I Can't Lose You | Walking Dead Fan-Fiction [Violet x Clementine]

Chapter 17: A Fighter

Violet's POV
"Louis. I swear to fucking god if you tell me to calm down one more time, I will send my cleaver down into your knee!" I shouted in anger, pacing back and forth in the office once more. Louis and Ruby were trying to help me relax but it just wasn't working. Clementine and AJ were still out there somewhere, and they should've been back by now. Clementine could be hurt, AJ could be hurt! How was I supposed to calm down when it was dark and they were all alone out there? "Come on Vi, Clementine is smart and she's tough. I'm sure her and AJ are just fine." Louis tried to interject, not really taking my threats seriously. He can't blame me if he gets punched in the face. I did warn him to back the fuck off. "She's still all alone out there with nothing but an axe! It's dark! There's walker swarms! And we don't know how many of Lily's men made it out of that explosion! This isn't like any other night Louis!" I felt like I was rambling for my own sake at this point. It's not like I didn't say anything Louis didn't already know. I could tell they were worried too, but they were trying to be strong and calm me down. I hated when they did that. I hated when it felt like they were babying me.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do. But until I see Clementine and AJ walk through that gate unharmed I'm not gonna calm the hell down. So either leave me alone to worry by myself or stop fucking downplaying this like our friends aren't in trouble." I snapped, shoving past both of them to walk out of the office and down the hallway. I was getting really tired of waiting around like this. I had to do something. Louis ran up behind me, walking alongside me in silence for a good minute or two. "Louis, don't fucking say it." I interjected, not wanting to listen to another one of his damn attempts to calm me down or having to listen to him try to talk me out of what I had planned. "I was just gonna say I'm coming with you." I looked over at Louis confused and a little surprised. "What?" Louis only seemed to smile more at my confusion. "You're right. This isn't like any other night. Clem is our friend and she needs our help. And if you're going out there to try and look for her, then I'm coming with you." Louis says before giving me that smug smile of his. His picked up his chair leg and held my cleaver out for me. "So, what are we waiting for?" He added, which made me smile. I reached out and took the cleaver from him. "Thank you Lou." I said softly before turning my attention forward so that we could go.

We didn't even get halfway through the courtyard before we heard the yelling. "Is that AJ?" Louis asked confused, but I was already running towards the gate before he could even finish the question. "Clem! Come on! You gotta get up! We're almost there!" AJ was shouting as he tried to get Clem up off the ground. She looked like she had completely blacked out and the walkers were slowly closing in. "Shit shit shit! Lou!" Louis was ahead of me luckily, both him and Aasim working on getting the gate open. The two of them rushed out to try and keep the walkers at a distance while I made my way over to AJ and Clementine. I knelt down beside AJ, taking in Clementine's appearance and checking her over for injuries. I let out a shocked gasp when I saw her leg, or more specifically the lack of one. "AJ, what the fuck happened?!" I quickly picked Clementine up, handing my cleaver to AJ. "Clem got bit! I didn't know what else to do!" The walkers were everywhere, and there was too many of them for us to fight them off like this. "Louis! Aasim! I got her!" Louis and Aasim were trying their best to just clear a path for me. I ran through the gate, quickly setting Clementine down while the boys tried to shut the gate. As much as I didn't want to leave Clementine's side, we needed to get that gate closed.

I ran over to help get the gate shut, grabbing my blade back from AJ as I helped Louis try to get these damn things off the fence. Ruby had gone to Clementine's aid, which did help me feel a bit better knowing that she was getting looked at and that someone was there watching her. How did everything get so fucked up?

~*~

A few hours had passed since AJ and Clem got back. No one was able to relax, almost the entire school was posted outside of the door to the library while we waited for Ruby to come out with some sort of news for us. I could barely stay still and I had already chewed off all my fingernails. AJ was just sitting and spinning his revolver's cylinder. Louis tried to keep him distracted with different games like truth or dare and twenty questions. Finally after what felt like years, Ruby and Willy both walked out of the library. This made pretty much everyone jump to their feet. "Well? Is Clem gonna be okay?" Louis asked since I was struggling to really find the words myself. I was afraid to ask the question for fear of an answer I would never be able to recover from. Ruby just smiled and looked to AJ. "You're one smart cookie, you know that? You might've just saved Clem's life with that amputation. She's gonna be okay." The wave of relief that washed over the group at Ruby's words was indescribable. To say we were all relieved would be the understatement of the century. "I tried my best to upgrade that makeshift leg you guys made for her. It's not perfect but it'll work." Willy said with a bright smile, obviously proud of himself for his handy work.

The group slowly made their way into the library to see her. Obviously I was the first one through the doors. I walked over to the couch where Clementine was resting, my eyes drifting down to the now wooden leg that was attached to her thigh. It was a simple wooden peg that was attached to the knee with a leather strap. There was two pieces of metal on each side of her leg which kept it together and allowed Clem to move the leg as she needed. It was very well made, and it looked like it would barely inhibit Clementine's movement. She had new boots, one of which was on the fake leg already. Clementine opened her eyes and looked up at me with a soft smile. Once I saw her bright amber eyes and that adorable smile, it felt like I could finally breathe again. "I told you I'd see you again babe." I couldn't help but laugh softly at her trying to tease me in the state she was in. I knelt down beside the couch so I was eye level with her, taking in the sight of her. "Yeah well, when I saw you again I thought it would be all of you. But I guess now you can say I'm one step ahead of you." Saying this made Clementine laugh softly. Her voice was still weak and fragile sounding, but that was probably just because she was so tired. "You did not just make a damn pun." She smiled at me and reached out to take my hand in hers. I laughed along with her, moving to kiss the back of her hand. "Yes. Yes I did." I smiled and moved to bring my free hand up and run it through her hair. "You gotta stop doing this to me. Please don't make it a habit to keep showing up here all fucked up."

Clementine just smiled at this, giving me this smug ass look. "No promises." I should've expected that answer; only Clementine. I rolled my eyes before moving to give her a gentle and loving kiss. I needed that kiss, I just needed to feel close to her. Chances were I wasn't gonna leave her alone for the rest of the damn week. "I love you, so much Clementine." I whispered softly once the kiss was broken. Clem let my hand go, bringing her hand up to the side of my face. Her palm rested on my jawline and her thumb brushed across my cheekbone. I looked down into those amber eyes, the same ones I had been so mesmerized with when I first met her. The same eyes that made my heart race every time I saw them. "I love you too Violet. So much." She whispered back to me before pulling me down into another kiss. Louis cleared his throat, which caused the two of us to break apart. I kinda forgot that there was other people in the room with us. "Oh ya know, don't mind us. If you guys wanna continue your cute little gay romantic moment we'll just be over here." Louis joked, which made me get up to playfully shove him. "Was that supposed to be homophobic? Are you hate-criming us Lou?" This made Louis bring his hands up in defense as he started to ramble. "What? No no! I was just-!" I cut him off with how bad I was laughing, which made him realize I was fucking with him. "Oh that is so not cool." Louis said with a pout, which only made me laugh more.

Clementine's POV
I loved whenever Violet and Louis got all playful with each other like this. It was always so adorable. While they had their moment, AJ took his turn to walk up and check on me. "Hey goofball." I smiled and brought my hand up to ruffle his hair. "You scared me, I thought you were gonna die on me." AJ said softly and gave me that serious look of his. I sighed and started to sit up a bit. I was still pretty sore and it did hurt, but I could move at least. "I'm sorry. But hey, I'm a fighter right? You know I wouldn't quit on you that easily." AJ seemed to perk up at this, accepting that answer from me. "I really am so proud of you. I know your mom and dad would be too." I said softly, remembering my talk with Lee and how much it paralleled my talks with AJ. Lee was right, I really had become just like him. I sat up all the way and pat my lap for AJ to sit down. Sometimes he likes to make a big deal of it that he's a man now and he's too old to sit in my lap. But in moments like these, he didn't complain at all. He just smiled and moved to sit down, hugging me tightly.

There was a lot of people I missed, and a lot of things I wish could be different. But this right here? I couldn't ask for a better family than this. And yeah survival wasn't always easy and loss was just a part of life in this world. But I know as long as we're all together, we'll be okay. We're a family of fighters. And I will never stop fighting to protect this family.