"𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞„

twenty eight, 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀

The house was grander than she had remembered, and way prettier on the inside than out. It's archways accented the structure of the ceiling, and a beautiful mural was painted delicately onto its white surface. How had something so pure, so delicate - so painfully beautiful, survived in a world like this?

A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. This seemed to be happening a lot lately, as she seemed to be too consumed by her head. She turned to face the person, meeting eyes with Enid Rhee. The girl smiled at Jane, and though the gesture took her back, it was a sweet thing. That was all they shared in the moment, because there were larger things at stake.

The girls moved forward behind the rest of the group, the ancient stairs squeaking beneath their feet.
"Where's Ellie?" She asked Enid, keeping her voice low for a reason she wasn't sure of.

"She's back in our trailer," Enid said, her voice sounding extremely careful. She knew that the glass was cracking between ellie and Jane, and she wanted anything but to further it. "She's missed you."

The whole group halted then, as they stood in-front of a rather large door. They had stood in-front of it before, when Jane had first visited hilltop.
"We've been trying to convince them to help us for days. Gregory won't budge." She whispered.

"He's a Coward." Jane spoke, a certain sharpness in her tone that twisted Enid's stomach a little. She wouldn't ever admit to herself that she was scared of Jane, but it was the truth. She'd heard about the things this girl has done, and could only imagine the things she was going to do. Her pretty smile and soft touch didn't fool Enid one bit. Yet, she was intrigued. Just like Carl, and Rick, and Ellie. These three specifically liked to read in between her lines, seeing the words scrawled unmistakably in crimson, the colour of deep red blood.

"I think we can convince them." Enid whispered back, as Jane just looked at her like she was crazy.

She couldn't imagine that the impact of her own words would ever influence anybody, let alone to do something good. She was no public speaker, she was no leader. She was a revenge artist - a killer, like some considered her. She was okay with the label because she knew it was true. She didn't have any intention to do good in this world - only to protect those around her. If that meant slaughtering everyone else, she could carry that out. But not a speech. Never a speech.

People didn't seem to like her anyways, so what was the point? Did Enid think Jane's words would make everyone follow her in awe? Surely she couldn't, because even Jane could see the slight fear behind Enid's eyes.

"You go." She told Enid, shaking her head in the process. Enid gave no protest, simply turning around to walk back out the front door of the manor. Jane looked up to her group then, only to find they had all already entered his office.

It was clear Rick had already started the proposal, because raised voices boomed and echoed along the old uninsulated walls.

"No! No way in hell. That was not the deal. You people swore you could take the Saviors out, and you failed.
So any arrangement we had is now done-" Gregory dwindled on, boring everyone in the room. Carl had already noticed Jane's absence, but quickly shrugged it off as Gregory started to rant. That's all she seemed to be doing these days - running off. It's all she'd ever done, between the prison, and then that night before the lineup, and then again to the sanctuary (which he could excuse since he was there too).

"We aren't trade partners, we aren't friends, and we never met." Gregory spat, as the group stood in solemn, angry silence. That was when Jane entered, only a minute or two after everyone else had. She stood with her arms crossed in the back, leaning against the bookshelves stacked with useless novels.