WHITE FLAG

chapter twenty-six : confession
{ season two - episode nine }

"WE'RE GONNA HEAD out and look for the others. They've been out for too long," Zayn informed his younger sister, leaning against the doorframe. Kloe was still in the room with Maggie, Beth and Isabelle. Her side still wasn't fully healed, and it needed to get checked on by Hershel. It still hurt every time she moved, so she still had to be careful.

"Okay, please stay safe," Kloe nodded, softly smiling at him. But her smile faltered when she heard an engine outside of the house.

Zayn also noticed and quickly went over to the window. "Took them long enough," he said, turning around to face the girls. Kloe's whole stomach did a flip as she quickly rose to her feet. She instantly regretted getting up too quickly as soon as Kloe felt the burning pain rush through her from her side.

Thankfully, Isabelle was close enough to steady her. Kloe muttered out a thank you as they all headed to the front door. She just needed to see if everyone was okay and made it back safe, then her stomach could settle.

Carol was in front of them all and pushed the door open. Kloe met the warm breeze hit her face and she stepped out the house, immediately squinting her eyes from the bright light.

As Zayn, Kloe and Isabelle stepped down the porch steps, the first thing they saw was Rick swiftly getting out of the car. Carl, who was in front, instantly ran over to his father and wrapped his arms around him, "Dad!"

Rick then wrapped his arms around his wife, and on the side, Kloe noticed Shane staring at the two. His face was unreadable, but anyone could sense the jealousy from a mile away.

Kloe's attention quickly whipped over to the sound of two car doors slamming shut. Her heart sank into her stomach when she saw him already looking over at her. As she went to softly smile, he broke away from their gaze and stared at the ground as if something just shattered him. He walked away with the rifle in his hand, but kept his eyes away from everyone, especially Kloe. She was confused. But she didn't do anything.

"Are you hurt?" Lori asked, checking over her husband.

"No, but what happened to you?" he cupped his wife's cheek with his hand, a look of worry present in his eyes.

"I was in a car accident."

"Accident? How?"

"I went looking for you," she narrowed her eyes at her husband.

"Snuck out on her own," Shane spoke up. "Brought her back."

"Are you crazy? You could've-"

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog pointed toward the car, resulting in everyone simultaneously looking in that direction. Kloe squinted her eyes, making out the figure that was unconscious in the back of the car.

"That's Randall," Glenn answered. Everyone shared a glance before slowly approaching the red car. The boy was young, he had a red blindfold around his head and he had messy dark brown hair.

While everyone was invested with 'Randall', Kloe quickly glanced up in hope to catch Glenn's eye, but instead he was walking the other way, away from everyone.

What happened out there?

...

"We couldn't just leave him behind," Rick reasoned. Everyone was all in the Greene's house dining room as they had a little meeting about what to do with Randall. Kloe leaned against the wall beside Maggie and Isabelle. Glenn still avoided any eye contact, and she didn't know why. "He would've bled out, if he lived that long.

Glenn finally looked away from the table and up at everybody, "It's gotten bad in town." His voice was low and soft. Once again, the second Kloe met his gaze, he instantly looked away.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea inquired, shaking her head.

"I repaired his calf muscle as best as I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage," Hershel entered the room, wiping his hands with a light green cloth. "Won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way," Rick simply said, his eyes darting between everyone in the room.

Just as Daryl entered the house, Andrea began to speak again, "Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?"

"He'll have a fighting chance."

"Just gonna let him go?" Shane asked in disbelief. "He knows where we are."

"He was blindfolded the whole way here," Rick defended, glaring across at Shane. "He's not a threat."

"Not a threat? How many were there? You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage but they just ain't gonna come looking," Shane argued.

"They left him for dead. No one is looking," Rick remarked, his voice growing louder the more frustrated he got.

"We should still post a guard," T-Dog suggested.

"He's out cold right now, will be for hours," Hershel informed, looking across at everyone, mainly Shane.

"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy," Shane sarcastically said, walking toward the exit of the room. He scoffed, "Look at this, folks. We back in fantasyland."

Kloe quickly took a few steps back away from Shane, along with Maggie and Isabelle doing the same. They weren't even in his way, but it was obvious that they didn't trust him or they were terrified of him.

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet," Hershel stopped the raging man, pointing right at him. Shane turned around to face him as he continued speaking. "Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all. This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor. Keep your mouth shut."

Kloe's eyebrows were raised at Hershel's confrontation. Although, everyone in the room wanted what his last sentence was. Shane would never keep his thoughts to himself, he had to spread it out to the world.

Shane scoffed one final time and harshly walked over to the door. He slammed the door shut behind him while Hershel continued wiping down his hands with his cloth. He turned to Rick, who was stepping over to him.

Rick placed his hand on Hershel's shoulder, "Look, we're not gonna do anything about it today. Let's just cool off."

Then, everyone began leaving the room. Maggie, Kloe and Isabelle all shared a glance, ready to go back into Beth's room. Kloe nodded to them, looking down at the ground briefly. Her breath got caught in her throat as she got a glimpse of Glenn walking past them, walking toward the front door.

Judging by the way he was acting, he needed to be alone. Something happened out there, and Kloe wanted to know. But she couldn't just bombard him with questions.

Someone shoved their elbow into her arm, catching her attention. Her head whipped over to the person, and Zayn was smirking, "You should go talk to him."

"Nah, he wants to be alone, can't you see?" Kloe gestured behind her shoulder with her thumb. "He has a face of thunder."

"Kloe, go talk to him," he stated with a more firm tone. "If he needs to talk to anyone, it'll be you. Trust me."

Kloe let out the biggest breath she'd ever exhaled before gazing over at Maggie and Isabelle. They both had looks on their faces as if they knew her older brother was right. "If things go wrong, I blame you guys," Kloe said half-jokingly, brushing past them as she traced Glenn's steps.

She really didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to. She pulled open the door, meeting the warm breeze. Kloe instantly spotted Glenn's figure, and he wasn't even that far away. Her body completely paused for no reason, but she quickly came back to reality and hurried down the steps.

"Glenn," she called out once she was close enough. He came to an immediate stop, hesitantly turning his body to face his best friend. Once he did, it was like Kloe couldn't breathe anymore. He wasn't his usual self. "What's wrong? You've been acting differently."

He took a deep breath, actually looking into her dark brown eyes, "I'm sorry for the way I acted. I acted like a complete idiot just walking away like that, not really saying anything. It's just I- I didn't know what to do. I was- I was surprised that the girl that could like way more people before this started waited for me."

Kloe's lips parted with shock at the boy's small explanation, the look of guilt present in his face while speaking. Kloe had no idea what to say. She was just completely speechless, "I- I don't know what to say."

He shifted his weight, letting out a sigh, "Hershel saved my life today." Kloe nodded as he finished the small sentence, not saying anything so he could continue. "And Rick saved us both. And I- I froze."

"Well, it's not everyday you get shot at, it's normal to be scared from that."

"I know, but..." he shook his head as he stared at the ground.

"There's nothing for you to prove, Glenn," Kloe pointed out, her voice softer and quieter.

He shook his head more furiously, shooting his eyes up across at the girl, "All I've done, and this, okay, I-" he cut himself off, glancing back down at the ground as he debated his next words. He shifted on the spot again, looking back up at her, "It's because of what you said."

"Th- That I love you?" At this point, Kloe had no idea where he was taking this, and he didn't either.

He nodded, "Yeah. That." He nervously checked around the pair to make sure no one was nearby, and once he knew they were in the clear, he took one step closer, "A bullet hit the wall behind me and I- I thought of you. Losing me, hurting." Kloe's heart clenched at Glenn's words, and all she wanted to do now was wrap her arms around him and just apologize over and over again. "And I couldn't take it, so I hid... to stay alive."

"Glenn, I-" Kloe still had no idea what to say. All she knew is that she felt guilty. If only she had known that he was gonna react like this, she wouldn't have said anything.

"No, no, no," he shook his head slowly, letting out a shaky breath. "You don't get it. Rick, Hershel, they were counting on me. And I- I only thought of myself. And I know that sounds selfish, but I wanted to come back here alive to tell you that I love you too because I needed you to know that."

Kloe's heart skipped several beats at Glenn's choice of words. "Woah, I- I wasn't expecting that," she stuttered. She stared at the boy with a small smile on her face.

"I know I'm supposed to see you as my best friend's sister, but I don't. Ever since we met, I saw you as this strong, brave and bold girl. You still are, and I love you for that. Even before what happened at the CDC, I had loved you for a long, long time."

A wide, sheepish smile sneaked onto Kloe's face. Without hesitation, she threw her arms around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder as he did the same. She lifted her head, pulling back slightly. His hands released her back and cupped her face. He looked into her eyes with a soft smile before leaning in. Their lips connected gently, and neither of them could hold back a smile. It felt like reality didn't exist anymore.

Despite the fact they had slept together, and kissed the day before, it still felt like they were way more alive than before. Breathless, they both pulled away as Kloe lifted her eyelids, catching him already looking at her. She quietly laughed at Glenn's innocent smile that she always loved.

His eyes drifted over her shoulder and his smile dropped, except it turned into a chuckle. "What is it?" Kloe asked, her brows furrowing but her smile stayed.

"We have an audience," one of his hands that were cupping her face pointed over to the house behind her. Subconsciously, Kloe turned but not all the way to see what Glenn was talking about. Kloe could see Zayn watching the two through the window.

Once he noticed that they could see him, he smirked and pretended to eat popcorn. Kloe narrowed her eyes across at her older brother while he continued eating his 'popcorn.' He suddenly stopped chewing and threw his hands in the air with annoyance, gesturing to carry on.

Kloe rolled her eyes at her brother and slowly turned back around to face Glenn. As much as she found it quite annoying that her brother was always watching, his actions and movements of doing so made it funny.

Glenn had a nervous but yet angelic smile on his lips and she couldn't help but do the same. "Just Zayn being Zayn," Kloe laughed.

"Yeah," he agreed. Before she could say anything, he pressed his lips against hers again. Was she complaining? No. Was she expecting it? No. Did she love it? Yes. He smiled into the kiss, making her copy his actions and grin widely.

They both reluctantly pulled away at the same time, still smiling widely. Glenn glanced down at her hand and slowly grabbed it, pulling it upward. Their hands were just below head level and he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"You should go and rest, Glenn. You've had no sleep," Kloe stated softly, staring at their connected hands. He hesitantly nodded, still gently smiling. "And while you rest, I'll be inside if you need anything."

He nodded, "Yeah, see you."

Kloe slowly took a few steps back, not letting go of his hand until she was just about far enough. She gave him one last smile before turning around, only to see Zayn clapping his hands through the window.

She rolled her eyes once again as she made her way up the porch steps. She kept smiling to herself at the thought of Glenn's lips on hers, it was the best feeling ever.

She swiftly pulled open the door and instantly jumped back with surprise as she saw her brother standing right in front of her. "If there was a competition of who was the best stalker of all time, you'd be one of them."

"That was quite the show," he practically squealed. "My little sister is finally getting a man. Proud big bro moment."

Kloe couldn't help but smile as he wrapped his arm around his younger sister's shoulder, slowly walking toward the room where Beth was. "So, what did he say? Did he tell you that he loves you too?" he asked, smirking.

Kloe snorted, "I don't think Glenn would want the reason why he was avoiding me spread out. I'd be a bad friend."

"Friend, huh?" he questioned, his eyebrows lifting and dropping repetitively. "You guys are way more than friends. You know, when I found out what you two did in the CDC, I was beyond shocked and kinda mad. But I know Glenn, and he's the right guy for you."

Kloe smiled widely at her brother as they got closer and closer to Beth's room. Once they reached it, he released his arm that was wrapped around her shoulder and pulled the door open. Maggie was standing right in the doorway, and she was staring at Beth and her father, who was checking her pulse.

She spun around, startled from the noise behind her, and faced the two of them. Her eyes were watery as if she had just been crying. Exhaling heavily, she brushed past the siblings while wiping away the single tear that fell down her cheek.

Kloe watched her as she walked away hastily and she turned back around to look at Hershel, who was staring down at his youngest daughter with guilt.

"I'll go talk to her," Kloe said, patting her brother on the shoulder before walking out of the doorway. She walked the same route she saw Maggie walk through. She knew why Maggie was upset, and she couldn't blame her.

Kloe got to the living room, and she heard small sniffles coming from the couch. Her head shot over to the couch, and she spotted Maggie sitting on it with her head in her hands.

Subconsciously, Kloe walked over to her with a sympathetic expression. She dropped down onto the couch beside her, making it dip down. "Hey, Maggie. What's wrong?" Kloe questioned in a comforting tone.

Her hands slid away from her face and she looked across at Kloe, not even trying to cover her tears and shook her head, "He- he left and I didn't know what to do. And the worst part is that he was drinking. He was out drinking having the time of his life while we were here scared for Beth-" she cut herself off by letting out a sob.

"Hey, hey, deep breaths, okay? It's all okay now," Kloe comforted, her hands rubbing both of her shoulders comfortingly. "He's back, and Beth is going to be okay," she softly smiled as Maggie wiped away another tear and nodded her head.

She did as Kloe said and slowly took deep breaths, her eyes sealing shut and she focused. Once her breathing steadied, she opened her eyes and sent Kloe an appreciative smile, "Thank you, Klo." She nodded in response, returning Maggie's smile.

The two friends sat there for a while, Maggie fixing herself up. Kloe stared down at the hand Glenn held and began smiling to herself. "What are you smiling about?" Maggie inquired, smiling at her friend's happiness that she deserved.

Kloe's head shot up to the eldest Greene girl and her smile grew wider, "Nothing much-"

"Her and Glenn had a make out sesh," Zayn cut his younger sister off, earning an amused grin from Maggie and a death glare from his younger sister. Kloe shook her head and as she was about to speak to deny it, Zayn cut her off once again. "Soon they'll be hugging... holding hands... kissing... or even more-"

"Zayn!" Kloe snapped, making both Zayn and Maggie chuckle in amusement. "It wasn't like that," she stated simply. She felt the blush rise to her cheeks as Maggie laughed from beside her, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," she laughed, making Kloe raise her brows, "Okay, it is something. It's just that a few days ago you told me you didn't have a thing for Glenn and here we are." Kloe pouted her lips and nodded in defeat, realizing what Maggie was saying was true.

"What's happening?" a new voice asked as Isabelle stood in the room, the attention falling on her. Zayn and Maggie smirked as they glanced at each other before looking straight ahead at the teen.

"Glenn and Kloe are together now-"

"No we're not," Kloe cut her older brother off once again, "Don't listen to them, Isabelle, we only kissed-"

"And confessed your love for one another!" Maggie added, not letting her friend finish her sentence. "Last time I recalled, you don't kiss your friends and say you love them and sleep with them. Unless you're friends with benefits."

"Ah yes, Maggie. Announce it to the world," Kloe sarcastically smiled at her friend before turning to Isabelle, who now had the same amused grins as Zayn and Maggie did, "Oh great, not you too."

"Hang on, you guys weren't together before?" Isabelle deadpanned with a wide smile, stepping closer to the couch Maggie and Kloe were sitting on.

"Why does everybody think that we are together?" Kloe asked, eyeing the three others in the room.

"I'm not sure actually, it might just be the fact that you always held hands," Zayn snickered, causing both Maggie and Isabelle to laugh along with him.

"I noticed that too," Maggie pointed out.

"Make that the third person," Isabelle chimed in.

"Isn't that what friends do?"

"Yeah, of course, but the way you both looked at each other you would be able to tell that there was something between the two of you from a mile away," Zayn answered, smirking at his younger sister.

"Answer me truthfully, how long are you guys gonna tease me about this?"

The three shared long glances with even bigger smirks from before on their faces. "Probably a while," Maggie answered, nudging her friend in the shoulder.

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words: 3356
10th may 2022
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i would like to apologize for the extremely long wait LMAO- i don't even know why i took so long, it's just i had some writers block ig but after reading some books it put me back in the correct motivation!