Chapter Text
It’s been a few weeks since the outbreak started. No one really knew where it came from, not that you’ve been talking to anybody anyways. The only people you’ve ever spotted were the walking corpses of strangers and people you used to know. There was a man you found in an abandoned restaurant during scavenging but he scurried away before you could even react. It’s a shame, you haven’t really talked to anybody in a couple of days. When the news of the outbreak flooded into social media and the news everyone panicked, rightfully so. Either all your friends and family have been infected, or left without you. You never left though, you stayed inside your house as everyone was already leaving. You were too scared to leave the place you've grown up in your entire life, there were too many people trying to leave at the same time anyway. It was too dangerous.
And there you were, walking down a quiet empty street in chilly fall weather with a bag around your shoulder. The only things that stood out were the occasional dead body that stained the concrete sidewalk with blood and the stench of the rotting corpses nearby as well as the crunching of the fallen leaves you were stepping on. You’ve started to run out of all the food you had already stocked up on and now you were on the lookout for more. Passing by stores with shattered windows that littered the floor with sharp pieces of glass and torn up doors that were broken down so people could loot the place. This place has really fallen apart in such a small amount of time.
Surprisingly despite the panic and chaos that happened just weeks ago, there weren’t that many zombies nearby, maybe the rare one that would appear around the corner every now and again, but you were always able to sneak past them or run away quickly enough to return back to safety. Not all of them were the same though, some were faster than others, or louder, some had amazing hearing compared to others. Either way they’re still a danger and you’d rather not interact with them in any way at all.
After walking down a few blocks you had finally stopped at a bright colorful store named the ‘’Candy Club.’’ You’ve been here before to snatch up some candy for yourself but you thought that you might as well check it out again, you could have missed some candy last time, plus the stuff here was already expensive before the outbreak so maybe you’d finally get a discount.
You walk up to the clear orange tinted doors and push them open, the bell above it ringing along with it. You’ve always been scared of alerting something with that thing, someone should rip it off. As you step inside the small building you look around the fairly empty, and yet trashed place, it didn't seem like there was much there except some broken glass from the jars and gumball machines that were smashed against the floor as well as candy wrappers and containers that were thrown onto the floor from other people taking whatever they could from the shop. Couldn't hurt to look right?
Behind the counter, it didn't seem like there was much there either other than a lonely wrapped candy bar hiding against the counter on the floor. You crouch down and quickly grab the food and carefully place it in your bag so it wouldn’t melt. It’s nothing to survive off of but you felt slightly less stressed and more hopeful, maybe it’d be something nice to snack on when you get really hungry.
It didn’t seem like there was anything useful left to be collected so you looked around the store for one more time before spotting the slightly opened back door. It had always been locked from the last times you came here, did someone somehow open it? Either way your curiosity got to you and you stood up and walked up to the door, glass cracking as you stepped onto it, your shoes only protecting you. Maybe it could’ve had some food that was hiding away from the public, or an employees only room, or just a boring storage room.
You slowly open the door as you peek into the room, only to find a tall black haired man you’ve never seen before staring at you wide eyed through the crack of the door standing with only a baseball bat facing towards you, it’s as if he was prepared to attack you in the first place. Before you could even react to finally finding another human being the man fully pushed open the door as he raised the bat and swiftly swung it against your shoulder.
A sting of sharp pain immediately hits you and spreads from your shoulder to your neck, sending you to the floor with a loud yelp of pain as you land on your back, glass poking at your body but not going through the barrier of your hoodie. With a gasp for air you then try to slowly crawl away from him with the little energy you had left after the sudden attack.
As you desperately back up against the counter in an attempt to get away you watch as the man stares down at you with his mouth slightly agape and his legs shaking. ‘’S-shit, are you okay?’’ The stranger asked you with a slight stutter and guilt in his voice as he dropped the bat and leaned down towards you in worry. ‘’I thought you were infected.. I- I’m so sorry.’’ He says before reaching out a hand and offering to help you up.
You stare back at him for a few moments in shock, processing his words before slowing your breathing and begrudgingly weakly reaching out and grabbing his hand, wincing in pain from the hit. He stood up and lifted you up with him,
He held you up as he slightly pulled down the collar of your hoodie to look at the damage to your shoulder, there was nothing more than an obvious dark growing bruise. Then looking at your back before brushing off the small pieces of glass that clung to the fabric of your hoodie. The man sighed a bit in relief and guilt. He was glad he didn’t hurt you that badly, but he still felt guilt for hurting you at all.
You stand there leaning against him just regaining your thoughts and taking in a few needed breaths after being hit. You finally look back at him with an annoyed look after a few minutes of recovering yourself. ‘’What the hell was that for??’’ You asked in a confused but yet angry tone. You guess he did help you get back up after the hit, but at the same time he was waiting for you behind a door prepared with a baseball bat after all.
‘’I thought you were a zombie! I didn't know!’’ He said as he let go of your hand and backed off slightly. That was a fair point, you hadn’t seen a living person in so long and he probably hasn’t either, it’s only safe to assume that the person roaming around the candy store is actually just a walking corpse. The hit to the shoulder still hurt like hell though.
You look back at him and let out a sigh before mumbling something out. ‘’It still hurt..’’ You were still mad at him for hitting you but you could understand why he did it. Plus you were also focused on the fact you had finally found another LIVING person around this place, even if he did hit you in the shoulder with a bat, at least it was something.
It did look like he still felt bad for what he did as he looked at the ground after you spoke, you know he didn’t mean it. ‘’I’m sorry, I-I really didn’t mean to hurt you..’’ He says after a few moments of silence from the both of you with that same stutter and guilt he had just a few minutes ago. You decided to just give him the benefit of the doubt and believe him, you didn’t feel like already holding a grudge against the first person you’ve met in days.
As you rub the bruise on your shoulder, your breathing finally gets back to normal, you look at his face with slight pity and annoyance ‘’It’s fine.. I understand’’ You say before watching as he lifts up his head and lets out a relieved sigh at your words. After deciding that this guy wasn’t dangerous you finally turn your attention back to the room you had tried to get into a few moments ago, you got hit in the bat while trying to get in there, might as well check it out after all the trouble you went through trying to get inside.
‘’Say, uhhh..’’ Your voice trails off as you try to address him without his name. ‘’It’s Kevin.’’ He finished your sentence. ‘’Right, Kevin. What‘s inside that room back there? Every Time I’ve been here it’s always been locked.. How did you even get in?’’ You had no idea how he got in without breaking down the door, maybe he was just really good at lock picking?
Kevin looks at the small room behind him before backing up slightly into it, covering the view of the few boxes in there with his body. ‘’Oh this room? Uh- there’s really nothing in here, I was just.. Looking around you know?, I just uhm.. Found a key to here lying around’’ He answers before looking around the room again before speaking once more as he leans against one of the boxes ‘’Yup. Nothing useful here.. Sorry man.’’
You didn’t really fully believe him. You still wanted to check it out just to make sure he wasn’t lying to your face, he was already acting weird anyway. ‘’Are you sure…?’’ You respond as you move closer towards him and attempt to look past his shoulder.
‘’Yes I’m sure! There’s no reason for you to go in there, so you should just give up. It's not even worth it, trust me!’' He says a bit louder as he keeps moving to block your view of the room and the entrance to it. He was obviously hiding something at this point, why would he be so defensi-.
Your thoughts were paused as you finally get a clear shot of the room when you push him back away. Inside were a few boxes, most of them were empty. But the one that caught your eye was a box half full of candy bars, enough to fill your entire bag and pockets.
‘’Woahhh!! Is that candy? Can I have some?’’ You asked as you lit up from the sight and you looked at him with pleading eyes. He then let out a loud annoyed groan as you finally found the candy he was trying so hard to hide. ‘’What? No! I found all of this fair and square, get your own candy!’’ He scolded as he covered the box to keep you away from it.
‘’Oh come on! What’s a guy like you gonna do with that mountain of candy? We’re all starving here and you’re just being greedy!’’ You say as you try dragging him away from the box, but he stayed in the same exact spot as he pulled away from you, not budging. ‘’Hey! This isn’t just for myself, I’ve got someone else to feed ya know? I can’t be giving away food freely!’’ You let out a dramatic drawn out groan from his response. You thought that you kinda deserved some candy after getting hit, that’s just common decency right?
Despite his disapproval you continued to weakly attempt to push him away, using your entire body. But he still wasn’t budging. After a few moments of the same action failing over and over, you finally gave up with a sigh as you backed away from him. He gave you a smug grin before reaching for the box of candy and picking it up. You stayed silent in defeat until you spoke up in one final attempt. ‘’Come on man.. Ya know, I’m still a bit hurt from the way you hit me. I think some candy would reallyyy cheer me up right now.’’ You say in a much softer voice compared to just a few minutes ago in order to try and persuade him.
That sentence made Kevin's heart drop a bit. He tried to be selfish and just walk away with the candy but the guilt of hitting you was still swimming around in his head. He still felt like he owed you something other than a quick apology. He mumbled out a cuss before facing back towards you with the box of candy. ‘’Fine, but only a few.. Ok?’’ He replied after a few seconds of thinking. He just didn’t want the guilt eating him up at night.
Your mouth immediately curled back into a grin and you reach into the box and grab a handful of the candy, then stuff it in your bag to save for later. You’d finally convinced him to throw you a bone. ‘’Thanks man! I’ll make sure to use them wisely.’’ You told him with your slightly heavier bag and toothy grin.
‘’Yeah.. Enjoy it’’ He mumbled out as he lightly bumped you to the side to leave the room with the box of candy, then headed for the exit. This set alarms off in your head, despite just having an argument with him. This was your first human contact in days, and you weren’t ready to give it up just yet. You’re sure you could just make up with him right?
‘’Hey, wait! Where are you going?’’ You say before adjusting your bag and running up towards him. Then walking by his side as he exits the building, holding the door open for him while he was holding the box. ‘’I’m going home, duh.’’ He replies as he continues walking outside and onto the sidewalk. ‘’But I wanna spend more time with you! I mean, surely you haven’t seen anybody in a while either right?’’ You respond back to him.
‘’No..? I live with somebody else right now, dealing with him is already a handful. Plus, why the hell would you want to be around me anymore than this interaction? I hit you in the shoulder with a bat.’’ Kevin asked as he looked back at you with confusion and concern written all over his face. He wondered how long you’ve actually been alone enough to want to be around him.
You looked at the ground in embarrassment from what he said, you have been alone for quite some time now, but you knew he didn’t mean to ever hurt you. He even gave you some candy after that, well after a bit of convincing that is. Maybe you’re just going crazy from lack of human interaction. ‘’Well yeah, I kinda lost track of how long it’s been since I saw a person, at least a living one. Everyone left at the same time of the outbreak, or they were infected.’’ You mutter out a bit more quietly to him.
Kevin seemed to get quiet as well. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He felt bad for what you were dealing with, and how he already hurt you during all of that. Maybe he could make it up to you somehow. ‘’Uh, I’m sorry to hear that happened. Do you wanna chill out at me and my friends place? I could help you take care of that bruise.’’
Your eyes lit up at the offer, finally! You’d get to be around some people. ‘’Really?? At your place, and with your friend?’’ You excitedly squeaked out. You didn’t really expect this at all from him, he seemed already annoyed with you and you thought he was just gonna ignore you this whole time, but this was great!
‘’Yeah, with my friend, it’ll be nice.’’ He says with a bit more confidence in his voice as his face shifts into a small smile. He was already happy to see that they weren’t holding a grudge against him after what happened, maybe this wouldn’t be so terrible.