Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️FIFTY-FIVE: SCHOOLMATES BEFORE, SURVIVORS NOW⚠️

When you awoke, dull light was streaming in from the bus windows.

You sat up slightly, glancing around. The bus wasn't moving, and soft snores filled the air. Everyone must be sleeping.

When you got to your feet, you noticed the door was open. Ethan, Harry, Zion, Eugene, Jay, and Hailey were all sleeping... so Lawrence must be out already.

Not wanting to disturb everyone, you tiptoed quietly to the door.

Everything was covered in a blanket of snow.

You couldn't help but look around in awe. Snowflakes were gently dwindling down, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

You stepped out, shivering against the cold. You couldn't remember the last time it snowed this heavily. But then again, everything was pretty out of wack, wasn't it?

"Good morning," a kind voice greeted, and you looked over towards the sidewalk to see a rosy-cheeked Lawrence, kneeling down on the ground.

"Morning," you said, crunching across the snow towards him. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Enough," he said. "But come look at this."

Confused, you squat down to see what he was talking about.

"Dog prints?" you asked, and Lawrence shook his head.

"Wolf," he corrected. "And a pack, too. They're fresh."

"A wolf pack?" you repeated in disbelief. "In the city?"

"It must be because this place is so abandoned," Lawrence speculated, standing.

Your eyes followed the tracks. They stretched way off into the distance. You just hoped they weren't anywhere nearby.

"If animals have migrated into the city, maybe we'll get a chance to see if they can become infected like humans," Lawrence said to himself.

You shuddered at the thought. Imagining a wolf with those milky eyes and that gray flesh... it was almost too much to bear.

"I hope not," you said.

Lawrence was quiet for a moment.

"This is all just so fascinating..." he muttered under his breath, looking lost in his thoughts. "Who knows what other strange little occurrences have happened because of this catastrophe?"

"You seem really interested by this whole thing," you pointed out, feeling a little put off.

"Interested?" Lawrence repeated. "I guess you could say that."

He started walking casually, the opposite way of the bus, and you followed him after a moment of hesitation.

"Well, why?" you asked. "Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, but how come you're so curious?"

"The more we know about what we're up against, the better chance we have of surviving," Lawrence said practically. "We've hardly scratched the surface when it comes to our knowledge of the virus."

You nodded, but you didn't really understand. When you saw that monster of a zombie, you didn't care what it was or how it came to be. All you'd been thinking of was that you needed to get away.

"I haven't consulted the map yet, but I'm pretty sure we went the opposite way that we came," Lawrence spoke, changing the subject. "So that means the Safe Zone and that mutated zombie are in between us and the school. I don't think we have any chance of going back."

"Do you miss it?" you asked. "I mean, not just from since the apocalypse, but before. Back when everything was normal."

Lawrence stopped walking. He tilted his head, giving you a strange look.

"What? What's wrong?" you asked, feeling a little awkward.

"I didn't... go to that school," he said slowly.

"Oh!" you responded sheepishly. "Sorry. Which one did you go to?"

His expression became even more puzzled, and you didn't know what you were saying wrong. You thought about just scrapping the conversation altogether and just talking about something else.

"(Y/n)," he finally said, and his voice sounded almost disappointed. "We went to the same school."

"Really?" you replied in surprise.

Lawrence sighed, shaking his head, going back to walking.

"I'm sorry that I didn't remember," you apologized quickly, catching up with him. "It's just that I had a pretty small friend group, and I didn't really pay attention to anyone else-"

"You don't need to apologize for it," he said. "I mean, it's understandable at least. You were quite the delinquent back then. I'd say we were pretty stark opposites."

You nodded, laughing a little in relief. He didn't seem too upset that you'd forgotten.

"But I can't say I'm not surprised," Lawrence added. "We talked a few different times, and were always bumping into each other as well."

You wracked your brain for any memory of talking to Lawrence at school, but you couldn't seem to find anything.

"Sorry," you apologized again.

"It's fine," Lawrence assured you. "At least you can remember me now, right?" He smiled warmly at you, something you hadn't seen in a while.

You remembered the staff room, the boxcutter and the blood.

"Yeah, in more ways than one," you murmured, but then wished you hadn't.

Lawrence stopped to face you, and for a moment you thought he was angry. But then he grabbed your wrists, holding you so you couldn't turn away. Almost like a parent would do to their child.

"(Y/n)," he said, becoming serious. "Anything I've ever done, any time I've ever stepped out of line, I did it with you and your well-being in mind. Do you understand that?"

"Huh?" was the only thing you could think of to say. What was this all of a sudden? You felt fear start to crawl up your throat, and you swallowed hard to force it down.

"I've seen it on your face. You don't always agree with what I do. Sometimes, you're even frightened by it." His grip tightened, and you couldn't help but whimper. "But I do it for you, (Y/n). Always... for you."

"Lawrence," you pleaded. "P-please, stop. What's gotten into you?"

He looked about to say something when a loud voice cut through the air.

"You guys wanna keep having a secret meeting over there, or do you wanna come eat some breakfast?" someone called, and you looked over to see Zion leaning out the door of the bus. Relief washed through you, and for the second time you felt like he saved you.

"Coming!" you called, pulling yourself free from Lawrence hold and hurrying towards him. The two of you hadn't walked very far, and you made it to the bus in no time.

"You okay, kid?" Zion asked when you came by. "You look like the Grim Reaper just took your goldfish."

"I'm okay," you assured him quickly, looking back to see Lawrence coming. "I'm just really hungry. I'm gonna go inside now!"

You pushed past him quickly, but not before you saw the suspicious look on his face.

What had gotten into Lawrence to make him do that all of a sudden? Had you offended him? You saw Harry give you a worried smile and you let your fear melt away. Whatever it was, it was probably just stress or something.

Or at least, you hoped it was. Because that was very, very weird.