Act One; Chapter Five

Word count: 4193

[Season One, Episode Three]

Camp was still on edge from the group not being back from their supply run yet, but everyone was trying to make the best of it. Well, mostly everyone, because Amy was still rightfully storming around camp due to Shane's call to leave the group to die in the city.

Currently, Eve was giving Sawyer a haircut while sitting beside Lori, who was also coincidentally cutting her son's hair. Well, in actual fact, it wasn't really a coincidence because the three adults figured out a plan to trick Carl into wanting to get his haircut since it was getting a bit long and he kept refusing to get it trimmed.

So they used Sawyer as bait by having him say he wanted his haircut, and since Carl followed anything Sawyer or Shane did, he quickly changed his mind. Fun fact: Shane was originally supposed to be the one to say he wanted his hair cut, but when he realized Eve would be the one cutting his hair and not Lori, he instantly backed out. However, much to Eve's dismay, Shane decided to still hang around as she and Lori gave the haircuts to Sawyer and Carl, despite the two having a bit of a spat due to his ludicrous order from earlier.

"Baby, the more you fidget, the longer it takes." Lori pointed out before pleading, "So don't, okay?"

"I'm trying," Carl groaned, rather annoyed at the situation.

"Well, try harder."

Sawyer snorted out a chuckle and shook his head, forgetting for a second that he was also getting a haircut. In reaction, Eve swiftly grasped the sides of Sawyer's head and held him still, jokingly scolded, "Don't you move either. I could cut a piece of your hair so short that you would have to shave your head."

Eve paused, then looked down and locked eyes with Sawyer before adding, "So don't you dare move again, mister, because, no offense, I don't think you could pull off the bald look."

Whilst looking Eve directly in the eyes, Sawyer smirked as he playfully answered, "Yes, ma'am." His Georgia accent shining clearly throughout the sentence. After that, he put his back up, softly laughing. Unknownst to Sawyer, though, Eve had smiled shyly as her cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment at the butterflies swarming in her stomach.

Shane noticed the interaction and didn't particularly like the idea of his baby brother dating the girl who had just challenged his authority not so long ago. However, he pushed aside his anger and concerns so he could lightheartedly tease Carl.

"If you think this is bad, wait till you start shaving. That stings. When that day comes, you'll be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Carl grumbled, still annoyed.

Shane simply chuckled as he cleaned his shotgun, then paused before bribing, "I'll tell you what... You just get through this with some manly dignity, and tomorrow I'll teach you something special. I will teach you to catch frogs."

"I've caught a frog before."

"I said frogs, plural," Shane corrected prior to adding, "And it is an art, my friend. It is not to be taken lightly. There are ways and means. Few people know about it. I'm willing to share my secrets."

"I'm one of those people," Sawyer smugly gloated, which just made the others laugh.

Following that, Carl looked up expectantly at his mother for an answer, but all she answered with was, "Oh, I'm a girl. You talk to him."

Shane nodded his head in agreement then said, "It's a one-time offer, bud, not to be repeated."

Carl scrunched his nose in thought as he curiously questioned, "Why do we need frogs, plural?"

"You ever eat frog legs?"

Carl practically yelped in disgust, causing Shane to laugh while he disagreed, "No, yum!"

Lori grimaced, then countered, "No, he's right. Eww."

"They're not that bad," Eve replied absentmindedly as she continued to trim Sawyer's hair.

Sawyer swiftly leaned his head back so he could look at Eve then brightly smiled while asking, "You've caught frogs before?"

She nodded, then chuckled as she straightened his head back up and answered, "Yeah, my uncle Howie... My father's brother was a real outdoorsman. So he'd frequently take me and my siblings on camping trips whenever my mom and dad were too swamped with work to take care of us. And during one of those trips, he taught us how to catch frogs." Eve smiled fondly at the memory then continued, "The trick is to be very quiet and-"

Eve got ironically cut off by loud ringing alarms fast approaching the camp. The loud noise causing everyone to spring up onto their feet and run over to Dale, who was keeping watch.

Shane was the first one to say something: "Talk to me, Dale!"

In response Dale just shook his head. "I can't tell yet."

Amy came rushing out of the woods, ran towards the RV, hurriedly asking, "Is it them? Are they back?"

An amazed grin appeared on Dale's face as he softly muttered, "I'll be damned."

"What is it?" Amy asked impatiently.

"A stolen car is my guess."

After Dale said that, the loud sports car rolled into camp and came to a halt. Despite the fact that it had now stopped, the alarm continued to ring incessantly. When Eve first heard the noise, she instinctively covered her ears to muffle the sound, but when she saw who was in the car, she immediately dropped her arms to the side and spirited over to the car, not giving a single damn about the noise.

The first thing Glenn saw after getting out of the car was his sister running towards him like Sonic the Hedgehog. Then, before Glenn could even process Eve approaching him, she had engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug, and to say it took him by surprise would be an understatement.

"Whoa, what's this for?" Glenn muttered in a soft chuckle of astonishment, slowly returning the hug.

Eve angrily broke the embrace, smacked the back of Glenn's head and scolded him. "You almost dying, that's what!"

Glenn pouted as he rubbed the spot Eve had smacked and murmured, "You didn't have to hit me before saying that."

"Enough with the chitter-chatter! Turn that damn thing off!" Shane commanded with a scream.

Glenn flinched at the sound of Shane's yelling and looked at Jules for a possible answer to give the frustrated man. Jules knew Glenn was intimidated by Shane, and for good reason; the asshole reminded her of her dad, and that's the worst thing Jules could ever think of to compare someone to. Jules never said that out loud however because Sawyer would get hurt, and well, she didn't want to deal with Shane's wrath. However, right now, she would gladly take the brunt of his frustrations if it meant Glenn would be free of them.

"We don't know how!" Jules replied loudly so Shane could hear over the alarm.

The man scoffed, rolling his eyes so far they went to the back of his head, then following that, simply yelled, "Pop the damn hood, please!"

Jules bit her tongue and followed the man's order; however, as she did, inwardly quipped, "Since you asked so nicely."

Once Shane disconnected the car battery, Amy bombarded Glenn with questions about her sister.

"Is Andrea okay? Is she all right?"

"She's okay! She's okay!"

"Is she coming back?"

"Yes!" Glenn impatiently snapped, which caused Jules to snort and Eve to snicker while Amy pressed on, "Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?"

Glenn took a deep breath so he could find his now nonexistent patience before answering, "Yeah, she's fine. Everybody is." Glenn grimaced after saying that because his brain immediately pictured Merle chained on the roof, so he clarified. "Well, Merle, not so much."

No one even flinched an eyelash upon hearing Merle Dixion was dead; instead, Shane questioned Jules and Glenn about the car rather angrily.

"Are you two crazy for driving this wailing bastard up here!? Are you trying to draw every geek for miles?"

Dale responded for the two, "I think we're okay."

"You call being stupid okay?"

Glenn's face dropped at the insult, and in reaction, Jules protectively snapped, "Dude, the fucking alarm was echoing all throughout the hills. It's not like actual dead people are going to be smart enough to pinpoint the sound." After defending Glenn, Jules resentfully crossed her arms, shooting Shane a deadly glance.

It was quiet for a moment before Dale cautiously imparted, "You are right, Jules, but it wouldn't hurt you and Glenn to be a little more careful next time, would it?"

Jules simply shrugged while Glenn awkwardly muttered an apologetic sorry, then after that perked up again as he pointed, "We got a cool car." Sending a cheerful smile towards Jules, which she happily returned, agreeing, "Hell yeah, we did."

Somehow Glenn's bright smile managed to get even bigger after that, and it made Jules feel victorious for being the reason.

Following that, the construction truck containing Rick and the others pulled into the camp. So Jules gestured her head to it as she informed Amy, "Andreas in there." With a reassuring smile.

Without even thinking, Amy sprinted towards the truck when she learned her sister was in it. Because of that, Andrea was instantly greeted with a bear hug by Amy the second she exited the back of the truck. Next, Morales exited and got greeted by his adorable kids and lovely wife. Next T-Dog and Jacqui left the truck with bittersweet expressions since they were happy to be back safe but also a bit somber that no one was waiting for them. Jules caught on, and in an attempt to cheer them up, speed-walked up to both of them and engulfed them in a warm hug.

Jacqui softly laughed as she returned the hug and queried, "What's this all for, sweetie?"

Jules pulled away from the hug with a content smile, then answered, "I just wanted to show you two that you have someone waiting for you."

A chuckle escaped T-Dog, playfully rolling his eyes. "Well, that's cheesy."

Jacqui smacked T-Dog's arm and scolded, "Be nice."

"Yeah, be nice to me, T," Jules jokingly added with a laugh.

Once again, T-Dog playfully rolled his eyes and quipped, "Bite me."

In response, Jules stuck out her tongue at T-Dog, causing him to laugh before returning the gesture.

Jacqui scoffed out a light chuckle before lecturing, "Both of you are actual children."

Jules simply grinned as she wedged herself between T-Dog and Jaqui, then placed her arms around them. After that, she started to lead them back up to camp while responding to Jaqui, "Oh, you know you love us."

Jacqui smirked, "Unfortunately."

This caused the three of them to erupt into bright laughter, and when they walked past Carl, he became sad because he wanted to laugh with his dad like that. Sawyer noticed Carl's expression fall, and he knew it was because he missed his dad. In reaction, Sawyer left his brother's side and went towards Carl so he could try to comfort him. When he reached Carl, he gently placed his hand on his shoulder and leaned down so he could be at the young boy's eye level when he questioned, "Hey buddy, do you want to try to catch frogs with me and Shane after this?"

A hint of a smile appeared on Carl's face when he nodded his head, and since Sawyer could tell Carl was still sad, he wrapped him in a consoling hug. Carl returned the embrace, placing his head into the crook of Sawyer's neck before whispering, "Thank you, uncle Sawyer."

After pulling away from the hug, Sawyer noticed a stray hair on Carl's face, so he softly brushed it away while voicing, "Nothing to say thanks for, buddy; I'm just doing what any good uncle would do."

Following that, Sawyer got up and gave Carl one last pat on the shoulder before going back to Shane's side. Whilst he did so, Lori mouthed a 'thank you' to Sawyer, to which he just nodded in acknowledgment with a small smile in response.

When Sawyer finally returned to his older brother's side, Shane gave him a pat on the back and gave him a look that said, 'Good job.' Next Shane turned his attention back to Glenn and questioned, "How'd y'all get out of there anyway?"

"New guy... He got us out."

"New guy?"

"Yeah, some dumbass cowboy," Jules bluntly answered, causing Glenn to chortle, and Jules promptly smiled at the sound.

Morales joined in the conversation, "Yeah, crazy Vato just got into town." Morales paused, then turned his head to the truck and hollered, "Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello."

Rick stepped out of the truck and looked utterly exhausted as he stared blankly down at the ground.

"The guy's a cop like you two," Morales informed Shane and Sawyer.

At this information, Sawyer looked towards where Morales was gesturing, and his eyes couldn't believe who he saw, so he breathlessly murmured, "Holy shit."

Meanwhile, Shane, who also saw Rick approaching them, had an aghast expression of horror plastered on his face.

Then finally Rick looked up from the ground, and his previous blank stare turned into one of surprise, and his expression soon contorted into one of joyous relief as he started to tear up.

"Oh my god," Rick croaked.

Carl screamed in excitement at the sight of his dad, running straight into his arms. Lori followed close behind with a stare of disbelief, and when she was close enough to see that this was in fact not her imagination, she shook her head and choked out a sob as she pulled Rick into a bone-crushing embrace.

The heartwarming reunion of the Grimes family caused everyone's heart to swell. But Sawyer was full-on tearing up at the sight of Carl being reunited with his dad and seeing that Rick was actually alive. When Rick eventually pulled away from his son and wife, he saw Sawyer and Shane standing in front of him. Shane just nodded at Rick with a smile; however, Sawyer couldn't help but tackle Rick with a hug.

Rick laughed and patted Sawyer on the back while returning the hug as Sawyer exulted, "I'm so fucking happy you're alive."

This caused Rick to laugh once again as he agreed, "I am to, I am to."

── ⋅✦⋅ ── ༻༺ ── ⋅✦⋅ ──

"Disoriented, I guess that comes closest," Rick muttered while holding a sleepy Carl in his arms and facing the warm campfire. It had been a couple hours since the tearful reunion of the Grimes family, and now Rick was telling the group what happened when he woke up around the nightly campfire.

"Disoriented...." Rick repeated, then paused so he could think over what words most accurately described his feelings. "Fear, confusion, all those things, but disorientation comes closest."

"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short," Dale commented in an attempt to help put Rick at ease with his indecisiveness.

Rick nodded appreciatively at Dale, then continued, "I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while, I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever."

Carl looked up to his dad and brokenly murmured, "Mom said you died."

An empathetic expression appeared on Rick's face, and he comfortingly patted Carl's head, voicing , "She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it."

Obvious guilt was plastered all over Lori's face, and Sawyer and the rest of the group assumed it was because she believed her husband had died when he in fact hadn't. However, Shane knew that Lori had that expression for a completely different reason.

Lori broke her guilty expression so she could softly say: "When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened."

Rick nodded in understanding, "Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell."

"Yeah," Lori agreed grimly.

"And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun," Rick added.

Shane nodded and breathlessly admitted, "Yeah, looks don't deceive. Sawyer and I barely got them out, you know?"

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you both. I can't begin to express it."

Dale chuckled before adding, "There go those words falling short again. Paltry things."

Sawyer went to say something but got cut off by Ed placing another log onto the nearby fire that his family were the only ones using. So Shane reactively questioned, "Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" In a rather commanding tone of voice.

"It's cold, man," Ed bitterly replied.

Shane scoffed and rolled his eyes. "The cold doesn't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers, so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once."

Shane aggravatedly sprung to his feet and marched over to Ed. While he did so, Sawyer placed his hands in his face and exasperatedly mumbled, "Oh god, not again."

The reason being that Shane and Ed kept having spats over the most minimal of issues ever since the quarry camp got established. Now Sawyer was more than used to Shane having arguments over stupid stuff, but usually people just gave up and let him win the battle. However, with someone as stubborn as Ed Peletier, the arguments seemed to never end. So most of the time, Sawyer had to step in, and that always resulted in Shane being mad at him for the rest of the day. Thankfully, though, Carol pulled out the log before the two could get into a horrible disagreement over it. Then once Shane rejoined the group, Dale brought up a topic that no one wanted to think about or hear about.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

"I'll tell him," T-Dog informed softly, and Jules nervously scoffed out a laugh. "No way in actual hell am I going to let you do that."

T-Dog looked over at Jules and shrugged, countering, "I dropped the key. It's on me."

"And I was the one that knocked him out with a damn baseball bat. I'm taking the blame. I don't want any ifs, whats, or buts about it." Jules crossed her arms and protectively muttered, "I don't want you to get your ass beat by another Dixion."

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine," Rick confessed.

"Guys, it's not a competition," Glenn announced, and when everyone turned their focus on to him, he stared at the ground in embarrassment before adding, "I don't mean to bring race or gender into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."

T-Dog shook his head and disagreed. "I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him."

"We could lie," Amy quietly suggested whilst shifting uncomfortably.

Jules snapped her fingers and agreed, "Now, that's a good idea."

Andrea shook her head in disagreement, "Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed."

Next, Andrea turned her gaze to Lori, and continued, "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."

Dale interjected, "And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? A word to the wise... We're going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"Again, we can always lie," Jules tiredly suggested.

T-Dog once again shook his head. "I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it."

Andrea furrowed her brows in confusion. "We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?"

A sigh escaped T-Dog before he clarified, "I stopped long enough to chain that door. The staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that. Not that chain, not that padlock. My point... Dixon's alive, and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

Following that, he stood up and went to his tent, an awkward silence falling over the group as T-Dog's words set in. Now Jules hated Merle and thought he deserved everything that he got for hurting T-Dog and being a generally vile person, but one small fraction of her felt guilty for not caring that a human being was left to die.

── ⋅✦⋅ ── ༻༺ ── ⋅✦⋅ ──

Jules couldn't sleep because there were thousands of thoughts and conflicting emotions racing throughout her mind. So in a desperate attempt to clear her mind, Jules decided to go to the quarry.

This was a first for Jules since usually she would just stew in her miserable thoughts and memories, but tonight she needed something to help. Jules chose the quarry since it was quiet and had nice, cool water that she could soak her feet in. It wasn't pitch dark, so Jules assumed it was early in the morning, but since Dale wasn't awake yet, she knew it wasn't around six a.m. either.

Jules had maybe spent a half-hour at the quarry just trying to clear her head but having no success in doing so yet. Since Jules was stuck in her own mind, she didn't hear Eve approaching her, because of that when Jules felt someone sit next to her, she jumped.

However, when Jules realized it was Eve, she breathlessly cursed, "Holy shit, you scared me."

"Sorry," Eve apologized with a slight laugh, then her expression turned serious as she added, "I saw you leave camp a little while ago, so I just wanted to check on you and see if you're okay."

Jules forced a smile as she said, "Thanks."

Eve returned the smile and responded with a sympathetic tone, "No problem."

Following that, Eve didn't question why Jules left her tent since she knew most of the time Jules didn't like to talk about her problems, so instead the two of them simply stayed at the quarry in comfortable silence. After a couple of minutes, though, Jules decided to say something: "Your brother yesterday was a real Julius Caesar."

Eve laughed and looked at Jules in disbelief while questioning, "Really?"

"Nah, I'm totally bullshitting you."

The two of them erupted into laughter, and as it died, Jules hugged her knees and rested her head on them. Meanwhile, Eve just placed her arms behind her back and supported herself with her hands as she leaned back to look at the sky.

Jules found herself smiling at the sight because, even in the actual end of the world, Eve Rhee would still look up to stars or clouds for comfort. Jules was thankful everyday that Eve had ended up being one of her roommates in that crowded two-bedroom apartment.

"Why the fuck are there so many stairs?" Jules grumbled lowly whilst dragging her belongings up the stairs and to her new apartment. Now Jules already knew there was a major catch to having a nearby apartment near her college and in her freshman year since she would be sharing with four other girls, but if she had known how many flights of stairs there were, she might have reconsidered. No....that's a lie; she wouldn't have since she was so desperate for a cheap place to stay. But that doesn't mean she couldn't complain about it!

"Do you need help?" A soft, unfamiliar voice questioned Jules from above.

When Jules craned her neck to see who had asked that question, she saw a Korean woman with a friendly and inviting smile, gentle eyes, and an overall warm presence. The sun started to get into Jules' eyes, so she instinctively used her hand to cover them as she replied, "If it's not too much trouble."

The woman simply smiled and reassured, "Oh, none at all."

When the woman finally reached Jules, she took half of the weight off and asked, "Which floor are you on?"

"Uh, unfortunately, the top one."

"No way, so am I!" The woman exclaimed, then glanced over her shoulder and intently inquired, "Which number?"

"E16"

The woman fully turned around and once again exclaimed, "Oh my god! You're the last girl we've been waiting for!"

Jules shifted awkwardly and repositioned her bags as she muttered, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to keep you all waiting."

The woman smiled brightly and waved Jules off. "No, no, you're fine!" Following that, she started to walk up the stairs again, but as she did so, continued talking: "Everyone else is practically out doing their own thing all the time. So when I got here, I cheated and had my brother help me unpack instead of just doing it myself." The woman looked over her shoulder and added, "We'll be sharing a room, by the way. Names Eve. Well, technically, my name is Genevieve, but I literally despise being called that, so I've essentially changed my name to Eve instead."

Jules nodded in acknowledgment. "Ah, gotcha." Then, after her and Eve reached the top floor, she outstretched her hand, introducing herself, "I'm Jules."

Eve smiled and giddily shook Jules hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jules."

"Ditto," Jules responded with the same warm smile that Eve wore.

After Eve let go of Jules' hand, she opened their apartment door and, as she entered, asked, "Do you want help unpacking and stuff?"

Jules was taken aback by Eve's helpfulness, so she accidentally blurted, "Uh, you don't have to help me just cause we're roommates."

Eve just laughed. "I'm not doing this because I'm your roommate."

Since, Jules was shocked that someone she just met was this eager to help her out, she once again blurted, "What are roommates for then?"

Eve once again laughed, then mindlessly teased, "Someone's a Debbie Downer."

However, when Eve realized what she said, she immediately turned around and apologized. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry... My siblings and I always used to call each other that. Whenever we said something like that, so it was like instinct to say it.... not an excuse, sorry."

Jules just shrugged, "Nah, I get it. Besides, I am a Debbie Downer."

A sigh of relief escaped Eve. "Oh, thank you so much for understanding again. I'm so sorry."

Jules shrugged again, a smirk appeared on her lips, and joked, "What are roommates for?"

While smiling at the memory, Jules absentmindedly told Eve. "I'm glad you're not dead."

Eve swiveled her head towards Jules and furrowed her brows. "What?" She breathlessly queried with a hint of a laugh.

Jules laughed at herself and wiped her face with her hands. "That came out wrong."

"Yeah, it did." Eve agreed with a chuckle.

Jules chuckled, pulling a face of agreement before clarifying, "What I meant was if I had to be with anyone in the actual apocalypse, I'm glad it's you. Don't tell T-Dog or Glenn that I said that."

Eve quietly laughed, "Don't worry, I won't."

"Thanks."

A soft, playful grin appeared on Eve's lips, and she softly bumped her shoulder into Jules. "What are roommates for?"

"We can't really keep using that, you know? Since the world actually ended and we had to flee our damn apartment," Jules replied with a grin.

Eve's eyes widened slightly, and then she clicked her tongue. "Shoot your right." Next she pursed her lips before saying, "I guess we'll just have to use best friends instead."

Jules looked at Eve with joyful surprise. "Wait, we're best friends?"

"I mean, yeah. At least I consider you mine." Eve shuffled awkwardly, then murmured, "It's fine if you don't consider me yours... I'll totally understand."

When Jules heard Eve say that, she instantly shook her head. "No, no, no, I do; I've just never really had a best friend before. So it's nice to have finally found one, you know?"

Eve smiled contentedly, with a look of understanding. "Yeah, I get it." After saying that, Eve rested her head on Jules' shoulder, and in return, Jules gently rested her head on top of Eve's. Following that, the two of them watched the sky together in comfortable silence, and as they did so, Jules felt at peace because, for the first time in her life, she felt a familial bond with someone.