Future Ghosts • TWD

125. Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces.

"So, Enid's still here, right?" Henry asked as he, Ian, Rosie, and Carol rode into Hilltop on a carriage while Daryl rode ahead of them on his motorcycle.

"As far as I know. Why?" Carol asked.

"Wonder if she'll recognize me. It's been a while. I'm taller. Bigger, y'know?" Henry rambled. Ian scoffed out a laugh and Henry hit him on the arm. It was those types of interactions that always left Rosie confused. She felt like she was constantly being left out on some big joke that everyone was in on except for her. It was like every word had some secret meaning, and everyone seemed to be able to decode the meaning, except for Rosie. It was awfully frustrating. Rosie just wished that people would say what they really meant, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon, so she supposed she'd just have to figure it out.

Carol seemed to get this joke, too, because just as she got the horses to stop, she giggled and ruffled Henry's hair. "You're adorable," she said.

Henry scoffed. "No, I'm not," he spat. Ian snickered and Rosie got off the carriage, wanting to get away from the two boys. "Unless Enid likes adorable," Henry murmured. Rosie rolled her eyes. So that was the hidden meaning. Henry liked Enid like how Ian liked Rosie. God, that was still so weird.

"Rosie! Oh, my God, you're so tall now," Tara exclaimed as she came up to hug Rosie. Rosie wasn't particularly tall, but she definitely wasn't as short as she was when she was eleven. She used to be a lot smaller than the average eleven-year-old, but now she had turned out to be just about average for seventeen-maybe-sixteen-year-olds. At least, that's what she thought. She hadn't seen a seventeen-maybe-sixteen-year-old girl since Enid was seventeen-maybe-sixteen. "Your hair looks so cool! Do you cut it yourself? There's no way Daryl's that good at cutting hair," Tara rambled, twirling a piece of Rosie's hair.

Yes, Rosie cut her own hair. She wasn't very good at it, but she was better than Daryl, and that was good enough for her. She was glad to hear that Tara liked it, though. And apparently, Ian must've liked it, too, but now everything with him just seemed weird.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Jesus said as he came walking down the path. He had been in charge of Hilltop ever since Maggie left. It seemed to be doing well, based on what Rosie could tell in her sixty seconds of being there. There were lots of people walking around, working, and socializing like a real community. It was good to see that people were doing so well. "What brings you all the way out here?" Jesus asked.

"Henry and Ian," Carol said with a somewhat proud smile as she gestured over to them. They gave polite smiles and nods of greeting to Jesus. "Henry's taken a stubborn interest in blacksmithing. And Ian's along for the ride."

"Oh. We might be able to help with that," Jesus said, smiling kindly.

Everyone was still just as nice as they used to be. It was weird. Sometimes Rosie felt like she'd gotten worse since she was younger. Maybe not mean, but more angry. It wasn't like she took it out on anyone. She just felt like she was angry a lot more often than she used to be. Well, more specifically, she felt like she had gotten less angry when she ended up with Daryl. Before that, she almost always felt angry. But now she thought she might've been feeling angry too often again and she didn't know how to fix it. Everyone else seemed to be doing better, though, so that was good. Maybe being around them would help. Maybe.

Rosie was startled out of her thoughts when she heard Daryl's motorcycle engine start up again. What, was he going somewhere? She hurried over to him. "What're you doin'?" she asked, starting to feel anxious again.

"Eugene's missing. Goin' out to find him. They need a tracker," Daryl explained briefly, tying his black bandana around his face.

"I can track," Rosie said. She didn't want to be left here alone already. Daryl was supposed to be staying there to keep an eye on Ian and Henry. They had just gotten there and he was already leaving. He needed to stay. Rosie needed him there. There were so many people that were going to want to talk to her and that was already overwhelming enough, but now she also had to deal with Rodney and Gage, and Ian's stupid crush, and it was too much for her to suddenly have to deal with on her own. It wasn't fair for Daryl to leave.