The Walking Dead: Emperor of Flames

Season 4/Chapter 24: An Old Barn & Older Memories

Y/N Pov. 

After explaining our relationship and how nothing's going to change except Violet's now with us, AJ understands. At least the basics. We keep walking through the forest to look for James and if he'd help us. 

Clementine: So, how many walkers do you think James will help us get?

I look down at AJ.

Y/n: Fifteen? A hundred? A thousand?

AJ: Guys, I... Ow. 

He holds his stomach and we stop walking for a moment to let him catch himself. AJ holds the part of his stomach he got shot. Even if he doesn't always give himself credit for it, AJ's one of the toughest kids I've ever met. Including Clem and me. That's saying something alright. It does make me sad that he has to deal with the pain in the first place, though. 

Y/n: Gunshot wound? 

AJ: (Nods) It feels like someone pinched me from inside.

Clementine: Here, let's sit down on this rock over here and rest.

AJ sits down on the rock and we kneel in front of him. He seems a little more confused about something else this time and I hope it's not our relationship with Violet again. I don't want to have to re-explain it. 

Y/n: Something wrong, AJ? What are you thinking about? 

AJ: I keep thinking... When Willy said all that stuff about Tenn before, I got so mad. He was being mean, and Tenn wasn't even there to defend himself. I wanted to hurt him. I know I shouldn't. But I just can't stop thinking about it. I wanna just... punch his head. I tried breathing, kicking rocks... I don't like this feeling. Wanting to hurt somebody.

Clementine: I know it's hard, AJ. But thoughts like that, they go away. You just have to give it time.

I place my hand on his shoulder. 

Y/n: She's right. But it's also good you think like that. You should never want to feel good hurting people. 

AJ: Waiting's hard. I'm just thinking too much. Like, I think I'm mad at Tenn, too. Running out of cover when Lilly attacked the school was really stupid. But he just doesn't know stuff like we do. And then Willy started yelling at him instead of helping him learn... Why don't the other kids know all the stuff we know? When there's a plan, you have to follow it. And when you yell at someone, it just makes them not listen.

Clem looks at AJ and gives him an explanation. 

Clementine: Well, the other kids haven't had it as hard as we've have. We had to make a lot of mistakes to learn what we know. Believe me, Y/n used to do stupid things all the time but that never kept him from learning. Even though it felt like he kept trying his best to top his last thing.

I roll my eyes and shake my head at her teasing. 

Y/n: Hardy har. Such a comedian. 

AJ: Yeah, I guess. But Tenn's mistakes are just so bad. Maybe he'll learn from them, too. Like we did. It's weird that people are so different.

We sit down with AJ, keeping him in between us. 

Y/n: It is a school for "Troubled" youth. Kind of comes with the territory. 

AJ: Troubled youth. Trouble... Like, bad. So they did bad things? Why?

I shrug. 

Y/n: Clem can take this one. 

Clementine: Okay, um, sometimes they do them because bad things happened to them. Y/n and I knew a doctor once, back when you were just a baby. He called it trauma. You have some too, you know.