I scold myself for crying. What would mom think if she saw me crying? She'd yell at me for being stupid and stop crying over a boy.

I dry my eyes with the back of my sleeve and search for the back gate so I can leave. But before I can locate it, Morgan slams open the back door.

"Lauren, where the hell are you?" She looks around the small yard until I walk into the light provided by the deck light. "There you are. The group is about to start heading home and we can't find Austin."

I walk up to the porch. "We're leaving so soon?" I joke. I was planning on leaving anyways.

Morgan rolls her eyes. "It's great to witness a party again, but this one is a drag. Rick is hitting on a married woman, the one who cut his hair, and Dylan and Austin are off flirting or what not."

I shake my head at the love sick group memebers and enter the house behind Morgan. Oscar and Zainab laugh and talk amongst themselves in the corner by the back door while Kennedy leans against the counter, eating a plate full of chips and talking to Hunter.

Morgan walks over to Zainab and Oscar to ask them if they can help look for Dylan and Austin. I do the same and walk up to Kennedy and Hunter.

"Any of you seen Austin or Dylan?" I ask.

"Nope." Kennedy replies before he shoves a corn chip in his mouth.

"I don't even know them." Hunter shrugs.

"Dylan's about this tall," I hold my hand up a little over my head, almost my height. "Asian kid with black hair. Austin is about this tall," I hold my hand up about three inches over my head. "With really curly blond hair and he looks like a bleached tomato."

Hunter and Kennedy chuckle at my description of my two friends. "Dylan's over there talking to Patrick," Hunter points to the living room where I can see a glimpse of Dylan. "And I think Austin and Olivia went to the lake."

"Cool, thanks lots." I say and turn to Kennedy. "The group's going to be leaving soon to head home."

He nods his head. "I might stay a little longer and enjoy the party a bit." I give him a thumbs up.

"You guys know where they are?" Morgan asks from behind me.

I turn to face her. "They say Dylan is talking to a kid named Patrick and Austin and Olivia are at the lake."

"At the lake, huh?" She gives a skeptical look.

"Gross." I shake my head once I understand what she means.

We push our way through the crowded house of people until we stumble upon Dylan and some kid who also looks like a tomato with short blonde hair.

"Dylan, we're gonna get going." I interrupt their conversation. But I don't worry because Morgan is quick to strike up conversation with the tomato kid.

"How long have you been here?" She asks him.

He looks from Dylan to Morgan and back at Dylan, sending a silent message for help.

Dylan was a bit slow to get the message. "Oh! This is Patrick. Patrick, this is Morgan and Lauren." I wave and Morgan smiles at him.

"I've been here for a couple of months now. I'm here with my mom and brother, my dad died by dead heads along time ago." Patrick answers Morgan's question.

I decide to leave them in their conversation and wander away. I trip over someone's foot and almost fall on my face, but luckily someone grabbed my arm to keep me from falling. I look up at the person and all I can see are judgemental eyes behind long brown hair.

"Daryl! You came!" I beam at him. He rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath.

"I figured might as well get the food while it's free." He jokes, which is unusual for him.

"Great to see you here. The group is supposed to be leaving though."

He points to the end of the stair case. "Not anytime soon." I stand on my tippy toes and jump up and down to look over people's heads and see Rick flirting with a woman, who must be the married woman Morgan was talking about.

"Welp, there goes that." I shrug. Carol comes up to us.

"Look who came!" She smiled and dragged him towards the kitchen. I chuckle to myself and head for the door. I don't want to go home, but I don't want to stay here. It's weird how that is.

I quickly leave the house unnoticed and start walking down the side walk, walking to no place in particular. It's weird not having someone to walk with. If I'm not walking with the group, then I'm either walking with... him... or one of my friends.

After an hour or so of walking, I reach the lake. I go off the sidewalk and walk down towards its rocky outline. I skip a rock across the dark water and then kick some in with the tip of my shoe.

I sit in the grass and enjoy the alone time and fresh air without rotting flesh invading it. I listen to everything around me. The crickets, the frogs, the water, and....kissing? Well that's new.

I curiously peek around the tree that it was coming from and see Austin kissing Olivia. I slow clap and they both jump. "Good job mate." I give him a thumbs up.

Austin squints at me and then realizes who I am. "Lauren, what the hell?"

"Morgan and I knew you had a thing for Olivia!" I smirk.

"Yeah? And now you're going to die for ruining the moment." He starts chasing me. I sprint up the small hill and down the sidewalk. He's pretty fast, but I'm faster. I swear I heard someone yell "cue the chicken chase music!" From their porch.

I duck behind a bush and wait until I'm sure the footsteps turned around to go back to the lake.

I catch my breath and cut through backyards and hop fences to get to my house. Taking the sidewalk seems too normal and I'm far from that.

I make it to my house and almost run into Zainab and Oscar kissing on the front porch. "I swear, I break up with Carl and now everyone is kissing eachother." I chuckle as they jump back.

"Jeez, don't be so quiet when you come up the stairs." Oscar puts a hand over his heart, frightened to say the least. I roll my eyes and open the door as they follow.

"What's your guys excuse for leaving the party?" I kick off my shoes at the front door and turn on the kitchen light.

"Eh, the rest of the group started to go home." Zainab shrugged and fell onto the couch infront of the front window in the living room. Oscar sat next to her and I sat on the couch infront of them. "What's your reason?"

"I got bored," I sighed. "That wasn't exactly the greatest party I've been to."

"And what is the greatest party you've been to?" Zainab raises an eyebrow.

"One's where they played hide and seek! Duh!" I start laughing at my own joke, Zainab does too since she pretty much laughs at anything. Oscar didn't find it quite as funny though and only smiled.

There was a knock on the door and I get up to answer it. Standing on the other side is Carl. "Nope." I say and close it. He opens the door himself and enters.

"I didn't come here for you," He says with an annoyed tone. "Oscar left this." He tosses me a jacket and then turns on his heals and leaves. I slam the door and curse at it. Oscar and Zainab creep out of the living room to see what was going on.

"What was that all about?" Oscar asks as I hand him his jacket.

"Nothing." I storm up the stairs and into my room. I close the door and lay down on my bed, exhaustion taking over my body. It's been a very long and awful day.

I eventually drift off into a restless sleep, nightmares of walkers haunt me again. And the night seems to drag on and on.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for 11 days....but here it is! Yay! I swear it'll get better in a couple chapters. *Menacing laugh*

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

~zombiefighter01