world's end ━ the walking dead

( 𝟎𝟏𝟓 ) the lake

— ZOE HAD NO IDEA WHAT IDEA what Nate wanted to show her - in fact, she was just shocked that he was even talking to her at all; he had never shown much interest in being friends, and he had always shrugged her off when she tried to speak to him. She didn't know what had changed while she was out, but it seemed as if he had changed a lot in how he acted towards the girl. Nate had to keep a slow pace so that Zoe could keep up, as she was still recovering from her wound and wasn't back to herself one hundred percent. However, he knew that she would love the location he found, and he had been waiting for her to wake up so he could show her. He had missed her company, as she was the only person that was the closest to his age, and he couldn't wait for her to get back to normal, so he could begin ignoring the rest of the group once more.

Daryl had been leaving the farm everyday to look for Sophia, and Nate didn't see a point - the girl was gone, and the group should accept that.. It was just a waste of materials going out and searching for her everyday. He hadn't spoken to Daryl since the small fight about Zoe waking up, meaning that the only person that Nate really had, was Glenn. Nate didn't mind the guy, he was nice, but he was just too naive about the world.. Hell, the whole group were, except for Shane, who knew what the world had become. He didn't want to accept the fact that he was mostly like the cop, but he couldn't help it; Shane knew what the world was like, and he knew not to trust other people, unlike Rick, who was also too naive. He just hoped the two could put aside their differences and start leading in a better way, as it was starting to affect the whole group.

Zoe, obviously had no idea on what was going on with the situation with Rick and Shane, and she probably hasn't even seen Shane since she woke up, and that was good, in a way.. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what went down with him and Otis. The second Zoe would speak to Shane about how he 'saved her life', she'll know; and Nate knows that she'll let the guilt eat her alive - that's the last thing he wanted for her.

Zoe looked up at Nate, noticing that he was deep in thought, "What are you thinking about?" She asked him, catching the guy off guard.

Nate looked down to her as they stopped at the top of the hill, he could see the sweat droplets on her face that dripped down onto her chest, and he had to shake his head to bring him away from his daze. "A lot's change since you've been recovering." He eventually told her, after a few seconds of silence.

Zoe stopped at turned to face Nate, "How so?" She asked. She didn't think that she had been stuck in the house for that long, what could have changed? And surely her dad would have updated her on everything that had happened.

Nate shrugged, not exactly knowing how to explain it. "The group.. Everyone just seems, different." He spoke.

Zoe furrowed her brows at him, "What do you mean?" She asked.

Nate shook his head, "Ever since Sophia went missing, it's as if anything we do is dangerous." He answered, looking around at the scenery around them; they weren't that far from the lake at this point, only a few more minutes of walking. "The farm, it's providing a sense of safety, which is what the world isn't anymore." He spoke again, looking back to Zoe, who was clearly listening intently to his words, something no one else did.

He was pushed aside due to who he and Daryl were, so he could never get any inputs in with what plans the group had - but with Zoe, that was different. She listened.
Zoe shrugged at his words, "I guess people are just making the most of it while they can." She suggested, "You want to live everyday like your last, now." She said. She could just tell that something would happen soon, so making the most of the farm and the security it brung would be something she was sure to do once she was fully back on her feet.

She smiled when Nate held out his hand to take so she could use his body to keep hers upright, as they went down the hill.. She could see ahead, a beautiful and small waterfall, and she couldn't help but look in awe. She was wondering how Nate had found this place - it seemed very strange that something this beautiful was placed so far out from the destroyed forest around them, and the fact that they hadn't wandered into any walkers, was a miracle itself.

As they reached the bottom of the hill, Zoe looked over at the small lake in complete awe, loving the sight of it. "How did you find this place?" She asked him, looking up at him, to find him already looking down at her in his own little world.

He smiled at her reaction - he knew she would like it. "I stumbled upon it while I was looking for Sophia." He answered, looking back at the small and beautiful lake that hadn't been touched by the ugly world. "It's nice, isn't it?" He asked her.

"It's beautiful." She answered. All she wanted was to jump into the lake.. The last time she had even managed to get in a small swim was way before the outbreak occurred; she didn't even know if she would remember how to. When she looked up at Nate, he was already taking his jacket off, "What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Going for a swim." Nate answered, as he shrugged off his clothes. He looked over at him with a mischievous grin, "Are you coming?"

Zoe couldn't take her eyes off of his body as he stripped down to his underwear. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen it before, she just never thought she'd see it again. It was strange, this time last week, she was trapped in the house, and she would have never thought she would be swimming with Nate. She didn't even think they'd be able to find a part of land so beautiful with the world ending, but they have, and it shocked her.

She watched as he jumped into the lake with a huge smile - and she had never seen him this happy before. It was nice. "Come on!" He shouted, once he pulled his head above the water, it wasn't that deep, so he knew that Zoe could handle it.

Zoe looked at Nate anxiously, not knowing if she wanted to jump in, before mumbling, "Screw it." She reached for her jacket, slowly pulling it off, before following with her shirt and jeans.

As soon as she took her top off, Nate's eyes traveled to her scars from the gun shot wound, and it upset him to think that something like that had happened to her and he couldn't do anything about it. She was an amazing girl, always putting others before herself, and that was the last thing she deserved.. He knew that Otis didn't mean to shoot her, but it still angered him that it happened.

He watched in amazement as she pushed aside her pain for one second, and jumped into the lake besides him, splashing Nate with the water. He shook his head, but laughed once he saw the look on her face, and he was instantly glad that he had found this area, if it made Zoe happy, he would do anything for her.
The second she stood up in the water and her wet hair dangled down her face, the two laughed at each other, not believing that they could be this free. It was a lot better than the camp near Atlanta, and that was a fact.

Once they stopped laughing, they both ended up looking into each other's eyes, wondering how the hell they got here. It all started with Nate ignoring the girl, to him wanting nothing but to talk to her. He looked down at her lips, causing her to do the same to him, and within seconds, they had reached onto each other and pressed their lips together.

As they kissed, they felt like the only people in the world, and they were hoping it would stay that way for a while.