Chapter Text
In the days leading up to the not-date with Violet, things were relatively uneventful for Clem. The Scorpion thankfully didn’t make another appearance. Clem was grateful for that, as she definitely needed the time to recollect herself after her somewhat humiliating and humbling defeat. The St. Johns were still in jail, and it looked like they’d stay there for a while, which was a welcome change of pace. Gabe’s dad had done his job well, as Clem had hoped.
On Friday, she picked up her suit from Gabe’s house, washed the blood out, and even took a couple afternoon swings around the city. Despite still being more than a little shaken from her fight with the Scorpion, she managed to stop a mugging and a bike theft, plus, she helped an old woman carry a precarious stack of library books. Not exactly the same level of intensity as battling the Scorpion or the St. Johns, but it eased her back into the crime-fighting swing.
Speaking of the Scorpion, a video of their fight had surfaced online. It was shaky phone camera footage, but it was clear enough to show the world that she’d gotten her ass handed to her in record time. People weren’t exactly thrilled that she had lost, but hey, neither was she. People were just scared of the unknown, and they were taking it out on her. Clem could understand that. She was an easy target, some people seemed to be looking for reasons to hate her. Still, she was determined not to lose again. She didn’t want her reputation to take another blow. There was a lot of speculation online surrounding the Scorpion’s motivations and goals, which Clem was somewhat keeping up with. As a rule, she didn’t take internet forums particularly seriously. When half of them were picking apart her every move, it was probably best not to give them too much credit.
Christa bought Clementine a new backpack to replace the one she’d lost, and she filled it with fresh copies of the worksheets that had been in the old one. It was going to be a pain in the ass to do them over again, but hey, at least she’d know the material twice as well. She was concerned about whoever was reading her texts, but that was all they seemed to be doing. Nobody had gotten any strange texts from her as far as she could tell, and she had changed the passwords on all of her accounts. There wasn’t really anything else she could do about it without making it a big deal. If things got worse, she could always figure something out. Maybe she could get Brody’s help. She was good with technology. But for now, she had bigger fish to fry.
Clementine’s neighbors, Alvin and Rebecca, had asked her to babysit their kid on Saturday. Thankfully, plans weren’t finalized for the Dairy Queen trip, so she’d been able to fit both into her schedule. She would spend the morning with AJ, and the afternoon with her friends.
Clem arrived at AJ’s house in good spirits, her new backpack swung over one shoulder. She knocked on the door, and not even a second passed before it swung open. Rebecca stood on the other side, looking down at her with a warm smile on her face.
“Hey, Clementine. Alvin and I are just about ready, come on in while he puts on his shoes. AJ’s been so excited to see you.”
“I’m excited to see him too. It’s been a while,” Clem said, stepping through the doorway. Rebecca shot her a warm smile. The two hadn’t gotten off on the right foot at first- Clem and Duck kinda sorta messed up Rebecca’s flowerbeds once when they were younger- but that was in the past. Clem and Duck replanted the flowers and brought Rebecca and Alvin homemade cookies (Duck’s mom helped them with that part). Luke vouched for them, and they had been forgiven.
As she was recalling her history with the woman in front of her, Clem heard the telltale patter of feet on the stairs. She turned just in time to see AJ practically throwing himself at her. She stumbled back, before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He tilted his head up and beamed at her. He’d grown a couple inches since she’d last seen him, and his hair was longer. How long had it been since she’d seen him? It couldn’t have been more than a month. Kids grow fast, Clem figured. She smiled back at him.
“Clem! You’re here!” AJ said. He always got so excited to see her. She hoped he never grew out of that excitement, but Clem knew firsthand how the sweetest kids often become the moodiest by the time they hit middle school.
“I am, kiddo. Dang, you’re strong.”
AJ nodded proudly, puffing out his chest. “The strongest.”
“We’re gonna have so much fun while your parents are out,” She winked, lowering her voice to whisper, “Just don’t tell them that.”
AJ giggled. “Clem, my mom’s right there, she’s gonna hear you!”
Rebecca smiled fondly at the pair, before crossing her arms and putting on a mock-serious face that reminded Clem all too much of their first interacitions. “That’s right, Clementine. If I hear anything about you two having any fun, you are going to be in big trouble!”
Clementine grinned at her. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be on strict no-fun orders.”
Alvin appeared at the top of the stairs. Clem had always liked Alvin. He gave her and Duck juice boxes when they’d replanted Rebecca’s flowerbeds. “Hey, Clementine,” He said, making his way down to them. His wife smiled at him when he reached the bottom, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.
“Don’t you look nice.”
Alvin let out a deep chuckle. “You’re making me blush, Becca.”
Rebecca didn’t reply, instead opting for a quick kiss on the lips, at which AJ groaned. “Gross. Love,” He said. Clementine grinned.
“Love’s a good thing, kiddo,” She said. AJ shrugged.
“Maybe. Not when it’s in front of me, though. Then it’s just gross.”
Clem grinned fondly and shook her head. “Sure thing, goofball.” AJ nodded firmly.
“Yeah,” He looked at his parents impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, you can leave now. Go love each other somewhere else.”
Alvin laughed. “Alright, alright. We’ll get out of your hair.”
Rebecca frowned sternly. “And don’t be too much trouble for Clem, AJ.”
AJ smiled up at his mom innocently. “I won’t!”
“He’s never anything but an angel,” Clementine said. “Now go! Have fun!”
As soon as the couple were out the door, Clem felt AJ tugging on her sleeve. She looked down at the younger boy.
“What is it, goofball?” She asked. AJ grinned.
“I wanna play raiders!” He said. This was one of AJ’s favorite games. Clem smiled down at him.
“Alright. Who do you want me to be?”
“You can be a raider. Disco Broccoli can be your pri… pris…”
“Prisoner.”
“Right. He can be your prisoner,” AJ said firmly. Clem nodded.
“Okay. He’ll be in jail behind the couch, and you can fight me to get him back.”
AJ ran to fetch something from a nearby closet, returning with two nerf guns in hand. He gave the bigger one to Clementine.
“Because you’re bigger, and a raider, you get the bigger weapon. Mine’s the better one though, because you’re the bad guy. Stealing people is wrong,” AJ said. Clem nodded.
“Right,” She put Disco Broccoli behind the couch, before turning back to AJ. “Okay, you’ve got to sneak into our base now.”
AJ shook his head. “Not base. You’re on a boat.”
Clem cocked an eyebrow. “Why a boat?”
“Prisoners can’t get away from you when you’re in the middle of the water. Plus, it’s safer.”
“What do you mean?”
“The zombies are all at the bottom of the water, or they’re on land. They can’t walk on water, Clem,” He giggled. AJ loved playing zombies, too. Seems he’d combined two of his favorite games. Clementine was reminded of her days as a warrior princess and smiled at him.
“Oh, so there’s zombies, too?”
AJ nodded firmly. “Yep. Lots of zombies. But I’m tougher than them.”
“You’re way tougher, kiddo. The toughest kid I know.”
AJ beamed proudly. “Okay, now I’m gonna hide, and you’ve gotta be surprised by me when I come.”
“Got it,” Clem smiled, and AJ ducked around the corner and out of sight. After a few beats, Clem heard the floorboards creaking. She turned away from the doorway, pretending not to have noticed him, until she heard AJ right behind her. She spun around, feigning surprise.
“Grr! I’m an angry raider!” She said, and AJ dropped his nerf gun and looked at her blankly. Immediately, Clem knew she had overdone it.
“Clem, that’s not what raiders sound like.”
Clem placed her hand on her hip. “Okay, kiddo. What do they sound like, then?”
AJ frowned, considering this. “They sound like… like normal people. Just, they steal kids. And they’re bad.”
Clem nodded fondly. “Right. Okay, we’ll try it again then.”
“Good.”
AJ hid again, and when he returned, this time she merely glared at the boy, raising her nerf gun.
“Drop your weapon,” She said brusquely. AJ shook his head defiantly.
“No! Not until I get my friend back!”
“You’re gonna have to go through me to get him!” Clementine shot at AJ with the nerf gun before jumping onto the couch. She was careful not to jump too high with her powers, just enough to get over the back. AJ giggled, ducking down behind an end table. Clem crouched down and crept slowly toward him. She was a couple feet away when she felt an instinct to dodge. It took a moment to process, and in that moment, AJ popped up from behind the table, raised the nerf gun, and fired. The bullet hit her directly in the stomach. Clementine collapsed dramatically and pretended to die.
“You’re a good shot, kid… real good. Oh, the pain, the pain!” Clem felt a pang of guilt as she said it, reminded of the man who she’d watched die the other day. She pushed that feeling down, focusing on AJ instead. Now wasn’t the time.
“I got you!” AJ said, before repeatedly shooting Clem. She laughed, bringing her hands up to cover her face as AJ bombarded her with bullets. They kind of hurt, but it was nothing, really. Not when just the other day, she’d been soaked in blood, drugged, and passed out on a roof. This was just a kid shooting her with nerf bullets. Lots and lots of nerf bullets. When he’d finally used them all up, he jumped over her and grabbed Disco Broccoli, holding the toy over his head triumphantly. “And now I got Disco Broccoli!”
Clem laughed. “You sure did. You run a good rescue mission, kiddo.”
AJ puffed out his chest proudly. “Yeah I do. The best.”
Clementine sat up, a couple nerf bullets falling to the floor in the process. He’d shot her more times than she’d thought.
“So, what’s next?”
AJ lit up. “Now, we can play pirates!”
After playing pirates (Clem was AJ’s rival captain), another round of raiders (this time, both Beet Nick and Disco Broccoli had been captured), playing a board game, and coloring for a bit, AJ asked to watch TV. Clem turned on some cartoons, reruns of a show about talking animals, and headed to the kitchen to figure out a lunch for AJ. He was a picky kid, so making lunch for him was tough. She typically tried to be creative, before settling on just peanut butter and jelly. She was about to grab a knife for the peanut butter, when AJ called her from the other room.
“Clem?” His tone was a lot more subdued than it had been a few moments before, and was immediately concerned.
“Yeah, kiddo?”
“Could… could you come over here?”
Clementine frowned. Come to think of it, she didn’t hear the typical bubbly cartoon noises. It sounded more like a news anchor. Immediately, her mind went to the worst-case scenario. There were a lot of disturbing things on the news, who knows what AJ could be watching. “Okay,” she said, abandoning the open silverware drawer and stepping into the living room. Sure enough, she saw that the TV was no longer showing cartoons, but footage of Spider-Woman. Of her. Her stomach twisted.
“AJ, did you change the channel?”
He nodded.
“Why’d you do that, kiddo?”
AJ shrugged. “I like Spider-Woman. She protects people. She’s like the people in cartoons, but real.”
Clem frowned. “I don’t know, goofball. Real life isn’t like cartoons.”
“I know,” AJ said, turning back to the TV. Clem’s glanced back at the screen and froze. The footage was shaky, but she immediately recognized this scene. This was right before the fight with the Scorpion. It was video that had surfaced online. Clementine wanted to change the channel, but she felt frozen in place, compelled to watch despite knowing what came next.
She and AJ watched wordlessly as she was quickly taken down by the Scorpion, before swinging jerkily out of sight. Clem swallowed hard. She got why people were upset at her. She’d failed. Nothing bad had happened because of it this time, but next time, she might not be so lucky. The fact that people had died before the fight and not after didn’t seem to matter to most people. She could’ve been there sooner, could’ve saved more people. And honestly? She agreed with them. She’d signed up for this, it was her job to protect the people of the city no matter what. And she’d failed.
The screen switched to the weather, and the room was quiet for a moment, save for the weatherman narrating next week’s forecast. Clem had watched that video over and over when she’d first found it, and by now, she knew it by heart. There were a couple of minutes of her and the Scorpion yelling back and forth, and though the audio on the clip was distorted, she remembered exactly what they’d both said.
That was her first mistake. She’d let him talk. People like him loved an audience, and she’d given him one. Then, he swiped at her, and she ducked out of the way a second too late, which was her second mistake. She’d ignored her Spider-Sense.
That enhanced instinct hadn’t lead her wrong so far. In fact, it had lead her to save Violet once, and if she’d only paid attention to it, it would’ve saved her own ass more than once. Clem was definitely going to listen to it from then on, no hesitation.
Still, it didn’t change that she’d messed up during that fight. What she wouldn’t do for a time machine. Why couldn’t she have been bitten by a radioactive… clock, and not a spider? She could go back and save Omid… her parents…
AJ broke the silence, pulling her back to earth. That was probably for the best. She’d gone down that train of thought far too many times, and it was never productive.
“She lost.”
Clem nodded. “Yeah. She did.”
AJ frowned, crossing his arms. “I still like her, though. She’ll probably win next time, because she’s a good guy.”
Clem paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know, kiddo. Just because good guys always win in cartoons doesn’t mean they will in real life.”
AJ nodded. “I know. But she’s smart. I can tell, because I’m smart too. And if she’s smart like me, she’ll figure out how to beat him. Like, he’s all clunky in that suit. Maybe she’ll get him someplace tight so he gets stuck. Or, she’ll get rid of the suit. I don’t think he’s got any powers, so then he’ll just be a guy, and she fights guys all the time. Easy.”
Those were… surprisingly good ideas, coming from a six year old. “Huh. Maybe you’re right, goofball. You’re a pretty smart kid.”
“I know.”
“You do?” Clem said, raising an eyebrow. She honestly should’ve expected that. AJ nodded.
“Yep. I do a lot of thinking.”
“About what?”
“Everything. There’s a lot to think about, Clem. I can’t pick.”
Clem nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, AJ spoke again.
“Are you okay?” He asked. Clem smiled. AJ really could read her.
“Yeah, I guess I was just doing some thinking, too.”
AJ frowned. “Well, don’t do too much. When I think a lot, my head hurts, and if your head hurts, you can’t play with me. Or get me food.” He paused. ”I’m kinda hungry now, Clem.”
“Huh. I think… I think I really needed to hear that. Thanks, kiddo.”
“You’re welcome. Can I have lunch?” AJ asked. Clem relaxed, glad that the conversation was moving in a different direction. She still didn’t really want to talk about Spider-Woman, even if AJ had given her a couple of good ideas. Somehow, a six year old was smarter than a bunch of internet conspiracy theorists. Maybe that wasn’t that surprising, actually. She sighed contentedly.
“Alright, goofball. One peanut butter and jelly sandwich coming right up.”
AJ frowned up at her. “With the crusts cut off?” She nodded.
“With the crusts cut off.”
“Thanks, Clem.” He beamed, leaning back into the sofa and switching the channel back. ”You’re the best.”
Clementine smiled fondly. “Thanks, goofball. You’re the best, too.”
By the time AJ’s parents returned from their brunch date, AJ had finished his sandwich and a carton of chocolate milk. From what she heard from Alvin and Rebecca, the date had been a nice break from the rest of their lives. Seeing couples like Alvin and Rebecca made Clem smile. They were still so in love with each other even after years of being together. At times, they reminded her of her own parents…
Alvin handed Clem a little cash on her way out the door and thanked her for watching AJ.
“It was my pleasure. AJ’s a good kid,” Clem smiled. Rebecca nodded proudly.
“Damn right he is.”
Clem had about a half an hour left before she had to be at Dairy Queen, which was more time than she needed, but not quite enough to do anything. There was never any harm in being a little early, though. She began the short walk to Dairy Queen, passing by Luke and Nick’s house. The pair were relaxing on their porch together, a six pack of beer between them. Luke saw Clem and lit up, waving her over. Having time to spare, she headed down their walkway and hoisted herself into a sitting position the railing of the porch.
“Hey, Clem. How’re you holding up?” Luke cracked a somewhat goofy grin. He had a smile like a golden retriever’s, and it was contagious. Clementine couldn’t help smiling back.
“I’m good. How about you guys?” She asked. Luke lifted his beer and gestured around the porch.
“I’m as happy as I look. It’s a damn beautiful day, I’m with my damn beautiful husband, and I got a damn beautiful beer.” Clem raised an eyebrow at that, and Luke laughed. “Okay, maybe not a beautiful beer. It’s no prettier than any other beer. Sorry, beer.”
“I’m glad. That you’re happy, not about the beer,” Clem said, which elicited another laugh from Luke. While he was busy getting himself under control, Nick shifted his body so that he was facing Clem.
“So, what’re you up to?” He asked. Clem shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’m gonna hang out with a couple of friends.”
Luke tilted his head, having stopped laughing. “Yeah?”
Clementine nodded, swinging her legs lazily. “Yeah. You know Violet, right? I mean, we’re in the same art class, so I figure you would, but…” She trailed off, not quite sure where she was going with that. Somehow, even thinking of Violet had her tripping over herself.
Luke grinned, seeming not to take notice of her sudden awkwardness. “I sure do. She’s a hell of an artist, draws the most detailed portraits.” Clem’s insides fluttered at that. Of course she’d seen Violet drawing before, but she’d never actually gotten a good look at anything she’d done. Nobody was obligated to share their work with anyone other than Luke, as per his policy (“It brings in a lot more shy artists. They’ll end up sharing their work when they’re ready, we just need to give em time.”), and Violet had always kept her art to herself. Clementine forced herself to stop wondering what she’d look like if Violet drew her and instead responded to Luke.
“Well, I asked her if she wanted to hang out, and she asked if Louis could come, so I said yes and invited my friends too.”
Luke and Nick shared a quick glance that Clem couldn’t read. “I always thought you two would get along,” Luke said. There was something in his voice that Clementine couldn’t quite decipher, but she disregarded it. He was being odd, but hey. It was Luke, what else was she expecting?
“Yeah, she’s really cool. I’ve always sort of admired her, y’know? Like, she doesn’t really give a shit, right? Plus, she’s got a really cool style. I’m glad I finally talked to her. Even if the circumstances were kinda rough.”
Luke’s forehead creased. “The circumstances?”
“Oh, this girl was being rude to her. Totally out of line. I stepped in, and when the girl was gone, I asked Violet if she wanted to get lunch or something as an apology for getting involved, you know? In case she didn’t want my help. She seemed fine with it, thankfully. She did take me up on the offer though. Thankfully.”
“Who? Do I know her?”
Clem frowned. “Uh, probably. I don’t know that Violet would want you getting involved, though.” Luke nodded, taking a sip of his beer.
“Yeah, I get it. I wouldn’t want a teacher’s help either. But if she does, or it gets worse, let me know, alright?”
Clem nodded, fiddling with the rim of her worn baseball cap. “I will, thanks Luke,” She paused, realizing it was getting kind of late. “I should probably get going, actually. It was nice talking with you guys!” Clementine pushed herself back off of the railing and into the grass.
“See ya later, Clem. And Have fun with your friends!” Luke’s eyes twinkled. Clem grinned.
“I will,” She said, waving goodbye to the two men and continuing her walk. As she crossed the street, she considered again the fact that Gabe knew her secret. The dork who could barely keep his mouth shut about the surprise birthday party they threw for Duck in eighth grade was the only one privy to her deepest secret.. Sure, he was loyal to a fault, but… she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d made the right decision in telling him.
Was he in more danger now? Would he risk something for her? Would he end up accidentally spilling the beans to the wrong person? Or was he safer now that he was in the know? Was she? Should she tell the rest of the people in her life? The more she thought about it, she realized that she really had no clue what she was doing.
All of this was so new to her. Being Spider-Woman, having a secret identity, telling people about her powers… God, all of it. There was no set of rules, no guidebook, no YouTube tutorial. Clem was flying blind. And her worry that she was doing it all wrong plagued her constantly.
She could only hope against hope that she wasn’t screwing everything up royally.
Clementine walked the final block to Dairy Queen at a brisk pace. The mid-October weather was a little chillier than it had been, and Clem had left her jacket at home. As she closed in on the neon sign, she was almost jogging. Clem was so focused on getting to warmth that she practically bumped right into someone coming from the other direction. Clem looked up to apologize for almost knocking them over, pausing for a moment as she registered the other person as Violet. Her brain short circuited as she realized just how close they were. Clementine could feel Violet’s breath in her face. She could practically lean over and…
“Shit, sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Violet spoke first. Clem shook her head as if to clear it of gay thoughts. It did not work.
“You’re fine, neither was I. You’re okay, right?”
Violet nodded, her gaze intense. “Fine. So, uh, you ready?”
“Yeah. I’ve… been looking forward to this all week, actually,” Clementine admitted. Violet’s eyes widened for a moment, but she looked away quickly. She rubbed the back of her neck for a moment, before her arm dropped back to her side.
“Oh, uh. Cool. Me too.”
Was that too much? It felt like too much, and now Violet probably thought so too, and-
There was a hand resting on her arm. Violet’s hand, on her arm.
“Hey, you okay?” She asked, clearly concerned. Clementine’s fears melted away. She was being ridiculous. Violet wasn’t going to judge her. Violet was cool, and definitely not a dick, and normally Clem wouldn’t be worried about this sort of thing. Of course, the difference was that she didn’t normally have a crazy intense crush on the people she talked to. Yeah, that crush thing was probably it. Definitely.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks,” She said, glancing down at Violet’s hand. The touch was reassuring. Violet seemed to realize that her hand hadn’t moved from Clem’s arm at the same moment she had, and quickly pulled back. Clem had to keep herself from sighing aloud. She wished that Violet had kept it there for just a little longer, already missing the closeness.
Violet tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, which was probably one of the cutest things Clementine had ever seen.
“Do you want to go inside?”
Clem nodded, looking to the door. “Sure.”
They got a booth by the wall, where they had a good view of the door. They decided to hold off on getting food until everyone else arrived, so they could eat at the same time. Clem shifted in her seat. She glanced at Violet, who was sitting across from her.
“Thanks for agreeing to this. I’ve actually wanted to get to know you better for a while now,” She said after a moment. Violet looked up, caught slightly off guard.
“You have?”
“I mean… yes. You’ve got a kind of… impressive attitude, you know? Like you don’t give a shit what other people think.”
Violet glanced down. “I do, though. Give a shit.”
“I guess everyone does,” Clem said. Violet nodded, leaning onto her elbow.
“Mhm…”
A beat passed, and just as Violet opened her mouth to say something else, the door swung open, the sound of jangling bells bringing with it Gabe and Louis. The pair were chatting animatedly and looked like old friends at that point. Clem and Violet shared a quick glance, communicating their confusion wordlessly. When did those two happen? Clementine decided not to question it. At least they didn’t have to worry about them getting along anymore. They clearly had it covered.
The pair seated themselves, Louis next to Violet and Gabe next to Clem. After a moment of silence, Louis spread his arms wide and grinned.
“Welcome to the realm of the Dairy Queen, companions,” he said. His statement was met with various looks of bewilderment.
“What?” Violet said finally. Louis shrugged.
“I don’t know! I needed to say something before things got awkward,” He said, and Violet rolled her eyes.
“Too late, Lou.”
Louis huffed. “I know you love me.” Violet merely scoffed, and Louis turned to face Clem and Gabe. “She loves me.”
Gabe grinned. “Clearly.”
Violet leaned back, putting her hands behind her head and exposing her arms. Huh. She had nice arms. Clem felt her face flushing slightly, and forced herself to pay attention to what was going on around her.
The blonde looked at Louis. “Well, I can officially say that wasn’t the craziest thing I’ve heard you say.”
Clem cocked an eyebrow, intrigued. “Really? What was?”
Violet grinned. “Where do I start? He says the weirdest shit.”
Louis placed a hand over his heart. “I’m entertaining!”
Violet snorted. “If by entertaining you mean annoying, then yeah. You’re super entertaining.”
“Cut him some slack. I think he’s funny,” Gabe spoke up. Clementine gave him an incredulous look.
“Gabe, you think the jokes on laffy taffy wrappers are funny,” She said, before looking back to Louis. “But I agree. You’re pretty funny.”
Louis grinned at Violet triumphantly. “See? Clem thinks I’m funny AND pretty.”
Violet rolled her eyes again. “Whatever.”
A short moment later, Duck announced his presence to the occupants of the Dairy Queen (their little group, an exhausted looking girl at the counter, and an older man eating a burger) with a loud whoop. Sarah trailed in behind him, apologizing quietly to the woman at the counter.
“So, are we getting food or what? I’m starving,” Duck groaned. Sarah frowned, her forehead crinkling.
“You’re always hungry.”
“Of course I am! I’m an athlete, Sarah, I work up an appetite!” Duck said indignantly. Gabe feigned shock.
“Wow, Duck. I didn’t know you knew such big words. Appetite! That’s a lot for you.”
Duck flushed and looked down. “Shut up.”
Louis coughed. “I’m with the dude. I’m ready to order!” Duck shot him an appreciative look as they got up to get their food. When they got to the counter, however, nobody was there to take their orders. Sarah glared at Duck.
“You scared her off!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Guys, shut up!” Gabe said, shooting them a pointed glance. The pair realized that they were standing in the middle of a Dairy Queen with two of their classmates who they didn’t know particularly well, not chilling in Duck’s basement, and they sobered up. Clementine shook her head fondly. Her friends were all dorks.
For a good thirty seconds, the group stood at the counter, not quite sure of what to do. Just as Clem was about to suggest they sit back down, someone came out from the back who she recognized instantly.
“Ben!” Both she and Violet said simultaneously. Clem turned to Violet, whose face was scrunched up in mild confusion.
“You know Ben?” She asked. Violet nodded.
“Yeah. We’re cousins, actually.”
Clem grinned. “Huh. Yeah, I can see the resemblance now.” She played with a strand of her hair. “Ben was my babysitter for a couple years.”
Ben waved shyly. “Hey guys.” Before anyone could say anything else, Duck pushed past the rest of them to order.
“Could I get an original double cheeseburger, a chili cheese dog, an order of fries… no, two orders of fries…” Clem sent him a pointed glare, and she wasn’t the only one. Oblivious to the looks he was getting, Duck continued ordering just about half the menu before turning to the rest of the group.
“Okay, who’s next?” After no one said anything for a moment, he frowned. “What? I said I was hungry.”
Gabe rolled his eyes, but stepped forward. After they had all ordered, they moved off to the side to wait. Clem glanced over at Violet. The blonde was looking off to the side and worrying her lower lip. Clementine felt herself smiling in spite of herself. Obviously, she’d always thought Violet was pretty, but somehow she was even prettier up close. Violet turned and caught her eye. Clem panicked for a split second, but then Violet cracked a soft smile and Clem’s insides got all fluttery. That smile was probably the cutest thing she’d ever seen, and she used to foster puppies, so that was saying something.
Clementine turned to see Louis and Gabe, who had clearly been looking at them, quickly look away. She was immediately suspicious, but before she could do anything, Ben had returned with their food.
They each took their trays back to the table, Duck doing some sort of weird balancing act with his food. For a moment after they got settled they were quiet as they dug in. Then Louis broke the silence.
“So. Clem,” he started, “Tell me something interesting about yourself.”
Clem frowned, caught off guard. “I don’t know… what would you consider interesting?”
Duck grinned deviously. That was the grin Duck had before he was either about to get himself (and probably Clem by association) in trouble, or embarrass her. This time, it was definitely the latter.
“Oh, I know quite a few interesting things about you, Clementine Parker.”
Clem glared at him.
“I swear to god, if you even mention that salt lick-“
“Okay, so one time, Clem and I were at this barn and-“
“Stop.”
“-and there was this pile of, like, grey bricks next to us-“
“Duck, I’m not kidding.”
“-and she asked what they were-“
“I’m going to knock your drink on the floor.”
“-and the dude at the barn said they were called salt licks, and you know know what Clem did?”
Louis’s eyes widened. “Dude, she didn’t.”
Duck nodded. “She so did. She-“
“Don’t.”
“She licked it!”
“Kenneth Junior.”
Gabe whooped. “Damn, she brought out the full name! You’re a dead man.”
Duck shrugged. “Whatever, I got to embarrass Clem, so my life’s complete.”
Clem groaned, her head dropping to the table with a soft thud.
“That’s totally cute though. Right, Vi?” Louis asked, nudging his friend. Clem immediately glanced back up to gauge the other girl’s reaction. Violet seemed slightly flustered for some reason, but nodded.
“Um, yeah. That’s cute, it’s a cute story,” She said, returning to her chicken strips, but not before sending Louis an intense glare that Clem couldn’t decipher. She wondered what that was about, but before she could puzzle it over, Sarah raised her hand and started talking.
“If you think that’s cute, then you don’t even want to know about her emo phase in middle school!” Sarah added helpfully. Clem gave her a betrayed look and Violet choked on her milkshake.
Louis raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell.”
Duck lit up. “It was so good. She didn’t wear anything other than black for, like, a year and a half.”
Louis leaned back. “Wow… I can kinda see it.”
Sarah nodded. “Oh right, that was how Clem and Gabe became friends!”
Louis’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Gabe. “You mean to tell me that Gabe had an emo phase too?”
Duck nodded. “The emo-est.”
“Guys, seriously?” Gabe said, sinking into his seat. Clem felt that. She really felt that.
“Dude, I am here for this! Please tell me you have pictures. Of both of them,” Louis said. Clem groaned and dropped her head onto the table.
Duck laughed. “Oh, I so do.”
“Duck, I’m gonna fight you,” Gabe said.
Duck laughed. “I’d like to see you try… Oh, and here’s my favorite picture.”
Clem immediately knew which picture it was, but craned her neck to see anyway. Louis choked back laughter, while Violet’s face flushed bright red.
“That’s… wow,” Louis said. Duck nodded enthusiastically.
“I know, right?”
Gabe glared. “I’m not kidding. We’re fighting outside.”
“Why don’t we get our dads to fight? If you’re so confident in your dad’s ability, do you trust him to defend you honor?”
Sarah sighed, resigned. “Oh, we’re doing this again.”
Louis frowned at her. “Again? Meaning, this is something that they discuss often?”
Clem nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. It is.”
“Wow.”
The squabbling paused as someone new entered the restaurant. Duck waved them over excitedly, and Clementine recognized Marlon, Duck’s teammate, by his scruffy mullet. She had always thought it looked like a dead rat, but she wasn’t about to say that to his face. He grinned at Duck.
“Hey, Duck. You’re coming to my party next week, right?” He asked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans. Duck nodded.
“Of course! Hey, we should all go together!” Duck said, looking around the table. Clem noticed that Violet’s expression had soured, and when she looked over at Louis, noted that he looked unusually tense. She glanced back to Marlon, who appeared to have just noticed Louis and Violet sitting at the table. He suddenly took a more neutral tone, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Oh. Hey, Violet. Louis.”
“Hi Marlon,” Louis said, not meeting his eyes. Violet didn’t respond, merely glaring at the boy. Clementine ate a french fry.
There was an extremely awkward silence hanging over the table for a moment. Duck coughed into his hand, which snapped Marlon out of his daze.
“Uh, yeah. Anyway. See you at practice,” He said quickly, heading to the counter. Louis’s eyes followed him the whole way.
Even after Marlon left with his food, the atmosphere at the table was somewhat off, the weird interaction from moments before hanging over them. After the long and uncomfortable silence, Violet sighed audibly and glanced at Louis.
“I’m halfway done. Trade?”
Louis nodded and brightened slightly. “Deal.”
Violet slid her chocolate shake over to him, and he passed her his vanilla one. He took a sip and sighed.
“Ah, that’s nice. Remind me why I don’t buy the chocolate shake first?”
Violet rolled her eyes. “Because then you drink it all before we can swap.” Louis shrugged.
“Right now, that’s sounding pretty good to me.”
“Well it’s a shit deal for me, so, we’re not changing it.”
And like that, the mood was back up. Thanks to Violet. Clem smiled. It was kinda cute that she knew Louis so well. They were good friends. How well people treat their friends is a pretty good judge of character in Clem’s book.
They clicked as a group pretty quickly. Despite her friends going out of their way to embarrass her for whatever reason, she didn’t feel any judgement from Violet or Louis. As a matter of fact, the two joined in. Louis announced that Violet slept with stuffed animals (which was totally adorable, in Clem’s opinion). Violet, in retaliation, told them that Louis pours the milk before the cereal. When Duck gave an admittedly strikingly accurate impression of Principal Carver, Violet snorted out loud, and Clem just about felt herself ascending to heaven right then and there. That laugh was the most adorable thing she’d ever witnessed.
Sooner than she’d like, however, it was over. Sarah’s dad needed her home, and Duck was her ride, so they left. Then, Louis announced that he ought to be getting back as well.
“Not that I wouldn’t love to stay a couple extra minutes with you lovely people, but I’ve got to feed my cat at the right time or she’ll kill me in her sleep.” He said, getting to his feet. Gabe quickly rose as well.
“Which direction are you headed?” He asked, and Louis pointed to the left. Gabe grinned. “Hey, me too! We should walk together.”
Louis grinned. “That sounds great.”
Clem shot Gabe an incredulous glance. He knew she liked Violet, how could he leave her alone with the blonde? Gabe merely shrugged and grinned smugly. He had planned this. Of course. Clem rolled her eyes at him as they left, before turning back to Violet.
“Thanks for agreeing to do this. I had a good time, and I think everyone else did, too,” Clem smiled. Violet nodded.
“Yeah, it was… it was really nice,” Violet sighed, looking down. “I don’t really put myself out there much, but I’m glad I did this time. It’s nice having a conversation with someone who doesn’t base their entire zombie apocalypse plan on a stupid pun.”
Clem laughed. “Really? That’s so… Louis.”
“Yeah… He’s an idiot, but he’s stuck by me through a lot of shit. I can put up with stupid puns if they’re his stupid puns, y’know?” Violet leaned back against the booth. Clem thought of Gabe and Duck and nodded.
“I get what you mean.”
They were quiet for a beat. The air around them felt loaded with something that Clem couldn’t put a name on, but whatever it was, it was intense. She looked directly at Violet, and it was probably the longest she’d let herself look at the other girl. Violet stared back at her, and Clementine noticed for the first time just how green her eyes were. They were really pretty, she thought. She’d always liked green, though not quite as much as she’d liked purple. She cracked a small smile at that, which must have caught Violet’s attention, because then the girl’s eyes flicked down momentarily. Was she… did Violet just look at her lips? Clem brushed away that thought, and all other thoughts, as Violet smiled softly back at her.
“You wanna head out?” She asked. Clem nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah, sure.” She stood up, although she didn’t remember telling her legs to do that. On autopilot, she threw out her trash and held the door for Violet, who grinned at her.
“Thanks.”
She followed the other girl out onto the street. They walked in comfortable silence for a moment, although there was so much that Clementine wanted to say. She wanted to get to know the girl next to her, had wanted to for months. Now, she finally had the chance to, but nothing was coming out. Violet was the one who ended up breaking the silence.
“I’m pretty sure Louis has a crush on Gabe,” She said, clearly amused at the thought. Clementine nodded.
“And I’m willing to bet it’s not one-sided, judging by the looks Gabe was giving him today.”
Violet laughed softly. “How much do you bet they don’t get together for another… two months?”
“Okay, you’re giving them too much credit. Two and a half.”
“I’m banking on Louis accidentally telling Gabe he likes him. It’s exactly the sort of dumb shit he’d do,” Violet said fondly. Clem nodded.
“Yes, but Gabe would totally think he was joking or something. He’s oblivious like that,” She said. Violet raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. In middle school, he had this huge crush on me. I mean, to be fair, I was totally clueless too. Looking back, it was obvious to everyone else that he liked me and that I was totally not interested, but to the two of us? We knew nothing. Duck and Sarah have so many stories about times he was being super forward, I thought he was being friendly, and both of us just… didn’t get it at all.”
Violet laughed. “I can picture that. The two of you, with emo haircuts, wearing all black-“
Clem groaned. “Stop... I can’t believe they told you about that…”. Violet simply laughed harder. Clem rolled her eyes. “Go ahead, laugh.”
“Sorry, sorry… I just… picturing the Clementine Parker having an emo phase… it’s a lot.”
Clem smiled. “I mean, it was middle school. Everyone was a little…” She trailed off. Violet sobered up.
“Yeah. We were,” She sighed. “God, fucking middle school. I don’t remember half of it, and what I do remember is shit.”
Clementine tilted her head, curious. “Yeah, you didn’t live here during middle school.”
“I didn’t. I used to live in Texas, actually. Moved there in fifth grade. Stayed there until halfway through freshman year, when things got… they got really bad. So we moved back.”
“And are things less shitty now?” Clem asked. Violet shrugged.
“I mean, here I’ve got Louis, at least.”
“And you’ve got me, too,” Clem said firmly, a lot more certain of herself than she felt. She felt a connection to Violet, something she’d never felt so soon or so intensely ever before. Violet’s head swiveled to look at Clem, clearly surprised. Shit, She probably didn’t feel the same way. They’d hung out one time, that didn’t mean anything.
“I… yeah. I’ve got you,” Violet smiled softly, and Clementine relaxed. Violet rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “I’ve gotta be honest. Even after I talked to you at your locker, I wasn’t sure you actually wanted to hang out. Or if you did, it was just some kind of… good person thing. You know, I was some kind of charity case for you, whatever. I don’t know. I’ve not exactly got people lining up to invite me to shit, you know? But... you actually wanted to hang out with me, didn’t you?”
Violet looked at her, and she seemed so vulnerable in that moment. Clem nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah, I really did. And… I’d like to do it again, I think. I mean, if you want to, of course. Maybe just us this time, so there’s less of a chance of Duck telling you about the time I put a bug on his pillow in second grade.”
Violet raised an eyebrow. “You mean, there’d still be a chance? Because I’d love to hear about how that one turned out.”
“Actually, that one’s a lot more embarrassing for Duck than it is for me. I might be persuaded to tell you, in exchange for an embarrassing story about Louis…” She grinned.
“Lucky for you, I’ve got plenty.”
“I look forward to hearing them,” Clem said. Suddenly, she remembered the odd interaction between Louis, Violet, and Marlon. “Hey, if you don’t mind me asking… what was up with you guys and Marlon?”
Violet’s expression immediately darkened. “Oh, uh… You should probably ask Louis, not me. He and Marlon… they’ve got history.”
Clementine nodded, resolving to ask Louis about it if they got closer.
“How far’s your house?”
Violet quickly looked down at her feet. “It’s pretty far. We’ll probably get to your house first.”
Clem nodded, realizing they’d reached her street. “That’s pretty likely, since that’s my house.”
Violet took it in for a moment. “It’s a nice house.”
“Thanks.”
They reached it momentarily, and Clem paused by the gate.
“I’m glad we hung out. You’re pretty cool, Vi,” She said, testing out the nickname. Violet’s face flushed, and Clementine attributed it to the cold air.
“I… thanks. You’re pretty cool, too.”
Clementine grinned. “Thanks. Have a safe walk home.”
“Yeah, I will. After what happened the other night, I’m definitely gonna be watching my back,” Violet said, and Clem noted that she wasn’t completely joking. A run in with a superpowered criminal would definitely shake a person up… Clem knew from experience.
“Text me when you get home, okay?”
Violet nodded. “I will. Night, Clem.”
“Night.”
As she watched Violet head down her street, Clementine smiled softly. The day had been a success, and hopefully, it would lead to her hanging out with Violet a little more often from now on. She definitely liked the sound of that.