Changing To Adapt ➵ TWD

➵ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛᴡᴏ

"Maybe, by some wild turn of events, you were a farmer. You don't look like one. But you know how to hunt, so, I don't know, it could be right-"

"Is that your guess?"

"Yeah. Why not."

Lucas enters the line behind Zack and Daryl, plates in hand as they wait to reach the front. "What's going on here?" He asks, raising a brow at the little questionnaire Zack is holding.

Zack flinches at the sudden voice and turns around, his shoulders relaxing when he sees Lucas. They reach out at the same time and slap their palms together, pulling off with a click.

Daryl had brought in Zack about three weeks after taking in the people of Woodbury, having found him struggling alone in a bathroom stall of a fuel station. He had just lost his group to a bunch of walkers on the highway nearby, and after asking him the three important questions, Daryl brought him back to the prison.

It took a few weeks for Lucas to warm up to the guy, but after realizing how chill they were whenever they had to work the fence together, they clicked. It reminded Lucas of high school.

Now, three months after taking in the strays, they would be what people call friends. Lucas never thought he'd befriend anybody but the people that were in his original group, but things were changing.

For example, Sasha and Tyreese. The people Rick kicked out all those months ago, and were then apart of the Governor's gang. They're a pretty integral part of the community now, Sasha knows how to lead when she needs to.

Which brings him to the new Council thing.

Rick has stepped down from his role as their leader. Despite all their wishes for him to remain there. Lucas understands why he's doing it. He doesn't want to be like the Governor. Doesn't want to do all the shit he had to before, all the hard stuff, now that things are working out for them.

So, when he stepped down, they were left with only one option. A council, making shared decisions. Comprising Hershel, Daryl, Glenn, Carol, Tyreese, and Sasha. 

Zack gestures to Daryl, "He won't tell me what he was before the fall, so it's like this; I get one guess every day and he has to answer honestly." He grins proudly.

Lucas glances at Daryl and can tell he's amused by this, from the way his brows are completely relaxed, not furrowed like they usually are. "And you think he was a farmer?"

Zack shrugs.

Pursing his lips, Lucas tries desperately not to show his complete and utter denial. His silence makes Zack groan, "Well, okay, now I'm sure he wasn't a farmer, what about-"

Daryl grunts, "You can't change yer answer."

"Aw, but- C'mon, Lucas, surely you know what he was," Zack begs him with his eyes as they reach the front of the line, starting to fill their plates.

Lucas shakes his head, "I'm as clueless as you are."

"Then how do you know he wasn't a farmer?"

"Because he definitely wasn't a farmer." Lucas snorts and looks at Daryl, who's already picking food off his plate with his fingers and shoving it in his mouth.

"So, not a farmer?" Zack turns his eyes to Daryl.

Daryl grunts, "Hell no." And starts walking away, food already finished as he dumps his plate with the rest of the dirty ones that Lucas will no doubt help clean tonight.

"Told you." Lucas lifts his chin smugly.

Zack rolls his eyes. He stops when he sees someone over Lucas's shoulder, and forces the blonde not to look too, instead dragging him away to a free table.

"What the hell, dude?" Lucas asks, being shoved into a seat. He scowls, steadying his plate of food before it's knocked out of his hands.

Zack wipes his hands nervously on his pants, "Look, I've got a question. And you have to promise you won't be mad."

Brows furrowing, Lucas sits up more in his seat and leans on the table, "I won't be mad, Zack, what is wrong with you?"

"Uh," Zack licks his dry lips, and looks around the cafeteria, "Are you-"

For a second, Lucas freezes, wondering if that sentence is gonna end with the word gay.

"Are you and Beth, you know. . . a thing? I'm sorry if you-"

"Woah! No, no-" Lucas's eyes are wide, waving his hands desperately in front of him in heavy denial, "Jesus christ, no. No, Beth is not-" He cringes, and realizes how disgusting he's making this out to be. "Look, Beth is amazing, but we're not a thing. She's like my sister."

It's the first time he's said that out loud, but it truly does feel like he has a sibling, and Beth is that.

He wonders if he really does have to pull out the gay card to convince him, but Zack slumps in his chair with a sigh, "Oh thank god."

Lucas buries his face in his hands, and shakes his head, chuckling a little.

There was a while there where Hershel was thinking the same, always watching, like Lucas was going to steal his youngest daughter from him like Glenn took his oldest.

But something's shifted, and Hershel doesn't appear worried anymore.

"Got a crush, huh?" Lucas tilts his head at Zack, studying him.

Zack sputters out a sigh and shrinks even further in his chair. "Maybe." He sees Beth again and drops his head on the table with a groan. "Okay, whatever, I do."

"Man, we fight the dead every day, I say you tell her before it's too late. Only got one chance to live." Lucas slumps in his chair, more out of relaxation than anything, tilting his head back to stare at the awning.

"Yeah." Zack huffs out a breath, peaking past his arms to look at her again, "Yeah, okay."