A WORLD WITH YOU

This story takes place halfway through Episode 2 of The Final Season. I'll be focussing on a central theme of Clementine and Violet's romance happening amidst other events. Let me know if you enjoy the story and I've got a lot more in store for the Violentine ship.

The sun shone through the boarded-up window into the dorm room stirring Clementine from her sleep. She pulled herself from the comfort of her bed as the day stared her in the face. She glanced at AJ's bed to see him still fast asleep. He had recovered well thanks to the school's supply of medicines. She stretched and looked at the map on her table. She had spent the last 2 weeks with the rest of the kids preparing for the attack by Lilly and her group. Defences were up and everyone was on edge waiting for the raiders. They'd put up 'Fuck Off' signs all over the courtyard thanks to Mitch's idea. He had had Violet all over his workplace getting him to speed up the bomb making process, which wasn't going to work with her breathing down his neck, so he'd made a sign with 'Fuck Off' written on it, which he'd flash every time she got too close to his table.

They'd had a lot of good moments in the time that they prepared. Things had gone awfully wrong when AJ shot Marlon dead. She knew he deserved it, after giving up Sophie and Minnie, killing Brody, lying to everyone about the twins and being willing to sacrifice her to the raiders. She knew it. But AJ was young and the others were scared of him pointing the gun at them the next time. When she'd stepped up to lead the defence along with Violet, everyone had naturally fallen under her command. It had taken time but the others had come to see her for what she really was. A kind-hearted badass.

She left AJ to rest as she headed out to meet Violet. As she walked to the office, her thoughts wandered to Violet. She and Violet had spent a lot of time together lately as they planned out their strategy. She had developed feelings for Violet. She was unlike anyone Clementine had ever met. Violet had a strange aura of attraction that Clementine couldn't quite place her finger on. She cleared her head as she reached for the office's doorknob.

"Hey Clementine. You sleep well?" Violet asked, as she got up from her chair.

"Uh yeah. I was really tired last night. AJ's still asleep. He's just about fine though now".

"Great." She looked at the map on her table. "I think we're pretty much ready to be attacked now. Well…. not like that but…. we're ready is what I meant. Could you um, check in on the others today and see how they're holding up?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll be back once I've made sure everyone's ready."

"Thanks Clem." She paused. "It hasn't been easy sitting on this chair. But knowing I have you by my side makes me feel way stronger."

"I have your back, Violet. You don't need to worry about being alone."

Violet nodded as the two of them stood in silence.

"You should go Clem. I'll see you soon," Violet said, breaking the silence.

Clementine nodded as she turned around to leave. Violet sat down in her chair with a sigh. She had fallen for Clementine the moment she had showed up at their gates. After Minnie, she had distanced herself from everyone, being unable to cope with the pain. She had spent a year bottling her emotions until Clementine came. She had never had the strength to move past Minnie, but Clementine brought out the best in her. The way she laughed, the way she was so sure of herself, the way they got along, all of it just wheeled around in Violet's mind. She wasn't sure if Clementine shared the same feelings and had stopped short of confessing her feelings for Clementine these past days when they were alone in the office. Maybe she does, maybe, Violet thought as she pulled her thoughts away from Clementine to the task at hand.

Clementine spent the day working with everyone, trying to set them all up and boosting their morale. They had no indication of when the raiders would turn up. It could be hours, it could be days or it would be weeks. When they were preparing, everyone was occupied and didn't have time to ponder the situation. But now that they were done preparing, everyone was on the verge of a breakdown. Needless to say, there were several conflicts that arose due to their tempers, the most recent being between Willy and Aasim on what traps to place in the Admin Building. Clementine had to step in to resolve their dispute that finally ended with Willy punching Aasim in the stomach. Louis decided it was a good idea to play cards to ease the tension between them.

"So, it's pretty easy. We use cards to play Truth or Dare," said Louis, as they all sat down on the couches in courtyard. The area was dimly lit with burning logs as the sun had almost set.

"Truth or Dare doesn't need cards, dumbass," Violet interjected.

"This one does. We each pull a card from this deck. Highest card asks and the lowest card answers. Easy? Let's try this then," Louis replied.

Louis passed the deck around as all of them picked a card. 7 cards were drawn as Clementine, Violet, AJ, Louis, Tenn, Omar and Aasim had turned up to play.

"And looks like Clementine picks the highest card and Aasim the lowest. Go ahead Clem," said Louis.

Clementine looked at Aasim as she thought of a dare. "I dare you to go kiss Ruby," she said.

Amidst a chorus of oohs and laughs, he walked up to Ruby near the lookout tower. They saw an exchange of words and the unmistakable sound of a slap. The others burst into laughter as Aasim walked back to the group.

"Oh God. That was so worth it," Violet said, with tears in her eyes as she shook from laughter.

"Alright, alright. The poor guy tried. Let's go again," said Louis.

They felt themselves getting relaxed as the game progressed. They hadn't had time to sit down and talk of other things amidst their preparations. Tenn gave his vision of a world without walkers, Clementine answered a Marry, Fuck and Kill question, Louis kissed a walker head and Violet talked about her most embarrassing moments. Time passed by quickly and they decided to call it a day after a final round. Louis handed the deck to everyone.

"Oh, so it looks like I win and Clem loses," Louis said. He thought for a second before he continued. "So, Clementine. Anyone here that you have feelings for?"

Clementine flushed red, being caught off-guard. She certainly hadn't expected this question. She looked up to the staring faces.

"Wow. Uh yeah. Definitely do. No names though."

Violet took a sharp breath. Could Clementine be referring to her? All those times that they had spent together, had Clementine had feelings for her too?

"I see how it is," laughed Louis. "No worries. I hope they feel the same for you," he winked.

"Let's call it a night. We need to be alert for the raiders," said Aasim as he got up from the couch.

The others followed suit. Violet's heart was beating fast. She had to tell Clementine about her feelings. She decided the bell tower would be the perfect place.

"Hey Clem," Violet called.

"Hey Violet. What is it?"

Violet hesitated. "I'm going to the bell tower to get a look of everything from above…. you know like, a vantage point? You want to join maybe?"

Clementine felt her heart flutter. When Louis had asked her about whether she had feelings for everyone, all she wanted to do was get up and confess her feelings to Violet. She loved spending time with Violet and enjoyed all those late-night meetings in the office.

"Yes, I'd love to."

Violet smiled as she led the way to the bell tower. Clementine had never been up there, let alone in the dark. She entered the tower and noticed the broken stairs and the peeling paint.

"Careful here. We'll climb up this side of the wall till the stairs are sturdy again, okay? Follow me," Violet said as she started climbing up the steel beams along the wall. They reached the top of the tower and walked onto the roof.

It was a sky full of stars and a bright moon. They looked at the School. Things looked well in place and they were sure they were ready to face the raiders. They sat down side by side as both of them gazed at the stars in silence. Violet looked at the moon as she started speaking.

"You know, I'm kinda glad you came back. I've spent a lot of time suppressing myself and it's only after you came that I've felt alive again…. I couldn't have done any of this alone. I've wanted to tell you but I never found the right time to do so. These past weeks that we've spent together…well I've… uh…. developed feelings for you. What I mean to say is I like you. A lot."

Clementine felt her heart racing. She felt elated.

"Violet, I feel the same too," Clementine replied. "The time we've spent together has been some of the best times I've had and I was hoping you felt the same way too."

Violet couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had never dreamt that Clementine would react the way she did. "Really?", she asked.

"Really."

As the moon bathed them in its silver light, Clementine moved closer to Violet as her hands reached for her face. Pulling Violet in closer, she pressed her lips to Violet's, basking in the moment. Violet wrapped her arms around Clementine as their tongues met. They pulled apart, breathless and hugged each other.

"Holy shit," whispered Violet.