It Comes With The Name

Chapter 18: White Knight Syndrome

"Well, that was a disaster." Glenn commented as he and Lauren dispersed with the rest of the group. Tank trotted along happily beside them, immediately forgetting the previous chaos.

"Surprisingly, I think it actually could've been worse." Lauren half laughed, as they made their way across the grass.

"Seriously?"

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, I mean, nobody walked away with any major injuries so I'd call it a win."

"Fair enough." Glenn said, thoughtfully. He stopped abruptly, causing Lauren to halt with him.

"Tank." Lauren whistled, catching her dog's attention. He whipped around from where he had ended up a few yards ahead of them, unaware that they had stopped until then. He sniffed around the grass a bit. Lauren knew that as long as he knew where she was, he wouldn't go too far.

She followed Glenn's gaze to the chicken coop a few yards away where Maggie could be seen collecting eggs. Maggie glanced at the two of them and quickly turned away, continuing her task.

Glenn sighed and Lauren felt an immense amount of guilt bubble up in her. She couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the strain on their...relationship? She honestly wasn't sure what it was but she knew it was under strain as of lately.

"Glenn, I'm so sorry." She said sincerely, looking at the conflict dancing across his face as he watched the young woman.

Glenn whipped his attention away from Maggie, turning to his friend. "For what? You didn't do anything."

"But I did." She groaned. "I pushed you to tell me what was going on and now Maggie's pissed at you."

"Lauren-"

"I mean I practically pulled it out of you." She continued, more so rambling to herself at this point. "I mean, I still think it's good that the group knows now but still, I shouldn't have put you in a position where you had to choose where your loyalties lay or whatever. I never wanted you to feel-"

"Lauren." Glenn stopped her, gently grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking his head. "You didn't force me to do anything."

She looked at him questioningly.

"Okay maybe you pulled it out of me a little, but I wanted to tell someone. You especially." He glanced at Maggie again before turning back to Lauren. "Yeah, I like Maggie. I really like Maggie, but at the end of the day, this whole barn situation put every one of us at risk. And I don't want you or anyone else here in that kind of danger. Okay?"

Lauren just looked at him for a moment, trying to find the words to respond the way she wanted to. When her words fell short, she opted to just pull him into a tight embrace. When she pulled out of the hug, she looked at Maggie. Maggie quickly looked away as if she hadn't been watching.

"Go talk to her." Lauren nodded Glenn towards the coop. "Try and work it out or whatever. I'll meet you back by the tents after."

Glenn nodded and headed over to Maggie. Lauren, wanting to give them some form of privacy, looked around the grass. Almost everyone had either gone back to the tents or into the farmhouse. Her eyes were drawn to Shane, who had yet to move away from the barn.

She spared Glenn and Maggie one last glance before whistling for Tank and making her way over to Shane. As they approached, she watched Shane pacing back and forth, tugging on some of the wood panels, seemingly checking the sturdiness of the doors.

"Hey." She said, walking slowly up to him. He glared at her, his look full of disappointment. He was upset, she knew that much. What she didn't know, however, was how much of his anger was actually directed at her. "You're pissed at me?"