"Hey." I look up at the fence to see Hunter sitting on the grass behind the chainlink.

"Hey." I mumble after I almost jump out of my skin. When did he get there?

"You look mad." He cocks his head to the side like a confused puppy.

I fiddle with my hands in my lap. "It's not everyday that your boyfriend cheats on you." I can hear the crack in my voice, but I don't cry.

Hunter jumps up. "Where is that son of a gun? I'll kill him myself!" His eyes soften. "Who's your boyfriend?"

I almost laugh at his actions. "Carl Grimes. The guy I was walking with this morning."

He sits back down. "He kind of scares me, so I'll wait till he comes to me." He jokes. I'm grateful for his attempt to make me feel better, but in all honesty I wish he'd go inside.

Hunter sits back down. "What happened?" He asks innocently. I told him everything I saw. "What a shank." He shakes his head, making his loose golden curls bounce around his ears.

"We just got here and he's already finding other girls." I sigh. My gate bursts open and I jump up and reach for my axe which isn't there.

Carl comes walking over to me. "Hey." He smiles.

"Hey?" I ask, kind of confused.

He mimics my tone with his expression. "Isn't that what you say to someone when you see them?"

I cross my arms over my chest. "I don't know. Did you say it to Enid when she caught you in the woods?"

"What?" Shock takes over his face.

"Don't think I didn't see you guys getting cozy in that tree." I spit at him.

"What?" This time it's more of an angry 'what' instead of a shocked 'what'. "You followed us?"

"Correction. I followed you."

"And what? You think I kissed her?" He exasperates. I don't reply, not needing to for him to get my answer. He storms off towards my gate.

"Did you?" I yell after him. He mumbles something and shakes his head in disbelief as he slams the gate shut. I run to the gate and fling it open. This gate is really taking some abuse. "Did you or did you not?"

He stops, but refuses to look at me. "Why the hell would you think I kissed her?"

"Well, your lips were mighty close there." I roll my eyes.

He slowley turns around. "I di- Enid!" He calls behind my shoulder and waves her over.

"What even Carl?" I glare at him.

"Here's your proof." He points to Enid who walks up behind me. "Enid, did I kiss you in that tree trunk?"

She looks from him to me and then back to him. A small smile plays at her lips. "Yes." She answers and turns around and walks away. Rage takes over me and I turn back to a shocked Carl.

"Wha- no. No I did not!" He yells after her and then to me.

"I get it." I scowl at him. He curses and tries to tell me something, probably some lame excuse, but I don't give him the chance before I turn and sprint away. I turn my head and see Hunter turning the corner and slap Carl. I expect Carl to fight back, but he doesn't. He stands there looking at the ground with a heart broken expression. My own heart shatters into a million pieces and I force myself to stop running and to look straight ahead.

I stomp onto my front porch and into the house. I'm so filled with rage and sadness that I almost didn't see Zainab sitting in the island munching on a granola bar.

"Whoa. What happened?" She asks when she sees my expression.

I really don't want to go through the story again, I don't even think I'd be able to to be honest, so I keep it short. "Carl. Enid. Kissing."

She hops of the island. "What?! Oscar!" She calls and I hear banging upstairs as Oscar comes running down the stairs.

"What? What happened?" He asks frantically as he looks around the kitchen for danger.

Zainab tries to contain her laughter. "Get your gun. We're going to go kill a kid."

Oscar's face goes from alert to confusion which seems to be the look today. "Who and why?"

"Carl and because he's a douche." She explains.

He turns to me. "What'd he do?"

"Kissed Enid." I say bluntly. He whistles that tone that someone does when something bad happens, the one that goes from high to low. "Yeah, pretty minor aye?"

The door opened and Carol came in. She was arguing with Daryl again about taking a bath while he sat on the porch railing before she closed the door.

"I will never believe that man and his hatred for showers." She says to her self while shaking her head. She looks up at the three of us and offers a small smile. "You guys should be getting ready for the party tonight."

"Oh right!" Zainab exclaims and pecks Oscar on the cheek before she leaves. She waves to us goodbye and runs back to her house. Carol is already upstairs and getting ready by the time I trudge up the stairs after Oscar.

I change my clothes and wash my face and try to do something with my newly shortened hair. After ten minutes of trial and error, I finally decided to put a small Dutch braid on the side with the rest of my hair down.

I walk down stairs to find a surprisingly clean Daryl. His hair isn't cut, but it's at least washed. His face is no longer covered in dirt and he at least changed his dark pants to a little lighter pair. It's a major improvement for the hunter.

"Carol won aye?" I smile a little.

"Not without a fight." He grumbles as he plops down on the couch.

"You're not going?" I ask. He shakes his head a little which makes his hair fall infront of his eyes even more.

"I don't want to go either." I admit.

"Then don't."

"But we have to go as a group. So I guess I have to go." I try to convince him.

"Then go."

"You're still not going?"

"No."

"Alright." I shrug and slip a small knife in the waistband of my jeans before I leave the house.

It's a short walk to Diana's house, only about a block, maybe less. But it can be very lonely when everyone is already there and you were procrastinating on getting there. But eventually I stood on the front steps and knocked on the door.

The door opened to reveal a smiling Diana. "What a suprise! We were beginning to think you wouldn't show."

"Sorry, I was trying to convince Daryl to come." I half heartedly say.

"Well do come in." She ushers me in. I can hear the faint sound of music in the background and it's weird to hear it again. It's not singing, but it has instruments like trumpets, flutes, trombones, and all those.

People walk around and laugh and talk. Some have beer and some have soda. And there is enough food to feed the group for weeks.

What a waste.

"Lauren!" Morgan yells from across the room, almost making everyone turn their heads in my direction. She comes barreling up to me, her curly hair bouncing when she comes to a skidding stop. "Where's that kid?" She narrows her eyes.

"Your hair is down."

"Yeah. It feels weird since it's mostly in a braid but- hey! Don't change the subject." She punches me in the arm.

"Don't know, don't care. He's probably making out with Enid somewhere." I sigh.

"Aw dude, I'm sorry. But don't worry, I'll kill him." She places a hand on my shoulder.

"I get to bury the body." Kennedy comes up behind me.

"Whoa, look who got fancy." Morgan compliments Kennedy who is wearing a blazer with an undershirt and jeans.

"Between the three of us, I think Austin found girl friend." Kennedy points to the kitchen where Austin stands, talking to a girl with brown hair pulled into a ponytail tail and a blue dress.

"Come on, they have food." Morgan pulls me by the elbow towards the kitchen.

"Free food? I'm in!" I chuckle.

"Dude, everything's free in this world!"

Someone drags the brown haired girl away from Austin and we jump right in.

"What's her name?" I bounce up and down on my heels.

"Olivia." He smiles.

That stops me mid bounce. "Like your dead-"

"Yes." He says a bit harshly. "But she's even better." He nods towards Olivia  who is talking to some girls that look like her. Her sisters I presume.

Dylan walks over with a Coke in hand. "It's a bit flat, but its never been better." He holds it up and does a cheers motion and takes a guzzle. "Who's the girl, Austin?"

"Olivia."

Dylan starts choking on his soda and I hit him on his back. "Did I. hear. you.  right?" He says between coughs.

Austin rolls his eyes and pushes his curls out of his face. "Yes. You heard me right."

Dylan pats him on the shoulder. "You're loosing it pal." This deserves another eye roll from Austin.

I go to turn to grab a plate when I accidentally bump into someone. "Oh my God, I'm sor-" I look up to be met with those familiar blue eyes covered by loose strands of brown hair.

He looks as shocked as I do. I shake my head and go to walk past him but he grabs my arm. "Lauren, let me explain."

"You've done enough explaining for one day." I glare at him, tears threaten to spill from my eyes.

"Enid lied." He tries to convince me.

"I don't think she did." I growl and pull my arm away. I briskly walk away from him and walk out the back door and sit in a chair far away from the small campfire that was burning on the brick patio. There's a small group talking a few feet infront of me, but I pay no mind to them. Finally I let the tears fall quietly.

A/N: Sorry again for the late update and the unchecked chapter. Thanks guys for understanding!

Stay in the salt circle Niall so the walkers don't get ya!

~zombiefighter01