Chapter 3- Follow the Music

- General POV

Waking up, Clementine shifted uncomfortably on the mattress. Her head throbbed intensely, and the room smelt different. As she peered open her golden eyes, she saw a bed. She was laying on a bed. As her head unfogged, she realized something. She was alone "AJ!" She remembered, bolting up. But she was being held back by something. "Agh!" Clem looked to her side, seeing her wrist was taped to the bedpost. She hesitated, listening. Ripping the tape off, Clem got up and off the bed, still somewhat swaying on her tired feet. She walked up to the door and jiggled the handle. It's locked! She thought to herself, turning in dismay. She searched around the room, examining it, searching for a way to get out. She couldn't wait in the room for someone, whatever their intentions were, while she knew AJ was out there. In the closet, there was a box filled with art supplies. Clem grabbed the chair at the desk to reach the box, since she was short. She got off the chair, and put the box on the desk. She rummaged through it, trying to find something, anything she could arm herself with or escape with. Something flat and sharp came into view. "Not sure what this is..." She trailed off, but nonetheless she tried to open the door with it.

The lock clicked, indicating that it was open. Clem snuck outside, weary of any people she might encounter. Graffiti coated the walls, and moss and plants started taking control of some areas. She walked to the end of the wall, stopping as she heard voices. Her eyes widened, and she desperately searched for a hiding place. She ran, hiding behind the empty trophy case, cutting her knee on the broken glass lining the floor. Clem didn't even notice the cut. A boy of maybe 12 came into her view. He approached the room she was in, cautiously. When he found the door had been opened, he panicked a little. Squinting his eyes and pulling out a knife. Clementine's thoughts raced, she had to decide how to handle the boy, and fast. "Don't move." She said calmly. The boy widened his eyes, letting out a gasp. "Stay where you are. don't turn around." She said, preparing for the worst. The boy put his hands up slowly, declaring his surrender. "Put down the knife." Clem spoke in a confident tone, trying to get the better of him. As she approached to grab his knife, she heard a bow and arrow draw, and a strong, male voice echo through the hall. "How about you do the same?" He said, making her tense up and look in his direction. She lowered her eyebrows, knowing the trouble she was in. He continued talking, trying to persuade her to listen. "We're not gonna hurt you. We've got your boy, he's safe." The teenage boy continued. Clementine, overjoyed that AJ was okay, looked down at the knife she was holding.

Knowing that he was winning, the boy persuaded her more. "I'll take you to see him.... Just put down the knife." He said, his aim still strong. "How about a show of good faith? You lower yours, I'll lower mine." Clem negotiated. She knew she was walking on thin ice, but she just couldn't risk it. Thankfully, he accepted and lowered his bow. She looked at him, then back at herself, dropping the palette knife. The boy now approached her, reassuring her. "See? We're not gonna hurt you." He said, confidently. Clementine looked back at him, with a puzzled, concerned expression. "I'm Marlon." He said. "This little guy's Tennessee. 'Tenn' for short. He's the one been taking care of you." Marlon said, putting an arm around the boy. Tenn looked briefly at her and Marlon, before silently casting his eyes to the ground. Marlon, as if already knowing how he felt, spoke for him. "He, uh, doesn't talk much." He said, lowering his arm. "Clementine." She said back, introducing herself. Marlon then apologized for locking the door and tying her to the bed, trying to make peace. Clem nodded in understanding, trying to make sense of the whole ordeal.

Marlon led her outside of the building, to a schoolyard. Making small talk as he led her to the administration building. Going off and leaving her alone, he said to her: "Your kid's inside. I think he's with Louis." "Louis?" She said back in confusion. "Oh, right. Just listen for the music, you'll find him." Marlon said back, walking away.

Once inside, she knew what he was talking about. "Follow the music. Check." She said to herself, looking around, hearing the faint sound of music in her ears. She walked towards a room, the sound of a piano echoing to her, getting louder. "Gah! You little motherf**ker!" The girl cursed behind herself angrily. "Hey! HEY!" She said, approaching Clem. "Bout time you woke up! Your little boy just bit me!" She said, far too close to her face, making Clementine uncomfortable. "He's lucky I didn't take a boot to his head..." She muttered, looking down on the fresh bite mark. "Nearly took a chunk outta me! Gah, it hurts something fierce!" She said, examining her hand. "I'm so sorry... He's.. been through a lot." Clem apologized, trying to cool off her temper. "Yeah? Well, ain't we all! Don't see any of us biting you!" She said, marching off. Clementine continued to the room, shrugging off the girl.

Clementine walked into the room. A boy her age sat at the piano, focused intently on his music. Upon seeing him, her heart beat a little bit faster. Then she saw AJ standing peacefully, enjoying the music. She smiled. It just seemed... natural to her. AJ turned around. "Clem!" He exclaimed, running to her. She knelt down and hugged him. "You're okay!" He said, hugging her tightly. She sighed in relief, glad to have her little goofball back. "I was afraid you were-" She cut him off, examining him, making sure he was okay. "I'm ok. And you know what you are..." She trailed off with a mischievous grin. "What?" AJ exclaimed, smiling back. "Ticklish!" Clem said, starting to tickle the little boy's sides mercilessly. He squirmed and tried to wiggle out of her reach, laughing, but it was no use. Coming back into reality, she remembered the girl. "But, AJ, listen to me. That girl out there says you bit her. Is that true?" She said, standing up, bent over. He looked back, crossing his arms, knowing that he'd made a mistake. "That's not cool, goofball. You can't go around biting people." She said. "I know! I'm sorry! She scared me." AJ said to her, shifting. "I know, kiddo, but... still, no more bites, ok?" She finished, standing up straight. "No more bites." He echoed back to her.

"You're not dead! That's good." The boy said, turning to face her. "Watched your kid for you." He smiled at her. She could feel herself smile back. His smile was... cute. Snapping herself out of it, she replied: "Thank you. I hope he wasn't too much trouble." She said with a smirk, ruffling AJ's hair. "No problem." He responded, continuing. "Well, not *no* problem. He was a bit of a handful. But I got off light compared to what Ruby went through." He looked down at the boy, who tried to ignore his comment. "AJ doesn't like people coming up behind him." Clem spoke up, seeing as AJ didn't. "Don't ever do it." He half threatened. The boy looked surprised, but then responded with: "Loud and clear, little man." He joked, pointing a finger gun at the kid. He looked down to Clem's knee, which was bleeding. "You gonna be alright, there?" He asked with an inquisitive brow. "Huh?" She looked down, seeing that her knee was bleeding. "Oh. I didn't even notice." She bent down to examine the cut. "I can get Ruby, if you want..." He said, wincing as a line of blood trickled down, soaking into the material. "I'll be ok. I just need to bandage it." She said, standing back up. He pointed over to a box with some bandages in it. "Thanks." She said, walking over. After bandaging the cut, she returned to where she was standing before.

"I'm Louis." He said, looking at her as he played. She looked back into his eyes. "Clementine." She said. The two of them shared a moment, just looking at each other, wanting the other to say or do something, yet not wanting to move on. Clementine felt her face heat up a little. She looked away quickly, becoming aware of how awkward it was getting. As if getting the hint, trying to change the subject, he said: "Oh, yeah! Totally forgot! Marlon left your bag in here, somewhere." Clementine looked around, seeing her backpack on the floor, she replied. "Yup. I got it." Opening the backpack, she checked for everything. She tucked her knife in her pocket, and put on her hat. She walked over to AJ. Searching, she pulled out his gun and held it out for him to grab. Louis looked over and jumped, causing him to hit the wrong notes. "Um... Does he.. Know what that is?" He asked with a concerned look on his face. Clem gave AJ the gun and he commented: "It's dirty." To which Clem responded "Then clean it." AJ looked at her "Maybe later. Back you go." "Where is belongs" She nodded. They held eachother's gaze for a moment, leaving Louis feeling concerned. "Dude, that can't be a good idea." He said to Clem as she got up and looked at him. "I trust him." She said, shrugging. "He's a tot!" Louis replied, clearly a bit bothered. "Yeah, a tot who can shoot." She ended the conversation. He shrugged it off and said "You guys do your thing, I guess..." He continued playing the same song as before.

"Do you know any others?" Clementine asked him, stepping closer. "Well... there is one, but you're armed..." He said, smirking at her. She raised her eyebrow and took out her knife. He looked at her, leaning back as she approached. She put it on top of the piano, still curious by what he meant. He turned, slowly and started playing; singing. "Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine...." She listened to him singing, blushing a little when he said her name. AJ looked up, surprised, catching on to the not- so- subtle flirt. He continued playing as she walked closer, momentaneously stopping as she exclaimed "I love that song!" They continued listening to Louis sing the song until he finished. He turned to them, and AJ laughed a little. "What do you think, AJ?" Clem questioned with a smile. "I don't know... It's loud." He said, sounding unsure. "It is.." She said back, slightly nodding. "Loud is bad." He confirmed to himself. "Not always." Clem patted his shoulder. "AJ, come here, press this key." Louis encouraged the little boy, who didn't act so little. AJ looked up to her, and she nodded him to the instrument. With guidance, he made a quick tune, and smiled at the new experience. "You're a natural!" Louis said to the kid as he stepped back with a wide grin on his face. Marlon then walked in and said "Hey guys, we got a little trouble. Mind helping to clear some walkers?" They all grabbed their weapons and went out to see what was going on.

After they had killed off the walkers, Clem, Louis and Violet all walked back, keeping their guard up. "I'd call that a B+ performance there, Vi. You've done better. "F**k off!" She said, flipping him off. He clutched his chest playfully, acting hurt, and added: "B- then. Now, Clem here. That was a solid A! A+ even!" She felt herself blush a little bit. "You did good out there too, Louis." She said, looking to the side. "You're too kind. And accurate!" He said, smiling. "You're falling right into his trap, y'know..." Violet said, obviously getting annoyed. To which Louis replied "Trap, shmap! She's just being honest." Violet rolled her eyes and walked up to another kid, mumbling behind them. "So, Clem..." He said, turning to her. "Hm?" She said, not realizing that it was just the two of them, now. "Whaddya say to a game of cards later?" He said in a hushed tone, acting as though it was secret. "Uhm... depends... I mean, sure, I guess..." She said, looking away, wondering what he'd have in mind...

This was copied and pasted from another story I had going on google docs, since I was lazy. Happy now that Clem met Louis? I hope so! Thanks for reading!