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The sound of the door slamming behind you made the items on your dresser rattle. You sat down on the side of your bed, legs dangling over the side as you heard heavy, irritated footsteps coming up the stairs.
You had been with Rick's group since Hershel's farm, and you had become very close friends since then. The two of you had just gotten back from hanging out with the other kids in Alexandria. The group had arrived about 2 months ago, and both you and Carl had hung out with the other kids a few times, specifically Ron.
This time had been like all the others. You and Carl had played video games with them -even if the both of you always lose- and just talked for a while afterwards. When you and Carl got home was when you started to notice that he was pissed off. All it took was you to ask why, and he exploded. Neither of you had been good with expressing your emotions, or finding ways to talk about them, but you had never seen him this angry.
The door swung open, almost hitting the wall before Carl closed it behind him.
"Would you just tell me what is the matter? You haven't been making any sense, and I don't want to be yelled at." You broke the small moment of silence, and he started to pace in your room.
He sighed loudly, stopping to lean against your dresser. "I've told you, Y/n. I don't want you to get that close to Ron. Did you even hear what he was saying to Aidan? He probably gets it from his dad.. no respect." Carl rambled on, and you finally got what he was talking about.
"Yeah, that's weird, but I didn't hear what he said. And why are you so worked up about it? You might be right that he gets it from his dad, and if that's the case, then he probably doesn't even know what he's talking about." You stood up and walked over to Carl.
He scoffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I just didn't like hearing him say that about you. I would never talk about you like that, Y/n…"
You nodded, watching as a light blush appeared across his cheeks.
"I know, Carl."
He swallowed and stopped making eye contact.
"You know that I care about you. A lot. Right?"
"I care about you too Carl."
Carl looked down at his shoes, but you could still see his face growing a deeper red.
"Yeah, but.. I care about you differently."
You understood what he was saying. It had always been like that between the two of you. He didn't look up at you, and you were still trying to figure out what to do about this new development in your friendship.
"Are you mad?"
His eyes met yours to read your face, and you just smiled. You took a half step forward, now toe-to-toe with him. Carl's eyes focused on something above your head and cleared his throat to fill the silence. You hadn't noticed when, but his hands were now at his sides, and you grabbed them. His hands were warm, but not quite sweaty. This new touch made him look you in the eye.
You leaned in, stopping short in front of his lips as you whispered. "I'm never mad at you."
He leaned in the rest of the way. His lips were soft as they moved against yours. It was very soft and experimental. His hands came up and grabbed onto your shoulders. You smiled into the kiss before pulling away just far enough to speak.
"Are you still mad? Jealous, even?" Carl smiled shyly, finding a piece of your hair to play with.
"Not after that."