A Love Worth Fighting For: A Clouis Fanfiction

Chapter 4: Surprise Kiss

The sun shone brightly in Clem's eyes as she awoke. A.J. was still clinging tightly to her. She gave him a gentle nudge. "Come on, A.J. Time to get up," she said softly.

"Ughh, already?" he asked.

"Yessir. We need to see how Vi is doing," she said.

They sat up. Clem tested her ankle. "Well, it still hurts, but I think I can manage to get around. Guess there was no major damage," she thought. "Okay A.J., let's go," she said as she stood up slowly. She made her way towards the door. As she reached for the handle, the door swung open.

"Oh, hi Clem." It was Louis. "Came to see if you guys were awake, and to check on your ankle. I can see you're able to walk a little better today."

"Yeah. It still hurts, but I think I can push through it. It's nowhere near as bad as it was yesterday. Most of the swelling's gone down, too," she said. "Has anyone been to check on Vi?"

"Yeah. She's still floating in and out, but there's no fever. I think she's going to make it. Do you want to go see her?" he asked.

"Sure. Come on, A.J.," she said as she followed Louis into the hall.

They made their way over to the infirmary. They opened the door to find Violet awake, sitting up.

"Hey, Vi. How are you feeling? I can imagine you're in some pain," Clem said.

"Ughh, hey guys. Yeah, it hurts like a bitch. And it's going to take some getting used to, looking down and seeing my arm gone," Violet said, staring at what was left of her right arm. "But at least I'm alive, thanks to you, Clem."

Clem smiled at her. "Is there anything you need? Some water or something?" she asked.

"Yeah, some water would be nice. Louis, would you be a doll?" Violet asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get you some water. Give me a sec," Louis said as he exited the room.

Clem turned to look back at Violet. As her eyes reached the bed, she felt someone's lips touch hers. She stumbled back, quite surprised. Violet smiled at her. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she said.

"Uhh, okay..." Clem said awkwardly. "That was...unexpected, not going to lie."

"Uh, yeah. That was kinda the point," Violet said, still smiling.

Clem didn't know how to respond. She'd never been kissed by a girl before. She couldn't quite gauge how she felt about it.

"Um, well we'll let you rest, Vi. If you need anything, let us know," she said. As she walked out the door, Louis came in with the water. "What happened, Clem? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, uh, nothing, Louis. I, uh... I'll talk to you later. I gotta go... take care of something," she said, stumbling over her words. Before he could reply, she limped away, not even checking to see if A.J. was behind her.

"Clem, why did Violet just kiss you? Was it because you saved her life?" A.J. asked while trying to keep up with her.

"I don't know, A.J. Why don't you go play with Tenn? I need to be alone for a minute."

"Oh...okay," he said disappointedly.

Clem limped into her room and closed the door. The shadows of the rusted grate covering the window were cast across the room. She set her hat on the bedside table and sat on her bed. She ran both her hands across her face and through her hair.

"What just happened?" she said to herself. She had never experienced this kind of feeling. She put her feet on the bed and laid her head down. She closed her eyes and began to cry. The emotions were overwhelming, her brain becoming more scattered by the second. She laid there for what felt like hours, just crying. A girl so tough and battle-scarred, who'd witnessed and done things no child should ever have to, crying over something so small in comparison to the hell right outside the walls. But in that moment, it weighed on her heart like a ton of bricks. She was so confused, so unsure, so scared. In her mere eighteen years of life, she had Lee taken from her by a walker, baby A.J. by the New Frontier, and even had the apocalypse strip her of what a little girl needs most: her parents. And yet, this seemed to be tearing her apart from the inside out in a way none of her previous hardships had. As she laid, curled up in a ball, she heard the door slowly open.

"Clem? It's Louis. Are you okay?" Louis asked as he slipped through the doorway.

Clem sat up, trying to dry her face and hide that she'd been crying. Louis sat down next to her and put his arm around her. He kissed her cheek and wiped away a stray tear.

"Clem, what happened in that room? I haven't seen you this upset before," he asked.

She didn't know what to tell him, or even if she should tell him. She just wanted to bottle it all up and never let it out. But then she realized she had to tell him, at the very least out of respect for their budding relationship. She looked at him. His eyes looked so open and inviting.

"I..." she began to say as he leaned in and kissed her. She started to tear up again, as he pulled away, she started to speak again.

"Louis...there's something I need to tell you..."