stay here ; louis

call me friend, but keep me closer.

word count: 3557
a/n;; sorry for the long wait :(( school is a bitch
thank you so much for all the support 💖🌼 ( also if you find any mistakes pls comment them so I can fix them, bc i dont have time to edit, im so sorry. )

You and Willy were on patrol when Clem appeared out of the woods. While you saw her carrying a wounded AJ, all Willy saw was a walker. He took aim and let an arrow go, shouting, "Walker!" When the walker looked at his feet, where the arrow struck, he stared at it then at Clem. They traversed while Willy scampered off to alert the others that the two had returned. You hopped down from the post, quickly opening the gate door. You took AJ from Clem, apologizing to her profusely, "I should've fought harder, Clem. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She replied, "It's fine, just help him." You nodded, jogging inside. Then leaving him in the care of Ruby.

Thanks to Clem, you were all aware of the threat of raiders. Violet took Clem's warning seriously, asking her for advice and such. The school had become a fortress.
You were stuck with the uneventful "walker heads on sticks" duty. It wasn't much of a chore on it's own, so you were also assigned scavenging. That part was your own idea.
Of course, now danger plagued every corner, so you stuck to Marlon's old safe zone. You went alone as to be as small and quiet as possible. Your friends disagreed at first, but it was obvious someone would have to look for supplies. The most valid option was you, you were fast and sneaky. You danced on tiny grains of dirt and moved with the wind. If you had to say what you're the best at, you'd have to say being cautious and quiet. Sometimes, you thought, it came with being a coward.
"Aasim, you're going with (Y/n) today," Vi said. "We can't keep sending them out alone anymore. These assholes just aren't showing up and we can't risk much. Hopefully, together you can bring back more food and maybe check the traps. If you see anything strange, you come right back. Got it?" Vi really stepped up to the plate when Marlon passed. She ruled differently, she pushed hard to keep people on track and was more thoughtful when it came to plans.
"Got it," Aasim said. "Can I come?" Louis asked. Vi cleared her throat, "Depends, ask (Y/n). I'm okay with you going, but if they say no, then no." Louis grinned and pulled your hands out of your pockets, holding them. "Pleeeaaasee?" He smiled.
"Umm, why not? Just try not to stomp around too much. Pretend you're a fairy or something, okay?" You raised your eyebrows. Louis nodded fiercely, "I'll be the most gentle fairy. The tooth fairy won't know what hit her!" His statement caused the group to giggle.
Louis had not let go of your hands even after your discussion with Vi and Aasim. He held your hands like they were made of glass. Your entire body might as well have been made from glass. You were the most vulnerable and fragile around him. It was scary; he could drop you, squeeze too hard and you'd shatter, but not without impaling him, hurting him with cold, glass shards. You were the definition of a double-edged sword. One second, you could be so soft and transparent, and the next you could be a violent tornado. It seemed like everyone was used to it, they didn't seem to fear you. That was comforting.
"So where we headin?" Aasim asked. You pulled your hands from Louis's grasp and pulled your map from your back pocket. "Remember where Clem got all that food from? The place with the trains and tons of fucking walkers? We're heading that direction," you responded.
"But isn't that out of the safe zone?"
"Yes, I think I've picked the safe zone dry. Besides it's not too far from the safe zone."
"Mm. But walkers.."
"We'll go around, okay? We aren't searching the house itself. We're searching underneath it."
"Wasn't it blown to shreds, though?"
"Oh, yeah, baby!"
Aasim looked away when you called him baby.
The foundations of the building weren't even in tact anymore. Bricks were lodged high in trees and the old trains were even more scary looking. Covered in rust, with even sharper edges, chunks of metal sprawled everywhere.
"So, Plan A! Is... ruined because I didn't expect this much damage," you bit your lip, tilting your head to the sky. "I told ya!" Louis exclaimed, recalling a conversation from earlier in which he talked about his escapade from 2 or 3 weeks ago. You shoved him, saying, "Whatever."
An idea struck you as you began to walk away. You could get a better look if the area from a high place. Unfortunately, the only high grounds around weren't ground at all, they were trees. Now, you were a pretty good climber when it came to climbing up, but when it comes to climbing down, it's a different story. Aasim seemed to catch on, throwing his gaze unto where you were looking. It was a tall tree, pine specifically. It could've touched the sky from your perspective. Maybe it did, maybe if you climbed to the very top, you'd see your friends again. Would they be proud of you? Would they be proud of you prancing around in the woods all alone, in danger? Would they be proud of you stuffing walker heads into your backpack for decoration? Probably not, not that their opinion matters anymore.
"Up?" Aasim said looking at you and you nodded. You wiped your clammy palms on your pants then took off your rotten smelling backpack. You jumped, reaching a branch that seemed sturdy enough to support you for a little more than a couple seconds. Lifting yourself up, you immediately began to search for another arm. To catch the one you wanted, you had to jump, causing the branch beneath you to give away. Louis yelped and Aasim ran under the tree, expecting the worst, but you were fine and continued climbing.
The air up there seemed crisper, colder, safer, than the air below. You were above danger, and it felt nice. The wind blew your gently out of your eyes as you turned, looking at a water tower not far from you. The legs it sat upon were pale white, but the huge container was riddled with graffiti. The water inside must still be clean, right? After all, isn't a water tower a last resort? You looked below you, your friends smiling. Aasim gave you a quizzical look, as if asking "Anything?" You nodded, climbing down. The branch that broke was the last step you needed to get down. Now you had to rely on the boys to catch you. "Catch me, guys," You shivered, taking a leap. You jumped right onto them, knocking them to the ground. Picking yourself up and dusting yourself off, apologizing profusely. "Y'know, if you wanted a threesome, you could've just asked," Louis joked, causing you to shove him into Aasim, who simply blushed and pushed Louis away. "There's a water tower near, meaning clean water... hopefully," You said as you bit your nails, tearing flesh occasionally. "Suppose it is clean, then what? We have nothing to carry it with us," Aasim said. "Well, we can just check for now, if it's clean, we'll collect all the bottles we have and fill them, if not, oh, well," You said, frowning.
You gripped your backpack straps, staring frightfully at the water tower. "So, who's first?" You asked, chuckling nervously. Silence enveloped you all, before Louis quietly spoke, "I'll go." You nodded at him, stepping aside, letting him reach the ladder.
"If I die, tell Rosie, I love her."
You saluted, watching him ascend. He glanced down, noticing you staring at him from directly below, shooting you a wink. You stuck your finger in your open mouth, faking a gag.
"It's safe. Come on up, guys," Louis shouted. Aasim looked at you, insinuating you go before him. Sighing, you rolled your eyes, took a hold of a peg, hoisted yourself up, and climbed. Aasim not too far behind you. The top was covered in a thin coat of grime. You touched the white metal surface, lifting your fingers to reveal an even cleaner white below, your fingers gray. The thin ledge you were standing on started giving you a bad feeling. A pit of nothing in your stomach, sucking all of your optimism in. On the curve of the surface was another ladder, that lead to the very top. This time, you took the initiative, climbing the ladder. There was a large hatch with a metal lock in the middle. "Hey, there's like this door thing and it's got a lock," you said peering down, "I might have some bolt cutters in my backpack, but if I don't, I'm sorry." Your apology peeked their attention, obvious by Louis asking, "Why are you sorry?"
"We would've come out here for nothing."
"Hm, say why would you have bolt cutters with you?"
"Oh, in case we needed to break a lock, duh."
Aasim chuckled, "Always the resourceful one." You winked at him.
Your backpack was like a hiker's bag, it was tall and could fit anything a person could ever need. During scavenging, you were usually the one with supplies. 'Need Bolt cutters? Gotcha covered.' 'A flat-head screwdriver? Don't even worry about it.' 'Baby carrots? Unfortunately, no-' but if you found any that weren't already expired you'd have gladly stuff them into the bag.
You pinched the lock between the claws of the bolt cutter, squeezing as hard as you could, but you barely made a dent in it. "One of you, get up here. I can't crack it open."
"C--" Louis started, but was interrupted by Aasim, "Coming!" Louis shot him a dirty look. The exchange went unnoticed by you.
Aasim squatted beside you, taking the cutters from your hands and pushed onto the leavers as hard as he could, his face turning pale. Then, you heard it, the lock snapped. Swiftly, you stood, squeezing your fingers underneath the hatch, lifting it. Of course, with the help of Aasim.
The air caused ripples in the water. The tank wasn't full to the brim, but it was still enough for someone to drown in. "Your turn, buddy," you said, facing Aasim. He inhaled, approaching the hole. Then, descended using the ladder connected to a pole inside. He neared the water, stretching his arm out, trying to get some water into a bottle, but he slipped. His other hand left the ladder causing him to loose balance and fall in. His gear sinking him to the bottom.
You yelped, throwing off your backpack and diving in after him. Goosebumps enveloped your body as soon as your skin touched the water. You hadn't a chance to fill your lungs once more before tumbling in after Aasim, leaving you lightheaded. Reaching his sinking, thrashing body, you struggled taking his backpack off. Unfortunately, time seemed to pass quick. The backpack pinning you, you were never a good swimmer, so you couldn't lift the bag off and keep afloat at the same time. The cold water pricked at your skin, it felt like needles were tearing you apart; and it only intensified as you drowned. You began to drift in and out of consciousness, the air leaving your lungs. It felt like getting punched, because all at once any kind of oxygen left in your body was gone. Your body screamed at you to breathe, so you did, only inhaling water. Your throat tightened and your head felt like it was going to bust. The loud rush of blood gushing to all of your limbs blocked the sound of your friends' panicked shouts. At last you closed your eyes, accepting your fate.