blue sunday; negan

04; miss grimes

IV. Miss Grimes

The drive was mostly quiet after that, but for once there wasn't bad tension in the air. Negan didn't make her elaborate and Elizabeth appreciated that. She also found some satisfaction that he was at least trying to sound as if he cared about her family, even though she understood that he probably wasn't capable of such emotions. She leaned into her seat and enjoyed the ride, listening to the rumbling of the engine as she hummed on a melody that had been stuck in her head.

She fiddled with the chain around her neck, letting her fingers move over the inscriptions on the bottom of the ring. Sometimes she caught herself thinking of how much had changed in the past few years. She remembered the people from her life before the end of the world, realizing that the only part of her old self she had left was her father, her brother and the ring she wore around her neck. How much had changed, from worrying about bills and rent to worrying about seeing a loved one die.

She almost let a smile slip when she caught sight of the gates to Alexandria; they'd all moved around so much the last few years, called so many places home just to leave them behind. Alexandria was the place that had given her hope back, and it still hadn't left her even though things had changed immensely. She knew her father was more than capable of leading the habitants to safety.

When the truck stopped in front of the gate, she quickly opened her door and heard Negan doing the same. With a small jump she got down from the large car, her feet hitting the ground with a light thud. Slow steps took her towards the gate; she looked up to the watch tower and could see a guard scurrying down to open it. She could hear talking inside, she almost felt as if things were back to normal until she felt cold leather against her shoulder and the smell of Negan's smoky cologne.

The gate creaked as it opened, revealing a few people gathering to see who'd arrived. Her father was nowhere to be seen. She took a few steps in, pushing her hair behind her ear as she looked at the Alexandrians who were watching the man with the bat; Negan had stopped to wait for Carl before putting his arm around her brother's shoulders. She rolled her eyes at his antics, walking ahead of the two.

Rosita stood with arms crossed over her chest, looking at Negan with distaste. Elizabeth walked over to her, only getting her attention when she got closer. Rosita tore her gaze away from the man, looking at Elizabeth with relief as she stood in front of the girl, nodding at her in acknowledgement.

"You're not dead - that's good," Rosita spoke, making Elizabeth smirk.

"What, you think I'd be that easy to get rid of?"

"Well, we need to bulk you up, that'll up your chances of survival a bit," Rosita spoke, bumping her shoulder with Elizabeth's own, smirking at the girl. Elizabeth chuckled at the words, knowing that Rosita was right.

"Where's dad?"

"Out scavenging of course," Rosita spoke, nodding towards Negan. "They did some major damage on our supplies last go-around. Expect it to only get worse if they don't find anything good," Rosita spoke, seeing Elizabeth frown. "Relax, he's got Aaron with him. They'll be fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Elizabeth spoke, glancing at Negan who was watching her intently. "I'm more worried about what he's going to say, and honestly, I want him to spend as little time here as possible even though it means the same for me."

Rosita kept her gaze discretely locked on Negan, seeing how he kept his eyes on Elizabeth constantly. "Man, he's not discrete at all."

"What?"

"Well, he's eyeing you like a hawk. What's going on over there anyways?"

"Nothing much, I mostly have to follow him around when he has stuff to do, it's quite boring."