited for his topic he wanted to bring up. But he didn't know how to bring this up.
"Why don't you just kiss her?"
The words of a kid.
Marlon froze as Clem glared over to AJ. The kid just shrugged. "What? You like Marlon, Marlon likes you. What's wrong with it?" Clem sighed. Her own face began to color. "AJ, we're.. friends. Of course we like each other. Not like that though." AJ frowned and shook his head. "No, I mean you like- like Marlon and he likes you. It works, doesn't it? So why can't you just kiss?"
Marlon felt like dying under Clementine's uncertain gaze. Her non-blood related son just told her to kiss some guy she barely knows. Clem pulled her gaze away from him and looked back to the small boy. "We'll talk, but for now, you need to get some sleep, Goofball." He heard AJ give a small sigh, but turned to face the wall. And he's out.
Now it's just him and Clem surrounded in an uncertain feeling in the air. "AJ's.. just a kid. He says some stuff." Clem spoke up. "But, he's right, isn't he?" Clementine blinked, then quickly glanced off to the side. "Uhm.. well.. yeah?"
"Then we're on the same page?" Clem nodded. Marlon felt relived to hear that. "That takes a lot of weight off of my shoulders." He chuckled a bit. "I wasn't sure on how to bring this up, but sometimes, AJ just talking is a good thing." Marlon's eyes followed Clem as she walked over to him. Then..
He felt her lips press against his.
For half a second, he stared at what he could see. He almost seemed unsure to kiss back, but his eyes slowly closed and Clementine felt pressure being reciprocated. Marlon pulled back ever so slightly just to tilt his head to deepen the kiss. A small noise of pleasure and content left Clementine, only to be drowned in Marlon's mouth. He felt Clem's hand grip his bicep, it wasn't long until Clem felt Marlon's hand on her waist, then he slowly pulled her further.
The fact that a little kid was in the room seemed to escape their minds. And that Marlon left the door open too. But it's late, no one would think to come to Clem's room, right?
Marlon pulled away after the burning in his lungs told him to stop. He watched Clementine's pink, now slightly swollen, lips give out slow and ragged breathes. Clem closed her eyes seeing how Marlon leaned down again.
"Woah-" Marlon froze. He turned towards the door as Clem looked over his shoulder.
"You really need to be more honest, Marlon." Violet remarked, crossing her arms. Marlon glanced away feeling his face slowly begin to heat up. "I would say that this is gross.."
"But I think you two are kinda cute together. You both have that leadership and comforting vibe."
Marlon opened the bedroom door and made sure to close it behind him. He leaned on the door and traced his finger over his bottom lip. "Hope you had fun." M arlon looked up.
Louis didn't bare him a glance, he just sat at the desk lightly tossing a soccer ball up into the air. "You know," his hands closed around the ball with a loud clap. "With the girl I told you I liked." Marlon averted his eyes as Louis turned to him. "That's really low man." Louis sighed, but then chuckled. "But I can see why she'd want you." Louis muttered, lightly tossing the soccer ball onto the floor and got up from the desk. "I mean, I guess any girl would want a guy who's a leader and serious..."
"I'm going to bed." Louis quickly added. "Try not to steal anything else while I'm not paying attention."
"Brody, I- I can't do this."
"Marlon, listen, we don't have a choice!" She pleaded. Marlon couldn't look up to her eyes. "It's asking for the impossible now." He replied. "I'm.. I don't want to give any more kids away! I feel guilty enough with Sophie and Minerva." Brody glanced down and released a shaky breath. "You.. just don't want to give up Clementine.."
"Brody-"
"No, I understand. I really do. You love her. I can see it. But think about the group!"
"Do what's best for everyone, not just yourself.. please.."
Clementine has been surrounded by death for almost ten years. Everyone she's ever loved and been with has died. She began getting hope after meeting a group of teens, but-A loud bang broke the cold look in Clem's eyes. She felt something hit her face and weight on her arms, then a soft thud.Clem's eyes bore at the new blood on her hands. It wasn't Brody's or hers. She didn't want to look down, she didn't want to turn. She felt.. numb. Her eyebrows furrowed as her eyes began getting more blurry, then something hot fell out of her eye and rolled down her face.Hesitantly, Clementine looked down, and she regretted it. She stared at the fresh blood slowly dripping out of the head. Marlon's head.Clem inhaled largely, but shakily as she turned her head. Clem felt light headed, she felt the small amount of food she always ate, rising in the back of her throat. Her face felt hot and her vision was blurry. ".. I.. I did- didn't mean to shoot..."