CHAPTER ELEVEN
[ pre season six, episode ten ]

1 week after...

Lottie Frawley never had a family.

Of course she had family before, her father, her aunt and cousins, but she never truly had a family. Someone you'd have movie night with every Saturday or a parent you'd tell safe secrets to. Not even a sibling to fight with, or a parent you weren't scared to disobey. The only way she knew of the experience was through TV, the perfect ones with the mom and dad, teenage sister, idiot brother and nerdy other sister.

She knew she'd never have that, she never expected it either. What she also didn't expect was finding random people on the road, going to their community and having people close enough to call family.

Glenn had originally planned to introduced Lottie to Rick or Deanna, have her do the interview then move in with him and Maggie, or the next person with a spare room. But since Deanna was dead and Rick's son was lying unconscious in the infirmary, his next thought was Aaron.

The man instantly suggested she come live with him and Eric, they had a spare room since it was just the two of them, and it would be nice to have the company. It had only been a about a week since Alexandria had taken a turn for the worst, Lottie had gotten used to Eric and Aaron already. They were kind people and always made sure Lottie was okay. Lottie felt the most lucky she had ever been in her life.

She did go to Maggie and Glenn's house every now and then, both of them were thankful for her and Enid after that night. Enid had gone to get Maggie whilst Lottie and Glenn distracted the walkers, Lottie risking her life for people she barely knew. The other brunette had also lent Lottie some clean clothes that she was in desperate need of, she couldn't survive off of dirty tank tops and unintentionally ripped jeans.

Enid had been a little distant though, she didn't talk with people a lot, especially Abi. Everyone just assumed it was because her boyfriend died, she might've also been close to Jessie and Sam.

Lottie had also noticed that the kids at Alexandria didn't really talk, some of them had been living there since the beginning, traumatised from everything. Carl had recently come out of the infirmary with only one eye, and Abi went through a lot that night too.

Lottie sat at a table, book in hand as she tried to understand whatever she was reading, her mind being distracted every few seconds because a word reminded her of something else. The girl had quickly taught herself how to do nice ponytails and style clothes, now she actually looked suitable for walking outside.

She slowly start to give up on the book when the door opened, revealing a tired Aaron.

"And the walkers are finally gone!" He exclaimed, holding his exhausted arms proudly in the air as Lottie chuckled softly.

"You gonna take a break now? Maybe you could actually understand whatever's going on here," Aaron laughed at the girl's words, taking off his gloves before patting her head softly as she dumped the book on the table. "I give up, readings for morons—and the real world."

"Yeah, well don't come crying to me when Alexandria school opens up again and Eugene gets annoyed that you haven't read the book," Aaron told her, removing his boots and jacket as he placed them in their rightful places.

"I would do anything to see Eugene annoyed again," Lottie crossed her arms over her chest, sighing loudly as she remembered when she had tried to gaslight him into thinking he had died in his sleep. He went on a rampage on how ghosts couldn't exist, and he would've turned into a walker, which I very clearly have not, Lottie couldn't stop herself from laughing, causing the man to go on another ramble.

"Yeah," Aaron agreed, laughing again as he took a seat beside Lottie. "If you're gonna go out, be here by dinner, Eric's making his spaghetti."

Lottie nodded, sliding the book to Aaron as she stood up, getting ready to go outside. Most of the time she'd just walk around Alexandria, even though she hadn't been there long, Lottie knew almost everyone. She would go to people's houses and asked if they needed anything, she just wanted to make some friends in her defence. A couple days earlier, she had helped Abi babysit Judith, though Abi wasn't very talkative due to recent events. Lottie doesn't know the full story of how Carl was shot, but one thing that's similar in the different stories she's been told is that Abi was the one to stab Ron, as much as the girl doesn't know what that feeling of guilt's like, she could imagine it'd be pretty bad.

"Why don't you go to the Grimes' house?" Aaron offered as Lottie slumped onto the floor to put her dirty trainers on. "Carl's walking again and you need to introduce yourself to some actual teens, not just Judith."

"Fine," Lottie groaned. Growing up she had a lot of friends, she was always very social and talkative given the fact she didn't really want to go home. It got bad around the time she had to move in with her aunt, all the papers and adults pitying her stressing her out. Over her time alone she had kind of forgotten how to make friends, she only talked to Enid when they were both at the Rhee's house, Abi when they were babysitting Judith. Carl wasn't the most social person as he always had someone checking in on his injury, it only having been a few days since the accident.

"Don't forget to come back for spaghetti!" Aaron called as Lottie was exiting the door, the brunette putting her thumb up to show she had heard him.

✵~✵

ABI FINALLY FINISHED DRESSING THE FUSSY TODDLER, Judith having put up a small fight as the blonde tried to get the red shirt over her head. Rick and Michonne were busy with their duties in Alexandria, Carl still unwell so Abi always volunteered to take care of Judith. Daryl still lived with them but he was finishing off the remains of walkers on the street—Carol moving into Tobin's house.

Abi had the option to move in with her sister and Glenn but as little as she knew, Abi had an idea of why they went to the prison tower a few months back, and she was not signing up for any lovey-dovey stuff. The girl had never truly been given the talk, growing up with religious parents meant there was always kind of a distance when talking about things like sex, she was also thirteen when the deadly disease spread around the world.

"Well Judith, after ten minutes you finally have your shirt on, high-five." Abi stuck her hand in the air, Judith pushing her small fist gently into her hand to create a high-five. "We'll work on it." The sound of knocking downstairs caught Abi's attention, if it was any of the Grimes' or Michonne they would've walked in, not bothered to alert their presence.

"Got you dressed just in time," Abi spoke in a baby voice when talking to Judith, only when she was alone though, other wise Carl would bully her relentlessly—although Abi catches him doing the same thing when taking care of Judith.

He hadn't been the joking type lately, Abi didn't expect him to be. What she did notice was his insecurity of his eye, he always hated it when he went outside, trying his best to cover the bandage with his hat or hair. It wasn't like he went outside much, most of the last few days had just been recovery and learning how to do things with one eye, which he was still doing. Michonne and Abi had been telling the boy there was nothing to be ashamed of, even without an eye there was nothing wrong with him—'physically,' Abi always added.

Abi softly picked up the toddler, the sound of knocking coming again as the blonde had taken her time, Abi shouting, "One second!"

Judith rested her head on Abi's shoulder, her thumb going to her own mouth as Abi made her way downstairs. Through the small windows of the door she could make out the shape of a short brunette, although Carl's hair was long, she was certain it wouldn't grow that much overnight. Judith reached her hand out, wanting to open the door instead of Abi as she let out a small whine when Abi did it instead. Abi's eyebrows raised slightly as she came face-to-face with the new girl, Charlotte. Abi's green jumper almost matched with the dark green bomber jacket Charlotte was wearing, borrowed from Enid's wardrobe.

Something switched in the air as it was now surrounded by awkwardness as both of the teenagers had no idea what to say. "Rick isn't here, if that's who you're looking for." Abi tried to speak in the politest way, in her mind the sentence coming off as: 'I don't want to talk to you.'

"Oh, I was actually looking for you!" Lottie announced, a warm smile on her face as she tried her best to play the awkward situation. Abi's face faltered slightly, praying she didn't catch that. "Um, Aaron thought I should talk to more of the kids in Alexandria, so that's why I'm here."

Abi nodded, a short silence coming between them for which was only a few seconds, but if felt like ages for the two girls. The noise that pulled them out of the awkward silence was the small babbling of Judith as she reached towards the girl.

"Oh, yeah, I'm taking care of Jude right now, you can help if you want?" Abi spoke unsurely, bouncing the almost toddler to stop her from getting more fussy. Lottie's smile grew at the fact she was being invited in, nodding happily as Abi opened the door a little wider for the girl. She hopped inside, Abi awkwardly turning to face her after shutting the door. Lottie looked around, as if she'd never been in the house before, unsure of what to do.

"Carol should be picking her up soon, she hasn't been around much since moving in with Tobin." Abi explained. The older woman had moved in the man only two days after everything went down. Abi had met her during one of her worst times, her abusive husband was dead and her daughter was missing, it was nice seeing her happy again—even if it was hard to tell between the fake and the real when it came to Carol Peletier.

"Cool," Lottie nodded, slowly walking towards the sofa as she took a seat, bouncing slightly from the impact of the comfy couch. Abi walked over to the blocks and cups on the floor, the objects being some of Judith's most prised possessions, before she sat the girl down. Judith's faced brightened immediately as she reached down to one of the cups, picking it up and bashing it with her hands as she giggled.

"She looks like Carl," Lottie pointed out, "from what I've seen that is."

Abi smiled, taking in the baby's features. All she could see was Lori, the baby was the spitting image of her, despite the gingery-blonde hair. Lori was beautiful and Abi was sure Judith would be too. Everyone was grateful that she didn't look like Shane, you'd almost believe she was biologically Rick's. Of course, Abi had no clue about the complex situation, in both her and Carl's mind, Judith was fully, biologically his sister.

"They both look like their mom, she passed away giving birth to Judith." Abi spoke with a small smile, she had been trying a thing where she talked about the dead happily—not the bad things. This worked out as she was never expected to talk about Beth. "What about you, you're family?"

"My mom died when I was like two, dad went a little crazy and I was forced to live with my aunt. God, she was such a bitch." Lottie laughed slightly, Abi's smile growing slightly, growing shocked by how easily the sixteen year old was saying this. "Her children too, all pishy-poshy. My dad fought for custody, his drinking habits and neglect problems not working out in his benefit. What about you, I know Maggie's your sister, but did you have other family?"

Abi froze, the block she was passing to Judith stopping mid-air as she hadn't really thought about the question going back to her. Lottie talked so easily about it, she didn't fiddle with her clothes, stop the tears in her eyes, she just smiled and laughed—even at all the really shitty memories. Carol was the same, Maggie and Glenn too. She took a deep breath giving the toy to Judith as she played with the string that had fallen loose from her jumper.

"My mom and big brother were bitten in the start. Around a year later my dad was- he, he was killed." Abi faced the ground when speaking, not daring to face the pitied look on Lottie's face. "Then there's my sister. Not Maggie, my uh, other sister. She was called Beth." Abi pushed through her voice crack as she said the name.

"We were, trapped in this hospital, when we left she kind of, I don't know 'sacrificed' herself."

Why the hell are you crying?

Abi's mind screeched as she felt the tears brim her eyes, trying not to let them fall as they could easily drop from the position she held her head in. Lottie but her lip as she stared at the girl, unsure of what to say.

The baby on the ground felt the sudden change in moods, looking up at the blonde as she saw her teary eyes. "Bb," Judith couldn't exactly say 'Abi', leaving 'Bb' as her replacement word. Her small arm reached forward, Abi smiling as she placed her finger inside her small hand.

"Sorry for asking," Lottie awkwardly moved her fingers around, embarrassed that she asked.

"Don't be," Abi wiped her eyes, embarrassed that she had started crying before finally looking up to the brunette. "I asked first."

There was silence for a moment, Abi swallowing down what she had just felt, Lottie focusing on the painted walls as they both struggled for a new topic of conversation.

"Are you and Enid friends? I haven't seen you talk much the past few days." Lottie pointed out, wanting to divert the conversation to something better, unaware she was leading herself down a road of something worse.

"Yeah, I guess. She's just been through a lot, her boyfriend died when the walkers attacked." Lottie made an 'o' shape with her mouth after receiving the information, unaware that Enid had a boyfriend. Why was she so eager to leave Alexandria? Maybe he's the reason she went back, when Glenn said about the people dying.

"D'you not have a boyfriend?" Lottie asks with a teasing smile. The answer was probably no, there weren't a lot of teens, it was kind of sad to be honest—most probably died.

"No," Abi laughed, shaking her head slightly. Lottie smiled when she heard the girl laugh, she had been told on many occasions that Abi wasn't the happiest soul. As much as it probably was a pity laugh at Lottie's pour attempts, but it was still something, they had to be good.

"What do you guys even do for fun around here? All I've seen is dumping walker ashes or bones." Lottie asked, looking around the house as all she saw was a few scratches on the walls from when Alexandria was overrun, blocks on the floor and neatly stacked spices in the kitchen.

Abi bit her lip, staring down at the baby before switching her eyes to the clock in which the handles read, "11:27 ". That meant Carol was arriving soon, leaving the two teenagers to do whatever they could. She remembered two journeys she had ventured in the last month, both having an okay outcome as neither of the people she left with were injured—at least, not then.

"You've been here almost a week, right?" Lottie nodded. "Have you stayed inside for a week?"

Lottie scrunched her brows, confused by the dumbness of Abi's question. "Duh," she spoke, her voice changing slightly as she dropped her mouth dramatically.

Abi smiled a bit, her kirby open as she shook her head at the older girl's cluelessness. "No, uh, before the walkers, we-I went outside the walls. It's kinda nice, when you're not running from the dead, you realise how calm it can be."

Lottie's cheeks went red in embarrassment, her looking down to cover it up as she fully took on board what the girl meant. "Oh," she said, nodding as she looked back up, speckles of red still planted onto her face. Fortunately, Abi didn't see as her eyes were planted on the adorable baby that sat on the ground. "Are we allowed to?"

"Technically, no, but it's not like we're gonna get grounded or anything. I'll just use the sad teenager card against Rick, I've done it already when he asked me to change Judith." Lottie giggled a little, happy that now they had both shared a laugh or two, maybe she could make a friend.

A round of polite knocks came from the door, both teenage heads turning in that direction as Judith clapped happily, sensing who was behind the door. "I'll get it," Abi told Lottie as she stands up, Judith back to compressing the toy blocks together, showing her 'creation' to Lottie.

Carol smiled brightly when the door was opened, the three leftover cookies sitting perfectly in the pot she held out to the girl. "I made these for you, you can give one to Carl."

Abi's face lit up at the site of the golden delicacies, carefully taking them from Carol's hands as she invited the woman in. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Lottie, not expecting another visitor.

"Oh, hi Lottie. Do you maybe want a cookie?" Carol asked, her fake smile pulling Lottie into the offer.

"Yeah, sure, if that's okay," Lottie beamed, Abi walking over and passing the pot her after taking out a cookie for herself.

"We're going to get going now, aunt Carol." Abi grinned, turning towards the woman as Lottie scoffed the tasty treat down. Abi had called Carol, 'aunt Carol,' for a while, a habit joining from when they were at the farm. "Rick and Michonne should be here in a few hours, and as much as he will deny it, Carl's bandage needs changing in an hour."

Carol smiled, nodding at the girls before bending down to see the baby. Abi looked towards Lottie, gesturing towards the door as the two girls were soon out of the house, on their way to a brutally familiar wall.

✵~✵

author notes -

First unseen chapter in a while, how we feeling

There's a little bit of a time skip next chapter, I made my own twd timeline because I couldn't figure out the shows.
(enioy these few chapters of happiness, a wired baseball bat and small kidnapping is about to hit)

Lottie and Abi are going to become one of the best platonic relationships I've ever made, found family trope is the best.

Also, two new oc's coming soon !!

Anyways, this is kinda bad since I'm not the best at original chapters, please just ignore it and push through bc it will get better when the saviour plot + abi and enid angsty era is around.

Anyways,
Byee <3