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It took almost two months for the two groups to get back into an everyday flow, but everyone was now back into their respective routines and everything, for the most part, seemed to be in order.
“Did the wall hold up?” Violet wanted to know. Every few days Christa visited the school, either to get something or to bring something over.
“After rebuilding it with Willy and Aasim’s help, it holds up pretty well. There are less and less Walkers every day in the direct vicinity of the library, so we should be good now.”
“Okay good. Did any more traps turn up?” That was a question Christa always got asked, when she arrived here.
Since Ashley stepped in this mysterious trap, every other day another one popped up.
None of them were that close to the school but it seemed like the outer skirts of the woods around the library magically made them.
“One since last time. We’re patrolling the outskirts but the only things we find, are the traps itself. We haven’t managed to find the person who makes them, which is strange. We weren’t able to find any traces, so still no new information. I’m sorry.” Violet nodded slowly.
The traps were worrying her and of course Clementine, too. But as long as they had no idea who the culprit was, there wasn’t much they could do about them.
“Then back to keeping an eye open for them, I guess.” Violet sighed and shrugged.
“Uh… How’s Ashley holding up?” She then added after a moment of silence.
Christa smiled. Every time she came to visit she recognized that Violet was trying to get along with her and slowly but surely it got better.
“Still not fully recovered but the Injuries are doing well, most of them are gone. Ruby did a very good job.”
“Yea she’s incredible with the medical stuff”
“She is. How are you?”
“I’m fine, why? Do I look sick or something?” Violet seemed irritated.
“No, not at all. I just wanted to know. A lot has changed. The school and my group working together, you and Clementine moving into the same room.” Christa obviously had some trouble not to grin to widely. Violet narrowed her eyebrows.
“It’s fine.”
“Okay. That’s good.” Christa knew when to stop pressing Violet. She learned that pretty quickly.
“Omar should be back with the herbs in a minute. I need to go check if Willy and Aasim are working instead of shitting around.” Violet gestured wildly, she just wanted to leave the conversation.
“Sure. Go ahead. Nice talking to you.” Violet nodded and made her way over to the graveyard, where Aasim and Willy were supposed to start breaking the burned building apart.
While she found them actually working, she also found Clementine there.
“So we had the same idea?” she asked smiling. Clementine returned the smile.
“If you wanted to check if they’re working, then yes.”
“Christa is here. She wanted some herbs Omar had promised to her.”
“Ah, thanks. I should go say hi then. Want to come along?” Violet shook her head slightly.
“I already said hi. But you two can talk all you want. I go and check the fish situation. I’m sure there are just some walkers scaring them away or something. Wouldn’t be the first time.” Clementine nodded slowly.
“Be very careful ok?” Violet took Clementine’s hand in her own and squeezed it lightly.
“Sure. I’m back before it gets dark.” Clementine tilted her head slightly to kiss Violet gently.
“Good, the bed is too cold without you.” Violet smiled, letting go of Clementine’s hand, so she could go to speak to Christa.
The moment Clementine was out of earshot, a relatively shrill whistle got Violet’s attention. She rolled her eyes before she turned, because she knew who it was and that he heard the conversation with Clementine.
Since Louis learned how to whistle without needing his tongue he did it whenever he could to stay true to his obnoxious and loud character. She was glad that he was getting better, though. When she finally turned to him, he met her with a huge grin on his face.
“I know what you're thinking, and no” Violet snarled. Louis whistled the sound of a sad trombone, followed by an obscene gesture only Violet could see, but she wished she hadn’t seen.
His grin turned into an apologetic smile, when he met her glare.
“Fuck off, dude.” She flipped him off but grinned for a second and just left him standing there.
“What was that about?” Christa asked. She and Clementine had taken a seat on the picnic table on the side of the courtyard.
“I know as much as you do. But I’m sure it has to do with Louis trying to make Violet laugh and failing.”
“I forgot again that you’re all still teenagers and not every quarrel is serious.” Clementine laughed.
“It sure is different from any other group I was in before.” She smiled.
“In many ways. You’re the leader, the kids look up to you and don’t let us forget that you found love here.” Christa looked at Clementine proudly.
“It’s home.”
“I always wished for you to find a place you can call home. I’m glad you found it.”
“Me too. And by the looks of it you’re group found a place to stay now, too.” Clementine seemed really happy about that.
“I try to be not too optimistic but maybe you’re right. Maybe.” Christa smiled.
“Hey, we put a lot of work into that library, don’t you run away.” Clementine jokingly pointed a threatening finger at Christa making her laugh.
“I won’t. Promise.”
“You better.” Christa inspected the courtyard for a moment.
“So you started to salvage?”
“Yeah, we move the rubble to a dedicated place, break the burned part of the building apart and try to fix whatever we can with what we salvage then. I figured it’s time to not only survive, but to live, you know?”
“That’s a good thought. You’re right” Christa was genuinely impressed.
“We have a huge unused part of the school we want to make usable again. But the wall is busted and some walkers are roaming around there. So planning it to be as safe as possible to clean out takes a while.”
“I’m sure we can help you with that. Just say when you need some more people.” Clementine had hoped Christa would offer her some help.
“That would be really helpful. Thank you.” Christa made a gesture of refusal.
“No need to thank me. We got a lot more help from you all in the last weeks and we didn’t do anything yet.” Clementine laughed again.
“That’s true.” Christa suddenly had a worried look on her face.
“Also, you should relax sometimes. The other kids, too. I appreciate all the help and the hard work you put into keeping everyone safe but you shouldn’t exhaust yourself with it, you know?”
“We do relax. We play card games in the evening, Ruby makes tea for everybody with herbs from the greenhouse and we listen to Louis piano. Sometimes Violet sings while he plays. It’s so nice. You should hear it someday.” Clementine smiled. Christa mirrored the smile.
“Sure, I would love to. Speaking of Violet, I already asked her, but since she still isn’t really comfortable with me, I didn’t get a real answer: How’s living together working for you two?” She had a tiny grin on her lips, since she did saw the interaction between them after Violet had left her standing there. Clementine seemed a bit flustered by this question.
“Uhm…It’s…fine?” Christa rolled her eyes so hard that it almost physically hurt her.
“Come on Clementine. I heard that from Violet already and it was more convincing, then this stuttering of yours.”
Under the slight annoyance hid a tiny bit of amusement.
“I like it…” Clementine looked down on the table and scratched her head a bit.
“But? That sounded like there should’ve been a but.” Christa looked at Clementine.
“It’s nothing just…A little weird?” Clementine’s voice sounded unsure.
“Weird?” Christa furrowed her eyebrows.
“Maybe weird isn’t the perfect word to describe it. I’m not used to it, so yeah it feels…weird sometimes.”
Christa took a moment to think about what Clementine said.
“Want to talk about it? Maybe it helps with the weirdness?” Christa could imagine what Clementine meant but she didn’t want to press her too much.
“I know it’s not really weird, Christa. Vi and I are just… starting to go... there... I guess and I don’t know…” Clementine shrugged.
“If you don’t want to, I’m sure Violet would understand” Clementine shook her head but then froze to get beet red instead. Christa just smiled in an understanding way.
“So that’s not the problem then.” Some moments in silence passed by.
“I mean…Her last relationship wasn’t…let’s just say it wasn’t the best and it’s the first for me…So…” Clementine didn’t know what to say really.
“You want it to be perfect, but it can’t be. Even before the world ended, there was no such thing as a perfect first time, Clem. The most important thing is, that you both are comfortable and take your time.” Clementine frowned.
“I kinda knew you would say that.”
“And you hate it, but that’s the truth. The best you can do is to let it happen, when it happens. Don’t plan ahead for it. If you think too much about it, it’s bound to be a disaster. Also don’t stress yourself about doing something wrong or anything like that. It’s a journey not a sprint.” Christa briefly squeezed Clementine’s hand and gave her an encouraging smile.
“Easier said than done.” Christa laughed almost silently.
“I know. But that’s the best I can do to help you with that. I’m certain you two will be fine. If Violet has the experience, maybe you should try to let her take the lead. Might be less stressful for you. In the end, like I said: It happens when it happens.” Clementine nodded slowly.
It was obvious that she still needed to think about it, but speaking to Christa had helped tremendously. She was glad she had her here, to talk about such things.
“Thank you for the advice, Christa” She smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
After some more talking with Christa, Clementine got back to check on everyone, to make sure things moved on as planned.
It was already getting dark, when she got back to her and Violet’s room, to wind down and relax, which would’ve been easier, if Violet had kept her word and had come back before dusk.
Now she laid worryingly in the bed they had built over the course of a week or two, so they could share it comfortably, since comfort wasn’t really a thing you had, when sharing a bunk bed.
She looked around the room to try and get her mind occupied with something else.
They really had a blast redecorating the room when Clementine moved in.
They rearranged the shelf, moved the second table out to make space for the bed, they then successfully build, got rid of the bunk beds and decorated the walls and empty spaces on the shelf with all sorts of things they had found in and around the school, including the various skulls Clementine refused to get rid of.
It felt so much like home, that sometimes she managed to forget about the horrors in her past and outside of those walls.
For a moment she watched the candle flame dancing in the glass on the table. The glass tinted the room slightly purple. Ruby got a good chuckle out of it, when she gifted it to them.
She took her eyes of it, when the door slowly opened and Violet came in, as quiet as possible.
“Oh, good. You’re still up,” she said when she noticed the candle light.
“I was waiting for you.” Violet frowned a bit.
“Figured. Sorry, after cleaning out the walkers around the shack I thought there was enough time to finish a project I started but turned out, it took longer than planned.” Clementine sat herself up on the bed, cross-legged.
“What project? You didn’t tell me about a project.”
“Because it wouldn’t be a surprise when I had told you, wouldn’t it?” Violet snickered a bit and showed Clementine what she was hiding behind her back.
Holding it by a thread, a decently sized Dream catcher hung from her hand. It was made out of some rope strings, feathers and carefully bended and shaped sticks, which must’ve been so time consuming to make, that Clementine was genuinely impressed.
Even more so, when she realized that the middle of it was shaped like a star. Violet narrowed her eyebrows.
“You hate it, don’t you?” Clementine snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head.
“Are you crazy? How could I hate it? It’s beautiful. I love the star in the middle of it.” She shot her a happy smile.
Violet mirrored the smile with a hint of thankfulness in it.
She moved around the bed to find a place she could hang it from.
“AJ told me that your birthday was coming up around this time of the year so…“ Violet shrugged, when she finally hung the Dream catcher above the bed.
Clementine thought about it for a second.
“Yeah, I almost forgot.” Violet seated herself next to Clementine on the bed.
“Then happy birthday.” Clementine kissed her girlfriend gently, earning a little flustered smile from her.
“Thank you.” She looked into these greenish grey eyes, she grew to love so much that her sorrows drowned in them sometimes.
Both of them closed their eyes when Violet leaned in to kiss her lovingly and every other thought went silent, just like that.
Clementine adored those moments with Violet. The peace she felt in them was all she needed to shut out all the bad things outside of this school and inside of herself.
She kissed her back, wanting to hold onto the harmony inside of her. She felt Violet’s hand on her thigh, when she shifted position, now leaning slightly over her.
Immediately the kiss felt more passionate, sending a pleasant chill down Clementine’s spine. Her hands trembled over Violet’s clothes, when their tongues met.
Her heart started racing, she already knew that feeling and she hadn’t been ready to give into it, but this time, she was.
Maybe it was the purple light that changed it, maybe it was the dream catcher catching any doubts she had instead of bad dreams or, and that was the reason she settled for, it was just wanting to be as close as possible to Violet.
Wanting to grow even closer to each other than they were now, making ties that would bind them to each other for as long as possible.
Her hands found their way under Violet’s layered clothes, touching the skin of her lower back with trembling finger tips.
She felt Violet pulling her head back a little and looked right into questioning but passion-clouded eyes.
The unspoken question was answered with another longing kiss, only for it to be broken up by Violet, so she could take off her vest, hoodie and shirt.
Clementine understood that it was more than her just taking her clothes off.
It was Violet making herself vulnerable, trying to make the situation as comfortable to her as possible, by being the first to show herself in this way.
Clementine’s fingers traced the shape of her body for a bit, looking at her, admiring her even. Exploring.
Violet’s eyes slowly seem to turn into a dark green color, Clementine noticed when she looked into them again.
Violet leaned down to kiss her lips, her ear and down to her neck, sending shivers all over Clementine by doing so. She felt her hands wandering around her body, as if Violet tried to memorize it.
Light tickles rose as finger tips touched the skin of her stomach ever so slightly.
Clementine raised her arms a bit, making Violet pull up her shirt and taking it off for her. As they shifted into a laying position, Violet kissed her, starting the tracing of her body again.
Clementine felt her skin meeting Violet’s and, even if she didn’t knew that it was possible, felt so much closer to her then she could’ve ever imagined.
Every touch and every kiss felt so impactful to her.
Not that any other kiss or touch they had shared felt not meaningful but this, now?
Every move, every kiss, every touch, absolutely everything meant so much, Clementine couldn’t even wrap her head around it.
As Violet moved her kisses further down, her head began to cloud.
Every inch of her concentrated on whatever Violet was doing, every thought belonged to the feelings every touch awakened in her.
Her breath started to get heavier and her hands just aimlessly wandered over Violet’s upper back.
She felt her fiddling with the waistband of her underwear, making her lift herself up a bit, so she could take it off.
Still, Clementine tensed up a bit, when she finally laid there, fully exposed, for the first time.
It was a strange feeling, showing herself to Violet in that way, being this vulnerable was such an unusual feeling for her, it almost felt wrong but also not.
“Everything ok?” Violet asked, when she saw her tense up. Clementine nodded slowly with an embarrassed smile on her lips.
“I just don’t feel as confident as usual, I guess, “ she tried to play down her insecurities.
Violet looked at her, with so much love in her eyes, she could feel it under her skin.
She shivered lightly when Violet leaned down to her again, looking into her eyes and kissing her deeply.
“There wasn’t a day since we met, where I didn’t think about how beautiful and strong you are. Not one single day” she whispered, obviously mustering up any courage she had to say it and seemingly flustered herself now.
And that was it. That was all it took to wash away the insecurities Clementine had felt.
Hearing Violet say something like that, while knowing how hard it was for her to say it, was so incredible securing, it nearly made her wanting to cry to get rid of that overwhelming feeling forming inside of her.
Instead her lips found Violet’s again, somewhat catching her off guard, making her gasp into the kiss.
Clementine put her arms around her, embracing her tightly, feeling the warmth of her skin on her own again.
Passion turned into desire.
She felt lips tracing all over her again, gentle but well placed hands doing the same, making her head go blank for seconds at a time.
Her breath got heavier again as her body began to feel hotter every second.
She felt hands caressing her thighs and lips moving with clear aim.
Clementine’s hands closed into a fistful of blanket, when the sensation of a feeling she couldn’t really describe shot through her body, clearing her head of every thought she had.
Every one of her senses focused on what Violet made her feel now. The muscles in her back tensed, as she involuntary moved herself closer to her.
One of her hands touching blonde hair not knowing what to do otherwise, while trying to control the sounds coming out of her mouth, which proved harder to do than expected.
Her body started twitching and all Clementine could feel was that building up tension she knew would burst soon.
It was a sensation she, of course, never felt before but it made her feel happy, free and loved, like nothing before did.
She could physically feel the bond between her and Violet, which had grown stronger and stronger every day they had shared with each other.
Despite what each of them had gone through and despite the end of the world, they had found each other and when the tension finally broke, the first thought that managed to form in Clementine’s head, was that nobody should ever dare to threaten what she and Violet had.
“Shit, you shot me some harsh looks before, but that is an intense glare” Clementine got pulled back to reality, when she heard Violet’s voice.
She didn’t even realize that Violet had pulled herself up to her.
“Sorry, it wasn’t meant for you.” She gently placed her hand on Violet’s cheek, smiling.
“Ok. For a moment I thought it was THAT bad.” Clementine chuckled.
“It wasn’t. I was just… In the heat of the moment, you know?” Violet placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Must’ve been an intense moment” She grinned.
“Ah, shut up!” Clementine immediately got flustered. Violet, still with a slight grin on her lips, leaned down and stopped with her mouth right beside her ear.
“Make me”, she whispered in an almost breathless voice, which send Clementine shivers down her spine again.
Since nobody could tell her this wasn’t an invitation, she kissed Violet, sheepishly grinning into it, as she pushed against her, rolling her over onto her back, essentially switching positions.
That surprised Violet making her fall silent for a second, which was immediately met with a triumphant grin from Clementine.
But when their eyes met again, she recognized the dark green she had seen moments ago.
Yes, maybe Violet hadn’t meant it seriously and it had been just playful banter but it was clear that she still had to fight with the buildup.
Clementine leaned down to kiss her. She wanted to return the favor but wasn’t entirely sure how, so she just did whatever came into her mind first.
She explored her body with her hands, placing kisses here and there, making Violet tremble under her.
Clementine knew she tried to hide how on edge she really was.
She reached for her belt, unbuckling it to get to the button of her jeans, opening it and pulling down the zipper slowly, but then went back to caressing her upper body, hesitantly touching the skin around the waistband of her jeans.
Violet looked at her, as she laid her hand upon Clementine’s, guiding her hand into her jeans and letting her know how to move it, without needing to say a word.
They locked lips again, as soon as Violet had let go of Clementine’s hand.
Her breathing grew heavy and audible, as she pushed herself into Clementine, making her move faster.
Watching her reacting to her touch, was an experience in its own way.
She had full control over the situation, which explained, why she herself, had felt so vulnerable, when she wasn’t the one on top.
It dawned on her, how much trust Violet really had in her, despite her being hurt too often in her past.
She felt her tense up under her touch, then immediately relaxing again accompanied by a muffled moan.
Clementine pulled her hand away and kissed her again.
“I love you.” That was the only thing she could think of at the moment and she felt like, she needed to say it.
Violet ran her fingers through Clementine’s hair, looking at her with tired but loving eyes and a smile.
“I love you, too.”