"Jane?" Clementine asks, causing the woman to look up from an old crossword that she had found in the basement. It only had like two of the words filled in when she discovered the old newspaper, so she figured that it'd be a good way to pass the time.
Because really, what the hell was there to do around here when you got bored?
"Yeah?" she answers, watching as the twelve year old rolls up to the coffee table in her wheelchair. She still feels horrible for the kid, but she never mentions any of this – it'd just make Clem feel worse about it. Honestly, Jane's still not sure if she's ever going to be able to walk again, but one day they'd definitely have to try it at least once. Just to see how it goes. "What's up?"
Clementine opens her mouth to speak, but closes her mouth again as she wears a puzzled frown; seeming to formulate a question in her head. Jane smirks as she does this, not bothering to hide her amusement as she watches this occur. Clem brings a whole lot more enjoyment into her life than she had originally thought she would.
"What does… gay mean?"
Widening her eyes, Jane is shocked as she tries to come up with a response that would satisfy her curiosity. But how the hell do you explain this concept to a twelve year old? This wasn't supposed to happen probably for another year or two, at least to Jane's knowledge. Although, she recognizes that Clem's not your average kid – she's wise beyond her years.
Still though, why now?
"What are you asking me for?" Jane inquires, folding up the crossword and placing it aside while she crosses her arms across her chest.
Biting her lip, Clementine shrugs as she absentmindedly moves the chair back and forth.
"I heard Jake say it one time when they were still here," she explains with puzzlement, "I didn't know what he was talking about."
Jake and George – of course. Jake, George and their daughter, Mila, were the three people who stopped by Houston Hills looking for some refuge over a week ago. They were nice enough people, Jane supposed; didn't cause any real problems for the three of them, and the two men even went into town with Lilly one time to scout out the area. The two of them were partners, but to a young mind like Clem's, she probably wouldn't have thought they were more than good friends.
"Hmm… how do I put this…" Jane mutters, scratching her chin in thought as she tries to come up with a suitable response. "It's… when two people of the same gender – man with a man, or woman with another woman – are in a relationship together."
"Oh… you mean, they like-like each other?"
"Yeah, just like that," she chuckles, smirking at her curiosity. It's easy to forget how young Clementine is when she's capable of killing and putting down walkers all the time.
"But I thought that it was supposed to be a man liking a woman?" she asks, seemingly confused as to the concepts.
"That's usually how it goes, but not all people are the same, Clem," Jane explains, propping her head up by leaning her elbow on the couch. "Some girls like other girls, and some boys like other boys. It just happens sometimes."
"Is that… bad though? Are they sick?"
"Ha ha, no, they're not sick, kiddo," she shakes her head. "There's nothing wrong with being gay – you can't control how you feel or who you like. There are some people out there that don't agree with it, but at the end of the day… you're gonna be whoever you're meant to be. Being gay doesn't change who you are as a person. Does that answer your question?"
"Kinda," she admits sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders as she scratches her head. The kid's pretty cute when she gets stumped on something. "Did you ever know someone that was gay?"
"One of my best friends was a lesbian," I recall, clarifying when Clem looks at me with confusion, "That's what a woman's called if they're gay. There's also bisexual, transgender… but I don't think you need to worry about that stuff. The odds are pretty slim as it is of us meeting a whole lot of people out here, and it won't matter to you who they like. Sorry, lost my train of thought…"
"You said your friend was a… a lesb… les…"
"Lesbian," I correct, nodding as I remember the good old days. "Yeah, she came out a little bit after high school, but we all pretty much knew beforehand."
"Would it be weird for you?" Clem asks, genuinely curious as she listens with intent. "I mean… would it be weird knowing that your friend was a lesbian?"
"Nope, that'd be like saying that it'd be weird having a guy as your friend, because you think he'll just want to… go out with you," I stop myself, not wanting to traumatize the poor kid already. Sex ed can wait for a good long while, and what a fascinating conversation that's gonna be… "Anyways, someone being gay doesn't change anything, Clem. So don't go treating somebody differently if they are gay, alright?"
"Yeah, I know," she nods her head a couple of times, not that she'd really need a reminder. Once you get into Clem's good graces, she treats you like family.
Picking the paper back up, Jane scribbles down the word zebra into some of the square boxes and tries to figure the next one out; tapping fingers absentmindedly upon her thigh. When she notices that Clementine still hasn't left yet, she raises an eyebrow and glances over to her.
"Problem?"
Looking incredibly innocent, Clementine shrugs her shoulders and smirks devilishly.
"So… are you a lesbian?"
"Huh?" Jane remarks with confusion, thinking that the two of them would be over this conversation by now. "Clem, you saw me with Luke, didn't you? How are you getting this mixed up?"
"Yeah, well…" she trails off, adjusting her hat as she places her hands in her lap. "Do you like Lilly?"
If Jane had been drinking anything right then, she would've immediately shot it out through her nose and all over the table. She literally can't stop laughing, as that may have been the funniest thing she's heard in a good, long while. Jane and Lilly?! Is this kid freaking serious right now?!
"Oh my god…" Jane wheezes, controlling herself as she dries her eyes from chuckling so hard. "Lilly… holy shit, Clem! You're a real jokester, aren't you?"
"I'll take that as a yes then," Clementine smirks, turning around in the wheelchair as Jane's laughter immediately stops.
"What? Clem no, I – I don't! Clem, come back here!" Jane hollers, standing up and walking out into the hallway to catch up to the mischievous twelve year old. "You're asking for it, kid! Get back here!"
Jane stops in the hall when she comes face to face with the devil herself. Lilly's walking through the front door with a blank stare, probably to come and get Jane for her round of watch duty. Ever since they took over this place, they had decided to have someone on watch at almost all hours of the day, since even though they've barely run into any walkers out here, you can never be too careful.
"Where's Clem?" Jane asks, frowning as Lilly simply shrugs her shoulders.
"Probably around somewhere," Lilly tells her, handing Jane the rifle as she stretches out her back. "You're up next – have fun, you'll want to blow your brains out in boredom."
"Sometimes that's the better option…" Jane mutters solemnly, strapping the gun across her back as she prepares to head outside.
But not before Clementine appears from behind one of the walls; a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looks over at the two of them.
"Lilly," she chirps, causing Jane to turn around with wide eyes, "Jane likes you!"
Immediately quirking an eyebrow, Lilly turns around to yell something at Jane, but she's already burst outside and slammed the door behind her.
"I don't see what the problem is," Clementine remarks cheekily, which just confuses Lilly even more.
What the hell has she been filling Clem's head with?