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Your favorite place to hide was in the corner of Alexandria in a tree, covered by leaves and branches, blocked out from the rest of the community. That tree was the place that you went every day after you finished the tasks that Rick had given you in order to avoid any type of communication with the members of the group. It wasn’t that you didn’t like them or they were not nice to you. Quite the contrary, actually, they were all nice to you. Very kind and sweet and protective.
Your favorite place to hide was in the corner of Alexandria in a tree, covered by leaves and branches, blocked out from the rest of the community. That tree was the place that you went every day after you finished the tasks that Rick had given you in order to avoid any type of communication with the members of the group. It wasn’t that you didn’t like them or they were not nice to you. Quite the contrary, actually, they were all nice to you. Very kind and sweet and protective.
You hated it.
Ever since you were a young child, you had been a loner, pushing those away who had shown any type of connection with you. A relationship - whether it was platonic or romantic - didn’t intrigue you in the slightest. You never had friends, always swung on the swing by yourself, sat in the back of the room, never talked to anyone when you had to do ‘group work’, and overall shut everybody out. Your parents and teachers thought you had a problem, that it wasn’t ‘normal’ to shut everyone out. In the end, you shut them out too.
You didn’t feel bad when your parents died, at least not how most children would. There was pain in your heart, but you mostly felt relief. Relief at the thought that you would finally be able to live your life like you had always wanted it: alone. It didn’t last long, however. A little over a year and a half, you could only assume, after it began, the solitude came to an end when you found Rick and his group held up within a large prison. At first glance, the prison read as a wonderful place to hide and separate yourself from the rest of the group, however, when Rick began to hand out stuff for you to do - whether it was going out on supply runs, going on watch, helping him and his son do some gardening - you knew that these people were expecting labor for your stay and not expecting someone to house at the prison for free.
In the end, you were forced to interact with the other members of the group. Even though you had to do it, you tried your best to stay as far away as possible, if not physically, than emotionally. While you worked with them, you kept verbal communication to a minimum of fifty words as needed in order to give directions or to accept directions. After that, you retired to the cell that Rick had given you, closing the door and the curtain, separating yourself from anyone and everyone.
When the prison had burned to the ground after the Governor’s men attacked, you knew that it was, again, going to be the end of any possible privacy that you could have within the undead world. From Terminus to Alexandria, you were cursed with having to be near the rest of the individuals. Sure, they were nice to you and protected you and, in the end, you protected them, but you never got close to anyone. You could never get close to anyone. Getting close to someone meant that you developed feelings for them and getting feelings for them meant that they could take those feelings and crush them into a million little pieces, leaving you heartbroken and wrecked and damaged to the point where you could not be fixed again. You didn’t want to end up like that. You were completely fine being alone and in tact, thank you very much.
So when you reached the small community of Alexandria, realizing that you didn’t have a single place to call your own, you had to improvise. Tree climbing was something you did as a child, so you used it to your advantage. You found a tree far away from the rest of the neighborhood and claimed it as your own, always going there after you did as you were told. It was the only place that you had to yourself. The house that you were given to sleep in, sadly, had others that accompanied you. A couple, as a matter of fact: Glenn and Maggie.
Glenn and Maggie is the sweetest couple that you know. They treated you like a part of their family. You would even dare to say that they treated you as if you were their own child. Although some of the people would consider it adorable, you despised the way that they acted towards you. You hated that they were making you...feel something for them. It was something that you swore that you would never do. You were beginning to feel like you were getting close to them and you had an inkling that they felt the same way.
Each time Glenn or Maggie thought you were coming around and getting close, they would try to involve you in activities so the three of you seemed like the cliche family that used to watch television every Sunday night after dinner. Each time, though, you turned them down, immediately going to your room and locking the door. You couldn’t get close to them. You would tell yourself every single minute of every single day that it was one of the worst things that could happen. You would get close to someone and then they would hurt you, playing with your emotions like a toddler would play with a new toy, smacking it around and shattering it into a million pieces before whispering ‘oops’. You couldn’t face anything like that.
Although throughout the year you knew them, you found yourself getting closer to them emotionally, despite your mental protest telling you not to do it. There was a great amount of denial that came with it at first - you telling yourself that you were not feeling anything for them, but rather it was a feeling of pity that was setting in the pit of your stomach from the sad faces that they give you when you deny their attempts to get to know you. As you moved with the group, however, a part of you wanted to admit that you were getting close to them and you wanted to get close to them. The overpowering sense of wanted alienation always overtook you, though, determining your reaction to what Glenn and Maggie says to you.
Each and every day, your mind was at war with itself, contemplating what you should do with you life and whether or not you needed to change the way you acted around people or whether you should stay the same, secluding yourself from the people that swore to protect you and have developed some sort of relationship with you. That idea was one you thought about the most while you were in the tree you had claimed months ago.
That day was no different. Your head was filled with multiple thoughts running through your mind at a rapid pace, giving you a small headache near the back of your scalp. You leaned your head against the truck of the tree while you rested on one of the highest branches.
The sky, in the distance, was beginning to turn a color of orange and pink, the sun setting behind the trees. You knew that you had to go back to your designated house soon, but as of now, you were going to relax in the tree, on the branch, all alone….
“(Y/N)!” Maggie called from a little ways away.
A sigh escaped from your mouth as you opened your eyes. You slowly began to make your way down the tree, going from branch to branch until you were able to jump down onto the ground. Glancing up the road, you could see that Maggie was coming down the street, a white apron wrapped around her waist. She walked closer.
“Hey, dinner’s ready.”
You glanced back at your tree and licked your lips before you looked back at Maggie. “What are we having?” You asked in a small, timid voice.
“I made some lasagna.”
You gave a silent nod as the two of you made your way to the house. Entering, you could smell the delicious aroma of the recipe of noodles, tomatoes, and cheese. One thing that you really didn’t mind about living with the couple was the fact that Maggie was an amazing cook. Whenever possible, the three of you sat down to a freshly made meal. You didn’t mind sitting at the table with her and Glenn as much as you did staying with them for the rest of the night.
As you walked into the kitchen, you saw Glenn setting up the table: one plate, fork, and glass at the head with two more sets on either side of the seat. Glenn glanced your way. “Hey, (Y/N),” he said to you.
Maggie walked over to the kitchen counter as you stopped in the doorway. You folded your hands in front of you and fumbled with your fingers. Maggie grabbed the glass casserole dish and brought it over to the dining table. She set it down and looked at you. “Come on a sit down, (Y/N). Let’s eat.” She said.
“What would you like to drink?” Glenn asked Maggie.
“Just some water, please,” she said with a smile as she walked over to the counter, opening up one of the drawers. She grabbed a plastic spatula and brought it over to the table.
“What about you, (Y/N)?” Glenn turned to you.
You slowly walked over to the table, pulling out your chair. “Water.”
“Alright,” He said as he grabbed your glasses, taking them over to the sink. He filled both of them with water before placing them back down onto the table.
Glenn grabbed his own glass and did the same with it. He finally walked over to the table, set his glass down, and sat in his seat. Maggie placed a decent sized piece of lasagna on each of the plates before sitting down as well. Hesitantly, you sat.
The three of you ate your dinner with small talk mostly going through Maggie and Glenn with you saying a word or two every now and then in response to a question that was asked to you. Other than that, the night had been rather quiet. Thankfully, you were able to enjoy the delectable flavor of the lasagna that Maggie made for the three of you.
Normally, right after you ate, you would set your dish into the sink and then dash up the stairs, doing your best to avoid any type of discussion between yourself and the couple. However, that night, after you placed your plate into the sink and began to head towards the door, you were stopped by the voice of Glenn being directed towards you.
“Why don’t you stay down here with us, (Y/N)?” He asked, raising his brows. “We were planning on watching a movie tonight and we would really appreciate it if you stayed down here with us.”
“O-Oh no, I-”
“Please?” This time, it was Maggie that said something. “We really want to spend time with you and...we really think you’ll like the movie. We have popcorn and snacks that we’ll eat while we’re watching it. Please?”
That time, you said nothing. Your mouth opened and closed several times as your mind briskly contemplated your course of action. Should you go upstairs and listen to the part of your brain that was screaming at you and telling you to leave and lock yourself in your room and never come out? Or should you listen to the calm, reasonable part of your brain that was telling you to give them a chance, to expose your emotions because Glenn and Maggie were good people and would not hurt you? In the end, you chose the latter option.
“Okay,” you said with a gentle tone.
Maggie raised her brows. “Really?” She questioned. You gave a small nod and Maggie smiled. “Alright then. I’ll clean the plates and put the leftovers up so that we can have them tomorrow. Honey,” she turned to Glenn. “Do you think you can get the movie set up and the snacks?”
“Sure,” Glenn said and smiled, reaching over and pecking his wife on her cheek. Maggie smiled and the two of them got to work. Glenn turned to you. “If you want to go wait in the living room, then that would be fine.”
You gave a small nod. At least it would give you enough time to gather your thoughts before you had to endure the long hour and a half with others. You walked out of the kitchen and went into the living room, sitting down in the chair that was beside the couch, allowing for the couple to have the sofa all to themselves. You took your shoes and your socks off of your feet, setting them beside the chair, mentally telling yourself that you were going to pick them up and bring them upstairs once everything was done with.
Maggie washed the dishes and put them in the drying rack before she placed the rest of the lasagna into the fridge. Most likely, you guys would have the same food for lunch the next day in order to guarantee that none of it went to waste. It wasn’t like you minded, though. Maggie was an amazing cook and the food that she prepared always seemed to fill you up.
Glenn began to prepare the popcorn, putting the Jiffy Pop on top of the stove and turning the heat up. He would leave it in there for a while until the kernels had finished popping. He went into the pantry where there was a small bag of candies still fresh in the box. He grabbed the bag and glanced inside. He smiled. He walked over to his wife as she cleaned the dishes, kissed her head, and then walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. He glanced at you. “Do you want some candy?”
“Pardon?”
“We have candy that we’re going to eat throughout the movie. Do you wanna look inside to see what you want?”
No, I just wanna get this done and over with . “Sure.” Dammit .
Glenn handed you the bag and you accepted it, placing it into your lap. You opened up the bag and searched through the boxes, grabbing one of them that you liked and setting it on your lap before tossing the bag onto the couch for the couple to share. Glenn went to the small bookcase that was located to the right of the television set. He glanced through the movies that they had available and he chose the one that he and Maggie agreed on. He flashed the cover box to you.
“Have you ever seen E.T?”
You furrowed your brows and shook your head. “No,” You said. “Never.”
“Really!?” He questioned, raising his brows. “That’s ridiculous! How have you never seen E.T? This was the best movie that I watched when I was a kid.”
“Yeah...never seen it.”
“Well you are going to tonight!”
“Great,” you rolled your eyes.
“That’s the spirit!” Glenn beamed as he walked over and placed the movie into the VCR player.
Afterwards, he turned on the television and watched as the movie went to its title screen. He nodded and walked back into the kitchen where he saw the Jiffy Pop begin to puff up. He grabbed the handle and shook it slightly. Slowly but surely, the popcorn began to rise. Once a couple more minutes passed, he pulled the Jiffy Pop off the stove and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. He levitated the pot over the bowl and popped the aluminum foil, turning the pot over and emptying the popcorn into the bowl. He then threw the pot away. Glenn grabbed the bowl and walked to the living room, seeing that Maggie had already gotten into the bag of candy. Glenn smiled, chuckled, and turned off the light to the kitchen before he turned off the light to the living room. He walked over to the VCR and grabbed the remote on top of the machine and walked over to the couch. He sat down and waited as his wife snuggled up against him before he started the movie.
You opened up the candy near the start of the movie, trying your best to ignore the couple that was cuddling on the couch right next to you. You concentrated on the movie. You began to nibble on the sweets.
A quarter of the way through the movie, you thought it was very interesting, getting sucked into the main storyline as well as the characters. ET was such a cute little alien. In fact, you found that you were enjoying the situation. It was as if you had completely forgotten about your desires to be alone.
Halfway through you had run out of popcorn and out of candy, mindlessly asking Glenn for the bag so that you could find something else to snack on whilst watching the film. He smiled and handed you the bag. After you found another box you wanted, you handed the plastic bag back to him, which he gladly set beside him.
Three-fourths of the way through it was when the waterworks began to flow. The scenes began to get rather emotional. Normally, you were not one to cry in front of others, but at that point, you didn’t care about that. You were beginning to get comfortable around Glenn and Maggie, something you never imagined admitting as long as you lived.
“(Y/N)?” Maggie’s sweet voice mixed with the voices from the movie. You immediately turned your head to glance at her. “Sweetheart, are you alright?”
You sniffled, you couldn’t help it, and rubbed your eyes. “Yes,” you lied.
Maggie smiled lovingly and moved over on the couch, patting the space between her and her husband. “Come here,”
“I…”
“Come here, (Y/N).”
You raised your brows. For once, you actually wanted to move over with them. You nodded and stood up, moving over to them and sitting down in between them. Maggie reached behind her, grabbing a blanket that was folded over the back of the couch and brought it over the three of you, covering you up. She wrapped an arm around you and Glenn placed an arm over the back of the couch. You leaned against Maggie and she rubbed your shoulders as you continued to watch the movie.
Never in your life had you imagined snuggling up to people because you wanted to. Warmth was something different, but that wasn’t one of those times. You were snuggling up to someone because they were trying to comfort you because a movie brought out all of your emotions. It was a scenario that you would have never dreamed of two years ago. You were glad you found Rick’s group.
By the end of the movie, your eyes were drooping down from your exhaustion. As the credits rolled on the screen, you yawned. Maggie and Glenn pulled away from you, both of them standing up. Maggie stretched while Glenn walked over to the VCR and ejected the tape.
“So,” Glenn began. “What did you think of it?”
You nodded and slowly stood. “I really liked it.”
“Right!? Wasn’t it awesome?”
You chuckled. “Yeah. It was...awesome.”
Glenn smiled, taking the tape out and walking over to the bookshelf, putting it away.
“Thank you for watching the movie with us. It was nice for a change to have you in here.” Maggie said.
“Yeah, we really appreciate it.” Glenn said as he walked over to Maggie, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her close.
You blushed and rubbed the back of your head. “It’s no big deal.” You said. “I really enjoyed it.” You were completely honest with the words that you spoke.
“We’re glad.” Maggie said.
You gave a small nod. You yawned again, knowing that you should get to bed as soon as possible before you pass out in the middle of the living room. “Goodnight,” you said after the yawn, turning your back on them, heading to the stairs.
“Goodnight (Y/N),” both of them told you.
You reached your hand out and grasped the railing of the stairs. However, you stopped and glanced back at the couple. Without giving yourself time to talk you out of it, you walked over to them and embraced them. You closed your eyes as you hugged them, feeling their hands rest on your back. You pulled away after several seconds. “Goodnight.” You told them again.
“Goodnight,” they both said with wider smiles on their faces than before.
As you turned and walked up the stairs, you didn’t look back. You went into your bedroom, closed the door, turned off the lights, and got into bed. It took a while for what you had done to process in your brain, but once it did, you smiled. You hugged someone. You initiated the hug. You could not remember the last time you had done that and yet everything seemed okay. You didn’t feel strange or out of the ordinary. In fact, it made you feel normal, something that never applied to you until that very moment.
You liked it.
As you drifted off into slumber, you thought about the progression of your attitude towards people, mainly Maggie and Glenn, and mentally thanked Rick for accepting you into the group and you even thanked yourself for opening up the option to a brand new world that could change your life for the better.