𝟬𝟬𝟭,  story time is for kids.

It had been years since Maya Walsh felt this complete and satisfied with her life. The constant need to fight for her safety, or even staying alert for nearby walkers was no longer an everyday source of priority, at least for now, it wasn't. The prison was the safest place the girl had been in since the start of the whole walker outbreak, her having to suffer the loss of someone she deeply cared for everyday, or them disappearing as she hoped for their return, only to never see them again, rarely occurring in the few months they've been there.

After her father's death back at the farm, the teenage girl was finally starting to find her happiness again. The source being her mother, and the people who fought to protect and keep her fed. They were the ones who kept a smile on her face, and she considered every single one of them her family. Maya felt like she owed them, as many times they saved her life. Though, since she was young and would barely be of any use to them, she did what she could to help out.

The brunette with long healthy hair, (despite the conditions they lived in), was currently occupied in her cell. Maya's short legs remained across her bunk bed, sprawled on top of Makayla's midsection, the teenage girls busy gossiping about the boys around their age. Carl laid on the top bunk, sneakily, trying to listen to their gossip session as he pretended to read the comic book in his hand. Anyone with a brain could tell that he wasn't paying the comic not even the slightest attention, and if they asked him what it was about he would be at an immediate loss for his words.

            "Have you ever noticed the way Patrick stares at you? He's in love, I swear on my left hand." Makayla suddenly blabbered, causing Carl's head to raise, the boy trying his best not to let out a scoff at the revelation. "That's ridiculous. Patrick stares at everyone. He's more in love with 'Mr. Dixon' than he is me." Maya explained, a few girlish giggles escaping her mouth.

             Carl could only roll his eyes at their conversation, in fact he knew it was true. Patrick is in love with Maya, and he certainly does have a weird obsession with Daryl. Once he started talking about the man, he would never stop. It could go on for several torturous hours, just like the conversation that he was unwillingly snooping on. They had been talking since he woke up, he could've left over an hour ago but his curiosity simply got the best of him.

            In his case, it was rare for the teenage boy to hear Maya talk about boys. The girl never did, like ever. Glenn was an exception though. Carl remembered how she liked him back at the farm. Maya was always jealous of Maggie back then, too, but now she loved the woman like an older sister. Carl wondered if she outgrew her childish crush on Glenn like he did with the one he had on Makayla's other sister, Beth. He hoped no one knew about it.

             "What about Carl? You two, like, breathe the same air." Makayla explained, not having anything better to do than mettle with the brunettes love life. Carl felt his heart speed up as soon as Maya covered Makayla's mouth with her hands, trying to shush her.

            "He's literally in the same room. Have you no shame?" Maya asked in a quiet voice, peeking from the bottom bunk trying to catch sight of Carl, him pretending to be engrossed in whatever comic book was in his lap as soon as her eyes landed on him. The teenage girl decided to lean closer towards Makayla's ear to whisper how she felt about Carl. His anticipation grew, annoyance clear on his face when he couldn't hear them anymore. He realized that's what he gets for being so nosey all the time. But he couldn't help it. Their conversation was intriguing, and he opted to hear more.

           "I wish you two would stop talking about me like I'm not right here." Carl spoke in a mean manner, growing tired of the whispers consuming the cell. In all honesty, he was just frustrated that he couldn't hear them. Maya and Makayla both let out laughs at his attitude.

             A sudden knock on their cell wall ceased all laughter, a head poking in, earning excited grins and smiles from all three teenagers. Maya was the first to leave her spot to hug Michonne, almost knocking the woman over with her tight embrace. A surprised breath and a small laugh left Michonne's mouth once Carl and Makayla joined the hug. The woman had never felt more loved than she did in that moment.

            "When did you get back? We missed you!" Maya grinned at her, earning one back in return. "A few minutes ago. Usually, the three of you are already at the gate, welcoming me in. I come bearing gifts." Michonne took off her back pack, pulling out a few items she knew they would want to have.

            "No way!" Carl seemed amazed at the limited edition comics she handed him, the smile on his face bigger than Maya had seen it in a while.

           The next thing she pulled out sent Makayla into a small frenzy, the girl biting her lip in order to hold in her girly squeal. She took the paint and brushes as soon as she spotted them, knowing they were for her. Makayla loves painting. As unusual as it sounded, Hershel used to paint for her every night before she went to bed.

             Lastly, Michonne pulled out a record player, sporting multiple song options. She knows how much Maya likes listening to music, having heard all her rants about how she wished she could tune out everyone else and just escape the harsh reality with songs.

            Maya felt herself becoming even more excited than she was before, hugging Michonne again. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The girl didn't mean to be too much, her excitement taking over her senses. "Don't thank me. I'm just glad you like your gifts." Michonne sent the kids a warm smile, glad she got to see them smile one more time before she had to leave again.

              "We love them." Makayla corrected the woman with a quick nod of her head.

              "I'm glad. It was good seeing my favorite kids. But I promised to help Rick check the snares." The dark skinned woman shook her head, smiling beautifully, a smile that made them sad she had to leave.

              "But you just got here!" Carl protested, wishing she could stay a little bit longer.

             "And I'll be back." Michonne patted his hair softly, knowing it annoyed him.

Michonne left the prison again, with her suggesting that they go outside and be kids. Carl didn't like the idea, wishing he could be treated like an adult even though he clearly wasn't one. Maya didn't like that about him. She wished he would act his age, though none of them did really. The world they lived in made them that way, forcing them to grow up way too quick.

Maya, Makayla, Carl, and Patrick watched as a group of kids huddled around a bunch of walkers at the fence, laughing around and playing with them, as if the dead were still living and breathing humans. This made both Maya and Carl look at each other in annoyance, the two clearly not liking how uneducated and naive the kids were being. Makayla and Patrick shared a quick glance as well, knowing how this would go down.

"You're naming them?" Carl was the first to approach the kids, the others right behind him. Two of them looked worried. "Well, one of them has a name tag, so we thought all of them should." A younger girl, Mika, announced with a sweet smile. "They had names when they were alive. They're dead now." Carl told them, not wanting them to play like that. "No, they're not. They're just different." Mika's sister Lizzie, defended the walkers, seeming defensive when it came to them.

"Excuse me, what? Are you insane? Or just straight up dumb?" Maya was annoyed now. "What the hell are you talking about? They don't talk. They don't think. They eat people. They kill people." Carl tried to explain to the girl, who didn't wanna hear that. It was obvious she had a few loose screws, but getting other kids to believe that nonsense? It would be the death of them. Maya didn't want to see any more deaths.

"People kill people. They still have names." Lizzie tried to make a good point. "Have you seen what happens? Have you seen someone die like that?" Carl asked the girl. "Yeah, I have," Lizzie answered angrily, her sister Mika sadly looking at the ground. "They're not people and they're not pets. Don't name them." Carl told the girl one last time. She rolled her eyes.

  "We're supposed to go read. Come on." Lizzie called her group off, the rest of the kids following behind her in a line. "You coming to story time tonight?" Mika stayed behind to ask with a kind smile.

"Uh, yeah." Patrick answered nervously, sparing a glance at Carl, hoping he wouldn't want to. "See you then!" Mika ran off with a big smile on her face. Maya and Makayla already knew that story time wasn't what it seemed to be. They snuck in once, with Carol making sure they didn't tell Carl or Rick about it.

Patrick noticed the looks on their faces and sighed. "I go sometimes. I'm immature. You wouldn't dig it. It's for kids." The boy tried to make the whole situation a bit humorous as he smiled at Maya, her returning it before punching his shoulder. The boy couldn't hide his blush, looking away as to not be caught. Carl noticed the whole thing, his expression turning sour at their moment.

"You should go, Patrick. Story time's starting, I don't want you to miss it." Makayla observed the situation, deeming it better for the boy to go.

        "Yeah, see you guys," Patrick shared one last glance at Maya before heading after the other kids, making an attempt to catch up with them.

"I'm gonna go up there, too, actually. I have something to do." Carl looked at both girls with a sigh before heading after Patrick. Whatever he was about to do, it didn't concern them. Both girls just decided to mind their own business. Makayla didn't say anything about what she noticed in Carl's facial expression. She decided to keep quiet and let them figure it out.

"It's fine if you want to leave with them, but I think I'm gonna stay outside a little while longer." Maya nodded towards the plants and animals. Makayla shook her head, gently grasping Maya's hand in hers.

"I'm here to stay, babes." The blonde smiled brightly, both girls making their way to the animals to feed and pet them before their sad end.

𝓐uthor's 𝓝ote ! . . the first chapter is completed. let me know how you feel about it or give me suggestions, constructive criticism, anything ? ? ? ?