Imagines and One-Shots (Book Three)

Broken Pieces (Cody Carson) - Part 2

word count: 1281
requested by: none but this is dedicated to @puppypatchsys on tumblr!!!!!
pronouns: she/her
warnings: mentions of cheating, death/zombies, guns, like one swear, poor proofreading
fandom: set it off
au type: apocalypse, best friends
summary: after finding out your boyfriend had been cheating on you with your best friend, cody tries to help you fix the broken pieces you thought were beyond repair
inspired by: none
authors notes: i was reading part 1 and thought fuck it!!!!! i'll write a part 2!!!!!

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Since the moment you left Jeffrey and Nicole and Cody walked you back to the house, you knew things would be different this time around. You never really felt like you belonged – not before the apocalypse and certainly not when it started – but the boys made sure you knew you were going to be okay.

You could tell by the looks on Maxx and Zach's faces that Dan had to practically drag them away from your now ex-boyfriend and best friend, and you knew you shouldn't have, but some part of you wished he would have let them get in one good punch.

So, yeah, maybe this would hurt for a little while, but that didn't mean it would hurt forever.

Those boys were there for you every step of the way – through every memory that made you cry and every nightmare that woke you up drenched in sweat and everything in between. They distracted you on the bad days and celebrated with you on the good ones. They never made you feel like you were just tagging along or leeching off of them just to keep yourself alive.

They made sure you knew you were useful and that they needed you.

~

Five months later

It had been a quiet food run so far – aside from the boys cracking jokes on your journey back to your base, there wasn't really anything going on around you. Of course, being the group's so-called 'ghost whisperer', you knew the silence was never a good thing. Not even a cricket chirp or leaves rustling could be heard, causing you to be on high alert pretty much since the moment you stepped off the front porch two hours ago.

The chatter and laughter suddenly ceased when you stopped abruptly, throwing your hand up with a sharp shush. You didn't say anything though, prompting them to look at each other nervously.

"What is it?" Zach whispered – they knew better than to be loud when you were like this.

You remained silent still, your worst-case scenario coming true when you heard groaning nearby. Your head snapped to look over your shoulder, the boys' quickly following suit.

"Ah, shit," Maxx grumbled, already prepping his shotgun while the others did the same, "What do we do?"

Without even taking a second, you cleared your throat softly so the boys would look back at you. You pointed upwards, leading their line of sight to a group of trees that would make a perfect perch to pick off the walkers.

Zach and Dan climbed up first, helping the rest of you get up as well. Maxx hopped up onto the tree with Dan while Cody and Zach helped you into their tree. Once everyone was sturdy in their positions, the boys began taking out the hoard.

Cody – as he would no matter how many times you'd done this – looked over his shoulder at you every once in a while to make sure you were alright. You'd always hug the tree trunk and keep your gaze in the opposite direction of whatever threat you'd come across, but that didn't mean the gunshots wouldn't make you jump every single time.

Once the hoard was dealt with, Cody gently patted your shoulder to get you to look at him. He rubbed his thumb against your shirt for a moment before he and Zach helped you back to the ground so you could resume what you'd been doing.

~

Six hours later; 2:30am

You found yourself in the kitchen, looking around for a snack that hadn't expired yet. You were straining your eyes, far too hungry to wait to adjust them to the darkness in the electricity-lacking house. You thought about just saying 'fuck it' and eating something questionably old, but a voice from the doorway stopped you from reaching for it.

"Can't sleep either?" You simply let out a small breath of amusement, shrugging your shoulders.

"Always hard to sleep after encountering walkers," you reminded Cody without even having to look at him to know who it was, "Told you I never liked the sounds they make."

"Well, you know what'll help?"

You looked over your shoulder to find him already behind you, holding out his arm. You gave him a confused smile but closed the cabinet door and gave him your hand anyway.

Cody pulled you to the middle of the quiet kitchen, taking your other hand and bringing your arms around his neck before resting his own on your lower back. You couldn't help but chuckle, not needing any more prompting to press your body to his and lay your head on his shoulder.

You closed your eyes as you swayed in place, the only light coming from the moon through the broken blinds. You weren't sure what song was playing in his head, but it was a welcome distraction either way.

"You and me..." Cody murmured after a few minutes of silence, "We're pretty close, right?" You let out a soft, confused giggle.

"I like to think we are," you replied, "Slow dancing in the middle of the night isn't usually reserved for people I don't like being around." You felt him smile against your neck, his arms squeezing you lightly.

"You promise whatever I say won't change that?" You lifted your head back up, finding him shyly looking down at your collarbones.

"Cody," you said – and if you didn't know any better, you would have thought you could feel his breathing hitch, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just... I never liked the way I feel about you, knowing you had a boyfriend," he admitted the secret he'd been keeping since the day he met you, "I never felt good for imagining what it would be like if something happened to him before we found him – wondering whether you'd stay with me or insist on refusing to leave his side just to end up like him. I liked to pretend we would've convinced you to come with us – that I wouldn't have to go the rest of my life worrying about what happened to you."

You felt your heart start racing at the confession – the one you'd been hoping for since the moment you met him – and it inspired you to let out your own feelings.

"I always felt guilty before I realized what had really been going on – that they were never even concerned about me or hoping I'd somehow made it out alive," you whispered, "I felt guilty because I knew I liked you far more than I could have ever loved Jeffrey – I knew it even before I found out he'd been cheating on me. I could tell he was only saying he loved me to make me feel better – like I wasn't someone they felt like they were forced to take care of because we were friends. But with you guys... I feel like I finally belong... I feel like people actually care about me and give me something to do when the walkers show up and don't act like I'm a burden... I finally feel safe..." you swallowed, "You make me feel safe..."

Cody didn't say anything – he just returned his face to your neck and hugged you tightly, lifting you off of your feet. You squeaked softly in surprise but happily returned the gesture, squeezing him just as hard as he was squeezing you.

"M'really sorry we met the way we did," he murmured.

"But I'm thankful we met at all," you finished the thought with a smile.

I'll find a way to fix these broken pieces and let go