WHITE FLAG

chapter twenty-seven : daily streak
{ season two - episode ten }

"ARE YOU SURE you wanna come with me?" Isabelle asked as her and Kloe stumbled through the woods, making their way to Isabelle's treehouse. "I still don't get how you trust me. I stabbed you and you trusted me right after."

Kloe's dark brown eyes flickered up to Isabelle's, "You thought I was a walker. You didn't know. And yes, I'm sure I wanna come with you. I can't let you go alone."

"I only want to get a picture of my family. It's the only thing I have of them left. It wouldn't take me long to get there and get back," the teen reasoned. "You could've stayed with Maggie and Beth since she's awake now."

Kloe narrowed her eyes at the teen, "Beth has been awake for a week now. There's nothing for me to do."

Isabelle nodded her head, staring at the soil. Kloe glanced around, noticing the tree that she was laying against the second before she got stabbed. "We must be getting close," Isabelle muttered, eyeing the tree guiltily as she recognized it.

Over the last week, the friendship between Kloe and Isabelle had increased majorly. They both had so much in common that it was hard to believe. Isabelle looked up to Kloe, knowing that everything she said Kloe would understand. The teen was grateful to have a friend like Kloe, despite the age gap.

Kloe was grateful too. She already had two friends that weren't her brother that she could talk to, but neither of them would understand since they never went through it. Isabelle did. Most people would find it weird talking to someone who's six years younger, but it didn't make Kloe feel weird whatsoever.

The youngest Schmidt talked Rick into letting her and Isabelle go back to her treehouse to get the rest of her belongings, and after a day of persuading, he gave in and allowed the two to go. Zayn and Glenn didn't like the idea either, but they also gave in.

Glenn. The two hadn't talked about their relationship yet. They kissed at least once a day, but that was all. Glenn was still shaken up by what happened in town and needed to pull himself together, so Kloe left him to it while she helped others.

"Do you think Randall should be dropped off on the road?" Isabelle suddenly asked, making Kloe's head snap up toward the teen. "I mean, I get that he tried killing Rick, Hershel and Glenn, but what if he was ordered to do that? Shouldn't he be given a chance?"

Kloe narrowed her eyes, "I'm a forgiving person, but I wouldn't feel safe if I was sleeping a few feet away right by someone who tried to kill some of our group. People have choices. He had a choice if he was to kill them or not."

"But wasn't it Rick that killed their people first? He was technically in the wrong," Isabelle remarked.

"Yes, but Glenn told me that one of them wanted to come here just for the women, and the other guy wanted his entire group here. I wouldn't have trusted them the second they mentioned using women for sex," she reasoned, earning a nod from Isabelle.

The two had been walking for a while without realizing that they were in front of Isabelle's treehouse. They glanced up at it and Kloe's shoulders slumped down in frustration as she noticed the wind had blown the ladder over the railing.

"Great. How great," Kloe muttered to herself as she looked around, trying to figure out another way to get up. Once realizing there wasn't another way up, she eyes the tree that was connected to the treehouse, "Tree-climbing it is." Kloe stepped over to the tree and briefly examined it before finding out a way up there. In an instant, she knelt down slightly and placed her hand over the palm of her other. "Come on, I'm gonna boost you up."

Isabelle, who seemed hesitant, nodded before rushing over to the youngest Schmidt girl and placed one hand on Kloe's shoulder and the other on the tree. She set her foot on Kloe's palm, lifting her chin to the branch she had to grab. "Okay, I can almost reach it."

"Alright, you ready?" Kloe asked, and Isabelle nodded in return. "Okay, three... two... one!" she used all the strength in her body to push the teenage girl up. Isabelle also pushed herself up as both of her hands gripped onto the branch.

"Okay, okay, I got it!" Isabelle said, her voice slightly raising as she pulled herself up, groaning and grunting. Kloe stared up at the girl, hoping she'd be able to do it. Isabelle lifted her leg, putting it on the other side of the branch. "Good thing I'm flexible," she muttered, sitting on the branch with her legs on either side.

"You should be able to get to your treehouse from there, Isabelle," Kloe pointed to the treehouse, making the young teen look over at it. She nodded before slowly and cautiously crawled over to it.

"Slow and steady, Isa. You can do it, you can do it," she whispered to herself as she grew closer to her treehouse. As she got closer, the branch began to tear from the trunk. The teen swiftly turned her head to look and the look of worry filled her expression, "Uh, Klo? The branch is breaking."

Kloe stared cautiously at the branch and the teen, "It's okay. It's okay. Keep going." Isabelle did what the girl said and continued to push herself over to the edge of the branch, just going over halfway. Unfortunately, the branch didn't have the same plans and snapped. "Isabelle!" Kloe yelled as the teen quickly grabbed onto the fencing of the treehouse before she could fall.

"I'm okay! The branch isn't though," Isabelle breathed, slightly shaking from almost falling. Kloe released a shaky breath with relief. The Marshel teen girl hauled herself over the fencing, exhaling as she walked over to the tangled up ladder.

Once she successfully untangled it, she dropped it down the hole to enter the treehouse grounds, allowing Kloe to climb up. She grabbed hold of the ladder and began climbing up, making sure her bow was high up on her shoulder.

Isabelle extended out her hand for Kloe to grab onto, which she took gratefully as she got up. Kloe rose to her feet and stood beside Isabelle. "Nothing's changed," Kloe muttered as Isabelle opened the door to her treehouse with a key that was hidden underneath a plant pot.

Kloe stepped inside, admiring the pretty room that Isabelle had. There was a wooden single bed that was covered with plain gray blankets and a few plushies that sat on the end of the bed. The bed was underneath a circular window. Right above the bed were bookshelves that held many books and a few photo frames.

In the corner of the room was a wooden wardrobe that only had a few hangers inside of it with clothes attached to them. The other side of the room was a miniature kitchen that only had a big cabinet full of food and bottled water. On the counter beside the cabinet were piles of baby wipes which is what Isabelle used to clean herself since she didn't have running water.

Everything was made out of dark wood, which didn't surprise Kloe since it was a treehouse. She turned to her teenage friend who was rummaging through a small chest that was at the end of her bed, "Nice house."

"Thanks. I'm gonna miss this place a bunch," Isabelle smiled as she grabbed onto something familiar. She pulled out a book that was made out of leather with engraved letters on it that said Big Tips to becoming a Nurse.

"You wanted to become a nurse?" Kloe asked as she watched the teen girl.

She nodded, "Watching my mom do her job inspired me to become her, so I studied hard on how to become a nurse." Kloe smiled at the Marshel teen. Isabelle opened the book to page sixty-five and just as she did, a small photograph flew out of the page, falling onto the wooden flooring. The photo was a portrait of herself with her foster parents behind her.

The woman, who Kloe guessed was Isabelle's foster mother, smiled widely at the camera with a hand on Isabelle's shoulder. She had short curly brown hair that went up to her shoulders and light makeup. She had a necklace around her neck that had a locket shaped like a heart attached to it. She had a short dress that went down to her knees and it was plain red.

Her husband, Isabelle's foster father, had pushed back black hair that was covered with gel. His skin tone was slightly darker than his wife's and foster daughter's. He had the same smile that was on his wife's face and had a suit on. His beard had only just been shaved, you could tell.

And lastly Isabelle. She was a young girl with long dark brown hair that was also curly just like her foster mother's hair. You could easily tell that she wasn't their child since she looked nothing like them. She had the widest smile in the picture, some of her baby teeth missing. She had a white low cut dress that suited her very well.

Kloe smiled at the picture and she glanced down to the corner where there was a date. 2001. Isabelle was seven-years-old. The year she was given to her foster parents. "I always kept this picture in this page. '65 is the year my foster mom was born," Isabelle shared a quick glance with Kloe before tucking the picture into her pocket.

"I have many pictures of me with my family, but sadly they're all stuck in my dorm in Athens," Kloe said, looking at all the picture frames in the room.

Isabelle stood up, "You're from Athens?" Kloe nodded. "Wow, that's far from here."

"Yeah," Kloe nodded again. Behind Isabelle's shoulder, Kloe noticed a familiar thing sitting on another chest. "Is that a CB?" Kloe asked, pointing over to the radio on the girl's bed.

Isabelle swiveled her head into the direction Kloe was pointing in and nodded, "Yeah. It's as good as dead though. I've tried contacting through it but there's nothing there, not even static."

Kloe pursed her lips as she glanced round the room one last time, "Okay. grab things you need and then we can go back. My idiotic brother is probably worrying."

...

"You're finally back," Zayn stated as he and Maggie approached Kloe and Isabelle. They had been gone for at least an hour and a half. Isabelle had a backpack on her back full of belongings that she had packed up, officially saying goodbye to the treehouse.

"We weren't gone for that long, doofus. Calm your horses," Kloe chuckled as she set down her bow and quiver beside her tent. Kloe glanced around, looking for others but only seeing Andrea on top of the RV on lookout. "Where is everyone?"

"Honestly, we have no idea. Rick and Shane are still out, Glenn is on his new daily stroll around the field and Lori is inside keeping an eye on Beth. Everyone else? No idea," Maggie explained, her hands on her hips and her eyes squinted from the bright sun.

"Maggie!" Lori's voice called out from the distance, catching hers, Kloe's, Zayn's and Isabelle's attention. The Grimes woman was sprinting toward them, a scared look written across her appearance. "Maggie!"

Maggie, who began to grow worried, started jogging over to the woman, the three others following her, "What's wrong?"

"It's- it's Beth," Lori answered, panting as she came to a stop, "she didn't eat anything but swiped the knife from the plate. I managed to get it off her but I- I think she was gonna use it."

Maggie's eyebrows frowned with horror as she instantly sprinted toward the house where her younger sister was. Lori followed the Greene girl, leaving Zayn, Kloe and Isabelle standing there shocked.

The three shared a glance with raised eyebrows, completely confused and shocked at just what happened. Kloe and Isabelle had only just got back and something had happened. Did the group ever get a break? No.

"Boo!" a new voice appeared behind the three, making them all jump and slightly scream at the sudden loud noise. They all spun around, spotting Glenn with a wide smile on his face as he began to laugh at the look on their faces. "Your reactions are priceless."

Zayn exhaled heavily, "Tryna give us all heart attacks? Jesus Christ." Glenn only laughed more, making both Kloe and Isabelle smile, despite their hearts racing from the jump scare.

"I think my entire soul took a trip to the moon," Kloe chuckled, placing her hand over her chest and feeling the speed her heart was going. "Okay, my heart is still there. Good to know it didn't go with my soul."

"We'll get you back one day. Be scared," Zayn exhaled one final heavy breath before stepping over to his best friend.

"Nah, that was my revenge for all the times you spied on Klo and I," Glenn reasoned, causing Zayn to let out a laugh and Isabelle to slightly snort.

"Okay so it's my job to plot the revenge because I have done nothing," Kloe sarcastically smiled, although it turned into a real one as a wide grin plastered Glenn's face. Without realizing, Kloe began to stare at Glenn with a small smile on her face.

It wasn't long until Glenn noticed and began to smile at the girl he loved. Zayn, whose eyes darted back and forth between the two with his hand on Glenn's shoulder, smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows, "Welp, this is the part where me and Isabelle leave you be. Enjoy."

Isabelle snickered slightly as she followed Zayn, walking away from the two. Kloe watched her brother and her friend walk away, slowly turning to face Glenn, who still had a wide smile plastered across his face.

The same smile grew on Kloe's face as she stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. He copied her actions, placing his hand on the back of her head as he smiled to himself.

The pair stayed with their arms around each other for a few moments before Glenn pulled away, keeping his arms around the youngest Schmidt girl's back. Kloe kept her arms on his shoulders as she smiled at him with the smile that he loved.

"You came back unharmed," he muttered, examining the girl's appearance to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Perhaps I am better off being with somebody. Being alone is clearly my weakness," she replied, smiling widely as she removed Glenn's cap and ruffled his jet black hair. "Except, there were no walkers out there. Not a single one."

"I'm just glad you're okay," he stated, brushing a strand of hair that was in the girl's face behind her ear. Kloe's angelic smile grew wider and unable to resist the urge, she gently pressed her lips against his.

Despite the fact that they kissed at least once everyday since they both confessed, it still made the two overwhelmingly happy and excited when they got to do it again. They felt like teenagers all over again.

They hesitantly pulled away, resting their heads against each other with their eyes closed. "So, is this becoming a daily streak? If so, this is day eight," Kloe laughed.

"I guess so," he replied, opening his eyes to watch the girl he adored most. He couldn't help but smile at her. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his entire life. Her eyes, her smile, her personality. She was basically the definition of beautiful.

"I know you're staring," Kloe whispered, grinning as she slowly opened her eyes, "Busted."

...

It wasn't long after that Andrea had asked Glenn if he could be on watch while she went inside to see what was going on with the youngest Greene daughter. Kloe decided to tag along with the blonde woman, since the concern in Lori's voice worried her.

The three women were sitting inside of the Greene's house kitchen, listening to the Greene sisters argue. Lori had informed the blonde and brunette about the situation, and the information that got dropped made Kloe feel the most guilt out of the three of them.

Mainly because when she was sixteen, she had the exact same thoughts Beth was currently having. For the same reason, too. Beth lost her mother. Kloe lost her father. Both were the same age. Considering how everyone was handling it, it seemed none of them knew the kind of pain of 'loss' at such a young age.

Kloe knew that the only way to stop you from doing anything, was to have someone there that is forever by your side, no matter what. As long as they're there, and they keep you happy, then why should you leave them if you make them happy too. In the end, you're just hurting the people you love most.

Kloe told herself that for a year, and after a lot of therapy, she was no longer suicidal. But she knew for a fact that not everyone was the same. Not everyone could get over it as quickly as she could. Some of them don't ever get over it.

"Where's Hershel?" Andrea questioned, looking over at Lori who was sitting on the counter. Kloe was brought out of her thoughts and flickered her eyes between the two older women.

"He doesn't want to find out yet," the Grimes woman answered, throwing in a piece of cucumber into her mouth. "It's a family affair. We'll let them work it out."

Both Andrea and Kloe furrowed their brows before Andrea raised hers. "That's working it out?" she eyed the direction the two girls were arguing.

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when it's time to worry," Lori hopped off the counter, brushing her hands against her thighs as she stepped over to the kitchen island.

Kloe knew for a fact that letting the sisters fight was not going to help. Telling the suicidal sister that they are being selfish is just going to make matters worse. What Beth needed was someone to be by her side and tell her anything that doesn't make the girl feel worse.

"I know exactly what Beth is going through. It's not that easy to just get over it," Kloe muttered out, loud enough for the two women to hear. They stared at her for a moment, but neither said anything for a few moments.

"This could've been handled better," Andrea commented, the yells from the other room dying down. Kloe promptly nodded her head in agreement.

"How so?" Lori sighed, eyeing the woman with curiosity as she placed some dirty dishes in the sink and began cleaning them.

The blonde woman exhaled, "You shouldn't have taken the knife away."

Kloe's eyes instantly widened and her brows furrowed as deep as they could go. She pushed herself off of the counter she was leaning on and narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman, "What?"

"Excuse me?" Lori chimed in, staring at Andrea over her shoulder as she paused her cleaning.

"You were wrong," Andrea stated, "like Dale taking away my gun. That wasn't your decision." Lori looked away from the blonde woman, her jaw slightly open with shock as she was left speechless.

"Look, Andrea, we know you lost someone you care about just like Beth has, okay? It's just you're in your thirties or whatever but Beth isn't even an adult yet," Kloe said sharply. "You may have different thoughts, but letting someone that we know and care for kill themselves is a lot to take in."

"She has to choose to live on her own," Andrea snapped back. "She has to find her own reasons." Kloe listened to the woman, not fully though. Deep down, Kloe knew that in some way Andrea was right. But letting Beth freely kill herself was the worst thing she could think of.

"Want me to tie a noose for her?" Lori asked sarcastically, placing the tray of leftover food in the fridge.

"If she's serious, she'll figure out a way."

"Doesn't mean I can't stop her," Lori stepped back over to the counter, packing up all the knives and forks and putting them back in the drawers, "or let her know that I care."

"That has nothing to do with it, Lori," Andrea furrowed her eyebrows. "She only has so many choices in front of her and she believes the best one in suicide."

"That's not an option," Lori shook her head.

"Of course it is."

"Of course it's not," Kloe snapped. "I hate to bring your own family into this, Andrea, but put yourself in Maggie's shoes? Would you let your own sister take her own life? If you would, then that's not okay."

Andrea glared at the young adult before averting her gaze away from her and back to Lori, "She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"She needs a loaded gun, right?" Lori scoffed, sighing heavily. "You'll understand if I don't send you in there."

Kloe was about to add something, but immediately got cut off by Andrea, "I came through it."

"And became such a productive member of the group," Lori said, sorting out things in the kitchen. "Let Maggie handle this her way."

The youngest Schmidt was about to say something about how both Lori and Andrea were in the wrong, but was cut off once again by Andrea. Again. "I contribute. I help keep this place safe."

Lori sighed once again, sending Andrea a glare, "The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help." Kloe's eyebrows raised instantly and she eyed the Grimes woman. Lori, who noticed the look Kloe was sending her, lifted her hands up in defense, "Except you Kloe, I guess."

She threw the cloth that was over her shoulder across the room, stepping away to the other side of the room to put another cloth on the counter. "Thank you," Kloe sarcastically smiled, "Now if you don't mind me, I'm going to let you deal with your little disagreement. And for your information, you're both in the wrong."

Before the two women could question the young adult, she hastily stepped out of the room, exhaling a heavy breath with frustration as she heard the bickering behind her getting quieter.

When was this group ever going to agree on a single thing?

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words: 3717
16th may 2022
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this is pretty much a filler chapter so i shall apologize, but i still hope you enjoyed. the relationship between glenn and kloe is increasing and i'm super excited to write more with them! nothing much else to say except have a good day!